Irreplaceable
Discalaimer: I do not own Gakuen Alice
"How many rooms do you want to book, sir?" asked the receptionist.
"None" said the handsome dark haired man standing in front of her.
"I'm afraid I didn't quite understand you, sir. Would you prefer one of the suites then?"
"I'd prefer the whole hotel"
The receptionist stared at him, confused. People did not normally walk into one of the country's finest hotels and say that they wanted to book the entire hotel. Their prices were so high that even multinational companies were able to book only a wing for their conferences.
A woman sitting next to the man looked at her, clearly amused by her reaction.
She pulled herself together and said, "Sir, if you could please wait for a minute, I'll just call the manager"
"Hn"
The woman smiled and said "He means yes, we're willing to wait"
The receptionist smiled back at the woman gratefully. The woman seemed friendly, thought the receptionist, and judging by the expensive diamond necklace she was wearing, was rich.
Some time later, the manager appeared, looking bewildered "You wanted to book the entire hotel, sir?"
"No. If the staff incapable of understanding English I'll have to hire new people when I own this place"
The manager glared at him, trying to keep his temper in check.
"Sir, could you please tell me what you want?"
"I want to buy this hotel"
There was utter silence.
"We would like to meet the owner of this hotel. He is currently staying in the penthouse, correct?" said the woman.
"Stop imitating a goldfish and get to work!" snapped the man.
"Yes sir! I'll take you to Mr. Reo immediately! Please follow me"
He led the couple out to a pleasant verandah. There was a table there and a few chairs, from which the view of the gardens was excellent.
"Mr. Seiro will be here in a moment" said the manager and went away.
"That hair really doesn't suit you Hyuuga" muttered the woman.
"Shut up. That blonde wig doesn't exactly make you look like an angel either Sakura"
Just then, Reo, the owner of Paradise Hotel entered. He was a good looking man, with blonde hair and startling violet eyes.
"My manager informs me that you want to buy my hotel" he said, looking at them suspiciously.
"That's right"
"I am not interested in selling this place"
"You will be" replied the man calmly and then named a staggering sum
Reo looked amazed. "Who are you and why do you want to buy this hotel so badly?"
"My name is Tonouichi Akira and this is my secretary, Mikan Sakura. I want this place because I'm interested in the profits that will it will yield in the future. Also you know very well that business has been bad in the past year and you cannot afford to keep this place running much longer"
Reo was taken aback by this blunt speech but said, with as much dignity as can be expected of a man who just had his most embarrassing weaknesses disclosed, "Very well, I will think about your offer. Meanwhile you are welcome to stay here and see the day to day functioning of Paradise Hotel yourself"
Natsume smirked "Shouldn't you be more skeptical about the authenticity of my offer? Not many people would believe a man who just walks into their hotel and says that he wants to buy it"
Reo Serio smiled "Not at all. Your name is enough. There are very few people alive who haven't heard about Japan's richest young bachelor. Besides you look exactly like the photographs I have seen in the tabloids."
The manager came into the verandah. "Will you require anything sir?"
"Show them to the Golden Suite"
"The Golden Suite sir?" repeated the manager looking dazed.
"Didn't you hear what I just said?"
"But….but, Her Highness the Queen of Arukabad's luggage hasn't been taken down yet. It's still in the passage outside the room with a guard and as you know, it contains the crown jewels so we cannot just let anyone………."
"Stop blabbering and take them to the Golden Suite. He is not 'anyone'; he is the future owner of this hotel!"
The manager took them upstairs to the suite. There was a pile of luggage lying in the corridor.
"Wow," said Mikan "Who has that much of baggage?"
She stared at the pile as she walked and so tripped over the carpeting. Akira rolled his eyes. For a second, the guard watching over the baggage thought his eyes looked crimson. It was as if he was wearing contact lenses over crimson eyes.
"Ouch!" said Mikan as she landed on one of the bags.
The guard immediately focused all his attention on her. That was the bag containing the precious diamond that was the centerpiece of the Queen's Crown. It had been hidden in a zipped Chanel bag similar to the others in order to confuse any thieves.
"I'm so sorry" said Mikan apologetically. She put her hands next to her shoulders and attempted to heave herself up. But she couldn't do so as her necklace was entangled in the bag's zipper.
"Drat. Hang on everybody, I'll just untangle this"
She began to fiddle with the necklace when the guard stopped her.
"I'll do it" he said shortly.
"Oh no, there's no need, here, it's done"
She stood up and followed her employer inside the suite. The guard stared at her back suspiciously and then opened the bag to check the jewels. He was reassured by the familiar glint of the diamond inside the bag.
"I was brilliant, wasn't I Natsume?" said Mikan happily, pulling off the blonde wig she was wearing.
"Put a lid on it Sakura, we still have to get out of here"
She pouted. "C'mon Natsume, this whole thing was your plan. Didn't you say that no one ever stops people from breaking out, even if it's out of a suite this difficult to break into?"
The man popped out his contacts and removed his wig. Without them, he was even better looking. He had messy black hair, mesmerizing eyes and the kind of face that would have attracted a zillion fan girls. Mikan Sakura, however, merely rolled her eyes and said "C'mon Natsume, we did it! We successfully stole the diamond"
"No thief is successful unless the jewels have been disposed of and he's sitting at home"
"You are just so cheerful"
The Times Newspaper – 19th January 2009
NxM STEAL CROWN JEWELS
It seems that two of the world's best thieves have struck again. The famous cons, NxM, known only by this unique signature that is found at every place they have robbed so far, have stolen the diamond centerpiece of the Queen of Arukabad's crown. The police have found no clues yet, except the usual mocking note left by them saying "Better luck next time….."
A/N: Sigh. I'm feeling pretty low and this seems to be my worst work ever. Review if you think I should continue! Also I need a beta reader. Any volunteers?