After The Rain: Washu's Poisoning
I think I've alluded to this a few times in fics - Kagato's attempts to end Washu's life after the death of Mikamo.  Plus further information on Kichi Itokawa.

---

Washu stumbled into the laboratory, feeling her way cautiously for the lightswitch as she illuminated her surroundings. The sudden brightness made her feel dizzy and disorientated and she clung on helplessly to the nearby computer units, fighting as her vision swirled and danced.

At length, the dizziness faded and she closed her eyes, taking a deep breath.

"Whatever it is, it's strong stuff." She muttered, inching her way across the room and collapsing into her chair, clutching at her middle as the spasms wracked through her once more. "And designed to silence me, not just scare me. Pity for both of us they have no concept of the strength of my biology."

Reaching to pull open the drawer of her desk, she rummaged feverishly through the contents for a sterile syringe, fighting tooth and nail against the hallucinations that threatened to overwhelm her senses. Finally she managed to get one from it's packet, and with trembling fingers she located a vein on her forearm, inserting the sharp tip of the needle into her blood stream. Slowly and painstakingly she began to draw blood into the plastic tube.

"Washu-sensei?"

Kichi's voice from the doorway made her start, and the syringe fell from her grip, clattering to the floor and spattering specks of her blood across the tiling. Kichi was at her side in a moment as the world twisted and swam before her eyes, and it was a while before she regained enough composure to be able to speak. She blinked, bringing her colleague's concerned expression into focus.

"What are you doing?" Kichi sounded alarmed, bending to pick up the fallen syringe and examining it briefly before setting it down on the unit, well away from Washu's grasp. "Washu, what's going on? Why are you here in the dead of night? And why is that thing full of blood - what have you done?"

"Nothing." Washu gasped, as a fresh set of spasms shook her body. "Poison."

"Poison?" Kichi stared, glancing at the syringe and then back at her stricken companion. "I don't understand. Has someone poisoned you? Or are you trying to poison yourself?"

"Be sensible." Washu came to her senses at this, gripping Kichi so tightly around the wrists that the girl winced. "Someone else. In the water..."

"I see." Kichi frowned. "Why didn't you wake me? Washu, you're shaking and you're white as a ghost. If someone's poisoned you, we need to find out what it is you've ingested, and neutralise it. You should have asked for help."

"You...and Manami...thought...I was...pregnant." Washu whispered, as her voice failed her. "And I didn't...want to...have to...prove that I...was not."

She closed her eyes.

"Besides, I...can't think...so clearly." She added thickly.

Kichi eyed her sharply.

"How potent is this poison, Washu?" She asked softly. "Is it strong enough to kill you?"

"I don't know." Washu admitted. "I don't know what my limits are. It's s...strong, Kichi. I took blood to...analyse it...but I can't...can't see straight, and..."

She faltered, licking her dry lips.

"I feel so sick." She whispered.

Kichi placed a gentle hand to her brow, shaking her head slowly.

"You feel warm." She admitted. "I'm not a doctor, and I don't pretend to be an expert on Kii biology...but I'm pretty sure that's not normal. When do you think you took it? Have you been sick since you did?"

"First thing I made myself do, when I realised." Washu agreed faintly. "But it's got further...it's in my blood. It moved...fast...and worked slowly. There's nothing in me now to bring up - and it hurts...too much to try."

She flicked a finger in the direction of the syringe.

"I can't analyse it." She admitted weakly. "Can you?"

"I was about to do just that." Kichi agreed. "But before I do, is there anything I can do to help you? I've never seen you so badly hurt by anything...I don't like it, to tell you the truth. I thought you were pretty invulnerable."

"Not as much as I'd like." Washu admitted ruefully. "And since I...don't know what...is in this, I don't think there's...anything else you can do."

"All right." Kichi frowned, then squeezed her companion's hand. "Then I'll give you a bandage for your bleeding arm and I'll take a look at your bloodwork, see if I can work out what's going on. I wish I'd paid better attention to poisons, if you want to know the truth - it never really captured my attention when I was in university."

"I think it's metal based." Washu murmured. "But it's not pure. It's cut with something else."

"Arsenic?"

"Something stronger." Washu winced. "But along those lines.And I w...wouldn't be surprised to find a healthy dose of a Jur..Juraian element involved."

"Okay." Kichi nodded. She sighed. "I don't like the idea of leaving you here on your own like this, while I go through to the main lab and run tests, but I guess it will help you in the long run. I could always wake Manami, though..."

"No...leave her out of it." Washu shook her head. "If she's going to get...her secondment...to Jurai...I don't want her involved in...in this. And I'll be all right...as soon as...you find out what it is."

"Well, if you say so." Kichi shrugged helplessly, scooping up the syringe carefully as she shot her mentor a doubtful look. "I'll be as quick as I can."

With that she disappeared into the analysis lab beyond, and Washu closed her eyes, trying her best to relax. As she did so, images of Mikamo's suicide came unbidden to her mind and she bit her lip, determined not to let her weakness show.

"Those gems aren't the only thing that drove you over the edge, are they?" She whispered, drawing a sharp breath into her lungs as pain rippled through her once more. "Whatever it is making me see these crazy things...someone didn't want you to speak out. They didn't want you to remember or to tell anyone what you'd been involved in. Were you driven mad by the radiation from Tsunami's magic, my love? Or were you killed by someone's hallucinogenic potion?"

