Here's chapter 27 and please review. Reminder that right now we are in a short story about Tojo, Shani and Shinda.

Tojo didn't say a word for the whole journey. He tried his best not to look at Kana, knowing that if he lost control of his anger, Kana would be dead. And he was still too angry to look at Aman.
After nearly a full day of travelling, they spotted the border of the Pridelands.
"Tojo, "Aman said, "You know that both I and Kana won't go in there. I need you to go there and get Shinda, Shani and Ranji."
"Fine," Tojo said. "But like I said, I'm not-"
"I know," Aman said. "I'm fully aware of that."
Tojo nodded and headed into the Pridelands. It felt good to be back home.

Meanwhile, Nala, Shani and Shinda were resting under a tree, by one of the lakes. Kiara was being groomed by Nala.
"Mom, when's Uncle Tojo coming back?" Kiara asked.
"You have to be patient, Kiara." Nala said. "It could be a couple days until he gets back." She was secretly worried about her cousin, and she knew that Shinda, Shani and her other friends were too. Tojo had gone alone and anything could have happened.
Kiara rolled into her back and lifted her neck, as Nala continued to bathe her.
"Kiara, hold still and I'll be done sooner," Nala chuckled.
"Auntie, why didn't Ranji go too?" Kiara asked, turning to Shani and Shinda. "He told me that he wanted to go too."
"He did?" Shani asked, surprised.

"He shouldn't have told you that," Shinda murmured. But then again, if she had been angry at Tojo, she would have said the same thing. She realized how alike she and Ranji were. Both of them took after Aman.
Nala finished bathing Kiara and Kiara jumped out of Nala's grasp.
"Kiara, Uncle Tojo asked your father to make sure this journey was his journey only. Your father agreed to that. And because, he's the King, Ranji has to obey him." Nala said.
Kiara nodded, obviously deep in thought.
"Can I go play with Danyssa now?" Kiara asked. Nala nodded and Kiara turned to go.
Kiara had trotted a small distance away from them, and the lionesses could still see her going, when they heard Kiara squeal.

Assuming the worst, the lionesses jumped to their feet, and ran to where Kiara was.
"Kiara!" Nala called, worrying that a snake might have bitten her cub.
Kiara was running ahead of them, calling, "Uncle Tojo! Uncle Tojo!"
Nala, Shinda and Shani looked up to see Tojo in the distance. Relief flooded over all three of them, knowing that Tojo was okay.
Kiara hurled herself towards her uncle. When Tojo heard her voice, he turned around. Tojo's smile lit up his whole face.
"Uncle Tojo!" Kiara squealed, clinging onto him. Tojo bent down and covered her with licks.
"Hey little star," Tojo greeted. He nuzzled his nose against hers.
"I missed you Uncle," Kiara said, burying her face into his front leg.
"I missed you too, my little star." Tojo said, licking the top of her head.
"Tojo!" Shani, Nala and Shinda reached them. Tojo greeted each of the lionesses.
"Did you find him?" Shani asked, keeping her voice low so Kiara wouldn't hear.
"I did," Tojo said. "I'll tell you more at Priderock."
Shani nodded and all of them went back to Priderock.

After greeting his mother and Pride mates, Tojo took Shinda and Shani aside. He motioned for Nala to come as well.
"Tojo, why did you tell everyone that you didn't find Aman?" Nala asked. "You told us you did." When Simba had asked if he had found his father, Tojo had said no.
"Because Ranji was there." Tojo said. "Look, I found Aman and Kana in some lion territory that was near where they got attacked. Aman said that he was going to come back with me, to see Ranji, Shani and Shinda."
"So where is he?" Shinda asked.
"By the border," Tojo said."He couldn't come in."
"He's waiting for us?" Shinda gasped, shocked that after all these years she was finally going to see her father again.
"Yes," Tojo said. "He told me to get Ranji as well, but you two go first. You deserve it more than Ranji. Especially you, Shani."
"Then let's go," Shani said.

The two sisters began heading down Priderock. Kiara trotted up to Tojo and Nala.
"Where are Aunt Shinda and Aunt Shani going?" Kiara asked.
Tojo nuzzled her;" They just had to go somewhere."
Kiara opened her mouth to ask where when Nala interrupted her.
"Darling, why don't you go play with Grandpa and Grandma? Didn't you say that you would spend some time with them? They're going to be hurt if you forget." Nala said.
"Alright Mom." Kiara said and trotted into the den, to find Sarafina and Runju.

