Chapter 15

Disclaimer: I do not own the Lion King or any of its characters.

I do not own the following characters but have prior permission from the author, Nala-Nay to use them:

Hasani

Hiassen

The characters I do own are as follows (For now):

Kali (Fierce)

Usafi (Purity)

Kusudi (Purpose)

Ufisa (Variation of Ufisadi which means Mischief)

I am posting this chapter cause I gave my readers a benefit of the doubt and know most are busy so here you go.

Recollections

Three days had passed since Chaka's death and Kali's reunion with his friends, Kusudi and Ufisa. Kali's first two nights were spent in silent mourning of the friend he had known for such a long time. He even continued to mourn during the meal that he shared with the two starving cheetahs. Each night he would try and fail to fall asleep until both his friends would come up to him and wrap their bodies around him. On the third morning, the sun was shining bright and the sky was clear like the day his father had asked him and his brother the question of being King. He had stopped looking at the horizon to know if the day would be good because he felt that he would always have to deal with the dangers of rouge life. Somehow, the return of his cheetah friends reignited his belief to trust the circle of life to guide him.

He, Ufisa and Kusudi set off on their journey to find his lost beloved. Kali, had billions of questions flowing through his mind about Usafi. He wondered how much she had changed, if she still loved him and how he would feel when he finally saw her. These thoughts had kept him quiet for the majority of their journey, which in turn, had been leading them to the border of the Hill Lands and the endless desert. Ufisa who was uncomfortable with the silence, decided to break it with tales of how they had grown up in the Pride Lands Scar's rule.

"We have a lot for you to catch up on." Said Ufisa, hoping to break the awkward silence

"Oh." Kali said, with now attentive ears. "I bet. A lot can happen over the course of 3 years."

"Did you hear about the hyenas?" asked Kusudi

"I heard that they were no longer banned from the Pride Lands."

"It's more than that. Scar made them our allies." Ufisa said with disgust

He was a bit surprised and yet calm when he heard her confirm that Scar had indeed let the hyenas into the Pride Lands. It reawakened his guilt for not going back, but pushed it aside because he knew he would do whatever it took to make it right.

Uncle Scar whatever is wrong. Don't worry. I am coming home and I will make things right he thought.

"You know you might not recognize the Pride Lands now. They look more like an extension of the Elephant Graveyard now. The land is cracked and dry, there are no herds and water." Kusudi said with a sigh.

"Is it really that bad over there?" Kali asked with disbelief

"Sadly yes. Look at us. We only barely got along with field mice and even those are becoming scarce." Kusudi stated with a depress growl

I thought they looked too thin. Thankfully he captured an adult antelope this morning. He had gone on more frequent hunts ever since they had arrived, so he could be sure that they were well fed before they left the Hill Lands.

They also told of how Sarabi and Sarafina had managed to keep the pride together and strong despite all the difficulties. At least she was able to stay strong, it was one of the reasons father chose her as queen, and he smiled while thinking this to himself.

"What about Uncle Scar?" Kali asked and then saw a murderous look in Kusudi and Ufisa's eyes at the mention of Scar's name.

"He is a horrible King. He cares only about himself and disregards all the responsibilities that come with the job title. Zira is no better. She always blames our food shortage on the lionesses' inability to hunt, despite the fact that she does nothing but lay around all day. She was once one of the best hunters when we were cubs. And it gets worse." Kusudi said while looking to Ufisa.

"What could be worse than that?" Kali asked.

"Scar and Zira had a son. His name is Nuka and he is a really sweet cub, but he was born sickly. Scar saw as a disgrace and refused to acknowledge him as his heir or as his son." Ufisa replied with sympathy at the thought for the poor cub.

"Uncle Scar rejected his own son? Why? That does not sound like him? Why didn't Tojo or Malka say something to him?" Kali asked with confusion.

"Because they aren't in the Pride Lands anymore brother."

"What why not?"

"Malka, Tojo and Chumvi left on their own a few months ago because they believed the land would never recover. Part of them still lives in the pride though."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Chumvi and Kula had twins, a boy named Babu and a little baby girl named Boga, Tama had Malka's cub, a girl named Cire. She will be a little spitfire that one. Tojo also met a beautiful lioness named Fuwele who settled down with our pride and had a baby girl named Uhuru and little boy named Kimba. They are all so beautiful."

"I am sure they are. At least nothing else bad happened while I was gone."

"Well there is one thing worse that we were a bit hesitant to tell you." Ufisa said shakily.

"What? What is it?

"I really shouldn't."

"Tell me" Kali demanded.

"Ever since Usafi and Nala turned three, Hasani and Hiassen have been making passes at them." Kusudi said with venom in his tone.

"Well I kinda expected they would. But I know Usafi and Nala would not be attracted to them at all." Kali said with a smile as he thought of his love telling Hiassen off.

"They did refuse them, but those two brothers did not like that. They vowed to make it so they would have no choice." Ufisa gulped before she could continue. "They tried to rape them." She then saw Kali flinch.

"Hiassen touched her?" Kali asked again with his body tensing up. Ufisa nodded again with fear in her eyes.

