Happy late Valentine's Day to everyone who actually celebrates that Hallmark holiday, I guess. Originally, this was going to be a chapter in my other Pokemon Conquest fanfiction, Conquest Chronicles: Tales of Ransei, but by the time I finished this I realized that this 'oneshot' was already waaay too long to become a oneshot, so I'm making it into a multichaptered fic for the convenience of the readers. This does, however, correlate with the events in that story, so it can be read either seperate or together (though chances are if you're reading this and actually enjoying it, you're gonna want to read its mother fic as well. That's how it usually works for me, anyway). I'll try to finish this before the end of the month, but if I have to go a little into March, I'm ok with that, too, so long as it's not a thing where it's getting into september and I'm still writing the fanfic about the stupid pink holiday I don't even celebrate.

Alright, so obviously since Valentine's Day celebrates love and the color pink and junk, naturally this is going to be a romance fic. Same pairings as in Tales of Ransei apply, but for those of you who haven't read it, here's the pairings as they are right now:

Aya x Kanetsugu for the win! (Valentine's day, LOVE, how can I NOT do something with that?!)

Male Hero (Ryo) x Oichi (I don't actually ship it, but you can't deny the obviousness of it)

Nobunaga x No more towards the end

Yukimura x Ina, as well as onesided Yukimura x Kunoichi and Yukimura x Kai (if any of you have played Samurai Warriors, you would understand how much of a ladies' man that boy is. Technically the pairing with Ina is onesided as well, but again, Samurai Warriors. I think I'm one of those few people who actually doesn't fangirl over this guy...)

Ginchiyo x Muneshige

... Uh, those are all the ones I can think of for now. If any others come to mind, well, you'll find out, now won't you?

This fic really isn't a major project for me, so I really don't want to go into any more detail about it for now. Important notes, or at least things that I think are important, will still be at the beginning and end of the chapters, such as pairing updates and whatnot, so yeah.

Here's to hoping I can meet my self-determined deadline with this fic, and that all you who read this will enjoy it! Onto the first chapter!

...Sometime after the brave, young Warlords of Aurora defeated Nobunaga... and peace was restored to Ransei... things went back to some semblance of order throughout the land. Eventually, time moved on, and the seasons changed... and before long... the 17 kingdoms found themselves celebrating Valentine's Day.

~Spectra Castle~

More than Christmas, more than Hollow's Eve, more than any holiday in the world, this was the one that Okuni loved more than anything! Valentine's Day may not have been cause for the warlords to come together to have a big celebration as they did with other holidays such as Christmas or the Summer Solstice, but that didn't stop Okuni from traveling kingdom to kingdom today, handing out Valentine's to all the eligible male warlords. Actually, that was a double; with Ransei at peace and this being a holiday, Lady No had promised to give her the day to herself. Though she'd probably eat the usual morning meal with her before she left. She had a feeling if she didn't, it would hurt the older woman's feelings.

Lady No's feelings... now there's an oxymoron if I ever heard one! Okuni thought as she made her way down to the dining hall. Still, I guess anything's possible...

As she entered the dining hall where the two women would always eat breakfast and dinner together, she was happy to find that breakfast was already prepared, and that Lady No was sitting at the table, legs crossed and a plate of food in her lap. She was also already dressed for the day in her usual ensemble, which was a novelty since the woman had the habit of dressing more casual when she wasn't planning on going out. It was one of those few quirks that Okuni actually didn't mind about the typically sadistic woman.

"Good morning, My Lady!" Okuni sang as she walked into the room, hiding the card she was holding behind her back. No looked up from her plate and grinned at her junior warlord.

"I thought you might get up early today." she stated, before looking the girl up and down. "And my, don't you look charming."

Okuni giggled and twirled around once so that No could see the whole outfit. Rather than her usual white and red dress, she wore a more elaborate white kimono decorated in red and pink heart prints, and trimmed in goldenrod yellow. The skirt was knee length, which allowed her to show off pink knee-high stockings and yellow slippers to match the trimming of the dress. The sleeves were long and flowing, and very nearly covered her hands. In spite of this, she still wore some gold bangles beneath the fabric. Tied around her waist was a pink obi sash. To complete the look, she had applied some light makeup to her face; pink eye shadow, blush, and a very understated pink lipstick that matched the shade her lips already were.

"You like it?" Okuni asked, sitting down beside the other female warrior. "This was the one I bought last week while we were in Dragnor."

"Ah, I thought it looked familiar." No stated before returning to her meal. "So, where are you planning on going today in such a nice outfit?"