Kiara found Sarafina and Runju resting in the small den. Sarafina smiled when she saw her.
"I thought you forgot," Sarafina said, licking the top of her head.
"I didn't," Kiara said, nuzzling both of them with her nose.
"Did you hear the Uncle Tojo was back?" Runju asked. He picked her up and placed her in her arms.
"Yeah," Kiara said. "But he didn't find his father though."
Runju honestly didn't care if Aman was found or not. He would rip him into pieces for betraying his sister if he ever saw her again. But he felt sorry for his nieces and nephew, knowing that they would most likely never see their father again. He hasn't liked his father much, but he couldn't imagine not ever having one.
Sarafina swatted him, with his tail. Runju came out of his thoughts. She must have known what he was thinking about.
"Is Uncle Tojo going to go again?" Kiara asked.
"I don't know, sweetheart." Runju said.
"I wanna go if he goes again," Kiara said.
Sarafina chuckled," You're too young."
"That's what everyone says," Kiara complained.
Runju chuckled when he saw the annoyance on Kiara's face. She looked like Nala when she had been a cub and was annoyed. Everyone said that Kiara took after Simba, and Nala agreed with that as well. But in Runju's eyes, whenever he saw Kiara it reminded him of his daughter.
He knew that he hasn't been exactly fair to Nala. Especially after Hofu was born. He had given her so much grief, yet she has overcome that.
He remembered during the time that Hofu was about a year and a half old.
Flashback
Hofu had begun to walk around the den. He had also begun to babble a few words.
"Dad!" Hofu called, trotting towards him. He fell twice but got up again before reaching Runju.
Every time Runju looked at Hofu, he felt proud. He had wanted a son so badly and he had been delighted when Sarafina had give birth to a boy.
"Nala?" Hofu asked.
"Nala's out hunting." Runju said. "She'll be back soon."
"Mom?" Hofu asked.
"She's hunting, too." Runju said, with a chuckle.
A few minutes later, Nala trotted into the den. Hofu jumped out of his father's paws and ran to Nala.
"Nala!" Hofu called. He reached Nala, and was unable to stop himself. He crashed into Nala's front legs.
Hofu's nose hit the ground. Tears threatened to escape his eyes, but he held them back.
Nala helped him up.
"Nala," Runju said, "Catch him before he falls next time."
"Sorry, Daddy." Nala said. "He's fallen before and nothing's happening."

"Sure," Nala said. After giving both of them a nuzzle, Runju walked out of the den.
"Me too!" Hofu said, and began to trot after him.
"No," Nala said, pulling him back.
"Me too!" Hofu cried.
"No!" Nala pulled him back.
Tears sprang to Hofu's eyes. He wanted to leave the den too!
Nala's eyes softened when she saw Hofu crying. She hated seeing him sad or upset. It made an ache go through her heart.
"Fine, but I'm coming with you." Nala said. She had taken Hofu out before and knew that it wouldn't be a problem if she did.
Letting out an excited squeak, Hofu jumped and trotted out of the den. Nala followed him.
On the way out, Hofu trotted as fast as he could, and bumped right into Simba who was making his way out of the den.
"You alright, buddy?" Simba asked, helping Hofu up.
"Thanks Simba," Nala said, approaching them.
"No problem," Simba said.
"Finished the patrol?" Nala asked.
"Yeah," Simba said. "Where are you two going?"
Nala grinned, "To where ever he leads me."
"I'll come too," Simba said. The three of them headed down Priderock. Hofu trotted ahead of them.
"You remember what I told you last week?" Simba asked.
"Yeah," Nala said.
"You didn't tell anyone, right?" Simba asked.
"No, why?" Nala asked. They settled down under a tree, with Hofu who was pouncing on a butterfly, was still under their watch.
"It actually came true!" Simba said.
"What?" Nala giggled. "Really?"
"Yeah," Simba said. "You should have seen his face."
Nala cracked up along with Simba.
"I...can't...believe it actually worked!" Nala gasped out from her laughter. There were tears going down her face from too much laughing.
"You're crying," Simba said, with a grin. This only caused Nala to laugh harder. Without thinking, she buried her face into his nearly full grown mane. To her surprise, Simba didn't move away. Instead, he rested his head on top of hers.
"So what did you say?" Nala asked, pulling back.
"I said..." Simba began, but his voice trailed off.
"Nala, where did Hofu go?" Simba asked. Nala looked around and realized that he was gone!

