About the last chapter; it seems a lot of readers want to know what became of Banzai's father. Unfortunately for you, I can't say that right now. But I will say this about what happened: it was very, very sad. Also, there's a little surprise in here I think you all might enjoy. Anyway, here's the next update!

"I tripped. I fell.

It was an accident.

I guess I have to be more careful."

These and countless other reasons as to why the young lion prince had such nasty-looking wounds. Never once had he told anybody the actual cause of his injuries, if they didn't find out for themselves. What the young prince's father did to him was terrible, and no child should ever have to endure any of that torture. Taka had an idea as to why Ahadi was so cruel with him, but always kept denying it.

"My father beats me up because he hates me."

Shenzi, Banzai, Ed and Zira didn't need long to figure that out. Speaking of whom, the trio were talking to the young prince in a secluded area in the Elephant Graveyard.

"Do you need anything for that?" Shenzi asked him, gesturing to a deep slash on the prince's shoulder blade.

"I think my momma put some healin' leaves somewhere…" The four year-old matriarch continued as she glanced around for something to ease Taka's pain.

"No! Erm, that's alright. It is merely a flesh wound." He responded. Shenzi had heard Zira once say that Ahadi called it "tough love". Love? Sure. That's exactly what it was called.

"Maybe Monifa's daddy was just like Taka's." She theorized in her head.

"Well anyway, congratulations on turnin' 16! Any lionesses ya plan on marryin'?" Shenzi teased.

"Not quite yet." Taka laughed.

Ed cackled something to the now adult prince as he looked around him. The newly sixteen year-old lion cocked an eyebrow at him. Shenzi glanced behind Ed and herself so she could ask Banzai to translate. But when she saw him, her heart sank; Banzai was sulking away from them. Shenzi pitied the poor guy; he was still taking yesterday really hard.

"If I ever see Gituku again I'll make him sorry." She vowed in her mind. She sighed as she blew a bang from her eye; she'd have to make out what Ed was saying on her own. After carefully looking over his gestures…and realizing Zira was not here with Taka, she believed she had fathomed his question.

"Um…I think he's tryin' to ask ya where Zira is." Shenzi concluded. Ed supported her assumption with a nod.

"Oh. …She um…she couldn't make it today." Taka replied.

"Why not?" Shenzi asked.

Taka let a small groan escape his throat as he remembered Zira's "excuse".

"We're almost there." The lion prince stated as he and his friend neared the Elephant Graveyard. Zira groaned for two reasons; 1: because Taka was going to the Elephant Graveyard for his birthday, and 2: she really didn't like to wonder into such a place. It wasn't that she didn't like Shenzi, Banzai or Ed; they certainly weren't as bad as all the lions at Priderock claimed hyenas to be. Then again…that could've been because they had yet to have left puphood.

But the actual reason she didn't like to go into the graveyard was because it frightened her; geysers that practically gave you a heart attack as they went off without warning, massive elephant skulls that could be hiding anything, plus the overwhelming darkness that hung everywhere was no comfort either. She let a small sigh escape her lips, hoping Taka wouldn't hear. However, he turned around at the sound of her slightly irritated groan.

"Zira, is something the matter?" He asked. She tried to hide her annoyance.

"Oh, no. Nothing's wrong at all Taka." She replied.

"Are you sure?" He asked with a bit of suspicion. Zira's eyes shifted penitently to the ground; it was time to come clean. Letting another sigh escape her, she walked over to her prince, and best friend.

"Taka, there's something I need to tell you."

Zira explained why venturing to the Elephant Graveyard bothered her so. Although there was a bit of apprehension in her voice, as if she feared to upset him. Taka listened attentively to her entire speech; taking in every word she had to say.

"So, you see, these past few days…haven't been the best for me. And I especially didn't want to upset you the day you become an adult, so, that's the only reason I came today. I'm deeply sorry." She gently confessed. Taka stared at her for awhile, before letting a small smile crack along his face.

"Zira, I'm not angry that you don't always want to do everything with me. If you don't want to go to the graveyards from now on that's perfectly fine." She was awestruck.

"Really?"

"Of course! We'll always be friends, even if we don't agree on each and every single thing we do." She seemed ecstatic; she quickly leapt in his direction, surprising him, and gave him her warmest smile.

