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While the Hidden City was filled with all sorts of surprises, especially an underground farmer’s market, Leo didn’t have time to explore today, he was on a mission.
“Technically an errand.” Said Donnie over facetime.
“Anything can be called a mission if you’re feeling fancy.” Leo quipped.
“Ok you remember, right? I need dragon scales.”
“Yeah yeah trying to mix mystic and your tech stuff yadda yadda” Leo made a talking motion with his free hand. “and I—your ever so loving brother and twin—have bravely volunteered to help.”
“Right, right. Definitely not because you don’t owe me a no questions asked favor. After I lent you money for... what was it again?”
“The Jupiter Jim IX: Disappearance of Milky Way Deluxe Graphic Novel and Art Book Combo. No sir.”
“......Yeah. That one.”
“No worries, dude! I’ll get your scales no problemo. Honestly I thought you’d cash in your favor for something more, er, grim. Like hiding a body.”
“Oh please I’ve got better ways of handling that.” Donnie said in an almost bored tone.
Leo chose to ignore that last remark.
“Anywayyyy, tell Dad I’ll be home before Scorpion Treadmill. Later!” Leo hung up and stuffed his phone back in his pack.
Perusing the market, the slider made passing glances at both the wares and crowd. There was a sense of normalcy here he enjoyed, as a mutant blue wearing turtle with a large sword strapped to his shell. A "being able to walk around freely and not worry about having to put on a nerd voice or a fanny pack to fool a tourist family from Maine" sort of vibe. It was nice.
He casually leaned over a stall selling what looked to be candied apples, with bright pink caramel that smelled like a mix of honey and lemon. No harm in a snack while down here. He had to make it back to the lair alive, after all, so starving to death was out of the question.
“Well helloooo tasty trea—“
Off to his side, a bright ring of a bell. He barely had time to turn before someone collided into him. In a split second he saw a girl. Pale fur, bright blue eyes, and a pair of cat ears. She turned back towards him as she strode past and he regained his composure.
“Oops!” She called, louder than the large bell ringing on her neck. In a flash, she disappeared into the crowd.
Leo straightened up and lifted a blue masked brow.
“Market’s not that packed but okaaay” He turned back to the snacks. “Anyway, how much for...the....” he reached into his belt pack, fumbling around for his wallet.
A cold sweat rushed through him. Wallet gone. No wallet, no buying the dragon scales. No dragon scales, no Donnie letting him off the hook. No Donnie letting him off the hook, now Leo has bathroom cleaning duty this month. But, most importantly, no fun Hidden City snacks. The injustice would not stand.
“HEY!” He tried to look over the crowd for the girl, but only saw a sea of strange yokai shapes. He huffed and hopped onto an empty spot on the counter and up to the stall’s sturdy metal roof, ignoring the angry fish running the shop.
Squinting, he saw the familiar cat ears a ways away, and with an “aha!” started after her.
“Hey! Cat burglar!” Leo yelled as he jumped over stall roofs.
The girl spun around, caught a glimpse of the turtle, and dashed. She wove through the assortment of people before ducking into an alley. Leo hopped off the stalls and ran in after her.
“Nope, not happening.” He drew his odachi and sliced the air to summon a portal in her path. A bright blue circle appeared and the girl skidded to a stop. She nearly fell in, but shifted her momentum to jump to the wall and onto the other side of the portal, continuing her run.
“Oh COME ON.” Leo groaned.
Stealth was probably the better option here, he thought as he portaled himself to the top of a nearby building, looking over where the girl had run off to, and following her from the rooftops once more. As much as he wanted to have a truly fun and bombastic chase, getting back home in one piece with no bathroom chores sounded way more appealing.
Eventually, she did come to a stop, in another far off alley, and Leo finally got a good look at her that wasn’t in passing or running.
