Author note: hey so just got wifi for first time not sure when I will again, but this chapter is a bit short as I have wrote the next couple while slightly (maybe more than slightly) drunk so had to edit them. Heres this one for now not sure when I can post the next one,. Enjoy
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Kenji walked through the halls of the Coral Peacock headquarters early in the morning, yawning deeply. The sun was just beginning to rise, casting long shadows through the windows as he followed Rick, who walked ahead in complete silence.
"Yo, I thought this would be the squad that lets you sleep in. What's with the early wake-up call?" Kenji asked, still rubbing sleep from his eyes.
Rick said nothing, continuing to walk without even acknowledging the question.
Kenji sighed. "Right. Great conversation."
After walking in silence for what felt like forever through the winding corridors, they finally approached a door. Rick knocked twice, then turned to Kenji with that same serious expression.
"The captain is waiting for you."
Kenji nodded. "Well, great chat. Let's catch up again soon," he said sarcastically as he walked past Rick, who gained a visible tick mark on his forehead.
Kenji opened the doors to the captain's office and stepped inside, closing them behind him. The room was decorated in pink and purple, with different witch hats displayed on shelves around the walls. His purple-haired captain sat behind a large oak desk that looked far too big for her small frame. She sat on a dark pink chair with large cushions, and what appeared to be a booster seat to compensate for her short height.
She was sleeping.
Kenji walked over and sat in the chair on the opposite side of her desk. He waited.
One minute passed.
Nothing happened.
Kenji looked at her with growing confusion. "So glad I woke up this early for this informative chat. Everyone in this squad seems so talkative today—it's great. You should have seen it. Rick was practically spilling his life secrets to me on the way here. That guy just doesn't know when to stop talking. Great guy though."
Still no response. Instead, a snot bubble began forming at Dorothy's nose.
Kenji groaned. "It's too early for this shit. Screw it, let's see if I can go in."
He focused all of his senses on the grimoire sitting on her lap and snapped his fingers.
Nothing happened.
"Well, let's just pretend that didn't happen. Let's try this again."
Focusing harder on her grimoire and wrapping a considerable amount of mana into his fingers, he snapped again.
Nothing.
"Oh, come on! Really?!"
Growing frustrated but now determined, he focused even harder on the grimoire, going deeper into his senses and pouring all his energy toward it. Finally, after a mixture of probing and reaching, he sensed a faint ripple in reality emanating from the grimoire.
He smirked. "I got you now."
Zeroing in on that faint trace, he wrapped his fingers in as much mana as he could muster and snapped.
Suddenly, he felt his surroundings morph. The office dissolved around him, and he appeared in a world of pure pink with glittering sparkles floating everywhere. He was breathing heavily from the ridiculous amount of effort that had taken.
"Ha... haha... hahahaha! I did it!"
Looking around, he took in his new surroundings with wide eyes. Giant candies, beds, couches, random fruits, and teddy bears floated aimlessly through this bizarre dimension. He sweat-dropped at the absurdity of it all.
Then he spotted his captain, hovering in mid-air on that same chair from her office, eyes still closed, looking completely at peace.
Dorothy's lips curved into a smirk. Slowly, her eyes cracked open, revealing bright purple irises with a bright blue ring around the pupils. The smirk grew into a full smile, and then she began giggling to herself.
She got out of her chair and began skipping through the air toward Kenji, still giggling. She grabbed his hand and started jumping around in circles.
"Hehehe, you did it! You really did it! This is gonna be so much fun! I'm so happy you joined my squad, Ken-Ken!"
Kenji, utterly baffled as he spun in circles with his hand held captive, just let out a confused "Huh?"
Dorothy continued with unconfined glee, her smile huge and genuine. "I mean, I thought something like this could happen when I sensed your magic during the exam, but to think you can really come here! I finally have someone to dream with! This is amazing!"
She squealed excitedly at the end.
This only confused Kenji more. "What?"
Dorothy let go of his hand and jumped back, striking a dramatic pose. "Right, right! Introductions and all that! Well, nice to finally meet you, Ken! I'm your captain, Dorothy, but you'll call me Big Sis!" She struck another pose with her tongue out and two fingers blocking one eye. "And welcome to Glamour World!"
She spread her arms wide, gesturing to the pink dimension around them. "My world of dreams where anything is possible, outside the control of the outside world, under my control!"
Then she rushed toward him again and grabbed his hand, pulling him closer with infectious enthusiasm. "Isn't it great?!"
Kenji, still trying to process everything that had just happened, said out loud in confusion, "Right, nice to meet you, Captain..."
"Big Sis," Dorothy corrected immediately.
Kenji paused. "Right, so Captain..."
"Big Sis."
He sighed internally, thinking, Might as well embrace it. "Right... Big Sis..." The words came out slightly awkward. "Yeah, it's great..."
His tone was still thoroughly confused.
Dorothy beamed at him with a bright smile. "Oh, don't say it like that! I don't know exactly how your magic works, but from what I sensed, it must be similar to mine! So tell me—do you have a place like my dream world? If you do, lemme see! What do your dreams look like?! Oh, this is just so exciting!"
She squealed again and jumped around excitedly, her enthusiasm infectious.
Kenji took a moment to gather his composure, then smirked slightly. "You know, you're actually quite cute like this—now that I see you all excited and not sleeping."
Dorothy laughed, swatting her hand dismissively. "Ohhh, I'm glad you noticed! But you're way too young to be flirting with me, mister." She gave him a pointed look.
Kenji was baffled. After a moment, he just sighed. "That's not what I was do— You know what, never mind."
"But don't go changing the subject!" Dorothy cut in again. "So was I right?" She referred back to her previous question about his magic.
Kenji thought for a moment. Deciding it would be beneficial to openly share a certain amount of information about his magic with her, he said, "Well, kind of, I guess. I'm not really exactly sure how my magic works, but you're right in assuming it's similar to yours." He paused to think. "I don't exactly have a separate dimension like yours to play around with, per se, but rather I think I can access different spaces in reality at my whim, where I can then gain control over them if that makes sense." He finished with a pondering expression.
Dorothy's playful smirk faded, replaced by a more serious, thoughtful look. She was silent for a moment, processing his explanation. Then her eyes lit up again. "Ohhh, I see! Well, I think I get the picture, but could you show me?" The excitement returned to her voice at the prospect of seeing it in action.
Kenji nodded. "Yeah, sure."
He gathered his mana and snapped his fingers.
Nothing happened.
Kenji went pale, his breathing becoming heavy. Dorothy's eyes widened for a brief moment.
What the hell was that? What was that feeling just now? That's the first time I've been restricted. What's going on?
His panicked thoughts were interrupted by Dorothy's sheepish grin. "Hehe, oopsies! Sorry, I forgot about that. You can't forcibly leave without my permission, hehe. You can't resist my magic yet, haha!" She gave a cute tilt of her head as she said it.
Kenji, bent over and breathing heavily, didn't notice the cute gesture. He looked up after gathering himself. "Yeah, I got that," he said dryly, gesturing to his disheveled appearance.
I guess it works similar to me barring certain unique cases. I don't have more mana right now than her, so I can't forcibly disrupt her magic. I guess I only got in here because she let me. He chuckled self-deprecatingly at that last thought.
Dorothy giggled at his reaction. "Well, let's get out of here so you can show me!"
She hopped over excitedly and grabbed his hand. Kenji felt the space around him distort, and suddenly they were back in the office—Dorothy in her oversized chair with the booster seat, and Kenji sitting across from her, both now wide awake despite the early hour.