[ Be prepared for some emotional moments in this chapter.

Plus, this will be the most out of character I will write Gai, so don't fear. ]

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Bee-uty & the Beast

Kraen

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Chapter Twelve

Gai's eyes doubled in size as realization hit him -- that was too close. He took the cup away from his mouth slowly; both he and Hani holding it steady like a bomb that could go off any second.

"Let me have the cup," she said taking it out of his hand gingerly. She dipped the tip of a finger into the liquid and rubbed her fingers together, testing the texture.

"What are you doing?" asked Gai in a hushed voice.

"If it has a gritty feeling, then the cup was lined with a poison powder." It wasn't. If anything it felt oily. She took the bottle and examined it – it showed no signs of tampering. She then took the cork and wrapping the bottle had come in and looked it over as well.

Gai gasped, "Wait Hani! You drank some! Are you alright?!"

She poured the rest of his drink back into the bottle, "I'll be fine – I'm a poison expert after all."

He didn't believe her, "Are you sure?" He started to stand, "Let's take you to a doctor –"

She stopped him, "Gai, I'll be fine." She pulled him back into his seat and gave him an earnest look, "I promise." She placed the cork back in the bottle, grabbed her cup and stood, "I'll be right back. I want to get his checked ou –" it suddenly felt like the world just did a flip. Gai's arm reached out just in time to keep her from falling over.

"You are not alright," he said, holding a strong hand around her waist.

She blinked a few times as she regained her bearings. "It's alright; I just stood up too fast." She smiled at him and gave him a reassuring pat on his shoulder, "I'm probably just dehydrated."

"Hani –"

"I'll be fine," she said more sternly this time. She held the bottle close, "Hold up the fort till I get back."

Gai was reluctant to let her go, but she had made it clear she had things under control. He sighed, as she left. He was now alone, on the dais. No Makoto to chat with and no guests to be harassed by. This mission had far too much idle time for Maito Gai's taste. And to make matters worse, his partner, someone who he should be protecting, may have just been fatally poisoned.

Hani walked quietly through the kitchen till she reached a quite back room where they stored the large serving carts. Before shutting the door, she looked around to see if anyone had noticed her. She didn't know who poisoned the sake and she wasn't about to alert anyone that she had caught on.

She sat the sake bottle and cup on an empty cart and reached into her cleavage. It took her only a second to find what she was looking for: a tiny vial, no bigger than a bobby pin and a small scroll, the width of a pencil and half as long. She pulled the cork from the vial and poured its contents into the cup. She then did the same with the sake bottle. Taking the cup in her hand, she swirled the contents a few times. "Please don't turn blue," she chanted while anxiously watching the liquid.

The sake cocktail did not comply.

Hani sighed at the now blueberry colored liquor, "Dammit."

She opened the scroll and rolled it across the cart. Then she bit the tip of her thumb and performed a series of hand signs: BOAR, DOG, BIRD, MONKEY, RAM. "Summoning no Jutsu." An alchemy set appeared in a puff of smoke over the scroll. She shot a quick look at the door to be sure no one had heard her.

'Out of all the poisons in existence, why did it have to be this one?' she wondered. She grabbed a series of colored vials and began mixing them in a small beaker. 'Who the hell uses Angel's Kiss anymore?'

Angelus Basium, otherwise known as 'Angel's Kiss' was an extremely deadly poison that affects the neurological system. It comes from the extracted oils of a very rare plant that only grows in the deep remote tropics. The fruit itself wasn't dangerous, but the seeds were so lethal that it has been equated to three times more deadly than a bite from a black mamba. Because of this, it is impossible for anyone to build immunity to it. Even in small doses, it could be fatal. But over time, it is possible to build a resistance to it. And unless Hani wanted to collapse into a coma in the next five minutes, then it was imperative that she mixed an antidote as fast as possible.

Though she was actually fortunate she had chugged the drink down in one gulp. Angel's Kiss was often added to liquor or food as it can only be effective when ingested; traveling through the salivary glands and from there, to the brain where it does the most damage. If she had let the sake roll in her mouth like most connoisseurs then she would have gotten an even larger dose of the poison.

Hani paused. Her vision had started to become blurry and she was quickly becoming colorblind. She hesitated before grabbing the next vial. The ingredient she needed was green, and now her distorted vision made it impossible for her to tell if she was holding the right one. She assured herself. She knew this alchemy set like the back of her hand and she didn't need color coding to tell her what she needed.

She wiped her forehead with the back of her hand and tried to ignore the cold sweats the poison was giving her. "There," she said as she added the last component to her antidote. She struggled to grab the beaker; the poison was now affecting her motor skills. She took it in a shaking hand and brought it to her lips, letting the bitter liquid pool under her tongue.

