Chapter 10: Bonds

Two months have passed since Kion had returned to the Pride Lands and the lion cub was beginning to developmentally and physically. For one thing, the lion cub was becoming more like Mufasa, wisdom sparking in him and his muscles surpassing Simba and Nala at his age, meaning that when he was older, he will be able to probably matched Mufasa's skill. Although guards will always shield the Pride Lands, attacks from Mheetu, and his family. Although Tiifu and Zuri seem to never admit it, they're starting to form a soft spot for the lion prince; Kiara felt much the same.

Despite Simba and Nala growing closer to the lion prince, he is closer to his sister than anyone. As much as Simba struggles to form a relationship with his son with him being opened with the opportunity of his son being a spy, the lion king's overprotective side eventually diminished and he begins trusting Kion a lot more since Kiara seems to always be trusting him. However, Nala was easier to break through her son and was not much of a struggle for her to trust her son. Besides, even the king's majordomo likes him since Kion always keeps things in check when Simba and Nala had to venture out and sometimes leave the majordomo when the subject they perform is something traditional or extremely important.

His friendship with his friends also approved and he begins hanging out with them week by week, proving to also develop more of family friendships with them. Sometimes, the girls will participate in joining the activities which were surprising since Tiifu and Zuri were known for trying to keep themselves clean. Was Kion honestly impacting everyone's attitude by his layback and outright calming methods?

Kion begins feeling something for Zuri like an overprotective side of him starting to form since the lioness was one of the first who had welcomed him. Kiara and Tiifu caught wind of it and seems to be trying to keep him close with Zuri which was starting to get on the lion's nerves.

However, the two were too innocent to maim.

Krayt walked around the pride lands. He had just woken up in the den to see some of the lionesses ignoring him or shooting him dirty looks as usual whereas others were smiling and nodding in his direction, signifying that they were beginning to grow a soft spot for the prince. But he didn't see the three lionesses who didn't hate him. He didn't see Kiara, Tiifu or Zuri in the cave, so he decided to go look for them.

'They're probably at the watering hole cleaning themselves.' He smirked to himself. He never understood their love for grooming themselves. The way he saw it, what's the point of looking your absolute best if you are just going to get dirty soon anyways?

Kion arrived at the watering hole, only to find that the girls weren't there.

'Where could they be?' He wondered.

'Well, I might as well get a drink while I'm here then go looking for them.' He reasoned to himself.

As Krayt sipped from the clear waters, he heard a twig snap nearby. His ears perked up and he raised his head to see a golden line moving through the tall grasses.

Krayt immediately started to growl lowly.

'So, the lionesses are trying to sneak up on me to kill me.' He thought angrily. He didn't know why he was still being treated as an enemy by most of the pride. Was it his fault that Mheetu turned out to be evil and captured him?

As Krayt stood there in a defensive position with his teeth bared, he saw the outline of the gold back walk past him without noticing him.

Krayt stood back up confused. Why had they passed him without even doing anything to him? He decided to follow whoever it was.

As the golden lioness went into an open area, Krayt was close behind and emerged moments later. To his pleasant surprise, it wasn't a pride lioness sent to harm him, but rather his sister. Zuri and Tiifu were already there waiting for her.

"Hey, Kiara. You ready?" Zuri asked the princess.

"To beat you? You bet." Kiara said with a smirk.

Krayt's interest was peaked, so he sat down to watch.

Tiifu walked a couple of feet away before she started to ref whatever was happening. Kiara and Zuri got into pouncing positions and began to circle each other clumsily.

"Ready...set...go!" Tiifu counted down.

Kiara and Zuri pounced at each other before missing the other and turning around to face them. Krayt started to laugh, seeing how bad their techniques were and how bad they fought.

Kiara swiped her paw down at Zuri, but only managed to graze her side barely even frizzing her fur. Zuri, seeing and opening, tried to ram Kiara with her shoulder. As she charged, however, he tripped over her own paw and fell onto the dirt.

By know Krayt was laughing out loud, it still not loud enough for the girls to hear him.

Kiara pounced on top of Zuri, but Zuri just rolled over and she fell off. Zuri then did the same to Kiara, but she missed and flew over Kiara's body.

Krayt couldn't contain himself anymore. He was rolling on his back laughing with tears coming out of his eyes. The girls finally heard this laughing and turned to see Kion on the ground cracking up at them. The girls smiled at seeing him but there faces turned to ones of confusion at what he was laughing at.

