Brief thing to mention...

I'd hate to suddenly bring up spoilers, but the [No Names] have Shiroyuki (the Giant white snake that gave that water sapling) and Pest as two more loli maids. To be honest, I have no idea how, just that it happened in the light novel series. It's not that important to know, but just to make sure you don't think too much about it when you read Pest and Shiroyuki briefly appear in this chapter.

Anyways, back to the chapter...

"Good morning…"

Kurousagi yawned as she entered the dining hall while stretching her arms.

"Good morning!" A few of the kids greeted the young rabbit with a cheerful tone while everyone else continued eating their breakfast. From the scent, Kurousagi assumed someone had made omelets and some French toast. She smiled as she saw the children's beaming faces, feeling that despite all the hardships, the troubles, and the annoying things she had to put up with from all the problem children, it was worth it to see the young children filled with happiness.

"Good morning…" a soft voice came from behind her. She turned to find Shiroyuki, Pest, and Leticia entering from the door, all yawning like they had just woken up from a long and gentle slumber.

"Good morning everyone!"

Kurousagi returned their greetings with one of her own. She briskly started skipping towards the bedrooms to wake up the problem children, who were all probably sleeping in like before. Of course, it was important to check on the newest member, Aragaki and Otome first. She needed to note everyone's sleeping habits so that she would be able to set up a wakeup plan. However, she also needed to talk with Jin about their next move, and with their numbers growing even larger than expected, they might be able to reach their goal of a complete rejuvenation of their headquarters even faster than expected.

She stopped. Something didn't seem right at that moment. She pinched her forehead to think back what was stuck in her mind.

"There was something strange Kurousagi had just seen, but what could it be?"

A moment passed before it suddenly dawned on her that Leticia had just entered the hall shortly after Kurousagi, so she couldn't have been the one who was making breakfast.

"Oh, so that's it…"

The air suddenly thinned slightly around her as she suddenly turned around and ran as fast as she could towards the kitchen.

Leticia was the only TRUE maid in the community that she could depend on for just about everything. Izayoi wasn't interested in helping out, Asuka didn't know much about chores, and Yo would either escape midway or end up sleeping in the middle of a job. Therefore, all the work was usually left to herself and the maids. If they didn't do the cooking, then there wasn't anyone else she could think of who would, or even could, cook enough for everyone, except for an intruder.

Of course, she wouldn't normally panic if it was lunch or dinner time, since the problem children would be able to protect them if anything went wrong. But with all of them half-asleep or lacking motivation, now might be the worst time for an intruder to launch a sneak attack (She thought she heard somewhere that the early mornings would be one of the best times for an intruder to sneak inside).

Zooming through the hallways, the tables, and the children who were trying to put away some of the dishes, she finally reached the doors to the kitchen, where her hair started to turn pink as she made a desperate leap inside while yelling "STOP WHAT YOU'RE DOING!"

Thanks to the momentum she gathered while running, she ended up knocking headfirst into the assortment of pots and pans that were set neatly on top of the table. There was a loud bang, clash, and clatter as the room seemed to be spinning in her field of vision. Kurousagi was momentarily dazed before shaking her head and focusing her eyes.

Kyle, Kuroneko, Jin, and the three loli maids had turned their heads her way, looking confused.

"Ummm…Kurousagi?"

Hearing Jin's words, Kurousagi snapped back into action and made a serious face while looking around intently.

"Where is he?! Where?!"

Everyone turned to each other before shrugging.

"Where is the intruder?!"

"Intruder? Where?"

"There must be an intruder somewhere! If Leticia-san didn't make breakfast, then it must have been an intruder! Where did he go?!"

"Breakfast…you mean like this?"

Kyle held up two different plates. One held a stack of French toast while the other had an omelet on it. Kurousagi's hair turned back blue as she slowly walked over to get a better look.

"B...But…how…"

"Kyle's been making them since early this morning," Kuroneko explained nervously. "After Jin-kun found out he could cook, he asked if he could watch. Kuroneko was also interested, and started to watch shortly after. Leticia-san, Pest-san, and Shiroyuki-san all joined in as well, shortly after coming inside."

Kurousagi beamed. "So…that means we have someone else who can cook?!" She happily turned to Kyle, who simply stared with half-open eyes. At that moment, Kurousagi's instincts started to tell her that something bad was about to happen.

"Kyle…san?"

"So…you thought I was an intruder…"

Yeah, something bad was definitely happening right now.

"Um… no…I didn't…"

"No…but you thought that lightly of me…that I couldn't do something like this…that I was useless…"

"W-Well…"

Kyle gave a grin. A grin that seemed to tell Kurousagi "I'm very angry"

Run, run, run, run, run…

"Well…you see…"

She quickly turned to everyone else, who either shrugged or sadly waved goodbye.

