Welcome to these little side-stories involving Ari and those in her world! These are all going to be little one-shots and drabbles and stuff that I've wanted to involve in the series, but haven't found places for them within the actual stories.

The first three will be about Ninja Storm: Power of the Sun, and unless I come with more ideas as time progresses, they'll be in a linear order of the series, so I hope you enjoy!

When working while Kelly is out of town, Dustin and Ari have a heart-to-heart about their places on the team, and why they both deserve to be there.

Set just after Thunder Strangers.

Respect

Yelping as she bumped her bruised side against a rack of kneepads, Ari tripped over her own feet and went down hard. The large box in her hands went flying, skidding across the room before bursting open, causing gloves to go flying across Storm Chargers.

"Whoa, dude, you ok?" Dustin rushed over to Ari, dropping the helmet in his hands to help her up.

"Just emphasising how lame I am," the Gold Ranger muttered as she forced tears back.

"You should be resting, it's only been a couple of days," Dustin told her, referring to the fiasco in the Cavern of Lost Souls. He helped her up, and went to clear up the gloves as Ari rubbed her side.

"I can't leave you to deal with this place on your own," she sighed, lifting the box and holding it so he could dump the gloves back in it. "It's my own fault I'm all bruised and stuff, I can handle this place," Ari smiled weakly.

"What are you talking about?" Dustin frowned at her as he dumped the gloves in it and took the box from her. "What happened wasn't your fault," he told her, and Ari shrugged as she walked past him.

"I should have had my morpher on me. I should have fought better. I should have -"

"Ari," Dustin caught her wrist and stopped her. "Those guys were way stronger than any of us, and you stood up to them!" he pulled her down to the seats, and sat down beside her. Ari just looked down at her hands, still feeling guilty. She had been next to useless for the last few battles, between taking a hit that had injured her ribs, leaving her morpher with Cam which left her powerless, and what had happened in the Cavern of Lost Souls, she had done little to stop the Thunder Rangers.

"Maybe Shane's right. Maybe I am in over my head," she mumbled.

"No way," surprised at how confident Dustin sounded, Ari looked up with wide eyes. "Ok, maybe at first I thought so too, mostly cause you look about 12," Ari went red as Dustin chuckled. "But dude, you saved me from a world of hurt when you stood up to Hunter. You're a way better fighter than I am. You totally deserve to be here. Plus you're way smart, almost Cam smart!" he insisted, and Ari couldn't help but laugh.

"No-one's as smart as Cam," Ari stated, and Dustin nodded in agreement. "But thanks Dustin," she smiled softly at the Yellow Ranger, who ruffled her hair, making her laugh. "But you're a great fighter too you know," she told him, taking him by surprise this time.

"Yeah," his laugh was a little self-mocking. "That's why I got my butt handed to me like a million times by Hunter and Blake," Dustin muttered.

"Hey, if I'm not allowed to be self-detrimental, then you aren't either," Ari told him firmly, poking his arm as she looked serious.

"Self what?" Dustin looked blank.

"You're not allowed to insult yourself," Ari told him, and a small smile tugged at her lips for having to explain it.

"See? You're way smarter than me!" Dustin exclaimed.

"So? You don't need smarts to be a Ranger!" Ari threw her hands in the air, shaking her head. "You're a great Ranger Dustin, you've saved our butts loads, remember that stupid mole thing?" she reminded him. "Being a Ranger isn't about being smart or the best fighter. It's about fighting for what's right, protecting this city, and working to save the Ninjas up there," she pointed up. "And you've got a good heart Dustin, you see the good in everyone. If I deserve a place on this team, then you definitely do," Ari told him confidently.

"You know," Dustin commented as he looked up at the ceiling. "You're pretty funny when you try to be all serious," Ari frowned, going red as the Earth Ninja grinned at her. "Like, Tori gets real scary, and Shane's just annoying, but you're kinda like...a puppy trying to intimidate a way bigger dog," Ari's blush grew at his description.

"What about you? You're way less serious than me!" she pouted at him.

"Hey, I could totally be serious!" Dustin insisted, and a moment of silence passed, before both burst out laughing. "Ok, ok, maybe not," he laughed as Ari fell back on the seats, holding her stomach.

"It hurts to laugh," Ari moaned amidst her laughter, which only served to make them both laugh even harder.

"Uh, excuse me," their laughter quietened to giggles as they looked up to see a young man. "Can I get some help here?" he asked.

"Oh, sure, sorry dude," Dustin jumped up and followed him to the counter. As he stood behind it and caught Ari's eye, he flashed her a bright smile, and she grinned back. Now feeling better about her place on the team, Ari got up, ignoring the pain in her stomach as she got back to work, determined to prove that she was as rightful a member on the team as the rest of the Rangers.

The length of each of these will be different – probably a bit longer than this one and possibly the next one.

I hope you enjoyed it anyways!

Please review!