A/N: Oh hey, I exist!

Yeah, I totally forgot I had a fanfiction account. Thankfully, I remembered recently, because I have been itching to write this story. Yeah, I know, it's another "The Lion King self-insert story", I know, but trust me, this will be interesting... Hopefully..

In this story, we are introduced to Kisu, a young, humble, aichmophobic cub whos family was murdered by humans. Kiara finds him one night with several injuries, and begs her parents to keep him to nurse him back to health, and even possibly, adopt him into the pride. Kisu faces struggles of his own, however. What other secrets could Kisu be hiding? Who even IS Kisu? Is he here to stay? You might want to stick around, fellow reader, for you are in for a journey! This is my first fic in a while, sorry if it sucks, lol. Enjoy, I guess!

-RedRabbit1987

"Daddy?" A young, feminine voice called out. "Daddy, wake up.."

The rain was pouring outside in the Pride Lands, and little Kiara was having trouble sleeping that night. She's tried effortlessly for the past few minutes to wake up her mother and father, but to no avail. Either the rain outside was too heavy, or her parents were in a deep sleep. The rain wasn't of her concern, however. She had slept through worse storms. She could have sworn that in all that splashing and rumbing from above, she could have sworn she heard other noises through the storm. She listened carefully to confirm her suspicion and got a quiet, almost vocally-resemblant noise. She knew that if she went out there to check on what it was, she'd get into serious trouble, but her curiosity was grabbing a hold of her, and she wanted to know what the extra noises were all about.

Before she walked out to the mouth of Pride Rock, she looked over to Tiifu and Zuri, her royal advisors and best friends. For a moment, she considered waking them up and asking them for assistance, but then again, it would be harder for them than it would be for her. She knew that Zuri had been very sleep-deprived lately, thanks to Tiifu's new tendency to wake up in the middle of the night constantly begging for things, such as water, a massage, and sometimes, even just to have someone to talk to. Tiifu had never liked the dark, and Kiara fully understood that, so that marked her off. As for Zuri, she could wake her up, but at what cost? She was mad enough that Tiifu's been waking her up, but she's been hearing strange noises, too. There was no possible way that she was going out there without forcing Kiara to give her pedicures for the next week or two. Besides, Kiara felt like Zuri deserved this night of rest, despite what might happen.

Kiara ultimately decided to do what was best at the moment, and that was to go out and explore. She peaked out of the mouth of the cave and right off the bat, she was blinded by mist. She listened for more noises, and caught what sounded like coughing, coming from the left side of the den. She raced out and around, and saw the silhouette of something laying on the ground, with something sticking out of its head. A horn or an antler, perhaps?

When she stepped closer, she heard it start groaing. It sounded similar to a young lion cub, but that couldn't be. The only other cub she met was Kovu, and even then, he sounded nothing like him, and they weren't even of the same pride or family anyways. Suddenly, the figure moved what seemed to be its head, more moaning and groaning of pain could be heard.

"Hello?" Kiara quietly called out. In return, however, she just got a series of loud coughs. "Who are you?" she continued.

The figure looked up slowly and managed to exhale the only two words he was able to say before dropping limp once more;

"Help.. Me..."

Hearing this, Kiara looked for a spot on the figure to grab. She tugged on the thing sticking out of its head, and with enough force, Kiara accidentally yanked it out. The figure then unleashed a loud and long scream of pain, frustration, and relief. Kiara was frantically shushing the creature, trying to calm it down before it woke everyone else up. Once she got it to calm down, she spoke.

"I'm so sorry, I can't really see what I'm doing.." she explained as she grabbed the shady feline-like figure by a loose tuft of fur.

When she dragged the figure back to Pride Rock, also taking the object sticking out of its head with her, she inspected the creature. What she had found was a small, young, male lion cub. His body was structurally similar to Kovu, her old, forbidden friend from the Outlands that she met a while back, and Kion, her older brother and the leader of the Lion Guard. He had a raggedy tuft of fur on his head, in a deep shade of red, which contrasted against most of his fur, which was pale tan and light beige. His eyes were a glowing emerald green, something she could even see from the shadows. Perhaps the most defining feature of all, however, was a deep penetration wound on the right side of his forehead. Kiara looked back at the object lodged in that very spot and could define its feagures as well. It was a stained, partially shiny metalic blade with a leather handle of sorts. She had no idea what this was, but that didn't matter now. This kid was losing blood and losing it fast. She ran and headbutted into her mother in a final attempt to wake her up.

