"Ne, Tsu-kun! Which do you think is better? White chocolate or dark chocolate?"

Tsuna sighed in exasperation. "Jeez, mom! I don't care already! Just pick one. Anything. It doesn't matter."

Nana placed her hands on her hips and fixed her son with a reproachful look; one of the rare times she did so. "Tsu-kun! Giving chocolates is a very important part of Valentine's Day! It only happens once a year, after all. Because of that, great care must be taken to ensure that the chocolate you make is made from good quality ingredients so that the recipient can enjoy them properly. And then of course, they'll also feel your love and care for them through the chocolate that you made just for them - oh, isn't that romantic?" Tsuna was a little freaked out at how his mom steadily became so sparkly-eyed that her whole being seemed to radiate sparkles. Then again, he should already be used to these things.

"But mom! We've been in here for two HOURS!"

This was also true. They were in a supermarket which had dedicated its sweets section to selling Valentine's-related goodies. His giggly mother had been excitably dragging him from aisle to aisle as if he were a rag doll. She even hauled him over once to have a look at some imported carrots. What carrots had to do with chocolate, Tsuna had not a clue.

"Oi, brat. You complaining?"

And if course, there was Bianchi with them too. Tsuna gulped audibly.

"N-no! O-of course not, Bianchi-san!"

This elicited a smile from the poisons master. "Good. Valentine's chocolate is not meant to be tainted with such negative emotions; it must be filled with pure and unconditional love for the other person. And, as Maman said, that love will be so potent that it will destroy every other emotion and your love will definitely reach that person, even with just a single bite if the chocolate you made with your own hands."

'But your chocolate is the most potent of them all!' thought Tsuna fearfully. 'Besides, what kind of advice is this?'

Seeking to subtly change the subject (his mother had dashed off to look at decorative sugar roses), Tsuna eyed the basketful of goods in Bianchi's hand. "A-ah, have you got all your shopping, Bianchi-san?"

Her eyes also fell to her basket. "Yes. This should make the perfect chocolate for Reborn." Her eyes took on a dreamlike quality as she spoke and Tsuna mentally smacked his forehead. What was with women and Valentine's Day, anyway?

"I'm also going to be teaching Kyoko and Haru a new recipe for chocolate lava cake, so I've got a little extra. But Haru already had plans for today so we can only try it tomorrow."

And that was Tsuna's cue to avoid his house for the whole of Tuesday. Imagine the Tenth Vongola Boss - victor of the Ring Conflict against the elite Varia, trumping the future Byakuran and preventing the destruction of the planet, defeating and then saving the Shimon Family on top of triumphing in a battle against Daemon Spade, the first Mist Guardian of the Vongola - to finally die because of poisoned chocolate. Reborn would never let him hear the end of it, even in the afterlife.

"So, who are your chocolates for, anyway?"

"Ehh?" Tsuna replied brilliantly, roused from his reverie.

Bianchi sighed. "I know Reborn said that it was a competition among other people to get your chocolate, but there must be SOMEBODY who you want specifically to get your chocolate. Right?"

Tsuna went so red that it would have made strawberries cry. "Bi-Bianchi-san! I d-don't really- "

"Is it Kyoko? She didn't receive a formal invitation but Reborn did say 'anyone'... "

And Tsuna, being foolish and naively honest and Dame as always, went redder still, "Er, n-n-no... It's not Kyoko-cha- I mean, I d-don't... anymore - that is, I - Wait, Reborn actually sent out real invitations?"

"Don't change the subject and answer the question." said Bianchi warningly, now thoroughly interested. 'So it's not Kyoko anymore?'

"Erm, n-not... " Tsuna ducked his head, face burning with embarrassment.

"Come on Tsuna, you know I'm not a tattler."

Eyes still downcast, the teenager cursed his loose tongue. Damn it, damn it, damn it! He just had to open his big mouth. Trust him, Dame-Tsuna, to be living proof of Murphy's law.

