Author's Notes: So, while this isn't really my type of thing, since nothing like this has been done for the Pokémon Conquest fandom and I have some spare time on my hands, I figured why not? That, and I suppose I could use the practice...
Anyways, I'll be uploading different one shots of various pairings that I've seen throughout the fandom or just came up with off the top of my head(canon), and please let me know how I do, what can be improved and what you would like to see. With all that said, why don't we start with the most criminally underdone pairing?
Peace
(Aurorashipping/Hero x Oichi)
Peace was always something she loved.
Oichi still was at a loss to why, exactly; her upbringing certainly had done nothing to instill an appreciation of it in her, at least not directly. Dragnor was a brutal kingdom that bred brutal warriors who fought alongside brutal Pokémon; it was no place for delicate little flowers that relished peace. Perhaps it was that brutality, that untempered strength, that made her long for peace, from a break from the never ending fighting and conflict. The day that she stumbled upon Aurora while fleeing from her brother - a peaceful little kingdom with a brand new Warlord - changed everything for her.
There had been nowhere for her to go after running from Nobunaga; Dragnor was all she had ever known, and it repulsed her. It was only by pure coincidence that she happened to stumble into the Kingdom when it was under attack by Ignis. She had hoped Aurora, as remote and peaceful as it was, with a brand new Warlord, would be able to be a new start for her. But upon the sight of warriors from Ignis marching straight into town and declaring Aurora theirs, and the greenhorn Warlord trying to fend them off on his own, something stirred inside the girl. It might have been that very upbringing she despised; the one that had instilled in her an understated courage - given a delicate-looking rose its thorns.
And then she unexpectedly appeared by the brunette's side, uttering some frail resolution to help him as her Jigglypuff jumped into battle. The Warlord's only response was to give her a reassuring smile - so full of honesty she didn't know what to think - and a grateful nod before looking back at their overconfident opponents. The teamwork of the two prevailed over their numerous enemies, and the new Warlord took her aside after the battle, a smile on his face and eyes fixed firmly ahead into the future.
"Thanks for the help," his voice was brimming with as much confidence as his posture, a guileless smile plastered onto his face as he ran a hand through the back of his mess of brown hair. "I don't know if me and Eevee would have been able to win if you didn't jump in when you did. What's your name?"
"O-Oichi," his straightforwardness took her off-guard, and the pink-clad girl was left stuttering even as the Warlord gave her his name. He only continued to smile as her tongue tripped over itself in an attempt to apologize, not in any way that felt demeaning as she had become so used to, but simply in a slightly reassuring manner that let her know he could wait as long as necessary. Such a sight was almost picturesque to the girl. Oichi ultimately gave up the ghost and just settled for a small bow, and he chuckled good-naturedly.
"So, Oichi, is there anything I can do to thank you? I don't have much, but if there's something-"
"Actually," her voice was as quiet as usual, but Oichi was shocked that she had cut him off. The brunette didn't seem to mind, only giving her another smile, and she continued a bit more confidently than before. "I don't really have anywhere to go, so, if you don't mind, I was wondering... maybe..."
She felt her hesitation slowly creep back up on her, but mustered her courage and carried on. "If you would let me join Aurora's army?"
He laughed, but there was a gentle, joviality to it that made her feel reassured rather than humiliated. It was something that she had not heard in a long time. "Well, it'll be the two of us until we find someone else, but sure! I'd be more than happy to have you around!"
Those words - that she was wanted - struck her like a bolt of lightning, and Oichi couldn't help the smile that broke out across her face. It felt foreign, almost, as it had been so long since the last time she felt the expression grace her features, but it was like a new life had just been breathed into her, and the girl intended to live it to its fullest. This was her home now.
And she would give everything to defend it.
Oichi hated that they could not just leave well enough alone and had to challenge Ignis, but those three kids were right; keeping to themselves and training would only take them so far. Hideyoshi was bound to return to their doorstep one day, and there was a storm brewing in the north that threatened to drown the whole region in its black waves - something that spurned her to set out and find someone capable of stopping it. And Oichi had to wonder if she had finally stumbled onto such a person, in backwater Aurora no less.