She quickly turned to dash away towards the entrance, but she couldn't move at all. Kyle was clenching the back of her skirt with a threatening aura. She tried to run faster and faster, but his grip was just too strong for her to escape from. As a last minute desperation technique, she pushed her legs against the floor as hard as she could. She ended up shooting across the floor like a bullet, speeding so fast that she realized that she never thought about how to stop.

She kept going further and further, everything else blurring past as she moved from hall to hall. Eventually, she started slowing down slightly, allowing her to notice a figure up ahead before crashing into it.

"WAAHHH!"

She fell once again on her face. But instead of meeting with a rough texture and a sturdy wall, she felt her face against a sturdy, yet softer texture than she expected, as well as a gentle and welcoming scent.

"Oh, looks like I found something interesting…"

She shuddered as she recognized the sound of the voice, and slowly turned her head up as she saw the blond-haired boy who was also one of the most troublesome problem children around.

"I-Izayoi-san…"

Izayoi chuckled as he got back on his feet and offered a hand to the blushing rabbit.

"Did you really want to feel up my chest that badly?"

"S-Shut up!"

Kurousagi took his hand to help herself up while dusting off herself. She noticed Hikari was nearby, sticking close to her brother like always. However, the young girl was also trying to cover his eyes for some reason. Izayoi whistled as he continued to stare at Kurousagi.

"So…how long are you going to be going around like that?"

Kurousagi followed Izayoi as he pointed towards her skirt...

Or more accurately, where her skirt used to be, as nothing was there to prevent Izayoi's eyes (or anybody's eyes) from seeing the bottom half of her underwear.

Kurousagi looked down before her face went completely red, and she took out a paper fan.

"You…you…"

She brought the fan down hard as she tried to cover herself with the part of the clothing she kept on.

"YOU PERVERT!"

"Ah, guess something like that would have happened…"

Everyone gathered in the meeting hall and sat with a cup in front of them. Kurousagi was holding her head with embarrassment as she stood next to Jin, who was sighing heavily. Kyle was smirking as he heard everything after Kurousagi's escape.

"You knew full well it would have led to that!" Asuka angrily declared. As a fellow woman, she knew exactly how embarrassing it must have been for Kurousagi, and was furious at the dark-clothed boy for doing something that led to that

Kyle recalled that shortly after Kurousagi's "escape", he found himself holding her skirt in his hands. However, instead of trying to return it, he ended up leaving it somewhere in the kitchen before going back to cooking.

"Hey, it was her fault for thinking lightly of me…" the young man replied with a childish answer. "Just because a few people don't cook, there's no need to lump me along with those idiots…"

""'"Huh?"""'

Asuka, Izayoi, and Hikari all glared at him with deathly stares. The others either didn't hear, or didn't seem to care.

"Everyone! Please calm down!"

Jin stood up with his hands spread across, trying to keep them all from fighting among themselves. Everyone took a deep breath before sitting back down.

"So, mind explaining why Kuroneko is still here?"

Asuka pointed to Kuroneko, who flinched slightly. As the "ojou-sama" with the red dress pointed out, Kuroneko was supposed to have arrived the day before to only deliver a message regarding the revived [Fores Garo]. However, the cat in the maid dress was still here, standing there next to Jin like Kurousagi, but on the opposite side.

"I thought Kuroneko was supposed to go back to Shiroyasha after she was finished."

"Um…well…"

"You know, with the way that they're positioned, Jin kinda looks like some kind of playboy…"

"Now that you mention it…he does seem to resemble that kind of person…"

"W-What?!"

"Well, Lily does seem to act a lot like a mother around here. And with Kurousagi, Pest, and Sandora, it's starting to look more and more like an accurate description…"

"*Whistle* Nice going there kid!"

"T-That's not what's going on at all!"

Asuka, Izayoi, Kyle, and Hikari all joined together to toy with Jin, talking like nothing was wrong just moments ago.

A few embarrassing minutes later, Asuka brought them all back to the original question.

"So, why is Kuroneko really here?"

Kuroneko gave a small bow.

"Sorrry that I haven't told anyone about this, but I'm here because Kurousagi hasn't been checking in on her home lately…"

"Her…"

"…home?"

Everyone turned to Kurousagi, who gave a nervous chuckle.

"Yes. As a [Judge Master], Kurousagi isn't supposed to stay in one community for such an extended amount of time, no matter what the reason. However, due to special circumstances, involving Shiroyasha's word and the close history involving the [No Names], Kurousagi was given special permission to stay at the [No Name] headquarters, in exchange for making sure she sends a letter to her home every once in a while to tell them how she is doing."

