Two Unexpected Guest
Walking into the Purple Lotus HQ building, Shen was standing in the main hall. Searching for a moment, Shen spotted L1 and L2, and standing behind them was someone Shen instantly recognized. L2 moved out of the way and showed the girl behind him. "Master, this is her." Blake was busy looking around and only spotted Shen when L2 said something.
"Shen!" Her eyes lit up the moment he came into view as she ran towards him. L2 was about to stop her, but Shen hinted to leave them be. "Blake, it's been a while." Putting on his fake smile, Blake nodded. "I didn't know you had gone to Kuchinashi City, so I could never find you." Shen realized he actually didn't say anything.
'Don't tell me she came all the way here for me.' Shen was skeptical as he asked. "Speaking of which, why are you here?" Hearing the question, Blake looked at him and explained. "The Branch Leader sent me here to report back to her the exact situation of what was happening in the city." Listening to her, Shen sighed inwardly. 'That gosh damn woman causing me issues even when I have her life in my hands.'
Putting that off, Shen heard Blake's words trail. "Also… You're the only other person in the White Fang I can actually talk to. I've been wanting to see you for a while." Shen was surprised by her words but didn't let it show. 'I only used Mental Refitting on her once.' Yet that one time had done so much without him even interacting with her.
"Oh? What about Adam? I thought you would be helping him, considering what's going on." Blake's eyes seemed to grow slightly cold when Shen mentioned Adam's name before speaking. "To be honest with you… I don't even know why I'm helping him at this point. He's so different from when things started. He's like a stranger." Blake looked back to Shen and smiled.
"Honestly... I would rather help you. I mean, look at everything you've done for the Faunus. I couldn't believe it even when I heard it from the Branch Leader. But after asking a few of the White Fang Members, I ran into they were practically praising you." Admiration was filling Blake's voice as Shen raised his hand and patted her on the head.
"Well, It wasn't easy. But still, I'm glad you are here even if it was under orders." Blake was surprised by the sudden pat, but hearing Shen's words made her smile grow. "Really? I don't want to bother you or anything." Shen shook his head. "It's fine. I actually could use your help with something."
Blake didn't hesitate to nod. "Of course, it's the least I can do after you helped me before." Shen heard the sounds of footsteps coming from the other end of the hall as he looked. "Well, I hope I'm not interrupting a moment." Shen heard Torchwicks voice as he spotted him walking towards them with a smile.
Shen glanced at Neo, who was walking next to him as well and caught her glaring directly at Blake. Taking his hand off Blake's head, he walked and met with Torchwick. "I'm guessing you two are here because you'll be heading off to Argus." Torchwick leaned on his cane and nodded. "So it would seem. You held up your end of the bargain after all."
After saying that, Torchwick brought something up. "Though I must admit I'm interested in why you would have me in Argus. It's a fairly large city and is extremely open to being profitable-true, but it's also very closely linked with the Atlas Military. Risky, to say the least." Shen agreed with him, and all of his points were valid.
"There are only two things I'm interested in getting out of Argus. Luckily for you, there is only one mission you'll have when you arrive." Seeing Shen wasn't going to give him anything to go off of, Torchwick sighed. "You know you really are too tight-lipped, no fun at all. We're going on a trip. Neo, let's go."
Walking away with Neo following in tow, she looked towards Shen one last time before disappearing from view. 'She didn't seem to like me.' As Blake thought about Neo's weird glare, Shen turned to L1. "So, where is our second guest?" L1 answered as he pointed down the hall. "They are in the meeting room." Shen nodded as he began to make his way there.
"Oh, and take Blake to the warehouse I've been staying in. She's going to be helping me with something." The two of them nodded as they led Blake. "This way." Blake towards the direction Shen left in before following them. Opening the door to the meeting room and closing it, Shen spotted someone sitting at a table to the side.
They were wearing a black cloak and hood over their entire body. Only their white clothes that seemed very well put together could be seen underneath. Turning their heads, a calm voice came from them, but Shen couldn't tell if they were a man or a woman. "So you must be Shen. We had wanted to meet you sooner but… Complications arose. You may call me Venti."
Shen observed the person who called themself Venti carefully. 'Well, this checked a bunch of boxes. From what I know about nonfictional people in black hoods, either I'm about to be threatened, or something interesting is going to happen.' Walking over to the bar on the right side of the room, Shen went behind it.
"So then, Venti, what do I owe the pleasure of a visit from the Black Sheep." Grabbing a bottle off the wall, Shen began to pour two glasses. "I believe you have mistaken the reason for our visit. We are very much impressed with what you have done. And they can tell you have large ambitions and plans for the future."
Shen laughed as he put the bottle away and carried the two cups to the table. "More than you can imagine, I assure you." Sitting down, Shen placed down the two drinks before leaning back in his chair. "But that still hasn't answered my question." Venti put their hands together as they leaned in.
"We are not here to try and threaten you or inhibit you in any way. In fact, we want to give you our support." Shen showed a look of surprise. "Support?" That was something he wasn't expecting, especially considering the Black Sheep usually remained neutral. Venti nodded as they continued.
