HOT HAWAIIAN NIGHTS

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Chapter 5 - Sohma Stealers

"I am not sitting next to that damn rat!"

"Feelings are mutual, you stupid cat."

"Dear dear..." Shigure glanced around at that Sohma family. They were all sitting in the waiting area for Flight 54 to Honolulu, Oahu. Yuki and Kyo, as usual, were fighting, not to the surprise of the rest of the Sohma family. Hatori was reading a newspaper, Hatsuharu was perched on his suitcase, chin in hand, Ayame was standing next to Shigure, handing out tickets, and Momiji was unwrapping his third candy bar since the beginning of their wait.

"Ah, Tohru-kun, you're sitting next to me!" Ayame smiled and handed Tohru her ticket. "Isn't that grand? We'll have so much to talk about!"

"SHE ISN'T SITTING BY YOU!" Kyo and Yuki shouted at the same time. "Honda-san, don't sit by him, okay? You can sit next to us instead."

Tohru nodded, but didn't want to seem too eager to sit with the cat and rat, afraid of how Ayame might take it. "Ayame-san, I would have liked to sit next to you but, um, well..."

"Don't worry Tohru-kun! Obviously, those two want you to themselves so I won't interfere."

"Why you...!" Kyo leapt up, but Hatsuharu grabbed him by his jacket collar just in time. "Kyo, why don't you save us the trouble of getting major headaches by just shutting up?"

"I wouldn't be so damn mad if he would stop having dirty thoughts!" Kyo wretched his collar away from Haru. "And don't touch me! Ewww!"

Haru rolled his eyes and resumed his brooding position. Hatori shook his head and folded up his newspaper. "Ayame, where's my ticket?"

"Ah! Tori-san, how thoughtless of us!" Ayame winked and handed Hatori his ticket. "This is your lucky day! Apparently, you are also sitting with me!"

'For 10 hours?' Hatori thought, running his hand through his raven hair. 'Well, I guess it can't be helped...'

"And," Shigure rested his arm on Ayame's shoulder. "We're getting three meals on this plane trip. Traveling from Japan to Oahu is quite a journey and we must have nourishment while flying."

"That sounds great!" Tohru beamed and Yuki gave a small smile. It was just like Honda-san to be delighted at the smallest of things.

"Shigure... I forgot to ask you before, but how are we paying for this?" Hatori asked, afraid of what he might hear. "Are we dipping into the Sohma family fund or something?"

"Well..." Shigure hedged a glance at Ayame who winked at Hatori and linked arms with Shigure.

"Never fear, Tori-san, for Akito-san's wallet is here!"

WHAT?

"Akito's... wallet?" Hatori blinked and stared at the duo. It took a few minutes for that concept to fully register in his head. "How in God's name---"

"Let me explain." Ayame bowed dramatically and gestured wildly with his arms. "It was a dark and stormy night..."

"Get to the point, dammit!" Kyo growled.

"Really Kyo, you are so rude..." Ayame sighed. "I was just getting there when you oh-so kindly robbed me of my spotlight... anyway, while dear Akito was taking a nap, Gure-san reached into his top drawer and---" Ayame mimed fishing for something and pulling it out. "POOF! Akito-san's wallet was now in Gure-san's grip! And away he fled, into the night like an eagle on the brisk summer's wind..."

Hatori was shaking his head, his left hand rubbing at his temples. "You do realize... what you have done?" he asked. "When we've paid for everything on his credit card---"

"Tori-san, I think you misunderstood. Akito-san doesn't have just one credit card. He's in possession of ten of these beauties."

"TEN!" everyone collectively gasped. Yuki was silent, Kyo was looking at Ayame in such disgust, Hatsuharu was gazing at the floor, brow furrowed, and Momiji continued to munch on sweets, staring at Ayame with large eyes.

"Yes, ten of these." Ayame mused. "And the good thing is, he's never used eight of them, so we're good to go!"

"He's going to find out, stupid!" Kyo dug into the floor with his fingernails. "How can you be so stupid to not think of a back-up---"

"---And that's why Gure-san and I made credit cards." Ayame fished a small packet from his coat and took out the contents. Different rectangles of shades similar to the cards in Akito's wallet were tied together with a rubber band.

"They look... very similar." Tohru sweat-dropped, while gazing at the cards. "You can't really tell the difference..."

"Yes, aren't they lovely? These are some extras that were left over. We spent an entire night toiling and making these cards." Ayame beamed and tucked the replacements in his coat, along with Akito's wallet. "If he gets out of bed while we're on our trip and finds his replacement wallet and cards, he'll hopefully be too sick to realize what has happened there."

"That is, if he can get out of bed." Shigure had a small smile forming on the corners of his mouth.

"What did you do now?" Hatori sighed. He couldn't believe those two. They were always like this, pranksters and mischievous to a fault. But taking Akito's wallet... surely the gods weren't pleased and would soon strike them down with lightning bolts. 'And it's all your fault.' Hatori groaned inwardly, imagining the Sohma family, running around in the sand, trying to dodge lightning bolts hurled by the toga-clad gods from above.

"...Nothing..." Shigure yawned and stretched. "Nothing important Haa-san. Just think how generous Akito-san is! Sharing his tremendous wealth with the rest of the family... it really is too much!"

Everyone almost collasped at that last comment, except for Shigure and Ayame. Both dog and snake were laughing, tears in their eyes, holding onto each other for support.

"What is so funny...?" Yuki had an annoyed expression on his face. "That man is nothing but a low-down---"

"Why Yuki! If you admire genius, you shouldn't be ashamed to admit it! As your older brother, I can guide you down the path to excellence and extreme intelligence!" Ayame, who had let go of Shigure, was now sweeping over to the annoyed rat. "Come, come Yuki! Why the long face? Are you that annoyed at seeing your own older brother?"

"You have no idea." Yuki muttered, edging away as Ayame moved closer. "Can you get away---"

"FLIGHT NUMBER 54 PASSENGERS, FLIGHT NUMBER 54 PASSENGERS -- PLEASE GET READY TO BOARD, THANK YOU."

"That's us!" Shigure said, getting up as everyone around him starting picking up their bags. "Are you ready for the trip of a life-time? Hawaii, here we come!"