A young cat yokai appearing in her early teens, she had the patterns of a calico; splotches of pinkish coral and black running over her white fur. A collar with a large bell sat on her neck, with a simple dark teal top and oversized peach and red shorts, held snug with a red obi belt with a large bow on the back. She looked like a lucky cat figurine come to life, but instead of granting luck this one thieved turtle property.
The cat sighed and sat down on an overturned trash can, fishing inside her shorts pocket, her arm going deeper than Leo would have thought possible (but then again, as a mutant turtle son of an action star, currently in a magical underground city, what did he know about impossible), and pulling out a small pink canteen. She took a huge swig and dropped it back into the spacious pocket, letting out a satisfied sigh.
“Ok.” The slider huffed, and slid down one of the gutter pipes from the roof to the ground silently, hovering over her.
“Hey,” her ear flicked back. “This has been fun but are you gonna give me my wallet back orrrr?” Now she fully tensed up, shrieking and falling over the trash can.
“H-How did—“ Her fur fully poofed in alarm, tail practically doubling its size.
“Listen, I’m just that good.” Leo shrugged. “In any case, wallet pleeeease.”
She spat a hiss at him and sprinted away.
“Ok, no need to cuss.” He casually twirled his sword, slicing open a portal to his side. He side stepped, passing through and reappearing directly in the cat’s path, stopping her in her tracks.
She blinked twice, bright blue eyes moving quickly, as if sizing him up. Her eyes settled on the sword he lazily rested on his shoulder.
“Oh this?” He nodded his head towards his odachi, grinning. “Pretty cool, huh?”
The calico took a step back, eyes fixed on him with a calculating expression. She was a head shorter than him, tensed as if ready to run again. Alright, this situation needs to chill, the slider thought.
“Ok, ok, can we talk like people about this? Man to man, or, uh, turtle to cat?”
The portal closed behind him and he struck his sword into the ground, using it to support his weight in his usual lean.
“Sooo, let’s start with names. I’m Leonardo. Leo to many, Nardo to few, and Neon Leon if you really wanna spice it up.”
“...You’re being,” she started, expression going from surprise to a squint. “Very casual about this.”
“Yeah, well I figured a thrilling chase across the Hidden City isn’t gonna work, so good ol’ fashioned diplomacy it is. And your name?” He waved his hand towards her with a flourish, raising his brows.
She raised her own brows, and for the first time since he snuck up on her, relaxed and took a casual stance. She flicked her tail, the fur settling back to normal size.
“Tomiko.”
“Alright, Tomiko, now don’t tell me you’ve already sold my wallet in the, what, few minutes I’ve trailed you, that would be some next level stuff, even for me. In any case, I’ve got a coupon for two free tacos in there that I do NOT want touched.”
“No, no, I’ve still got it.” She started to reach into her oversized shorts pocket. “...Buuut....” She paused.
After a beat Leo spoke up. “That’s a suspiciously long amount to time to leave after a ‘but’.”
“Ok, you help me out with something, I give you your wallet back.”
“My stolen wallet. The wallet that you stole.”
”Eh, semantics.” Her tail swished back and forth. “Listen, a little I scratch your back you scratch mine.”
”Shell, but, go on.”
“If you can use that mystic sword of yours to help me get something back, I’ll return your stuff. Simple, right?”
“So you’re holding my wallet—stolen wallet, haaaate to keep bringing that up—hostage, in order to get me to help you perform more petty thievery?”
Tomiko shrugged. “I mean, when you put like that...” Leo gave her a practiced “oh really” look. “Yeah basically. Deal?”
Leo sighed and mirrored her shrug.
“Eh, there’s worse ways to waste an hour.”
————
A short while later, Leo found himself hiding in the hedges outside a grand estate.
Tomiko had been mostly silent the entire walk over, sometimes answering his questions, more often with shrugging or other nonverbal cues.
Now he sat casually, hidden in the shadows while she surveyed the solid fence and gate, trying to look for a way in.
“So why stealing? Why that life choice?” Leo asked, picking between his teeth with his free hand.