"Thank you, Taka!" She then nuzzled him affectionately, now Taka was speechless. Realizing what she was doing, Zira's eyes widened and she quickly pulled away.

"I, erm…I…" Taka merely smiled at her again. Although her cheeks were flushed, Zira smiled back as well…but then she whirled around and darted back to Priderock as fast as she could go; embarrassed to no end. To Taka, her blonde fur made her appear somewhat like a streak of lightning cutting through the plains. But he shrugged and continued on his way to The Elephant Graveyard.

He was more angry at himself than her; he really should have put more consideration into her feelings. After all, he had earned a reputation as the compassionate prince out of the duo comprised of him and his brother. Mufasa earned a reputation as the more athletic of the two, but both brothers were equally kind.

"Let's just say...this place didn't agree with her." He responded. Ed scratched his head at that; he had once heard from his brother that dusty elephant bones didn't agree with him, and he had a massive stomach ache for three days. Did that mean The Elephant Graveyard gave Zira a stomach ache? Ed chose to remain silent however, out of fear of looking stupid. (A/N :-P)

Taka continued a conversation with Shenzi, and somewhat Ed, for about five more minutes. About every now and again, Shenzi or Ed would gesture to Taka's bruises and ask how he got them, although they had a pretty good idea.

"My father…was…" Shenzi and Ed cocked an eyebrow at him: it was completely obvious he was trying to make another excuse.

"Well y'know what your daddy should do? Give ya lots 'a lovin' like my daddy does me." Shenzi stated. Ed laughed that his father tucked him in every night if his mother wasn't there to do so.

"Yeah, like that Taka."

"Well, I do know that my father undoubtedly has strong feelings for me." Taka replied. At that, Shenzi and Ed smiled. But Taka had not been specific on what those "strong feelings" were; he was just relieved the two had not picked up on this.

To everyone's lack of knowledge however, not far off, Banzai could hear every word they said. Listening to their stories about their fathers, they seemed almost like myths from far-off places; almost too good to be true.

Shenzi would say something of Bakari taking her out for long treks around the more pleasant areas of the graveyard (if pleasant areas could be found in the desolate place). And then Ed would say something along the lines of Rashid helping him with whatever he needed, whenever he needed it.

Hearing all these wonderful sayings about having a father though, the young pup sighed; a father was no more than a bedtime fairytale to him.

It was then Taka noticed Banzai wasn't exactly in the best of moods.

"What's up with him?" He asked. Shenzi and Ed glanced behind themselves to see what Taka was looking at. Upon seeing Banzai, they seemed uneasy; he appeared…almost hurt. They suddenly recalled what they had just said and now felt absolutely terrible. Remembering that tragic event that happened yesterday, Shenzi and Ed turned to look back at Taka, both appearing troubled.

"Somethin' bad happened yestahday. …We don't wanna talk about it." Shenzi explained. Ed shook his head in agreement.

"I can hear ya, y'know!" Came Banzai's voice from behind the three. Everyone looked up to see him now somewhat glaring in their direction. Shenzi and Ed were starting to get edgy.

"Somethin' wrong?" Shenzi asked him with slight worry.

"Oh no, I'm just fine n' dandy!" Banzai replied.

"Well ya sure don't sound like it." Shenzi stated as she and Ed slowly began to approach him.

"Well I am! In fact, I'm great! Know why?! 'Cause I'm one 'a the few males around here that's perfectly happy whether he's got a dad or not!"

"Banzai-" Shenzi was cut off when he yelled again.

"I said I'm fine! In fact, I'm gonna go see my mom right now and tell 'er just how happy I am!" And without another word, he was sprinting away from them as fast as he could.

"Banzai!" Shenzi yelled, but he was already too far to hear.

Banzai quickly ran into his and his mother's den after he had run away from Shenzi and Ed and their little meeting with Taka.

"Mom?! …Mom?!" He called. He looked around his home for any signs of Raziya. But then, he felt something under his paw. Looking down, he saw something long, rigid and skinny. It was to his disappointment, that there was a stick pointing towards the exit of the den; she only did that when she went to look for food, just in case Banzai came back home and she wasn't there.

Suddenly he felt like crying again; he was really hoping for someone to comfort him, but he was too ashamed to go back to Shenzi and Ed.