She dropped the beaker, unable to hold it in her shaky grip any longer. The fact that she didn't hear the glass shatter told her she had just lost her hearing.

She grabbed onto the edge of the cart to keep from losing her balance from the convulsions. It took all her concentration to not swallow or spit out the horrible tasting antidote. She had to give it time to travel the same route as the poison.

Hani couldn't hear the door open, or the calls of concern from a servant who ran to her side; but she did feel him wrap his arms around her and help her sit on something soft – what it was she couldn't tell as her vision was now completely gone. She felt him grab at her shoulders and shake her a few times, probably trying to bring her to her senses. Meanwhile, she was still struggling to hold the liquid in her mouth.

A sharp, stinging slap across her face forced her to swallow. She blinked a few times, her eyes watering. Soon, an unmistakable yellow jacket came into focus, followed by Oda's worry stricken face.

"Madam?! Madam, are you alright?!" he asked, his own eyes tearing.

Hani shook her head, his voice had sounded like he was talking to her underwater. But, at least she was seeing and hearing again, telling her the antidote was working.

"Madam?!" he asked again, shaking her a bit rougher this time.

"I-I'm alright, Oda," she said as she held up a shaky hand up to keep him from slapping her face again.

"Oh Madam!" he called as he took out a handkerchief and wiped his eyes. "I was so worried! You looked like death!" He looked around the room, at the broken glass, the alchemy equipment and sake bottle. "What happened?"

Hani looked at her seat; she was sitting on a pile of tablecloths. "The sake was poisoned," she said in a sigh of relief and leaned against the wall.

"POISONED?!" squeaked Oda. He had given them that bottle. "Madam, I am so sorry! I had no idea --"

She waved him off, "It's alright. It's not your fault."

"I know how this must look, but I didn't –"

"Oda," said Hani in a stern voice. "Where did you get this bottle from? Is it from a private collection of Hakanza's?"

Oda's eyes doubled in size, "No Madam. It was a gift."

Hani furrowed her brows, "From who?"

"From Master Nishin, Madam."

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"Madam, are you sure this is alright?" asked Oda. "You were nearly poisoned to death."

"It wouldn't have killed me Oda," said Hani as she finished unsummoning her equipment. "Just knock me out for a day or two. Fortunately, years of poison exposure has increased my resistance to such toxins."

"But this could be dangerous, Madam. What if you are caught?"

Hani returned the scroll to its hiding spot. "Oda, I am a ninja. This is my job."

Oda looked ashamed, "I'm sorry, Madam. I forget."

She gave Oda a small grin as she brought her hands together in a hand sign, "Henge!" In a puff of smoke, she reappeared as a young woman, with brown hair, brown eyes, and dressed in the servant's garb of the mansion.

Oda stared in shock.

"How does it look, Oda?"

He couldn't help but grin, "I'm half tempted to order you around."

She chuckled as she went to the pile of tablecloths and took one. "I'm going to Nishin's room and I'll try to see if I can find any evidence to this poisoning."

"How are you going to get into the room?"

She held up the tablecloth, "I'll just say that I'm there to replace his linens."

"But Madam, that's a tablecloth."

Hani shuddered as a flashback popped into her mind, "There's no difference to Nishin."

"What can I do, Madam?"

"Go help, Gai. Make sure he stays out of trouble. It's nothing short of a miracle that he's lasted this long. Just be sure no one pokes the caged animal."

Oda nodded in understanding.

They wished each other luck and parted ways.

Hani walked along the corridors and did her best to remember the directions Oda had given her to reach Nishin's room. She had to back track twice, act like a sheepish airhead when questioned by Makoto's guards and apologize profusely when accidently walking in on a man in the lavatory. 'Note to self: Oda gives terrible directions,' she thought.

She was just about to give up when she rounded a corner and spotted a familiar face. She immediately ducked back the way she had come and breathed a sigh of relief that she hadn't been noticed. She peered around the corner to see a large, burly man standing in front of a door reading a book.

She grinned, "Brugo."

Brugo, was the halfwit, but loyal bodyguard of Nishin. The man followed his master everywhere like a faithful lapdog. If Nishin went anywhere, Brugo was there to watch his back. It was only on these rare occasions, when Nishin attended a high class gathering that Brugo wasn't at this master's side.

Hani smiled. She remembered a thing or two about Brugo from back in the day. She brought her hands together in a seal, then altered her henge transformation to give her long, curly red hair and freckles. Brugo always had a thing for strawberries. She then reached into her clothing and pulled out a tube of clear lip-gloss. 'How ironic,' she thought. 'It's even strawberry flavored.' After applying a heavy coat of the makeup to her lips, she fluffed her breasts, adjusted the tablecloth and then turned the corner.