Tomiko’s tail flicked. “It’s a hobby.”
“...there are better hobbies.”
She shushed him, pointing to the large gate opening, then to a carriage coming up the road. Leo looked over and saw a strangely familiar face. A red dragon with a well pressed suit and an eyepatch. He chewed his lip as the carriage disappeared into the estate, and as the gate closed it hit him.
“Ah! That guy! Dragon boss dude!”
Tomiko turned, whiskers twitching. “You know him?”
“Oh yeah, my brother and I served him and his cronies at Hueso’s a few weeks back. Got some good unicorn tips outta that one.”
“... Who even ARE you?”
“A turtle hero of mystery~” He winked.
She chuckled, more of a snort, and quickly caught herself. Leo noted it was the first time he’d heard any sort of a laugh from her. He grinned. Face man charm worked on any sourpuss, clearly. He briefly wondered what it would take to get her to full on guffaw.
“Ok, let's do this.” He gripped his sword. “Portal in, grab, uh, whatever it is you need, and portal out babeyyy.”
The cat turned serious again. “That’s it? That’s your plan?”
Leo shrugged. “I mean, yeah, duh.”
“Do you know the layout, how many guards there might be, or where the target even is?”
“Uh, no, but—“
“What if you get ambushed? Or portal right into the boss’s closet?”
“Oh c’mon it’s basically improv, how hard can it b—“
plap
A gentle yet firm hand made contact with his cheek, stopping him mid thought. Tomiko held her arm straight, expression stern. A beat passed.
“Seriously?” Leo said out the free, un-plapped side of his mouth.
Tomiko pulled her hand back and stood up. Leo’s moved his hand to where hers had been.
“Wow, soft paw.” He muttered to himself.
“C’mon. We’ll go up to the roof.”
“Sure sure.” He said as he strapped the sword to his shell.
They moved through the hedges to the estate wall. Solid stone about a story tall and roof tiles covering the top. A fancy wall for a fancy crime boss.
“Pfffft easy.” Leo said, jogging in place in a warm up motion.
The slider broke into a run, scaling the side of the wall. He grabbed onto the edge, hoisting himself up and onto the top in a crouched position. Looking back over his shoulder, he saw Tomiko giving him a “hm, impressive” type of look.
“Need a hand?” He stage whispered down to her. Not everyone had his amazing ninja training, talent, or good looks. What a sad day to be those people.
She shook her head and crouched down, jumping halfway up the wall and using her claws to quickly climb, coming up to meet him. The cat grinned and stuck her tongue out at him before she jumped down the other side, starting across the grounds towards the estate.
Leo chuckled and followed her down.
He low whistled looking up at the house, more like a mansion, really, not bothering to look in front of him as he walked across the lawn. The slider briefly imagined life living in such luxury before bumping into something, stopping him in his tracks.
Leo frowned and looked down. Tomiko stood still, fur completely on edge, eyes wide, and tail puffed up. He followed her gaze to the other end of the lawn and his own eyes widened. A low snarling five eyed guard dog watched them, baring its fangs. Leo didn’t have time to say anything before he heard a sparkle and whoosh sound.
He looked down again and where the girl had been was a small calico cat, desperately trying to make itself seem bigger than it actually was.
Suddenly, the dog barked and charged them.
Time for acting in the moment, Leo’s specialty.
Quick as a flash, he scooped up the cat in one arm and used his other arm to grab his sword. He dashed to the mansion and leapt up, sticking the blade in a wooden column. With the bending sword acting like a slingshot, he flung himself up to the tiled roof.
Sword in one hand, and a bewildered cat in the other, Leo looked over the edge to see the still angry dog. He let out another low whistle.
“Whew, close one,” he sighed.
Another whoosh. Sudden weight in his arm. Leo turned and met face to face with a bewildered Tomiko. He kept steady, not wanting to drop her, until she scrambled out of his arm and away from him, hands going to her face fur to smooth it out.
