Project 001; Codename: Akirella
Starring: Touya Akira as 'Cinderella' Shindou Hikaru as Prince Charming Fujiwarano Sai as The Fairy 'Godmother' Zama Ouza as The Evil 'Stepmother' Fujisaki Akari and Mitani Yuuki as The Evil 'Stepsisters'
A/N: An important point to note would be that the references to each
character will correspond to their role in the story regardless of
gender. However, there are no switches of gender and the personal
pronouns used will correspond to gender. Meaning that, in Zama Ouza's
case of being the evil 'stepmother', he will be referred to in the story
as the 'Duchess' or Akira's 'stepmother' but will continue to be a he.
If whatever I just said sounds complicated, just read on and you'll most
probably see what I mean. In any case, Mitani is still a guy and will be
Akira's stepbrother. But since they can't exactly have two fathers, Zama
Ouza is going to be referred to as 'mother'. I would also like to
apologise before hand regarding the unkind portrayal of certain
characters; no offense intended but this is a parody and someone's going
to have to be the bad guy, so... go figure. But I don't apologise for
the evil portrayal of Zama Ouza; that was deliberate as well as
convenient. I hate him! How dare he say Akira isn't cute?! Anyhow, enjoy
(I hope) and please review.
PART 1
Once upon a time, there was a land known as the Kingdom of Kyu-Dan. The Kingdom's neighbour to the east was the Empire of Keima, while its neighbour across the Northern Sea was a small island continent known as the Doll Island Empire. The people of the Kingdom of Kyu-Dan all play Go and are called Kyu-Danes, while the people of the Empire of Keima all play Shougi and are known as Keimarians. As for the female-dominated population of the D.I.E., they all play dolls and are called Dollites. To foster peace, goodwill, and international relations, Shuusaku King Shindou of the ruling Nigiri Dynasty of the Kingdom of Kyu-Dan had 'Princess' Tsutsui married off to Habu Emperor Kaga of the Empire of Keima and Royal Cousin Grand Duke Fukui Tengen married as Ken Prince to Barbie Empress Nase of the D.I.E., leaving Crown Prince Hikaru as Regent of Tengen. Now, our tale takes place during the reign of the current monarch, Shuusaku King Shindou. The Kingdom consists of seven duchies, namely Honinbou, Meijin, Ouza, Jyudan, Kisei, Gosei, and Tengen, of which Honinbou is the capital and residence of the royal family. Our story begins in the most skilled duchy after Honinbou, in the Go Salon estates of the Grand Duke Touya Meijin...
* * *
"Akira! When you've finished washing those Go stones, come wipe the Gobans over here!" a voice called from across the many rows of tables.
"Hai, Akari-neesama!" replied a young boy dressed in a drab grey tunic, washing Go stones at a corner of the Komi Go Salon Estates.
"And hurry up before I tell 'mother'," snapped a voice from behind.
"Hai, Mitani-niisama," the boy replied, having to keep from snapping at the other to do it himself.
Akira sighed. He had been his father's only child and life had been good until his mother, the Duchess Akiko passed away. The Grand Duke Meijin played Go with him almost everyday and taught him all kinds of strategies. But a year after his mother's passing, his father wed a new 'wife': the Dowager 'Duchess' Zama Ouza, who had brought with him his two children, namely Akari and Mitani who were both a few months Akira's senior. Akira merely heaved another sigh as he dried the last of the stones; he had long since given up feeling sorry for himself. Now, his 'stepmother' refused to let him play Go –obviously to keep him from inheriting the duchy since inheritances were based on Go skills and he was obviously much more talented than either Akari or Mitani- and instead forced him to clean Go paraphernalia all day everyday.
And then there were his stepsiblings. Akari wasn't too bad, really; she was never kind but never cruel either. Mitani, on the other hand, was horrible; he cheated at Go and went out of his way to make Akira's already less than pleasant life miserable. If only he knew why Mitani hated him so strongly, he might be able to fix it but... Oh well, life's like that. Needless to say, the 'Duchess' himself was pretty much the devil incarnate –maybe that was an insult to the devil?- His father was never cruel to him but was rarely ever around to know about the ill-treatment he received anyway. Akira, of course wouldn't dare say a word about it lest he incur his 'stepmother's' wrath and thus bring more misery as well as Mitani's bullying upon himself.
