After burying the body of Comet, Jugo drags his feet through the town back to the toy store. Using the manager key, Jugo unlocks the door to the shop.
"Sorry, we're closed," yelled Takumi after hearing the shops' bells go off. Opening the door to the workshop, Takumi sees Jugo in a daze, covered in blood and dirt.
"What happened? Are you hurt?"
"Comet was killed by a bear."
"The reindeer? Jugo, go clean up and then tell me what happened." After taking a shower in Takumi's apartment above the store, Jugo told him everything that happened. mourning the loss of Comet, something sticks out to Takumi.
"you said your arm grew back. Did you see anything around you when that happened?"
"Yeah, these Little green particles appeared and started going into my body." without uttering another word Takumi goes to get two glasses of water.
"I believe you have awakened your Gift Jugo."
"What's a Gift?"
"A Gift is the supernatural ability to control the life energy around us to do extraordinary things. Your brother had a Gift too."
"Really, what kind of Gift did he have?"
"He most likely had the most basic Gift with only one form, 'Kikaku.' With this glass of water, you can learn which class of Gift you have. Let me demonstrate." Dipping his finger in the water, Takumi channels nature energy into the tip of it, and after a few moments, the water turns a light yellow. Stunned with awe Jugo's eyes sparkle with curiosity.
"Did you see the particles gather into me?" asked Takumi.
"Yeah, how do I do that."
"Ok, I will teach you the basic form of nature energy control; this technique is called 'Channeling.' Now dip your finger into the glass, close your eyes, and relax. Feel the energy around you. Listen to the wind and the brushing of the trees outside the window. Now pull that energy towards you and direct it into the tip of your finger." Slightly straining his face, Jugo pulls a small amount of nature energy into his body and then his finger.
"Open your eyes."
"It turned yellow just like yours. What does that mean, sensei?"
"That means we have the same class of Gift. 'Henka' is the class of Gift that allows people to transform or change the biology of themselves or others."
"I started to grow fur and antlers. Does that mean I can turn into a reindeer?"
"Only one way to find out. Try channeling nature energy into your head and imagine growing antlers and their shape of them." After trying multiple times, nothing appeared. Thinking to himself, Takumi says.
"If he can't transform into a reindeer on his own, maybe he needs a catalyst." leaving the room and returning with Jugo's bloodied shirt.
"This time, touch the blood before growing the antlers." After trying multiple times, Jugo was starting to sweat, but this time a small pair of antlers grew.
"It worked, sensei!"
"So it looks like you need to be touching the DNA of an animal to be able to turn into it. Jugo, with this Gift, you might have what it takes to be an Ophis just like your brother. Do you want to follow in his footsteps?"
"Will I be able to beat the people who killed Zero and father?"
"With proper training, yes."
"Count me in; what do I have to do?"
"Ophis recruitment is illegal because you're not supposed to leave the sanctuary you were born in, so they're held in secret. If you become an Ophis, you're basically becoming a criminal in the government's eyes. Are you willing to take that risk?"
"If it's to find the people who took my family away from me, I'm willing to do anything."
"Don't ask how I know, but Ophis recruitment occurs every 3 months. Normally they recruit you with an invitation letter, but ill put in a good word for you." Takumi goes to check his calendar.
"The previous session was last week; the next one should be in December. I'll tell you the date when I find out."
"Thanks, sensei. I really appreciate you."
"It's the least I could do, but it's about time you head home. It's 9:48 pm; your mother is probably worried."
"Ok, thanks again, sensei!" leaving through the apartment door Jugo runs home with a newfound conviction to solve the mystery of who attacked the valley and why they killed his brother and father. Jugo yells at the top of his lungs.
"I'll give you closure, mom, and make you feel better even if it's the last thing I do!" A month and a half went by. It's now November; light snow comes around occasionally.
After finishing a morning shift, Takumi calls Jugo into his workshop.
"Remember that package you brought in last month, Jugo?"
"Yeah, why?" Opening the box, Takumi says.
"It's your new arm. I have a few connections in the craftsman industry and was able to get the material to make your arm. It took a little longer to build because of shipping, and once I found out you had a Gift, I modified it to make it easier to use."
"How does it work?" asked Jugo.
"My Gift is called 'Biotechnology' It allows me to combine living matter with machines at the cellular level. In theory, you should be able to collect the DNA of any animal you touch and store it in your arm. It will take some time to fully recover from attaching the arm because your wound has already healed, so I need you to take a week off school."
"You had me at a week off." laughing together, the pair begin to prepare to attach the new arm. Jugo makes a few phone calls to get the nurse to come by his house more often to take care of his mother expending all of his money in the process. Later that night, Takumi prepares his tools and workshop bench. As Jugo lies on the cold crinkly plastic, he thinks, "it's now or never."
"I'm ready when you are, sensei."
"Ok, I'm Going to inject a numbing serum so you don't feel much pain, but I'm going to have to cut off your shoulder." with fire in his eyes, Jugo lets out a simple "Do it." Takumi takes a marker to outline Jugo's shoulder. Picking up a scalpel, Takumi makes an incision around his arm, cutting through the skin and tissue. Rushing to prevent blood loss, Takumi swiftly cuts through Jugo's muscle leaving only the bone left. He separates the humerus from the scapula freeing the arm stub from Jugo's body. Sliding the stub away and pulling the new arm over, Takumi connects the open nerves to the arm. After joining the nerves, Takumi slides the arm in place and activates his Gift. Pointing two fingers on top of the connection point, nature energy begins to collect in his fingertips and shoot out like a welding torch. Gliding his fingers around the arm, the metal, skin, and muscle begin to weave together, sealing the wound.
"I'm surprised you didn't make a sound that should have been painful even for a grown man," said Takumi. Glancing at Jugo, Takumi realizes that Jugo passed out and was foaming at the mouth. Panicking, Takumi checks his vitals. Jugo's vitals came back fine; the surgery was a success. After fully recovering, Takumi tells Jugo the next recruitment date is December 20th, three weeks away. Realizing how little time he has, Jugo begins to train after school. Every day after school, Jugo would go to the forest to prepare. His training routine included push-ups, sit-ups, squats, and sprinting through the woods. During those three weeks, Jugo collected more DNA from other animals, including an eastern cottontail rabbit, black fire beetle, and a scorpion.
The day of the recruitment selection has arrived. The location was distributed to people who showed potential and wanted to leave the sanctuary by preestablished Ohpi.
"It's supposed to start at eight. I better leave soon," said Jugo. Jugo reaches down into the fishbowl on his dresser and touches his pet axolotl collecting DNA from it.
"wish me luck, Reon," whispered Jugo with a grin on his face. Ensuring he is fully prepared, he checks his pockets and sneaks out the window. Evading the patrolling guards, Jugo makes it to an abandoned building and knocks on an iron door. A small window in the door slides open, revealing a pair of bright blue eyes.
"State your purpose," damnded the eyes.
"I'm here for the ohpis recruitment," replied Jugo nervously.
"What's the password."
"Uh, the blue rose shines brightest when accompanied by the moon." The window shuts as the person on the other side unlocks the door. Opening the door, a tall, slender man with blue hair and eyes shows Jugo the way. Coming out of a dark hall, Jugo enters a room full of people and notices a pentagon on the wall with colored markings. Realizing he has lost the blue-haired man Jugo looks around for him. Stepping up onto the podium under the pentagon, the blue-haired man announces.
"My name is Leron, and I will be hosting this month's selection. If you want to leave this sanctuary and explore the world, you must go through me first."