He blinked. “Ooooooh.” He said in realization. “Wait, where’s your cloaking broach?”
“I,” she cleared her throat, avoiding looking at him. “I don’t need one.”
She began to briskly walk across the roof, Leo stored his sword and followed.
“So, what, you’re a shapeshifter, then?”
“Mhm.”
“Cool cool cool,” He put his hands behind his head, part stretch part casual lean. “Can’t you, I dunno, turn into a dragon and sneak in yourself?”
“Not exactly. I can only really shift between this form,” She turned around to face him and gestured towards herself. In a flash, she flicked her tail and the familiar magic that surrounded yokai when they used cloaking items coated her, and left the small cat in her place. “and this one so far.”
“...so not much of a shapeshifter, huh.” Leo raised his brows.
Tomiko poofed back into her humanoid form and frowned at the turtle.
“I only got my powers last year. How many forms can you shift into?”
“Last time I checked, just the one” he gestured to himself with a smirk. “But I have to say, it’s a pretty good form.”
“Two versus one? I’m doing better than you.” She said with a deadpan expression.
Leo blinked, taken aback by the sudden sass, his grin unfazed.
Before he could continue riffing, Tomiko held out an arm and crouched down against the roof, he followed suit.
“There.” She pointed to an open hall across the garden courtyard. “There’s the target.”
The turtle followed the cat’s line of sight. A maroon dragon yokai girl, around the same age as the two rooftop teens, crossing the open hallway as she tapped away on her phone, absentmindedly scratching her scaly neck. What really caught Leo’s eye was the bright golden jacket she was wearing.
“Really?” Leo turned to Tomiko, who was staring down the dragon intensely. “More petty theft??”
“Technically? No. No it’s not. That jacket’s mine.” The cat never took her eyes off the dragon, pupils growing by the word.
“Ok, it’s good to have goals but—”
“No, literally,” Tomiko turned to Leo. “My mom gave it to me for my birthday, when I first started learning shape shifting. But she,” She gestured towards the dragon. “borrowed it from me like a month back for one thing, then she said she lost it—total lie, by the way—she posted on hidden-gram with her wearing it, and, and, I mean look at it! It’s amazing! The gold and red color scheme! The flower pattern sleeves! The perfect bomber, it’s mine, I’m getting it back.”
A beat passed, Leo paused in stunned silence.
“What?” She said, whiskers twitching.
“Pretty sure that’s the most you’ve said since we met. Nice to know you don’t have a word limit.” He grinned.
“Pffft shut up”
“Physically impossible. Ok!” He brought himself up to one knee and pointed to the sky. “This is about as close as heroism we’re gonna get here. Petty, yet understandable heroism. I’ll take it! Let’s go!”
He hopped up and started to slide down the side of the roof into the inner courtyard. The plan? Easy. Bypass whatever guards, nab the jacket, portal outta there. Easy peasy pizza with extra chee—
“GHK!!”
Leo felt a sudden pull on his face, quickly realizing his mask tails had been grabbed.
“Wait wait wait—agh!” Tomiko whispered loudly, and with a gasp, lost her balance and fell forward.
Both turtle and cat tumbled off the roof. Tomiko shifted into her smaller form midair, trying to stabilize herself with no luck. Leo hit the ground face first with a SMACK.
“OOF” He gasped as Tomiko landed on top of his shell, and he briefly thanked the great pie in the sky she was in small cat form.
They both looked up and gulped. Boss Bruce had been treating several of his employees to a lovely tea break overlooking his courtyard garden, rudely interrupted by a mutant turtle and magic cat falling right onto his veranda.
A snake grunt struck first, clearly new and eager to prove himself to the boss. Jaws snapped and Leo swiftly pressed himself up and away. Another incoming strike, Leo ducked under the grunt to shift his own weight against him, sending the snake into the courtyard. He quickly drew his sword and took a ready pose, staring down the table full of well dressed lizards.
