Until a few months ago, I only knew about KHR as a strange manga about the mafia. Then I saw a fanmix for the characters of Chrome and Mukuro and, liking the music on it I looked at the others. And so I obviously had to go read the manga. And make my friends read the manga. And write this. (And buy lots of merchandise on eBay, but let's go past that~!)

Disclaimer: I so don't own KHR. Otherwise Hibari and Chrome would have way more face time, Reborn would be an adult and Kyoko and Haru would learn to fight and take over the entire mafia.

-^o_o^-

In Japan when the cherry blossoms were blooming and nervous and exuberant students were entering a new year of school, three boys, two in their final year of high school and one in his second were called in to the principal's office to hear an interesting offer. The youngest boy was a carefree baseball player who grew up in a sushi restaurant. The next one was a member of the greatly feared Disciplinary Committee, and the last was the most passionate member of the boxing club. As the principal stated what he had to tell them, the three blinked in surprise.

"Host exchange students?" The baseball player mused, "That sounds like fun! I'll talk to my father about it."

The boxer pumped his fists into the air, "That is an extremely great idea!"

The prefect just nodded quietly and received the informational sheets the principal passed out.

When the three left the room, the quiet one was asked a question by the other two.

"What do you think? Will you do it?"

Kusakabe folded up the papers and put them in his pocket, "I think it's a good idea."

-^o_o^-

"This is the first time I've gone on a plane!" A girl with brown hair and tan skin chattered excitedly to her friend with short dark auburn hair as she fiddled with a green and purple plaid scarf that lay around her neck despite the August heat. The two of them stood in the large international flights area of the Vancouver airport, admiring the jade Native American statue that was there.

"I've been on them a few times to go visit my grandmother…" The other one responded. Another girl with long grey-blonde hair and a sheepish face ran up to them carrying a large bag of jellybeans.

"Anna!" The tan girl shouted with exasperation, "How much did those cost?"

"Thirty dollars," Anna whimpered, "It was, like, five bucks a pound! I'm never able to guess the weight of things!"

"Augh!" The auburnette groaned, shoving her hands into her skeleton hoodie and glared at her friend, "You're so annoying!"

"Thora! Vera's picking on me!"

"And whiney, too!"

With a sigh, the eldest stepped in, "Now, now, you two," Thora pacified, "We can't fight all the time if we're going to go to Japan together. And besides," she smirked, "Aren't we supposed to be calling Vera 'Francis' now?"

"That's right!" The blonde bounced up and down, enlarging the holes in her already scrappy black boots and nearly throwing her old welders goggles off of her head, "I can't wait to watch Vera try and pass herself off as a guy!"

Vera/Francis glared at her bubbly friend, "I am never playing Monopoly with you again."

-^o_o^-

A dark and not-so stormy night, five months before…

"I'm bored." Vera declared while lying on Anna's couch, pillow at the ready to defend herself from any possible spontaneous attacks.

"Want to watch Hellsing?" The petite blonde offered.

"No."

"Princess Tutu?"

"Nope."

"Play Call of Duty?"

"Nah."

"DDR?"

"No."

"Monopoly?"

Thora glanced up from writing down a plot bunny that had nibbled at her brain three minutes earlier, "You have Monopoly?"

Anna nodded eagerly, "I got it from my dad for Christmas. Play?" She cocked her head in question.

While Thora cheered, Vera still looked doubtful.

"You can be the dog," offered Anna, taking advantage if the other girl's love for animals.

"Fine," Vera sighed, like a father who had finally agreed to let his children get a puppy.

But just like the puppy, this could only end in chaos.

One hour and forty-seven minutes later, Vera sat at one end of the board with only a few dollar bills to her name, Thora was sitting in jail and Anna was declaring herself the Empress of Broadwalk and Park Place and pillaging the peasants of the Mediterranean and Baltic Avenues.

"Veeeera," Anna sang out, tucking a few more bills of money into her neatly made stacks "You lost~!"

"It's only a loss when I admit defeat!" The girl announced passionately as she pushed around the dollar bills into the shapes of evil happy faces, "And I never shall!"