"What's so funny?" Kiara asked her brother. It took Krayt a while to stop his laughing.

"You guys. Y-you, call that fighting?" Krayt said while chuckling.

Kiara and Zuri became a bit annoyed at that. "What fo you mean?" Zuri asked him.

Krayt now fully stopped laughing but had a big smile. "You tried to ram into her, but you tripped over your own paws!" Krayt said to her. He turned to face his sister. "And you fell off her when all she did was roll over!"

Kiara and Zuri looked at each other. "So you think you can do better?" Kiara asked her brother mockingly.

"Yeah, I can. I've been trained to fight." Krayt told her.

"So how about you teach us?" Zuri suggested.

Krayt pondered this idea. It might be good for them to learn how to properly defend themselves. "Alright. I'll spar with you." Kion told them.

Kiara, Tiifu, and Zuri decided to take Kion on; they went for him yet were surprised when their eyesight seem blind as Kion moved with fast speed, surprising them and sending a simple slash towards them, that didn't hurt but it did surprise them and send them back. He would pay for his insolence.

"Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. No wonder you three uses claws for fun," Kion taunted as Kiara send a major strike towards him. With a smirk, Kion grabbed her paw and slammed it down against the mud. It didn't hurt but it did surprises the young lioness. "It wasn't supposed to hurt," Kion declared, a smile on his lips.

Tiifu growled and send a blow towards him. Ducking, Kion lifted her up and says, "Chokehold. Never gets old," Kion said, not choking so hard where it can cause her pain. Zuri growled and advanced towards the lion cub, sending him back as he hit the ground. By now, Kiara and Tiifu advanced towards Krayt and send a strike, yet Kion parried by kicking the two off. Zuri jumped and continues to strike away at Kion, Kion simply took a step back as Kiara and Tiifu joined her.

The best they can do is push him. Kion saw their fur starting to puff over their bodies. The fact they haven't notice it is showing that Kion is slowly training them. The three send strikes at Kion at the same time; he simply took a step back. Kion clearly had the advantage, for he wasn't even breathing whereas they were breathing rapidly.

Kion laughed, "So when is this going to actually become a fight?" He mocked.

"You're done!" Kiara thundered. The three send strikes furiously, in the hope to get a strike on him. Kion dodged and parried them each time, showing his willpower. He seems too blind for them to see, and had it been real they would have been either dead or lost many bones. What's kind of sad is that Kion is stronger than some of the lionesses at Pride Rock.

Kion sends a major blow that draws a conclusion towards this battle before he decided to teach them something. "I would tell you what's you're doing wrong," he said as he pinned them. "First, you can't allow your enemy to make you lose concentration. Never attack your opponent blind. Second, you have to stay with one position and allow yourself to continue changing battle forms." Kion grinned as he helped them up.

"You're a show-off," Kiara says from behind, but knew those words the adolescent just told them came to heart.
"Yeah, but that's why you three like me," Kion said, beginning to walk off.
"Who's saying you're leaving this?" Tiifu demanded.
Kion smile brightened. "I already taught enough because you three would get hurt. Besides, where did this come from? I thought you three like doing claws."

The three stared at each other, wondering should they tell him the truth. "When we saw you fighting against Kiburi," Zuri started. She didn't finish as she remembers Krayt actually pinning Kiburi. "We decided that fighting is important. And wanted to learn."

'Surprising, and they say getting dirty is the least of their expectations,' the lion cub thought, rolling his eyes slightly since knowing Kiara, Tiifu, and Zuri had a fighting instinct in them. Every lion does but have to exploit it.

"Very well, I shall train you," Kion said as he walked up towards them. "Now shall we start with battle positions." It wasn't a question. It was a statement. Kion has basically had higher authority over them. No wonder everyone shiver at his presence and stayed clear of him. Kion isn't a monster despite the stories cubs would tell each other about.

Part of him was Kion, and the other was Krayt. But he doesn't kill for the pleasure of it. In fact, Krayt taught them life-lessons.

The three did so, and Kion decided to check them over. "Okay, now I'm going to fix you three." He said. They nodded, as Kion place a paw on Kiara's back and pushes her down, which a crack came.

"That kind of hurt," Kiara said softly.