When the two of them had braved the march into the Fire Type Kingdom and dethroned its Warlord after a tenuous battle, he had gone from house to house in the aftermath asking what he could do as Ignis' new ruler, and even tried to recruit the very Warlord that had sent his subordinates to attack him on his first day. When Greenleaf fell, its Warlord seeming just a little too eager to retire, he had let the soft-spoken man retain it, saying he could do more for Greenleaf than Aurora could. When they weathered the tides of Fontaine, so desperately trying to wash away the young Warlord from Aurora, all he could manage was a small smile through his soaked visage as he entrusted the Water Type Kingdom to the defeated yet again.
"Hopefully this won't last for much longer," he commented with a small sigh, leaning against the railing of the castle's balcony. It was a beautiful day in Aurora; clear skies, a mild, spring temperature, and a pleasant breeze that ran through Oichi's long hair and tugged at the hem of her skirts. The girl blinked at the Warlord's comment and faced him, and for a minute she thought he looked like he was about to pass out.
"Lord-" he turned to face her, the exhaustion that had written itself across his face vanishing in the face of the warm smile she had come to appreciate so much, something that never failed to make her feel like she belonged.
"There's no need for formalities, Oichi," Oichi only nodded, folding her hands awkwardly.
"Sorry, my Lord..." he just chuckled good-naturedly, and she could not help but join in.
"No, it's fine..." he turned back to the view, smile fading away into a more shaky expression. "I should be apologizing for dragging you into all these battles, though. I know you don't like fighting, but hopefully we've managed to bring some measure of peace to western Ransei by now."
The brunette turned around, leaning his elbows against the wood, sapphire orbs glancing over at her from the corner of his eyes. "Still, thanks for always being by my side. I wouldn't have been able to come this far if it wasn't for you."
And Oichi was left speechless at his comment for a few seconds before finally mustering a smile. "You've given so much already, why don't you relax for once?"
She had to bite her tongue from adding in his title at the end, and he laughed a little at her comment, standing back up and turning to face her. "I could say the same to you."
"That sounds like a good idea, though," he took a step to the exit, sapphire orbs still firmly fixed on her. "How about we get a bite to eat? Just the two of us?"
Oichi's breath hitched in her throat. "T-The two of us?"
"Well, I can't afford to take the entire castle out to dinner, now can I?" he said with a smile and chuckle, and the girl could feel her unease beginning to melt away.
"I'd love to, my Lord," Oichi replied with a smile of her own. The Warlord chuckled a bit more, running a hand through the back of his hair as he went back into the castle with her.
"We'll have to work on the titles over dinner," the girl in pink felt a giggle sneaking past her lips as she followed. And perhaps, she thought, if only for a moment, she could bask in the peace they brought; entertain the illusion that she could live a quiet life. Even if every second that passed was only a reminder of the threat looming ever closer.
And the threat had finally stepped forward.
"I-I'm sorry, my Lord..." the words the tumbled out of her mouth, feeling as weak to Oichi as her knees. He turned around - and Oichi thought that the pale moonlight of Terrera's desert only furthered the eerie calm that had settled over the Auroran's face, like the calm before a storm - and she froze the moment their eyes met. The turmoil she saw in his sapphire orbs; shock, disbelief, hurt, sadness, even anger, made her stomach churn and spoke volumes more than could anything that could have been articulated.
"I-" the words caught in Oichi's throat and burned against her tongue, but she pressed forward anyways. "I should have told you sooner."
She pushed back the bile creeping up at the very notion. "That Nobunaga's my brother."
His lips parted in turn, the edges trembling even more than his eyes as he tried to form some reply. The tension became unbearable to Oichi; she forced herself to look away from his distant gaze, the guilt slowly sapping away her will, the thought that she would be turned away again over the revelation hanging above her like a shadow longer than the one her brother casted. Suppressing a snivel, Oichi mustered up what little strength she had to look back at him.
