Ariana was the youngest daughter of a pair of highly luxurious people named Coral and Doug. They had a son name Grant. And they weren't normal. They hated that they had a daughter who was so...weak. Grant was as hard and cold as stone. Ariana was sweet and innocent. They tried to toughen her up, making her steal in order to eat and get punished if she got caught. They forced her to learn how to fight and forced to live on a blanket in the corner of the living room. When she was 6 and could barely stay alive with what she could steal, they gave up on her. Focusing instead on her 15 year old brother, who used any opportunity to harass his sister.

Ariana was left alone for large amounts of time as her parents and brother were gone for days on end. So she helped herself to the fridge and watched the gym battles broadcast on TV. Ariana was an avid pokemon lover ever since she could toddle and dreamed of becoming a pokemon trainer, one day leaving this house to fulfill her dreams and finally make her parents proud. Until her world was turned upside down.

Her parents had been arrested for being Team Rocket members when she was five years old. Her older brother had been a new Team Rocket recruit and was watching his younger sister at home when the police had shown up. Ariana watched terrified from the corner of the living room as her brother made his Beedrill attack the cops and it and Officer Jenny's Growlithe battled in the living room. The loud noises of the fight drowned out Ariana's cries as the attacks nearly hit the poor girl. Her brother then tried to use her as a bargaining chip to get out of there, but was taken down by the Growlithe. Finally the battle was over and her brother had been arrested. Officer Jenny calmed down the poor girl and had tried to explain to Ariana gently what was going on, but it was still a hard shock for the small girl. Having no other family, she was put in an orphanage.

0o0 current time 0o0

Knowing full well that her family had stolen pokemon and hurt people to try and take over the world, she avoided everyone. Ashamed and scared she kept to herself. Being so shy and jittery, the older kids bullied her. Loud noises terrified her and when it got bad she had panic attacks. She hid whenever she thought she was about to have a panic attack, to avoid her bullies and when someone came to adopt a child from the orphanage. She slipped out back and hid in the bushes, feeding the wild Pidgey and Rattata with bread she swiped from her meals. Until one day, that changed.

Hearing the bell that signaled the children to assemble in the hall for adoption, Ariana hurried to her hiding place. But before she got far, the kind old lady in charge of the orphanage caught her and said softly, "Now, now. You'll never know unless you give it a chance." Her name was Clare.

Ariana looked down at her feet, "No one will want the daughter of people from Team Rocket."

Clare shook her head and knelt down, "You are Ariana. And not Team Rocket. Your parents and your brother made terrible mistakes. But you are not them, you can live your own life."

Barely able to believe what Clare was saying, Ariana slowly looked up and hugged herself, "Maybe."

Clare patted Ariana's head and held out her hand, "Time for you to write your own story."

Ariana hesitated for another second before taking Clare's hand and letting her lead her to the hall. Ariana saw Clare's reassuring smile before she went to get the new parents. In the hall the kids stood in groups, whispering to each other excitedly about what kind of people they thought the parents would be. Ariana moved to the back of the hall and thought to herself, "Please. Please. If they pick me, let them be nice. That's all I ask."

Then the excitement in the air seemed to pause and Ariana looked up. Clare was talking to two men, one was very tall with red hair and the other was shorter with light blue hair. The tall man's arm was around the shorter man's shoulders, which told her that this was the couple. But then some of the kids started to whisper, murmuring about gay men and how bad it'd be if they were picked to live with them. Then subtly, groups started to move. Most of the kids moved to the back of room while some seemed uncertain weather they wanted to move back or stay and get adopted. Ariana moved forward slowly, not caring if the couple were just men. Then her eyes lightened when she saw the black pokemon sitting at the short man's feet with yellow rings on it's ears, tail, forehead, and upper legs.

The adults were still talking to each other and Ariana saw the tall man glance at the room of kids looking nervously at him and his husband. His arm tightened around his shorter husbands shoulders, which made the shorter man look up at him, smiling softly in reassurance.

Ariana slowly crept closer and closer to the adults and then tucked behind Clare and asked softly, "What kind of pokemon is that?"