Kion patted her on the head, "It doesn't hurt, it is just new." Kiara nodded, as Kion went towards Tiifu and picked her up and shaking her up and down before a crack came and Tiifu was released in a pouncing position.

Kion then went up to Zuri to see she had the closest one that mirrored his. He was surprised by that considering she is supposed to be the more fashionable one but guessed that she had watched him slowly. He has to save Kiara and Tiifu twice but her three times so this kind of makes sense. Kion grabbed onto her back leg and pulled it back, causing a crack to come which felt good. Now, she is even lower. Kion can see the three were mirroring his position and they shall get used to it. Then the match begins.

Krayt walked a few feet away from the three girls. He studied their new fight inning positions. They weren't bad. They were each low down to the ground, with their paws extended with their claws out. Their backs were slightly arched, but that would go away once they got used to the position.

"Alright. Kiara, you're going to come at me and try to knock me over. And no claws." Kion winked to his sister.

Kiara grinned back. "No problem." She said. She leaned back a bit, before launching forward with a speed that surprised her. She launched towards Kion who just moved to the left making her land next to him and she turned to him surprised. She hadn't expected to be able to shoot forward so powerfully and fast.

"You see? You got a lot more power on you pounce now." Kion smiled.

"Yeah. Wow, that's a rush!" Kiara said excitedly. She then got an evil thought, and out of nowhere rammed her head into Kion to knock him over. When her head connected to his side however, she bounced off him and looked up to see that he hadn't budged an inch and just smirked at her.

"Nice try. Now, take a little break while I practice with Tiifu and Zuri." He told her.

Kiara groaned from the headache she had from the head-but. She walked over to a rock nearby and laid down on it as Tiifu and Zuri both walked forwards.

"Okay. Zuri, you're going to try to hit me. Tiifu, you're going to help her by trying to trip me." He told the two lionesses. They both nodded.

Zuri went around Kion's left side as Tiifu went around his left. They both turned on the spot and Zuri jumped forward and brought her paw down on Kion as Tiifu sweeper his legs with her outstretched paw. Kion reacted in a flash, as he caught paw above him and brought her down in front of him as he lifted his leg and brought it back down immediately, trapping Tiifu's own. Both girls were shocked. They couldn't believe how fast he had reacted and with such precision.

Kion grinned as he got off of Tiifu's leg and helped Zuri up.

"How did you react so fast?" Zuri asked astonished.

"Yeah. You countered both of us at the same time." Tiifu said.

"One good thing about Mheetu is that he had hardened me," Kion replied grimly, the thought of Mheetu still making him grim and stiffen at times since the brown lion stripped him of part of his cubhood and born a fighter in him.

Kiara noticed the grimness in his tone now and knowing that it was a touchy subject for her little brother.

'We're going to have a little chat later for that,' the princess thought, knowing that she's the only one who can talk to him without him bowing.

Kiara, Tiifu, and Zuri were slowly starting to approve as they begin taking measures and training seriously. The queen was impressed by their newfound devotion for hunting and slowly placing their obsession for claws and fur behind them, proving to be better at defending themselves from bully lionesses, however, their hunting skills need lesson which Nala is starting to exploit.

As it turns out, Simba needed to leave Pride Rock for a few days. An old friend, Aminifu, has passed away, and he must attend the funeral in Kilio Valley. As Kiara mentions that she vaguely remembers him, Simba explains that he was one of the first animals to return to the Pride Lands after he defeated Scar. He reminds her that he was once scared of his royal duties and that he has faith in her.

The next morning, Kiara watches as her parents leave the Pride Lands from the top of Pride Rock. Kion had come up towards her and told her that he will help her in ruling the Pride Lands and that he did while Tiifu and Zuri were bragging about it to everyone... well everyone except Kion who the two lionesses promised to be nice at in all of the circumstances. Ono has heard the news. Kion, Beshte, and Bunga see it as a positive event, Fuli knew it would happen eventually and Kion agreed since the prince was more supportive of his sister than ever.

Kiara had asked Kion if she can borrow Ono and Kion agreed without hesitation, despite the bird's nervousness at being in front of the queen. The loyal bird reports that everything is clear from Mekundu Cliffs to Ukuni Woods and that everyone is excited about her becoming Queen with the assistance of her little brother of course. He continues to inform her that the oryxes aren't fighting, the eland herd is migrating east along the river as expected, and that several new beehives were spotted along the path.

