Supriseeeeee… ;)

This chapter was initially supposed to be published on the first of February, but things came up and the college process came back to bite me in the ass. -_- So, I got stuck filling out FAFSAs and crap for a few weeks and applying for a few scholarships which used up time I could've used working on my stories. :P

Well, before I begin, I'd like to give a shout-out to comicfan209 for suggesting the title of the story and her overall loveable, ghetto-fabulous spirit she leaves in her hilarious reviews. To top it off, she's an excellent writer and if you haven't already, you should check out her Puppet Master fanfiction!

Oh yes, and pardon the crappy book cover. As you can see, I'm a mess at drawing adult male lions. Vuta was supposed to be pretty buff and intimidating, but just wound up looking like a meth-addicted Scar (minus the scar…) with altered colors. xD But you must admit, 'Jani looks pretty darn snuggable, doesn't he? Ehehee…nevermind.

Anywho, shall we begin? (:

~1~

His paws trekked through the slightly damp soil as he slowly made his way to the back of Pride Rock. By now, this was a daily routine. Not a day went by when he wasn't reminded of the loss of the mighty lion he came to acknowledge as his true father figure and the ghastly murder of his eldest daughter. Vuta's infamous, sinister, toothy smile still haunted Kovu well after his death. He shook his head, ridded himself of the terrors and emitted a frustrated groan as he faltered along the muddy path. Besides, he thought to himself, it's been four months. Vuta was long gone, and for once, things finally started looking up for the pride. The lands slowly came back to life and the herds were coming forth once more. Just a few days before, he watched his remaining daughter wed the young lion she'd come to love with all her heart. He never thought he'd see his daughter again, let alone witness possibly one of the most important milestones in her young life. He would never forget the tears that sprung as she recited the vows she practiced for weeks in advance―or how the young couple looked at each other as Rafiki pronounced them husband and wife, prince and princess, future rulers of the Pridelands.

Speaking of the groom, Gamba wasn't too bad himself. He was very humble about his newly crowned position and a modest lion in general. In time, he even managed to befriend Jelani and Jabari, despite their past differences, and situated well with the others. Jelani and Raisa wound up becoming mates and had a baby girl the month before. With all the positives coming forth at such a remarkable pace, why focus on the downfalls that had since become a jaded memory?

At last, Kovu arrived at his destination and looked ahead—the respective resting places of his father-in-law and his daughter were bestowed just a few paces beyond his stance. By now, their graves were littered with hordes of flowers…wilted and fresh and spanking new blades of grass that signaled the early signs of spring. It still pained him to see them there, but a comforting feeling of relief swept through his body, for he knew they were safe. He brushed the bottom of his paw against his daughter's burial place and wept.

"I'll never forget you, Zarina." he choked. "You would've made a wonderful queen, but I know you're in a better place now—and I'm thankful for that."

Then the memories came again. The moment he saw her enter the world, the times they'd spend together whether it was learning or just horsing around, to the moment he saw the blood-stained corpse of the little cub that will forever remain embedded in his memory.

"I love you…" he uttered.

"Mind if I join you?"

The voice was far too familiar to mistake.

"Tani," he smiled.

She glued herself to his left side and looked ahead at the two graves.

"I still can't forgive him for what he did, Vitani. I just can't."

"It's hard, but you need to let it go, Kovu." Vitani insisted. "Please, it's not good for you."

Kovu looked back at her sharply.

"Let it go?" he hissed. "Let it go?! He killed one daughter, raped the other―and to make matters worse, here I am raising his demon spawn as if he's blood and you have the nerve to tell me to let it go?!"

Vitani avoided Kovu's glare.

"Don't bring the kid into this…he didn't do anything wrong."

"I understand, but it's hard not to."

She propped her head underneath his chin and purred.

"It was hard for all of us, but we have to accept the fact. He's a good cub, he really is. Give him a chance, you'll see."

