Shikon in the Serengeti
CH. 12
Confrontation
Simba and a small group of his lionesses followed him around the perimeters of the barren Outlands. The nomads have disappeared quickly after their quick brawl, and taking no chances that they were running away for good, Simba had split the pride into two groups to search for any trace of the nomads' hideout. Rounding the corner, Simba ran into Kovu, who has taken the other half of the lionesses with him to search the rest of the area.
"Any sign of them?" Simba asked the younger lion.
"I was hoping you had more luck than I did," Kovu responded in-between pants after his own run inside the Outlands. "I've looked around every spot I knew around here, but still nothing. They must have found a route to escape quicker."
"But for that many lone lions to actually travel together like that," Simba pondered, "it's a little out of the ordinary." Seeing the futility in further pursuing the matter, Simba turned the pride around back to the Pride Lands.
On the way back, Simba still couldn't get the situation out of his head. 'Nomads never travel in groups as large as the ones we faced,' Simba thought. 'Never have there been groups of that many males. They're usually limited to a couple of brothers. Something is not right.'
By the time they reached home and Pride Rock, the lionesses were quick to fall into a deep slumber after their brutal encounter with the nomads. The remaining lionesses that stayed back at Pride Rock were already sleeping themselves, as well as Kagome, Sango, Kirara, and...
"Where did that other one go?" Simba looked around for Kikyo. After the last of the lionesses settled down and fell asleep, Simba takes one glance at the humans before heading out of the cave. He exits the cave and walked down the steps of the huge structure toward the watering hole.
Once he reached the pond, the old lion helped himself to a cool drink. While lapping up the water, he kept his eyes and ears open for anything suspicious. Considering everything that has happened, one can't be too relaxed after the earlier conflict. Once finished, Simba turned his attention toward the calm Serengeti and started his usual patrol. As he passes by each herd that grazed around the Serengeti, he kept all senses open for anything suspicious. At the very least, he had nothing to worry about except the recent rambunctious play of the young animals that nearly run into him as he pass by their respective herds. As far as he was concerned for the day, everything seems to be in order.
"You're certain this will work?" Auni dawdled over to the base of a huge kopje. "After seeing that fiery spirit, I suspect this may not go as planned.
"You worry too much, Auni," Thimba stood from his perch atop the kopje. He gracefully leaped down and landed with ease next to Auni. "Even the strongest and hardest boulder can be eroded into a helpless pebble by water. It merely takes time and patience." He suddenly turned the opposite direction and walked away.
"Where are you going in a hurry?" Auni called after him.
"Just a stroll," the lion answered calmly, "and maybe a little confrontation won't hurt."
Simba continued his patrol toward the last round of the area. Everything seems to be just as it always is. Suddenly he whirled around when his nose caught the smell of a foreign scent. Lifting his snout to the air, he let the strange scent run by his senses, telling him from which direction the source of this scent came from. Walking a little further towards the scent, Simba finally broke into a sprint and hopped atop a kopje jutting out near the border of his territory and the outside world. His keen, golden eyes scanned the area. It didn't take long for him to catch the sight of the source emitting the foreign scent. And the sight of this source was more foreign than he thought.
Shuffling out of the tall grass came a – well, actually, what is this strange creature? A fairly small build give it away as maybe the young of its kind, whatever its kind is. The upper torso is exactly the same sort of complexion to a human; however, the bottom half is questionable. Its feet is nothing like a human, but some paws of an animal. A bushy fluff, presumably a tail, flares out from behind. A half human, half animal? But its scent is neither.
Simba continued eying the runty thing with curiosity and a sense of questioning. Seeing as how aimlessly and frantic it was scurrying about, he knew this little critter was lost. The alien noises its been making must be its way of calling out for help. It's possible it got separated from its mother and group, assuming it lives with a group. Deciding to find out for himself, the Lion King leaped down from his perch on the kopje and made his way to the little creature.
"INUYASHA! MIROKU!" the little fox kit called out as he continued his trek through unknown territory. "SANGO! KIRARA!" Shippo quickly burst his way out of the incredibly tall grass to find the open plains. Looking around, everywhere looks the same: dry fields and tall grasses. "Wh-where is everybody...?" Shippo quivered some bit after feeling hopelessly separated. It's not like it never happened before, but it's one of the things he hates with a passion.
Seeing as how standing around won't do him any good, the fox kit made up his resolve to just go for it and try to find the others. Not much of a path is to be seen, so he'll just have to make one. He took in a deep breath before hurling himself through the tawny grass, hoping he can get out of those overgrown weeds faster. As he barreled on through, he suddenly felt a quick breeze hitting his face. The end is just near and he can finally get out of the suffocating plants. With one final leap he jumped out and left the overreaching grass behind him, but he invited a hard smack to the face as he torpedoed himself into something hard. A tree? He wrapped his arms around the object, thinking it could be a tree. But since when did trees feel like fur... and muscle?
