Kion was shocked when he suddenly saw Ono and Fuli in front of him. "Oh, uh, hi guys. What are you doing here?" he asked very nervously.

"Well, since you were acting really strange today, I kept an eye on you." Ono replied.

"You spied on me?"

"And I'm glad we did! Why in the Pride Lands would you help Kovu, an Outlander, hunt a gazelle?" Fuli said.

"Look, I just wanted to help him out. Right now he's having a hard time and I thought I should help him."

"By letting him kill an animal you're supposed to protect? Kion, this isn't you! You know he's a bad lion. What's going on?"

"You don't know what it's like to be an Outlander, Fuli!" Kion replied. "Besides, you don't know him like I do. He isn't a bad lion! He's actually really nice and a good friend."

"What? Friends with an Outlander? Are you sure that's a good idea?" Ono asked.

"Yes! I don't care if he's an Outlander! He's really smart, and brave, and kind, and... I..." Kion thought for a second.

"You what? Do you like him?" Fuli asked.

Kion looked onto the ground and sighed before answering. "I... I think I do. You wouldn't understand."

"You're right. I don't."

Fuli then turned her back on Kion and left. She made her way to the watering hole. Kion watched her as she walked away from him. He then looked at Ono.

"We're not gonna tell anyone. But you need to sort this out." Ono said. He then flew away, following Fuli.

A tear was running down from Kion's cheek. Great, now my friends know about my secret. This couldn't get any worse. he thought. But he figured that Ono was right. He needs to sort this out. But Kion doesn't want to do that now. He has to regroup with his Guard anyway. After a few deep breaths, he made his way back to the watering hole.

The Guard were doing their afternoon patrol. They were pretty quiet. Besthe and Bunga had no idea about Kion's secret, but they could feel something was going on. No one knew what to say. They hoped they will be done soon with their patrol.

"HELP!"

The Guard heard the scream and Ono flew higher in the air to get a good look. His eyes became yellow and saw a young giraffe standing on a rock in the middle of a river with no escape.

"Hapana! There's a giraffe stuck on a rock in the river! The current is too strong to swim." Ono reported.

"We have to safe him! 'Till the Pride Lands end..." Kion began.

"LION GUARD DEFEND!" the rest finished.

The Guard rushed towards the river and found the giraffe. Kion came up with the idea to make a bridge. He looked around, but unfortunately there weren't any nearby trees or logs they could use. Then he thought of something else.

"Besthe! You're strong enough to stand in the river. Stand behind the rock so the giraffe can climb on your back. Ono, Bunga, you go with Besthe and make sure he gets on Besthe's back safely."

"You got it Kion!" Besthe replied as he jumped into the river, on his way to the scared giraffe.

"Zuka zama!" Bunga said as he jumped onto Beshte's back. Ono followed them.

Besthe managed to walk in the river, but it took a lot of effort to keep his balance. He made his way to the rock where the giraffe was standing on. He rested on the rock to spare some energy.

"Alright, come on now little giraffe! Time to get you out of here." Bunga said, as he reached out an arm. The little giraffe hesitated, but eventually placed his paw in Bunga's hand and got on Besthe's back safely.

Ono saw the rock in the river moving. "Hapana! The rock is not gonna hold it!" he said.

The rock got indeed loose from the ground and got swept away by the current. Besthe had to fight against the current now.

"You can do it Big B! The dry land isn't far!" Bunga said.

Besthe tried to get to the edge of the river, but everyone could see he couldn't hold his strength much longer.

"Kion, what do we do?" Ono asked.

"Uh... Uh... I..." he looked around to get some ideas, but none came. "I don't know!" he replied.

"Kion! You need to roar at the river to make the current stop!" Fuli suggested.

"Right!"

Besthe tried to make small steps towards the edge, but he wasn't even half way there. Eventually he couldn't hold it any longer and got stuck in the current of the river, making both the giraffe and Bunga fall into the water. Seconds later, Kion roared in the opposite direction of the river. The clouds above him turned into four lion heads roaring with Kion, stopping the river's current and making the other side dry. Fuli immediately ran towards the giraffe and guided him with Besthe and Bunga on the dry land.

"Kion, everyone is safe!" Ono said.

Kion stopped roaring and the river continued flowing. He made his way to his Guard and the giraffe.

"That was close." Fuli said.

"Is everyone OK?" Kion asked.

"Yeah, I think so." the giraffe replied. "Thank you for saving me, Lion Guard!"

"Aah, it was nothing! It was kinda fun though." Bunga replied.

"We're glad you're safe, little one." Besthe said.

"Indeed. You can go back to your herd now." Fuli suggested.

The giraffe thanked the Guard one last time before returning home. Kion flattened his ears and looked down with a depressed expression. This was the first time Kion didn't know what to do in a situation like this. He felt like he let his Guard down. And the worst part is: he knew why. He wasn't himself today, especially since Fuli and Ono found out about his secret.

"Kion, are you alright?" Fuli asked.

"Yeah, I just need to talk to someone. I'll be right back." he responded.

He walked away from his Guard and went upon a hill. He looked in the sky.

"Grandfather Mufasa?"

Light came from the clouds, before Mufasa's face appeared.

"Kion. Something is troubling you." he said.

"Grandfather, today I've done something I thought I would never do. I helped an Outlander, another lion cub, hunt and kill a gazelle so he could eat. But I'm the leader of the Lion Guard. I'm supposed to protect all the animals in the Pride Lands, but I didn't."

"Kion, being a leader of the Lion Guard means you need to protect the Circle of Life. Was the Circle of Life out of balance by helping this lion?"

"Well, if you put it that way... No, I don't think it was."

"Predators who respect the Circle of Life take what they need, not what they want. And lions are predators. However, this lion isn't allowed in the Pride Lands for a reason, thus you can't help him too often."

"Yeah, you're right. Maybe helping Kovu wasn't so bad after all, as long as I don't help him all the time. Then the Circle of Life stays in balance. Thank you, grandfather."

Mufasa smiled before he disappeared into the clouds.

Kion was happy his grandfather was always there for him. He wanted to ask him if it was right to love an Outlander, but he was too scared to do so. He's afraid no one would accept him for loving an Outlander. Besides, he's a boy. Is it even possible to love another boy?

"You really like Kovu, don't you?"

Kion looked behind him. It was Fuli. She sat down next to Kion.

"I really do. And I get it if you're mad at me for helping him. I promise I'll keep the Circle of Life in balance."

"I'm not mad at you. I didn't understand it until I realized it's love. I'm sorry I yelled at you."

Kion was really happy to hear this from his friend. "Thanks. And it's alright." he said.

"So, does he know you like him?"

"I'm not sure. But he really likes to be with me, just like I want to be with him."

"Well, there's your answer." she smirked.

Kion chuckled at it.

Fuli smiled. She's glad she can help her friend out with his love struggles. "And if you're sure you want to be with him, you should tell your parents."

"Oh... right." Kion wasn't sure about telling this to anyone, especially since Kovu is an Outsider.

"Trust me. It's better to tell them than if they find it out by themselves." Fuli added.

"Yeah that's true. Thanks Fuli."

"No problem!"

"Let's go back and meet up with the Guard." Kion suggested, and they headed back towards the rest of the Guard members.