"C'mon, doubles!" Thora muttered, tossing the dice, "…Stupid four and three."

"Hey Thora," Anna nudged her, "I'll sell you my 'Get Out of Jail Free" card."

The addressee perked up, "Oh? For what?"

"The deed to Pacific Avenue."

"Don't give it to her, Thora!" Vera wailed, "She's evil! Eviiiil ~!"

"But Thora," Anna whispered like a demon on her shoulder, "What are the chances of you rolling doubles? This could be your only chance…"

"…Okay."

"NOOOOO! Traitor!" whined Vera.

"And as for you, my dear little Vera, I can pull you out of debt."

"I won't give in!"

"And I will ask very little in return…"

"Lies!"

"Except that if we all get chosen for the exchange program to Japan, you have to pretend to be a guy."

"Huh," Vera pondered this. All three of them had applied to the same exchange program, but the chances of Vera getting in were low. A straight 'C' grade student, it would be hard for her to catch up to Anna (an artist who was part of the school district's Gifted program) and Thora (who got straight 'A's and loved to meet new people and be social).

What were the chances of her getting in anyways?

"Sure. Gimmee four grand."

A Cheshire Cat grin appeared on Anna's face and suddenly Vera and Thora realized that nothing good would come of this game.

After two weeks, an e-mail was sent announcing the chosen students.

Thora read it and clapped her hands in delight, then raced off to tell her parents and little sister the news.

Vera stared at the screen in shock and horror and quickly came up with various excuses to try and get rid of her promise.

And Anna smirked at the names and decided that the fifty dollars she bribed the instructors with was very well spent.

-^o_o^-

"I'm on a plane, and, it's going fast, and, I've got an aerial theme-"

"Shut up, Francis," Anna smiled, "People will get mad if you swear while you continue to sing your fun new version of 'I'm On a Boat'." Mysteriously, she had managed to say all of this in one very short breath.

"Whatever."

"Also, Francis?"

"Yes, Anna?"

"Dibs on the window seat."

"Oh, screw you!"

"Welcome to Kobe, Japan. We hope that your flight was comfortable and wish that you enjoy your trip to Land of the Rising Sun."

"They're so polite!" exclaimed Anna as they passed by the flight attendant, "Do you think they'd still be like that if I punched them in the face?"

"Like that would do anything with your weak little arms," Francis mumbled.

The tan girl stared at the other girl who was practically sparkling with enthusiasm, "…Anna?" Thora asked her groggily.

"Yes?"

"How much sleep did you get on the plane?"

"Sleep is for the weak!"

"How many of your jellybeans did you eat?"

"…All of them?"

"Ah."

With a spontaneous spin the air, the candy-addict whirled around happily. "C'mon, Francis!" The blonde grabbed her faux-male friend and dragged her along, "Let's go to the hotel! It's off to Namimori tomorrow!"

"…Go die in a hole."

"What's that song again? Midori tanabiku, Namimori no~! Ha ha-" At that moment Anna collapsed onto Francis' shoulder, "Es affticato…"

"Pain in the ass," Francis muttered, but she still helped the now semi-conscious Anna into their cab.

Namimori was their destination tomorrow. There they would meet their host families and see their new school. Thora and Francis would deal with a wide language gap and Anna would only fair a bit better than them.

But for now, they would sleep.

-^o_o^-

"'The Sasagawa's have two children. Ryohei is eighteen and the extreme leader of the boxing club. Kyoko is seventeen and loves Home Economics. Mr. and Mrs. Sasagawa are office workers.'" Anna glanced at the photo showing a suburban-like house, two adults, a white haired teenager with a bandage over his nose and a slightly younger girl with orange-ish hair, "Huh. 'Extreme' is an odd choice of adjective."

A hand smacked her on the head, "Don't be such a Grammar Nazi," Thora scolded her, "'The Yamamoto family runs a sushi shop. Takeshi Yamamoto, the son, is seventeen and his passionate about baseball. His father is the chef and is a practitioner of kendo.' They sound so perfect," Thora said dreamily, "Sushi and baseball? Can this get any better?" She looked at the picture, "Oh my God, he's so hot!"

"The father?" Anna asked perkily.