He sniffed as he huddled himself at the back of the den. As he began to cry, he started to recall a song his mother had taught him when he was younger. He spoke between sobs.

Chiquito bonito de su mamá

duérmete ahora, duérmete ya

niñito precioso que un ángel

de ti cuidara.

Escucha el susurro del viento

pasar, escucha el murmullo

de diez angelitos queriendo

ocupar un sitio a tu lado

para así poderte cuidar

tu sueñito celeste de osos

juguetes y mil cosas cosas mas.

Niñito de mi alma, niñito adorado

descansa tranquilo,

a tu lado están…

He continued to sob as he repeated it in his head. His mother used to sing that to him all the time when he was very small. He'd fall asleep in her paws as he listened to the sweet sound, he'd listen to his mother's heartbeat as he drifted off next to her. But there was always one thing missing: a father on his other side.

"I want a dad." He cried, then immediately began sobbing in his paws.

"¿Hijo?" Came a worried voice from behind him. Banzai immediately spun around to see his mother looking at him very concernedly, his eyes widened and he quickly set to wiping the tears away.

"Do you feel ok novio?" She asked. (A/N "Sweetheart") Banzai quickly wiped the tears from his eyes and replied, "Uh-huh." He didn't even bother to bring up the "dad" subject again, he knew very well by now what his mother would say; she'd either pass it off or change the subject.

"Are you sure?" She asked. Banzai nodded. Raziya slowly walked over to her son, leaned down to his level, and held him close.

"…I'm sorry." She whispered to no one in particular.

"What?" He asked.

"Nothing." After about a few more minutes of hugging her son, Raziya slowly released her grip.

"Hijo, there's something I have to tell you."

A few seconds later…

"You did what?!" Banzai screamed.

"I talked to Gituku's mother, and she agreed that what he did was not very nice at all. So, we arranged a little apology meeting." His mother replied.

"But-" Before Banzai could say anymore his mother picked him up in her mouth and walked off somewhere to meet Gituku's mother. He struggled at first but just let it go after awhile; there was no stopping it anyway. Because the six year-old male had learned from experience: what his mother wanted, she got.

After a few minutes of traveling Banzai felt himself being settled onto the ground again. Looking across from himself, he saw a grown female hyena with something hiding behind her front leg.

"Go on." She told the thing, which turned out to be her son, as she pushed him in Banzai's direction.

"Now then, what do you say Gituku?" His mother asked in a lightly stern tone.

"I'm sorry." The male pup stated, but it sounded more like a repeated speech; a little kid apologizing to a teacher without meaning.

"For?" His mother added. Gituku rolled his eyes.

"For saying somethin' that wasn't nice about your dad." He finished, still with no significance. Raziya then nudged Banzai in his shoulder. His reply was about as meaningful as Gituku's apology.

"I forgive you."

"Yeah right. Not in a million years!!" He screamed in his mind.

"Well then, now that that's settled, I think we can try to get along better from now on. Isn't that right, novio?" Raziya said as she lowered her head to Banzai.

"Of course. Won't we Gituku?" Gituku's mother replied as she did the same thing. Both male pups groaned, but quickly changed their manner after their mothers gave them a faintly stern look.

"Yes."

Raziya smiled at her son then turned around to go back home. But instead of going off to find Shenzi and Ed, Banzai trudged after her. Gituku smirked.

"Look at the big, tough six year-old, followin' after mommy."

As if Banzai could hear the male's thoughts, he looked back and gave him a glare that made Gituku freeze in place. Banzai then continued to follow after his mother.

"Gituku, are you coming?" Came his own mother's voice. He quickly shook it off and followed after his mother as well.

The rest that Banzai did for the remainder of the morning was sulk in the family den.

Later that afternoon, Banzai finally mustered enough strength (physically and emotionally) to wonder out of his mother's den. He decided to go see if Shenzi was home; seeing her might cheer him up a bit. But when he got to her skull, he was puzzled to see Ed and Taka waiting outside the entrance.

"What's up?" He asked, wondering why they were doing so.

"Oh, you're back." Taka said upon seeing him. The young prince then turned his attention to the elephant skull. Ed stared at the entrance of Shenzi's home.

"She's not coming out." The lion prince said.