She walked down the hall confidently, not paying the man any attention. She walked past him and then turned to the door, reaching out to open it.

Brugo stuck his large arm out, "Sorry Miss, but I can't let you in 'ere."

She gave him a smile, "Oh, I'm sorry. But Master Nishin ordered an extra set of sheets for his bed."

Brugo chuckled and scratched at his dark, cropped hair, "That sounds like 'em."

She turned to the door again and was again, stopped.

"You can just leave those 'ere. I'll be sure he gets 'em."

She tightened her grip on the cloth. She had hoped to avoid this, but he had left her no choice. She closed her eyes for only a second, releasing a small amount of her zeru-roiyaru pheromones. The sensation when activating this ability could be compared to a static charge – it will even make the small hairs on her arms stand up. But this process is completely biological and not elemental in any form.

She looked at him through half closed eyes and gave him a small grin, "So, will you be needing an extra set of sheets this evening?"

Brugo closed his book and grinned back. "Depends …" He looked her up and down, "Will you be the one delivering 'em?"

She smiled mischievously and took a step closer, "Maybe -- if you ask me nicely." She took another step closer and pressed her body to his, being sure to rub her best parts against him. "And if you ask real nicely, I just might be the one who makes you need those clean sheets."

He gave her an animalistic grin and grabbed her rear, pulling her into him tightly. He took his other hand, wove it into her now red locks and pulled her head back; smashing his mouth against hers. She kissed him back, only enough to keep up the act. She couldn't help but cringe at his over-eagerness. 'At this rate, he'll break my henge,' she thought. But after a few seconds, his pace slowed and his grip loosened. He brought his head back, and looked around the corridor with a dazed expression. Then his towering form crashed into the wall and he slid to the floor, unconscious.

Hani took the tablecloth and used it to wipe her mouth. "Bleh!" she said, unable to help herself. She leaned down and pulled one of Brugo's eyelids back, checking his pupil. Satisfied he wasn't in any immediate danger, she patted his head. "Sorry Brugo, but that poison will make you forget the last few hours." She picked up his book and placed it in his lap. "I'm afraid you'll have to read the last few pages again."

She turned to the door and tried the knob. "Shit!" it was locked. She stole a quick look over her shoulder to be sure one of Makoto's guards weren't near. Once she was sure the coast was clear, she took off her sandal, opened a small compartment in the heel and pulled out two small metal tools. It took her less than two seconds to pick the lock; these bedroom locks were always so simplistic.

She hurried inside and quickly turned on a light. The room was small with very little furnishings; apparently Hakanza didn't consider Nishin as one of his honored guests.

She searched the room for his luggage and soon found a large, wooden trunk with a padlock on the front. Hani smiled, "His special stash." After doing a thorough check for booby traps, she started working on picking the lock; it was far more complex than the first one. After a few agonizing minutes, she heard the wondrous sound of the lock relinquishing its hold.

She rifled through the trunk thoroughly, trying to find any sign of poison paraphernalia. But all she could find were three more bottles of sake. They were the same brand as the bottle he had given Hakanza, and even the brew date was the same. She looked out the window at the moon and calculated its placement. She didn't have much time till the banquet was over -- she would have to work quickly.

She summoned her alchemy set again, and used special chemicals to neutralize the glue sealing the sake bottle. If she did things right, then no one would be able to tell the bottles had been tampered with at all. She then ran the same test on the sake in these new bottles and was shocked to find that they too were poisoned.

Something didn't seem right. First of all, it wasn't Nishin's style to poison someone. Usually he had his men take care of an enemy, or he took care of it himself by cutting them down. But poison? No, that was far too subtle for him.

But why would he have poisoned bottles of sake with him? Hani's eyes widened as the realization hit her. Nishin wasn't trying to poison Hakanza, someone was trying to poison Nishin.

She didn't have any time to sit and ponder things over, the evening was almost over and she needed to be out of there before the banquet let out. She pulled out a small vial and brush, and went about resealing the bottles. She unsummoned her equipment and then put everything back the way she had found it, even the position of the lock; slightly leaning on its side. She then left his room silently, relocked the door, stepped over Brugo's unconscious form and hurried out of the guest wing as fast as her legs could carry her.

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"Oda, I don't care what she said, I'm going with her!"

The servant did the best he could do to keep the nearly irate shinobi from storming from the banquet hall and making a scene. "Sir, I am sorry, but it is what she ordered!"

