OK, here's the obligatory disclaimer, I do not own the Titans, I don't even own this concept, simply borrowing it. Come to think of it, none of us own the Titans. Otherwise, this is the continuing saga of five authors in search of a cohesive story. We are (alphabetically):
Novus Ordo Seclorum
Sir Alwick
Still Too Old For This
TheForceIsStrongWithThisOne
Titanfan45
And I'm not about to tell you which of the quintet I am. Onward.
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Ganguro – Chapter 2
The convention took place at, naturally enough, the Jump City Convention Center. When you walked in, you could see why. It was the only building in the city big enough for the activities. The place was mobbed, packed to the walls and up to the rafters. Dozens of publishing houses were represented. Hundreds of workers, authors giving autographs and drawing sketches. Thousands of fans, many of who were dressed as their favorite characters were milling around, searching for missing issues, looking for lost treasures, making new friends, getting reacquainted with old ones, arguing over the esoteric and the important. Basically, having a good time.
Beast Boy made his way past the hordes towards the Yoshida Manga booth in Hall C. Normally, he would have wandered around the convention, but he was eager to meet with Midori, especially now that he could speak Japanese. It took a while, Hall C was one of the larger halls and was dedicated mainly to smaller publishing houses. Halls A & B went to the larger houses that didn't particularly want to share space (or attention) with many others.
Consequently, it took a while. After about half an hour of searching, admittedly, with a number of distractions, Beast Boy found the Yoshida booth. There were three people at the booth, an older man and woman behind it and a younger teenage girl outside it. Unlike her picture, she was not wearing the ganguro makeup, but was instead, dressed in an ordinary outfit. She was petite, like many oriental girls, with long, straight black hair. She was busy rearranging the various piles of books on the tables while the older couple, presumably her parents, were speaking with various interested customers.
Beast Boy went up to the girl, "Ummm, would you be Midori?" He asked in flawless Japanese.
The girl looked up at him, she had soft, shy brown eyes. "Yes, I'm Midori, and you are…" then her eyes widened and she gasped. "Oh my, oh my, oh my….you came, you really came!" She suddenly seemed to lose her breath. It looked like it took all her concentration to not jump up and down, although her arms seemed to be waving a bit. She grabbed Beast Boy's hand and led the confused teen over to the booth.
"Mother, mother, look, here is the American hero I spoke about, Beast Boy. He's one of the Titans who saved the city last year."
"Yes, I see," Midori's mother said in a rather severe emotionless monotone. "Wow," thought Beast Boy, "she could give Raven lessons. Oh boy, what do I do now? Uhhh, she seems pretty uptight. Guess I'd better make this good. Let's see, how did they talk in those samurai mangas?"
"Good morning, honored mother, it is a privilege to meet you," Beast Boy spoke, again in Japanese.
Midori's mother raised an eyebrow, "Your Japanese is quite good. It is surprising to see a Westerner show sufficient respect and learn our language."
"I understand ma'am. Once I discovered that Midori planned to be in America, I wanted to be able to show her proper respect and greet her in her native tongue."
"You must be very smart to have learned such good Japanese in such a short time." She replied.
"Oh, Beast Boy is VERY smart," said Midori, with a happy smile on her face.
Beast Boy started to get a bit uncomfortable, "Umm, I had a very good friend help me learn."
"Mother, may I be excused to show Beast Boy around the exhibit?"
"I would very much like you to stay here. America is such a dangerous place, full of criminals and…people… of lower standings." She was looking at Beast Boy when she said this, he wasn't sure he cared for how she described his city, but, for once, kept his tongue.
"But Mother, Beast Boy is one of their great heroes, no one would think of disturbing us." He was starting to REALLY like this girl. Given his usual treatment by people, someone thinking he was smart and brave was a tremendous ego boost. Despite his frequent egomaniacal statements, Beast Boy was very much aware of his comparative lack of education versus his friends, as well as his general feelings of inadequacy compared to the competence of the other Titans. This girl was doing wonders for him.
"Well, if you must," her mother said with a sigh, "I would prefer it if you did not leave the hall."
"Honored mother," responded Beast Boy, "would it be acceptable to you if Midori would be permitted to come and visit Titans Tower for lunch with the other Titans? With five crimefighters, it would be very unlikely that we would allow harm to come to her." Midori's eyes grew ever more wide.
