The day was spent dog hunting. Serena had a back full of Missing Dog posters and pinned them anywhere she thought was necessary.

"This was not how I planned on spending the weekend," she huffed as James came over with some coffee.

"I asked around the shop if anyone had seen her," he said with a shake of his head, "Nada."

"This doesn't make any sense," Serena looked down at the posters, "I feel like we've asked everyone in town. No one's seen this stupid dog."

"Even I know Storm's not stupid," James took the posters from Serena and started pinning them up. "She means a lot to your sister. You and I both know what'll happen if she doesn't come home."

"There's got to be something we're missing," Serena took a sip of her coffee and had a look around, "Storm's got her collar, so if someone's found her they would have called. Or, she would have come home by now? Right?"

"I don't know," James shrugged his shoulders. He pinned another poster to a street light and then saw a familiar face in the corner of his eye. He gave out a smile as a group of three boys approached him.

"Coach!" it was Howie, Jackson, and Grant. Howie was still at the high-school despite his age, but Jackson and Grant were now graduates. They had earned enough credits and completed enough volunteer hours to get their diplomas and had moved on.

James remembered them well. They had been some of the best football players he had ever coached. Though they needed a strong attitude adjustment, the three of them had taken the school's team all the way to the championships every year they played until the last, where Howie was removed from the team for assaulting Serena and being a bully in the school.

It seemed Howie had learned his lesson. Serena spoke highly of him since she had returned to work. He was a good student who attended all his classes, did all his assignments and was even showing up to her homework club to get some help, but would volunteer to help out other students who were also struggling. It had taken someone really beating some sense into him, but it paid off. Howie was a better person, and the smile on his face proved he was also much happier. He took James' hand and shook it firmly.

"Howie, boys, how are you?" James smiled at the three of them.

"We're good," Howie answered for himself and his friends. "We were just on our way to the park for a game of catch. Assistant Coach this year isn't messing around so I've got to stay in shape."

Serena smirked. Howie's attitude adjustment had earned him his place back on the team which meant he was one of Mike's players. Serena had seen the end of some of the practices when she came to get Mike after classes so they could drive home together. Though Mike had always been known as the laziest of all the Samurai, he took coaching seriously. He was trying his best with the struggling cheerleaders and since taking on that role he had taught them all a couple of moves that had impressed Coach Hall. When it came to the football team, Mike knew exactly what he was doing. Football practice for him was a lot like Samurai training: it took strength, courage, discipline, and a whole lot of motivation.

"He's a tough one," Serena nodded. Howie gave her a look.

"It's was kind of awkward at first… you know, when I learned I was going to be coached by the husband of the girl who beat me up and broke my nose, but it's really working out."

Beside Howie, Grant let out a laugh and playfully nudged his friend to tease him about the incident. Grant and Jackson had both been with Howie when Emily had unleashed her inner monster. Now that everything had blown over, and it had all worked out for the best, it seemed it was a bit of a teasing excuse for the boys. Howie gently shoved his friend and rolled his eyes.

"Dude, she was tough. You have no idea."

"She's like two feet tall… uh, no offence, Serena."

Serena shook her head. Howie and Grant's teasing was all good-natured and it was great to see they had learned to poke fun at each other without crossing any lines. Jackson, however, didn't seem to want to join in, nor did he seem to happy that the nose-breaking incident had come up. She scoffed and crossed his arms across his chest. He was also staring at the posters in James' hand and the one on the street light. Serena followed his gaze and it reminded her of why she was out walking the streets on an early Sunday morning. She took a poster from James and handed it to the boys.

"Speaking of my little monster, she lost her dog at the park yesterday. You guys are headed that way, so maybe you can keep an eye out for her."

"Storm?" Grant read the dog's name on the paper. "Alright, we can try. What's she look like?"

"This," Howie teasingly held up the picture to show Grant, "Dude, it's a dog, for starters."

"I mean, what should we be looking for… shut up," Grant pushed the poster away to look at James and Serena.

"She's a small, red Shiba Inu. She's wearing her yellow collar, answers to Storm. She's not that fond of strangers, especially when she's scared, so don't try to pick her up or play with her. If you see her, give my sister a call and don't let her out of her sight."

"Yeah, totally," Howie promised. He folded up the paper and tucked it in his pocket. "We'll keep a look-out, right guys?"

Grant nodded his head but Jackson shrugged his shoulders. He didn't say a word. James looked to him.

"You okay, Jackson?"

The boy nodded his head, "Yeah. I'll look for the dog."

"Thanks, guys," Serena gave them a smile and then took the posters back from James, "We've got to keep looking."

-Samurai-

In another part of the city, Mike was passing out the posters to people rather than pin them up. He thought more attention would be drawn to the posters and they would be more effective if people actually stopped to take a look. He didn't care about disturbing their day or interrupting conversations for phone calls. Emily loved Storm, and Mike had grown attached to the tiniest Shiba as well. He wanted her safe return and he wanted it quickly.

He saw a teenager and a dog sitting on a bench outside a pharmacy and thought there was no one better to ask than a pet owner for help with a missing dog. The teenager was playing around with his big dog, rubbing his neck and hiding toys behind his back. He kept his head down to watch the dog, so Mike didn't get a look at his face until he tapped him on the shoulder and the teenager looked up.

Mike felt his anger rising. It was Frankie. He was about to excuse himself before he let his rage get the better of him but he caught a glance at the poster in his hands. There was a picture of Storm with Emily. Putting the photo of the dog, as well as a description made it easier for people to recognize her. In this case, it reminded Mike of what he was supposed to do. He hated Frankie with every bone in his body (or more if it was possible), but he loved Emily. He loved Emily more than he hated Frankie. Spending two minutes asking Frankie to help look for a dog wasn't going to be a waste of time or effort if it got Storm home even a minute earlier.