Boss Bruce stood, cracked his neck once, and tapped his sheathed katana on the floor, the signal to strike.
Another snake yokai’s neck extended towards Leo, and he parried with the side of his sword, extra careful to not do any damage. He was a guest in this house, after all, an unwanted guest, but still.
After a few more dodges and parries he heard a hiss off to his side. He glanced to see Tomiko still had not switched out of her small cat form, and was dodging snakes left and right, looking more like a panicked puffed up stuffed animal than an actual creature.
The distraction was enough to almost let a yellow snake with exceptional hair gel game get the jump on him, but he blocked and braced with his sword. Another hiss, and he turned in time to see Tomiko leaping away from snapping jaws, landing on the snout of a henchman and jumping high. Right into Leo’s face.
“AGH!!” he yelled as claws hit first. “GET OFF GET OFF GET OFF”
No dice, she was latched on good. His vision was a blur of white fur as he staggered, odachi swinging wildly. The familiar whoosh of a portal caught his attention, right before he stepped back expecting more flooring, only to tip backwards over the courtyard.
Trying desperately to regain balance, he waved his arms furiously. Suddenly the cat braced and jumped off his face, giving the final kick that sent him tumbling over the edge and into the portal. His hands flew to his face in pain, his sword forgotten and sent flying upwards.
Unfortunately, Tomiko had only jumped upwards, not towards something, and after a “meow” that very clearly translated into “aw no”, fell into the portal herself.
The portal closed, and a moment later, the mystic odachi struck upright into the sand, leaving a truly bewildered bunch of crime lizard yokai.
The two teens landed on stone as the portal closed behind them. Leo whipped up to see the small garden they’d been dropped into. From a distance, he could hear the scuttle of the grunts fussing over his sword. To his side, the whoosh sound again as the cat shifted back into her humanoid form.
They had portaled to the other side of the estate grounds, away from the commotion. The garden itself was decent sized, stone paths, flowering bushes, and a couple trees decorated it. Everything was bathed in the soft glow of light from behind the paper screens to the side.
“Ok, ok,” He shook his hands, trying to clear his head. “It’s fine, it’s chill. You’ve faced worse before. It’s fine? It’s fine. C’mon, c’mon, think—”
“Hey.” Tomiko said softly.
“—you’ve definitely lost your sword before and survived—“
“Hey, turtle.”
“—UGH I can’t even—“
“LEO.”
Her sudden voice yanked him from his train of thought, and the slider’s brain immediately shifted onto another track.
“Of course none of this would be happening if you hadn’t stolen from me in the first place!” He was tempted to yell, but that would make their position obvious. So harsh stage whispers it was. “If it wasn’t for you, I’d be done with this and halfway home to pizza and a movie marathon by now! But nooOOOoo someone has a hobby.”
Tomiko staggered back a bit and turned away, silent, but Leo could see in her body language, clenched fists and puffed tail, his words had stung.
She sat on the ground, curling up into a ball, refusing to even look at the turtle. Leo rubbed the back of his neck.
“...Look, I’m...” he sighed and joined her on the ground. He didn’t know how to continue that sentence, or if he should continue at all. This was a petty thief that got him into trouble, he’d held grudges for worst things. Being thrown off a building type things.
There was a beat of silence.
Tomiko muttered something under her breath.
“Hm?” Leo chirped.
“Stealing.” Tomiko said more clearly. “My mom, I want to make her proud. She was so excited when I got my shifting powers and started training. But, I’m over a year in, and I’m not progressing as I should be, and, and,” She sighed. “Pickpocketing is something I’m good at and don’t have to worry about impressing anyone. The opposite, really. Sure, it’s petty, but, like, so is scrapbooking.”
“Hey you could always try knitting, don’t cats like yarn?”
Tomiko shot him a look.
“Just sayin’.” Leo shrugged.
She sighed, turning away again.
“Leo, listen, I...” Tomiko started, still not meeting his gaze. “I never thanked you, for saving me, back there.”