"What is this unseemly behavior? Who is this….person….with our daughter?" Midori's father joined them. His voice was very stern. He was a stocky older man, gray at the temples, with many lines around his eyes and mouth. He did not look pleased.
"Honored father, this is the American hero Beast Boy who has come to visit me. He was one of the Titans who saved the city last year." Midori answered.
"Hmm, I remember. They were being sought by the police as criminals." Beast Boy bristled at that.
"Honorable father," Beast Boy said, again in Japanese, Midori's father's eyebrows went up slightly at the sound of Japanese coming from this boy's mouth, "I hesitate to state, the incident with the police was a misunderstanding that was cleared up when the true criminal was captured."
"Yes, our beloved and honorable police detective. I have often wondered at how suddenly Americans went from criminals to heroes and Japanese heroes suddenly became criminals." Beast Boy could see he was treading on thin ice here.
"Nonetheless, honorable father," Beast Boy responded, "our honor remained and our reputation restored. As only the most inadequate thank you to the generous kindness done by your city, I would like to take your daughter to visit Titan Tower and join the other Titans for lunch."
The father scowled. Turning towards his daughter, he said, "I do not approve. However, we…owe…these….people a measure of thanks for what they have done. Therefore, I will permit it this time. I require you to be back at the booth by 2:00."
"Thank you father, mother." With that, Midori took Beast Boy's hand and quickly escaped her parent's presence.
"Wow," exclaimed Beast Boy, still in Japanese, "when I saw that you were ganguro in your picture, I didn't expect this."
"My parents are VERY traditional. I only become ganguro when I am away from home and my parents can't see me. If I dressed like that in front of them, I would never be allowed out of the house again. Hey, where did you learn to talk so proper? I was surprised that you spoke so formally."
"Uhh, would you believe Japanese medieval manga?"
Midori let out a peel of laughter. "That's perfect, fits them to a T. If they had their wish, they'd still be living before electricity. In the times of swords and honor, how boring. Give me movies and rock music any day."
Beast Boy was enjoying this girl's company more and more every minute. She seemed to be fun and only put up the front when she was with her folks. "Well, you want to take a look around the convention?"
"Sounds good. I do have a favor to ask of you. I spent the last three years learning English and I've been wanting to try it out on Americans. While I LOVE that you went to the trouble to learn Japanese for me," at that, Midori bestowed a look of complete adoration upon Beast Boy, "I REALLY want to try my English."
"No problem," said Beast Boy, switching to English, "I don't know how you wrap your tongue around some of those words, I'm afraid of tying my tongue in knots."
"I can think of other things to with our tongues," replied Midori with a saucy look.
Beast Boy blushed a VERY deep shade of green. This girl moved faster than he expected, than he might have been ready for. Still, she was cute, and thought he was brave, and thought he was smart. Let's see where this goes.
For the rest of the morning, the two made their way through the hall, stopping at various booths, comparing notes on different types of manga, ones they liked, others they disliked. They moved onto movies, tv shows and music. As the morning progressed, they became more comfortable with each other, seeing the other as more than merely an image, a fantasy, but as a real live person with likes, dislikes and views that differed from the mental image. That made it more real, more enjoyable. During that time, they discovered they were two people who enjoyed each other's company. Love? No, love at first sight is for fairy tales, but they did discover they liked each other. What that might lead to eventually was anybody's guess.
About noon, the two of them went outside the Convention Center for a breath of air (you stay inside a packed building for two hours and see how you like it). Beast Boy said, "Hey, I promised you lunch at the Tower and a chance to meet the other Titans, ready to go?"
"Sure," Midori replied, "How are we getting there and back before my curfew?" She had a look of disgust on her face at the term. Here she was, sixteen, with a curfew of 2 in the afternoon.
With a look of mischief on his face, Beast Boy asked, "Wanna fly?" After a hesitant nod from her, he changed to pterodactyl and motioned for her to climb aboard. Hesitating only for a moment, the Japanese girl climbed aboard and they took off.
Beast Boy was thrilled, she hadn't run screaming, she only hesitated a moment and now, given the grip she had on his wings, it seemed she was enjoying herself and not panic stricken. This girl was something. Making their way, slowly, to the large T on the island in the middle of the bay, Beast Boy gave Midori the grand tour, dipping down to the water, up to the sky for a full view of the city; until, finally, they landed on top of the tower, with its majestic view of Jump City and the Pacific Ocean. Midori leaped off of Beast Boy's back to look at the sights. He changed back to human form.