"Why?" Banzai asked. Ed explained that Shenzi had to leave shortly after Banzai left, because of matriarch training, and now she was very tired. And while she was gone, Taka enlightened Ed about a group of lionesses who had gotten the day off from hunting, meaning a certain area of the Pridelands was now safe for them to venture into. They were going to tell Shenzi about it, but decided to let her rest and tell her when/if she woke up.

"If she's been trainin' like I've seen 'er, she'll be out like this all day." Banzai stated.

"Well then maybe perhaps it'd be best if I left." Taka stated. Banzai thought for a moment.

"Wait a minute; I know how to get 'er out." Banzai snickered as he walked closer to the elephant skull. Ed stared at his friend with a puzzled expression on his face, until Banzai whispered in intentions in his ear. Much to Taka's confusion, Ed giggled in a mischievous tone after Banzai had said whatever he had said. Then Banzai walked up to the entrance of Shenzi's skull, and cleared his throat.

"SHENZI MARIE PREDATORA VELDETTA JACQUELINA HYENA, GET OUT HERE!!" He yelled at the top of his lungs. Then quickly as he could he covered his face with his paws, expecting to be attacked with a vicious series of punches, bites and kicks. But after about two minutes, nothing happened. Banzai was stunned.

"She's usually out by no-" He was cut off when he made sudden impact to the ground; Shenzi had leapt on him while he wasn't looking, apparently waiting to strike when he let down his guard. Banzai flipped over to look up at her, big mistake; for he almost couldn't breathe when she pushed her paws onto his chest.

"Dont, you, ever. Call me that, again." She growled.

"Alright, alright! Just lemme up!" Banzai responded. Shenzi wouldn't comply with that; she hated being called by her full name. And anybody who was foolish enough to dare call her by such, was grievously punished, by her of course.

"C'mon Shenzi, I just got back from another meeting with Gituku; I don't need this!" Banzai yelled again. At that, the young pup's eyes widened a bit; she suddenly remembered what happened to Banzai yesterday, and also the vow she made because of it. Now feeling very repentant, she carefully got off of him.

"Sorry." She apologized.

"Hey uh…no sweat." He reassured her, though a little confused at her uncharacteristic behavior. As soon as the two were back on their feet, Ed immediately got in front of Shenzi and began laughing in a very excited tone. Shenzi looked to Banzai for translation, but he merely smirked and pointed up to Taka; he'd tell her everything.

A few minutes later…

"You have no idea how much I missed this place!" Shenzi exclaimed as Taka and the trio of hyenas walked through a secure, lioness-free, grass plain that was close, but not too close, to Priderock.

"You've only been away for a couple of days." Taka stated.

"If you came to this place, even once, and had to go back to the graveyards for a few days, you'd be eager about comin' back too." Banzai told him.

"Who's that?" Came Shenzi's voice from up ahead. The three males looked to see she was pointing up to a ledge on Priderock, she was also sitting on a rock at the bottom of the place.

"Shenzi, don't get too close!" Taka warned as he raced over to her. He got in front of her so any lionesses who were looking out from the dens couldn't see the female hyena pup.

"I'm just askin' who she is." Shenzi told him as she pointed up to the same ledge she had gestured to earlier. Taka looked in that particular direction, as did Banzai and Ed, to see a tiny blonde lioness cub emerging from a den.

"Oh her. That's one of the new cubs; Sarafina's to be exact. Her name is Nala." The prince replied. Ed waved his paws around and laughed in an incomprehensible tone. Taka cocked an eyebrow at him.

"He said somethin' about her lookin' real young." Banzai translated.

"Oh. Well yes, she is. I would say that she is about… five years younger than you, Banzai." He finished.

"So she's… one years-old." Shenzi concluded after a second of calculating.

"Other than it's actually one year-old, and she's almost one year-old, that's right." Taka replied.

"Where's her dad?" Shenzi asked.

"Well…no one exactly knows." The prince diffidently admitted. Banzai immediately turned his head at that particular statement.

"Why? What happened to him?" The male pup asked.

"I feel as though I'm giving too much information but…awhile back, some rogue our age came to Priderock; sick, weak and hungry."

"I can relate." Shenzi stated at the last part.

"After being persuaded by my brother, my father let the pride shelter and care for him. Sarafina was one of the lionesses who watched over him the most. …Let's just say… they liked each other dearly."

"So they were kissin' huh?" Banzai joked.