He sighed again as he lifted the bucket of clean Go stones and turned to walk back to where he had left the empty Go-tsubos, trying to look on the bright side of his very gloomy life. At least he still had some old kifu and joseki books that he had quickly hidden away in the attic. There were even several of the legendary first Shuusaku King Torajiro's games! He also had an old Goban and some stones at the back of an old oak cupboard in the attic. They were dusty and the shine had long since left the varnish, but they were still useable and... it was Go. How he yearned to play a game once more! He didn't care for the inheritance, he just wanted to play. But he had his 'stepmother's' ban and no one to play with, so he could only stare and run his fingers longingly and lovingly over the dusty surfaces, thinking about what once was and remembering the feel of placing each treasured stone on the board. Every once in a while, he would wake at the wee hours of the morning when everyone else was still sound asleep to recreate a game for himself, but it would never replace a real game with a real opponent. Still, it was better than nothing and for that alone, he was thankful.
"Ow!" he cried as someone bumped into him, snapping him out of his reverie as he lost his balance and fell to the ground awkwardly with a soft thud, thus dropping the bucket and spilling the clean Go stones all over the ground.
"Watch where you're going, you low-class good-for-nothing!"
Mitani; he should have known. The guy's mission was to make his sad life a living hell anyway. He didn't know what sin he had ever committed against his 'stepsister' but he suspected there really wasn't a reason for it; Mitani just hated him and simply found perverse pleasure in tormenting him. Mitani did that on purpose, he knew, but making an issue out of the matter would only be inviting more misery. Thus, he swallowed his anger, kept his temper in check, bit back the list of harsh words running through his mind, and merely said as evenly as he could manage, "Gomen nasai, Mitani- niisama." Akira knelt down to pick up the scattered Go stones as Mitani made a show of storming off wordlessly and sighed; he was going to have to wash and dry about half the stones again. It was definitely going to be another long day.
* * *
Akira dropped wearily onto his hard sleeping pallet that was only a little better than the floor and tugged his blanket that was scarcely more than a large rag around himself. It was cold here most nights and he had some towels for the winter but still he'd be huddling up in a corner trying desperately to find warmth in the draughty attic that never seemed to keep the cold out, curled up in blankets that never seemed to keep the warmth in. But it was better than sleeping out in the snow and at least the attic, unlike the cellar where the servants slept, didn't have rats. He opened the old oak cupboard and longingly caressed the once polished surface of the old Goban.
/Oh, if only I could play Go again!/ he thought with a sigh.
Suddenly a shower of Go stones appeared from nowhere and a person with long purple hair wearing purple lipstick and a long robe of ancient design complete with an obsolete-styled cap materialized from the stones. He held a fan and looked –in Akira's opinion- very much like a goose. Akira backed away instinctively.
"Who are you? Get away!" he cried out softly, for fear of waking the rest of the house.
The other grinned. "I'm the resident Go Fairy, Akira, your Fairy 'Godmother'. Well, I've never heard of a fairy godfather anyway, so I'll just stick to the more popular title."
"This sounds like a fucked up Cinderella story!" Akira muttered, half to himself.
"Well, my name is Sai and the strength of your wish to play Go has reached me. I'm here to make you a great Go player, perhaps the greatest ever!" the fairy declared.
Akira rolled his eyes. A Go Fairy. God, could his life get any more messed up? "Right."
"Un! Play a game with me? Na... Utte! Utte! Utte!" Sai whined at him loudly, sounding for all the world like a spoilt three-year-old.
Right. A Go Fairy that sounded like a spoilt brat of a toddler. Life sucked. Royally. "Fine," he agreed grudgingly. "Just quiet down; you'll wake the city."
"Nope. No one can hear me but you."
"And I'm the only one who can see you?"
Sai nodded cheerfully.
Akira rolled his eyes and got out the old Goban and stones.
"You start," the fairy orders, suddenly serious.
Akira nodded and methodically passed the Go-tsubo with white stones to Sai. The tsubo magically floated out of his hands to land beside the fairy who had knelt down opposite him. He raised an eyebrow at the magic.
"Oh," the fairy remarked, noticing Akira's curious expression. "I'm not exactly solid, you see. I can't touch things of corporeal form, so I have to move things with magic." He demonstrated by trying to lift the Goban and his hand just passed through the board as if it wasn't there. "I can only touch people..." he reached out to lightly poke the other's arm. "... because they have souls."
