Dark Hood

Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I do not own Gakuen Alice nor its characters but this story is entirely mine.

Her face glistened - which was unusual for a girl who had been on the plane for two hours - and her hair was sparkling.

"Hey. Since it was last minute, I only got an economy seat," she laughed, "I just really needed to get on the plane so I bought it randomly."

"Why?" I asked, knowing how much it must've cost for a quick ticket from Tokyo to Paris.

"Because... I can't let all those french girls get all over you," she had a smug expression on her face.

I sighed, "I can't speak french."

She giggled, "You like Girls Aloud now? Now I'm sure you won't get any girls."

"Don't you have to go back to your seat?" I asked, annoyed by her joke.

"I guess... That girl is giving me the creeps," she turned and stared at the flirty female flight attendant who was glaring towards us. "I'll see you when we get off or maybe later then. Bye Natsume."

"Hn. Bye Koizumi."

My mind started to wonder as the plane continued to fly through the air.

Koizumi is going to follow me even though I just swore never to get close to any romance because I wanted to preserve my friendship with Ruka. That is messed up. There's no other way to put it.

"Sir, would you like me report your, um... incident?" asked the attendant. I glared and her and I saw that far down, a few attendants were gossiping - obviously about her and me.

"No. But I'd like to report you," I growled angrily. She stepped back in fear then mumbled some form of apology before going back to her crew who were laughing at her attempt to 'flirt'.

Perhaps it might've worked if I hadn't made a promise to myself: No romance in Paris.

I departed the plane without haste. Those were the worst 13 hours on a plane - No. The worst 13 hours of my life.

The unstoppable pestering of the crew, my aching back, the snoring of the other passengers disabled me from sleep and the stupid wails of a mad baby from the back of plane irriated me even more.

Yet still, I looked around hoping that Mikan might be on the plane. It was unbelievably stupid but the urge great. She never did appear though. I was attracted to her like a magnet and now I can finally remove myself from the pull. She's was nowhere in sight.

"Wait Natsume!" cried Koizumi. "Wait for me!"

I groaned and stepped aside. She came no sooner than when all the passengers had gone to collect their luggage. "Sorry... I was... stuck... at the... back of... the crowd..." she gasped.

"Hn"

"Come on then, we still have to collect our luggage," she cheered, recovering from her desperate need of air.

She grabbed my hand abruptly and I pulled back just as fast as a reaction. she gave me a sad smile, "Oh yeah... Now that Mikan-chan and I are on equal grounds, I'll have to start from the top..." She grinned and jumped to the side, "Come on then! Your luggage will be burned at this rate! It's a good thing I remembered all my french from high school. You'll have to bring me with you."

I sighed. I knew this girl was persistant. Now... How do I get through Paris with this girl following me and doing my job at the same time?

One of life's unanswerable questions at the moment...

"Wow! And your company is paying for all of this?" squealed Koizumi. She awed the massive bathroom with the high-tech toilets and baths also the amazing view of Paris from here.

I loved it, in all honesty, but I would prefer my old cosy apartment.

"Natsume! Can I stay here until I find an apartment?" begged Koizumi. "I wasn't really prepared to come..."

Since the company is letting me stay here for free (just for a month), I agreed. And she went into the master bedroom to unpack. Anyway, I'd need her for French until I learn... Gosh, I completely new language...

Suddenly there was an unexpected knock on the door. A strange feeling of dread and fear came over me. What do I say?

Either way, I opened the door and a girl stood there smiling. "Bienvenue à Paris, monsieur!" she greeted. I guessed it to be some type of greeting at least... "I'm just kidding!" she laughed. "You don't have to take these things so seriously! You're in Paris and you don't have work for a week!" Her swift change in languages shocked me for a second.

"Hn"

"Sorry for scaring you Hyuuga-san," she apologized. A pang in my heart reminded me, even in Paris, it won't be easy to forget about Mikan. "I'm your secretary for Paris and I hope we get along," she grinned up at me.

God, the smile... my secretary... Hyuuga-san... "And your name?" I raised a brow, remaining calm. There's no point to be frustrated over a stranger... again.

"Oh! Did I not tell you? Sorry, I'm such a klutz. I'm -"

"Natsume! Can I use the shower?!" screeched Koizumi from the back of the room.

