The Sixth Titan | Teen Titans

Chapter Sixty-Eight - Trouble in Tokyo, Part Two

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    "Toky-whoa!"

    I take the time to look around the heart of the city. Despite it being late at night, many people traipse through the streets—for the most part, one of shopping bags, food, or company is with them—and the city is alive with brightness and noise.

    "So, where to now?" Raven questions.

    Robin turns away from his conversation with Cyborg—they've been talking to each other the entire time, and by the looks on their faces throughout, it seems seirous—pulls out the book on Japan he packed.

    "The roughest part of town is the Shinjuku district," he concludes. He stashes the book away once more and turns to us. "We'll start our search there."

    "Okay," Cyborg stalls. "Which way is that?"

    "I don't know. I can't read the signs."

    "Neither can I," I muse. I hold my hand out to Robin and he takes it in his, but I pull it back. "The book. Can you pass it to me?"

    Cyborg not-so-cleverly disguises his laugh with a cough, but I have a hunch it's intentional. With a turn and a glare, his cheeks begin to burn red and he pulls his fist from his face guiltily, earning an unhidden snort of amusement from Raven.

    "Oh." Robin swallows and hands the red book to me. "Here you go."

    "It might be here somewhere," I state softly, "in a map of some kind." I flip through the pages quickly, scanning each one for a map of the districts in Tokyo. When I find nothing that I can read, I turn to the very back of the book and begin to look through the index.

    "Don't worry about it, Em," Beast Boy says, snatching the book from me and handing it back to Robin. "We'll just ask for directions."

    "This won't end well," I mumble.

    The shapeshifter steps away from us and taps an old man on the shoulder. "Um, hi," he musters. "How do I get to Shinjuku?"

    The man allows a small smile to creep onto his face—possibly at the chance to help a foreigner—and he looks away from his newspaper. To Beast Boy's horror, he begins to speak in fluent Japanese, and the green teen is forced to nod along aimlessly.

    "Okay, thanks." Beast Boy walks back to us and opens his mouth, pretending for a second like he's going to offer something useful. "I have no idea what he said."

    Cyborg leans forward, ready to strangle his younger brother, but Starfire places a hand over his chest, effectively stops him. "Perhaps I may be of assistance."

    The alien princes walks in the other direction, eyes looking around. She grabs the collar of the first person she sees, who happens to be a teenage boy, and brings him in for a firm and lengthy kiss on the lips. 

    The other Titans exemplify varying levels of shock—from Raven's single, raised eyebrow to Beast Boy's audible gasp and dropped jaw—but mine seems to be the most jarring to them: I snort at the sheer absurdity of the situation, and how Starfire is, for whatever reason, kissing a stranger.

    When it hits me, I laugh even louder—to the point where people passing by would think I'm a mental patient under the care of the Titans, not a Titan myself. 

    Starfire kissed me when we met, and then she spoke English.

    After an eternity of their lips being locked, Starfire pulls away with a smile and begins speaking fluent Japanese. The boy answers her and the redhead replies with what I assume is thanks due to the bow she incorporates with it, and the boy mutters something, dazed, as she returns to us with a smile.