"So, we have to wait for the Magic Council to fully file the paperwork before the job's officially done, huh?" Roger muttered to himself. With a flicker of thought, a strange doll materialized in his arms.
It was a cat-shaped plush stitched from rough purple fabric, covered in jagged black seams. Two mismatched, worn-out buttons served as its eyes, glinting eerily under the light. A pair of rusty nails were pinned to the sides of its ears.
The moment the doll appeared, its instructions flooded Roger's mind.
"Whoa, Roger! Is that a toy?" Kagura's eyes lit up, instantly drawn to it.
"It's called a Voodoo Doll," Roger said, setting it on the table. "It's a kind of magical item with… special properties."
"Voodoo Doll?" Cana wrinkled her nose, instinctively leaning back. "That sounds kinda creepy."
"Pretty much," Roger shrugged. "Basically, whatever you do to this doll happens to the person it's linked to. Exactly as it happens."
"Oh, and it can temporarily control their actions too."
"Control?!" Kagura tilted her head, her big eyes sparkling with excitement. She thrust her hand in the air. "Me! I wanna try it!"
Roger shook his head. "It only works with my magic to activate it."
"Oh…" Kagura's shoulders slumped, but she perked up again, pointing at herself. "Then link it to me! I wanna see what it's like! It's gotta be fun!"
"You?" Roger blinked, unsure if she'd misunderstood. "Control means your body won't listen to you. If I make you raise your hand, you'll raise it. If I make you spin, you'll spin—whether you want to or not."
"I get it!" Kagura waved him off, unbothered. "You wouldn't hurt me, Roger. Besides, I've got a cat plushie at home, and I wanna know what it feels like when it plays with me!"
Seeing her enthusiasm, Roger sighed. "Fine, but if it feels weird, you tell me to stop right away, okay?"
"Yup, yup, yup!" Kagura nodded like an eager chick pecking at rice. "Let's do it!"
Roger held out his hand. "I'll need a strand of your hair."
"Hair?" Kagura reached for her head but froze, memories of this morning's painful hairbrush tangle flashing through her mind.
She hesitated, her big eyes darting around. Suddenly, she hopped off her chair. "Wait right there, Roger! I'm gonna grab some scissors!" And with that, she scampered off.
"Uh…" Cana pointed at the shiny pair of scissors sitting on the bar counter. "The scissors… they're right there?"
Meanwhile, Kagura had already zipped across the guild hall to the west side, frantically rummaging through a drawer.
Finally, she found a pair of scissors. Snip! She neatly cut off a strand of her soft brown hair. As she went to put the scissors back, a voice called out behind her.
"Hey, Kagura! Grab me a bottle of booze, will ya?" It was Macao, lounging lazily against a table.
"Sure thing!" Kagura chirped, clutching her precious hair in her left hand. She tiptoed to reach a bottle from the tall liquor cabinet, then jogged over to hand it to Macao.
"Thanks! Want some juice?" Macao asked with a grin.
"Nah, I'm in a hurry!" Kagura zipped off like a gust of wind.
Nearby, Wakaba was pouring himself a drink when he noticed a small strand of dark brown hair on the table.
"Pfft! Macao!" He pointed at the hair, laughing exaggeratedly. "You're losing hair again? So young and already going bald—watch out, you'll be a shiny-headed old man soon!"
"Shut it!" Macao snapped, pointing at Wakaba's meticulously styled pompadour. "If anyone's going bald, it's you! That hairstyle's so tight, your roots are probably screaming for mercy!"
Back at the bar counter, Kagura ran up, panting, and proudly handed Roger a strand of brownish-purple hair. "Here's my hair! Let's do this, Roger!"
"Alright." Roger took the hair without checking it closely and tucked it into the stitches on the doll's head.
He focused, channeling magic into his fingertips and slowly pouring it into the doll.
Buzz—
The doll's button eyes suddenly glowed with an eerie purple light! Its stiff limbs twitched as if infused with a strange vitality. It wobbled to its feet, and from its purple-stitched mouth came a sharp, high-pitched "Meow!" that sounded nothing like a cat.
Roger took a deep breath and carefully pinched the doll's rigid right arm. Under Kagura's eager gaze, he gently swung it to the right.
All eyes turned to Kagura.
Kagura blinked, standing perfectly still, looking utterly confused.
"???"
Roger froze. He tried again, grabbing both of the doll's front paws and clapping them together with a thud.
Everyone looked at Kagura again.
Still nothing. She tilted her head, puzzled.
Cana poked the doll. "Is it… broken or something?"
"It shouldn't be…" Roger frowned, feeling his magic draining into the doll like water through an open faucet. "The magic's flowing, so it's definitely active. Why isn't Kagura reacting?"
"Hold on!" His brow furrowed. "Kagura just awakened her magic. Controlling her should be easy. Why's it eating up so much of my magic?"
Meanwhile, on the west side of the guild hall—
SLAP!
A loud, crisp slap echoed through the air!
"Ow!" Wakaba clutched his face, glaring at Macao with a mix of shock and fury. "What the hell, man?! Why'd you just hit me?!"
"Uh!" Macao looked horrified, staring at his right hand, still hovering in midair after the "crime."
"It… it wasn't me! My hand! It just moved on its own!"
"Yeah, right!" Wakaba scoffed, pointing at the clear handprint on his face. "What, your hand suddenly grew a brain and decided it didn't like my face? That's the lamest excuse I've ever heard!"
Macao gave an awkward laugh, trying to explain. "I'm serious, it's weird, right?"
Before he could finish—
SLAP! SLAP!
Two even louder slaps rang out! Macao's hands shot up like rogue puppet limbs, smacking Wakaba hard on both cheeks.
Wakaba was stunned, clutching his face, his eyes wide as bells. He stared at Macao in disbelief.
Macao, meanwhile, looked at his "rebellious" hands, practically in tears. "It… it was them again! I swear!"
"Heh… haha…" Wakaba's rage turned into a manic grin. He grabbed his right wrist with his left hand, his face twisting as if he'd seen a ghost. "My… my hand! It's not listening to me!"
His right hand broke free from his left's grip, rising with a dramatic "for justice" flair—
SLAP!!!
A powerful smack landed on Macao's face, louder than any before! Macao's cheek instantly swelled, burning red.
"S-sorry…" Wakaba muttered, barely holding back a laugh. "It wasn't me… it was my right hand. Maybe it thought your slaps weren't… symmetrical enough?" He spread his left hand innocently.
Macao clutched his stinging cheek, his mouth twitching. "I didn't hit you that hard!"
Wakaba shrugged, feigning innocence. "Tell that to my righteous right hand. It thinks you deserved it."
"You jerk—! That was on purpose!" Macao's temper snapped, his last thread of patience gone.
"Bull! You hit me first!" Wakaba shot back.
"Take this!"
"Bring it on!"
The two lunged at each other, trading punches and kicks, tumbling like rolling gourds and knocking over tables and chairs.
Back at the bar counter, Roger stared at the Voodoo Doll, its button eyes seeming to wink smugly as purple light flickered.
Then he glanced at the chaos unfolding across the hall, a bead of sweat sliding down his forehead.
"I think… we got the wrong hair…"