The Muho Kaji Family sat in their “base”ment, sitting at their Meeting Table. They had been planning something for a month before Gomu showed up, as such she didn’t know what it was, just that it sounded big. After everyone was seated, Enjo got to the point : 

“Alright…plans to contact the Kaminokaze Family haven’t gone so well.” He said, pointing to a picture of a Yakuza Family on the table. “They seem distrustful, but there’s something else to it…”

“Right. Their refusal feels off.” Fumetsu added. “As if something, or someone, is trying to prevent them from communicating with us.”

“Who’s the ‘Kaminokaze’ Family?” Gomu asked Chinmoku.

“A fellow Yakuza Group. They live on that big estate in the middle of the city.” Chinmoku replied. “We’ve been attempting to reach out and form an alliance with them, but ever since we first spoke with them, they’ve been silent…”

“Could it be the Kage No O Family?” Juryoku asked, while eating from a bag of chips.

“Unlikely.” Fumetsu replied. “The Kaminokaze Family only has two major things to offer : Funds and Numbers. Neither of those the Kage No O Family needs. I doubt they’d waste their time getting directly involved…but maybe through their Branch Families…”

“Branch Families?” Gomu questioned.

“Basically smaller Yakuza Families that do tasks for the Kage No O Family.” Kireina explained. “They have two Major ones, the Ryoshi Family and the Tensai Family.”

As everyone was discussing the matter, Fumetsu got up and took Gomu aside.

“Something wrong?” Gomu asked him as he lead her up the stairs.

“No.” Fumetsu replied, bluntly. “Just something Enjo asked me to do.”

Fumetsu led Gomu out of the basement, and outside behind the building. He then lead her across the street to a building that looked like a Gym, but it was really rundown and looked like it’d been abandoned for years. Gomu got a bit of a knot in her stomach as they walked in. The place looked like it was haunted…

“Enjo wanted me to show you ‘Aura’ stuff, and see if you have Potential.” Fumetsu explained, as he set up the area. “If you’re sticking with us it’s at least best to know how it works.”

“Right…it gives people powers and stuff, right?” Gomu asked.

“That’s one part of it.” Fumetsu replied. “Sit, I’ll explain what Aura is.”

Gomu sat on a bench across from Fumetsu, who gently eased himself down. Gomu noticed movement seems to be hard for him, given all his stitches. She wondered why he needed those stitches if he can regenerate, but that was a question for another time. Fumetsu sighed when he sat down, and began,

“Alright…so for starters, I’ll explain what Aura is.” Fumetsu started, as a yellow light surrounded his hand. “Aura is an Energy that comes from the Soul, y’know your very being and all that. Its potential is, for all intents and purposes, limitless. It all depends on how you develop it.”

Gomu was listening intently. As she looked at the yellow light, she couldn’t shake the feeling that this ‘Aura’ stuff felt familiar to her…

“The main effect of Aura is enhancing your physical abilities like Strength, Speed, Durability, Reflexes, etc.” Fumetsu continued, as he used his Aura to lift a dumbbell just by hooking his finger around it. “But as you’ve seen, it has another effect. What’s referred to simply as an ‘Ability’. A manifestation of the User’s soul, as a result, the Ability reflects the User in many ways.”

“So…it’s kinda like one of those Personality Quiz things!” Gomu exclaimed, confidently.

“...yeah, let’s go with that.” Fumetsu replied, looking pretty judgemental. “Anyway…next we need to see if you have Aura Potential, or in other words if you have the potential to unlock and control Aura.”

“Okay…how do we figure that out?” Gomu asked. 

“Well there are two ways available…” Fumetsu said. “…we could either visit ‘The Doctor’, but…that guy’s a genuine freak. The method we’re going to use is less precise, but better for mental health.”

Fumetsu reached into his pocket and took out a flask with a seal on it. He unscrewed the cap, and Gomu could immediately smell whatever’s inside. It smelled like some kind of sour Tea, and made her eyes water. Even Fumetsu himself seemed to wince at the smell. He handed Gomu the flask, and she looked at it, then back at Fumetsu.

“You…you want me to drink THAT?” Gomu said, visible disgust on her face.

“Yeah, I know. Trust me, it doesn’t taste any better than it smells.” Fumetsu replied. “But all you need is a drop.”

“How’d you even get that…whatever it is…?” Gomu questioned, as she took the flask hesitantly.

“It’s a special Tea that gets to that state via a combination of Aging and that paper Seal on it.” Fumetsu answered, wafting the smell away from his nose. “Anyway, just carefully get a drop on your tongue and the signs will show if you have potential.”

Gomu looked down at the flask, and braced herself, closing her eyes and holding her breath as she hovered the flask over her mouth and carefully poured a small drop out. The moment it hit her tongue, she immediately gagged and nearly threw up on the spot! She dropped the flask, which was caught by Fumetsu, and held her throat with both hands, coughing and wheezing violently. After a second, and after wiping tears from her eyes, Gomu noticed a vibrant Blue Aura surrounding her body for a second, before it slowly faded. Gomu turned back to Fumetsu, who was watching intently.

“Uh…was that a good sign, or…?” Gomu questioned, starting to recover.

“Well, frankly…other than having never seen a BLUE Aura before…” Fumetsu replied, before pausing for a moment. He then screwed the cap back on his flask before continuing, “I’ve only ever personally seen an Aura Reveal that vibrant with Enjo.”

“So what does that mean…?” Gomu asked. “Does it mean I have Aura Potential?”

“It means not only do you have potential…you have a lot.” Fumetsu replied, putting the flask away in his jacket. “For context, let’s put a number to it. The average person would have around 100 Potential, let’s say. Someone considered ‘talented’ would have around 500. You and Enjo have Potential around 1,000. That doesn’t necessarily mean you’re stronger by default, just that your ceiling with Aura is 10x that of the average Aura-capable person. How fast you can grow your Aura is another story entirely.”

Fumetsu got up, and they started to walk back to the Apartment Complex. Before they went inside, Gomu stopped, and grabbed Fumetsu’s sleeve to get his attention. As he turned back to her, she spoke,

“There’s…there’s something important I need to ask you…” Gomu said, in a low voice…

“What is it?” Fumetsu questioned.

“How…” Gomu started… “...How do you have stitches if your thing is regeneration?”

“...what?” Fumetsu asked, a bit stunned.

“I mean you heal injuries, so…” Gomu continued. “How do you have scars and stitches?”

Fumetsu rubbed the bridge of his nose and sighed. “What is wrong with you…you said it was important!”

“This IS important!” Gomu exclaimed, seeming a bit embarrassed. “It doesn’t make sense!”