A/N: Hello, this is kora22... Just on my second account. This will be for other little ideas that pop into my mind, but I don't want to break the flow of my series. Any stories on this account will not be canon to my series. Oh, and none will be anthro or human, even if it seems like they should be. Use your imagination!

The Ring: Part One

A lightning bolt cracks across the sky, lighting up the sky above the city as rain pours down on the empty streets. Everyone has retreated inside, except for one lone lion cub, who is walking toward a worn down apartment building. He has a rain jacket on with the sleeves over his forelegs. Attached to his waist is a holster with a .45 caliber pistol.

"Crummy weather..." he mutters to himself as he approaches the building. He has to admit, it looks awful, broken windows, rotting boards... Definitely not the kind of place he would want to live in. In the windows that aren't broken, he can see lights inside.

He walks up to the front door and pulls the handle to open it. It comes off in his paw, and he drops it to the ground. He manages to get the door open and begins walking up the stairs inside. There is an elevator, but he's not taking the risk of it plummeting to the bottom of the shaft. He walks up several flights until he gets to the sixth floor. He then, walked down the hallway until he stopped in front of a door.

"Apartment 604... This is the place," he said quietly to himself before knocking on the door.

A few moments later, he hears the lock open and the doorknob begins to turn, causing it to fall off on his side of the door. The door slides open and a lioness cub with cream colored fur is standing on the other side.

"Glad to see you made it, Haiba," she said with a smile.

"Hello, Nala," he replied. He looked down at the broken doorknob. "Remind me to fix that for you."

"Never mind that right now," she told him. "Come in and have a seat."

Haiba walked in and took off his jacket, hanging it up on the fragile coat rack in the corner of the room. He then walked into the kitchen and sat down in a chair at the table. Nala pulled out another chair and sat across from him.

"Got any cheese?" Haiba asked.

"Just ran out," Nala told him. "I won't have any food until tomorrow."

"Well then," Haiba began, "down to business... What was it you called me here for?"

"It's about Simba," Nala said.

"Oh yeah," Haiba said, "Where is he anyway? I haven't seen him since the day I left town; right after your wedding."

Nala dropped her head for a minute before looking back up at Haiba. He had been gone for months, so, he didn't know anything that had happened since then.

"Simba... Doesn't live here anymore," she told him, sliding a piece of paper across the table.

Haiba picked up the paper and looked at what was written on it. In big letters across the top it was clearly labled 'DIVORCE.'

"You divorced him?" Haiba asked. "Why? I thought you two were madly in love with each other?"

Nala sighed before explaining. "We were... Then things began changing. We weren't even married for five months before it started."

"Before what started?" Haiba asked.

"Simba began changing," she said. "He became a completely different cub. It got to the point where he was abusive."

"Abusive?" Haiba asked. "That doesn't sound like him at all."

"Exactly," Nala said. "It isn't. It started when he said he was going out with some friends one night... When he came back, he wasn't himself. His temper was short, and he acted a little crazy."

"Sounds like a typical case of alcoholism," Haiba told her.

"That's what I thought, too," she said, "but he never had the scent of alcohol on him. I looked into it a little myself, but nobody wanted to talk to me. Eventually it got so bad that he was doing it every night. He got worse and worse until I had no choice but to divorce him," she sighed. "That didn't seem to bother him at all. He left without saying a word, and I haven't seen him since."

"How does this relate to me?" Haiba asked.

"It doesn't..." Nala said. "I called you here for a favor."

"And that would be...?"

"I want you to find Simba," she said. "Find out what he's been up to. Being an undercover cop, that shouldn't be too hard, now should it?"

Haiba stood up and went over and grabbed his jacket from the rack. He put it on and walked over to the door.

"I'll do it," Haiba said. "No promises, but I'll do my best."

"Thank you, Haiba." Nala said as he she walked over and kissed him on the cheek.

Haiba nodded and walked out the door, shutting it behind him.

Haiba walked down the wet, filthy street. He really had nothing to go on as to where Simba was, but that wasn't going to stop him. He couldn't let Nala down. He saw a big neon sign hanging outside a building ahead of him. It was flashing on and off and it read, 'Buko's Bar.' When he got closer, someone was suddenly thrown out into the street. They landed in a large puddle. Haiba saw it was a human.

The bouncer yelled from the doorway. "That's the last time you come in here, you stupid, Iranian drunk!"

The man stood up and yelled back, rather drunkenly, "Nobody treats me that way! I am Greg!" He then staggered down the street, most likely to pass out somewhere.

Haiba just shook his head and walked inside the bar.

"There's no reason I can't have a little drink and some dinner before I get going on the investigation..." he said to himself.

Inside the bar, there were lions and lionesses sitting at the bar and at different tables. Haiba took a seat at one of the tables and opened one of the menus. A few moments later, a cub came over to the table.

"I'm Akili, and I'll be your server tonight," she said. "What will you have?"

"Hm..." Haiba said, looking over the menu. "Give me the grilled cheese, with a side of cheese fries. I'll have a can of Cheesy Cola for a drink."

The waitress walked away from the table, leaving Haiba there by himself. He looked over at another table, where there was a few female cubs looking at him and whispering. He winked at them, causing them to giggle. He always had that effect on the ladies.

A few minutes later his food came out. As he was about to start eating, he heard something.

"Hey, you!" a harsh whisper sounded.

Haiba looked around, and the voice spoke up again.

"Over here!"

A cub in a hooded cloak was calling him to a corner of the bar. Haiba stood up and walked over, but he remained alert.

The corner of the bar was dark and the only thing Haiba could see of the cub was the pair of glowing gold eyes under his hood.

"I now all about what Nala told you to do..." Sora said. "I'll warn you now, don't do it. It's much too dangerous."

"How do you-"

"I know a lot of things," the cub said. "Heed my advice, do not look into this any further, otherwise, I cannot guarantee your safety...

"Is that a threat?" Haiba said sharply.

"Maybe... Maybe not," the cub said. "This is for your own good... But if you insist on continuing, I'll give you a hint... The first clue lies in this very bar."

Haiba turned and looked around the bar. When he turned back to speak to the cub, he was gone.

"Well," Haiba said, "it appears that there might be more going on than I thought... Dinner will have to wait, it's time for a little investigating..."