A few hours later, the den finally began to buzz with life. Of course, the usual source of the nonstop commotion was Kijana and his hyena friends, who had grown considerably in these past few months. The lion cub stood a little less than two feet tall and had already begun to grow a mangled tuft of deep brown fur. He trotted out of the den, hoping to evade his mother, but his attempts at secrecy did him no justice.

"Where are you off to so early, kid?" Kiara inquired with a brief laugh.

"Just out," Kijana responded. "Now if you'll excuse me—."

"Just a minute." the maize lioness chuckled as she brought the wriggling cub closer to her chest. "You haven't taken a bath in days, young man."

In the corner of his eye, he spotted Cree padding into the den, with her own twin pups trailing not too far behind. If they saw him like this, the teasing would last for weeks.

"Mom, pleaaaaassseee, I'm clean now!" moaned the impatient cub.

"But what's wrong, honey?" she cooed. "When you were a baby, you used to love baths."

He could hear the twins' stifled laughs in the midst of all the morning fuss.

"Mom, please," he said between clenched teeth. "You're gonna embarrass me in front of the guys!"

Kiara immediately knew what he was hinting at and finally let him go, a playful grin wide on her face.

"Don't forget, Keisha's coming home today," she reminded. "Don't wander too far off."

"I promise, Mom!" he responded firmly.

Free at last, he galloped towards his friends.

"Had a nice bath, Jani?" Ekon joked, which triggered a smirk from Obi.

"Shut up and let's get out of here," the cub shot back defensively as he led the way for the others.

Before the trio could commence their day of reckless fun, Kiara halted them. Kijana turned towards his mother, an impatient scoff escaping his maw as she padded towards him. She parted her forelegs, to reveal a bouncing cub of beige who eagerly galloped towards the clique of preteens. Her head cocked up towards Kijana and she looked up at him, a wide grin on her face and her tail flicking excitedly. It was Asha, the young daughter of Jelani and Raisa, and she was finally old enough to leave the den as long as she was supervised.

"Jani, what's with the pip-squeak?" Ekon whispered to Kijana sharply. "She's gonna cramp our style!"

"Don't worry, I'll handle this." Kijana shot back in a hushed tone.

He turned his head back to Kiara, who had a look of clear suspicion on her face.

"Mom…Ekon, Umi and I are practically…well…men…" he began. "We don't need a little baby cub like Asha following us around. We're far too superior for her to keep up."

"Oh is that so?" Kiara replied with a hint of sarcasm.

"Uhhh….yeah." the cub faltered on.

"Well then…" the lioness resumed, pacing back and forth. "If that's the case, then I suppose you men are too old to be outside playing."

That comment made the three perk up a bit. Kiara continued, with a sly smile broad on her muzzle.

"I bet you three would rather stay in the den and hear Nyoni ramble on about the herds, right?"

Kijana's eyes grew wide with terror.

"No, no!" the trio cried out. "ANYTHING but that!"

"Good," Kiara concluded with a victorious smirk.

Asha departed from the confines of her great-aunt's arms and trotted giddily towards the three unenthusiastic cubs as they gawked at her. Without another word, they turned away as Kiara kept her eyes on them for a few more seconds before tending to other things.

"So what are we gonna do first?" Umi inquired with a devilish smirk.

"Let's scare the rhinos." Ekon proposed with a hearty laugh. "I'm gonna get them back for what they did to my face."

At that moment, he whipped his face to the side, boastfully showing off the now faded scar that adorned his right cheek. He'd gotten it one day when one of the boys' pranks on the herd backfired and they got caught in the stampede. Luckily, for them, the boys escaped with minor cuts and bruises, but it was enough for an angry Ekon to declare vengeance.

"You deserved it, Ekon." Kijana insisted. "Besides, we can't do anything like this around you-know-who."

The hyenas caught sight of Asha, who marched alongside him.

"So are you really gonna waste the whole day babysitting that shrimp?"

Asha shot an angry glare at Ekon.

