Ever since having started up a contract between Zero and his brother Ryme, Zerori had been trying to come to terms with the fact that she was dealing with dangerous bedfellows. Nothing new in her line of work, but given how little money she’d been making and the loss of Athren since he’d lost his children - she’d been struggling with aimlessness. Training with Korn helped to… well, a degree. He was strong in ways that she wasn’t and helpful in ways that had surprised even her but the fact remained that she was only able to tolerate him for so long.

And the fact remained that even as she strained to keep herself busy, even SHE needed a vacation to avoid burn-out. That thought would lead her to sending a message off to her investors (and Zero, even if she was sure he really didn’t give a shit) that she was going to be unavailable for AT LEAST the next 24 hours. She needed to chill as soon as possible and the first thing that came to mind was the isolated location possible that she could find. Her first thought was an island, but-

Recalling her meeting with Callion and the various encounters with anyone that was in a forest, Zerori suddenly had a change of heart and decided that it was probably a better idea to go for something that had people intentionally.

Flying in the sky whilst lounging in the air on her back, Zerori was racking her brain over the possible options she had on her phone. “There’s gotta be something that’s around here and NOT going to charge me an arm and a leg for service-!” And that was when she stumbled upon some sort of ‘Getaway’ that was advertised as a place to ‘relax the body and soul’ while also ‘training the mind and spirit’ - whatever that meant. All she cared about was the word in big, bold letters that said ‘Complementary Service’ and in a matter of seconds Zerori was zooming toward the address that was written.

As she approached where the GPS on her visor, having materialized it exclusively while she soared through the air at high speeds, the location at least looked like it was as relaxing as it claimed. While still a forest, the bamboo looked as if it had been separated to give very clear property lines. Well, that’s a good sign! Zerori thought before landing on the ground and taking a cursory look around.

All around her, she was surrounded by walls that were also obstructed by bamboo from the outside. Various eyes were upon her as she took in the scenery and noticed that there wasn’t really much in the way of ‘relaxing’ equipment. Maybe more inside, Zerori had mused before she ignored the weird way they were all dressed and sauntered up to the stairs that led into the old temple-like building. Something was definitely starting to feel a little off.

Once inside, that feeling increased ten-fold when she didn’t see a receptionist ANYWHERE.

“... Alright, where the fuck did I lose the plot?” She pressed the button on her visor, pulling up the address and her GPS to confirm the location before she gave a deep and heavy sigh. That was when she was finally greeted by a rather old-looking gentleman with sunglasses. He had his arms held behind his back and a smug grin on his face that almost immediately gave Zerori bad vibes. Still, the way he greeted her wasn’t all that bad.

“To what do we owe the honor of such a unique individual?” He asked, obviously sensing something different about her. His tone was just arrogant enough, however, to make Zerori think he had ulterior motives.

She cocked an eyebrow up before realizing he couldn’t see her face and ust dematerialized the armor away in favor of her own sunglasses. By the soft laugh he gave, he was no doubt amused or flattered.

“Well, your ad online said this was a place for ‘complimentary service’ and I was trying to find some place to relax. Not-” She turned, finally connecting the dots as the people outside that had now been crowding the entrance of the temple were all wearing the same uniform-like Gi. They were fucking students and this was some sort of place to train them in martial arts. Ugh! How do I get myself in these weird situations?! She turned back to the old man, prepared to give some half-assed apology and take her leave when he suddenly held up a hand.

“Hold your horses there, young lady. While this isn’t exactly a ‘spa’ the claims of this place ‘relaxing the body and mind’ were no less accurate. No doubt you’re plenty strong since you’ve already mastered the ‘Bukujustu’ but if I may be so bold,” He cocked his head to the side, “-there is more to you that meets the eye. Stay a while, allow me to get you a drink and allow me the chance to open your eyes to what the Crane School of Martial Arts can offer you.” He finished, prompting Zerori to stop and contemplate his offer.

She wasn’t… completely convinced but she’d come this far, was tired and in need of some relaxation and he’d even offered her a drink. Besides, she’d never trained with an actual master of martial arts before. If what Callion had said was true about his abilities, even if he trained with monks from SPACE, maybe she really could learn a thing or two.

