Hey, guys! Here's the new chapter of this little story of mine!

As usual, gotta give massive props to Quis Custodiet for being a great Beta-Reader!

Disclaimer: I do not own anything Love Hina related, just the plot to each of my stories.

-Mizuho's POV-

*Ring Ring Ring*

My alarm clock woke me up and after a few seconds of my brain trying to reboot itself and clearing the cobwebs inside it, I stretched my hand towards it and shut the noise off.

Finally feeling awake, I saw that I was at a somewhat unfamiliar room. It only took me a few seconds to realize that I was currently at my new room at the Hinata Sou – Finally, a room all to myself! I felt happy, knowing that no one would complain that my alarm clock woke them up, no one borrowing some of my stuff and ending up losing it, and especially no one butting into my business as what I do in my own room! Yes, it was all good.

After getting out my bed and stretching my body, I went up to the wash room with a towel and my handy toothbrush. On my way there, I saw that nobody was awake at this time, the hallway was empty and no noise could be heard, and again, I was happy for that.

Back at my old dorm, we had to share a bathroom with four people that live on that floor. Every morning it was a race as to who was going to use the bathroom first, and I ended up waking up early just to use the bathroom and not be late for class.

Anyways, after washing my face and brushing my teeth, I went straight to the kitchen to get a start on my early morning routine, which is to get coffee into my system.

When I got to the kitchen, I was a bit surprised to see Shinobu up already and preparing breakfast, and by the number of ingredients she was using, she was cooking for everybody. I then remembered that she mentioned something about being the resident chef last night. No wonder that Keitaro placed her on cooking duty in exchange for a room, she cooks like a pro!

"Morning, Shinobu-chan!" I greeted the little chef as I approached the coffee machine.

"O-Oh, Good morning to you too, Mizuho-sempai…" Shinobu replied with a small smile on her face. She was still cutting some vegetables up, and I had to admit that her knife skills were better than mine by a long shot.

I watched her in silence as I drank my coffee. As I sipped the contents of my mug, I was a bit disappointed that the quality of the coffee wasn't that great compared to what I had back at my old dorm. Though, I had to admit that I was drinking the expensive stuff back then. One of my dorm mates also shared my coffee addiction, and she bought expensive coffee beans. But, it doesn't really much change the fact I just love coffee, no matter the quality. Coffee is great, even when it's not.

'Ahhh, sweet delicious black nectar of goodness, fill me up with your caffeine which I will use to energize my day!'

"Good morning, Mizuho-senpai, and to you as well, Shinobu-chan." Motoko said out of nowhere, almost making me throw my cup in the air.

"Woah! I-I didn't notice you there, Motoko-chan!" I said, my voice startled from her sudden appearance.

This girl was light on her feet, 'cause I didn't hear any footsteps while I was drinking my coffee. It was like she was some kind of ninja, I mean, that floor is more creaky than a senior citizen's hips for goodness sakes!

"I apologize if I surprised you, Mizuho-sempai. " Motoko bowed her head a bit.

"Oh, it's nothing, really!" I replied dismissively, as I waved my hands around.

It's shocking to see a person as polite and considerate around other people as Motoko. Unlike the tenants around here, most of my previous dorm mates were either rude or smartasses. I just learned to ignore them; if you don't give them attention then they don't target you.

Also, now that I have a good look at Motoko, she's quite tall and beautiful for someone her age. Her posture is also impressive; maybe it's the result of the strenuous training that she undergoes. If I wasn't straight, I would be all over her.

"May I ask as how you are adapting to your new room?" Motoko said, shocking me out of my reverie.

"I'll need to get used to it, I guess…" I replied, drinking more of my coffee. "I mean, it's just been one day, so it'll eventually wear off. I just hope soon, though. I'll be tutoring Keitaro starting tomorrow."

"I don't know why Urashima is still insisting on fulfilling his idiotic dream of passing that test…" Motoko voiced out her opinion in a matter-of-fact tone. "I think it's useless of you to tutor him; even Naru-sempai, someone who is the regional top student, failed to teach that idiot. And not only that, because of his intrusions on Naru-sempai's study sessions, he took her down with him."

"I don't that's fair to say that about Sempai…" Shinobu timidly replied as she held her apron for support. "Sempai d-definitely works hard in his s-studies…"

"I'm not one to pick on poor Keitaro, but Motoko has a point." A voice said from behind. Looking at the source, I saw that it was Kitsune. She looks serious, a total opposite of her usual face. "I've known Naru for years and she's one heck of an Einstein, and she isn't likely to fail that test if she was really into studying."

Kitsune walked to the counter, took out her sake, poured herself one and gulped in one go. After having her first shot, her expression lighted up and went back to her usual foxy grin.

"Though, maybe they weren't just studying for the exam, maybe they were also 'studying' each other's body…" Kitsune said with a sultry wink.

"W-What?" exclaimed Shinobu, her tiny body shaking and tears welling up in her eyes. "S-sempai and Naru-sempai… d-doing adult things!?"

"K-Kitsune, this is no time for your unnecessary jokes." Motoko said, visibly uncomfortable with Kitsune's jest.

'Does this happen often?' I mentally sighed, seeing as the conversation had taken an abrupt turn to the perverted side.

