[A/N: Update time! And I did it inside of a month... by 3 days... Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy.]

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Asuma wanted the dream to drag him under, just to get it over with. Being so conscious of every little thing was too painful. His jaw grew stiff. When he could hear Tanga's soft, deep breathing patterns behind him, he opened his eyes and sat up to inspect his paws.

Looking better, but I still can't run for miles.

He rested his chin upon his paws, closed his eyes, and soon, his dream crept in from the edges of his mind and took over, drawing him under into his own dark world. Thankfully, the repetitive nature of his dreams let him know where he was, and that his actions had substantially less severe consequences for him, unlike in the waking world...

Asuma was patient. His head was bowed, his ears cocked.

No rain, just burning, wretched heat. I hear those angry roars in the distance, but no cloud of dust yet.

He started to walk, slowly at first, until the black clouds came to blot out the white ball of oppressive heat overhead. He picked up his pace a bit. Soon after, he became soaked with rain, and the cold seeped into his flesh and bone. Strands of his mane fell over the bridge of his nose, and he shook his head, throwing rainwater in all directions to clear his vision.

When Asuma finally heard it, the voice that belonged to the old stranger he'd left to die, he took a deep breath and shivered violently.

"Help! Dammit, help! Please! Help me, you fool!"

There was no point in tracing the source of the voice. He was already imagining what there would be for him to find- the elderly stranger, trapped in the hole and half-decayed, dried up and thin. Probably red-eyed and caked in mud... He expected the stranger to also be missing his claws from one escape attempt after another- or maybe there would a spear sticking out of his side?

Asuma had Kovu and Simba to find. Already, he thought he could hear the labored breathing of someone dragging something heavy through the wet earth and brush. He needed to find them, and this time, he wouldn't just stand there arguing with his demon-of-a-father, cringing away from his corpse-of-a-grandfather.

"Hey!"

Asuma jumped.

"What're you doing here?" a shrill, breathless voice called from behind Asuma.

He didn't recognize the voice, and quickly turned his head. His eyes widened.

Gawking up at him was a small cub with a limp, dark-brown tuft on his head. The spatters of mud on his limbs suggested that he'd been running. Narrowed eyes upon Asuma, the cub said confusedly, "You shouldn't... Why are you here...?"

Asuma frowned and shifted his weight. He hadn't even noticed his muscles had tensed when his shoulders relaxed. He thought he'd never seen this cub before- dream territory, or otherwise. He studied the cub's face, hoping to make sense of who- or what- the cub represented.

Dreams mean things now don't they.

Suddenly, the cub was jumping at his forelegs, and it took Asuma a moment to realize that the cub was trying to either knock him over or push him backwards. "Ouch, hey!" he exclaimed and gritted his teeth when the cub scratched him. "What are you doing?" He expected the cub to transform into a beast fifty times his size. He took several steps back and leveled his glare at the cub.

The cub's expression was one of undisguised fear and remorse. He was still out of breath. "No time. You have to run, Asuma!"

Asuma's eyes narrowed in confusion. When the cub lunged again, he held out a paw. "Stop that. Who are you?"

The cub opened his mouth to answer, but a tremendous roar swallowed up his words. Cowering and slapping his paws over his head, the cub shook violently. The mud from his paws dripped down the sides of his head, down his squared chin. His green eyes were completely round.

What's happening? Asuma shook his head in disbelief. Who are you?

"Nonono... This isn't what I wanted!"

Dismayed, Asuma stared at the cub.

"This is too much..." the cub babbled on. "This is too much..."

Asuma looked around. Only rain and mud. Maybe this was a joke. Maybe his mind had finally, completely, splintered. Things like that happened; it was to be expected of someone like him. A horrid, bitter taste clung to the back of his throat, and his head ached. Bringing a paw up to rub his temple, he shut his eyes.

"Oh no..."

Asuma almost lost his balance when the strange cub lunged again. The youngster was shrieking now. Horrified by the cub's fit, Asuma tried to restrain him.

"Stop that!"

"No!" The cub howled and tried to bat Asuma away with his paws. He shook his small head. "Look! She's gonna get us! I don't want her to get you! Look!"

