Author's Note: For those that are curious, yes these stories take place roughly in the same universe as my other Ruri/Hari story- "The Sword and the Spear"

Title: Betrayed!

Theme: Set #1, Theme #12: Betrayal

Genre: Romance/Humor/Shoujo-ai

Pairing: Ruri x Hari, Surprise pairing

Word Count: 1,164

Rating: PG-13

Summary: Hari couldn't believe it. Ruri had betrayed her- and with a ninja of all things!

It started the moment she'd arrived back at the yashiki. At every turn of the hallway, on the lips of every servant or guard she passed, it was the same thing.

"Did you see him? I heard he was a ninja."

"Probably. Their missions might have made them run into each other."

"And the look in their eyes when they came through that door…"

"I'm surprised they didn't just ignore the young man's injuries before jumping each other."

"You could see how much they wanted each other. It was so obvious."

"They're probably enjoying each other's company right now…"

Hari glared, storming her way down the hallway. She'd heard more than enough to piece the situation together. And the whole thing was making her furious.

They'd each had separate missions that day, both something simple. Hari was to go and negotiate with a local lord and kill him if necessary. Ruri was to go and see if these new groups of ninjas in the north were going to be a threat. And Menoumaru had left earlier that morning to go with his father to speak to a mercenary youkai army about joining their forces.

And now, there were these rumors of someone bringing a ninja back to the yashiki- which could only mean one thing…

"She betrayed me!" Hari fumed inwardly, "She damn went and betrayed me!"

Heading in the direction of the sleeping quarters, the purple-haired woman tried to formulate exactly what to say to her blue-haired lover. At the moment, everything seemed too cliché or just plain too nice for the situation at hand.

"How could you! I thought we had something special."

"You slut, how long as this been going on?"

"Am I not good enough for you?"

"Perhaps we should talk… Without him."

"Would you like me to leave you two alone?"

Turning the corner, Hari spotted a group of gossiping servants and made her demands.

"Okay, where is he? This ninja?"

The three ladies whispered amongst themselves before warily pointing to a door down the hallway.

"The luxurious guest room for visiting royals, eh? Very cute, Ruri."

As the purple-haired woman headed for the door, the pleas of the servants reached her ears.

"Hari-sama, it's probably not a good idea for you to…"

"They asked not to be disturbed…"

Turning a jade glare on them, the women silenced immediately as Hari flung open the doors.

"You…"

"H-Hari!"

The red-haired man, the one all the rumors had been circulating about, clutched the blankets up around him while leveling Hari with a questioning gaze.

"Do you two have something going on I don't know about?" The man asked; quirking an eyebrow as he glanced between them.

Hari just gaped, the words had left her and she just couldn't seem to find what to say at that moment.

"My, I'm just not sure what to do," He turned his gaze to his lover; "You're not cheating on someone, are you?"

"No. She's just…a friend."

The room fell eerily silent at that, the three all just staring at each other as they tried to find the right words for the situation. Vaguely, Hari registered the sound of footsteps behind her and she felt a familiar hand placed on her shoulder.

"Hari? What's wrong?"

Shakily, the young woman pointed to the two people in the room.

"Oh…errr… well, we should probably let them be."

Hari slowly turned, the steady hand on her shoulder guiding her away.

"Hari, wait! I can explain!"

Quick footsteps echoed off the floor and a hand reached out to grip Hari's wrist.

"Come on now, will you two at least let me explain?"

"Start explaining," She replied coldly.

"Well, I was out on a mission when I ended up chancing across this young ninja. He'd been separated from his group and I offered to bring him here to tend to his wounds. Then…one thing let to another and…"

"You let him seduce you?"

"I'm afraid…I did a bit of the seducing, Hari."

Two sets of eyes narrowed on the sheet-clad figure in front of them.

"Come on; don't look at me like that. I was going to tell you once you got back…"

"I've been back. I had to hear it from the servants!"

"Hari, calm down. Things just…happen," Her companion placated her.

"Neh, I don't mean to interrupt- but I really didn't know that he was already involved," The ninja spoke up, walking over to stand beside his lover.

A chorus of "I'm not" and "he's not" echoed back.

"Suzaku, it's hard to explain. Just…"

Clinging to the purple-skinned man's arm, Suzaku grinned, "Oh I see now. These are those two lovely ladies you told me about. But I thought you said they wouldn't be jealous or anything about this, that they're already…"

Ruri cleared her throat from where she stood behind the others.

"Menoumaru-sama, next time please warn Hari and I when you'll be having company."

The teal-haired man nodded, quietly wondering why he was letting his subordinates reprimand him over sleeping with someone. Hari's pouty glare reminded him though.

"I'll remember that Ruri. And Hari, I'm sorry for giving you such a scare. I'll make sure to tell you upfront next time, all right?"

She nodded, still a bit shaken by the whole turn of events. As Ruri lead her down the hallway, her blue-haired lover pinpointed the exact problem.

"You heard that someone had brought an attractive ninja into the yashiki and thought it was me, didn't you?"

"No! I just..."

"I see your eyes are green for a reason," Ruri teased.

"Hey! You'd do the same!"

Ruri crossed her arms, "Okay so…maybe I would."

There was a pause, then the two started laughing.

"So Menoumaru's sleeping with that Suzaku guy then, right?"

"I guess so."

"Hmm, well if they're busy then…" Ruri smirked as she quickly reached down and scooped Hari up into her arms.

"Ruri!"

"Come on, you know you'd love to have some fun without having Menoumaru barge in on us to make some weird comments."

"… you have a point there."

The two smiled, as Hari leaned up and left a quick kiss on Ruri's cheek.

"Sorry I doubted you."

"Well, I can see why. I mean- that Suzaku did look more like a girl than a guy."

"Ruri, so does Menoumaru-sama."

Once again, the two started laughing as they made their way down the hallway to their room.

Meanwhile, Menoumaru had some explaining of his own to do.

"So why was she so upset again?"

"Hmm, well- I guess it's sorta like having a younger sister. She's just mad that she didn't know about my love-life before walking right in on it."

"My, what a strange girl…"

"That and she probably heard the rumors and thought Ruri was cheating on her."

"Now that, I can see. Those two are so obviously sleeping with each other," Suzaku remarked with a laugh, "Oh well, it'll keep them busy- right?"

Menoumaru grinned, "That it will."

Author's Note, part two: For those curious- Suzaku is the red-haired ninja from episodes 137-139 of the anime.