Three sets of eyes looked down at the small girl with fire engine messy red hair and shy green eyes. Clare smiled and said, "Ariana, this is Kagami," Clare motioned to the tall redhead, "and Kuroko Taiga." She motioned to the short blue haired man, "Gentlemen, this is Ariana." The pokemon chirped at the girl hiding behind Clare and walked up to her. She glanced up at the couple and Kuroko smiled softly, "This is my Umbreon. You can pet it."

Ariana blushed. All the attention making her nervous, feeling her chest tighten and she moved further behind Clare and looked about to bolt. But the Umbreon wasn't about to miss out on some pets and rubbed his head under her hand. She froze and then slowly petted Umbreon's head and mumbled, "Your soft."

Umbreon practically purred as Ariana rubbed it's ears and she began to smile.

Then suddenly there was a loud BANG! All three adults spun to see that one of the kids had knocked over a chair but by the time they had turned back to Ariana, she was gone. Clare sighed heavily and started to explain Ariana's past.

Ariana raced out the room as fast as her short legs could take her. Her hopes had started to rise until a bang jerked her fear into overdrive and she had bolted to the only safe place she thought she had left.

Dashing under the bushes in the back of the orphanage until she could press her back to the wall surrounding the back of the orphanage, she sat trembling and trying to catch her breath. She nearly felt her heart fail when the bushes suddenly shifted in front of her. Then a black head with red eyes popped out of the leaves and barked at her. Umbreon pulled it's sleek body out of the bushes and curled up at her side. Ariana hiccuped, hating how weak she felt, before wrapping her arms around the pokemon and crying softly into his shoulder. Umbreon sat patiently and let the girl cry.

When all she had left were sniffles she pulled away and rubbed her eyes to rid of the last of the tears. Taking a deep breath she nearly jumped out of her skin when a soft voice called, "Ariana? You alright?"

Umbreon barked and moved towards the voice, then back and nudged the girls knee. Umbreon looked at her and she slowly got up and followed Umbreon out of the bushes. Umbreon bounded up to Kuroko and Kagami was closer to the bushes, looking like he had tried to see over the top of them. He asked her, "You alright?"

Blushing, she looked down at her feet and nodded. Kagami knelt so that he didn't tower over the girl and gently used his thumb to brush the tear marks from her cheeks. Ariana slowly looked up at him and his smile slowly tugged one from her lips and he said, "Ariana. We were wondering...if you would like to come home with us."

She stared blankly at him and then looked at Kuroko. When he nodded she shifted on her feet and asked in a small voice, "Are you sure? I'm..." Kuroko rested a hand on her head and said softly, "Clare told us everything. And we're sure. Besides, Umbreon likes you. And he's a good judge of character."

Umbreon barked and a slow, shy smile appeared on Ariana's face. She nodded slowly, "If your sure." Kagami grinned, "We are. Lets go grab your things." Unable to hide the smile now she took the hand Kagami held out and let him lead her back to the orphanage. Maybe. Just maybe, things were finally looking up.

0o0

Ariana's first impression of her new home was, compared to her previous homes, a castle out of a dream. Two stories tall, it was a cute white house that rested on the outskirts of Cerulean City. Behind it was a forest and the yard was huge and had a massive pond on the right side. Kagami gently lifted her out of the blue car they drove here in, "What do you think?"

Ariana carefully gripped his shirt as he settled her on his hip and said softly, "It's pretty. And big." Kuroko had grabbed her lone backpack of belongings and Umbreon, who had ridden next to Ariana the whole way, jumped out to walk next to it's trainer. The trip had taken most of the day and the sun was beginning to set. Kagami said happily, "We'll give you a tour and then I'll make some dinner."

He carried Ariana up to a porch that wrapped all the way around the house and the closer they got to the house, the more nervous Ariana became. Thoughts raced through her mind, worry of how her new life would be, if she'd mess up and then her new parents would hate her. She feared this was just a dream and when she woke up she'd be back at the orphanage. Or worse, back in her old house.