Bunga is excited about the bees, considering them to be great snacks. Kiara thanks Ono, who thanks her back. Kion asks his sister if he can have Ono back, though both he and Kiara becomes worried that the bees may sting the eland and send them into chaos. Departing, Kion had teased his sister that she will not get rid of him that easily so he went out and managed to convince the herds to leave and that they're not safe. Although a few were enough to make him initially lose his patience, the presence of his friends had calmed him down.

Soon, Mzingo has returned to Pride Rock and begins to flatter Kiara. He offers her a peace proposal, direct from Janja, telling her that Janja has always wanted peace, and blaming Kion stubborn personality for not asking sooner. Kiara asks why he couldn't come over himself, though the vulture reminds her that Janja is not welcome in the Pride Lands and that she must meet him in the Outlands, in neutral territory. Kiara tells him that she'll think about it, and tells Kion of the proposal.

Realizing it was a trap, Kion convinced his sister to not agree with this and that Janja is a manipulative hyena who would stop at nothing but to achieve his goals. Additionally, Kion had added that Janja can be able to change in the future but an alliance with him is just not possible, and Kiara stayed back with Tiifu and Zuri while Kion went to make sure Janja doesn't try any funny business. Of course, his clan tried to surround him and catch him in an ambush, but the prince proved his dominance and they were fleeing.

Despite a few scratches, the prince was strong enough to keep standing and defending his sister's honor, yet no conflict has arisen.

There was another incident that helped the princess and her friends to learn more about lessons.

Kiara is following her friends Zuri and Tiifu as they lead her to an unknown location. Kiara has her reservations and reminds them that her mother and father have left her in charge of presiding over The Royal Buffalo Wallow alone. Tiifu and Zuri promise her that they're going to help get her ready, and reveal the location - Urembo Meadows. Tiifu explains that they're going to get her looking her best for her duties. Kiara is confused, wondering what is wrong with her current appearance. Tiifu encourages Kiara to join them and, since Kiara has time, she decides to do so.

The three young lionesses are sitting under a tree, avoiding the rain. Although Tiifu tries to cheer her up with positive side effects to the rain, Kiara is still concerned. Just then, the rain clears up and the sun emerges, prompting Tiifu and Zuri to rush into the flowers and roll around in them, gathering the scent. They call for Kiara to join them, but the princess notices an incoming flood. The water surrounds the hill and blocks their path back to the mainland. Nearby, Ono flies ahead and soon notices the small island. Using his sight, he notices Kiara almost immediately.

Tiifu and Zuri are playing with the mud. This annoys Kiara, who reminds them that they need to get home. They plaster her face with mud, telling her to let the mudpack dry. Kiara angrily removes it from her face, stating that she doesn't want to keep the buffaloes waiting. Zuri questions why she would want to attend not looking her best and Tiifu compliments Kiara's soft fur. Zuri then suggests more mud. On the other side, the prince and his friends had to consider their options and when they had found a good plan, the three were saved.

Suffice to say, the three had learned much and had matured. They were closer then Kion who basically is now protecting the Pride Lands endlessly, reminding the king and queen of something about the Lion Guard with Kion towards Rafiki, however, the mandrill told them that the lion is on a different path and that he's merely protecting his family.

While everyone was happy, the prince was still aware of the threat of Mheetu in the shadows and always kept his guard, knowing one day that he will have to depart the Pride Lands and leave to assure Mheetu stays away. For some reason, the brown-coated lion was interested in only him, and Kion knew that he will do nothing but to complete his training. However, if he loses, Kion will use Kiara, Tiifu, and Zuri will hopefully be able to stop him someday.

Yet, Kion will not grow overconfident and cocky, always looking out for his family and friends.

Arthur's note: I had decided that it will be best to include some episodes in the Lion Guard with obviously some changes, thus approving Kion and Kiara's relationship. Originally, Kion was supposed to become the leader of the Lion Guard but I went against that decision and decided to have him do some good while not disrespecting the Circle of Life and allowing Outlanders to eat and hunt because the Lion Guard is too kiddy about the Outlander who's apart of the Circle of Life which gotten on my nerves upon recently rewatching the Lion King.

The Roars of the Elder ain't going to be very important will only be more of like Kion's admiration because the lions of the past protecting their home. I'm gaining more interest in writing the Lion King but still will take me like weeks to publish but I'm making progress.