Kyrie (c) Me

Kingdom Hearts characters/some of the story (c) Square Enix

Kingdom Hearts

Bonded Soul

Chapter 36

"Simba!" Sora cried as he, Donald, and Goofy ran to the lion. But the lion crouched defensively, letting out a growl that made Sora stop in his tracks. He looked at the lion hesitantly, not quite sure why Simba was growling at them in the first place.

"I-it's me…Sora! Donald and Goofy are here, too." he stammered. Kyrie stayed as far back as she could, she didn't know a thing about this lion. The lion eyed the three suspiciously for a few moments, before his eyes widened in realization.

"Sora! Donald! Goofy!" he cried in surprise. He quickly pounced on the lion cub, forcing Sora on his back as the bigger lion nuzzled his stomach. Sora weakly pushed his paws against his face, making Simba look at him.

"What happened to you?" Simba asked. Sora looked away for a moment.

"Uh…well-" before he could speak, Kyrie walked over, nudging him and Simba with her nose. Simba looked at the young white leopard in front of him, eyebrow raised.

"Huh? Who's this?" He asked. Sora looked at her and chuckled sheepishly.

"Oh, this is Kyrie. She's been traveling with us for a while, so she's new. Oh, and she can't talk, so that's her way of introducing herself." Sora explained. Simba nodded as he nudged the black-spotted cub with his nose, making her purr as she nudged him back.

"Nice to meet you-"

"Help! Simba, Heeeelp!"

"She's gonna eat us!"

The group stopped and looked towards the jungle, Simba back on his feet in moments.

"Timon? Pumba? Something must have happened in the jungle! I have to go help my friends!" he cried. With that, he ran into the jungle, leaving the others behind. Sora took one look at the others, and they followed after him. When they got into the jungle, they spotted Simba and Nala fighting, while a Meercat and Warthog were a few feet away, cheering Simba on.

"Wow… that's one intense catfight. No pun intended." Kyrie thought as she watched, worried. The two lions could seriously hurt each other if no one stopped them. But it was over in moments, as Nala pinned Simba to the ground, snarling at him. He took one good look of her, and his eyes widened.

"Nala?" he asked. Nala backed off immediately, surprise on her face as she watched him get back on his feet.

"It's me! Simba." He explained. She looked at him closely. "Simba?" she asked. He nodded, making her smile in amazement.

"Simba!" she cried at the two butted heads, circling each other and batting their paws playfully. "You are alive!"

"Hey! What's goin' on here?" the meercat cried. Kyrie looked at the creature before walking up behind him, playfully battling his tail with her paw. He jumped and turned, spotting her, Sora, Donald, and Goofy, before he and his warthog companion screamed. They quickly ran over to Simba, who chuckled and shook his head at his companions.

"Don't worry. They're all friends of mine." He explained to them. The meercat looked at the group suspiciously, his eyes narrowed.

"So that means… nobody's planning to eat anybody else for lunch, right?" he asked. They shook their heads, but they weren't convinced.

"Are you sure they don't wanna eat me like I'm some kinda pig?" the warthog asked, trembling.

"We won't… but you are a pig, right?" Sora asked. The warthog quickly turned, his nostrils flared. "Call me Mr. Pig!"

At this, everyone laughed. All but Kyrie, who was clueless on why the joke was so funny. Did he want to be called Mr. Pig?

"Their jokes are so weird…" she decided with a shake of her head. The laughing died down and Simba lowered his head closer to the meercat's.

"Could you guys excuse us for a few minutes?" he asked. The meercat deadpanned and sighed.

"Why am I not surprised?" and with that, the two walked off. Then the meercat and warthog introduced themselves as Timon and Pumba. Sora introduced himself and the rest of the group right back, but Kyrie was lost in her own thoughts. Suddenly though, a beautiful blue butterfly caught her attention, making her tail stop as her eyes followed its movements. She felt a sudden urge to chase the butterfly and she crouched, ready to pounce. She didn't know what had come over her, but right now she was hunting that butterfly as her prey.

"1...2...3...now!" she thought as she pounced, just missing the butterfly by inches. She growled silently, and began chasing after it, leaving Sora and the others behind.

-Later-

"Dammit…why was I hunting that butterfly? Now I'm lost!" she thought as she looked around. She was deeper in the jungle now, and she had no idea where she was. She had been chasing the butterfly until dusk, when she realized what time it was. Deciding to head back, she found herself lost in the unfamiliar surroundings and had been wandering around since then.

"Stupid cat instincts…always getting me into trouble. And what's worse is that I never caught that butterfly…" she continued, padding through the underbrush. Suddenly, a sound stopped her. Hackles raised, she turned slowly and sighed.