Feeling the girl in his arms beginning to shake Kagami paused and looked at her, seeing how pale and scared she looked. He rubbed her back gently, saying softy, "Ariana, it's alright. We'll take it slow."

She nodded, trying to put on a brave face. Umbreon barked encouragement and Kuroko held the door open as Kagami walked into the house. Ariana looked around warily, relaxing a bit when she saw that her new home was in no way similar to her old one. Her old house had sported nothing but dark colors in the furniture and decorations. This one was bright, with pale blue wall and a mix of brown, red and blue furnishing. They stood in a doorway where coats hung on the wall and boots sat before entering a room that was half living room and dining room. Further in was a big kitchen and on the other side of the living room sat an old piano. Stairs rose in the middle to go up to the second floor, separating the kitchen and living room area.

Kagami carefully shifted the girl in his arms as he kicked off his shoes, then sat on the floor with the girl in his lap, saying gently, "We take our shoes off at the door so that we don't get the house so dirty."

She nodded and reached to unstrap the Velcro on her beat up sneakers. As she reached for her shoes Umbreon trotted up and licked her cheek, making her wrinkle her nose at the pokemon. Kagami chuckled, and the vibration she felt made her giggle.

Her shoes off, Kagami rose with her still in his arms and smiled at Kuroko, "Grand tour?"

Kuroko smiled softly at the girl, "What do you think Ariana? Would you like to see your room first or the house?"

Her eyes widened and she asked in disbelief, "My room? I get my own?"

Kagami and Kuroko looked at each other, uncertain. Kagami asked, "Haven't you ever had your own room before?"

Ariana shook her head, tugging on a thread on her faded red shirt, "No, back...back at the beginning I slept in a corner in the living room. And at the orphanage I shared with the other girls." Feeling like she had somehow done something wrong, her bottom lip began to tremble. Kagami rubbed the top of her head and assured in a gentle voice, "Well now you get your very own room. You can do whatever you want with it."

She glanced through her bangs to see that nether of the men were mad and Kuroko suggested, "Lets show you the house and then your room. We can show you the yard tomorrow when it's light." Glad that she didn't have to make a decision she nodded. They gave her a tour, showing her the warm, comfy living room first and dining room with a small table and chairs. Then around to the kitchen, showing her the pristine well used stove and full fridge and pantry, assuring her that if she was ever hungry all she had to do was ask.

Next they went upstairs and showed her where their room was on the right side of the stairs. Next to their room was a closet full of sheets, towels and such, then a bedroom that they said was hers. Ariana didn't think her eyes could get any wider as Kagami set her down in the middle of the room that had a huge window that looked out at the backyard. There was a bed with a wooden frame next to the wall by the window, a brown trunk at the end of it, a brown dresser and a white desk with a mirror on it. The walls were soft blue like the rest of the house but had leaves as the trimming. Across from the bed was a bathroom with red towels already in it and a bathtub with a couple of pokemon toys already there. The bed was made with a dark blue coverlet with bubbles on it. Everything seemed like it was just like from a tale she had read about once in a book, but could hardly believe that it was really hers.

And suddenly it became too much. No one had ever given her anything this nice, or had ever been this kind to her. Her heart raced, her palms began to sweat and her chest tightened. Suddenly she couldn't catch her breath, her head spun. Her knees gave and warm arms caught her. She barely noticed when she was settled onto a warm lap or the arms wrapping around her while at the same time giving her room to breath.

She fought for breath, tears streaming down her cheeks and finally sobs began to shake her tiny frame. Her small hands gripped the closest bit of cloth and buried her face into the warm chest under it. Warm voices murmured in her ear, someone gently rubbed circles on her back and fingers ran through her ratty hair. It wasn't until she could finally calm down that she realized that she was being held in what she could only realize as a loving embrace. She sniffled and carefully looked up, seeing Kuroko's warm worried blue eyes looking down at her. He held her in his lap, and she looked at the red haired Kagami peeking over Kuroko's shoulder. Kagami held them both in his lap and Umbreon sat at their feet, rubbing it's face against her hip.