"Yes, we believe you are capable and fairly competent. And we would like to join you before that slot is taken up. But do keep in mind we wish to help 'You' not the White Fang. They are simply too… Unpredictable and quite frankly uninteresting to us." They were blunt, but Shen couldn't understand what they meant.
"That's all well and good, but how exactly do you plan on helping me? I planned on doing everything myself from the start, so your help isn't really necessary, is it?" Venti nodded. "We understand trust takes time to be earned. As such, we won't force our help onto you. As long as it doesn't cost us revealing ourselves or being put into the spotlight, we will help you when and however you request it."
Reaching into their cloak, Shen watched as they pulled out a sheet of paper with six cards on top of it. They weren't Lien cards, so it wasn't money; instead, they looked like keycards. "In truth, we don't actually use the mansion we own here in Kuchinashi City. It's more of a symbol than anything else. These are the deeds and keycards to every room and facility within it. Please use it at your leisure."
Staring at what Venti had put onto the table, Shen watched as they slowly stood up. Grabbing the drink Shen had poured for them, they drank it down swiftly. "Thank you for your time." Putting the cup back down, they turned and left the room as Shen just sat there. As the door closed behind them, Shen narrowed his eyes and sighed.
'I really hate those types. Not only are they irritating to deal with but breaking that air of mystery is difficult. I swear if I didn't think it was more trouble than it was worth, I would have torn that hood clean off.' Being from outside of the RWBY Universe, not knowing something, made Shen feel exposed. It wasn't a pleasant feeling, especially when he liked to plan ahead.
"Well, I did get a mansion out of it." Picking up the cup in front of him, Shen stared at the deed on the table as he drank it down. 'That's actually pretty good.' Standing up from his seat, Shen didn't touch the papers or keycards on the table and left them there. 'Well, no matter if the Black Sheep wants me to use them, then I will. By the time they reveal what they really want, it'll be too late for them to do anything to me.'
As long as he was strong enough, it didn't matter how the people around him schemed or planned. Strength was enough to crush all of it, and he planned on gaining enough power to do just that. After a bit of walking, Shen had left the Purple Lotus HQ again. 'And, of course, like all good cliches, Venti is nowhere to be found.'
Shaking his head, he arrived at the warehouse he had been training in. The guards let him through with no problem as he walked inside. L1 and L2 had left already, and Blake was simply standing there waiting. "Oh, you're here." Seeing Shen walk in, Blake walked over to him. "So, what did you need my help with?"
Shen explained briefly. "Well, I have something planned, but it'll take a little less than a month to get started. Before then, I planned on training. I was hoping since you were here, you would be willing to help me. Although I'm not sure how long you can stay here." Hearing that, Blake thought to herself for a moment.
"I'm sure if I talk to the Branch Leader, she wouldn't mind if I stayed for a while, especially if it's to help you. As for Adam… He can do the missions on his own; he doesn't really need me there." Seeing how willing Blake was, Shen didn't say anything more. As he was getting ready, he heard Blake ask him something. "Do you mind… Doing that thing again?"
As he was stretching his arm, he looked at her. "What thing?" Blake seemed not to have the words for it as she tried to explain. "What did you do when I visited your room that one time? It made my brain feel weird, but it was nice." Shen didn't know what to say. 'She's basically begging me to use Mental Refitting on her. No reason to turn her down, I guess.'
Shen agreed to her request as he told her to sit down. Comply, Blake sat down on her knees as Shen sat behind her. "Like before, try not to resist too much." Blake nodded as Shen reached out his hand and placed it on her head. 'Mental Refitting.' Life Fiber's extended through his palm into Blake's head.
Just like before, they enveloped her mind but weren't forceful. Blake's eyes seemed to go misty during the process. Unlike before, she didn't question anything and simply enjoyed the process. 'This time around, I can enforce the seed I planted in her mind last time. If I get her into one more session after this… I think I'll be able to take full control.'
The idea caused Shen to smile as a couple of minutes passed. "So, how do you feel?" Pulling back his hand, Shen saw Blake's body shake for a moment. 'Ok, that was weird.' Shen looked at Blake's face, and immediately his eyes widened. He didn't know how to describe it, but she looked extremely happy and… Satisfied?
"Blake?" Snapping his fingers in front of her, she seemed to snap out of the strange state she was in. "Sorry, that was weird. But it felt even better than last time." Ignoring the strange phrasing behind that sentence, Shen spoke. "Well, that's good. Let's get to it then, shall we?" Blake nodded as she stood up, slightly weak-kneed.
Shen had Gae Bolg in the warehouse since his last training session was interrupted. Taking his jacket off, he held out his hand. Gae Bolg flew towards him in seconds as he caught it out of the air. "Alright then, let's start off slow. Blake slowly nodded her head as Shen saw her eyes change for just an instant.
They were like cats narrowed down on their prey and practically glowing. She was staring at Shen intensely to the point he could barely ignore it. 'I knew the Mental Refitting effects would be strong, especially considering how well they worked before. But I hope it doesn't end up proving too effective. Loyalty is one thing but an obsession...'