"Calm down!" Asuma managed to pin the cub on his back. The young cub was strong for his size, and Asuma struggled to hold him without the use of his claws.

Blinking hard against the rain pelting his face, the dark-furred cub, growling, clawed at Asuma with his thrashing hind legs. "Loook!" he howled.

Asuma did look.

He saw clearly, and he knew who the cub was. He knew! The cub's head turned to the side, to look at something that terrified him, and Asuma recognized the sharp profile of his father, minus the scars that accounted for everything he'd ever done. Asuma felt his claws slide out of his toes.

"Look ou-!"

It didn't occur to Asuma that something had slammed into his side, forcing him away from the cub, until he tried to plant his paws on the ground again. Sharp, stabbing pain lanced through his rib cage and shoulder. Asuma's ears rang after his head and the rest of his body had landed in the unforgiving wet earth. He tried to shake it off, blinded by the tendrils of his drenched mane, but he couldn't find the strength or recover his breath fast enough. With a weak grunt, the side of Asuma's head fell back into the mud.

"Pathetic, just as you were! There was no point in warning him."

"Shut up!"

The hoarse, female voice cut through the air before a peal of thunder rolled over the land. He heard a cackling laugh, and he swore he heard the cub- Kovu- yelp, but he wasn't sure.

"He doesn't stand a chance when he comes for you. You'll murder him like you did Sauda... and me..."

"No, I won't!"

That explained a lot, why Natin and Kovu had made them wait after the ambush distraction. Asuma lifted his head and saw the thin form of a lioness as she circled him. The bones of her pelvis, spine, and ribs stuck out harshly, like sharp rocks on flat land. As his eyes began to refocus, he saw that there was blood on her neck and chest. Soon, he saw her shredded throat, which exposed more than he was willing to describe. Asuma's light-headedness only increased.

Wake up! Wake up!

"Oh, you see what your father did to me? Well, well, it's only a preview." The red-eyed lioness smirked. "If he can sink his teeth into his dear mother, then he'll do it to you, too, Asuma."

"No..." Asuma murmured in dumbfounded shock. "Zira...?" The lioness had a stripe on her forehead, a notch in one ear. Every smile flashed a good deal of her teeth. Her features were sharp, reminding him of a sleeker, dangerous version of Vitani.

Why didn't he just do that to me? Instead he just played mind games!

"Please!" Kovu's shrill voice was laden in misery. "No more! Stop! When I asked the Council to help me with his nightmares-"

Suddenly, Zira growled and bounded away from Asuma's side. If Asuma had been quicker, he would've seen Zira strike the cub. All he saw was Kovu's small body soaring through the air. He landed in the mud with a muffled squeak, his chin and chest digging into the loose earth. He was still for a long, tense moment before he started to push himself to his paws, coughing and spitting the mud from his small mouth.

"What nobody counted on, my son, was how your nightmares would play into things."

Asuma blinked, rolling to his paws. Huh? Council...? Did Grandfather talk about them once?

Kovu climbed to his small paws, too, and took on a firm stance, though he looked weak. His eyes closed.

"Like I said," Zira scoffed. "Pathetic." The lioness was circling them both now. "Neither of you have had the courage to kill the other."

Kovu shook his head, face pinched in fear. "None of this is real..."

Asuma blinked the rain from his eyes. He focused on the cub. Of course none of this was real! But somehow... this cub before him was actually his father, and somehow- obviously only the Great Kings knew how!- they were sharing this dream. Kovu and Zira were intruders, as far as he was concerned. He put Zira out of his mind as she continued to circle, slowly making the ring tighter. Once or twice Asuma had to take a step closer towards the shivering cub so that she wouldn't be tempted to brush up against him. The thought alone made him curl his lip.

When the cub opened his eyes again, son and father's gazes locked.

"Coward," Asuma hissed. "Of course this isn't real."

Kovu's mouth dropped open. It looked like he was trying to say something.

"Are you still alive?" Asuma asked. There was something tangible about the creature before him that he hadn't felt before, something that the projection of Zira lacked.

Kovu nodded, almost reluctantly. "I think so."

Asuma felt his face twitch in irritation.

