"So, the trial is to be held tomorrow, you say?" Tojo inquired whilst Simba was munching on some cooked antelope, courtesy of Joseph, of course.

"Yes. Thankfully, I've already sent Zazu out to summon a jury, so we should be in and out in no time." Joseph responded, listening in on the two kings' conversation.

"Wait, what is the jury again?" Simba asked, taking a break from his antelope slice.

"The panel made up of random people to determine a defendant's guilt or lack of it. They take the evidence and meet together as a group to determine whether a crime was actually committed."

"Well, I must say, Joseph, you humans have a fascinating culture." Tojo said, leaning in.

"Yeah, well, thousands of years of technological progress can do that to you."

"Oh, quit being so prideful. You couldn't stand alone against lions in a fight if it weren't for your weapons." Kovu boasted beside him

"Oh, really now?" Joseph retorted, before Simba, Tojo, Kovu, and Joseph himself looked around to ensure that none of their wives were watching. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Square up, Joseph!" Kovu said, getting ready.

"You're on!" Joseph replied, beginning to take off his shirt.

"Wait, what are you doing?" Simba asked the human.

"I'm taking off all my clothes so that Kovu doesn't have anything to grab me by" Joseph replied casually.

"NO! No, don't do that!" Tojo screamed.

"Yeah, we do not want to see you naked, Joseph" Kovu chimed in.

"Y'all sound like real hypocrites, because I don't see you wearing any clothes right now, so I'm just going to take off my belt" Joseph said, unhooking his belt buckle.

"No, Joseph, that's different! Look, just keep your shorts on at least!" Simba retorted.

Joseph paused for a moment, considering the option. "Fine, I'll keep my shorts on."

"Thank god!" Tojo exhaled in relief "Can you start the fight now?"

"All right, all right!" Joseph said. "Simba, would you start us off?"

Simba stood between the two combatants, ready to start the fight "All right. Kovu, are you ready?"

Kovu got down into a stalking position, a smirk growing across his face. "I'm ready."

"Joseph, are you ready?"

Joseph lowered himself, widening his base and balling his fists. "I'm ready."

A moment of tension hung in the air as the two combatants stared each other in the face, reading each other, trying to figure out each other's moves. Joseph knew that Kovu would try to pounce him right off the bat. He just had to jump left or right. However, Kovu knew that Joseph was thinking exactly that, and was planning on simply swiping at Joseph's legs once he landed. Both fighters had, in their minds, locked in their opening strategies.

"Fight!" Simba announced.

Joseph immediately took one step to his right, closing his base and making him an easy target for Kovu to sweep his legs out from under his feet, something he gladly did. Once Joseph was on the ground, Kovu stood over him, paws on his throat. Joseph knew he only had limited time in this position before he tapped out or passed out, so he immediately put his hands in between Kovu's front legs, pulling them off of his neck and making Kovu fall on top of him. This created a new problem for Joseph, however, as now a 570 pound lion was on top of him, making it impossible to breathe. Knowing that it was going to be a breathing game, Joseph quickly put his hands around Kovu's neck, choking him. Kovu, however, quickly wrung himself free, and as he got back up, he got his front paws on Joseph's neck again. That was when Nala, Tama, and Kiara entered the room.

"Ahem!" Kiara cleared her throat, looking at Kovu with eyes that could kill. "Why are you trying to break our human?"

"Here I was, bragging to Tama about how much of an angel my son in law is, and how proud I am of my head of the Guard, and here they both are, Clobbering each other to death!" Nala exclaimed, whilst Simba and Tojo laughed. "And as for you, honey!" Nala started angrily, breaking Simba out of his laughter. "Why did you allow this to happen?"

Simba stammered for a bit, looking for words. "I... I- I mean, Kovu... they-"

"Simba actually did the honors of announcing the start of the fight." Joseph interrupted.

"Oh, so this was an officiated thing, was it?" Nala asked, glaring at her husband.

"Look, ladies..." Joseph said slyly, picking himself off the floor.

"Where is your shirt?" Tama asked.

"That's beside the point. Ladies, it was just a little game between Kovu and I."

Kiara looked at Kovu. "So, what, you're going around picking fights like a cub, honey?"

"Well, I bet that a human couldn't stand alone in a fight without his weapons, and we decided to see for ourselves." Kovu said.

The three wives simply looked at each other, appalled at how childlike their husbands were.

"Well, it looks like we all married cubs. Let's go to sleep, ladies, it's late." Tama announced.

"That's not what you said on the first night I married you!" Tojo said mockingly.

"No, I said 'Was that really it?'" Tama replied, causing an uproar of laughter from the group as the ladies, tired from the day, went to rest.


"...How do you plead?"

Baba Nguvu snapped his head back up, daydreaming in the oppressive heat of the noon.

"Hm?" he grunted.

"To the murder of a Mother Rhinoceros. Guilty or Not Guilty?" Simba asked, with Kovu and Joseph flanking him on either side.

Baba Nguvu thought hard for a moment, considering the outcomes of either situation.

"Your highness..." Baba started, bowing to King Simba.

"Go on." The king returned.

"I would like to plead..." The jury standing nearby, made up of Antelopes, Cheetahs, Zebras, and various snakes all leaned their heads in to hear.

"Guilty, sire." He said, shocking the entire crowd. "I would like to plead guilty."


Author's Note: Leave questions in the comments! I'm going to try an answer a few every chapter update whenever I upload a new chapter as a sort of Q&A for the fans of this series!