Shujaa yawned and stretched out in the sun. The warm rays ran through her fur. She had never felt so at peace before. A few months had passed since she had met Nguvu. Now, he was one of the best friends she had ever had.

"Pridelands sure are peaceful, Uh?" Nguvu said. He was stretched out on the end of Priderock with her. His golden eyes glowing in time with the sun. Shujaa purred.

"Yeah." She agreed. "But Vitani's kinda worried. She says Kucha has been real quiet lately. Her and the guard are worried he's planning something big."

Nguvu stretched each of his claws in turn.

"Well," he said. "I wouldn't worry if I was you. Your aunt's got that roar thingy. I'm sure she can take anything they throw at 'er."

Shujaa shrugged. She glanced out over the Pridelands. Koda and Simba had gone for a walk, and Kovu had gone to talk with the crocodiles about where they would be sleeping come dry season. She was left alone on Priderock. Luckily, Nguvu had decided to come and visit.

"Someday-." She began.

"Yeah, yeah." Nguvu interrupted. "You've told me a million times. One day you'll be leader of the guard and have the roar. Whatever."

Shujaa frowned at him.

"Hey!" She said. "You thought it was super cool when I first told you about the guard."

"Sure," said Nguvu. "Everything's super cool when ya first hear it. It gets old fast if someone keeps bragging about it over and over again."

Shujaa sniffed and licked her neck fur clean.

"Do you wanna be part of the Lion Guard." She asked suddenly. Nguvu looked up at her in surprise.

"Me?" He asked. "I can't though… can I? I thought that was a Pridelander thing."

Shujaa batted one of his ears.

"You are a Pridelander now silly," she said. "And you're the strongest lion in the pride!"

Nguvu snorted and reached out a paw. He flipped Shujaa's legs effortlessly out from under her.

"I'm the strongest animal in all the land!" He said. Shujaa chuckled, climbing back to her paws.

"Then you have to be on the Lion Guard!" She insisted. Nguvu shrugged and lay his head back down on his paws.

"I'll think about it," he said. "It's not like you're going to lead anyone anytime soon."

"Shujaa, Nguvu!" Koda exclaimed. He was sitting on a hilltop with Simba as the two other cubs came bounding over. Shujaa had gotten bored of sunbathing. "Did you see the water level of all the lakes lately?" said Koda

Simba chuckled.

"Of course," he said. "It is the wet season."

Shujaa giggled as a grasshopper leaped without warning onto Nguvu's nose. The cub frowned and slapped at his face. He ended up falling on his back.

"Nice skills," Shujaa teased. Nguvu growled and leaped to his feet. He caught the fleeing bug with a paw and squashed it into the ground. Koda frowned.

"That wasn't very nice, Nguvu." He said. "You shouldn't have done it."

Nguvu shrugged.

"My uncle always said that if someone makes you look bad, they deserve death. At the least." He said. Shujaa shivered. The more Nguvu spoke about his uncle, the more sure she became that she never wanted to meet him.

"That may be," Simba said. His firm voice made Nguvu's ears flatten. "But here in the Pridelands we respect the circle of life. That means we never kill anything unless it is for food, understand?"

"Yes, Sir." Nguvu whispered. He was glancing down at his paws. "Sorry."

"That's ok." Said Simba. The big lion yawned and stretched out his paws. Shujaa glanced at Koda. The brown cub was still glareing at Nguvu. Shujaa shifted her paws. Koda was usually very nice. But for some reason he always seemed a bit on edge around Nguvu. Shujaa opened her mouth to speak. A loud snarl suddenly lit the air. Simba growled and leapt to his feet. A huge leopard with amber eyes had come up behind them. A few red foxes and a group of lions were trailing after him. Nguvu and Koda had both stepped in front of her.

"That's my Uncle!" Nguvu said. He pointed to the lion closest to the leopard. He was huge! With Nguvu's yellow eyes, a black mane, and golden fur. Simba was growling loudly, having stepped in front of the three cubs.

"Stay behind me!" He said. The leopard stepped forward. His eyes were blue, and looking into them was as scary as stareing into a storm.

"So," said Simba. "Back again are you Kucha?"

The leopard, Kucha, licked his lips. He eyed the cubs behind Simba.

"These the king's cubs?" He asked.

"Not the honey-colored one." The big lion, Nguvu's uncle, sneered. "He's my nephew. Left the pride because he didn't have the guts to be a real lion."

Nguvu hissed. He forced his way around Simba's paw and stood in front of his uncle.

"I am a real lion!" He roared. "But I ain't a murderer! You wanted me to kill a newborn, Mpiganaji!"

"She was crippled!" Mpiganaji snarled. "What use would she have been to the pride? She never could have hunted or ran. I was saving her from a life of misery!"

Shujaa swallowed. She didn't know what her friend was talking about. But it sounded bad. Bad enough to scare a brave cub like Nguvu into leaving his pride. Simba grabbed Nguvu gently by his scruff and placed him back behind him. The ex-king turned to face the Backlanders.

"Get out of the Pridelands!" He shouted. Kucha threw back his head and laughed. He looked around.

"No Lion Guard here to protect you now!" He hissed. Kucha dropped down into a crouch and drew his claws out into the ground. Simba roared. Before Shujaa knew what was happening, he had jumped at the leopard. The two cats went down in a fury of claws and fur. Nguvu hissed and leaped at his uncle. Mpiganaji looked amused. He grabbed Shujaa's friend by his tail and shoved his face into the dirt.

"Just like your father." Mpiganaji sniffed. "Both doomed to fall to their own stupidity." His claws dug into his nephew's back. Nguvu choked and tried to spin his head around to bite. But Mpiganaji was too strong.

"Goodbye," the big lion sighed. "Shame. You could have run at the front of my pride, by my side! You gave it all away for some pathetic sense of honor!"

Nguvu groaned as his uncle pushed down on his spine. Shujaa screamed. He's going to kill him! She realized. Something snapped in her. Shujaa bared her teeth and looked the lion leader right in the eye.

"You get away from him!" She threw back her head and… roared. No, not a little cub roar. She really, really, roared. Mpiganaji barely had time to look surprised before he was sent flying. Kucha and his other followers soon followed him into the air. Koda was stareing at her as though she had just said a lion could fly. Nguvu had got up from his spot on the ground and was gaping at her.

"Wow!" He breathed.

Shujaa couldn't think of anything to say that would have summed the whole thing up better.