It was past two o'clock when I finally made it back to Amy's house. Luckily, the said girl texted me earlier telling me how to get in if things got too late. I didn't give her my number, making me wonder if she snuck through Tami's phone to get it or if Amy asked her for it. As much as I didn't like knowing she had it, I was thankful to know the key was underneath some stepping stone right next to the door to get me inside.

The second I stepped through the door, I felt my body slump. It was no wonder Quinn just fell asleep the second they walked into the agency earlier. If it wasn't for the pup sleeping inside the backpack I was carrying, I might have been tempted to do the same thing.

Now that I thought about it, it might have been a mistake agreeing to take care of it. I wasn't sure how they felt about animals. If I was back in Japan, I knew my dad would've been furious. Back when my older sister, Luz, found out she had anxiety, she wanted to get some sort of emotional support animal to help. Dad wouldn't let her, even when she asked if it could be something as calm as a cat.

Thinking back to it, that was why she left home days before high school ended. She brought home a hamster. She loved that thing, keeping it hidden under her bed. The only people that knew about it was Mom and me, but we weren't going to rat her out to Dad, not when she seemed so relaxed whenever she petted its soft fur.

Few days later, that hamster escaped its cage.

A few days after that, I heard him in a screaming match with her, scolding her for not listening to what he had just said. He sent her into a frenzy that she locked herself inside her room for a week. The day I decided to check on her, I found out she didn't just lock herself in her room; she ran away, taking nothing more than a suitcase filled with clothes with her. It wasn't anything out of the ordinary. Many of my brothers and sisters had been kicked out or just left because of that man.

I hadn't thought about him since he kicked me out. Why I was thinking about him now was beyond me.

Shaking the thoughts out of my head, I started walking towards my room, or I would have. My feet stopped before I could even leave the room I was in. I turned my head, noticing a familiar smell floating towards me. I didn't think to turn the lights on, not wanting to disturb anyone in the house, but in the distance, I could see light seeping out of a room.

Not just any room, but the kitchen.

My stomach rumbled, remembering I didn't have anything since the café. That had to be why I was mistaking the scent rolling out of the kitchen. No one would be crazy enough to make food at this hour, not unless it was something quick and easy. The only reason why I must have been smelling the warm scent of familiar food had to be because I wanted nothing more than to eat my Ma's cooking. While I had only been away from home for two days, I haven't had a chance to taste her cooking since Dad kicked me out. Unlike all my older siblings—who could ask for her to come over and cook something for them—I couldn't do that when I had been living at Kaito's.

Her cooking was the only thing I missed about being home.

There was only one thing I could do to prove to my stomach that I was just smelling things. I walked over towards the kitchen. The closer I got, the stronger the scent got. Or scents. At first, it all felt warm and inviting that it begged me to walk closer. When I got closer, the more I could smell the various spices floating out of the room. I could make out some of the smells, like the hot chili peppers and cinnamon that were hidden under other scents I couldn't exactly put my finger on.

All I knew was that it smelled like home.

I stopped when I finally reached the open door. There weren't really any doors that lead to the kitchen, but there was a small archway. Regardless, I heard the faint sound of someone humming coming from inside. My hand reached for my phone to check the time, making sure that it was after two in the morning and not some reasonable time that could've made sense.

If I didn't stop, I might have been able to prevent a gigantic crash from happening. Loud clanking sounds banged from inside that I swiftly stepped inside to find the small blonde hissing as she grabbed her wrist. My eyes widened as I saw her sitting on the floor in a pile of Mexican rice, a brown sauce, and chicken all over.

"Tami!" I shouted before rushing towards her and kneeling down to see what was going on. "Are you alright? What happened?"

She turned her head up to look at me, revealing the dark lines that etched underneath her eyes, eyes that should've just been brown, but had some red lines sitting in the whites of them.

"I don't know," she admitted. "I was just trying to pour the mole over the chicken and rice when the bowl just got too heavy, and it slipped. Next thing I knew, I slipped. Sorry. I—this was supposed to be a surprise. I—" Her eyes widened as she pulled her wrist away from me, almost as if to hide it. "—work! How was work! Are you alright?"

"Can I see your hand," I asked, ignoring her questions.

Her body tensed up as she looked down. She peeled a couple of fingers off the injury she had given herself, but kept it hidden from me as much as possible. Being that she didn't listen, I reached for her hand and pulled it towards me. Mole stained her wrist brown, but it wasn't enough to hide the burning red that wrapped around her wrist.

"Why are you cooking so late?" I asked, moving my eyes from her small burn to her face. Only, she wouldn't look at me as her eyes were stuck somewhere else. Following her gaze, I saw that she was looking at the pot that she must've made the mole in. I almost wanted to ask her why she didn't take a ladle or even a spoon to pour it over the dish she was making. That would've been so much easier and more effective.

If she did that, she wouldn't have gotten hurt.

"I-I know your Quirk. You need—you need to eat for your Quirk to work well, so I thought, well, you know, if I made you some food, you could eat well and be ready for tomorrow without worrying. I wasn't sure what to make, so I asked your mom to send me all her recipes, and I thought I could make them all before you came and..."

