Kouki's POV
I don't like this place.
Mahito and I have finally reached the nearest prison after about ten minutes of driving.
The women's prison corridor is austere, but also strangely oppressive.
I wouldn't say it's more frightening than the yôkai I've encountered, but this place gives off a particular atmosphere, both uncomfortable and gloomy.
I could see women in each cell, seemingly resting.
For now, no guard has spotted us.
"Sensei, I don't think it's a good idea to walk casually down the corridor," I said, noticing surveillance cameras all along the way.
"It's fine, I sent a clone to take control of the cameras. We first need to find the archives of this place," he replied without even turning around.
"Archives?" I repeated, confused. Why come to a prison to dig through their archives?
"What? You haven't understood yet?" Mahito turned and fixed me with his feline face.
"Sorry, but no," I honestly admitted.
He sighed before continuing on his path. This time, he explained in detail the reasons for our presence here.
"So, I need test subjects to advance and improve my powers?"
Frankly, I don't like the idea of using humans to train, but on the other hand, I really want to improve.
A few hours ago, I was unable to see the metal bat of Momo's grandmother hitting Mahito's face. Yet, I had the raw power necessary to stop it.
"I see you're hesitating to use humans to train, but remember they are criminals condemned to death," Mahito declared in a serious tone after throwing a glance in my direction.
"You're just moving forward their death sentence. And that's only if you fail to control the flow of psychic energy."
As usual, he was right again.
I'm not really killing anyone. I'm just advancing their condemnation date if I mess up.
"Understood!!" My mood slightly improved after Mahito's explanation.
"Okay, it's here." After inserting his cat tail into the lock of the door, Mahito opened it without using force.
This is how we easily crossed all the doors standing before us.
"There are so many documents... Can't they just store them on a computer?" I really don't understand some organizations that refuse to live with their times.
"Probably a high-ranking official who diverted the funds meant for that. I doubt they keep these documents in paper form to protect themselves from computer hackers," Mahito responds while pulling out several folders.
There were many images and information about various women, but Mahito stopped on a particular type of profile.
"We'll start your training with them: serial killers with no family to mourn their death. And look, there's even a pedophile in the bunch," he explains, handing me a folder.
....
Mahito's POV
"You used a bit too much force when manipulating psychic energy on the cerebral cortex. You must understand that this part is extremely fragile and complex," I say, observing the woman lying on the bed, eyes rolled back, a trickle of drool flowing from her mouth.
Anyone would think she's had the night of her life, which isn't totally wrong... It all depends on the context of the sentence.
It's already been two hours since Kouki and I have been in this women's prison.
Currently, she's training to modify the memories of death row inmates. Unfortunately, she hasn't succeeded today.
We still obtained some interesting results: Kouki could easily read the prisoners' memories.
The process is relatively simple: she connects her psychic energy to her target's aura. I got this idea by observing Momo and Acrobatic Silky.
The real problem lies in memory alteration. Kouki is currently unable to directly modify an individual's memories by influencing their aura.
She can only suppress them. It's good news, but I had hoped she could become my own Shükurö Tsukishima... Too bad.
It seems this will take more time than expected. So I decided to opt for a more complex path that will require long-term training.
I suggested to Kouki that we move to the stage of cerebral manipulation.
For now, she's a bit clumsy when it comes to using psychic energy on delicate areas like the cerebral cortex or hippocampus.
But I remain hopeful that she'll soon be able to exercise precise control on such a small scale.
Another notable success was the manipulation of emotional memory in a brain region called the amygdala.
Thanks to Kouki, a pedophile has now been freed from her adoration of shota.
However, another obstacle has slowed her training: brain areas like the cerebellum and basal ganglia, which are essential for managing habits and a person's learning ability.
We can't remain forever in this prison to observe Kouki's manipulation of them.
"Despite some unfortunate failures, I think you did well today," I say, noting the surprisingly low brain death rate, well below my expectations.
"Thank you, it's thanks to sensei's teachings," she responded with a respectful tone.
I couldn't help but puff out my chest, proud of her progress. But this pride also made me realize something important.
Our training was much more effective when Kouki began reading scientific explanations about the brain and its functioning.
It seems we should both study the subject seriously. Otherwise, one day we might commit an irreparable mistake.
I wonder if this nurse would accept giving private lessons to me and Kouki.
....
"Please, Mahito-sama, give me back my ball!!"
*Sound of whispers.*
As soon as I arrived on Kouki's shoulder in front of Kami High School, I was greeted by Okarun and Momo.
*BAM*
"Idiot! You're yelling at a girl to give you back your ball in front of the school gate?!" Momo screamed, shaking him energetically.
His act only attracted looks and murmurs around us.
"Uh... Kouki, we'd better leave quickly, otherwise your reputation, which has been improving lately, might deteriorate because of this moron," I say, slightly amused.
At my words, Kouki displayed a look of realization before rushing inside the school, ignoring Okarun's protests behind her.
"Sensei, why do they think you have Takamura's ball?" Kouki asked, visibly confused, as we crossed the hallway toward her classroom.
I could feel the furtive glances of students, probably intrigued by the earlier commotion caused by Momo and Okarun.
"You remember when I asked Rin if she had seen a golden ball?"
Seeing her questioning expression, I began explaining part of the situation concerning Takamura.
Kouki nodded occasionally, attentive to my explanations.
"It turns out I have his second ball ~," I added, trying to hold back a laugh.
"So, sensei touched another man's ball? That's not... a bit gay as an act?" she launched with a teasing smile, looking at me mischievously.
"... If you don't want to end up like Diablo last night, I advise you to avoid this kind of provocation. *Tsss*."
"Oh, sensei is sulking..."
And that's how I ended up enduring Kouki's teasing throughout the way.
Damn Okarun, I'm not about to return your ball easily.