"Son, I-"

"Did I frighten you," Asuma interrupted, "when I said I thought it was my duty to hunt down Simba's killer? I must have. You didn't want Tswane or Rafiki to know about my dreams. What was it like?"

"He's waiting for his answer..." Zira remarked in a sing-song voice.

Kovu glanced up at her for a moment before his sad eyes focused on Asuma once more. "Asuma I'm sorry I hurt you I was confused! Yes yes I was scared!" he blurted, his small voice cracking. "I wanna help you!"

Zira let out a low chuckle when she slid past. "Help you to the grave..." she whispered.

"No!" Kovu's snarl was guttural, and he bared his small teeth at Zira. "Go away!" The fur along his spine stood on end. His laughable bravado was short-lived however when Zira walked by and tipped him over with one deft stroke of her filthy paw. He cowered in the mud.

Watching, Asuma's chest started to heave in dark anger. Zira didn't concern him at all when he already knew she was untrustworthy. What angered him was that his father was in his own, private dream, desecrating it! What made him furious was that his ancestors had placed Kovu here! Why did the Council care? Why help Kovu? Why make Kovu a cub? To protect him? But, whether that was true, it did not matter. What mattered was that Kovu was before him, scared out of his wits by a shade, entirely useless. Zira had circled ten more times before something occurred to Asuma, as he watched Kovu cringe every time she walked by him.

"When you look at me, is what I'm looking at now what you see?" Asuma walked forward until Kovu was at his paws. "I am! I see it now."

Kovu slowly looked up at him, pouting. "What?" There were harsh lines on his muddy face, and his ears were low. "No," he croaked, "that's not-."

He gritted his teeth. "I hate you. For what you did... Everything that you've done! Why'd you throw it all away?" He flexed his paws, and this did not escape Kovu's notice. "I think that's what bothers me the most." He glimpsed Zira's form out of the corner of his eye as she slunk past. "You pretend to be someone else, didn't you... but nobody, especially you, can completely cover up who they really are. A coward. A trickster. Liar. Murderer."

I would know.

Kovu gaped at him.

Asuma turned his head and followed Zira with his eyes, his throat clenching when she chuckled.

Kovu's voice shook. "A-Asuma?"

Asuma lifted his chin, listening, but not taking his attention off Zira. He resisted the urge to flick the end of his tail.

"The Council... They talked about... a... a test."

"Yes?"

"D-d'you know... what I'm talking about?"

The old lion... The hole...

Asuma stood perfectly still. Only his eyes followed Zira now. "If there was one, I failed it," he answered calmly.

There was a squeak of fear, but Kovu moved on. "An-and I need to warn you! The lionesses are coming after you! You and Tanga have to run!"

Asuma's eyes widened. "What!" he growled. If the lionesses caught them, he doubted they had little chance of surviving on their own. "Why are they chasing us and not you?"

Kovu shrank back. "I'm sorry! But they know how much you two mean to me, and-"

Asuma raised his paw.

"Asuma, wait!" Kovu ducked and smothered his voice with the paws held over his shaking head. "No violence, please!"

Asuma scoffed. "Right... I should be passive-aggressive like you?"

Kovu's eyes peeked out of his paws. "I'm sorry, Son. I'm so sorry..."

Through his teeth, Asuma spat, "Your lies... Your words are meaningless."

Kovu closed his eyes and shivered. He tucked his tail closer to his body.

Zira still circled, waiting for an opening. Now that Asuma was standing over Kovu, he thought she was more anxious. She snarled and switched directions occasionally. Her eyes were sharp, and full of nothing by seething hatred. Unsettled, Asuma looked back down at Kovu. "If you want to make a difference, show me how I'm going to protect Tanga from the lionesses."

"You can't! You can only run." Kovu's eyes were wide again as he sat up.

"Run to where? We're lost!" Asuma paused to snarl at Zira when she came too close. "We're following the river- how long do we follow the river before we get to the Pride Lands?"

Kovu's eyes dulled. "It's shorter if you head north, away from the river. You'll come to an oasis, the same one where Simba grew up."

Asuma nodded. "I'll tell Tanga to run there. The trees will protect her if she can make it."

"No!" Kovu insisted. "You have to run, too!" A troubled look then crossed his face.