Ariana whispered, "I'm sorry." She braced herself to be yelled at for being weak. But it never came. Kuroko gently rubbed the tear streaks from her cheeks, "It's alright Ariana, this is probably unlike anything you've ever experienced before. It's a lot to take in right off the bat. But we're here for you, we're here to help."

Kagami nodded, resting his chin on Kuroko's shoulder, "We're a family now. And a family, a real family, takes care of each other."

Ariana looked between them and admitted softly, "I don't know...how to."

Kagami and Kuroko both smiled and Kuroko said, "You'll learn, at your own pace. You don't have to do anything you don't want to Ariana. Just be yourself."

Unsure what that meant she cocked her head to the side and said cautiously, "I'll try?"

Umbreon barked and rubbed it's head under her hand for a pet. She smiled, tension leaving her shoulders as she rubbed it's ears. Kagami shifted, lifting Kuroko and Ariana easily to set them off his lap, "Well I think it's time for dinner. Kuroko, will you help Ariana with her things?"

Kuroko nodded and let Ariana crawl off his lap before standing. Ariana hugged Umbreon, took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Then she pulled away and followed Kuroko like a lost puppy as he unloaded her stuff onto her bed. Which wasn't much. Another set of clothes, a shiny pebble a Rattata had given her and a Pidgey feather. Ariana set the pebble and feather on the dresser. Kuroko eyed the clothes, which were practically rags, "I think we'll have to go shopping tomorrow. How about some new clothes?"

Ariana shrugged, "Clare gave me these, those are my old ones." Kuroko nodded, picked them up and said, "Well their falling apart. The ones your wearing can do till tomorrow."

Not seeing any pajamas Kuroko looked at Ariana and said, "How about a bath before dinner? It always cheers me up." Ariana looked at the bathroom, almost fearfully. At the orphanage there were showers the girls shared, and was a prime location to be picked on. Ariana couldn't really remember the last time she had been completely clean, or how to get clean. Kuroko smiled at her, "I'll be right there if you want. Or Umbreon will if that is better for you."

Ariana looked up at him, then back at the bathroom and said carefully, "Can you...show me how to..." She waved her hands around herself and Kuroko nodded, "Don't worry, I'll show you how to wash up."

Relieved she nodded. Kuroko started the bath and then with Ariana on his heels he went to his room and grabbed one of his old soft blue shirts and some supplies from the hall closet. Then he called down the stairs, "Ariana's taking a quick bath Kagami." Kagami called back, "That's fine."

Kuroko smiled at the girl at his feet and she slowly gave a nervous smile back. Then they went back into her bathroom and Umbreon followed. Kuroko tested the water and shut off the faucet. Then he helped the small girl undress. His face showed nothing when he saw the scars and fading bruises. Instead, when she rubbed nervously at a scar on her side he rolled up his sleeve and showed her one of his own, "See, I have some too. So does Kagami." Her eyes widened and with great caution she reached and touched the scar on his arm. Feeling it was just like her own she finally smiled.

Kuroko helped her into the warm water that just reached her chest when she sat down. He then began to give her some instructions. How to clean herself with a loofah that was shaped like a Swablu and bath wash that smelled like fruit. Then how to wash her hair with shampoo and conditioner that wouldn't hurt if it got into her eyes. For a moment Kuroko worried that Ariana would panic if her head was underwater, but his worries were dashed when she eagerly dunked and rubbed the soap out of her hair. The conditioner did the trick and knots came loose out of her hair.

Now clean, Kuroko voiced encouragement as he pulled the plug and then helped her dry off. She shook her head to try and rid it of water before Kuroko stopped her with a chuckle and rubbed the towel through her hair. She giggled at the feeling and said, "That feels nice."

Kuroko ruffled it, "Oh no, where did Ariana go?" and then when he stopped and she looked up he said happily, "There she is!" This made her giggle again. Then he helped her dress in his old shirt, which pillowed around her feet and the sleeves flowed down to her hands. Kuroko lead her to her bedroom and showed her where a hairbrush and comb was in the desk with the mirror and then carefully combed out her hair. Her red hair looked like someone had taken shears to it and some parts were shorter than other and made her resemble a red hay stack that fell into her face. Kuroko smiled at her when he was done, "There, much better."