After a short pause, Tsuna raised his head a little to peer up at Bianchi thoughtfully. But then again, Bianchi was a good confidante - despite what she did, she respected the secrets of others. He should know. As far as he was aware, she had yet to repeat to anyone about his mother's stash of his baby photos, featuring his two-year-old self all dolled up in frilly dresses and even make-up; courtesy of Nana. Sure, it had taken a lot of begging and a little bribery, but the much famed Poison Scorpion had kept it a secret. He knew no one else knew because not even Reborn seemed aware of their existence - or Tsuna would probably have been blackmailed by now.

Oh, why not?

Tsuna cleared his throat, "I- "

KA-BANG!

"EHIIIII?" squealed Tsuna, ducking behind the gift wrapping counter to avoid the sudden explosion that shook the ground. He was aware that Bianchi had mirrored his action, her dusky pink hair barely escaping from getting singed at it whipped out of range behind the countertop. Alarmed, he looked to Bianchi for a clue as to what was going on. The hitwoman was still as a statue, employing all of her senses to identify thepotential threat. Then, his eyes widened in horror. "Kaa-san!" he called out wildly, forgetting about the danger of the situation as he stumbled out of the cover of the booth and into the thick of the dust clouds. "Kaa-san! Where are you?"

"Tsu-kun?"

Tsuna let out a breath he didn't realise he had been holding; she didn't sound hurt. In fact, neither did anyone else - he could the groaning and shuffling of the other shoppers and their silhouettes as they got to their feet. Nobody was lying lifeless on the ground and nobody was screaming in pain - they were all sa-

"Lambo-kun?" That was his mother's voice. Tsuna paused.

"GAHAHAHAHA! Lambo-San will steal all the candy!" declared an all-too-familiar bratty voice from out of the gloom and clouds of dust and plaster. Tsuna, exasperated, slapped a hand to his forehead.

Dear God, could this get any worse?

He shouldn't have asked.

"HYAAAH!" came a screech that had a distinct Chinese twang and the shrillness of a child.

"UGWAAA!" was Lambo's pained response as an audible crack was heard. "I-PIN! That hurt! Ouch- Hey! Give that ba- "

BANG!

The blast of a bazooka and an explosion of pink-coloured gas added to the confusion. Tsuna was pretty sure he knew just WHICH bazooka. He gulped.

"My, my. Looks like my you ger self did it again. And I was just about ready to have my lunch, too."

"E-eh? Oh no! Where am I this time? I'm already late to deliver Kawahira-san the ramen! I better hurry and- "

The smog was finally beginning to clear and Tsuna could finally make out the forms of the fifteen year old Lambo and I-Pin.

"Oh? Young Vongola? How- "

"LAMBO! RUN, QUICK!"

"Mm? What is it- "

"Romeo..." came a deathly silent voice full of murderous intent. Tsuna - slowly, nervously - turned around to look at Bianchi. He didn't know how, but she was now wielding two plates of poisoned food and glaring at Lambo in an incredibly menacing fashion. Tsuna could feel chills going down his spine and the blood draining from his face at the demonic sight.

"Bianchi, no- !"

"DIE!" the Italian woman cried as he she bounded over the gift wrapping station and aimed a platter of unknown, purple substance at his face. No one - Lambo in particular - cared that they what it originally was; all they knew was that it was poisoned and it was deadly. And that was really all you needed to know. And this was all that the Thunder Guardian had in mind as he dodged the poisoned food, narrowly avoiding getting his skull and brains dissolved into unrecogniseable mulch; much like the concrete wall behind him was now.

Howling in fear, Lambo's older self fled from the supermarket with the enraged Bianchi hot on his heels. Tsuna was left with a frantic teenage I-Pin, his oblivious mother and lots of stares.

As he tried to calm the panicking Chinese girl, Tsuna mentally wept.

'Why me?'

Tsuna was still weeping in the evening.

"-make sure to keep the heat even and then you just stir until it's all melted. See, Tsu-kun? It's really easy! Now you give it a try!"