Asuma felt his shoulders stiffen. "My paws are wounded. I'll slow her down. I'm not about to run away until I succumb to exhaustion- it will be worth giving Tanga a chance at survival."

"There's too many of them!"

Asuma curled his lip. He felt sick. "I know. Tanga might only need the amount of time they'll spend with me to get away. It's all I can do."

"But the..." Kovu hesitated, "But the Council- they told me I'm responsible for making sure you're the next king!"

With a snarl, Asuma pushed his nose into the cub's. "Why? Nobody deserves me as their king," he growled.

"They didn't say why..." Kovu's face was pitiful, and his eyes widened. "Let them take you prisoner. Please! I'm going to the Pride Lands to get help! If you stay alive long enough, I can get you help! I can get you home!"

Asuma glanced up at Zira as she passed behind Kovu. It angered him that Kovu was returning to the Pride Lands, just as he'd feared. They'd never believe him, and he figured that Chaka would kill him on the spot, just like the lionesses were going to do to him. It had been obvious to Asuma from the first mention of the lionesses that he couldn't rely on others to get him out of his situation, and he was tired of Kovu's stalling.

"Just show me how to defend Tanga," he said coldly, quietly. "That's all you can do for me."

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"When will you be back?"

Kiara sat beside her brother outside of the quiet den at Pride Rock. They whispered back and forth. The night air was calm, the scent of grass strong. Twisting her ears, the young queen tried to detect any trace of birdsong or the cry of a hooved beast.

Nothing... it means nothing. They're just resting their voices...

Regardless, there was a feeling of foreboding in the back of her mind that she shrugged off.

"In a couple of days." She glanced away. The sun had been down for a couple of hours. She was allowing Kenyi, who had all but passed out after their dinner, to rest before they departed. "You'll be okay, Chaka."

Chaka sighed heavily. "Hope you're right."

"Tswane will keep helping you. And Tojo, too."

He rolled his eyes and sighed heavily. "I'll talk less. And... pace less."

Kiara smiled. "And... listen more?"

He wouldn't smile back, and only looked more worried. Long lines drew down the corners of his mouth. His good eye listlessly scanned the night-enshrouded Pride Lands.

There was a question that Kiara had wanted to ask for a while. Something she'd sensed about him. "Do you feel at home here? You don't- It doesn't seem like you really..."

"Fit in?" His expression was flat. "No. But I'm trying hard to make the best of things, given my past. Very hard."

Kiara lowered her ears.

"There was a saying told to the young warriors-in-training- in the pride that raised me," Chaka went on. "'We're made stronger by our hardships'. Sounds kinda cruel... but it's true."

Kiara's paw went over her brother's paw. "You're very strong, Chaka. You're just feeling lost. This family is full of lions who've been lost at one time or another... but," she added, "if it comes down to it... you're not obligated to stay."

"Well, I want to..." Chaka looked down at her paw, his gaze curious for a moment before his ears lowered. He whispered, "We made so many mistakes with your son. We're the reason he left."

Kiara closed her eyes, assuring herself that he wasn't antagonizing her. Blaming her. He'd said 'we', not 'you'. Tears prickled behind her eyelids.

"They'll both be changed when they get back." More quietly, he added, "Natin, too, not that I trust that liar as far as I could throw him."

"Yes, but Tanga and Asuma are still my cubs, and we have no idea what Natin's been through," she whispered. "I'll lead them back. I'll teach them, and I won't hide anything anymore." She stared straight ahead. "I'll lead everyone back."

Someone cleared his throat behind them, and Chaka pulled his paw out from under hers. Kiara turned, and Kenyi was standing near the mouth of the cave with Tojo's, half-awake blue bird on his shoulder.

"We're borrowing Bron from my father." The young lion yawned.

Kiara smiled. We've been without Zazu, or even a proper majordomo, for so long that I guess we forgot how much of an asset it is to have a bird around. She decided that filling that position should rank high on her list of things to do when she returned. If we'd had a bird, I could have used him or her to find my family and keep an eye out for those lionesses Kovu's associated himself with...

"Kiara, are we ready to leave?"

"Er... Kenyi," Kiara began quietly, "could I have a little more time with my brother?"