"That was wonderful! Will we return the same way?"
"We can, unless you'd like to ride a whale." Midori looked confused.
"I had thought to give you the return trip on top of a whale. I'll stay above water so you don't get wet." Her eyes widened at this and a delirious smile showed on her face. Apparently, this would be an adventure she desperately desired. "Why don't we go down and meet my friends." Beast Boy held out his hand for her, to lead her down the stairs. She took it with another shy smile and they walked down the stairs to the common room and the other Titans.
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Cyborg was in the kitchen, cooking his usual lunch, eight hamburgers, twelve spare ribs and a heaping plate of French fries. Robin was making himself a turkey sandwich and some carrot sticks. Starfire was making…. on second thought, let's skip what Starfire was making, it's probably best for everyone's digestion and peace of mind. Raven was having her usual cup of tea and some buttered toast.
Hearing familiar steps coming down the staircase, Cyborg called out, "Hey Green Bean, you almost missed lunch, I've got some extra spare ribs for you." He smirked, knowing this would set off the traditional noontime argument.
"Yo rust bucket, mind your manners, we have company." With that, Beast Boy came in the door leading Midori. Both Cyborg and Robin looked startled that BB was accompanied by a girl; Starfire, on the other hand, let out a squeal and dropped whatever she was making (don't ask) to fly over to the pair.
"Welcome to our home, my friend, I am Starfire, I am pleased to meet you and to bid you entry to our humble home," she said in perfect Japanese.
"Midori, this is the friend who helped me learn Japanese." Beast Boy replied.
"Oh, I am very pleased to meet you. I did not know you also knew Japanese. I am sure that Beast Boy was excellent at your lessons. He is very smart."
Starfire looked sideways at Midori, then at Beast Boy. With a mischievous smile, Starfire replied, "Yes, he was an EXCELLENT student, I very much enjoyed teaching him. I would say he is one of the best pupils that I've had."
Beast Boy blushed furiously. Robin, who had also learned Japanese, began to do a slow burn. Before he had a chance to respond, however, Cyborg spoke up.
"Yo, do you think we could try this in English? Some of us haven't learned Japanese yet." Seeing the state Robin was in, he couldn't help but add to the fire, "Birdboy, do you think maybe Star could help me learn Japanese too?"
Needless to say, Robin's response included a number of phrases that neither Midori nor Starfire were knowledgeable of. The politest was a variation of "Download it onto your computer." Cyborg smirked, it wasn't often they got the better of Robin and made him lose his cool, especially in front of a non-Titan.
Looking at Robin, Beast Boy stammered in English, "Uhhh, while we're waiting for Robin to get himself under control and not kill me, Midori, let me introduce you to the others. " Midori giggled a bit at the statement. To her, these were legendary heroes, seeing them with 'normal' reactions and emotions was funny, to say the least. "This is Cyborg, Cy, this is Midori."
"Hi Midori, a pleasure to meet you. Can't believe BB brought you to the madhouse on the first day." Midori looked confused, so did Starfire for that matter.
"Madhouse?" they both said in unison.
"Oh boy, two of them. Umm, in English, a madhouse is considered a place where crazy people live." Cyborg explained. "Remind me not to use any slang for the rest of the day. I'd spend my whole time explaining things," he said under his breath.
"Moving right along," interrupted Beast Boy, "Let me introduce you to Raven."
All this time, Raven had carefully been empathically reading her friends and the newcomer. Since she didn't yet know Japanese, she had to make do with her powers. "Hmm, she seems genuinely excited to meet with us. Starfire is feeling happy, big surprise, but there's an undercurrent of mischievousness and Robin is furiously jealous. I'll bet she made some comment about kissing Beast Boy."
"Beast Boy, hmmm, he seems nervous, yet happy. Well, he's ALWAYS happy. He's as bad as Starfire and even more annoying. Wonder what he sees in her. She doesn't look like anything special." Raven narrowed her eyes.
"A pleasure to meet you," Raven responded in her normal monotone.
"I am happy to meet you. You are one of Beast Boy's teammates, yes?" Midori replied.
"Yes."