"O-okay..." Tsuna consented reluctantly, stepping up to the stove where a large pot sat containing bubbling hot water and another smaller pot that held cooking chocolate that was just beginning to melt. Tsuna stared at the solid-molten-gooey brown substance in the pot with an impending sense of doom - how did one go about making chocolate truffles out of this muck? Sighing dejectedly, Tsuna picked up the spatula and stuck it into the chocolate, trying to imitate his mother's demonstration. It wasn't that he didn't like chocolate - he loved it, who didn't? But cooking never really was his forte.

"It's burning."

"HIIIIEEE!" screamed Tsuna, nearly upsetting the pots when Bianchi suddenly appeared at his shoulder. "Bi-Bianchi!"

She only stared at him, expression unchanging. She had on a plain pink apron and her own pot of chocolate was steadily simmering beside her - except it was emitting some kind of sickly purple fumes. Tsuna gulped at the sight. She didn't seem to notice. "It's burning. Your chocolate."

Tsuna stared back at her uncomprehendingly. "E-eh?" Then the smell hit his nose. "EEEEHHHH?" His eyes snapped back to the pot which he SHOULD have been minding, but hadn't. The chocolate had changed from a silky, molten texture to a hardened, clumpy one.

Before he could do anything else and potentially cause further damage, Nana's hands entered his line of vision and took the pot off the stove. She smiled at her son good-naturedly. "It's okay Tsu-kun, it was only your first try after all."

"Kaa-san..."

"Enough dawdling, Tsuna. Here's a new one; try again." said Bianchi, setting another pot of unmelted chocolate in front of him.

"E-EHHH? But, guys! Isn't it clear that I can't cook? Do I really ha- " Sudden pain exploded at the side of his head, causing him to topple over from the force of Reborn's infamous flying kick.

"Dame-Tsuna. A real boss never gives up, no matter how difficult his task."

"Reborn!" exclaimed Bianchi, bending to scoop up the Arcobaleno into her arms in delight. Tsuna merely groaned from his place on the ground.

"Reborn-kun!" exclaimed Nana. You know you shouldn't be here! You'd ruin our surprise!" she chastised Reborn; probably one the few who could do so without fearing getting a bullet to the head.

Reborn, still being coddled by Bianchi, flashed Nana his winning, chibi smile. "It's okay, Maman. I just came in to give something to Dame-Tsuna."

Tsuna, still on the ground, looked up at his tutor. "Huh?" he managed brilliantly before being hit in the face with a bunch of fabric. "WHUUU?" he yelled, voice muffled by the mysterious article. Whipping it off his face, he stared at the offending object. Large brown eyes widened as the atrocity was identified. Leaping to his feet, he held the ABOMINATION at arms-length as if it were contaminated. "R-Reborn! What is this?"

In his hands was - an apron. Not just any apron, but a white apron hemmed with pastel pink frills and large white bows at the shoulder straps and the back. Most prominent of all, the front of the apron was adorned with a picture of a single, large strawberry.

Overall, it looked like something that belonged on Hinaichigo from Rozen Maiden.

"It's an apron, Dame-Tsuna."

"I-I know that!"

"Then put it on. What are you waiting for?"

"But- !"

The cocking of a gun cut off all protests and swiftly ended the discussion.

After (being forced into) putting it on, his mother proclaiming he was too adorable and squeezing him in a hug so tight it hurt to breathe, Tsuna went back to the kitch- no wait, he's already in the kitchen. I meant to say 'stove'. No, really. I did. Don't look at me like that.

Later, Tsuna despaired as he was on his sixth pot of chocolate. Wasn't he ever going to get this right? Not only had he burnt it but he had also accidentally poured half a jar of sugar into it, somehow gotten some of Bianchi's own sinisterly glowing chocolate into his own and even knocked over the whole pot and narrowly avoided severely burning himself from the boiling water and molten chocolate. As it was a sin to waste so much good chocolate, Nana finally rescued him by abandoning her own project to supervise his every move and give him instruction where necessary. When the chocolate was finally done, she helped add in the cream and Tsuna was finally given a merciful break while they were set aside to cool. They still had yet to make the coating for the truffles but Tsuna preferred not to think of that yet as he slumped in his seat.

Until the doorbell rang.