With a nod, the prince headed down the side of Pride Rock to wait.

"Well, good luck, Sister. Bring Timon and Pumbaa home safe."

"Thanks, and I hope they'll be helpful, like Tojo thinks." Kiara grinned at Chaka. "You'll be okay," she asserted. "You only have to be strong enough to become the lion you wish to be." Impulsively, she nuzzled his mane. "Take care."

Chaka chuckled and nuzzled the top of her head. "I will. I'll do my best."

~ ~ * * * ( ) * * * ~ ~

Kovu's limbs shot out straight. His body was tumbling back to consciousness, and he had to catch himself to land safely. His muscles felt like they'd been cramping the entire time he'd been asleep. His chest hurt, and there was a terrible taste in his mouth. His eyes burned, throat tight.

"Calm down."

He thrashed when a paw grazed his back. It had shocked him. He almost slashed Natin's foreleg.

Eyes wide, Natin back-stepped quickly and snarled. "Hey! Calm it down!"

Kovu's hot body gave a shudder and he tried to stop panting. He rolled onto his back, swallowing thickly, trying not to gag. It was just after dark, and they were resting for Natin's sake under a tree.

"Have yourself some happy dreams?" Natin came closer and stood over him. "I've never seen so much thrashing and twitching, and you wouldn't wake up," he explained. "You muttered Asuma's name, and something about the Council. I thought you were dreaming of warning him about Sauda's-"

"I was warning him." Kovu's voice was hoarse. "It was Asuma!"

Natin frowned harshly. "What're you talking about?"

"I asked the Council to do something about his dreams- they said they couldn't because it complicates freewill- but I guess they found a compromise." He shivered.

The only benefit of that compromise was that I was able to warn them.

"That's crazy."

Kovu shook his head adamantly. "No! They're following the river like you told them, but Asuma says they aren't getting anywhere. They didn't know about the lionesses. I came to Asuma as a cub, probably to protect me, and Zira was there, and..."

"That is crazy, Kovu, you didn't warn them." Natin's expression flitted between distress, frustration, and anger.

"Asuma made me tell him how to defend Tanga..." Kovu tried not to blink; every time he closed his eyes, visions of Asuma burying his teeth into Zira's flesh danced in his vision. He had been proud of his son, but was more fearful of him than before. He must have known how terrified I was to see Zira there. He wondered if Zira had been correct when she'd hinted that part of his dreams had leaked over into Asuma's. I hope what I taught him will transfer to reality. Everything is possible in dreams, but Asuma hasn't trained his body like I have.

"We'll be at Pride Rock by mid-morning. We'd be there right at dawn if you hadn't made me rest and eat."

There was a small pile of bones nearby. You were ready to fall over.

Natin sat down. He sighed. "What am I gonna do with you?"

Kovu frowned. "I'm not lying, and I'm not crazy. Asuma's going to tell Tanga to run, and he's going to face the lionesses."

Natin slowly shook his head. "Trying to outrun those lionesses is useless. I told you the Council didn't know what they were talking about with him."

Kovu ground his teeth. Natin's negative commentary was tiresome- always putting his son down. He'd already written Asuma off. It was so cruel! The Council better know what they're talking about- otherwise... why'd they send me to Asuma? He thought that Asuma himself realized this more than anybody else, and he wondered if his calculating son was betting on that particular miracle.

"Might as well tell Kiara that they're dead."

"Asuma is going to tell Tanga to run to the jungle oasis."

"Yes, and with half the lionesses chasing her."

"We have to help them now! Asuma can't do it all by himself."

"No."

"They won't expect us-"

Natin's whole body shuddered in anger. "As much as I'd like to save my cousins," he seethed, his voice shuddering, "I can't believe that your dream meant anything."

Kovu stood up and stomped his paw firmly. "But it did!"

"Stop acting crazy!"

"It! Did!"

Natin showed his teeth, and his voice cracked. "I know how powerful Asuma's dreams are, and c'mon- the Council brought me back to life! I didn't say I don't want to believe you. I just realistically can't. They could be dead already! They could sneak up, while they were sleeping- Probably worse...!" He scowled, his eyes closing. "...My mother..."