"Mike?" Frankie looked a little alarmed to see it was Mike tapping him on the shoulder. Despite his attempt to apologize, Mike had still expressed his dislike for him, making Frankie a little uncomfortable. He was nervous Mike had come back to finish what he started. Instead, Mike dropped a paper in his lap.

"Emily and I lost our dog," he grumbled. He crossed his arms over his chest and rolled his eyes. He turned slightly away from Frankie, "Little red Shiba Inu named Storm. She'll hate you as much as I do if you see her so keep your distance and call the number on the bottom of the poster."

Frankie looked down at the poster and sighed, "Missing dog? That sucks. I don't know what I'd do without Dash."

Frankie gave his dog a pat on the head. Dash responded by nestling into Frankie, loving him like only a dog could. Mike rolled his eyes. Only a dog could love Frankie after what he had done.

"Just keep your eyes peeled, alright. It's the least you could do for Emily."

"Yeah. No… I… I mean, of course I will. I… Last seen at the park? Yesterday? I was at the park yesterday."

"You…" Mike turned to look at Frankie with a growl. The younger boy nodded his head and slid down on the bench to move away from Mike.

"Uh, yeah. I was playing fetch with Dash. I didn't see Storm or you or Emily, I promise, but I… I might be able to help you."

"Keep talking," Mike said.

Frankie reached into the bag beside the bench and pulled out a sack of dog treats. His dog's tail started to wag so Frankie offered his dog one and then pass the bag to Mike.

"I take these with me wherever I go. Dash is still in training so they come in handy. When were at the park, some guy who didn't even have a dog asked me if he could borrow some."

"You gave them to him?"

"It's just dog treats," Frankie nodded, "And I didn't want any trouble. I gave him four or five and he took off."

"Do you know who this person was?"

"Yeah," Frankie answered, "A real jerk. He used to go to my school. I don't know what he's up to now, and I never really bothered learning his name."

"Why not?"

"Everyone at school picked on me," Frankie shrugged his shoulders. "They never called me names I liked, so I never bothered learning theirs. I gave them nicknames, though. Just in my head. I never said it out loud."

"Give me a name."

"Kiss-Ass. He was friends with King Asshole, though. Best buds."

"King Asshole is?"

"He was captain of the football team. Emily beat the shit out of him. You know him."

"I do?"

"You were on the football team," Frankie nodded his head, "You hung out with him a few times."

Mike took in a deep breath, "Alright… thanks, Frankie. I guess."

"Look, if there's anything I can do to help…"

"You're done enough," Mike snapped. "Just… find Storm, don't find Storm, whatever."

Before Frankie could try to get another word in, Mike walked off. He had held in his rage as long as he could but if he stayed any longer he knew he was going to snap. He turned around the corner and saw Emily coming out of a bakery and she was looking a little green.

"Everything okay?"

"Why does the world smell so disgusting?" Emily groaned. "I think that's the first time I've gone into a bakery and was completely repulsed by all the sweets."

"You know, we can figure that out if you just pee on a stick," Mike gently reminded her. Emily shook her head.

"I can't even think about that now, Mike. Not until we know what happened to Storm. The baker says he hasn't seen her, but he let me put up a few posters in his shop… then I threw up on his table…"

"So you're not green because you love me?" Mike teased her. Emily shoved him.

"Mike, it's no time for jokes. I'm really worried…"

"Don't be," Mike assured her. He pointed around the corner. He was about to tell her about his run in with Frankie, and how he may have helped them but quickly decided against naming him. Emily had a sick stomach and a lost dog to worry about already. She didn't need to know Frankie was right around the corner, "I gave a poster to a guy on a bench. Turns out, he was at the park with his dog yesterday."

"He was?"

"He goes to the high school and apparently a former student asked him for some dog treats."

"So?"

"According to him, this guy doesn't have a dog."

"So?"

"I've tried dog treats before," Mike shook his head, "They aren't a people snack. So why would this guy want treats if he doesn't have a dog?"

"Maybe he was dog sitting or… do you really think this might mean something? Like someone took Storm on purpose? Why?"

"The kid didn't know the name of the guy, but he gave a few telling details. Apparently, the guy who asked for treats is best friends with Howie."

"Howie?"

"Unless you beat up someone else at school, yeah. This guys… my source, I guess, he showed me the dog-treats he carried around. Storm loves them too. He could have used them to shut her up long enough to get her off the leash."

"But she would whine if he picked her up. And she wouldn't go with him. And she would bark if she saw a squirrel or bird and ran off."

"I'm not saying that is what happened, but it's worth keeping in mind. I can talk to Howie tomorrow and see if he knows anything. Maybe I can even get him to bring his friends to practice so we can talk. What were their names again?"

"I only remember the names of the guys whose noses I break," Emily shrugged her shoulders. "I'm polite like that."

"Oh, good," Mike tease, "I thought you liked to break faces and run. Good to know you like to get to know your victims before you bash their noses in."

"Mike."

"You must really be planning on doing a number on my face," Mike teased before he wrapped his arms around Emily. "How many more posters do we have?"

"You don't think someone took Storm, do you? It's one thing if she ran away but if someone took her on purpose…"

"We're going to find her, I promise. When we do, it'll be like she never left."

Emily looked up at Mike and nodded her head. Just as she was about to give him a kiss she pulled away and puked against the side of the building. Mike rolled his eyes, but stood beside his wife and held her hair back.

"And when we do find her, you're taking that pregnancy test."