"Oh." Akira placed a stone on his upper left hoshi and watched with mild interest as a white Go stone floated out of its tsubo and onto his lower right komoku. He responded with a lower left hoshi and watched as another white stone floated over to land on his upper right komoku.
Fifteen minutes later...
"I've lost," Akira concedes, looking at the Goban in amazement. Maybe there really was a Go Fairy after all; Sai was extremely strong.
"Hm... Talent, lack of practice. We're going to have to work on that. I'll come play with you every night," Sai announced calmly.
Akira felt a burst of elation. He was going to play Go every night with such a strong player! Finally, an opponent with which to play Go! Maybe life wasn't so bad after all.
* * *
"Hmm... Kingdom Go Tournament..." the Dowager 'Duchess' Zama Ouza mused aloud to himself, gazing thoughtfully at the invitation card in his hand.
Not too far away, Akira immediately turned his attention to his 'stepmother' even as he sat on the hall floor wiping a Goban clean. A Kingdom Go Tournament? All the best players in the Kingdom would probably attend then. It would be such a great opportunity to test and improve his skills now that he had been playing with Sai every night for half a year.
"All members of the royal family will be in attendance and the presence of the nobility is greatly appreciated," the 'Duchess' read aloud from the card. He smirked at that. There had been rumours circulating for some time now that the Crown Prince Hikaru was looking for a wife and that he had rather flexible preferences. The first criteria would, of course, be excellent Go skills. That meant that if the Crown Prince was attending the tournament to choose a bride, both his children had a good chance. Perhaps he could be 'mother'-in-law to the king someday!
"All members of the royal family will be in attendance..." Akira repeated softly to himself in a whisper. That meant that the Crown Prince Hikaru would be there! He wanted to play with the prince... It was said that he was a great Go player, better even than his father and his grandfather before him. Some even claimed he was the equal of the legendary first Shuusaku King Torajiro! That made him better than nearly all his predecessors! How he longed to play against such a great player! He moved on to wiping the next Goban. But could he? How was he going to convince his 'stepmother' to take him along? Still, hope ran eternal and he could at least ask.
"Akari! Mitani!" his 'stepmother' called.
"Yes, 'mother'?" Akari enquired as she and Mitani hurried down the steps.
"There's going to be a Kingdom Go Tournament in two days time," the 'Duchess' announced calmly as his children came to a stop before him. "It will be held at the palace for three nights consecutively." He smiled an evil smile. "Polish your Go skills and practise more. You know about the prince," he informed them with a conspiratorial edge to his voice.
Akari smiled shyly as Mitani smirked. She had always found the prince very cute and her brother always liked having great players at his side.
Akira finally summoned up the courage to approach his 'stepmother' then. He stood and resolutely walked over to the Dowager 'Duchess'. "Please 'Mother', may I go with you to the Tournament?" he asked timidly.
At that, Mitani laughed harshly. "You? Go to the Tournament? Oh puh-leeze!! You haven't played Go in years and you want to go for a tournament?! Goodness! Get a grip on yourself, kid; you'd embarrass the entire Duchy if you came with us!"
Akira merely turned a deaf ear to Mitani's insults and looked up hopefully at his 'stepmother' instead.
For a long time, he simply looked down at his stepchild. Then, he frowned. "You know what I said about you and Go. No, you are not to go to the Tournament." With that, he turned and walked away with his two children behind him leaving a very crushed Akira standing alone in the middle of the hall.
* * *
"Sai, 'mother' won't let me go to the Kingdom Tournament," Akira complained as the fairy materialized as usual in the attic, resolutely fighting back the tears as the waves of pain, sorrow, bitterness, disappointment, and anger washed over him. Normally indifferent to most things, when he did feel, he usually felt a myriad of emotions all at the same time and to extremes.
"Na... Akira... Don't be sad!" cried Sai.
"I've always wanted to play the prince and you're telling me not to be sad because I can't?!" he questioned in disbelief. "I don't believe this!"
"Just because they won't let you doesn't mean you can't go," the other reasoned.
"What? Do you mean you have a way to get me there?" Akira asked, immediately interested.
"Of course."
"How?" Finally, some good news. He was officially excited.
"You'll see," the fairy replied as he disappeared in a shower of Go stones, leaving Akira to wonder alone what he had up those floppy white sleeves of his.