Kovu opened his mouth, but stopped himself and blinked. Natin's stubbornness wasn't as heartless as he'd thought. He'd already been through this, and he'd stupidly, irresponsibly forgotten.

"Natin... I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking. Maybe... it only was just a dream."

"Yeah... well..." his nephew turned his face away for a moment and opened his eyes again.

"Like you said, Natin..." Kovu said with a sigh, "we've got to trust that the Council is taking care of Asuma and Tanga."

"Yes..." Natin glanced at him furtively. "Time isn't on our side, is it?"

Kovu's shoulders sagged. "No."

Natin stood up. "Nothing we haven't dealt with before." He stretched his forelegs a bit. "You're not gonna run off behind my back, are ya?" His tone was almost joking, but the underlying threat in his voice reminded Kovu of his promise to follow Natin's orders.

"No... I won't go back on our deal," Kovu replied, though he could hear the sullen disappointment in his voice. "I just hope Asuma and Tanga will be alright."

Natin's mouth was a straight line, but the look in his observing, blue eyes showed that he agreed. He turned and led the way.

Kovu followed, his head down. Soon they were both running, but keeping a steady pace. Every leap forward was bringing them closer to an end.

~ ~ * * * ( ) * * * ~ ~

Natin hadn't known any better when he'd accused Asuma of neglecting Tanga. Natin had seen her suffer through her thorn-inflicted paw wound and her moral dilemma, and he had resented Asuma for putting her down and refusing to turn away from their mission to kill Kovu. But Asuma thought of his sister's well-being constantly. She genuinely cared, he thought, but at the same time, she was the last one he could talk to about his problems. It wasn't because he'd been forbidden by his mother and Chaka to talk- oh, no- Tanga just wasn't wounded at all like him. He'd often resented that everyone had allowed her to live in a fantasy, but at least in her fantasy she was happy.

Because of her belief that forgiveness alone could fix everything, he saw the importance that his sister- the daughter of Kovu, the granddaughter of Zira, and the great-niece of Scar- be spared after her "reality" had come crashing down. Asuma thought she'd cease believing that there was a simple way for others to redeem themselves after he let her in... completely.

Maybe she's meant to share my burden because she followed us out into the wilderness-?

No... he answered his own question quickly.

If anything good came out of the huge mess Kovu had started, it would be Tanga's life. She was the leader the Pride Lands needed, and the higher powers who believed otherwise were wrong.

Asuma's eyes fluttered open and he forced himself to wake up as quickly as possible. He'd slept heavily, and his body ached. He was on his paws.

"Tanga, you need to..."

He turned his head. Tanga was missing.

Perfect!

He wanted to call her name, but his throat clenched.

Too dangerous.

Like before, he pawed where she'd been resting. The ground was cold. He growled. "Perfect..." he hissed. As he tried to calm down, he hoped the lionesses weren't already watching him. They'd laugh at his obvious panic. And he feared they'd already drug her off into the night.

Heart thundering, he turned his ear when he heard the soft rustle of grass. Jerking his head in that direction, he was relieved to see Tanga. She had another large hare in her jaws.

She dropped the hare. Her eyebrow arched slightly when he sighed through his nose. "I brought dinner."

He didn't know what he was expecting, maybe for her to see the terror and relief in his eyes, but she merely stood there staring back tiredly. He walked over to her. "Tanga, the lionesses are following us."

"W-w-w-what?" Her eyes widened. "H-how do you know that?"

Asuma fleetingly considered telling her that his information had come directly from Kovu and the Council, but that would be a mistake. She probably thought he was miserably unstable, and she did not believe that dead, ancient spirits were watching over them. He had to make this believable. "While you were away," he explained, "I saw someone. I think it was a scout because she ran away when she saw me looking, before I could investigate."

Tanga shivered and whispered, "What do they want with us?"

A lioness leaps at Tanga's back, jerking her down to the ground so fast that Tanga's head and neck whip backward. There's a soft cloud of dust that rises skyward, as if her soul is already trying to escape. Fangs bared, Tanga swats at the face of the lioness so hard that fur flies, biting into the next one who gets close enough, but soon she's swarmed by five more, then by so many that she's covered by their weaponized, ugly bodies. She cries for mercy and curses them, but it's too-

Asuma curled his lip and muttered, "They won't kill you."