"Hm, not sure yet." Okuni confessed as she began to pour herself a cup of tea. "But I figured if I used the blimp systems, started either in Dragnor or Viperia, and worked my way around, I could make it back to the castle well before haunting hour gets into full swing."

No nodded indifferently to the conversation, before looking back up at Okuni. "If that's your plan, dear, then do me a great favor by starting in Dragnor. I'll be expecting Lord Nobunaga tonight for dinner and I don't want to be kept waiting for him. And, ah, if it's all the same to you, my dear..." she left the last bit hanging as she reached for the money pouch at her waist, opening it up and taking out a giant handful of gold coins.

"...I'd rather that you would take your time coming back to Spectra." she finished putting emphasis on 'take your time'. "In fact, if you'd like to get yourself dinner and a room for the evening... actually, I strongly encourage it."

Okuni rolled her eyes, and extended her hand as No handed her the bribe. "Alright, I can take a hint." she said. "Now, before I forget, allow me to wish you a happy Valentine's Day, My Lady!" As she said this, she held out the card she had been holding onto. No accepted the card, looking the front over. It was obviously homemade, judging by the excessive amount of glitter, tissue paper, and glue stains all over it. Which wasn't to say it was poorly done. In fact, it was rather cute. There were Beautifly all over the front, each made up of two hearts connected by several circular patterns. Opening the card revealed a crudely drawn picture of a heart behind bars, and on the opposite side, a message.

"My soul wasn't the only thing you imprisoned. Happy Valentine's." No read out loud, her voice deadpan. After reading it over, a huge anime sweat drop formed on her head. "How clever."

Okuni giggled. "I thought you might see the humor in it." she stated proudly. "Meanwhile, anything else happening that I should know about?"

"Not sure yet... the rest of my day is going to depend entirely on what the mail brings me." No explained as she set the card down next to her empty plate on the table. No sooner had she said this then a resounding knock was heard from down the corridor. "Ah, speak of the devil. Could you get that?"

Okuni sighed, but nonetheless rose to her feet and walked towards the door leading out to the castle entrance. As she opened the door, she was met with the face of a scared-looking female messenger, who upon seeing Okuni sighed in relief.

"Happy Valentine's Day, Milady!" she said quickly, extending two bags, one significantly larger than the other, to the dancer. "Here's your mail."

"Thanks." Okuni said as she took out two gold coins to pay the girl with. The messenger fidgeted in her place, looking around her shoulder as Okuni was taking her delicate time in handing over the money.

"How are you not totally creeped out by living in the middle of a graveyard?" the girl asked as she received the money.

Okuni shrugged casually. "Eh, it's a living." she joked, picking up the two bags, finding she was barely able to hold the weight of the large one, much less the two bags combined. "Whoa, these are heavy!"

"Yeah, no joke!" the messenger agreed. "We made Spectra our first stop of the day just so we could unload those bags from the cart. ...Well, have a nice day, Milady. I'm outta here!" with that, she turned and took off out of the castle.

Okuni sighed, and hefted the bags of mail over her shoulder, grunting as the weight fell over her back. What had been a two minute walk from the dining hall to the door was made into a five minute walk back, and when she finally arrived, she quickly dropped the bags before collapsing on the floor herself, panting for much needed air.

"Oh, dear!" No exclaimed. "That was a hard fall!"

"I... I think I'll be alright..." Okuni panted, looking up to her lady as she walked over to her... and then right past her to the mail bags.

"Well, of course you will! But there might be breakables in here; you can't just drop things like this, you know!"

"On second thought, I think something is broken."

Naturally, the larger bag had been for No, though Okuni was delighted to find that she had received a whole bag's worth of mail, all from various friends (and happily enough a lot of secret admirers as well) around Ransei. Kai, Kunoichi, and Ina all sent her cards, as did Mitsuhide and Gracia, Ranmaru, Magoichi, the Aurora twins, and a few others she knew. That was at least a minor victory for herself, because while No had gotten more fanmail, as it were, Okuni had received more greetings from the other warlords. Not that it mattered to her, but she knew that No would probably be keeping tabs on such things. Speaking of which, No rummaged through the bag of her mail, searching specifically for valentine's from the warlords.

"...Nothing from Nobunaga as usual, I see... but he'll be able to give me my present later tonight." Okuni tried not to burst out laughing at the suggestion. "But Ranmaru did send me a little box of chocolates; such a thoughtful little girl. Lord Ieyasu sent another box of chocolates, and the card attached is signed by him, Tadakatsu, and Tadakatsu's daughter, so I guess that counts as a present from both of them. And Mitsuhide sent his usual present..."