"Tsu-kun! My hands are full. Would you get the door, please?" said Nana as she was readying the ingredients to make the truffle coating.

"Okay, okay..." said Tsuna grumpily, picking himself up and walking out to the hall. He made sure to rid himself of the ridiculous apron before he made it to the door - if anyone saw him in it, he'd just die standing.

He was not prepared for what lay on the other side of his front door when he opened it.

"B-Byakuran-san? Irie-san!"

"Good evening, Tsunayoshi-kun!" greeted the cheerful, white-haired man who was decked out in an alarmingly normal T-shirt (which Tsuna, he realised upon closer inspection, recognised it as belonging to Irie Shouichi) and tight black jeans. "It's so exciting to be in your house again! Right, Shou-chan?" A disgruntled Shouichi appeared from behind the excitable albino, with flyaway red hair and glasses askew, wearing an apologetic expression. "I apologise for Byakuran-san's behavior, Tsunayoshi-kun. But he just suddenly said that he really wanted to see you and- "

"I wanted to see you everyday, Tsunayoshi! But Shou-chan wouldn't let me! You're so mean Shou-chan!"

"W-what? Byakuran-san, you're- "

"And then you said you would tie me to the bed and punish me if I disobeyed, remember~? You're not JEALOUS, are you?"

"B-Byakuran-san! Don't go making up th-"

"Hahaha! Everyone sure looks lively today!"

Tsuna craned his neck to look over Byakuran's shoulder at the familiar voice. His face broke out into a wide grin as he caught sight of the newcomers. "Dino-san! Romario-san!"

"Yo, Tsuna!" The Cavallone had on his winning grin as he walked to join Byakuran and Shouichi at Tsuna's door step. The ever-present Romario, like a shadow at his boss' side, returned Tsuna's greeting. "Your house feels pretty crowded today, huh?" the Cavollone boss commented lightly giving a pointed look at Byakuran which was returned. For a bare second, Tsuna thought he saw sparks traveling between the two from their eyes, then dismissed the thought with a shake of his head - he was probably just imagining things. He really needed an aspirin.

"Haha! If it isn't Byakuran-san! And Irie-san! Where's the rest of your gang? Got lost, didn't they? Not to worry - although Namimori town's layout is pretty simple, it's understandable that people like them would get themselves lost." said Dino with such a pleasant smile that even Tsuna was surprised. Dino must really like Byakuran. He was being so nice to him. The young boss-to-be smiled, obliviously happy that they were getting along so well.

Byakuran's left eyebrow twitched a little at the subtle insult to his Funeral Wreaths but he replied smilingly, "Why, hello Cavallone! Or should I call you Bronco, you being the 'wild' fighter you are? And I was not worried; Bluebell and Daisy had just wanted to eat some ice cream so Kikyou and Zakuro agreed to take them for some. I decided to come and visit Tsunayoshi-kun in case he missed me too much, so we split up. And Shou-chan is here-"

"For damage control." muttered Shouichi.

"-to keep me company." Byakuran finished as if he had not heard him.

"Ah, how very thoughtful of you, Byakuran-san." commented Dino, still smiling winningly. "But since I am here, Tsuna has not really much need of your company. So really, thank you for the trouble but everything is fine please feel free to leave anytime. After all, it's been a long time since I myself shared some time with my precious Ts- er, I mean, with my precious little brother and it's important for brothers to remain in contact so that heir ties don't fade, right Tsuna?"

Tsuna's eyes lit up "Of course, Dino-sa-!"

"Oh! But I haven't seen Tsunayoshi-kun in such a long while too!" exclaimed Byakuran dramatically as he faked tearing up with emotion. "I was hoping Tsunayoshi-kun would be so kind as to let me spend the night in his house so we can have the chance to catch up."

Dino's smile faltered ever so slightly as the corners of his lips twitched. Shouichi smacked his forehead with a sigh. Tsuna said, "E-Eh?"