"Ordered?!" Gai leaned in and spoke in a harsh whisper, "I am in charge of this mission, Oda. And I make the –"

"My Lord," came Hani's soft voice. "I have returned."

Oda visibly relaxed.

Gai watched her take the seat next to him. She seemed fine. "What did you find out?" he asked. "Was it Nishin who tried to poison us?"

Hani looked over the crowd to where Nishin sat. He was taking a long swig of his drink and smiling at his dining companions. Then, his face turned to her and they made eye contact. Nishin gave her a smug grin, and then lifted his cup in a silent toast to her. Hani's face was expressionless as she spoke; not removing her eyes from the brothel owner. "I didn't find anything," she said, knowing full well what would be Nishin's fate for her silence.

"Then who tried to poison us?" asked Gai anxiously.

"The poison was intended for someone else," she said.

Gai furrowed his brows, "Then we should –"

"It was intended for someone else!" she repeated.

Her tone left little room for questioning. Gai decided he would have to trust his partner and from that point forward, be sure to be careful what they ate and drank for the rest of their stay.

"M'Lord," said Makoto as he entered the dais from the back entrance. "Everything is ready with the patrol."

"Oh, Makoto!" said Hani. She jumped up, grabbed his arm and led him back through the servant's entrance.

Gai furrowed his brows as he watched them go. What was going on between those two?

"Yes Hani? What is it?" asked Makoto genuinely curious.

"I just wanted to say 'thank you' again for you stepping in with Nishin."

Makoto chuckled, "Ah hell, Hani. Forget it. Anytime I can get a chance to kick that bastard's ass, I'll take it."

"And tell Umeko 'thank you' too. You are both very sweet people."

The captain scratched the back of his head sheepishly, "Aw, thanks." He chuckled, "Man, I'm blushing. It's not every day I get to play a Knight in Shining Armor for someone."

Hani gave him a big, innocent hug. "Umeko's a lucky woman. Tell her I said that."

He blinked in surprised at her affection, but quickly returned the hug. Makoto liked her, she was a good kid. She had a brain in her head and a good heart to boot. She was so different from any of the other terrors Hakanza employed – but that was probably the difference between a ninja and a courtesan. Like samurai, ninja learn to appreciate life; whereas courtesans seem to take it for granted.

"So, what do I have to do to talk you into hooking up with my friend over there?" he asked with a grin and a jerk of his head in Gai's direction.

Hani's cheeks blushed wildly.

Makoto laughed at her, "Nah, I'm only teasing!"

Gai watched the two closely and had flinched when Hani practically jumped on Makoto. What could they be saying? They were laughing, smiling at each other and whatever Makoto said had Hani blushing. He turned away. Hani was a free woman, she could do whatever she wanted – but why Makoto? He was a married man. Gai had hoped Hani had some decency to not seduce a taken man. She could probably have any man she wanted, so why him?

When the two returned, Gai found it difficult to not hide his distaste for her behavior. He turned away from her and focused his attention on the crowd. Thankfully, there should only be a few more minutes left before the banquet ended.

"Gai?" asked Hani as she retook her seat. "Is something wrong?"

He didn't answer her. To be honest, he really didn't want to see her right now. He was reminded of their first days on this mission. How she had seduced him into consenting to not go overboard when sparring with Makoto. Though it pained him to admit that she was right, he still didn't like her methodology. But then again, no one liked having their weakness exploited and though he could, in fact beat Hani in combat, he couldn't beat her at her own game and that bothered him greatly.

Hani furrowed her eyebrows, "Gai?"

Before anything else could be said, the main doors to the feasting hall burst open and two stout men came storming into the room; guards on their heels.

The room fell silent as Makoto quickly moved between Gai and the men, "Saburo, what is the meaning of this?!"

"I'm sorry sir!" called one of the guards. "They fooled us into thinking there was an emergency at the village."

The headmen used the strength he had earned through breaking his back in the fields to push two guards off of him. "Hakanza!" he shouted.

Saburo's friend pushed away two other guards, "Let him speak!"

"How could you do this?!" cried Saburo as he threw open his arms, "While your people starve, you sit here at banquet!" He moved aggressively to Hamada's table and pointed to all of the empty trays of food, "This food alone could feed one family for an entire year!" He returned to the center of the room, "You continue to neglect your people, your vassals – because of this, we refuse to pay you any taxes or give you anything else we have sweat and bled for!"

Yamada, imposter monk, leaned back in his seat, picking his nose, "It looks like you got yourself a bad case of insolence here, Toki."

It took all of Gai's self control to not open six of his eight gates and wreak utter annihilation on these selfish people. Those villagers were suffering and Gai couldn't sit by and do nothing. It wasn't in him to not do anything.