“Pretty sure I saved you twice. First time from dog, second time from snakes, and even I’m not sure if that one counts.” He countered.
“Well! You—” she sputtered before gathering herself and continuing. “It’s my fault you’re in this. I should’ve... I’m...”
He sighed, looking away from her, trying to work out an escape route, some sort of plan.
“Look, Tomiko, it really doesn’t matter now. We—“
When he turned back, he was met with the sight of his Jupiter Jim wallet. She held it out towards him, eyes still turned away.
He said nothing, waiting for her to speak. Gradually she got more and more uncomfortable with the silence, finally turning to meet his eyes.
“Just, just take it, ok? Find your sword and go! I can, I can shape shift and escape. The stupid jacket doesn’t even matter. I’m sorry. You’re in this because of me, and, I’m sorry. Just, go, ok?” She bowed her head, still holding the wallet up.
Leo noticed her tail swishing harder than he’d seen. His brow furrowed with the slow realization that this, both the apology and letting go of her jacket, was difficult for her.
He slowly reached for his wallet, then placed his hand on top and gently pushed it back towards her. Tomiko blinked and looked up at Leo. With a soft grin and determined eyes, the turtle spoke.
“We’re not done yet. I made a deal that I’d help you get your jacket back, and that’s what we’re gonna do.”
The cat’s blue eyes widened.
“Cause that’s what heroes do, babeyyy” He shot her a wink and a thumbs up.
Tomiko snorted, then giggled, before finally breaking into a full laugh, punctuated by more snorts. Leo’s face broke out into a huge grin, utterly delighted.
“HAHA ugh, that was, haha, so CHEESY! Do you always talk like a cartoon dweeb?”
“Hang on hang on wait-wait-wait that’s how you laugh?”
BANG!
The sliding door was flung open, a suited snake yokai standing in the threshold. Leo and Tomiko jumped to their feet.
“Boss! I found ‘em! I followed the sound of teen problems and emotional catharsis!”
Another this-is-getting-too-familiar whoosh, and a startled Tomiko was back in her small cat form.
Without thinking, Leo grabbed her by the scruff and threw her claws first into the face of the well dressed snake. He keeled over onto the his back, howling, a very straight legged Tomiko stuck to his face. Leo dashed into the hall, grabbing the cat on his way. A flesh tearing sound, more howling, that was fine.
“Hey!!” She growled, tucked in his arms. “What was that for?!”
“First hand experience on how much claws to the face sucks.”
“Not all of us have swords—TURN LEFT!”
Leo took a sharp left in the hall, nearly sliding over to keep his balance.
“Maybe not, but some of do have shape shifting powers.” He said under his breath, still keeping his pace, with Tomiko trying to wriggle free as only a cat can. “Hey-hey-hey, don’t change back yet, I have an idea.”
He ran back to the courtyard, turning the corner to see the cluster of henchmen and Boss Bruce still on the veranda. A grunt was holding his odachi by the blade, handle up in the air, presenting it to the Boss. They all turned their reptile heads towards the teens, eyes narrowing.
“Heads up!!” Yelled Leo, reared back with the cat curled in his hand, and threw her as hard as he could over the tops of the mob. “NOW!!”
Mid throw, in a burst of magic, Tomiko shifted back into her humanoid form. Passing overhead the grunt holding the sword, she reached out and grabbed the grip, yanking it from the snake. Another flip and she kicked right into Boss Bruce’s upturned face, regaining her balance enough to throw the sword back to Leo, and using the dragon’s snout as a backflip springboard.
The turtle swiftly caught his odachi with a triumphant “HYA!”, and immediately slashed the air in front of him. The snakes, still concerned with their Boss’s new paw print shaped face markings, watched as the cat gracefully fell into the sudden blue portal, which swiftly disappeared.
A split second later, another portal opened next to Leo, and Tomiko hopped out.
“Ok, that is pretty cool.” She said.
