Wait. A different planet? Akihiko couldn't help looking surprised for a moment. He'd heard the rumors, of course, but, well...his mental image of people from other planets was the sort you saw in the kind of science fiction movies that aired at 2 AM when you couldn't sleep. So speaking to an actual person from another planet was a surprise.

"I'm afraid I haven't...what's it like there?" He tried to keep the incredulity out of his voice. "I'm from Port Island, Japan, here on Earth. I...well, I'm guessing you probably haven't heard of it either, huh?"