Private Finished Of Cats and Fireflies

Tomo would've thought that the streets and alleys of Manta Carlos would feel foreign after she had been away for so long. But no, the smells around her were familiar and the pavement under her paws still had the same old grooves and holes. It was like coming home. Which it, in a way, was. Though Tomo wasn't really the kind of person to attach herself to one particular place. Her home was where her heart was and her heart was with her siblings. For now, at least.

In her cat form Tomo was basically powerless but in a way she never felt more powerful. Every little move and gesture came without effort, naturally, as Tomo walked along the roofs and fences. She kept an eye out, partly because this area could be kind of shady and partly because she didn't want to miss anything interesting. Shiro was a good source of gossip but her interests were elsewhere. Shiro wanted to know who was dating whom and other relationship stuff. In other words, Shiro wanted the tea. Tomo wanted the dirt.

And this place was where Tomo could sometimes find some dirt. Though today it seemed that the area was kind of empty, and boring. All Tomo had to do now was trying to capture some rats for entertainment, and maybe eat few of them.
Chasing one of said rats was how Tomo ended up in that huge, dingy hall, empty and probably due for some demolition. She slipped in through a hole in the wall, the rat nearly in her grasp. But Tomo couldn't catch the rat 'cos just as she was about to pounce a huge wall of fire suddenly sprouted before her. All of Tomo's fur stood on end and she dashed to the side and behind a barrel, away from the flames. Tomo peeked out and saw...a guy? And he seemed to be controlling the fire, or at least trying to. Practicing? By destroying public property? Well, that seemed kind of illegal.
It also seemed like dirt.

Tomo smirked, or smirked as well as cats can smirk, and decided to mess with this guy a bit. Tomo jumped on top of the barrel she was hiding behind and let out her loudest possible
"Meow!"
to get the guy's attention.

Damn, this guy was so jumpy it was funny and Tomo snickered a bit to herself. The expression on his face, priceless. And then the guy tried to half-heartedly shoo her away, which was of course futile. Even a normal cat wouldn't go away with that. Though a normal cat would probably get pretty spooked by the fire that was starting to look...dangerous. Was this guy an amateur? That fire wasn't looking in-control...

Tomo frowned, or at least did a cat-version of a frown, and jumped down from the barrel. She firmly avoided the fire and went to the guy, who was looking like he was struggling. No wonder, the fire was really starting to look bad.
"Ya really shouldn't set fires you ain't able to handle, kid."
Tomo said, sitting down next to the guy. And yes, she was still a cat. A talking cat. Not really all that unusual in Manta Carlos but sometimes it surprised people and Tomo enjoyed seeing that reaction. Though now she wasn't looking at the guy, she was looking at the fire.

"This is 'bout to turn into an arson, you know that, right?"

While the guy was busy yelling at Tomo and still struggling with the fire she swiftly transformed into a human, pulled out her phone and took a few photos and some video of the scene. Tomo made sure to do it while the guy was turned away and trying to get the fire to go out, and by the time he turned back to Tomo the phone was safely in her pocket. He hadn't seemed surprised about a talking cat so he probably wouldn't be surprised that in place of the cat there was suddenly a girl who looked about 16 and was wearing a ripped t-shirt and black tank top, jean shorts and combat boots that made Tomo almost 5'9" with the sole they had.

"Blaming your mess-up on someone else? Tut tut."
Tomo responded to the guy's accusation and shook her head slowly, disappointed expression on her face. Fake, of course. Then Tomo smirked and put her hands on her hips.
"Besides, if that fire got out of your hand that easily it would've done so eventually anyhow. Ya can't tell me I don't have a point."

What was Tomo doing here? Well, that was the question for the ages, wasn't it? Tomo wasn't about to tell the guy she was here exactly for people like him who thought this place was abandoned and empty. And to mess with said people 'cos she was bored.
"Can't a cat be at secluded, abandoned, easy-to-set-on-fire buildings as well? Ya should learn few places on this island are actually empty."
Tomo said with a casual drawl and wandered around the space, looking at the places the guy had burned with his fire.
"Besides, the rats in this place are hard to catch. Offer a challenge, ya know?"

Being out of control was the point? Well damn, maybe this guy was just a simple arsonist. Tomo knew that the academy had facilities where students could practice their abilities, she had used them, after all. So if this guy was going out of his way to practice on his own like this he was either really confident in his own abilities or he wanted something to burn. Tomo wasn't sure which one it was, maybe both, actually. In the end Tomo didn't answer the guy, just gave him an unimpressed look.

"Then you're missing out."
Tomo answered with a small grin and wandered back over towards the barrel. And as expected, the guy soon asked Tomo to stay quiet. Or more like demanded. To which Tomo answered by nimbly hopping on top of the barrel, pulling out his phone and taking a wide shot pic of the entire space, including the burn marks and the guy himself.
"I dunno dude. I got a pretty good eyesight. What's, so to say, in it for me?"
Tomo lifted a brow at the guy with a mischievous smile on her face. To be honest, this dirt was pretty tame, and even if Tomo did report it to the authorities (which she was tempted to do 'cos she actually had a conscience now) the guy wouldn't get all that big of a punishment. A fine and a warning at most, probably. But Tomo was bored and messing with this guy for a bit longer seemed like an entertaining option.

The guy wasn't even going to try and offer Tomo anything? Huh, he did have some balls, after all. Though that statement was slightly wavered by the half-assed threat that followed, but Tomo and James knew that he was the one actually in trouble here. Tomo could spin whatever story she wanted to get out of her predicament, this guy in more of a jam here.
"You know, you could've just offered to treat me to sushi and I woulda let this go, but you just had to go and threaten my ass. Poorly, but still."
Tomo commented and laughed a bit. She wasn't actually offended or anything and it showed from her casual stance and tone.

"James, huh? Good to know."
Tomo answered with a smirk, she would have to know what name to give to the cops if she reported this, after all. As for the guy asking Tomo's name, she wasn't sure if she should actually give her real name. She decided against it.
"Call me Neko. That's good enough."
Tomo said and sat down on the barrel, swinging her legs a bit as she observed James.
"So if the point was for the fire to be outta control then what was the point of doing it here? The school has gyms exactly for stuff like this."