Her eyes glazed over at the word 'kill'. "They'd do that because we ran away?"

He left out the part about them seeking revenge for Sauda. "Kovu betrayed them and they're the ones responsible for killing Vitani."

"Natin told me Kovu did-"

"He's responsible either way, but the point is that they brought her down. Aunt Vitani!"

Her voice was tight. "They overwhelmed her..."

Blood coats the ground. Tanga tries to get away, her pretty face mangled, but she only makes it a few lengths before she disappears beneath scruffy fur, flashing fangs, and piercing claws...

Bile rose up into his throat. He'd expected her to start making plans to stand and fight, or to try outrunning the heathen lionesses together. "Tanga, I have a plan-"

A growl rumbled from Tanga's throat as she smacked away the dead hare. It rolled lamely a couple of times, its mouth lolled open. She sat down heavily and let out a frighteningly choked sob. "What's the point!"

"Shhh!" he hissed. He took a leaping step towards her. "I want you to run away," he started to explain before she could start rambling, "and I'll distract them."

She narrowed her eyes and squinted at him in the dark. "Me, run away? Distraction?" Her head tilted to the side, and there was a wrinkle on the bridge of her nose.

He nodded uneasily. She was acting so strangely. "We both stay, both of us die- but both of us don't have to die. I want you to live. I'll slow you down. I can't run. Every second they spend with me will give you another second to get away. You're wasting time now."

"What's the point of you dying for me?"

"So you can live, Tang-"

"No! Our lives are a waste-"

"No arguing." Asuma's chest hurt. She was making less sense than she was earlier, when she was talking about sharing blood with murderers. He lowered the volume of his voice. "Our lives do have worth, but your life's worth more than mine." He'd promised himself that he wouldn't confess to her- how many lines had he redrawn in the sand, calculating how much more information he gave her? Sadly, he thought her spirit was already deteriorating like his had years before. There wasn't much left for him to hide from her. "You've asked for me to let you in, so here it is: I'm glad the pride lied to you. You suffered less for it. I have nightmares where I want to kill Kovu, but I cannot bring myself to do so. I used Natin in hopes of killing him. I did not want to return home. I even left an old lion to die in a hole when he begged for help because I wasn't strong enough to help him and I wanted to know what it was like to hold someone's life in my paws... and do nothing. I was willing to do all that if it meant... ultimately... you'd be alright. Because if Kovu leaves this land you'll be okay. Everything has been between just him and me and Simba."

Tanga gasped.

Keeping his voice as low as he could, he snapped, "Do me a favor, Tanga, and survive! That's all I've ever wanted, you know that! For you to be what I can't be! For you to be blissful in ignorance!"

"No!

"Keep it down, Tanga!" He jumped at her and tried to clamp a paw over her muzzle. She resisted and nipped his paw, her eyes wild and terrified. She wrestled away from him with a hiss. They both jumped to their paws.

This time she kept her voice low. Her ears were flush against her skull. "I'm sick of being manipulated!" Her face was devoid of kindness and full of disgust.

His eyes stung now, and not all of it was from her bite. He knew she would make this difficult, so why did he feel surprised that she was acting this way? She was no longer the naïve princess who had run away from home on a whim. "I know, but you have to go. You have to run north." After a moment, he added, "The lioness headed south, I think. Maybe someone can help you."

"You left someone to die in a hole?" she asked, ignoring him. "You're lying. You're messed up, but you'd never do that. You're lying. You'd ask for my help."

"No, I am not lying." It was a desperate struggle to keep the tears at bay. He tried to cover the tremor in his voice with a cold snarl. "That's what I was doing, last night, while you went hunting."

She took an uncertain step away. "You'd never kill."

He stared back at her. "Fine," he said, taking a step towards her, "I lied. There's no old lion in a stinking, dark, cold hole."

I wish I were lying!

She tried to hold her ground, frustrating him further. "You're trying to scare me off? The lionesses are a lie, too, aren't they? I wasn't gone that long."

"Yes." He lowered his head and forced his face to steady. "Get out of here, already."