"Whatever," I grumbled. When I flicked my head around, the girl was gone. Who was she? And why is she so much like Mikan? This is harder than ever... And I get a free week? Maybe I'll use it to get to know that girl...

Koizumi passed me the phone and mouth quickly to me, 'Ruka'.

"What?" I hissed. I was stuck in this majestic apartment but I had all these files to go through for my 'first day at work'. Due to my... interest in that girl, I decided to go through the employee profiles and, trust me, I bet I'm reading the entire company's employee list.

"Natsume! Are you alright? How was the flight? How is Paris? Are you doing alright?!" he literally screamed into my ear.

"No. That's why I'm talking," I rolled my eyes but a smirk made its way up to my lips. My friendship isn't worth it.

"Good. Um... Sorry for interrupting your flight. I just... You kinda forgot your car and... Mikan-chan told me you took your keys... the apartment keys as well." Then I heard some murmuring. "No, it's fine - Hello? Natsume?"

"Still alive," I sighed, "What is it? Talk fast." I skimmed past the millionth profile.

"Well... why don't I let Mikan-chan talk?" he suggested.

"No."

"Alright... You're so stingy. Are you really okay? I know I am. I'm in Mikan-chan's apartment and guess what we did -" His happy voice and my aching heart clashed. It burned.

"I don't care! You know what, don't call me for a while. I'll mail you all my keys, I'll give you the car and the apartment. So don't annoy me!" I yelled and switched off the phone.

What's with all this? Didn't I say no girl was worth our friendship?

"Natsume? You okay?" asked Koizumi, concern etched upon her exhausted face. I throw an arm up to cover my face.

I'm so detestable... I'm so vunerable at the moment... I can't handle anything...

"I'm sorry... I must've caused a lot of trouble," she apologized.

"No. I've done it. I caused all the trouble," I groaned.

Koizumi was silent for so long I thought she had snuck up to her room. But she talked to me in a slow, relaxing, soothing voice. "Natsume, right now, I'm your friend. I'm not 'ex-girlfriend' or 'supposed fiancee'. I just want to be your helpful friend."

"... Thanks." Her voice was so soft. She could be such a good therapist.

"I know my advice won't be so helpful since I'm Mikan's rival but... I'm willing to listen." She shuffled to sit next to me. I faced her and took in a deep breath.

"I feel like I could kill somone," I admitted. "I wish my best friend would drop dead. I wish that irritating little girl would disappear from my life. But at the same time, I wish I had her. It's so annoying. I thought I made a choice. And now? I'm back where I started - maybe even worse."

Her hand rested on my shoulder. "It's so obvious you love her. But you're hesitating because of Ruka. It's noble but are you so sure you want to give up this girl you love? Are you sure you want to wreck the friendship you built for so long? All I know is that if you don't made a decision, you'll ruin it all."

I smirked and answered sarcastically, "Thanks. That makes me feel so much better."

"Good!" she laughed. "You should really shower. You were up in the air for 13 hours."

I raised a brow at her.

"And I really want to visit the Eiffel Tower at night! It's so romantic!" Her eyes gleamed. I do not want to know what she's planning for the upcoming tours of Paris.

Quickly, I jumped up from the sofa. "Fine. I'll go fix myself up but you should as well." I stared at her outfit. She was wearing some type of pajamas. Koizumi blushed and rushed into the bedroom. From there, I heard the tear open of her suitcase and throwing of clothes.

I shivered when I was reminded what Ruka said: guess what we did...

Fear was creeping up on me. I faced the table to stare the international phone. Besides it - where I flung the profiles in rage - was the certain profile I was looking for.

My eyes widened.

End of Chapter 10

Yes! Double digits! I'll be in Paris in a few weeks time for Valentines so I want this story to kinda... follow me? I dunno. But definite romance in the future chappies. ;)

ApatheticEyes - I am so sorry! I forgot to name you before! I want them to get together too but I don't feel like it at the moment...

adrienna22 - Thanks again for the quotes! Did you get it right? Did you know it was Koizumi?

nix - Congrats! You got it right! So did you vote on Ruka x Hotaru or Koizumi?

AnimeMango - Thanks so much for loving my stories! I'm so glad you enjoy them!

Guest - Aw~ That's so sweet of you. Thank you!