Starring: Touya Akira as 'Cinderella' Shindou Hikaru as Prince Charming Fujiwarano Sai as The Fairy 'Godmother' Zama Ouza as The Evil 'Stepmother' Fujisaki Akari and Mitani Yuuki as The Evil 'Stepsisters'
A/N: An important point to note would be that the references to each
character will correspond to their role in the story regardless of
gender. However, there are no switches of gender and the personal
pronouns used will correspond to gender. Meaning that, in Zama Ouza's
case of being the evil 'stepmother', he will be referred to in the story
as the 'Duchess' or Akira's 'stepmother' but will continue to be a he.
If whatever I just said sounds complicated, just read on and you'll most
probably see what I mean. In any case, Mitani is still a guy and will be
Akira's stepbrother. But since they can't exactly have two fathers, Zama
Ouza is going to be referred to as 'mother'. I would also like to
apologise before hand regarding the unkind portrayal of certain
characters; no offense intended but this is a parody and someone's going
to have to be the bad guy, so... go figure. But I don't apologise for
the evil portrayal of Zama Ouza; that was deliberate as well as
convenient. I hate him! How dare he say Akira isn't cute?! Anyhow, enjoy
(I hope) and please review.
PART 1
Once upon a time, there was a land known as the Kingdom of Kyu-Dan. The Kingdom's neighbour to the east was the Empire of Keima, while its neighbour across the Northern Sea was a small island continent known as the Doll Island Empire. The people of the Kingdom of Kyu-Dan all play Go and are called Kyu-Danes, while the people of the Empire of Keima all play Shougi and are known as Keimarians. As for the female-dominated population of the D.I.E., they all play dolls and are called Dollites. To foster peace, goodwill, and international relations, Shuusaku King Shindou of the ruling Nigiri Dynasty of the Kingdom of Kyu-Dan had 'Princess' Tsutsui married off to Habu Emperor Kaga of the Empire of Keima and Royal Cousin Grand Duke Fukui Tengen married as Ken Prince to Barbie Empress Nase of the D.I.E., leaving Crown Prince Hikaru as Regent of Tengen. Now, our tale takes place during the reign of the current monarch, Shuusaku King Shindou. The Kingdom consists of seven duchies, namely Honinbou, Meijin, Ouza, Jyudan, Kisei, Gosei, and Tengen, of which Honinbou is the capital and residence of the royal family. Our story begins in the most skilled duchy after Honinbou, in the Go Salon estates of the Grand Duke Touya Meijin...
* * *
"Akira! When you've finished washing those Go stones, come wipe the Gobans over here!" a voice called from across the many rows of tables.
"Hai, Akari-neesama!" replied a young boy dressed in a drab grey tunic, washing Go stones at a corner of the Komi Go Salon Estates.
"And hurry up before I tell 'mother'," snapped a voice from behind.
"Hai, Mitani-niisama," the boy replied, having to keep from snapping at the other to do it himself.
Akira sighed. He had been his father's only child and life had been good until his mother, the Duchess Akiko passed away. The Grand Duke Meijin played Go with him almost everyday and taught him all kinds of strategies. But a year after his mother's passing, his father wed a new 'wife': the Dowager 'Duchess' Zama Ouza, who had brought with him his two children, namely Akari and Mitani who were both a few months Akira's senior. Akira merely heaved another sigh as he dried the last of the stones; he had long since given up feeling sorry for himself. Now, his 'stepmother' refused to let him play Go –obviously to keep him from inheriting the duchy since inheritances were based on Go skills and he was obviously much more talented than either Akari or Mitani- and instead forced him to clean Go paraphernalia all day everyday.
And then there were his stepsiblings. Akari wasn't too bad, really; she was never kind but never cruel either. Mitani, on the other hand, was horrible; he cheated at Go and went out of his way to make Akira's already less than pleasant life miserable. If only he knew why Mitani hated him so strongly, he might be able to fix it but... Oh well, life's like that. Needless to say, the 'Duchess' himself was pretty much the devil incarnate –maybe that was an insult to the devil?- His father was never cruel to him but was rarely ever around to know about the ill-treatment he received anyway. Akira, of course wouldn't dare say a word about it lest he incur his 'stepmother's' wrath and thus bring more misery as well as Mitani's bullying upon himself.