"Not just kissing, but they don't need to know that." Taka thought.

"Anyhow, sooner or later, the rogue got better and he had to leave. …A few months after that, Sarafina had Nala."

"Ok, I'm gettin' kinda bored over all this talk 'bout lions," Shenzi stated as she scratched an ear with her hind leg, "no offense." She finished as she looked at Taka.

"None taken." He replied.

"So, can ya bring us food tomorrow?" Banzai cut in.

"Well, I'm not entirely sure; I have to help prepare for my brother's wed-" In the middle of his reply though, Taka caught glimpse of something from out of the corner of his eye. Seeing it made him freeze in shock; a very familiar lion was approaching from behind. Instantly he gasped and tried to hide the three pups.

"Hey! What're you-?!" Shenzi and Banzai were cut off when they, along with Ed, were shoved into a small fissure in a rock wall, just big enough to fit them. Taka quickly turned around and put on a nervous smile for the newcomer.

"Hello Taka." The lion greeted.

"Good; he didn't see them." The dark-maned lion thought.

"Uh yes, hello brother." He greeted as well.

"Brother?" Came two small voices from within the break of the wall.

"What was that?" The lion known as Taka's brother asked.

""Nothing!" The prince replied, quickly moving in front of it.

"Hmmm. Well I came here to tell you that I've convince father to ease up on Prideland security; he's bringing all the lionesses back here right now." The second of the princes joyously proclaimed.

Taka's face grew wide with horror. Seeing this, his brother became confused; he expected him to be happy about this, especially since it meant all the young, spinster lionesses would be around more often.

"Taka, is something wrong?" His brother asked.

"Oh, no! Everything's perfect. Really, I'm v-very happy the lionesses are r-returning to Priderock!" Taka happily/nervously replied.

"All at once." He fearfully finished under his breath.

"You seem…uneasy."

"What? Now how could you say that? When I'm so frightfully happy Priderock will have its families all together again. To put it bluntly; I'm truly elated, Mufasa!"

"Mufasa?" Banzai said. Then much to the young male's surprise, he felt something quivering next to him. Looking beside himself, he saw Shenzi.

"What's wrong?" He whispered, so the lions wouldn't hear.

"I dunno. That lion's name made me feel all tingly." She replied. He raised an eyebrow in amusement at this.

"Really?" He asked.

"…Not sure. Maybe it was just a one time th-"

"Mufasa." Banzai purred. Shenzi shuddered.

"Ok, so it does make me shake. You can stop n-"

"Mufasa." He blew the name directly in her ear.

"Quit it." She lightly pushed him, since most of her strength was used to hold back her laughter. Banzai began to laugh as well.

"Mufasa." He said again.

"Stop!" Shenzi began to yell at him through her quaking. Ed started to laugh along with Banzai.

"Mufasa! Mufasa! Mufasa! Mufasa!" Banzai laughed. All three pups began to laugh at the top of her lungs.

"What is that racket coming out of there?" Mufasa said as he looked directly at the fault Shenzi, Banzai and Ed were in.

"Brother, please, I-I can explain-" But before Taka could say another word the hyena trio came tumbling from out of the crack. They rolled on the ground as they held their stomachs, all now finding it hard to breathe from their laughter.

"So, I see you took advantage of the lioness party's day off." Came a voice. The trio immediately stopped laughing and looked up to see a petrified Taka and a smiling Mufasa. All of them froze in place…until the second prince laughed.

"Well don't be shy; introduce me." He asked his brother. Taka was astounded at him.

"I, erm, I…of course!" He finally said. Walking up to the trio, he put them in clear view so Mufasa could see.

"Brother, this is Shenzi." Taka began as he put his paw on Shenzi's head.

"This is Banzai." He went on, placing his paw on Banzai's head.

"And the anomalous-looking one right here is known as Ed." He continued, placing his paw on Ed's head.

"Shenzi, Banzai, Ed, this is my older brother; Mufasa." He finished, gesturing to the lion in front of them. Except for Shenzi shuddering once more at that name, the pups didn't respond.

"A pleasure." Taka's brother said in a polite voice. The trio blinked, except for Ed who giggled to himself for no particular reason.

"…So uh, you're not gonna eat us?" Banzai finally asked after a long tension. The two brothers laughed.

