A burst of light and heat brings Aki’s focus away from Yamamoto. Well, at least they didn’t have to fuss over Tomoda anymore. He looked better than ever, flashier than ever with his fiery Persona standing behind him, which had Tomoda’s trademark shark-toothed grin permanently carved into its face. It was the after-image of the monster they had just defeated, albeit with a less shadowy aura. Even with this recent development, Aki would continue keeping his distance. Those burns wouldn’t be forgotten so easily. 

Then suddenly, a voice. Distinct but impossible to pin down. Then the scenery changed. More butterflies. Aki was getting awfully tired of them. The source of the voice revealed itself, a ghostly half-mask. Real Phantom of the Opera-like. Philemon was its name. And it was way too tactful for someone, something, who had just watched or was at least aware of the life-threatening situation the teens were put in. That … didn’t sit right with Aki. 

Takahashi’s outburst was completely justified but getting overcome by such fervent emotion wasn’t the way to deal with people who held power over you. Aki didn’t operate like that. The swearing wasn’t helping either, no matter how valid their points were. And it certainly wouldn’t help if they repeated their spiel in Engli- oh my. Were half of those actual words? Aki had watched many an American film with his sisters so he was familiar with some curses. But some of the things that were coming out of Takahashi’s mouth, they were certainly … original. 

[color=82ca9d]“Learning new things everyday,”[/color] Aki muttered under his breath.

He couldn’t let the conversation with this other-worldly (and possibly dangerous) being end on such a hostile note. They weren’t out of the dark yet. Figuratively, anyway. The void had brightened and transformed into a white floor, but this location didn’t seem any closer to home than the void had. And Aki really wanted to go home.

[color=82ca9d]“Ah, apologies for my classmates uh, tone,”[/color] Aki feigned a nervous chuckle. People were more likely to comply if they believed that they controlled the conversation, [color=82ca9d]“but they raised a valid point. Could you please tell us how to get home? And while you’re at it, sir, how did we even get here? What is this place?”[/color]