He sighed again as he lifted the bucket of clean Go stones and turned to walk back to where he had left the empty Go-tsubos, trying to look on the bright side of his very gloomy life. At least he still had some old kifu and joseki books that he had quickly hidden away in the attic. There were even several of the legendary first Shuusaku King Torajiro's games! He also had an old Goban and some stones at the back of an old oak cupboard in the attic. They were dusty and the shine had long since left the varnish, but they were still useable and... it was Go. How he yearned to play a game once more! He didn't care for the inheritance, he just wanted to play. But he had his 'stepmother's' ban and no one to play with, so he could only stare and run his fingers longingly and lovingly over the dusty surfaces, thinking about what once was and remembering the feel of placing each treasured stone on the board. Every once in a while, he would wake at the wee hours of the morning when everyone else was still sound asleep to recreate a game for himself, but it would never replace a real game with a real opponent. Still, it was better than nothing and for that alone, he was thankful.
"Ow!" he cried as someone bumped into him, snapping him out of his reverie as he lost his balance and fell to the ground awkwardly with a soft thud, thus dropping the bucket and spilling the clean Go stones all over the ground.
"Watch where you're going, you low-class good-for-nothing!"
Mitani; he should have known. The guy's mission was to make his sad life a living hell anyway. He didn't know what sin he had ever committed against his 'stepsister' but he suspected there really wasn't a reason for it; Mitani just hated him and simply found perverse pleasure in tormenting him. Mitani did that on purpose, he knew, but making an issue out of the matter would only be inviting more misery. Thus, he swallowed his anger, kept his temper in check, bit back the list of harsh words running through his mind, and merely said as evenly as he could manage, "Gomen nasai, Mitani- niisama." Akira knelt down to pick up the scattered Go stones as Mitani made a show of storming off wordlessly and sighed; he was going to have to wash and dry about half the stones again. It was definitely going to be another long day.
* * *
Akira dropped wearily onto his hard sleeping pallet that was only a little better than the floor and tugged his blanket that was scarcely more than a large rag around himself. It was cold here most nights and he had some towels for the winter but still he'd be huddling up in a corner trying desperately to find warmth in the draughty attic that never seemed to keep the cold out, curled up in blankets that never seemed to keep the warmth in. But it was better than sleeping out in the snow and at least the attic, unlike the cellar where the servants slept, didn't have rats. He opened the old oak cupboard and longingly caressed the once polished surface of the old Goban.
/Oh, if only I could play Go again!/ he thought with a sigh.
Suddenly a shower of Go stones appeared from nowhere and a person with long purple hair wearing purple lipstick and a long robe of ancient design complete with an obsolete-styled cap materialized from the stones. He held a fan and looked –in Akira's opinion- very much like a goose. Akira backed away instinctively.
"Who are you? Get away!" he cried out softly, for fear of waking the rest of the house.
The other grinned. "I'm the resident Go Fairy, Akira, your Fairy 'Godmother'. Well, I've never heard of a fairy godfather anyway, so I'll just stick to the more popular title."
"This sounds like a fucked up Cinderella story!" Akira muttered, half to himself.
"Well, my name is Sai and the strength of your wish to play Go has reached me. I'm here to make you a great Go player, perhaps the greatest ever!" the fairy declared.
Akira rolled his eyes. A Go Fairy. God, could his life get any more messed up? "Right."
"Un! Play a game with me? Na... Utte! Utte! Utte!" Sai whined at him loudly, sounding for all the world like a spoilt three-year-old.
Right. A Go Fairy that sounded like a spoilt brat of a toddler. Life sucked. Royally. "Fine," he agreed grudgingly. "Just quiet down; you'll wake the city."
"Nope. No one can hear me but you."
"And I'm the only one who can see you?"
Sai nodded cheerfully.
Akira rolled his eyes and got out the old Goban and stones.
"You start," the fairy orders, suddenly serious.
Akira nodded and methodically passed the Go-tsubo with white stones to Sai. The tsubo magically floated out of his hands to land beside the fairy who had knelt down opposite him. He raised an eyebrow at the magic.
"Oh," the fairy remarked, noticing Akira's curious expression. "I'm not exactly solid, you see. I can't touch things of corporeal form, so I have to move things with magic." He demonstrated by trying to lift the Goban and his hand just passed through the board as if it wasn't there. "I can only touch people..." he reached out to lightly poke the other's arm. "... because they have souls."
