It had been an uneventful week for the Titans – there had not been a single enemy terrorising the city, and consequently the time had consisted of a mixture of combat practice and relaxation. Raven, as usual, was reading one of her many books, Cyborg was playing on the Gamestation, and Starfire was showing a rather reluctant Robin how to prepare one of her favourite Tamaranean dishes. Beast Boy entered the living room with several newspapers in his arms, looking rather worn out. Robin and Starfire were visibly shocked.

"Hey Beast Boy, are you OK?" Robin asked.

"Yeah, I'm – OK"

"You look out of the breath", Starfire noted. "And I was not aware that you read the papers of news"

"I wasn't aware he could read at all", Raven remarked snidely. Beast Boy glared at all.

"Well, normally I don't, no. But there's this absolutely sensational girl – she's been dominating judo and other martial tournaments all across Japan, and she's making her way to the United States. I've been going round town leafing through every newspaper to find out more about her"

"Ooh, someone's got a crush", Cyborg teased.

"I do not!" Beast Boy blushed. "But still, it's pretty incredible – she's only 17 and yet she's already dominating the worldwide martial arts scene"

"I think I might have seen her on the news yesterday, actually", Robin said. "What's her name?"

"Er, it's Sa… er… Sak… Sak, er…" Cyborg snatched one of the newspapers, where she was featured on the front page. "Sakura Akiyama" Cyborg read, "who was born and raised in Osaka, Japan, earned the gold medal in the annual National Judo Championship, her seventh gold medal thus far. As well as judo, she has also competed in local and national tournaments for aikido, jujutsu and karate, and has stated aspirations to represent Japan on an international level"

"Wow, she's… quite something", Robin said. "Her level of skill sounds practically superhuman"

"Well, I'd say she's a pretty super human", Beast Boy said dreamily, and gazed into the distance. Raven slapped him over the back of the head. "Get a hold of yourself, lover boy"

"Still, wouldn't it be awesome if I got to meet her one day?"

The doorbell rang.

"I'll get it!" Starfire flew towards the front door. When she opened it and saw who was standing in front of her, she gasped.

"Who is it, Star?" Robin asked.

"It is her! The girl of many martial arts!"

"What?! No way!" Beast Boy turned into a cheetah and darted towards the front door, knocking Starfire off of her feet. "Er… hi… I'm Beast Boy…"

"No kidding – I'm Sakura Akiyama. I'm sure you've heard of me" Sakura was very tall, slightly taller than Robin, and had a trim figure with slender arms and legs. Her strawberry-blonde hair was arranged in a pixie cut, and she had large, soft brown eyes. She was dressed in a white T-shirt and jeans. She extended her hand – Beast Boy shook it gingerly, with a sheepish grin on his face.

By this point Cyborg, Raven and Robin were standing at the entrance too. "So, what brings you to Titans Tower?" Cyborg asked.

"Well, I was getting tired of being in Japan all the time…" Her voice had a mellifluous tone. "I'm sure you've heard of my success in the martial arts world lately"

Cyborg glanced at Beast Boy with a grin on his face. "Yeah, we've heard"

"Well, it's a lot of fun and all, but I was hoping that I could maybe put my martial arts skills to a better use"

"Do you mean-"Robin said.

"I want to be a Teen Titan!" she beamed.

There was a moment of awkward silence.

"I'm sorry. It was stupid of me to ask. I'll go…"

"It's not that!" Robin said. "It's obvious that you're a very talented person. It's just – "

"Being a Titan isn't a game" Raven said. "It's 24/7. When you become a Titan you have to risk everything to protect people who rely on you"

"I know that", Sakura said. "I know it won't be easy, but I'm good with challenges. Look, maybe I could come along to one of your training sessions – then I'll prove to you that I know my stuff!"

Robin stroked his chin. "Give us a minute to think it over!" The Titans returned to the living room. "So?" Robin said. "What do you all think? Should we give her a chance?"

"Are you kidding?!" Beast Boy cried. "Of COURSE we should give her a chance! She'd be perfect! She could even have my room and –"

"Beast Boy, be serious!" Cyborg commanded. "Adding a new member to the team isn't something that can be done on a whim – remember the trouble we had with Terra?"

"I am sure this girl has nothing but good intentions", Starfire hesitated. "After all, she already has glory, and I do not think it could hurt to give her a chance"

"Starfire, she clearly has the wrong attitude!" Raven interjected. "There's something not right with that girl – I'm sure of it"

"You say that about everyone", Beast Boy said.

"And I'm usually right"

"The way I see it", Cyborg said, "As long as we keep her under fully supervised conditions, there's no harm in letting her have a trial run tomorrow – do you guys agree?"

Robin, Starfire and Beast Boy nodded their heads. There was a pause, and then Raven sighed and said, "Alright. Since everyone is against me, I suppose we'd better give her a chance"

The five of them returned to the front door, where Sakura was still waiting patiently.

"OK, Sakura", Robin said. "After some thought, we've decided to let you train with us tomorrow"

"Oh my! Thank you, thank you –"

"But there are going to be some constraints in place. With most people we wouldn't even consider this, but you've already proven yourself a capable fighter. So when you arrive, you're to be kept under constant surveillance, and you cannot tell anyone else that you are training with us"

"Understood"

"Be here at 7am sharp – that's when we'll begin our training for the day"

"Thank you! Thank you so much. I won't let you down!" Sakura began to walk away, and Robin closed the door.

"Well, it looks like this week got a lot more eventful all of a sudden", Robin said.

"This is the best thing that's ever happened to me…" Beast Boy was still in a daze. Raven and Cyborg sighed.

"Oh no!" Starfire had just remembered that she'd left the dinner she was preparing in the oven. She hurried back into the living room, but when she opened the oven her dish had burned into a cinder. "Oh! My dinner is ruined!"

Robin hid his relief and pretended to be disappointed. "Well, Star, that's an awful shame. Perhaps we'd be better off going out for pizza tonight…"