"I don't want to be a burden," she felt a tear slip down her cheek as she turned back around. "I-I'll leave, my Lord. I won't cause any-"
Her heart stopped for a second when she felt a hand tugging on her shoulder, and she cast a stiff look back to see the Auroran looking at her with even more anguish than before. The guilt that crept up in her at the sight only made her even more nauseous; Oichi felt like turning away, shying away from the clear effect her very presence wrought, the desire to run away and hide her face forever burning brightly in her.
"Don't... Please," the words slammed into her chest with more force than one of Zekrom's attacks, and Oichi musters the courage to resume eye contact. The corners of his lips quivered into a shaky frown riddled with apprehension - like a single misplaced word would crush her - and the Warlord continued after a small gulp. "You're anything but, Oichi; Nobunaga being your brother changes nothing."
Her breath hitched, and his face softened into a small smile that offered a silent reassurance that everything would be fine - and for once she believed that it would. "You're my best friend above all, Oichi, and it doesn't change the wonderful person you are."
Oichi couldn't hold back the tears welling in her eyes; she choked out a thanks and then buried her head in his shoulder, her tears staining his coat. "T-Thank you..."
She felt his hand go to her back, patting her as she continued to sob into his shoulder. "We'll bring peace to Ransei, Oichi, together. You don't need to worry anymore."
Oichi nodded, breathing shaky as she stifled the rest of her tears, looking back up at the Warlord with a small smile. And as they walked back to Terrera's castle together, Oichi's steps still shaky as she steadied her breath, for once she felt some measure of peace, that those shadows were starting to disperse.
But the shadows it cast reached far further than her.
"What if this is all just for nothing?" Oichi looked up at the half-moan; the Warlord of Aurora was slumped over in his chair across from her, body spread out over the map-covered table like he had been pressed into the ground. "What if I'm not strong enough to end this? Is this all just some fool's errand, Oichi?"
The Warlord finally pushed himself up, running a hand through his hair with a long, tired sigh - and Oichi couldn't help but think the bags under his eyes made him look far older than he was - and then the dulled blue of his eyes finally drifted over to her, lips dipping into a frown when their gazes met. "I'm sorry."
He leaned back in the chair and glanced over to the side. "I don't have a right to be double guessing myself, not after everything you've been through. I-"
The Warlord stop when he felt a hand slip into his, and he turned back to find a warm gaze and reassuring smile from Oichi.
"My lord," she began slowly, as if trying to decide which words to say. "It's because you doubt yourself that I don't have any myself."
He blinked, slowly sitting back upright - and perhaps it was the sudden shift in lighting that came with it, but he suddenly looked like the much more energetic Warlord Oichi remembered - and then a small smile crossed his face. "We still need to work on the titles, though."
They both shared a laugh, and Oichi could finally begin to see the light through all the clout that had surrounded her for so long.
And it had finally faded away.
"Over at last, huh?" the girl looked up at the soft voice she had become so used to hearing, watching as the newly-christened Hero of Ransei sat down next to her, underneath the solitary tree that was shielding her from the sun and partiers off in the distance. His lips drew themselves into a tired smile as he leaned back against the trunk, and she found a similar one spreading over her face.
Oichi's shoulders dropped, and she let out a long, contented sigh, letting her eyes drift back to the sight of Aurora's packed streets as everyone celebrated. "Yeah..."
"Why don't you join us?" he remarked, and her gaze returned to his. "It's doesn't feel right celebrating without you, you know."
Oichi felt a bit of heat rush to her cheeks, and nervously shook her head. "I-I'm sorry, I'm just not that good with crowds."
"In that case," the Hero's tone grew a bit lighter, and he stood, holding out a hand to her. "Perhaps we could celebrate here? Just the two of us?"
The girl felt a giggle get past her lips, and Oichi found she enjoyed the newfound feeling of childish relief as she took his hand and stood. "I would love to."
He smiled - awkwardly, almost, like he was unsure of how to proceed but too caught up in the moment to care - as he wrapped an arm around her waist, and she returned in kind as they began their clumsy dance, neither quite caring if they nearly tripped or had their toes stepped on.
After all, this was the peace they had fought so hard for; the world they strived ceaselessly to create. And now they could enjoy it together.