The scent he caught after the collision is that of a cat. 'Kirara?' Shippo thought with anticipation that he was fortunate enough to run into his feline friend. With hopeful eyes, he looked up with expectancy to be met with familiar red, feline eyes. His anxiety passed and was quickly replaced with despair when a pair of golden eyes met his. Instead of a pale pelt, this particular feline has a tawny coat that almost matched the tall grass and could have shone in comparison to those eyes. A reddish-brown mane took the place of Kirara's paler ruff. And there are no saber-like canines jutting from this huge cat's jaws.
Shippo quickly released his hold of the huge cat's leg and jumped back with a startled yelp. He finally got a better look at the cat. It is huge, but still small compared to Kirara. But the little fox has never seen a cat like this before. It almost resembled a tiger, but no stripes and a more golden coat. And its tail ended with a tuft of fur. Despite its small frame compared to Kirara's larger build, it didn't deter the intimidating appearance its mane and stare gave off as the huge cat stood with a sense of regal dignity.
Kagome lifted herself from the ground, though minding that her head was throbbing. She slightly shakes it off and tries to blink out the momentary flashes that distorted her vision. It didn't take long for her to get her thoughts straight. Kagome scanned her surrounding, trying to recall anything that might help her brain work again. Seeing Sango asleep against Kirara tipped her off to remembering her reunion with the demon slayer as well as Kikyo.
'Speaking of which, where is Kikyo?' Kagome inwardly inquired as she scoured the den for the priestess. All she managed to see were the slumbering lionesses huddled against each other here and there. Kovu was there nestled beside Kiara, both sound asleep. Nala was close by, next to her daughter. But her ruling mate is not in his usual spot beside her. 'He must be out patrolling again,' Kagome thought. She let out a small sigh and laid back down. However, the sleep she was hoping to return to was too far away to grasp.
Feeling a little defeated in trying to settle back to sleep, she carefully got to her feet, being cautious of not rushing herself to save her wounds the trouble of reopening. Kagome found it a difficult task to achieve with every movement she made bring new and more intense pangs of pain across her body. Leaning against the walls of the cave, Kagome managed to keep herself from falling over and continued to make her way toward the mouth of the cave.
It was already morning with the sun already showing its full glory from the horizon and continuing its ascent into the sky. The rays of the sun shot into Kagome's eyes the moment she took a step out of the shadows. A momentary blindness from the light faded as she adjusted her vision. Taking a couple more steps out of the mouth of the cave, she peered out into the savanna. Watching as some of the grazing herds gathering at their usual spots, she scanned the plains to see if she can find any sign of either Kikyo or Simba. So far, she's not having that much luck.
Kagome gave a small shrug and turned to make her way back to the cave. Suddenly she heard a roar echoing across the savanna. She knew all too well that's simply the King asserting his authority for all to hear. But something else stop her in her tracks when she was about to take another step. The slicing sound of something cutting the wind and the surging of energy. Then she felt it, a familiar sensation of demon energy, one she has longed to feel again ever since she found herself in the Pride Lands.
'It has to be...!' Kagome whirled around, her eyes staring out into the savanna with a hopeful gleam.
The Lion King stared down the creature that bared its fangs at him. Threatening as it was, he also felt a slight chill run down his spine. Well, who wouldn't when whatever that creature just left a path of destruction across the ground? There was something odd about that object it was holding. It was enormous and quite heavy from the looks of it, yet it was handled as if it was a stick.
Getting a good look at the creature wielding the strange object, Simba noticed its body structure is similar to Kagome's and her two other companions in the sense that it stood upright like them. But its mane is white in comparison to Kagome's. What really caught the old lion's attention are the two pointed appendages atop its head. Ears, maybe?
The growl rumbling from the white-maned creature snapped Simba out of his thoughts, prompting him let loose a growl in response. He lowered his crouch closer to the ground, standing firm and ready for a counterattack. The other creature widened its stance and dug its feet into the dirt. Neither moved an inch as they continued to stare each other down and waited for the other to make a move. Out of the corner of his eye, Simba caught sight of the runty creature that ran into him earlier. It was hiding behind a tree and watching the confrontation.
The silence between them ceased when the white-maned creature burst forth with incredible speed, reeling back the huge object and ready to swing again. Simba prepared to spring at his charging opponent when a crushing weight smashed into his side and jagged edges sunk into his throat.
I don't know how to express my deepest apologies for taking so long to update a new chapter. I could always tell you the usual excuses that schoolwork and stuff gets in the way, but as if that does any real justice. Anyways, I know this is a pretty short chapter, but I'll try to make the next one longer for your enjoyment. Thanks for taking pleasure in reading this fanfic.