"Why does he always send you grapefruit for Valentine's Day? You don't even like grapefruit."

"It's an inside joke!" No snapped, blushing bright red before returning to the bag. She rolled her eyes. "Ugh! Magoichi sent me a bottle of sake and an invitation to Avia castle tonight, as usual! What did he send you?"

"Same thing. I mean, he literally even asked for me to bring you along in the card."

"Typical pervert." She inspected the bag again, looking for any other names that she knew. "Lady Nene sent a card from she and Hideyoshi. Curiously, Hideyoshi sent me another card, and this one's attached to a box of chocolates. Hmm, I wonder if I should fill her in on that the next time I go to see her. It would be the perfect revenge on Hideyoshi after what happened last Christmas. Though to be fair, Lady Aya's mostly to blame for that whole incident. But I'll be getting back at her later today anyway. Which reminds me, did you get a card from Illusio, by chance?"

Okuni nodded, incidentally holding that very card at the moment, though she wouldn't let her lady know that. It was written by Lady Aya, and sighed as 'Aya and company' so as to include her brother and Kanetsugu in it. Aya's name had a little smiley face next to it, and next to the 'company' part she had drawn two faces that Okuni could only describe as a Kenshin face (B-I) and a Kanetsugu face (:-/). The card itself was made up entirely of calligraphy drawings, and inside surrounded by the scenery of a snowy landscape with little Cubchoo running all across it was a haiku about finding love, which sounded like it was an original of the lady in question's.

"It was signed by Lady Aya." Okuni explained, hoping that this would somehow deter No from what Okuni knew was going through the woman's head. "All there was to it was a poem and her name."

"Simple yet elegant; so typical of that old ghost." No mused, glancing at the pile of Okuni's mail, and spotting a name she recognized. "It looks like you got one from her boy toy as well." she pointed out. Okuni glanced at where she was pointing and picked it up, quickly scanning across it. She inwardly cursed. If No expected her to read this...

"Well, this should be amusing. Tell me, dear, what does the pillar of virtue have to say?"

Okuni giggled, trying to remain calm. "Oh, you really don't wanna hear..."

"Oh, but I do. What rant of love and honor did he spew out now?"

Okuni sighed, and proceeded to read through the note as quickly as possible. "My thoughts are with you as you are most likely being forced to spend the day with the shameless scum of the earth. I offer you my deepest apologies for your unfortunate ordeal and pray that the true spirit of love will provide you with someone with a soul to spend your holiday with, rather than one who believes that love is determined by the body rather than the spirit. Should you tire of that demonic wretch you are forced to call a master, I welcome you with an invitation to spend the day in Illusio, rejuvenating your spirit in the midst of love's true spirit. May love and justice triumph over the wickedness of the impudent! From Kanetsugu. P.S., tell the devil's wife (that would be No, in case you haven't already figured it out) that she is NOT welcome in Illusio. EVER. But especially today. If I catch sight of a single disgustingly well-manicured nail, I will be forced to cut down her shameless self and teach her a lesson in honor! I've told her before, but she never seems to get the message. Thanks. Uh... that's it. Word for word."

Okuni looked up from the card, expecting to see No in a fit of rage. But if the woman had been at all angered by the letter that was less a holiday greeting and more an assault upon her person, she was doing an excellent job of hiding it. She seemed composed, but so did volcanoes before they exploded.

"...I was right. That was amusing." she stated. "I'll have to tell him that I thoroughly enjoyed it when I go to see Lord Kenshin today."

"...Are you going to be spending your day in Illusio, then?" Okuni asked worriedly. For whatever reason, Lady No had always had a bad opinion of Lady Aya, and used whatever opportunity she could find to harass the woman. The reason Okuni didn't like it was because Lady Aya had always been kind towards the young dancer, and when her relationship with No was put into question, sympathetic and merciful to her unorthodox situation with her lady. So whenever possible, Okuni always liked to return the favor by keeping the two polar opposites away from one another.

"Obviously not; I can barely stand their haughty, greater-than-thou attitude whenever I'm forced to see them for the monthly Ransei Conference. It's on the way to Fontaine, however, and from there I can make my way around to Cragspur, Yaksha, Viperia, Avia, and back to Spectra in time to meet Lord Nobunaga for dinner."