Zerori gave a shrug, relenting to his offer before allowing him to lead her to where they could either talk more about it or she could get that offered drink. Before he would disappear inside too far, however, he would turn and violently yell in the direction of what she assumed were his students. “Enough of your GAWKING and get back to your lessons!” The way they all scattered like little mice back to their training posts elicited a snort from the hybrid woman.

“I won’t you don’t expect to be able to yell at me like that, old man… Uh-” Introductions. Before she finished her thought, Zerori started off things properly, “Zerori. What’s your name, Crane Guy? Unless you don’t mind me calling you ‘Old Man’ or ‘Crane Guy’,” She teased, taking satisfaction in the way his frown deepened as he looked back at her.

“I won’t yell at you like that unless you start to really try my patience. You will address me as Master Shen, a title I have more than earned even if you aren’t my student. All the same, a pleasure, Zerori.” Oh yeah, this guy wasn’t all the bad. Still, she had some questions for him and wasn’t confident that he was willing to part with the answers.

As they continued inside to what Zerori could impressively assume was some steam room, completely with a very appealing pool of steamy water and some tables that already had some students relaxing in only toilets to cover themselves, she’d start with the most question. “You have alcohol here? Not to be ‘that bitch’ but I relax best when I’m enjoying a nice glass of whiskey or hot sake. Cold beer would be fine, too - I’m not picky.”

Master Shen would turn to her, a disapproving look in his… well, she could assume it was disapproving by the way his eyebrow shot up, before he gave a snort, “We don’t allow students alcohol upon this campus, but since you’re not a student yet, I can very generous offer you Sake from my personal collection… however-”

Oh, here it came. The catch.

“-That’ll cost you extra. My original offer of a drink was a nice, refreshing glass of infused raspberry mineral water.” She watched his smug grin come back, no doubt either teasing her or being weirdly proud of himself.

“Well, fuck, guess it’s infused boojie water for me then,” Zerori grumbled, walking over to the nearest table and taking a seat. Her tail, out in the open for all to see, would lazily sway from side to side as it hung over the seat. “Bring it on!” She encouraged with a laugh, surprisingly eliciting a weird little laugh out of him as well before he walked off with her hands behind his back to what she assumed was a bar or kitchen. What mattered was that it left Zerori alone to just appreciate the clear, hot air that steamed from the water and just close her eyes to relax for a moment.

For all of about two minutes

“Are you going to be Master Sehn’s newest disciple?” Came what sounded like an aggressive voice right next to her side. If she weren’t so confident that not a single one of these humans could touch her, Zerori might have reacted rather violently. She cracked open an eye, the vision of a rather tall and lean barely dressed human male in front of her with hair that went all over the place (likely from the humidity) and an angry, judgemental gleam in his eye. Behind her, barely visible, was a girl of a significant height difference with blonde hair tired back into a bun. She, too, was also clad in only a towel.

Sighing through her nose, Zerori would lean up and turn to the duo of curious teenagers, “It’s not exactly in the plan, but your ‘Master’ seems convinced he can convert me. Given he’s even treating me to a drink, the likelihood of me joining your little school isn’t too low. Who knows, maybe I’ll even bec-” Before she could even finish her sentence, a very BAD pet peeve she had of being interrupted, the male in front of her would bark his reasoning for his question.

“I couldn’t care less! All I care about is letting you know that you’ll never reach the level of enlightenment that his students have gained. You think you can just drop in-”

“Now, wait a minute-”

“-Seduce our master with your looks-!”

“Now HOLD ON!-” Zerori was getting angry now, she had done nothing of the sort. He was hardly intimidated by her raising her voice, however.

“-and think you can just erase all the progress we’ve done at becoming his greatest pupil?!” His face looked like a tomato at this point, having riled himself up to such an extent that he was even breathing hard. At any moment, Zerori expected that he would even throw a punch at her with how absolutely livid he was. To her credit, her ire was gradually falling in the wake of realizing that he just felt his ego and machismo threatened by her presence.