There was a silence. After a moment, Beast Boy broke it. "Raven is not much for talking or showing her feelings. She has to control them pretty tightly in order to keep her powers in focus. Please don't take offense."
"Of course not," replied Midori, "how could I take offense at your friends. They are all heroes who saved our city." She gave Beast Boy a big smile. He melted immediately.
"Humpf!" Raven thought, "Talk about buttering someone up. And he's BUYING it! She seems sincere, but I'm going to keep my eye on her."
"How long will you be in Jump City?" asked Raven.
"The convention lasts until the day after tomorrow. We will return home then." Midori replied.
"Hey!" interrupted Beast Boy, "You need to be back at the convention by 2. If we're going to eat, we'd better do so." Turning to Raven, he continued, "Midori has to get back to her parent's booth by then for the afternoon. Sorry about cutting this short, but I'd like to show her around the tower, then get something to eat."
"Why don't we eat first, so we can get to know her? Afterwards, you can show her around the tower." Raven responded. "Now why did I suggest that?"
That suggestion also caught Beast Boy off guard as well. "OK, sounds good. What would you like to eat? We have all sorts of food. I'm a vegetarian, so I'll be eating tofu, but Cyborg cooks all sorts of other things." At that, ALL of the Titans stopped their various conversations. BB not making any cracks about meat eating, and NOT objecting to someone else eating meat? The world was coming to an end.
"Oh, I did not realize that you did not eat meat. Out of respect for your beliefs, I will eat tofu as well. We eat it on a regular basis at home, anyway." Beast Boy was in seventh heaven.
Raven didn't even bother reading Midori's emotions, she just jumped to her own conclusions. "Play acting little bitch. Suuurrrreeee, she likes tofu. Oh Beast Boy, you're so wonderful and moral. I oughtta… Calm down, Raven, why are you letting yourself get so upset?" Meanwhile, she kept her normal impassive appearance. Unnoticed, a black aura suddenly appeared around her tea cup and her toast disintegrated into crumbs.
Lunch was its usual circus. Midori, despite her relative inexperience with English, seemed to keep up for the most part. The three boys ended up talking movies and video games, Starfire and Midori ended up talking fashion and movie stars. Basically, it looked and sounded like six ordinary teenagers enjoying a lunch together.
Well, five teenagers enjoying a lunch, the sixth continued to maintain her silence and watched the newcomer carefully. While never much of a conversationalist, Raven was quiet even by her standards.
After about an hour, she interrupted, "Beast Boy, didn't you say Midori had to be back by 2? It's 1:30 now."
"Holy! We've got to get going. I didn't realize it was so late. Midori, I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to show you around the tower. Maybe tomorrow?" Beast Boy's voice trailed off.
"That would be fantastic. Would it be all right if I come back for lunch tomorrow?" she asked the group.
Most of the other Titans agreed enthusiastically (with one noticeable exception). With that, Beast Boy and Midori took their leave, heading out the front door for the shore so that BB could change into a whale for the ride he promised Midori.
After they left, the four remaining Titans gathered to talk about the couple that just left, just like any other group of teenagers. "It looks like friend Beast Boy has met a nice companion," started Starfire, "she seems very pleasant."
"Yeah," answered Cyborg, "and not a bad looker either."
"Is that ALL boys think of?" spat Raven, lowering the temperature about 20 degrees.
"Nooo, but it helps." Cyborg shot back. "Looks like someone has a touch of jealousy."
"I. AM. NOT. JEALOUS. I WILL NEVER BE JEALOUS REGARDING BEAST BOY!" On the final word, the microwave blew up.
"Raven, that's the second day in a row you've blown up the microwave. These things don't grow on trees." Robin said in an exasperated tone. Raven turned to Robin and glared at him with sufficient heat that he backed up a step. With that, Raven headed out of the room.
"I'm going up to the roof to meditate. DON'T BOTHER ME."
After she had left, Robin stated, "I thought she usually meditated in her room."
"But Robin," replied Starfire, "if she went to her room, how would she be able to see Beast Boy take Midori back to the mainland?"
Robin looked confused. Cyborg asked, "Wait a minute, I thought she said she wasn't jealous?"
Starfire only looked at the two clueless boys and smiled.
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Beast Boy thoroughly enjoyed the trip back to the mainland. He had a fantastic morning, a great lunch with his friends, including a new friend, all of whom seemed to get along well. Well, sort of, he mused, remembering that Raven spoke very little. Now, he was swimming back to shore with Midori on his back. He liked her.
