This is going to be the last one in Ninja Storm for now, in the future I may post more, but for now they're going to be in a linear order, unless I think of more.

Hope you enjoy!


Lothor has been defeated and it's time for Ari to leave Blue Bay Harbour to return to Briarwood.

Set during Storm Before the Calm, just before graduation.


Little Sister

Cam stood at the door to Ari's room, his fist raised to knock on the door. Hearing her moving around, packing her clothes and what she had picked up over the year, he hesitated. Cam was surprised that she had picked up so much stuff, mostly skateboarding gear.

The Samurai sighed, lowering his hand. He'd known the whole time that Ari's stay in Blue Bay Harbour was only temporary, but that hadn't stopped him from growing attached to her presence in not only the town, but at home too. Over that year, Ari had stuck up for him and believed in his wish to become a Power Ranger as well. She had been like a little sister to him, and he had been grateful for the company, and her encouragement.

Cam was snapped from his thoughts as suddenly, Ari opened the door and looked up at him. Despite her age, she was almost the same height as Cam, and wore a bright smile.

"What's up Cam? I've heard you moving about out here for a while," she grinned at him.

"Sorry. Do you need any help packing?" Cam asked, feeling his face burn at her teasing.

"I'm almost done. Just some clothes left and my board," Ari gestured to the skateboard that was resting against the wall beside the door. "Gotta leave some stuff out for tomorrow," she added, her voice growing quiet.

"Nervous?" Cam asked with a smile. Not that he blamed her if she was. Lothor was gone, and the Ninjas had been rescued, and Sensei had decided that for everything they had done over the last year, they should be able to graduate.

"Nah," Ari shrugged, turning away and walking into the room. She gestured for Cam to come in, and took a seat at the desk that she had used to work on her studies. Cam could see the bruises that lined her arms and legs, as well as her face, from the final battle that had only taken place two days ago. And despite how exhausted they had all been, neither Ari nor Cam had been able to sleep much. He knew that she wouldn't admit it, but Ari was having as bad nightmares as he was. The dark circles under her eyes gave that away. "I have to go home after the graduation," she reminded him.

"I know," Cam nodded, sitting down on the bed. "But you know, you're always welcome back here anytime," he told her, and Ari smiled.

"Thanks Cam. But it's never gonna be the same," Ari leaned back on her seat. "I'll miss this place a lot. I mean, I miss Briarwood too, but I'm gonna miss hanging out with you guys everyday," she told the Samurai.

"Even Shane?" Cam asked with an amused smile, and Ari laughed.

"Even Shane," she admitted with a nod.

"We'll miss you too Ari," Cam told her, and Ari smiled at him, before standing up.

"Hey, let's go into the city," she decided, smiling at him. Knowing that if he didn't, he'd just be working on repairing the damage done to Ninja Ops, Cam nodded.

1-2-3-4-5

Ever since she had shown up in Blue Bay Harbour, scared and a bit of a crybaby – not that that had changed – Cam had known there was more to her than a scared kid. He knew that despite her age, she was the perfect choice for the Gold Ranger powers. More so than Shane, Tori and Dustin had been when they had started.

He watched as Dustin carried the laughing girl on his back, laughing as much as she was as they walked along the beach. The rest of the Rangers – no, not Rangers, just regular teenagers now, Cam thought – had met them in town. All of them had decided to take this day as a relaxation day. No threat of monsters attacking, just a pleasant day on the beach, with none of them talking about the next day, when they'd decide on their future, and Ari would return home.

Except than Dustin and Ari, however, the others were a little quieter than usual. Even though none of them mentioned it, they were all thinking about the next day. It was going to be a lot quieter after graduation, Cam knew it. Ari, Zoe, Hunter and Blake would all be leaving. Their Academies were in different cities, and while the Thunder Academy was close by, it wasn't the same.

Dustin suddenly began to run, and Ari clung to his back for dear life, squealing with laughter as the others watched, shaking their head at the pair.

"You wanna go for a swim?" Dustin called over his shoulder to Ari.

"No!" she shrieked, her grip on him tightening. "If you try it, you'll go down with me!" she warned, still laughing as he grinned. The Earth Ninja knew that the others felt the same as he did. They were going to miss their little sister. Even Kelly had admitted that she was going to miss her.

"You sure?" Dustin edged closer to the water, and felt Ari's grip tighten on him. As he laughed, he felt someone shove him hard, and both cried out as they fell into the water.

"Cold!" Ari squealed as the cold water soaked through their clothes. She staggered as she got to her feet, and Dustin overbalanced, grabbing her and pulling her back in as they both cried out. Zoe was doubled over laughing at them from the tide, her glasses sliding down her face.

"Not cool dude!" Dustin groaned as sea water dripped down his face from his sodden curls.

"Maybe not, but it's definitely hilarious!" Zoe continued to laugh, until Hunter caught her around the waist and lifted her into the air. "Don't you dare!" she gasped, but he just smirked and tossed her into the water, narrowly missing Ari and causing a small wave to go over her and Dustin. "Oh, you are dead!" Zoe burst out of the water and launched at her boyfriend. He made to dodge, only for Blake and Tori to grab him and shove him into Zoe. Surprised, neither could stop it, and both went crashing into the water, causing more waves to go over Ari and Dustin and knock them back down into the water.

"Oh come on!" Ari whined as the rest of the group laughed hard at the four in the sea. "You guys suck," she spat out more salt water before she started to laugh as well. Soon, even Dustin, Zoe and Hunter were laughing as well. Ari knew she'd miss seeing them everyday, but she knew that it wasn't the end for any of them.


This really changed from how I initially planned on writing it, but I like how it went in the end. I was initially going to mention Reefside, then I remembered I set this before the graduation so she doesn't know about it yet!

I hope you enjoyed it, let me know what you think!

Please review!