Ariana smiled shyly and then they heard Kagami call that dinner was ready. Ariana took Kuroko's hand when he stood and followed him out. They went down stairs and a delicious smell met her nose. She sniffed and when they got to the living room Kagami smiled brightly at her, "All clean I see. I hope your hungry." Her stomach answered him with a gurgle. He chuckled at her blush and lifted her up onto a chair, but then saw she was almost too small to eat well when the table was at chest level. So Kuroko grabbed a big phone book and sat her on it, making it just right. Umbreon began to eat out of a bowl at her side, and Kuroko sat at her right and Kagami across from her.

She watched in awe as Kagami dished some noodles smothered in red sauce onto her plate and Kuroko split up some bread to put on their plates. They each had glasses of water and some salad in a bowl next to the plates. Ariana waited till everyone was served before carefully taking up a fork and tried to scoop up the noodles. After a few tries and it not working she looked to see how Kagami spun the fork and rolled the noodles onto the fork. A couple tries later and she got the hang of it. Her first bite gave her a burst of flavor, never tasting anything so good.

Shyly she said, "Thank you Kagami, it's really good."

Kagami looked very pleased at that, "Thank you Ariana. I'm glad you like spaghetti." She nodded, twirling the fork for another bite. The bread and salad was just as good and she finished the food with a happy sigh. Ariana looked down at Umbreon, who got done eating and grew curious about something, "Is Umbreon the only pokemon you have?"

Kagami grinned as he and Kuroko began to clear the table, "No, we have a few more. Their a bit bigger than Umbreon, so we weren't sure how you'd handle that."

Ariana jumped down off her chair and grabbed her plate to take to the kitchen, "I love Pokemon, and would really like to meet yours." The men could practically see Ariana brim with excitement, but trying to hide it in case of disappointment. Kuroko assured the girl, "We'll show them to you tomorrow."

Ariana smiled widely and handed her plate up to Kagami, who was starting to clean the dishes. Kuroko moved to dry the dishes and Ariana looked around, wondering what she could do. Kuroko saw this and grabbed a brush from a drawer, "Ariana, it'd be a really big help if you wouldn't mind brushing Umbreon."

The look on her face made both men melt as pure joy showed when she took the brush. She moved into the living room and Umbreon sat in wait in front of her. She brushed the Pokemon from head to tail as the men cleaned up after dinner. By the time they were done, Umbreon's coat shone and it was flat on it's back as Ariana brushed it's belly. Kuroko smiled at his pokemon, then saw Ariana beginning to yawn, "Alright, time for bed."

Umbreon flipped to it's feet and Ariana stood, walking into the kitchen to put the brush back. Yawning as she walked back out she sleepily took Kagami's hand when he held it out to her and he lead her up the stairs to her room, Kuroko following with Umbreon on his heels. Ariana blinked sleepily as Kagami picked her up and smiled at her, "Ariana, we are very happy that you are now apart of our family."

Her eyes widened and a blush spread on her cheeks. She ducked her head and said quietly, "Me too. I'm glad you picked me."

He hugged her and she hugged him back the best she could with her little arms. Then she turned and held out her arms to Kuroko, who took her and hugged her tight. She closed her eyes and let herself relax and enjoy the hug. They took her into her room and settled her onto the bed and she whispered, "Good night." Falling asleep as they tucked her in.

Kuroko quietly closed the door, leaving it cracked and then followed Kagami into their room. There, Kagami wrapped his arms around the smaller man and kissed him firmly, unable to stop smiling, "Can you believe it? We have a daughter."

Kuroko smiled and kissed him back, "Yes we do."

They got ready for bed, Umbreon curling up in his bed at the foot of the bed with a contented sigh.