"Damn it!" Simba said, jumping up. "He must have snuck away while see were talking!"
"Simba, anything could happen to him!" Nala said, beginning to panic. "We have to find him!"
"You go this way; I'll go the other way!" Simba said, and turned to leave but stopped when he saw Nala's face.
"Hey," Simba said, turning to her. He brushed his face against hers. "We'll find him. I promise."
Nala nodded and the two of them headed in opposite directions.
After about ten minutes of searching, Nala heard a voice calling her.
"Nala!" She turned to see her parents hurrying towards her. To her relief, they had Hofu with them.
You're alright," Nala breathed in relief.
"Nala, what is he doing out here, alone?" Runju demanded.
"Father, please, let me explain." Nala said, in a shaky voice. "He wanted to go after you so Hofu and I went down Priderock with Simba. I was talking with him while Hofu was chasing a butterfly. I turned around and the next thing I knew was that he was gone."
"Nala, I expected you to have the sense to keep your eyes on him the whole time!" Runju snapped. "It's a miracle that he's okay."
"Daddy, I'm sorry, but-" Nala tried to say, but she was cut off.
"Sorry doesn't work! Hofu was your responsibility!" Runju growled.
"Runju," Sarafina said. "What she did was a mistake and I know that wasn't on purpose. That's enough now. Nala understands and there's no reason for you to get this angry."
"Sarafina, Hofu could have gotten killed!" Runju exclaimed.
"I didn't do it on purpose!" Nala exclaimed. "I looked away for one minute and then when I looked back, he was gone!"
"One minute is enough for him to be gone!" Runju seethed. "I thought you knew that! Sometimes, I wonder what kind of mother you'll be! Don't ever do something so foolish again! And-"
"Runju!" Sarafina snapped. "Enough! You're being too rough!"
Runju growled. He picked Hofu up and walked away, leaving a shaken Nala behind.
"Nala, it's alright," Sarafina said, nuzzling her. "It was an accident and your father just lost his temper."
"Mom, he's always like this to me!" Nala cried. "Every tiny mistake I make with Hofu, he yells at me. Today, Hofu fell when he was running to me and he got mad that I didn't catch him!"
"Darling, your father's just protective of Hofu. He didn't mean to get so angry," Sarafina said, trying to nuzzle Nala. Nala pulled away.
"No! He just prefers Hofu over me!" Nala chocked out." He always has!"
"Nala, that's not true." Sarafina said. She realized how upset and hurt Nala was. She was surprised at her mate's attitude.
Letting out a defeated sob, Nala turned and ran away from Sarafina. Sarafina let her go, knowing that Nala needed some time alone.
End if Flashback

Runju watched as Sarafina and Kiara wrestled with each other. He felt guilty as he remembered telling Nala that she wouldn't be a good mother someday. After Nala had been attacked after the fire and they had realized that she hadn't been responsible for the murders, Runju had remembered every single harsh thing he had done to Nala. It has drenched him with guilt.
But as he looked at his granddaughter, he knew that Nala was a wonderful mother. From the minute that he had first seen, Kiara as a newborn, nestled in Nala's paws, he had known that Nala would be a wonderful mother. He had seen the love in her eyes when she looked at Kiara and had immediately known that he had been wrong. Why had he been cruel to her during those times?
When Nala had been recovering, but was still near death, Runju had slowly realized why he had been so cruel.
He hadn't realized how valuable Nala was.
When Nala was first born, he had been a bit disappointed that it wasn't a boy.
When Nala was near death, Runju began to realize what he would lose if Nala died.
He would lose his daughter.
Blood of his blood.
His precious little girl.
Who he had raised.
The same little cub who had curled up every night by his side to go to sleep.
The same little cub that would always wait eagerly until he returned to Priderock. Still in his thoughts, Runju laid his head on his paws and continued to drift away in his thoughts.

Hope you enjoyed and please review. I know that a lot of this chapter was focussed on Nala and Runju, but I promise there will be more about Aman, Shinda, Shani and Tojo in the next chapter.