"Then, I assume she hasn't been sending any letters lately?"

"No. As a result, Kuroneko has been asked to keep watch over her and drag her back if necessary."

"Oh, so you're more or less an observer then."

"Yes. I'm here to make sure Kurousagi isn't doing anything that'll end up being problematic later on. That includes anything regarding work, the community itself, or even relationships…"

"Relationships?"

"Yes. As in whether your relationship with someone would affect how you treat your responsibilities".

"Whether Kurousagi's…" The blue-haired rabbit started laughing. "There's absolutely no way that there's anything like that going on!"

She stopped suddenly before glancing at Izayoi, who didn't seem to be listening at all, resting his head on his hand. A hint of blush appeared on her cheeks before she quickly turned her head away.

"N-N-Nothing…"

"Back to the topic at hand…" Otome suddenly spoke up with her legs on the table. "Why the hell are we all gathered here anyways?"

Jin turned his head back to the others.

"Right… well, we have received another letter from Shiroyasha…" He held up a letter that had the [Thousand Eyes] seal on it. He opened the letter and began to read…

Dear [No Names],

Come by to the [Thousand Eyes] branch store to learn about another chance for an interesting time. For this particular game, you should bring over pairs that could pass as couples. At least two would be fine.

Shiroyasha

P.S. Make sure to bring Kurousagi along too!

"Couples?"

Everyone fell into an awkward silence as the message started to sink into their minds. Cecillia was the first to break the silence.

"By couples, you don't mean…"

"'Couples' is the term used to describe a boy and girl who seem to be naturally drawn towards each other. Actions between couples include going on a date, kissing, and even-"

"Noooo!" the red-faced rabbit screamed as she waved her arms wildly. Everyone just watched without much reaction.

"Anyways," Cecilia coughed. "We're going to need to decide which pairs to send as 'couples' for Shiroyasha's request. So how should we choose?"

Silence fell at the table, nobody made any sign of volunteering, but they all knew that they had to answer soon…

"Guess there's no choice…" Otome sighed as she stood up. "I guess I'm going to need to take the initiative…"

"Otome-san…"

"I vote for Kuroneko and Jin to pair up."

"Otome-san!"

"What? It's not like anyone else had a better idea."

"Even so, why these two in particular?"

"I don't know, maybe I just feel like there's something between them somehow…"

Kuroneko suddenly blushed.

"T-There's nothing like that between Kuroneko and Jin! Nothing at all!"

"Well putting aside whether there's anything or not, we really need pairings to participate in this mysterious [Gift Game]. Shiroyasha said so herself after all…"

"Then…maybe we should do this?"

Izayoi & Sakura

Kyle & Asuka

Ryo & Yo

Mugen & Kuroneko

In the end, Cecilia and Hikari reluctantly agreed to stay behind and watch the community while the rest of them would participate in the [Gift Game] that was being held by Shiroyasha ("I'm being left behind again?!" the blond-haired girl cried out as the group left.)

"Now then," Kurousagi happily stated as she raised her fist towards the sky. "Let's go!"

Everyone else half-heartedly cheered along.

So first things first...

*Bows* I'm really really sorry about not making this in time for Valentine's day. Believe me when I say that I meant to. But with studying, transfer credit papers, and thinking about another fanfic, I've been lacking some time to work on this. However, I wanted, at the very least, to get this started prior to the end of Febuary, so I'm posting this right now...

Again, I'm really sorry about this, and I hope that the chapters I post next will somehow make it up to you all...

Next, about the story itself...

So I think I kinda rushed this a bit. Sorry about that, but thinking about one chapter too much just hinders things, so I just tried to do a decent job with what I could, and am posting this right now. Still, I'd appreciate it if you guys could point out anything you think I need to do better for next time.

Finally, to explain the pairings...

Believe me when I say that I initially thought about using every pairing offered, but sadly, that would be much too complex of a love web for me to handle, and so I had to rely on the one thing we always do when we have to choose... RANDOMIZATION! Using a randomizer machine, I listed each pairing and used whatever results I've gotten. As a result, we have the list you saw above.

I know, I know, IzayoiXKurousagi was something that should've probably been a MUST. But to be honest, I think that pairing might be a bit obvious here, so I'm gonna toy a bit with another pairing (However, there MIGHT be a moment in one of the upcoming chapters. No guarantees though...)

So that's that. I hope that this hasn't been TOO much of a disappointment for you guys, and I promise that the next chapter will be up by the 24th for you guys to read. Again thanks for reading and sorry about the delay...