"I'm not a shrimp!" she pouted. "…Right, Kijana?"

"Don't listen to them," the brown lion cub insisted, nudging her cheek with his nose. "They're just a bunch of idiots. You're cooler than both of them combined."

Asha flashed a cocky grin while the hyena duo exchanged looks of annoyance.

"Let's just go," Umi proposed, propping himself above a nearby boulder to catch a better glimpse of their targets.

"Nana says you shouldn't scare the herd," the young cub scolded.

"Shut your trap before you get a scar on your cheek." Ekon growled.

"GUYS, KNOCK IT OFF!" Kijana roared in frustration to each party.

"But she started it!" the hyena pup moaned.

Kijana ignored him and carried Asha off to the corner.

"I don't like those guys," she scowled. "They're mean."

"But Asha, don't you wanna be a big cub?" Kijana asked, at his last whim.

Asha nodded unsurely, her paws shuffling beneath her.

"Then stop worrying so much," he assured as he galloped back to his friends.

Asha drew back a timid smile and galloped towards the three cubs. Just then, a heavy weight rooted itself onto her tail and she pivoted to the side. She looked up, and her frustrated sneer soon widened into a smile when she laid eyes on the lion.

"Nana!" she squealed delightfully.

"What are you up to, Ash?" Vitani grinned.

Her arm slung across the cub's mid-section and Asha found herself in the air. In a fit of laughter, she gripped onto her neck and clutched for dear life.

"Knock it off, you little spider monkey." she snickered. "You're choking me!"

"I'm not a monkey!"

Regardless, Asha let go and fell feet first onto the dusty terrain. She flashed a quick smile before she scampered after the trio who had since made their way towards the herd.

"Where are you going?" Vitani inquired sternly. "Your first day out and you're already causing trouble, you little monkey?"

"I wasn't gonna scare the herd, Nana." Asha scowled. "I was just gonna watch them!"

"Watch who?" Kovu inquired as he loomed out of the stalks of grass.

"Kijana, Ekon and Umi."

"Don't these kids ever learn?" Vitani groaned under her breath.

She charged towards the scene hoping she could get to the boys before dozens of angry rhinos did.

"What about me?" Asha crooned suddenly. "I wanna come too!"

Vitani furrowed her brows and chuckled heartily.

"You stay here and keep yourself out of trouble, Girly." she grinned.

The discontent cub pouted, but agreed. She rooted herself onto a nearby rock and could only spectate from afar while Kovu and Vitani sought after the cubs. But something was wrong. The boys were long gone. Yet, nothing seemed amiss. The herd continued to graze nonchalantly as if there weren't a trio of vengeful cubs roaming among them.

"What in the world?" Vitani muttered with a raised brow.

Kovu shared a similar reaction and scouted through the fields in hope of catching a glimpse of the three youngsters. Vitani followed shortly after.

The three cubs sunk into the blades of grass, invisible to the naked eye.

"On the count of three," Kijana ordered.

Ekon and Umi nodded in agreement.

"1…"

Their shoulders rocked back and forth in anticipation.

"2…"

Their tails flicked. Their mouths watered. Their hearts raced.

"3…"

They leapt. They growled. They conquered. Ekon and Umi snapped at the galloping rhinos, while Kijana latched onto a bull and whooped as he bucked and snorted.

"Guys, you gotta try this!" he exclaimed. "This is amazing!"

"No way!" Umi scowled.

"Suit yourself, Chicken." Ekon guffawed. "Jani, wait up for me!"

Umi increased his speed and fought to meet up with his friends.

Back at the fields, Asha's patience was quickly running low. Suddenly, she noticed a tremor beneath her. The rocks rattled. The shaking intensified. The rumbling grew louder.

At that moment, she laid eyes on the source of the commotion―a herd of angry rhinos charging right at her.

And the award for Worst Cliffhanger in TLK History goes to…xD

My writing has gotten a bit choppy since I left. :P Forgive me.