"Well, I don't personally know this Naru person you keep talking about…" I said as I shook my head, gaining the attention of all them. "Sure, she could be an intellectual, maybe even smarter than me, but it really isn't fair for anyone to blame Keitaro for her downfall. If this is the treatment you guys give him, then no wonder the guy has self-esteem issues." At this point, my voice gains more volume and passion, while a smile crawled unto my mouth. "If you all think that tutoring him is a wasted effort, well, I'll prove you guys otherwise. He has great potential, I know it, hell, maybe he'll even surpass this Naru girl's scores!"

-Narrator's POV-

Unbeknownst to all the girls, Keitaro was behind just behind the door and heard all their opinion of him. He was a devastated to hear all the bad things the two girls were saying. Was he really that stupid, He thought. The two tenants all had a point and he held back Naru and resulted with her failure. But he was surprised when he heard Mizuho defend him; this the first time that a person defended and believed in him like that. He felt so moved that it gave him the determination to face the following days of being tutored with all his will.

"Heyas, Keitaro!" Su said as she suddenly appeared out of nowhere and climbed on Keitaro's back.

This caused the other girls in the kitchen to freeze; they didn't expect the subject of their discussion to be hiding behind the door. Anxiously looking at the kitchen entrance, the girls weren't sure if he had heard their heated discussion

"Oh, hey there, Su." Keitaro greeted back as he feigned ignorance, giving the foreign girl a smile as he entered the kitchen. "Is breakfast ready, Shinobu? I'm already hungry and I think that Su is also hungry as well."

The instant he walked inside the door and seeing his bright face, they decided to go with the flow and dropped their little argument. Their faces were still visibly uncomfortable after talking bad about their Manager like that, and breakfast was awfully awkward that morning.

After having their fill, Motoko, with Su in tow, left saying that they needed to prepare for school. Kitsune also left after a few minutes and went straight to the common room to enjoy her favorite leisure time; betting on horses. Keitaro and Mizuho stayed behind to help Shinobu in cleaning up the table, even when the little girl protested, saying that she could handle it.

Keitaro was kind hearted and knew how hard Shinobu has been working since she started living at the dorms, so it was only natural for Keitaro to help her out. Mizuho on the other hand knew of the plight of cleaning up after her dorm mates while they kept on leaving their dirty dishes on the table, so she wanted eased some of Shinobu's chores. Mizuho was once again amazed at the entire task that this little girl had been doing; from cooking to cleaning, she even saw her do some late night laundry.

When the dishes were done, Shinobu thanked her two Sempais and scurried to her room to prepare for school, like Motoko and Su.

"For someone who's a lot younger than I am, Shinobu-chan does a lot of work around here." Mizuho commented as she looked at Shinobu, who was hurriedly climbing up the stairs. "Don't you think you're overworking her?"

"A while back, I was concerned about her tackling so many chores." Keitaro said with a serious look on his face. "I tried to help her out by doing her chores for her, but all that achieved was to sadden her. She moped around the dorm every time I finished her chores. Turns out that she actually likes being helpful around the dorm, you should've seen her after I left her to do it herself. Her mood flipped a total 'one-eighty'; she became so energetic that she finished it with plenty of time to spare."

"Oh, is that so?" Mizuho said, a small smile forming on her face. She was at awe at how diligent and hardworking Shinobu was, she knew of no one that was like Shinobu in that aspect.

Later that morning, the other tenants said their farewell as they went to their respective schools. Only three people were left at the dorm, Keitaro, Mizuho and Kitsune.

Keitaro didn't pass the exam, so he was stuck at the dorms for the meantime while he waited for the next exam to come. While having nothing to do, he went up to his room to study, he thought that he could look up the things that he missed on the exam.

Kitsune was just lying on the couch as she consumed some canned beer and betted on horses. Even though the other tenants insist that she do something more productive with her daily life, she just ignored their advice and lived her life how she wanted it; like the slouch that she is.

Mizuho didn't have any classes that day, since she only had to attend classes four times a week. Mizuho took this as an opportunity to check up on her precious axe, since it had been awhile since she last visited her baby. After changing her clothes with something more casual, she walked outside her room and towards the front door.

When she passed the common room, Kitsune called her out and said,

"Hey, um, Mizuho…" Kisune had a somber expression, her eyes a bit downcast. "About this morning, I'm sorry about that. I know that Keitaro isn't to blame with Naru's failure, it's her own fault. I was just so taken aback when I heard from her that she failed the exam, and seeing that she's my best friend, I just jumped the gun and blamed poor Keitaro."

"I understand." Mizuho replied, giving Kitsune a small smile. "Any friend will be shocked if they heard such news. Though, I wasn't kidding when I said that I'll do my best to help him pass that exam. Don't underestimate my teaching techniques!"

"Is that so?"Kitsune said, putting one of hands on her hips and giving Mizuho one of her signature foxy grins. "And if your techniques aren't enough, you really going to marry that man?"

Mizuho turned her back at Kitsune, still having a smile on her face.

"Maybe…" Mizuho answered after a few seconds, as she walked out of the common room.

'She's definitely an interesting person. Let's see how she'll handle Keitaro's 'accidental' techniques…' Kitsune thought as she gulped one of her canned beers.