"Kiara? What's wrong hun?" Nala drowsily questioned her daughter.

"Mom, I found a cub outside with a strange thing stuck in his head! I think he's dying!" Kiara explained, scared out of her mind for the strange lion cub.

Nala immediately jumped up at this and looked around until she saw him. She noted his terrible, life threatening condition and without thinking, she ran out to get Rafiki.

When the queen returned, she was being followed by a mandrill with a staff and natural herbs and medications. Rafiki looked at the cub and took note of the huge gash in his forehead.

"This may take some time," the baboon said in a semi-deep African accent. "Nothing that can't be fixed if I work quickly.."

Kiara watched in fear as Rafiki worked on the cub, rubbing herbs and juices all over his head. Within a matter of 30 excruciatingly delongated minutes, the cub was considered "mended", despite still having a huge gash in his head and that there was still pain lingering within his brain.

"Thanks so much, Rafiki!" Nala stated, thanking the monkey for his work. The mandrill turned around as soon as she gave thanks, nodding as a silent sign of a "you're welcome".

"Kiara, the next time this happens, please try to get our attention, or get one of your friends to come with you.. We'd hate for something bad to happen.." Nala worriedly scolded her daughter.

"Yes mom, sorry mom.." she said in response. She turned around and headed back to bed without questions or retaliation. As soon as she turned around, she found that the den was lighter than it was, meaning the sun was starting to rise. She looked over and found that the cub was dead asleep, but he was still breathing. As the sun started to rise, she could note some more of his features, namely his claws, which were all plucked off entirely. She also noticed how stained and ruffled his fur was. He seemed to be slathered with reddish splotches here and there. There was also a noticable ammount of mud on him, which could be easily washed off. However, despite all this, there was a rather pleasant smell emitting from his fur. She couldn't tell what it was, but she knew it smelled good. She then got an idea. A possibly dangerous idea that her mother might say no to, but it was worth a shot.

"Mommy, can I sleep with him tonight? Please?" she pleaded.

Nala thought this over hard. Should she really let her daughter sleep with some rogue they've only known for 30 minutes, or should she refuse? She wanted to be nice to her daughter, but she wanted to keep her safe at the same time. She loved Kiara, and she might soon love the cub, but she didn't know what to think of him at the moment.

"Sorry sweetie, but no. We've only known him for so long. We don't know who he is, where he came from, what his intentions are.. I'm sorry.." Nala felt terrible just seeing Kiara's face. It was that face that looked like a mix of "Why, God?! Why is life so unfair?!" and "Ok, I understand, I won't ask again." She looked like she was on the verge of tears, but at the same time, she showed acceptance in her mother's demand. Nala didn't feel right just saying "No", like it was some final conclusion, like she was never meant to talk to him, or even look at him again.

"I'll tell you what," Nala added on. "I'll let you spend the whole day with him tomorrow and see how it goes. You can show him around the Pride Lands if you want! Just-"

"Yes mommy, I know, 'Don't go too far or Daddy's gonna lose his mane'. Been there, done that." Kiara responded, laughing.

Nala, despite getting interrupted, was a freegoing type of person. Aggressive when she needed to be, but she wouldn't dare be harsh on Kiara, she didn't have the heart. Therefore, she found herself laughing too. Kiara then went back to her spot and layed back down and went back to rest

The Cub woke up in an unfamiliar place, with unfamiliar sounds and smells, with unfamiliar people. He couldn't remember what happened last night, other than the ambush on his home. Earlier that night, he remembered an ambush on his home, courtesy of some strange beings that resembled hairless gorillas of sorts. When he looked around, he spotted a female cub laying on the opposite side of the den. She woke up, stretched, and walked over to him.

"W-What are you doing? Who even a-are you?!" the cub exclaimed, scared and confused out of his mind.

"Shh, it's ok!" Kiara spoke up. "It's me, remember? I saved you last night!"

"Oh.. Deepest apologies, ma'am. I can't seem to remember much.." the cub humbly apologized.

"No, it's ok, really. I'm Kiara, by the way."