Whatever she said, I didn't listen. Instead, I lifted my head to look around the kitchen. Surely enough, I could see multiple dishes that Ma would make back home. Some of it was packed away in plastic containers, but others were sitting in pots and pans, waiting to be eaten or put away. Despite some being packed into plastic containers, I could smell it all, almost as if Tami knew how to keep them warm this whole time.

Tami had to have been cooking for hours. The last time I had seen so much food inside a kitchen was back when we were making food for Luz's quinceañera. Even then, Ma had a ton of help from my siblings and her friends to make sure everyone was well fed. I doubt Tami had the same amount of help.

She went through all this for me? My head snapped back at Tami, who was still rambling about why she made the dishes that she made. Tamales were my favorite, so she knew she had to make enough of that to last me all week. Enchiladas were something that she knew was filling, and could help with my Quirk. Not all foods were like that as she explained she made some salsa for fun or the rice and frijoles because that could go with anything.

Before I knew it, she started apologizing again. I didn't care what for. Instead, I dropped her hand and wrapped my arms around her, pulling her into a hug. Her body didn't tense up. It just felt limp in my arms, especially when I realized she wasn't even returning it. I glanced over towards her, noticing her head nodding off while her eyes tried to pry themselves open.

"Hey, Tami," I carefully said. "How long have you been cooking?"

The blonde pulled herself out of my arms. Her head turned to see the clock hanging up on the wall. She bit her bottom lip in response.

"I—Is that the time? It can't be that late already," she claimed before looking back at me. I could see dried masa clumping up in her hair and the mole sticking on her face, giving her face some color. "It can't be that late already. Did Bravura keep you that long?"

"A mission came up," I quickly explained, but not missing the way she was trying to redirect the conversation. "But it's not important. Didn't you get any sleep?"

Her head shook back and forth. "I couldn't—I mean, I wanted to stay up to see that you were okay. Don't worry. I'll clean this up and sleep in tomorrow, or not. I mean, it was late, so you don't have to go in that early for work, right? We could go to breakfast at this really nice donut shop I know. When I was younger, they had a potato statue standing outside that we'd always take pictures in front of. We could go and send some to our family. The pictures, that is, not the donuts. I don't think the donuts would be that good. I mean, they are if they are as good as I remember them, but sending them..."

She was rambling again. Even if that wasn't the case, I caught what she was trying to say in the beginning. I swear she was going to say she couldn't sleep.

Not sleeping well two nights in a row couldn't be a good thing, not when it was so bad that she decided to make herself delirious and cook so much food until she collapsed. What would've happened if I wasn't there to stop her? Would one of her family members hear her and make sure she was okay, or could I have walked in on something much worse?

This was something I'd have to ask her in the morning. If she didn't answer, then I'd have to ask her little brother or Sakura or someone who might know more about this whole thing.

Right now, I just needed to play along and try and get her back in bed.

"I know what you mean," I told her, wiping away some of the mole that was on her cheek. The thick sauce stuck to my hand, warming it up. "You just worry about getting some sleep tomorrow."

Tami's dark brown eyes widened. "But I want to spend some time with you. If you're not busy with work. If you are, that's fine, I just—"

I was so wrapped up in our conversation that I had forgotten that I had a backpack on my back with a puppy sleeping inside. Or at least, I thought it was sleeping. I didn't know it slipped out until it was too late. A flash of brown and white fur jumped onto Tami and started attacking her face, gnawing down on her as if she was the food.

No wonder America banned dog fighting. It turned dogs into vicious beasts! The thing just tackled Tami to the ground, keeping its small claws on her shoulders as it tried to destroy her.

Yet, all Tami did was laugh, even when I ripped the canine off of her. The only thing different about her was that the food that smeared on her face was no longer there. Her face was clean from the mess that she had made, and clear of any scars.

"What was that?" Tami asked, peeling her eyes open. When those dark eyes caught what was in my arms, they sparkled; something I haven't seen from her in a while. "Well hi there! Aren't you a handsome fella? How did you get here?"

The blonde reached for the pup, scratching behind its ear. As she did, the dog started licking her arm, trying to snag the rice and mole that covered them. Had I not been holding onto it, the dog might have snagged the chicken that was laying on the floor. Not that it was a bad idea or anything. It was the only thing that would eat it.

But hearing Tami's soft laughter, I figured that could wait.

"It's only for a night," I assured. "Then tomorrow, I'll have to take it back."

"Is that why you were gone so late? Someone lost their dog?" Tami asked, tearing her head away from the pup and up at me. She had no idea what really happened. How could she when she was stuck here all day?

She would've been heartbroken if she knew.

"Not exactly," I told her. "I have to take it back to the pound since...the thing doesn't have an owner anymore."

Not that it had one in the first place, I thought. Again, not anything Tami needed to know the specifics about. I didn't want to know how she'd react if she knew this dog could've been a fighter or used as bait. Whatever use it was going to be wasn't good. I mean, what if this dog did turn out to be a killer and actually did snap at her, or worse, actually tore off her arm?

The pup was too small to do that, and I doubt it would see how it just wagged its tail and panted as it seemed content with Tami giving it all her attention. More than likely, it wasn't a fighter, but Tami didn't know that.