Okuni picked up on the pattern. There was at least one warlord from every kingdom mentioned that had not sent her a valentine; Motochika from Fontaine, Ujiyasu from Cragspur, Kotaro in Yaksha, Hanzo in Viperia (not to mention if she went there she'd be able to rat out Hideyoshi to Lady Nene), and finally Masamune in Avia. Aside from Lord Motochika, none of them had sent Okuni valentines, either. Knowing the warlords in question, Ujiyasu and Masamue probably didn't celebrate Valentine's Day, and the two Ninjas most likely didn't even acknowledge the holiday's existence. The fact that Violight wasn't mentioned in the list stated to Okuni that No didn't care about the female warlords that had neglected to send her anything, such as Ginchiyo, Kunoichi, and Kai.

"Speaking of which, I really should be going; only so many hours in the day you know, and I need at least three of those hours to prepare things for when Lord Nobunaga comes." No said, standing and stretching her arms. Okuni nodded, and stood up as well.

"Yeah, I should probably get going, too." she agreed. "Places to go and people to see, as always. What time can I come back tomorrow?"

No smirked, happy that the girl was taking the initiative. "Oh, just be back before the afternoon, that's all I ask." Okuni nodded, and was about to leave the room, when No suddenly cleared her throat so as to return Okuni's attention to her.

"But, ah, if you could just do one small, tiny favor for me before you head out, darling?"

"Clean off the table and take the plates to the kitchen? Sure, I could..."

"Well, yes, that too, but what I actually wanted to say was... if you could just sort through all of this clutter for me..." she said, taking the giant bag of her mail and lowering it in front of Okuni. "And sort through all of the cards and gifts, I'd be grateful, my dear. The cards can be burned, and all presents can be taken up to my room, and make sure that the cards don't have anything in them worth keeping before you get rid of them, understand?"

Okuni's jaw nearly dropped. "B-b-but... I thought I wasn't needed for the rest of the day!" she whined, knowing that it wouldn't bother No if she spoke her mind.

No smiled, the gesture somewhere between apologetic and playful. She walked over to Okuni and patted her on the head. "And I said that we would see what the mail brought us, remember? Don't worry, I promise that this won't take you any more than an hour, at the most, and if it takes longer, then I promise to make it up to you later, alright?"

"I'll remember that." Okuni promised as her Warlord walked out the door without looking back. Okuni was tempted to do the same, and leave the bag for No to go through herself later, but thought better of it when she remembered the last time she had gone against the woman's orders. But there was no way she was going to sort through all of this in an hour!

"Almost three years of this... I should know better than to expect her to keep her word by now." Okuni mused as she sat down and began to begrudgingly go through the mail.

I count this as more of a prologue, but since there's no such thing as either a prologue or chapter 0 option when organizing chapters, obviously this was the first chapter by default. For those of you who read Chapter 5 of Tales of Ransei, Okuni is still imprisoned under No three years following that chapter. I'll embellish their relationship a bit more as I progress with that story, because, I have to admit, I'm actually finding myself having fun writing their relationship. I don't like Okuni as much as my other female warlords (though she's definitely above Oichi, Kunoichi, Nene, and maybe Gracia just in terms of how not-so-annoying her character is.), but her relationship with No is just so interesting and unique to me that I have to write them. It's like when I'm on my OTP highs for whatever fandom I'm in at the time. PLEASE NOTE: Okuni and No are not being paired with each other, regardless of what I just said! If they were, I would have said so in the top Author's Notes before the beginning of the chapter. Their relationship is a sisterly one at best.

So, what does everyone think so far? Your opinions matter to me, particularly ones focusing on how I do my character development and dialogue.

Usual offer to take requests to draw any scene(s) from this story. Just get in contact with me, and I'll make it happen. When I finished with the picture, I'll put it up on my deviantART account for you.

Speaking of requests, sorry if I'm disappointing anyone, but I probably won't be taking any pairing requests for this fic. I've already got a pretty good idea of how everything's going to happen in this story, and I'm just trying to get it out of the way so I can move on to my next project. However, if you do want to see some interaction between two particular characters, try me, and I might just do it for you. But again, it all depends on how I feel, so if I decide I'm just not in the mood to do a pairing that you requested, I'll be sure to tell you whenever I update. I'll still be taking requests for the Tales of Ransei, so if you make a request in here and I don't honor it, I promise to try and put it into my other Pokemon Conquest story instead. That sound like a fair compromise to everyone?

Well, anyway, that's all I'm going to say for now. Questions, comments, and critiques are all accepted in the form of reviews, so don't be shy. I'll try to post the next chapter tomorrow, since I've already got most of it done anyway.

r&r at your leisure.