"You are lost, are you not?" the old baboon asked as he walked up from behind her. She nodded, slightly freaked out by the appearance of the monkey. He nodded, and walked forward until he was right beside her.

"Come, I'll show you the way." he spoke. She nodded as they began walking, the baboon seeming to know the way despite not being in the jungle before. They were quiet as they walked, and soon the surroundings became familiar.

"You are lost, in more ways than one. You must look for your light and follow it, for it will lead you to your destiny. Your place in the circle of life." the baboon explained as they walked. Kyrie looked at him, confusion clear in her features.

"What's he talking about? My light?" she thought.

"Your light will be the person who you cherish more than anything else. That special someone is your light." he continued. She nodded, still not understanding what he meant. But soon, she knew where he was taking her.

"He's good." Kyrie thought as she found herself at the Oasis, Simba standing with Sora, Donald, Goofy, Timon, and Pumba. She turned to thank him, but he was gone. "Wait, where did he go? He was here just a second ago!" she thought, looking around frantically.

"I'm going back to face my past. I could use your help." She heard Simba explain to them.

"He really is a king…" she heard Timon say in awe. Sora looked over and spotted her.

"Kyrie! Where've you been, we were worried sick about you!" he cried as he ran over, tackling her. She gave him a sheepish smile as he patted his back with her paw. After all was said and done, the group began to make their way back to the Pride lands.

-Later, the Savannah-

"Wait a minute. We're gonna fight your uncle for this?"

"Yes, Timon. This is my home." Simba answered as they looked over the barren landscape. They had caught up with Nala and joined her as they made their way back, taking out heartless as they did so.

"Well, if that's your answer, we're with you 'til the end." Timon spoke. The rest of the gang nodded, they weren't going to allow Simba to do this on his own.

"Thanks." and with that, he took off to Pride Rock. Sora and Kyrie were right behind them, looking at each other grimly.

"Get ready for a fight, Kyrie." he warned her. She nodded, looking ahead as they followed the future king.

"Aren't we always?" she thought, a smirk on her face. When they got to Pride Rock, the expression on Scar's face was priceless.

"You- you can't be- you're supposed to be dead!" he stammered.

"Simba's the rightful king." Nala declared, her head held high as the other lionesses gathered.

"The choice is yours, Scar. Either step down or fight." Simba ordered. Scar backed up as Simba approached him, getting backed into a corner as he did so.

"Must this all end in violence? I'd hate to be responsible for the death of a family member, Simba…" he spoke, narrowing his eyes accusingly at Simba. Kyrie caught this and looked at the lion in confusion, what did he mean? Did Simba kill someone?

"I've put the past behind me." Simba growled. But Scar simply smirked, looking at Nala and the other lionesses.

"But what about your faithful subjects? Have they?" Scar asked. Nala and the other lionesses looked to Simba.

"Simba, what's he talking about?" she asked, confused. He looked down in regret as Scar began to circle him, making Kyrie growl as she took a step forward.

"Go on. Tell them who's responsible for Mufasa's death!" Scar urged. Simba sighed sadly.

"I am." He answered. The others straightened in surprise, except for Kyrie who knew something was up. She knew Simba wouldn't kill someone purposely. Something was amiss.

"But what?" she thought. Scar began to back Simba up the ledge of Pride Rock.

"He admits it! Murderer! If it weren't for you, Mufasa would still be alive. Do you deny it?"

"No! But it was an accident!"

"You're in trouble again. But this time, Daddy isn't here to save you. And now everyone knows why!" Simba slipped, and found himself holding on for dear life. Scar smirked, leaning in and whispering something into the lion's ear, causing Simba's eyes to widen before he roared, pulling himself up and tackling the older lion. He pinned the older lion, holding his paw against his throat as he growled at him.

"Murderer! Tell them the truth!" he roared. Scar gasped for breath before glaring at the younger male.

"Alright, alright! I did it." he whispered. Simba growled.

"So they can hear you."

"I…killed…Mufasa!" Scar growled in hate. Instantly, the hyenas lunged and tackled Simba, throwing him off of Scar. The lion retreated, smirking back at Simba's fallen form as the hyenas attacked him.

"Simba!" Sora cried as he, Nala, the lionesses, and Kyrie rushed in, biting and clawing at the hyenas until they were all off of him. The old baboon joined in as well, using kung-fu to take out a good portion of the hyenas. Simba watched with wide eyes as they fought, before Sora turned to him.

"You go get Scar, we'll handle these guys."

Alright, one more chapter to go and we'll be halfway through the story. Whoo!

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