"Oh." Akira placed a stone on his upper left hoshi and watched with mild interest as a white Go stone floated out of its tsubo and onto his lower right komoku. He responded with a lower left hoshi and watched as another white stone floated over to land on his upper right komoku.
Fifteen minutes later...
"I've lost," Akira concedes, looking at the Goban in amazement. Maybe there really was a Go Fairy after all; Sai was extremely strong.
"Hm... Talent, lack of practice. We're going to have to work on that. I'll come play with you every night," Sai announced calmly.
Akira felt a burst of elation. He was going to play Go every night with such a strong player! Finally, an opponent with which to play Go! Maybe life wasn't so bad after all.
* * *
"Hmm... Kingdom Go Tournament..." the Dowager 'Duchess' Zama Ouza mused aloud to himself, gazing thoughtfully at the invitation card in his hand.
Not too far away, Akira immediately turned his attention to his 'stepmother' even as he sat on the hall floor wiping a Goban clean. A Kingdom Go Tournament? All the best players in the Kingdom would probably attend then. It would be such a great opportunity to test and improve his skills now that he had been playing with Sai every night for half a year.
"All members of the royal family will be in attendance and the presence of the nobility is greatly appreciated," the 'Duchess' read aloud from the card. He smirked at that. There had been rumours circulating for some time now that the Crown Prince Hikaru was looking for a wife and that he had rather flexible preferences. The first criteria would, of course, be excellent Go skills. That meant that if the Crown Prince was attending the tournament to choose a bride, both his children had a good chance. Perhaps he could be 'mother'-in-law to the king someday!
"All members of the royal family will be in attendance..." Akira repeated softly to himself in a whisper. That meant that the Crown Prince Hikaru would be there! He wanted to play with the prince... It was said that he was a great Go player, better even than his father and his grandfather before him. Some even claimed he was the equal of the legendary first Shuusaku King Torajiro! That made him better than nearly all his predecessors! How he longed to play against such a great player! He moved on to wiping the next Goban. But could he? How was he going to convince his 'stepmother' to take him along? Still, hope ran eternal and he could at least ask.
"Akari! Mitani!" his 'stepmother' called.
"Yes, 'mother'?" Akari enquired as she and Mitani hurried down the steps.
"There's going to be a Kingdom Go Tournament in two days time," the 'Duchess' announced calmly as his children came to a stop before him. "It will be held at the palace for three nights consecutively." He smiled an evil smile. "Polish your Go skills and practise more. You know about the prince," he informed them with a conspiratorial edge to his voice.
Akari smiled shyly as Mitani smirked. She had always found the prince very cute and her brother always liked having great players at his side.
Akira finally summoned up the courage to approach his 'stepmother' then. He stood and resolutely walked over to the Dowager 'Duchess'. "Please 'Mother', may I go with you to the Tournament?" he asked timidly.
At that, Mitani laughed harshly. "You? Go to the Tournament? Oh puh-leeze!! You haven't played Go in years and you want to go for a tournament?! Goodness! Get a grip on yourself, kid; you'd embarrass the entire Duchy if you came with us!"
Akira merely turned a deaf ear to Mitani's insults and looked up hopefully at his 'stepmother' instead.
For a long time, he simply looked down at his stepchild. Then, he frowned. "You know what I said about you and Go. No, you are not to go to the Tournament." With that, he turned and walked away with his two children behind him leaving a very crushed Akira standing alone in the middle of the hall.
* * *
"Sai, 'mother' won't let me go to the Kingdom Tournament," Akira complained as the fairy materialized as usual in the attic, resolutely fighting back the tears as the waves of pain, sorrow, bitterness, disappointment, and anger washed over him. Normally indifferent to most things, when he did feel, he usually felt a myriad of emotions all at the same time and to extremes.
"Na... Akira... Don't be sad!" cried Sai.
"I've always wanted to play the prince and you're telling me not to be sad because I can't?!" he questioned in disbelief. "I don't believe this!"
"Just because they won't let you doesn't mean you can't go," the other reasoned.
"What? Do you mean you have a way to get me there?" Akira asked, immediately interested.
"Of course."
"How?" Finally, some good news. He was officially excited.
"You'll see," the fairy replied as he disappeared in a shower of Go stones, leaving Akira to wonder alone what he had up those floppy white sleeves of his.