Byakuran's face suddenly appeared before him, their noses inches apart. The older man was half-leaning over Tsuna by supporting himself on the doorframe. Tsuna could see right into Byakuran's deep violet eyes that seemed to sparkle like amethysts in the gloom of the night. He could feel marshmallow-scented breath on his face as Byakuran exhaled softly. It smelled nice. But Byakuran was close - way, way too close. But Tsuna couldn't move. It seemed as if his whole body was paralyzed and all he could do was stand in his doorway and stare up at the boss of Millefiore with surprised, brown eyes and a fiery blush spreading across his cheeks.

"Tsunayoshi-kun," crooned Byakuran with a dangerous twinkle in his eye. "We're friends, aren't we?"

Tsuna blinked. "Erm, y-yeah?"

"And friends usually have sleepovers together, don't they?"

"Erm, y-yeah. I guess they do that..."

"Then won't you invite me to your house for tonight, Tsunayoshi-kun? Please?"

It was really difficult to concentrate with Byakuran's face so close to his own. Not to mention doing it while he was flashing that megawatt smile. Tsuna found that he could not really think clearly. "I- "

"Now now, hold up, Byakuran-san. Why do you have to stay at Tsuna's house? I'm sure Sawada Nana already has her hands full with I-Pin, Lambo, Fuuta, Bianchi and Reborn as well as Tsuna to take care of so I really don't think you should trouble her any further. Besides, I think the Millefiore are well enough that you can afford a night's stay at a hotel. Or perhaps you have been spending the past year living as freeloaders? I guess that must be fun... Since only people like you can have fun in such weird ways." Dino interrupted. Romario and Shouichi nervously noted that Dino's hand seemed to be twitching toward the whip at his side and that his smile had become frighteningly sweet. Tsuna was still clueless to the silent war being waged. This could turn ugly very fast.

"Kufufu... Oya, oya, isn't it way past your bedtimes? Children shouldn't be out in the streets at night, naughty, naughty."

"M-Mukuro? You're here too?"

Scratch that. This was heading for disaster.

Byakuran and Dino broke eye contact to face the unwelcome newcomer. "My, my, if it isn't Rokudo Mukuro." Byakuran exclaimed into the night, greeting the illusionist as if they were old buddies who had known one another all their lives. "I'm so glad to see you finally out of the Vendicare. You seem much better - you have gained a little more weight to your bones, at least. Nevertheless, perhaps it is best if you were to refrain from any... strenuous activity for a while."

Mukuro responded with equal enthusiasm. "It is good to see you as well, Millifiore. But I am hurt - am I really that out of shape? Ever since your defeat, I was given a monthly allowance by the Vongola headquarters in Italy for my undying support for Tsunayoshi-kun. Now that we have money for proper food and we have new living quarters with a kitchen that can actually cook, my cute Chrome has proven herself an excellent chef. I find it hard to hold back." At this point, Mukuro directed his gaze at Tsuna who was still standing at the doorway and approached him, turning his back on Byakuran. "I must thank you, Tsunayoshi-kun. Without you, what would have happened to Ken, Chikusa and Chrome? I am heavily indebted to you. So please, allow me to repay you. If there is anything you want, all you need to do is ask and I shall give it to you. Even my soul or my body- "

"EHIII-! N-no! I-It's okay, Mukuro! Y-you don't really need t-to do that! B-Besides, I'm just glad that Chrome is happy- "

"Ah, so it was only for Chrome? But Tsunayoshi-kun, don't you care about me too? Haven't I been a good Guardian to you? A good friend? Am I not worthy?" Tears were gathering in his eyes and he looked down dejectedly at the ground between him and Tsuna, marine blue hair partially shadowing his face. Mukuro made a great show of a heaving sob. Everyone knew that Tsuna was a sucker for tears.

"P-please don't cry, Mukuro-san! I didn't mean-"

"Then why did you specifically mention that you're glad that only Chrome is happy?"

"I-I never said it like that! I'm glad if she's happy because she's my friend and I like her. I'd be glad if you were happy too, Muku-"

"Then... Since you like Chrome, do you like me too?"

"Of co-"

Dino and Byakuran, having been unceremoniously ignored for the whole of the exchange between Sky and Mist, suddenly exploded into a string of verbal chaos before Tsuna could complete his sentence.

