Miss Takahashi sat candidly in her seat as Mr Fukami was made to collapse. She could see it on the monitor, but she wasn't really looking at it; is he a suitable candidate? Suddenly she shivered in excitement when she felt his sudden confusion, his pain and his absolute total lack of awareness in that instant.

Once Mr Toki had taken him deeper into the facility, she observed the young teacher placed on a bench, stripped of his belongings and given a thorough search. Norio’s trying to play up his weaknesses to me—Too nervy, too kind. You won't trick me this time.

She gloated in satisfaction at her success, allowing her feelings to flow outward. Mr Toki winced on the screen and glared up at the camera from the corner of his eye. Come on now, I haven't got all day. She impressed upon him.

In the past, she would have had to tiptoe around people like him. It was so very liberating that she didn't have to wear a mask anymore, because people like Mr Toki would have stopped her long ago. A mental tug on his string was her response to his glare. He buckled over, gasping and holding onto the bench in front of him, accidentally knocking the unconscious teacher tumbling to the ground.

She turned away from the screen, lightly crossing her legs, leaning back in her chair and scrolling through her tablet. No, this man would be perfect for what she needed.

Nothing special about him exactly, but after extensive background checks, it was confirmed he had no family at all beyond second and third cousins he hadn't met for over a decade.

He also hadn't made contact with any friends in the last 6 months, citing work reasons in his emails.

After feeling through his mind, Mr Toki had tried to indicate this dull, plain, mild mannered man had been unsuitable, playing up his anxiety scores for being 2 points above moderate, but she saw through his exaggeration. He had already done so once before.

No, this time she had felt through Mr Fukami's surface thoughts personally. He’s meek enough—but not broken. Yet. He was JUST meek enough that she was confident she could force him to do whatever she needed. Untrained, he would be highly unlikely to become a threat.

Strong willpower and charisma as well as years of intense training were crucial to a test subject becoming any viable threat.

“Mmmph, wonderful.”

She stood stretching her hands to the ceiling, leaning slowly left and right before leaving for the orientation room. She focused her attention forward, her glance becoming frightfully intense with cruel purpose. Time to collar the new dog.

Mr Toki paused a moment as she glided into the room. He had just placed Mr Fukami on the bench again.

“Why so clumsy Norio?” she asked without smiling. “You should be more careful with your new colleague.”

Mr Toki gritted his teeth in response, fists clenched pressing whitened knuckles on the bench. “Slippery floors... Miss Takashashi”, the bench creaked under the weight of his downward pressure.

“Now Norio!” She appeared to pout slyly in response. “How many times have I told you, call me Akane, all my friends do!”

He steps back from the bench, revealing Mr Fukami in his underwear with blood slowly oozing from his nostrils and eyes. “If you’ll excuse me, Miss Takahashi, I will prepare his quarters.” He stormed off silently, leaving her alone with the bloodied unconscious man.

“You do that.”

She turns abruptly about, moving about to the man's head and gripping between his forehead and eye sockets. Cracking the fingers of her right hand, she grins again and begins to slowly stretch a black spectral tendril from her forefinger. Closing her eyes, she gradually slides the tendril into his ear and begins to weave it intimately around his mind.

Suddenly she shudders in a release of impure ecstasy as he appears to convulse on the bench. The convulsions pass as quickly as they began and she opens her eyes, steadying her breathing.

Akane then leans forward, gently placing her hands on the bench, she speaks softly in his ear;

“Congratulations Mr Fukami, you've got the job.” She rises slowly before stopping and adding with a whisper “Time to see what you're made of.”