You decide to hold off on saying anything for the moment. You glance at Altria out of the corner of your eye, half-expecting to speak up, but she remains quiet - back straight, hands folded in her lap, expression impassive yet attentive.
"Our interest in this matter is two-fold," Shiden begins. "Our primary concern, as you have both doubtlessly already concluded, is the manifestation of a dragon within Miss Drake's aura - and we will speak of that in a moment. Before that, however, I would like to discuss the matter of young Alexander's ability to read auras."
You blink, a bit surprised.
"I am not sure if either of you are aware of this," Shiden continues, frowning slightly, "but being able to perceive the state of another being's soul is considered a very rare and remarkable skill, especially in someone of your age. It is also considered rather dangerous, as it reveals such a great amount of information at one time, the mind can have difficulty safety assimilating everything. Quite aside from that, the technique leaves the user vulnerable to a variety of mental and spiritual threats, ranging from direct assault by beings that do not wish their innermost natures and secrets known, to the simple shock of seeing something that is radically alien to the user's way of thinking - even when it is completely human."
Parts of your mind ache as you recall - fleetingly - the unpleasant things you saw in the souls of Kahlua and the Kurokami girl, or the overwhelming pressure of standing face-to-face with Altria's Dragon.
"While I do not wish to intrude on another master's methods, given the risks involved in this particular case, I fear I must ask - did Lu Tze teach you this ability, Alexander?"
The answer, of course, is no. Lu-sensei taught you how to use ki to enhance your senses, of course - it's a skill so basic as to be virtually instinctive, and any school of ki manipulation worth the name teaches it - but in those lessons, he never even hinted that you would be able to see other people's souls. If the ability is as rare as Shiden makes it out to be, Lu-sensei probably thought it was one you simply wouldn't develop, at least not for a long, long time.
The question here is not whether to reply in the positive or the negative, but how much detail you should give Shiden in your answer.