0o0

Ariana awoke with a jolt, fear gripping her tight as she fought to stop the panic attack. Sitting straight up she gasped, a cold sweat covering her body as the image of her brother attacking her replayed in her mind. Shaking she looked around, not recognizing her room for a moment. Then she heard foot steps and lunged back into the corner of her bed, hugging her knees to her chest. The door opened and she stared at the golden circles and red eyes glowing the dark. Then it opened further and Kuroko asked sleepily, "You alright Ariana?"

He came up and turned on the lamp next to the bed before carefully sitting down at the end of the bed, brow furrowed in worry as the girl stared at him like he was a monster. Then she carefully moved forward and curled up against his side, still shaking. Umbreon jumped up and lied at her side and she rested a shaking hand on it's shoulder. Kuroko wrapped his arms around the poor girl and could barely hear her as she whispered, "I'm sorry for waking you."

Kuroko gently rubbed her back, "Umbreon heard you and woke me up to make sure you were alright."

Ariana carefully looked around the room and seemed to convince herself that she was in her room, "Just a nightmare, wasn't real."

Kuroko decided right then that Ariana didn't need to spend her first night in her new home alone, "Come on."

He turned off the light, picked her up and Umbreon quickly followed as Kuroko took her into his bedroom, where Kagami sat up, "She alright?"

Kuroko gently set her in the middle of the bed between him and Kagami and flipped the blanket over her, "She is now."

Ariana watched in wonder as Kuroko and Kagami hugged her together and settled with her protectively in the middle. Feeling safe, for the first time since she could remember she glanced between them and felt herself relax and fall asleep again.

0o0

Ariana woke up to a huge form pouncing on the bed, the force bouncing her into the air. She gasped but before she could panic, warm strong arms caught her and something blew on her stomach. Screams of laughter escaped her as she struggled, looking down at dark red hair. "Hahaha! No! Kagami!"

He grinned wickedly as he picked her up and swung her around before settling her onto his hip, "Good morning little one, time for breakfast."

Ariana giggled and said, "Good morning." He carried her downstairs where Kuroko was setting the last stack of pancakes on the table. He smiled at her, "Good morning Ariana." Umbreon barked a greeting as Kagami sat her on her chair, and she said shyly, "Good morning."

Kagami put some pancakes on her plate and covered them with syrup, "Eat up, we got a big day today. After we go get some clothes for you, we're going let you meet our pokemon."

Ariana gasped excitedly and dug into her food. Kagami and Kuroko exchanged grins before doing the same.

0o0

Once the dishes were done and everyone got dressed they headed to town. There, Ariana nervously clung to either Kagami or Kuroko, or stuck like glue to Umbreon's side with one hand on the pokemon at all times. She obviously was trying to be brave. Even opting to just holding Kuroko or Kagami's hand when she saw Umbreon getting tired of being clung to. Umbreon liked attention but was more catlike in the way that it only liked it sometimes.

They went to a couple stores to find clothes for Ariana, shoes and some other things she would need like a toothbrush and pajamas. She was incredibly shy in asking for anything but they managed to find plenty of clothes she liked, mostly jeans, shorts and shirts. Kagami offered a skirt and got a wrinkled nose as an answer.

Shopping took most of the day, and they even fit in a hair cut. Ariana clung to Kuroko's hand the whole time as the beautician cut her hair until she had tiny bangs on each side of her face down to her chin and shoulder length hair. Once done Ariana couldn't believe the difference now that her hair didn't look like a hay stack. They continued shopping and Ariana only had a small panic attack when a small boy jumped out of a bush right in front of her chasing a Rattata. She had clung to Kagami's leg, taking deep breaths until she calmed.

After shopping they went out for lunch. Ariana perked up immensely, showing a bright and cheerful nature. She looked about to panic when Kagami put her on his shoulders but then she giggled and looked around in wonder. They went out for ice cream before heading home and Ariana shared some with Umbreon.

Once they got home Ariana's new dads helped her put all her stuff away and then she changed into her new clothes, a pair of blue jeans and a green t shirt with black sneakers. Then they took her out back to have a look around. Then Kagami hesitated and looked at Kuroko, "You first."