Though, hearing that it had no owner caused Tami's eyes to soften. Her hand stopped petting the pup for a split moment. In response, the dog gave a quick whine, before pushing its head back in her hand, begging for more attention.

"He has no owner?" she asked. "Oh you poor thing. I wish I could just keep you instead, but I don't think they'll allow dogs in the dorm."

My stomach plummeted when I heard those words. That feeling was all it took for the words to come out of my mouth before my mind could even process what I had just said.

"What if I took care of it when you go to college," I suggested.

This time, it was Tami who flung her arms around me without warning. The pup made its escaped and found its way to the forgotten enchilada that was on the floor. Guess that would be one good thing about having a dog around; it could clean up whatever mess came around. It would also make messes that we'd have to clean up, but it couldn't be that hard once it was trained, right?

But there was no fooling myself. I knew I was going to regret those words, but I couldn't go back on my word, not when Tami got so happy upon hearing them.

Guess I was going to have to message Bravura, Sicarius, and Lento Lure first thing in the morning to let them know the pup wasn't going to come back to the agency, but rather, be staying with me. I could only imagine the "I knew its" coming out Sicarius's mouth, while Bravura would probably praise me for doing something so mediocre.

A yawn pulled me from my thoughts and away from Tami. The young woman rubbed her eyes, snapping me back into reality. It was late, and Tami was still awake. Her excuse was making so much food, so much so that it landed on the floor for the pup to eat.

No matter what her reasoning was, it seemed abnormal for her to be up this late. I'd say it could be jet lag, but then she would've taken a nap in the afternoon, wouldn't she? Maybe I was wrong. I very well could've been.

Just give it a few days and we'll see if it's something to worry about, I internally told myself. If it's jet lag, then she should be over it in a week. If not, then I'll figure out what's going on.

Content with what I was going to do, I grabbed the pup in one arm and helped Tami back to her feet with the other. I helped cleaned up the kitchen, packing away whatever food she had made, cleaning the floor while she handled the dishes. It was nice to just be there with her, especially in a room that smelled like home.

At the same time, it just seemed that much more suspicious.

"Tami," I called as I shut the fridge while she was drying the last dish. "There isn't another reason why you cooked all this food, was there?"

Her body tensed, telling me everything I needed to know. She ducked her head, acting as if she had a spot on the pan she was drying that needed more attention.

"No," she stumbled. "I-I just—you were working hard, and I—you deserved something nice."

She kept her back turned against me. I almost wished the pup didn't take a nap when we started cleaning, so I could have nudged it her way in hopes for a more honest answer. The only thing I could do was try and pull it from her.

"So this has nothing to do with anything? Stress? Starting college next month?" I asked, trying to see if I couldn't get a reaction from her. "Family?"

Upon hearing that last word, Tami paused for a brief moment, all before quickly grabbing a pot and pushing it into a cupboard.

Bingo, I thought.

"Look, you shouldn't have to worry. Ollie's going to be fine. Sakura and Kaito are going to keep a close eye on him when they can. Hopefully, in a few weeks, I can find an apartment where I don't have to deal with your family here. Until then, I can try and be—"

"It's not that," Tami's voice came out softer than I had ever heard. I almost missed it. Her small frame didn't move an inch as she refused to face me and kept her hands on the counter in front of her. "I just—" she let out a sigh. "It's late. You should go to bed."

You should go to bed. Hearing those words didn't settle well with me. It didn't take long to realize why. The amount of cooking she did, staying up until I came back, taking the time to clean and play with the new pup that I had brought home for the night...

Tami was forcing herself to stay awake.

"You need sleep too," I told her. "Come on, why don't—"

Her body turned to walk out the door, cutting me off completely. I wasn't sure what I did to cause her to act this way, especially since she never acted like this before. So, what caused the sudden change?

What was going on with my girlfriend?

She stopped the moment she reached the archway. I heard her take a deep breath, before claiming, "I'm okay, honest," before leaving me alone with the pup in the kitchen.

Why was Tami fighting sleep? What was she hiding from me?

Y'all have no idea how long I've been waiting to get to this chapter. About two years ago, I decided it was probably a good idea to give Tami a doggo for all the stuff she's been through. Shout out to aBitGrim for giving me the idea of making him a Saint Bernard (which, will be stated in a later chapter, I promise). Also, shout out to eVolution04 for helping me out with this chapter, ensuring things seemed as realistic as possible.

Wow, this arc took a while to write. Thank you all for being so patient with me. Out of curiosity, what was your favorite part of this arc (which starts when Raiden and Tami hop on the plane to the US to when he comes home with Barney). Mine has to be this particular chapter, but I enjoyed writing all of Quinn and Elle's interactions with each other. Those two are so much fun to write.

Until next time, cya!

Character Spotlight: Barney
Dog Breed: Saint Bernard
Likes: Belly Rubs

Art credit goes to aBitGrim . They made this beautiful pic of Tami and Barney and AHHH!! I absolutely love it. Thank you so much for bringing them to life.

Song: Beneath a Rosy Sunset by Havfaith