Kali let out a ear shattering roar. His blood was turning into searing hot acid at the thought of his beloved being forced to bear Hiassen's cubs against her will or Nala with Hasani. How dare those bastards touch them? They are lucky I wasn't there or they would've died on the spot. But is it my fault that they were in that position? Could I have prevented these things from happening by going home instead of choosing exile? He debated these thoughts wildly in his head and began to question his decision to go into exile. Even if you are pregnant, I will not blame you or your cubs. If you allow me, I will do my best to raise them as my own. I promise Usafi. Kali thought to himself

"But don't worry. The pride made them back off before they could follow through with the rape." Ufisa said to reassure him.

"Well that is a relief. Sure I would be a little angry if Usafi got pregnant with that demon's cubs but my anger would be at him not Usafi. Thanks for telling me that Fisa." Kali said with a sigh. His mind started to settle as he knew Nala and Usafi were safe with the protection of his mother, aunt Naanda and Sarafina.

"Well, Scar also tried to rape Usafi and Nala." Kusudi added

"WHAAATTT? ARE YOU KIDDING ME ?" Kali roared once again

"He asked them to stay back at Pride Rock one day while the hunting party was out. He then had the hyena's secure the entrance. Nala said he started going on and on about how he needed a healthy heir. He went after Usafi first, but Nala knocked him away. Usafi fought back too. Neither one of them got raped." Ufisa tried to reassure Kali

His anger about the situation intensified again when he heard that. How dare my uncle try to to do that to Nala and Usafi! What is wrong with him? They are young enough to be his daughters!

"They left that night to find help, while we were asleep. Naanda, Sarabi and Sarafina dispersed the hyenas at the border long enough for them to escape. We tried to go after them once we found out they left, but once we got close to the cheetah territory, we got ambushed as you know. Naanda followed us and managed to intercept them for a while but sadly she did not make it."

He walked in silence as he took in all of this information and tried to contemplate what to do with it. So, I was the reason that Kusudi and Ufisa ended up getting chased. I am the reason Aunt Naanda is dead! I was the reason that Nala and Usafi had to run for their lives. My oath may have protected them from the punishments of the Pride's laws, but I never thought Scar would abuse the oath to keep them alive till they were old enough to bear his cubs. THIS IS ENTIRELY MY FAULT! He was beginning to tear up out of guilt and sadness as his guilt plagued his mind.

"Why did I leave? I should have been there." He sobbed

"Kali?" Ufisa asked with concern.

Then he noticed his Ufisa and Kusudi had concerned looks on his face as they watched his tears fall. Seeing their faces made him start to forget some of his guilt as he realized something. NO. I made that oath to keep them safe and that is what it did. Fisa and Kusudi stand before me, alive, because my oath has protected them for all these years. The oath was not perfect and could not prevent everything but it did what I wanted it to. It kept them alive. Scar was just acting out of desperation because he is still suffering from my loss and wishes he could have a son like me. These thoughts of self-reassurance and denial strengthened him and he realized he had not spoken the entire time since they had set out.

He smiled at the two cheetahs and said with a calm tone, "Thank you for telling me these things. Now that I know what has been done, I know who I must punish and who I must deal with when I become king. Rest assured that Hiassen and Hasani will not get away with what he tried to do. My focus is to bring our family together again and that means forgetting the things that happened and accepting that some things go beyond our control."

His friends smiled and then stopped with wonder in their eyes. What Kali saw next caused him as well to be filled with awe. Right in front of them, in the midst of the endless desert was a small oasis that thrived. He had traveled with Chaka all over the Hill Lands and had seen everything from the Labyrinth of caves that they had gotten lost in, to the waterfall at the border of the Hill Lands and the Unknown Lands which was a three day journey from the cave he and Chaka had taken as their own in the center of the Hill Lands. The waterfall had alerted Kali when he first heard it and he rushed forward anxiously to see a possible unknown wonder. Yet of all the places he and Chaka went, none had amazed him as much this desert oasis had. When Kusudi and Ufisa heard the distant sound of water they immediately rushed into the oasis. Kali dashed after them with a smile on his face at the thought that they were running to something as simple as water. Aunt Naanda, you have raised these two well He thought to himself as he continued to chase his cheetah friends.

He knew that they had grown up with a routine of drinking less and less water every day to survive and the thought of being able to drink in bulk was like a gift from the heavens to them. He finally caught up to them at surprisingly calm water under the falls. He followed their lead, and stepped forward for a quick drink. When he pulled his face back to look at his reflection, it only showing half of him. He did not know why it worried him, and began to wonder. Why is only half of me there? He then turned again to his friends who had finished their drink, when their serene moment was interrupted by three thundering roars in the distance.

"Stay here. I will go see what is going on." He told his them and with that he rushed off to face the unknown threat that lay ahead.

Author: Kali knows what has been going on since he went into exile and is determined to make things right. But will his journey be cut short by three new enemies?

Swahili:

Mfalme hawezi gaa katika siku za nyuma na haipaswi kuzingatia siku zijazo. Yeye wanapaswa kuzingatia sasa kwa sababu ya kuwa ni mahali ambapo matatizo yaliyopo.

Translation:

King does not wallow in the past and should not focus on the future. He should focus on now because that is where the problems are.