“Right??” He grinned.
A sudden chorus of hisses startled the two teens.
“Shall we?”
“Mmmm yes.”
The two broke into a run down the hallway, with Leo calling “EXCUSE-US-YOU-HAVE-A-LOVELY-HOME-BYEEEEE!” behind him.
Running through the halls, Tomiko turned a sharp corner, and Leo skidded into the wall to follow. She threw open a sliding door to reveal a tastefully decorated living room with the dragon girl sitting on one of the couches, idly scratching her neck, still wearing the coveted jacket.
“You.” Tomiko hissed, stomping over, as much as she could stomp with delicate caw paws.
The dragon girl didn’t even have time to protest before Tomiko grabbed her by the jacket and pulled it off in one swift tug. Flying off with it came several red sparkling dragon scales. Leo quickly dove in and caught as many as he could.
“Just because you’re molting doesn’t—what’re you doing?” Tomiko started before noticing Leo crouching to pick scales off the floor and sticking them in his blue belt pack.
“Uh, it’s for science?” He tried, cringing at his own excuse.
“Gross.” Said the dragon girl, now fully scratching her patchy arms.
“Yeah dude, gross.” Tomiko added.
“Wuh—buh—Not for me!! It’s for my weird nerd brother!”
“Hah!” Tomiko laughed. “A whole family of freaks! Here have some more.”
She shook out the jacket over his head, more cinnamon scales raining down, both of them laughing. The dragon girl looked on with an expression like a dead mouse had been brought to her doorstep.
The turtle and cat barely gave her a wave of goodbye before he slashed at the air near the door, blue portal glowing to life. He bowed in a dramatic “after you” to Tomiko, and she returned the bow with equal fake gravitas before hopping through. He nodded to the dragon girl and stepped into the portal, leaving her to her itch.
The blue portal opened up on a cliff overlooking the estate, both blue turtle and pink cat hopping out.
“Finally! Oh thank goodness, thank you thank you thank you.” Tomiko sang.
Leo grinned. “You’re so welcome—aaand you’re talking to the jacket, huh.” The smug wind suddenly knocked out of his sails by the cat hugging the garment.
Tomiko whipped around, slipping into the jacket with ease, a genuine wide smile on her furry face. Leo felt a soft smile creep onto his own.
“Oh! Yes! Don’t think I forgot.” She said, reaching deep into her shorts pocket, pulling out the JJ wallet with a dramatic flourish. “Back scratched, shell scratched. It wasn’t that bad, right?”
Leo took the wallet. “Finally!” He gave it a kiss before stashing it back into his pouch, rustling the scales. “Yeah, it wasn’t terrible.” He fished through his pouch a bit more before another cold sweat rushed through him.
Phone gone.
He whipped around frantically before hearing the familiar keyboard noise.
Tomiko was tapping at his phone. “You know you really shouldn’t make your passcode your own name. Are you forgetful or that self obsessed?”
She smirked before she tossed it back to him. He caught it and looked at the screen. The cat’s contact info was listed underneath “Tomi-cat” with a winky face and a couple cat emojis for good measure.
“If I need help with something how about I text you, hero?” She said.
Leo smirked, putting his phone away. “Hey, I can pull off any heist.”
“So all that big good guy talk was for nothing?”
“Eh, well, I’d say I’m more ‘hero-in-training.’ There’s still room for fun.”
Tomiko chuckled softly, and Leo was glad to hear her laugh again.
“I’ll see you around, hero.”
She took a running leap off the cliff, bouncing from another rock face onto a roof and out of sight.
“See ya ‘round” Leo smiled.
It wasn’t until he got back to the surface, jumping across rooftops heading back to the Lair that his phone buzzed.
The selfie Tomiko sent as a first text didn’t make Leo yell “AW COME ON!!” in frustration to the New York City night sky. But the coupon for two free tacos she held in her hand, along with the message “for next time!! :3c” certainly did.