Hello there! While I believe this story serves fine as a standalone, and you're welcome to read it as one, it is intended to be a prequel to my other ongoing Pokemon Conquest fic, Flame of Hope. I'm separating them for two reasons. Firstly because the origin I created for No is much more extensive than Ginchiyo's, Aya's, or Ina's, and it ties directly into Nobunaga's rise to power as well. I didn't want to bog down multiple chapters of FoH attempting to tell an abridged version that wouldn't provide as much insight into No's character as I would like. Secondly, No's story in this universe is just inherently darker than anyone else's (and if you've read FoH, yes, I feel that even includes Okuni's). I've hinted at it in the main narrative, and while FoH also has its fair share of bloodshed, it's just not at its core intended to be as sensual or violent as this will be. So with all of that in mind, I hope you enjoy the sordid tale of Spectra's most infamous warlord.

Prologue

After three unforgiving weeks of fleeing on foot, they could finally make out the silhouette of Nixtorm's castle, built out of the glaciers overlooking the northern sea. Leading the group was a regal, dark-haired woman in a fur-lined kimono that had been faded by travel. The events of the past month had mercilessly carved into her features, hollowing out her face and filling her violet eyes with fatigue. Trailing behind her were her three remaining guards, and a child of eight years cradling a cloth doll sewn to resemble a Litwick.

The snow that had been both impeding their progress and concealing their path from pursuers throughout their journey was finally letting up, as though it sensed the conclusion of their flight was at hand. It still lightly floated down from the gray sky as they broke for the road, but for winter in the Ice kingdom, it was the best weather they could dare to hope for. The woman in front lowered the hood of her kimono, her eyes desperately seeking the gate into the city that would guarantee them safety.

She heard the girl's footsteps as the snow crunched beneath her small feet, and turned as she felt a tug on her sleeve. "Are we almost there, mother?" the child's voice asked. "We've been walking for so long now. My shoulder hurts again, too."

"Very nearly, No," Hideko reassured her daughter. "Lord Akechi has promised us safety within his walls. Come tomorrow, we shall begin to reclaim what was stolen from us."

It had only been a month, yet it had been a longer month than Hideko once ever thought possible. A month since her sister had risen up against her and stolen Spectra's throne, forcing Hideko and the guards still loyal to her to flee their own kingdom. A month since Hideko's beloved Chandelure had sacrificed itself to allow its partner to escape the castle. Hideko felt the absence of its wavelength every day like a severed limb.

After a week of hiding outside the city, she had dared sending soldiers back to rescue No. Hideko held no doubts in her mind that if she had left her daughter behind, it would have only been a matter of time before Fuyuka deemed No a threat and ordered her killed. And so No had been reunited with her mother, but not without bloodshed. Ultimately, retreat had been their only option. Even after Hideko had called upon Spectra's alliance with Nixtorm, they had barely managed to stay ahead of Fuyuka's assassins as they crossed into the neighboring kingdom. All because Hideko had not seen her sister's escalating madness until it was too late, and now all of Spectra would suffer for it.

"We're almost there now, No," Hideko reiterated, stumbling forward on exhausted legs. One of her guards moved forward to offer her support. "See, there's a guard tower up ahead. We'll hail whoever is inside, and they'll bring us into the city. We're so close. Soon we'll be sa-"

At first, No didn't understand what was happening. Her mother hadn't been wearing any jewelry when they fled Spectra, but now a thin scarlet line had appeared at her throat. Then Hideko's body crumpled, and the pristine fallen snow was spattered with bright spots of red. That was when No screamed.

The guard's hand still clutched the offending dagger, and to No's horror, the blade was now pointed towards her. She took a step back instinctively, too petrified to think. Hideko's remaining two guards drew their weapons and advanced on the assassin within the same breath, but weeks of sleepless nights and harsh travel had left them in poor shape. No watched helplessly as the first was overpowered within moments. The second, however, was able to drive his dagger into the assassin's side, and the woman let out a cry of pain. The two warriors locked blades, not even an arms' length from each other. No screamed again, and the sound drew the guard's attention.

"My lady, run!" he shouted. In that moment, the assassin took advantage of his distraction and swept her dagger upwards. The guard was silenced in a sickening gurgle as his own throat was slit, spraying No with even more blood.

No turned and ran as fast as her small, worn-out body could manage. The doll she had carried all the way from Spectra fell to the ground forgotten as she sprinted back into the forest.

All No could hear was her own panting as she blindly ducked beneath snow-laden branches, the blood rushing in her ears as she barely jumped a frozen stream in time. More screams fought to escape her chest, but she held them back, knowing the woman who had done those awful things couldn't be far behind even with her wounds. Between gasps, No silently sobbed as that final image of her mother collapsing face-first into the snow replayed in her mind.

In the end, it was No's body that gave out. Her legs folded beneath her, and her knees crashed to the ground. No's head whipped around, violet eyes wide, as she scrambled to find anywhere she could hide. There - a hollow barely big enough to conceal her, between the roots of an old pine tree.

She tried to stand, but her feet slipped on the freshly-fallen snow. Her legs were refusing to bear her weight any longer. The reality of the situation crashed down onto the eight-year-old girl like an avalanche. She was going to die like those guards and like her mother if she stayed out in the open.

Furiously reaching out her arms now, No began to drag herself towards the hollow. It wasn't even five yards, but the distance was all of Ransei to her exhausted muscles. Finally, after an agonizing eternity, she was somehow able to crawl inside. No did her best to block the entrance with snow, then brought up her hood and curled into a ball.

She wanted to fall asleep and never wake up, but how could she after what she had just witnessed? Her mother was dead. Arceus almighty, her mother was dead, No was lost in a strange kingdom, and her mother's killer was still out there somewhere, searching for No to finish the job. Now the tears came, a flash flood of tears, and No could do nothing to stop them.

How long she stayed inside that hollow, No couldn't tell. She was dressed for winter, but the cold still began leeching into her bones, making it even harder for No to move. She lifted her head, and found that the last of her tears had frozen on her cheeks. No knew that people could die from being in the cold for too long. But she didn't know how to start a fire, or if she could even find wood beneath all of the snow outside.

Outside. Something was moving outside.

No sucked in a breath and waited. The pile of snow she had blocked the entrance with shifted, and she began to scream once more, all thoughts of protecting herself gone. She still continued to scream even as a member of the Nixtorm castle guard jumped back and gestured to her companions. No kicked out, raking at the air, screaming and screaming and screaming as she was pulled free, all the fight remaining in her tiny body being released at once. Finally, one of the warriors among the patrol ordered their Munna to put No to sleep. Even afterwards, the echoes of her cries still hung in the frozen air.

When No awoke next, she was lying in an unfamiliar bed inside an unfamiliar room. Every part of her body felt as though she had fallen off the roof of Spectra's castle.

This time, when her mother's final moments returned to haunt her, No did not cry. She remembered, and she knew exactly who was to blame.