"No offense intended, but I prefer to eat game rather than a formidable predator and well-spirited rival." Mufasa replied.

"Say huh?" All three of them chorused.

"He said 'no'." Taka whispered to them.

"Well why couldn't he've just said that in the first place?" Banzai said. Just then, the five heard a roar. Looking up, they could see a large group of lionesses headed their way. Taka and the hyena pups froze in horror. Mufasa however, looked at them with a calm tenor.

"Seems you have a few things to sort out for the evening. Don't worry; I'll divert their attention long enough for you to make it to the graveyard." He then ran in the direction of the pride. Shenzi, Banzai and Ed all watched as he ran off. Taka seemed in a daze as well, until he remembered that time was on their hands and they had to make haste before Ahadi appeared.

"Quickly now, follow me." He whispered to them. Obediently the pups followed Taka around the lionesses and stayed close until they were out of view. Feeling it was safe for now, the three took off in the direction of the graveyard. But retained enough distance between themselves and Taka, so the prince could keep up. Just before escorting the trio home however, the sixteen year-old lion glanced back at Priderock.

"Thank you, my brother."

Soon after dropping the three off at the Elephant Graveyard, Taka left for the Pridelands to bring back some food for them, but he would be bringing back his own share that the lionesses had hunted for him, and pretend to go off to eat it alone, so as not to raise suspicion.

"Taka's brother seems like an ok dude." Banzai stated after the three were alone.

"Plus his name ain't half bad either." Shenzi added. Ed laughed something about her having a crush on Taka's older brother.

"You better take that back." She threatened. Ed just laughed even more but luckily for him Shenzi was too tired from matriarch training to teach him a lesson.

"Sorry about runnin' off earlier guys. Guess I got a little outta control." Banzai apologized.

"Eh, don't worry about it." Shenzi replied, and Ed put on a sympathetic smile for his friend. Banzai let a small smile come upon his face as well.

"Just feel bad that I didn't tell Taka a happy birthday though." The 6 year-old male stated. Then all of a sudden, Shenzi appeared as though she had an idea. She smirked as she walked up to him.

"Y'know what? I have an idea ta make you feel better." She said.

"Whaddya mean?" Banzai raised an eyebrow. Just then, Taka came back and approached the trio with an impala haunch in his mouth.

"Afraid all I could get was a leg." He stated, the meat muffling his voice. Instantly Ed began jumping up and down with excitement; he'd recognize the scent of his favorite food anywhere. The prince took the hint and laid it on the ground so they could eat. Ed rushed over to it and was about to gorge himself, when Shenzi put a paw in front of him.

"We should be takin' some 'a that back to our parents now, don't ya think?" Ed felt embarrassed and sheepishly nodded as he shifted away from it.

"I'll split it into three's for you." Taka offered as he brought out his claws.

"We can do that lata." Shenzi said as she put her paw on his to get his attention.

"Taka, I know all you done is give ta us. But I need a favah ta ask you."

A few minutes later…

"I still think that wasn't very kind of you to go and make fun of him just because he didn't have a dad." Kamau stated as he watched Gituku try to wrestle a dried root out of the ground with his teeth. Abeni, Monifa and Bujune were with them as well.

"He's right; what if you lost your dad?" Abeni added. Gituku released his grip in order to reply to their comments.

"First of all, I said I was sorry. Second of all, my dad's one 'a the toughest males in the graveyard; he won't be dead for a real long time." He started to pull on the root with his teeth again.

"I'll be right back." Abeni said as she got of the rock she and Monifa were sitting on. Monifa, being as nosy as she was, just had to know all about it.

"Where are you going?" Abeni blew a bang from her eye as she became annoyed, but she turned around to her.

"I have to go to the bathroom." She whispered in her ear so the three males couldn't hear her.

"Oh." Monifa said. And without another word from either of them Abeni left the group.

"And last of all, Banzai should learn to get a grip," he continued to jerk on the dead plant, "I mean everybody has a bad day at least once."

"So why would you make it worse?" Kamau asked.

"ROAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!"

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!"

The four pups took to their heels when a ferocious lion jumped from out of nowhere, Gituku leading the whole pack and whimpering the whole way. The hyena pups were so focused on running, they failed to notice some other hyena pups emerge from their hiding place, laughing their heads off.

"Feel better Banzai?" Shenzi asked through her laughter.