Kazuo and Sugi jumped from their seats and walked around Saburo and his friend like wolves ready for an ambush. "Want us to discipline them, little brother?" asked Sugi who cracked his knuckles for emphasis.

Saburo straighten his back and lifted his chin in defiance.

Hani looked between the men in the middle of the room, to Gai and back again. She knew how he felt about the villagers and now his resolve will be put through its toughest test yet.

"Sir?!" asked Makoto. "What are your orders?"

Gai breath was shuddering in rage and fear – fear for what his anger would push him to do. He was teetering on the brink.

"Sir?" asked Makoto again, looking over his shoulder. He had a sad expression – he didn't envy Gai this night.

Oda came dangerously close to Gai's side, "My Lord, we know you are enraged by this intrusion, but you must decide a fitting punishment."

The crowd waited for Gai's decision.

Oda cringed as Gai gave him a piercing look, the man's body shaking from his fury. "What would Hakanza say?" he asked through gritted teeth, just loud enough for those on the dais to hear.

Oda's heart jumped into his throat … this was going to get him killed. He leaned forward and whispered something into Gai's ear.

Hani couldn't make out what the servant had said, but the expression on Gai's face told her it was terrible. Gai's face went from being red with rage to white with mortification.

"Oda, I can't do that," he whispered with a shaky voice.

Oda's eyes teared, "I'm sorry Sir, but it's what Hakanza would order." He quickly retreated to the back of the dais.

"Oi, Toki! What do ya want us to do?" said Kazuo.

Gai swallowed the lump in his throat. His eyes were wide and fearful. "I –" he said, barely able to hold a steady voice. "I order Saburo … to be flogged 40 lashes for his actions."

Makoto closed his eyes and sighed, "Men, detain Saburo and throw the other out."

The guards complied with their captain's orders.

"Know your place!" called Sugi as the two villagers were taken from the room.

After the doors were closed, Hani looked at Gai. His expression broke her heart. He was hanging his head just low enough so people couldn't see the tears that were threatening to fall from his eyes. He was a broken and very sad man. Hani wanted to hold him, and comfort him. She reached out to touch his arm but jumped as he jerked it away from her. He then stood, and quickly exited the room. He didn't care about etiquette anymore. This banquet was over for him.

Hani followed after him quickly. Just in ear shot she heard Oda speaking to the crowd, "In light of the events, My Lord has excused himself early. Please enjoy the rest of your evening."

"Gai! Wait!" she called as she followed him through the maze of the mansion's corridors. She didn't care if people heard her use the wrong name. "Wait, please!"

He ignored her. Once he finally reached the shoji doors to their wing, he opened them with so much force, the walls shuddered.

"Gai, please calm down," said Hani, trying to maintain her own composure.

"Calm down? CALM DOWN?!" he shouted. "How the hell am I suppose to CALM DOWN?!" He spun around into her face, "I just gave an order to flog a man! Do you know what 40 lashes will do? It will probably kill him!" He turned his back on her again.

Hani couldn't keep from shaking, "Gai, it wasn't you who made that order. It was Hakanza. You would never do that."

He didn't answer her.

"Gai, you can't let the suffering of these people get to you," she placed a gentle hand on his arm.

As soon as she touched his clothing he spun around, grabbed her roughly by the shoulders and slammed her into the wall.

"Unh!" she winced.

"Don't ever touch me again!" he yelled. He pushed away from her and turned his back on her yet again, "I don't need any of your damnable seduction!"

Hani cringed at her new headache, "Gai – this is killing you inside. You have to let it go!"

That was it.

Gai jerked around and pointed a firm finger in her face, "The last thing I need, is to be lectured by a WHORE!"

He froze. What had he done? His eyes doubled in size. WHAT DID HE JUST SAY?! He looked into Hani's eyes and what was left of his heart shattered. Her own eyes were as large as his, out of shock and pain. She couldn't believe what he had just said either.

She set her jaw before turning sharply to run from the room. Gai was quicker, "Hani, wait!" he said as he snatched her wrist. "I didn't mean –"

"NO!" she screamed. "It is YOU who will never touch ME again!" she cried as she jerked her arm free. "You -- you have no fucking clue!" she shouted in a pained voice. She gave him one last gut-wrenching look before running into the darkness of the mansion corridors.

Gai watched her go. He was utterly horrified at his behavior -- he was completely out of character. And he just unspeakably offended the one person who truly cared about him in this hellish place.

He balled his hands into fists, threw his head back and rocked the foundation with an infuriated roar.

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Thank you, for reading!