"No, you sick pervert, the son! Look at him!" Thora shoved the photo at Anna and Francis.

"He is…" Francis stared greedily at the image of young man while Anna shrugged.

"Sure. How about you, Franny?"

"Don't call me that!" Francis hissed, "'The Kusakabe's daughter has already left for university, leaving behind Mr. and Mrs. Kusakabe and their son Tetsuya. Tetsuya is eighteen and the vice-president of the Student Disciplinary Committee at Namimori High School.' What's a Disciplinary Committee?"

The more feminine girls shook their heads. "They make sure students are wearing the uniform properly and not breaking the rules and such. Like prefects at Hogwarts." Thora explained.

"Ohhh, I see."

"…What kind of disciplinary methods do they use?"

"I know what I want them to use…"

"Ah-hem!" Their vice-principal sitting across from them in their train compartment cleared his throat, "Change of subject, please."

"Sorry Stevie," Thora and Francis twitched at the knowledge that Anna was on a first-name basis with a teacher. Anna's father was a teacher who was best friends with both of the vice-principals at their school, "What do they look like?"

Francis pulled out the picture and stared at it in horror, "That hair. It will haunt my nightmares forever."

"Lemme see!" Thora snatched it away, "It's like Elvis but BIGGER."

Eagerly, Anna peered over Thora's arm, "He looks like a salsa dancer. Can't you just imagine him with a rose in his mouth and-"

"'Kay, shut up now," Francis smacked her friend's hand away.

"Oww, she hit me!"

"He hit you."

"That's even worse!"

"Girls!" Stevie called for their attention, "And, uh, boy. You're all prepared for this? And Vera, you're okay?"

All three nodded. After the horrible announcement that Francis would have to cross-dress, Francis figured out how to hide her curves and worked on acting like a guy. Anna said that wasn't needed because Francis was manly enough already but that conversation only ended in pain and misery. Anna also helped to teach them some survival phrases that she had learned in her Japanese classes.

An announcement came over the noise of the train, "…Namimori Eki…"

"Is us," Anna announced, pulling Thora with her. Francis and Stevie followed them onto the platform. A kindly looking woman waited for them there.

"Welcome to Namimori," she spoke softly in accented English, "I hope you'll enjoy your stay here. If there is anything you need, please don't hesitate to ask."

"She's so polite!" Anna gasped again, "I feel bad now. We should've brought gifts."

"We did bring gifts, remember?" Thora poked her in the side making the smaller girl squeak, "We give them to the host families."

Realization dawned in the blonde's eyes. "Ohhhh, riiiight, I knew that."

"Sure you did," Francis snarked.

"Hush you."

"Ahh, excuse me, if we go this way, we will reach the community hall where you will meet your host families." The lady cut in hesitantly

"Yay!"

-^o_o^-

"It is EXTREMELY nice to meet you, foreign sister!"

Thora stared at the guy in front of her who was bowing to her vigorously, "I… think you want her," she pulled over Anna, who had been hypnotized by Tetsuya Kusakabe's hair.

"I see! You look far more like the girl in the picture!" He grabbed Anna's hand and shook it happily. Anna turned around to look at Thora with a blank face and mischief in her eyes.

"This is going to be so much fun."

"Don't screw around with his mind too much, Anna," Thora cautioned.

"I won't~! It is TOTALLY AWESOME to meet you, host brother mine!"

A tap on her shoulder got Thora to turn around. A guy about five inches taller than her smiled happily, "Maa, you'd be Zora Mingukoshu, right?"

She sighed, "It's 'Thora Mengelkoch'."

"Is that so? Zora… Za-hora…Ta-ho-"

"Just call me Zora."

"Alright then!" His grin widened, "I'm Yamamoto Takeshi. My dad was busy at the shop, so it's just me here."

"The sushi shop?"

"Aa."

"And you love baseball?"

"Aa."

"We're going to be best friends…"

-^o_o^-

"It's nice to meet you," the adult Sasagawas bowed low to Anna, "We are very pleased to have you stay in our home."

"The pleasure's mine," Anna replied smoothly, calling upon the horrible seventeen years of having manners drilled into her by her grandmother, "I must thank you for your kindness. I hope I will not be a burden."