"Oh yeah!!" He replied, his lungs beginning to ache.

"Yes well, that only works once; just so you know." Taka stated, though a small smile was plastered upon his face. Banzai was rolling onto his back whilst holding his stomach; this would definitely be something he would remember. It wasn't until about five minutes later, that Banzai suddenly realized that one from their group was missing.

"Hey, anybody seen Ed?" He asked as he looked around.

Meanwhile…

Abeni stared at her paws as butterflies began to float in her stomach; shortly after coming back from the bathroom, unexpectedly, she ran into Ed.

"So, um…" She began. Ed grinned at her with that smile she found so adorable. She felt her face blushing underneath her fur as all the words vanished from her mind.

"I, uh…"

"…I like your eyes." She managed to come up with after struggling to think. Those eyes she liked so much, widened in surprise. Abeni was almost afraid to look up at him. When she did, for a minute, she saw his taken aback expression. But after a moment, he just smiled very sweetly, as if thanking her; not many hyenas said that about him, especially females. Not feeling as shy as before, Abeni managed to smile a bit too.

"Hey! Ed!" Came a voice to their right. Ed and Abeni looked over to see Shenzi and Banzai running in their direction. Abeni's eyes widened as she quickly ran off, puzzling him.

"Who was that?" Shenzi asked when the two hyena pups reached him. Ed wondered if that was really that important to tell them. After a minute of thinking it over, he decided to keep it to himself; he was suddenly interested in Abeni, and would like to see her again.

In response to Shenzi's question, Ed shrugged his shoulders. Shenzi and Banzai exchanged confused glances at his answer; they really thought that pup his was with looked familiar. Ed cackled something to them both in a lightly hysterical tone. Shenzi looked at Banzai for translation.

"He wants to know where Taka went." He told her.

"He had to go back ta his home bahfore his daddy got mad." She told him.

"An' I think we bettah get home bahfore ours get mad." She finished.

"Don'tcha mean yours?" Banzai said. Shenzi lightly pushed him on the arm, both smiled.

"Whatever." She said as the three made their way home. Unbeknownst to Shenzi or Banzai, Ed was thinking about Abeni the whole time…

Taka quietly walked back into his den at Priderock; it was evening and all the pridelanders would be turning in for the night. But despite his efforts at silence he just had to laugh to himself; what a day! He turns 16, he helps Shenzi and Banzai apparently get a little payback, and best of all he learns that he won't need to lie to Mufasa about Shenzi, Banzai and Ed. Mufasa…

Taka really couldn't ask for a better brother when he thought about it. Despite Ahadi's obvious favoritism with him, Mufasa was always there for Taka when he needed him. They were twin brothers, although, thankfully for Taka's sake, Mufasa was the first to come out. He seemed to be the brawnier of the two; of course he got that from Ahadi's side. Whilst Taka was the more intellectual of the two; getting that from Uru's side, although Mufasa did know a bit more about the Pridelands due to Ahadi's training.

The newly turned 16 year-old lion walked into his den, only to be greeted by a vaguely familiar silhouette.

"Hello brother." Came Mufasa's voice.

"What are you doing up so late?" Asked Taka in a confused and faintly surprised voice.

"You may have the reputation as the smart one, but I still have my wits too don't forget." He smiled. Taka smiled as well. Then, even more to his surprise, Mufasa pushed another impala haunch in front of him.

"Here, I've already eaten." Taka smiled at his brother once again before enjoying the meal. A few minutes later, the younger of the princes had finished off his dinner. Just before Mufasa was about to leave however, Taka called out to him.

"Brother?" Mufasa looked back at Taka.

"You won't…tell father about the little event that happened today, will you?" His older brother smiled.

"Although I'm not exactly a huge fan of hyenas, I'm glad to see you've found some friends of yours. Just, let them know the limits of the Pridelands and, most important, try to keep them unseen." Taka nodded.

"Goodnight brother." Mufasa said, before exiting the den.

Taka smiled; he knew deep in his heart, that he would always cherish his older brother…or so he thought.

For those of you who are wondering, a few page breaks up was a Spanish lullaby/comfort song; I can't exactly translate all of it. But I think it fit the mood at the time well.

And, for more of you who are wondering; no, Simba hasn't been born yet. But he will: it'll all be explained in later chapters/stories.