Kuroko nodded and Ariana practically vibrated with excitement. Kuroko smiled at her and said, "I just have one more." He walked up to the pond and threw a pokeball. In a burst of light a blue pokemon appeared with a big shell on it's back. Ariana gasped, clapping her hands together, "A Lapras! Right?"

Lapras cooed and nuzzled Kuroko's cheek, "Yep. Say hello Lapras." Lapras squeaked and Ariana walked up slowly with a hand out. She giggled when Lapras rubbed his cheek against hers, "Hello Lapras."

Kagami called, "My turn, I have two as well."

Ariana rubbed Lapras's nose once more before moving up to Kagami. Kagami said, "The first is very nice, the last...is nice but I bit spunky alright?"

Ariana nodded in understanding and watched as Kagami threw the first ball. Out burst a tall red, black and white dog that sat proudly and woofed a greeting at the stunned girl next to it's trainer. Ariana's jaw dropped, "Arcanine?" Kagami nodded proudly and rubbed the big dog pokemon's head, "Want to pet it?"

Ariana walked up and squeaked at Arcanine licked the side of her face in greeting. Giggling she rubbed it's head and cooed at the soft fur. Kagami gave her a moment to play with Arcanine's fur before Kagami took a breath and said, "Alright, ready for the spunky pokemon?"

Ariana nodded eagerly and Kagami threw his last pokeball. Ariana stepped closer to Arcanine, eyes wide when out came a black and white zebra like pokemon with a spiky mane and tail. It screamed challenge, lighting bursting from its mane. Ariana ducked behind Arcanine with a squeak and Kagami called, "Zebstrika, settle down."

Zebstrika snorted, shifting on it's feet and blinked as the small girl poked her head out from behind the tall dog pokemon. She moved slowly out from behind Arcanine, who woofed encouragingly and she said bravely, "Nice to meet you Zebstrika."

Zebstrika moved towards the girl and both Kagami and Kuroko held their breaths as the thunder horse pokemon lowered it's face to get a better look at the girl. What shocked them all was when Ariana giggled and hugged the pokemon around the snout. Zebstrika stood frozen and Ariana let go and rubbed it's ears, "Your a sweetie aren't you?"

Zebstrika melted and nickered as it buried it's nose into her chest, wanting more pets. Kagami stared in disbelief and looked at Kuroko, who looked stunned as well. Kagami started when Ariana asked, "Zebstrika is a electric type pokemon right?"

Kagami smiled at the curious girl and nodded, "Yep. It's from the Unova region."

Ariana giggled as Arcanine came up for some pets too, "You've been to Unova?"

Kagami nodded, rubbing Arcanine's ears, "Kuroko and I went there when we got engaged. I happened to run into a Blitzle while we were there, when later evolved into Zebstrika." Kuroko called from where he was petting Lapras, "Kagami was a gym inspector for a while, then a chef and I helped at a Pokemon day care. That's where I got an Eevee that later turned into an Umbreon. Lapras and I met when I was younger and saved me from drowning."

Ariana's looked over in awe and Kagami teased Kuroko, "And still can't swim, which is why it's a good thing Lapras chose you for it's trainer." Kuroko stuck out his tongue at Kagami and then looked at the girl, "Then when we got married we decided that having a family would be our next adventure."

Ariana blushed and smiled softly at them. Happy to be their next adventure.

0o0

Soon dinner time rolled around and Kagami explained that the pokemon usually stayed out of their pokeballs and lived in the back yard. Ariana eagerly asked to help feed all the pokemon. Kuroko gladly accepted the help and showed how much each pokemon ate while Kagami started dinner.

That night, after dinner when teeth were brushed and baths were taken, Ariana snuggled underneath her covers in her new Snorlax pajamas. She looked at her new dads and asked softly, "If..I have another nightmare...um."

She blushed and Kagami ruffled her hair, "If you want, you can sleep with us again."

She shook her head, looking as stubborn as a six year old could. Kuroko chuckled and kissed her forehead, "Alright, call if you need us." Kagami gave her a quick kiss on her forehead next and she smiled softly with a blush. They tucked her in and then turned out the lights as she fell asleep.