"Oi! That's cheating, you two-faced snake!"

"Dear, dear... That wasn't very fair of you, Rokudo-san. Tricking Tsunayoshi-kun like that."

Tsuna tilted his head sideways in confusion. A deadly aura was beginning to settle among them. Why had Byakuran and Dino called Mukuro a cheater? Mukuro had only been talking to him, he hadn't done anything wrong - yet. So why was Dino pulling out his whip- no, it wasn't the whip- Enzio? Byakuran had a smile that was way too sweet on his face for anyone to be remotely comfortable and - were his eyes playing tricks but was that Mukuro's right eye beginning to cycle between the Six Paths? Tsuna felt a sense of doom set in.

They're not going to start fighting here, are they? Not in front of my house! He had to do something, he had to speak up - he would not tolerate this infighting any longer!

Tsuna steeled himself and took a deep breath-

"What are herbivores doing out in the middle of the night, blocking the streets?"

Tsuna and Dino started at the new voice - the former nearly jumping out of his skin - while Byakuran and Mukuro were not surprised or if the were, showed no signs of it. The infamous prefect stood with a deceptive calm, a slight night breeze causing his black jacket to billow gently. The iconic red armband flapped in the wind along with the sleeve.

"H-HIIII-! H-H-H-Hi-Hibari-san!"

"Oya oya, if it isn't the infamous Hibari Kyouya come to crash our party..."

"N-Naa, Kyouya! Nice night, isn't it?" Dino attempted a winning smile as he hastily hid the tortoise behind his back, which didn't seem to have changed Kyouya's murderous disposition, rather the opposite. The killing intent of the atmosphere felt like it had increased tenfold.

"Hmph. Prepare to be bitten to death, herbivores." there was a flash of light gleaming off of metal and Hibari's iconic tonfa made their appearance.

"Oh well, I guess it can't be helped. It's been a while since I've played so much anyway." said Byakuran, his grin never leaving his face. "Shou-chan, you'd better leave - it's going to get dangerous."

"U-understood!"

Out of seemingly nowhere, Mukuro's trident appeared in his gloved hand. The illusionist twirled it once before slashing it down to point offendingly at Hibari. "Oya, can't have you disrupting our fun now, can we? A little pest like you, we'd crush you in fifteen seconds."

"N-Now now, who said anything about a 'we'? Who said anything about crushing? We really shouldn't be taking this so seriously- oops!"

Dino had been waving his arms about in an attempt to placate the hostiles but had completely forgotten about the tortoise in his hand. As a result, Enzio slipped from his grip and went sailing through the air-

"ENZIOOO!" Dino panicked, running after the air-borne animal with his hands outstretched to catch it before it hit the ground - or worse, a water-logged drain. Despite the fact that this event was completely unrelated to them, added on by the fact that Dino and his tortoise were traveling AWAY from them, the remaining trio, Byakuran, Mukuro and Hibari, randomly took it as their cue to begin the fight and lunged for one another.

With a clash of steel on steel and a shower of sparks, tonfa and trident collided. Hibari spared a look (glare) back at Tsuna - who was still standing at he door - and fixed him with a glower that could melt stone. "Get INSIDE, herbivore! How dare you disrupt the peace of Namimori by being out so late at night for no specific reason!" A vicious kick was aimed at Byakuran - which missed as the older male literally danced teasingly out of the way.

"H-H-HIIII!" was all Tsuna could say, rapidly retreating to the safety of his house and slamming the door in the face of the turmoil. He could already hear crashing sounds. Tsuna winced. The neighbours were not going to be happy.

"N-No way... Why is everyone acting so crazy? I mean, they already act crazy normally. But this...!"

"Useless Tsuna. Get back into the kitchen."

"Rebo- UFF!" Tsuna managed, being hit in the face with an apron. A pink and white strawberry print apron.

"Reborn! Those guys out there are-"

"Didn't you hear me, Useless Tsuna?" the cocking of a gun.

"R-Right away!" Tsuna yelled, running towards the kitchen as he threw on the God-forsaken apron.