She seemed smart, appreciative of what he did, interested in the same things he was and was extremely nice to him. Unlike certain purple-haired teammates, "Why did I think of that?" he mused, "I know she doesn't like me, no matter what I do. Well, Midori DOES like me."
They made their way to the shore. Once there, Beast Boy stopped long enough for Midori to jump from his back to the dock before he switched back to his human form. He then ran over to her side.
"That was most wonderful, Beast Boy, I have had the most marvelous time with you this morning and afternoon. I wish it did not have to end." Midori said.
"Me too," he replied. "Why do you have to be back at your parent's booth by 2?"
Midori rolled her eyes and gave out a disgusted snort, "Because they're old and traditional. They barely recognize that there was a 20th century, let alone it being the 21st century. They don't accept that girls are allowed out with boys after nightfall. If I didn't know better, I'd swear they were ready to arrange a marriage for me. "
"M..M..Marriage?" stammered Beast Boy. "You're only 16. How could you be married?"
"Oh, well, in the more traditional clans, marriages are arranged shortly after birth. It's almost completely ignored now, but I've heard that there are some families that still do it. Thank GOD I don't have to go through it. It's SOOOO medieval. I've got too much living to do before I marry."
The couple made their way through Hall C, back to the Yoshida booth. Mr. Yoshida was consulting his watch, as if ready to pounce should his daughter be late. Fortunately, they were a minute or two early.
"Honorable father," Beast Boy began, resuming his Japanese, "as promised, I have returned your daughter by 2. As you can plainly see, she is completely safe and unharmed." Beast Boy bowed at this, in keeping with the traditional samurai behavior he was mimicking. Midori's father scowled. It was obvious he was looking for some reason to criticize his daughter's behavior, and especially her choice of companions.
Midori had a mischievous look in her eyes. She moved over to Beast Boy and gave him a rather tight major hug. "Thank you so much for a fantastic time. I had a great time with you Beast Boy." She hugged him again.
"You're welcome," he replied, blushing furiously, "I had a great time too. By the way, you don't have to call me Beast Boy. My real name is Gar."
Midori's heart was once again in her eyes. "You trust me with your real name? Oh, I can't believe it." And this time, she hugged him again and kissed him on the check.
With that, let us examine our tableau for a moment, we have Beast Boy and Midori in a tight clench, Midori kissing Beast Boy on the check (and he enjoying it immensely). However, there are others that are watching the young couple. First, we have Mr. and Mrs. Yoshida. Mr. Yoshida's face, to put it politely, had a scowl like the blackest of thunderclouds. He DEFINITELY did not approve of this immodest display by his daughter. Mrs. Yoshida had, for the most part, an emotionless look on her face, with the exception of a narrowing of the mouth, signifying major disapproval as well.
However, there were two others who were closely watching the young couple. At the Yoshida booth, flipping through one of the periodicals was a young man, roughly 23 years of age. He was wearing a black, sleeveless T-shirt with a picture of a cobra on it. On his right bicep was a tattoo of a cobra as well, fangs dripping with venom. The look in his eyes also contained venom as well as he watched the two teenagers. He was reasonably buff, although only of average height. He has jet black hair that was slicked up like Robin's. He looked like he was ready to mop up the floor with Beast Boy.
Nearby was an elderly lady, sitting behind the Kashira booth next door. She looked to be about 60 years old, grey haired and somewhat stooped. You couldn't tell how tall she was as she was seated behind the booth. She was wearing a traditional Japanese dress, hair tied into a bun with the "knitting needles" poking out of them keeping the bun in its tight fashion. Her eyes had narrowed considerably as she watched the young couple embrace. She also obviously did not approve.
Returning to the couple that held everyone's interest, Midori let go of Beast Boy. "Will I see you tomorrow?" she asked.
"You bet! The only thing that would keep me away is the Brotherhood of Evil, and even then, I'd ask Robin for a leave of absence." Midori giggled a bit at that. "Hey, I'll see you tomorrow?"
"Yes….Gar."
With that Beast Boy turned away and made his way to the hall door. Once out the door, he changed into a falcon and flew back to the tower. The change was almost unnecessary. Given how he felt at the moment, he could have floated back without changing.