Her expression did not change. "When you finally let me in, it's to chase me off."

No! Just run away already!

"Asuma, I don't understand you."

What he really wanted to do was grovel at her paws, begging her to-"

"I'll leave, but by my freewill. I was stupid to stick around for you, and I tried my best to help, but clearly you're beyond help." She looked away and glanced up, at the position of the moon, he assumed, and turned away as she said, "Waste your life like Natin, I don't care. It's your life, not mine. You'll never change."

She's not moving fast enough!

"Fine!" he shouted, cringing. "You are stupid! I like who I am!" He watched as she started to pick up the pace. His voice was shrill. "I'm glad Natin's dead! He was a coward!" His heart was pounding when she started running as fast as she could to get away from him. His knees were weak. "I hate you!" he bellowed finally.

Did I really imagine that this would be easy?

He rubbed his face with his foreleg when he no longer wished to hold back his tears.

She'll be safe.

He saw Tanga's dead hare. At first, it smiled ghoulishly at him, its dark, pit-like eye sockets squinting at him in mirth. He blinked and shook his head to clear his eyes, and it returned to its same pathetic condition. He grimaced. He had an idea, especially with the taunts he'd directed at Tanga still ringing in the air.

Picking up the hare, he let the sticky blood smear the front of his mane and forelegs. Blood speckled the ground as he took it to the river where he dropped it. After a moment, he ripped its stomach open, exposing the runny, red entrails that glistened in the moonlight.

Don't gag... don't gag!

He stuck his face into the poor creature's lukewarm blood, before smearing his paws and the ground with it. Carefully, he picked up the small body and tossed it in. It bobbed sadly in the dark water before it disappeared, carried away by the current.

Hopefully those stupid lionesses will believe me even for a second when I say I killed Tanga...

He didn't know why it had even struck him that the lionesses wouldn't strike immediately, but he had to try distracting them. Sighing heavily, Asuma tried to ignore the coppery scent of his face as he steeled himself. He walked back to the tree where they'd rested. He swiveled his ears and flinched at how quiet and still the early night was. At the base of the tree, he stood here, shifting from one paw to the other. There was nobody around yet. He looked up.

Should I climb the tree? Jump down when they come? Will they know where to look?

He shook his head. He shouldn't hide. And what would he do once he was down on the ground? They were going to kill him anyway.

I can't hide.

Instead, Asuma sat down. His body was shaking, which wouldn't do. He laid down, which was better. The lionesses were coming for him, because he was the son of someone who'd killed one of their own. For a moment, he wondered if Kovu, who claimed to care for him so much, would hunt down the lionesses to avenge him.

Such a great reason to die... even if they do kill him.

He kept his focus on the river. Kovu had said that they were following their trail. He hoped they weren't too far behind, or hadn't decided to stop for the night.

Shit...

He had to be strong. He couldn't wuss out. This wasn't a mistake. Tanga needed more time. She had to live.

He blinked, and suddenly the swaggering shapes a dozen or so lionesses came into focus. Bits of moonlight caught in their eyes. They were following the river, but when he thought they saw him, they left the river and headed towards him. Half of them started to jog, while the others kept up a lazy gait. They growled and chirped excitedly.

Asuma lifted his head high and crossed one paw over the other. Swallowing hard in preparation, he raised a paw and started to clean his face as nonchalantly as possible, even though his muscles were stiff and full of too much energy. The effect was immediate, to his surprise, and the lionesses did not swarm him. While they formed a ring around him that was full of curious whispers and looks, one of them giving a nervous laugh, he glanced up at the sky.

You want me as some wonderful king of Pride Rock, hmmm? Well, then let's see if I can't survive this.

[What are the ancestors up to? Why would Natin disregard Kovu's dream, while Asuma accepted it so easily? Will Chaka overcome his anger? What are the lionesses going to do with Asuma? Will Tanga be safe any time soon? Find out next time...

So, the next chapter still has a lot of work that needs to be done to it yet, so just a little warning about that. I have the ideas, just not the text. Also, I have a poll on my profile for some "story research", asking about your character preferences for this story. I would be very appreciative if you guys could go and answer that poll for me. :3]