'Why me?'

A/N: Yes, I am well aware what month it is. Yes, I am well aware of the month the first chapter was posted. Yes, I am well aware that I am horribly, (almost?) unforgivably late.

Here is a machine gun, katana and blunt spork. Please take your pick and punish me accordingly for this heinous crime I have committed.

I'm really sorry for being so late to update! I know you guys have heard the same old story countless times from countless authors but I'm going to say it anyway - I got caught up in the frightening realm known as Reality. In Reality, I learned that I needed to get 4 projects done in a single month and each required a rather upsetting amount of research and analytical thought as well as mild sleep deprivation to complete. On top of that, my final exams for my first year degree are coming in August. The first week of August. And I still don't know -bleep- about my syllabus. I am so screwed. Reality is a scary place indeed.

Anyway, I managed to finish this chapter - at last! I kind of rushed it toward the end because I didn't want to make you guys wait much longer. Unfortunately, the last quarter of it or so has not been proofread so it probably becomes a little weird at some parts and I apologise for that. I'll try and find time to go over it as soon as humanly possible given my schedule - or would you prefer I get my ass in gear for the next chapter instead? Again, since my final exams are coming I have no gurantee as to when I can get out the third chapter but I give you my word that it will come out! I'll do it with my Dying Will! 8D

From here on out, text will be irrelevant to this fiction and even KHR in general. Prepare for Hakuouki fangirl-rant ahead or please flee if uninterested in my fangirlism. :D

In other news, my current obsession right now is Hakuouki. For those who are unfamiliar with it, it is a visual novel otome game series set in Japan during the end of the shogun era. A girl named Chizuru (the protagonist) goes to Kyoto in search for her missing father. There, she encounters and is nearly killed by human-like monsters -coughvampirescough- but is rescued by members of the Shinsengumi, a group of ronin (masterless samurai). They're about to kill her because by seeing the monsters, she was witness to one of their organisation's dark secrets but it is revealed that the Shinsengumi had been coincidentally tasked to find her father as well. So she is spared and instead allowed to stay with them and assist them in their effort to find her father.

Of course, being an otome game and seeing as the Shinsengumi are all men, you get to take your pick of one out of six possible bachelors (who are all rather pretty boys, if you know what I mean ;D) to end up in a relationship with (one of whom must be unlocked). Who you ultimately end up with (or don't, if you get the normal or bad endings) depends on the choices you make in the game which will also alter the plot. And the plot - whew! It's a whole other thing. I think I learned more about history from playing this game than I did in five years of History classes back in secondary school. xD I find it really cool that the characters in game (beside Chizuru) are based on real, actual personalities in history. Even the events in-game were events that actual, really occurred! And the game is still engaging! Who said history was boring? :D Well, obviously there are elements totally unrelated to real history (vampires, demons etc.) but it's still fairly educational.

Right now, only one of the four Hakuouki games is available in English (the one I played) and it is only for the PSP. If you have a PSP and don't mind visual novel games, I highly recommend it! The English name is 'Hakuoki: Demon of the Fleeting Blossom'. Word of warning though, can be a tearjerker. Especially in Okita's route even though I got the good ending. My favourites are Okita and Heisuke. Anyone else here played it? Who are your favourites? :D

For those who don't have a gaming console, don't fret! There's still the anime - two seasons of it. A prequel third season is coming later this year, as well as a movie (!). The franchise has a really big following in Japan, that's why it's getting so many media releases. Which means more money leaving my wallet (I already blew over RM100 to get the complete four volumes of one of the manga adaptions). Of course, neither the manga nor the anime can match up to the game (especially art-wise since the game art and CGs are ridiculously pleasing to the eye) but they're not too bad.

Okay, I better stop now before I get carried away. :D

I hope you will continue to support me to the very end!

P.S.: You guys do know that this means I;ll be writing Hakuouki fanfiction in the near future, right? xD Unfortunately, the only category for Hakuouki is in the Anime/Manga category (it's not in the Game category)... Is there a way to submit a request/petition for a new title to be submitted to a category? Or is it something totally out of the users' hands?