"That's a cute name, I love it."

Before Kiara could respond, she was met with Simba, her father.

"Good morning, Kiara. Who's this?" he asked in a friendly, yet stern manner. The cub was shocked to see the king of the Pride Lands standing right before him.

"King Simba, sire!" the cub spoke up. "I apologize for my unannounced arrival.."

"Daddy, let me explain," Kiara worriedly responded. "This is a cub I found outside last night with a strange object stuck in his head. I never got to ask for his name. I'm so sorry, but he's injured. Can we please keep him until he's nursed back to health?" the princess pleaded with her father. The cub was shocked to find out that her savior was the daughter of the king, which makes her the Princess of the Pride Lands.

"Princess Kiara? Permission to speak, ma'am?" the cub spoke up in a polite and gentle manner. Kiara was, understandably, quite surprised. No one has ever referred to her as "Princess Kiara" before and meant it. Though, she did appreciate that someone was finally taking her seriously.

"Permission granted," she responded to the cub, who was kneeling at the royals' paws.

"Once again, deepest apologies for my unannounced arrival. You may call me Kisu, or any other fitting name you wish," the cub spoke. "The object in my head is something that humans, a highly advanced species of hairless apes, call a 'knife', hence my name. My family was also killed by these humans, not out of vengeance or a vendetta, but simply out of primitive survival instinct."

The king then spoke up, "Thank you, Kisu. I'll be sure to notify the guard to inspect the borders of the Pride Lands for any signs of these 'humans' that you speak of. Considering your circumstances, you're welcome to stay here for as long as you'd like."

"Thank you deeply, King Simba, sire. I am forever in your debt." Kisu replied, thrilled to have a new home and, hopefully, a new family.

Kiara then noticed her friends waking up from across the den. "Hey Kisu, follow me, there's some people I'd like you to meet!" she called out. Kisu, being the humble servant he was always taught to be, followed close behind the princess. Close enough for subtle comfort, but far enough as to not irritate her. As Kisu walked across the vast interior of Pride Rock, he saw two more lioness cubs, both with a tan-ish color to their fur. They looked similar, yet different. Almost as if they were sisters. Suddenly, one of them started speaking.

"Ugh, Tiifu, that was another terrible night of sleep," Zuri exclaimed, kicking up dust out of frustration, being careful as to not tear a claw, however.

"Sorry Zuri, must have been the buffalo.." Tiifu stated apologetically.

"That was your STOMACH making all those noises?!"

"What noises?"

Kiara then stepped in and greeted the two. "Hey girls!" she chimed in. "There's someone I want you to meet. His name is Kisu, I found him outside last night in the rain with a strange blade stuck in his head." The two girls looked over at the young cub and saw how pitiful he looked.

"Aww you poor thing!" Tiifu spoke up.

"I know! His fur is all ruffled!" Zuri added.

"It's a preference," Kisu responded. "Apologies if I look unpresentable otherwise."

"Kisu, this is Tiifu and Zuri," Kiara told her new friend, pointing to them as she called their names out respectively.

"Very wonderful and fitting names, I must say. You both look very beautiful. You all do," the injured red-maned cub stated, complimenting the two ladies. "I haven't formally met you two and I like you already!" He turned to Kiara and asked, "Princess Kiara, in what role do they play in your service?"

"They're my royal advisors, cousins, and best friends," she replied.

"So, any plans for today?" Tiifu jumped up in excitement, awaiting an answer.

Zuri chimed in after being pushed over by Tiifu's excitement. "Sweet kings above, Tiifu! Calm yourself down before you tear down the walls and send the cave crashing down on us!"

"Might I make a suggestion, Princess Kiara?" Kisu humbly asked.

"Sure thing!" the princess replied.

"I'm new to these 'Pride Lands'.. I was wondering if you could.." Kisu's voice trailed off in hesitation. "..Show me around?"

"Absolutely!" Kiara responded energetically. "Let's go, ladies! Our new friend requests a tour!"

The four walked out of the den as Simba and Nala watched them set off to introduce Kisu to his new place of residency.

A/N: So yeah, first chapter is done! Again, sorry if it's below you guys' expectations. I'm really rusty at writing fanfics, especially ones with OCs in them.

Hope you enjoyed! Maybe? Hopefully?