Damn, how would he feel if he knew I wasn’t human at all? Zerori thought with amusement clear in her eyes, the presence of it almost setting the boy off again.

Luckily, or perhaps unluckily, for him Shen had arrived just before he was about to open his mouth and insert his whole ass foot in it. With her drink in hand and a very cross look on his face, Shen spoke with cold disappointment, “I think you’ve said quite enough, haven’t you, Logan? Your respite is over as of now,” His shaded gaze turned slightly to the blonde behind Logan, “-that goes for you as well. Make this lesson that there are consequences to be associated with disrespectful fools.”

The look on not just Logan’s face but the girls was worth every bit of spit abuse Zerori had dealt with - the icing on the cake being the way Logan stomped off with his girl nearly crying behind him. Once they were gone, Zerori turned back to Shen just as he’d held his arm out with her drink. She took it before adding her pieces, “This a common occurrence? Whatever form of hazing that was?”

“Unfortunately, yes,” Shen sighed, taking his seat on the other side while Zerori took a sip of her drink. Her eyes widened, the flavor a LOT more present than she expected in any kind of infused drink. Shen apparently noticed and smirked, taking pride in the reaction, “I take it you like it. No surprise there, as it’s something of a hobby of mine, Mixology.”

After another sip, Zerori placed the drink on the table, “If being a teacher to brats doesn’t pay the bills, you can always come to a bar I recently found out. The manager is quite the negotiator of payment.” That seemed to earn another amused chortle from the old master before he gave a shrug.

“As unlikely as that is to happen, I appreciate the compliment,” His expression changed again, the seriousness on his face making her give a soft ‘hm’ in reaction to whatever was on his mind. “On that note of-... negotiation. I’m sure you’re wondering why I took an interest in you beyond just the ability that you can fly. If it wasn’t clear before, I’m actually quite aware that you’re not all that you seem. The tail, for one, is a dead give away that you are a Saiyan and it’s common among your people to do the dirty work of others.”

Well, whatever good feelings Zerori had about this meeting went right out the fucking window at that comment. Her grip holding the glass had tightened suddenly, a spider-web crack appearing with an audible clink. The look of shock on Shen’s face was the only thing that deterred Zerori was smashing the rest of the barely held-together glass over his face.

“Be very careful with the next words that come out of your mouth, Master Shen,” Zerori growled low in the back of her throat. “If your assumption is correct about my choice of occupation - do you really want to literally die on the hill that I’ll dirty for just anyone?” She’d made it clear to anyone that wanted to do business with her that her tastes and requirements were non-negotiable. “Now… stereotypes aside, Master Shen - what do you want from me?”

A long moment of what Zerori hoped was Shen thinking more consciously on his words had passed before he finally spoke, “You’re a mercenary and I’m in need of some work to be done. In exchange for lessons, I’d like you to take the role of my disciple to enhance my image. It would only be until I’ve taught you everything I know OR another has piqued my interest and I decide to take them on as my next apprentice. You will, of course, be paid for your time in addition to my training.”

Well, it didn’t sound so bad. Except there was the matter of what Zerori had to do with enhancing his public image. “I fail to see how having a Saiyan on your side would do anything for your image. If you’re not aware, Saiyans are being leashed and tagged everywhere and I’m in no hurry to join them,” She leaned back, crossing her arms as she waited for him to find a way out of this one.

“The answer to that is easy, my dear,” Back again was the smug smirk. “I would be acting as your guardian and, should any law enforcement seek to try and ‘leash’ you, they would need to deal with my veritable army of lawyers before they could even touch you. Another unexpected benefit, yes?”

...Huh. Impressive. I didn’t even think he had any influence over the law. Much less law enforcement. Zerori was thinking about the idea, her mind swiftly organizing the veritable (growing) mountain of contracts she had to keep up with. After a moment of thought, Zerori just shook her head, “Sure. What’s one more, right?” She laughed, a little more nervous than she was letting on but willing to do anything to try and keep up with the bills ahead of her.