She must have lost consciousness at that point, for the next thing she knew Kichi was shaking her awake, alarm and anxiety in her eyes and a vial of a thick blackish liquid in her hands. Without a word she held it out, and Washu took it gingerly in her grip, forcing herself to ingest all of the tasteless, powdery substance. A new wave of nausea washed over her, as her abused body tried to rid herself of the antidote, but she fought hard against the urge.

At length, she regained some control over herself, heaving a sigh.

"What was it?" She asked softly.

"Are you all right? When I came back, you were completely out and I couldn't rouse you at first." Kichi said anxiously. "There are things in the compound I don't recognise, but you were right about the foundation. At least three hard metals from the same family as arsenic - one of which is only found on Jurai - plus a healthy dose of something else. Something we've been working on, actually...that goopy hallucinogen that Professor Niwase dug out of a rock on Seniwa."

"I knew it." Washu struggled into a more upright position. "And what did you give me?"

"I don't know how to counteract the hallucinogen, but I do remember how to administer charcoal-based remedies for metal poisoning." Kichi looked apologetic. "It was basic and a bit rushed, but it was the best I could do. I figured that at least it would help, and once you were feeling a bit more like yourself, you could nail a more effective cure. I have some more prepared, also. I know that you'll probably need to drink more of it later - I'm sorry. I know it's vile but it was the best I knew."

"Well, whatever it was, it is working." Washu acknowledged. "I feel more comfortable - less mangled. And I kept it down, which is a good sign. Thank you, Kichi. I don't know whether you just saved my life or not, but you certainly helped."

"It scared me." Kichi admitted, kneeling at her patient's side. "What are we involved in, Washu-san? Is what they're working on on Jurai so secret that it's worth killing over? I thought Kagato already had his men search you and your labs for the gems. Why try and kill you now?"

"Best guess? Because Mikamo and I were close." Washu said quietly. "And he thinks I might have learnt something that I shouldn't have. His position is tenuous - or at least, he seems to think so. Everyone on that planet worships the ground he walks on, especially with Yosho's scandalous behaviour with Lady Haruna. Lord Haru and Lady Aiko are excluded from the succession because neither of them have the Jurai power. Kagato is determined to secure the succession for himself. That's something people kill over, Kichi. Power and influence have caused many important people to turn to murder as their solution."

She swallowed the bitter taste in the back of her throat, then,

"And I'm just a Kii scientist." She added. "If I can't tell him about the gems, I'm of no further use to him."

She held out her hand.

"Give me a hand getting up, will you?" She asked. "I should probably get to work on this before anyone else sees me and finds out what's happened."

"Are you sure?" Kichi looked doubtful. "I think you should rest. You look terrible - like a ghost."

"I don't feel brilliant either, but I do feel better and at least my thought patterns are regaining some of their coherence now I'm no longer panicking." Washu assured her. "Please, Kichi. And if you don't mind, I'd like you to stay and help me. Firstly, since we don't yet know every element that this poison contained, I'd like someone around in case it's a substance with a high relapse rate. And secondly, two heads are better than one."

"I wasn't going to leave you here, anyway." Kichi told her firmly, getting to her feet and carefully helping the scientist to hers. "Of course I'll stay and help."

"It occured to me, when you left, that maybe Mikamo wasn't killed entirely by the radiation in those gems." Washu added, as she led the way slowly and painfully into the analysis laboratory, reaching for her white coat and pulling it on. As she did so, she noticed the thin weave of bandage wrapped around her bloodied wrist and a slight smile touched her lips. "My, you have taken good care of me."

"What do you expect?" Kichi demanded. "Of course I have. And what do you mean about Mikamo? I thought it was something in the Dark Heart that caused his madness."

"Well, it certainly had an effect on him." Washu nodded, rubbing her temples as she approached the microscope, peering down at a slide of her own blood cells. "And I've no doubt that, if he'd had longer exposure, they might well have done it all on their own. But there was a suddenness to it, too. When I met him, before he...before, he seemed completely out of his mind. Terrified and hallucinating and not himself. Having just had a dose of that myself, I'm wondering if someone helped him along. If he'd outlived his usefulness, so someone saw to getting rid of him before he could talk."

"You mean, hurried the process?" Kichi looked surprised. Washu nodded.

"Yes. Which would mean that his exposure to the gems may also have been deliberate - Lord Kagato was possibly well aware of the impact of such magic on someone who wasn't Juraiain royalty." She agreed grimly. "That makes me hate the evil bastard twice over. Whether he intentionally poisoned my Mikamo by his own hand or whether he sent someone else to do it for him, I still hold him responsible and this attempt on my life is too close to be coincidental. We have to do something about it, Kichi. I've had enough of Juraian princes playing life and death with people in their struggle for power and influence."

She swallowed hard.

"I really don't feel that steady." She admitted. "Someone thought they'd hurry it along in my case, too. I guess they thought that, if I died suddenly, it would probably be a suicide too. After all, everyone seems to know that Mikamo was the love of my life. Even you thought so, when you found me."

Her tones were bitter, and Kichi sent her an apologetic smile.

"I know - I'm sorry." She admitted. "But you're stronger than that, and we're going to prove to Kagato that he can't get away with randomly ruining people's lives. Starting with neutralising his potion, and then moving on to plan B."

"You're still sure you want to be a part in this, now you've seen the levels to which this prince stoops?" Washu eyed her companion questioningly, and Kichi nodded.

"Even more so." She said darkly. "Whatever you need me to do, Washu-sensei - you can count on me."