"Don't worry about it!" Kyoko smiled at her new foreign sister, "If you want to, you can help me with dinner tonight in the kitchen!"

"Or you could jog around the neighbourhood with me, to the EXTREME!"

Oh snap. Cooking or jogging? That's like asking me to choose between a rattlesnake and a cobra! She started panicking mentally; I can't be rude to them! Oh no oh no oh no~!

"Kyoko, Ryohei!" Their mother scolded, "The poor girl just got here! Let her settle in a bit before pouncing on her."

"Thank you for your offers…" Anna bowed low to them.

Okaa-san, I'm going to love you forever~.

-^o_o^-

This was it. If Francis messed this up and revealed herself to be a girl, she was so screwed. She swallowed nervously and bowed to her new host family, "I am pleased to meet you," she spoke in hesitant Japanese, "My name is Francis Morgause. I hope I will not be a burden." The words Anna had force fed into her came out with few mistakes.

"We are so happy to have a Canadian student staying with us," her host father announced, "Hopefully Tetsuya will show you around your school. He is the vice-president of the Student Disciplinary Committee, y'know," the short and plump Japanese man proudly put his hand on his much taller son's shoulder.

"It is nice to meet you, Morugasu Furansisu," Tetsuya bowed to her, "I hope you will become as proud of your new school as we are."

He's so nice! "If I may ask," she stumbled over the words, "Who is the president of the Disciplinary Committee?"

All three of the Kusakabes paled a bit, "Hibari Kyoya is the president," Tetsuya answered.

Are they scared of him? Is he super scary or super hot? I must solve this new mystery! I shall become 'L'! Bwahahahaha!

-^o_o^-

"I'll see you two later!" Thora gave her friends each a hug, "Be nice, don't bite and no screwing around with the minds of gullible people!"

"But I already have Onii-san convinced that Tim Hortons is a mountain chain shaped like a donut and that to climb it and cross through the valley and climb through the other side is called a 'Double-Double'!" Anna whined.

"…You are a sick, horrible person." Francis told her.

"I know. It's such fun."

Thora rolled her eyes at them, "Bye guys!"

"Bye."

"Hasta!"

As Thora followed Yamamoto home, Anna turned to Francis, "Good-bye, my love. Eyes, look your last! Arms, take your last embrace! And lips-"

"Shut up and go!"

"You wound me. I shall take my leave," One last hug and Anna went off with her new host family."

"Well, let's go then," Tetsuya smacked Francis on the shoulder and they got into the Kusakabe's car.

-^o_o^-

"This is my father," Yamamoto introduced Thora, "And this is the shop," Thora smiled happily at the man standing by her in front of the building that was to be her new home.

"It's nice to meet you!" The man shouted happily, "Are you a sushi girl? Do you like kendo? Or are you baseball lover like my son?"

Thora stared at the man with wide eyes before bursting into tears and hugging the man to the two boys shock.

"Otou-san! I'm going to be very happy here!"

-^o_o^-

"This is your extreme room!" Ryohei shouted happily, tossing Anna's bags to the floor. Fortunately she kept her precious books in the suitcase she was carrying and only clothes were in the other bags.

Anna took the room in. It was medium size with a single bed, small wardrobe with a mirror and a desk. There was plenty of room for stacking books and pacing. And best of all…

"I'm sorry that there's no window in your room," Kyoko apologized, "It used to be a storage room."

No sun to fade her books or wake her up in the morning.

"It's perfect, Onii-san, Onee-san."

-^o_o^-

Francis flopped down on the carpeted floor of her room and glanced around. The room used to be the daughters before she left for university. The best thing was that she had her own bathroom connected, meaning no awkward problems when she had her period.

"Should I leave you to get settled in?" Tetsuya asked.

"Sure. I'm actually just going to sleep," Francis informed him.

His host brother nodded, "I understand. I'll see you in the morning, then."

"Good night."

As the door shut, Francis pulled on a baggy t-shirt and boxers. Getting under the covers of her new bed, she smiled to herself.

Maybe this won't be all that bad.