A/N: Time for another update! I thought I would have this done by Thanksgiving, but it didn't quite work out that way, as you can see. I hope to have the next chapter up quicker, or at least by Christmas. In any case, enjoy! I'm pretty freakin' proud of this chapter (though I feel that way about every new chapter XD).

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Dusk had fallen hours ago. The large herds that Natin had described were still far in the distance, but he assured them all that they were within half a day's reach of finding them. Already it was clear by the concentrated areas of animals that were sprouting up to populate the landscape that they all were converging towards some central point. To save energy, Kovu had allowed them to rest for a few hours. They had done nothing but walk the entire day, a brisk pace at that.

As Asuma tediously licked his sore paws, he knew all his aches and pains and patience would pay off soon. He was alone. He wasn't sure where Natin and Tanga were, though he guessed they were off by themselves as well. It was obvious something extraordinary had happened between them since they hadn't spoken a word to each other the whole day. Asuma hadn't bothered himself with asking what exactly it had been, but he knew he would need to know eventually. Any break or distraction would ensure a failure. They needed Natin's steady focus the most.

This time tomorrow... Asuma thought to himself, a grin tugging insistently at one corner of his jaw, this time tomorrow it will be done. The pride will no longer be in danger because we saved them. They'll be unable to treat us like ignorant cubs.

A voice at the back of his mind scolded him that it was dangerous to consider the battle already won, but he pushed it away. He hadn't felt that lively in years...

Not since...

With his face pinched, Asuma stretched his forelegs out in front of him and clawed at the dry dirt. A deep growl hit the back of his throat and rattled through the rest of his sore body. The old, searing feelings of disappointment, helplessness, and betrayal clouded his vision. He struggled to shove the feelings back down into his core, where those feelings had festered and lingered during his father's absence. Before he had known the truth with total certainty that his father was a murderer, those emotions had nagged at the back of his mind. His helplessness had increased when early on he'd realized that there was nobody willing to help him, to talk to him. He could have asked for the answers, but he had refused to be lied to again. Besides, it wasn't his responsibility to question the "facts" they had handed him; if they wanted to share the truth with him there had been nothing preventing them from doing so.

They didn't understand, and so they didn't even try.

The unexplained "rumors" that Kovu had killed his grandfather had fired the increasingly dark emotions; but, there had been no outlet since the rogue who had supposedly killed Kovu had ended that chapter in the pride's story. When the "rogue killers", that Chaka had in turn killed, had been revealed as a sham, Asuma had struck at the chance to make things right again... to finally do something and put his past to rest.

All this... everything is Kovu's fault.

His family must have known there was something wrong with him! Surely? Only Tanga had tried to help him, but he hadn't told her anything because she wasn't the problem. Sure, she had been of the party that had led him to become Kovu's victim, but what she'd done was forgivable in her cubhood innocence. It was just everybody else. They had all tiptoed around their precious little Asuma, telling him lies while also withholding the information he had so desperately needed. He was certain they were all scared of him, too, which both saddened and frightened him.

Why the fear? Why me? What did I ever do?

He realized then he had been staring sightlessly at his paws. Blinking, he frowned and turned them over. His jaw went slack. He was shocked to find that he'd clawed so deeply into the ground that he'd opened up the tender sores on his paw pads. They were now coated in a thin layer of red-tinged, syrupy kind of mud. Up inside his toes it burned from the great stress he had put on his claws. With a nervous grimace of distaste, he shook his head and pulled his paws closer to clean them again. He intently eyed the long and thin, but deep, trench-like scars that he had created with his claws. The brown, scruffy earth around the scars was smeared in red.

Asuma growled again.

He hated Kovu, mostly for being so wasteful. The lion had struggled so hard, it had seemed, to get away from Zira, only to go back to his old habits. He'd thrown away his family like they had meant nothing to him, even killing his own, and now he was half-heartedly planning to get them back? And with a stupid army of lionesses who served little more purpose than to bring further destruction to the pride he claimed he loved so much? If it was to be for the sake of restoring the throne to his heirs, which was nothing more than a sham in and of itself, it was pointless and irrational. As Asuma had pointed out the morning before, Kovu had had ample opportunity to strike in the Pride Lands. If he had truly wanted his family back, he wouldn't have made things nearly so complicated. If he had really loved his family...

Kovu doesn't deserve his family. He doesn't deserve to walk this land.

And Natin! He was the most wasteful of all! He had known all that time that Kovu had killed Simba and his mother, and yet he had stood back and waited until the last minute. Natin was supposed to be strong and brave and confident, but his cousin had done nothing with his gifts.

Instead, Natin had come to him for help. All Natin had now was his strength, Asuma suspected. Nothing more.

But that's what separates him from me.

"Asuma?"

Natin's voice triggered his return to reality. With a concerned frown, his cousin was looking down his nose at his tattered paws.

Asuma's paws burned when he quickly stood up. He made sure to stand over the bloody scratches in the ground. He frowned at Natin, slightly raising a brow in annoyance.

"What?"

It looked for a moment that Natin might ask about his injuries, but instead he blinked and announced that the lionesses had brought down a zebra. "If you wanna eat you better-"

"I'm not hungry."

Natin looked skeptical. "Oh?"

Asuma's frown deepened as he sat down. He flicked the end of his tail, waiting for Natin to continue. Natin wasn't in the habit of calling him to dinner.

Natin made a face as he said, "It's Kovu. He's gonna speak with us."

"About what?"

Natin's expression of concern deepened, and before long Asuma felt his expression soften to mirror his cousin's.

"What? What is it? He wants to discuss plans for when he gets to the Pride Lands, doesn't he?"

Natin made a face again. "I'd imagine so..."

Nervous, Asuma scoffed. "You imagine? What else could it be then?"

The darker-furred lion stared back at him for a moment. Then, with a dismissive sound, Natin shook his head. "Nah, I think I'm... I'm just letting my mind get the best of me."

Asuma's face flushed in irritation. "Natin, now is not the time to let your mind play tricks on you."

Natin straightened up. "Right... It was dumb. Sorry, cousin."

Don't be, Asuma thought, but he bit his tongue. Now he certainly needed to have a private chat with Natin.

Natin jerked his head and turned. "Hey. This way."

Wincing on his tender paws, Asuma followed.

"Just letting my mind get the best of me..."

With a grimace behind Natin's back, Asuma hoped Natin's suspicions were not sound. They were so close.

That's why you don't count your battles won before you've entered the fight... but this isn't a battle I plan on losing.

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They had gone back to find Kovu waiting patiently for them. When he had seen that Natin had brought Asuma with him, the old rogue had motioned with the stump of his tail for them to follow him away from the rest of the pride. Asuma had hesitantly glanced around, as had Natin, and they had noticed that Sauda was busy picking meat out of her gnarled teeth. When she didn't look up, it was clear she was completely unaware that Kovu was excluding her from whatever he had to discuss.

They followed Kovu silently into the night until they were far away from the slobbering of beasts as they devoured their zebra carcass. Asuma walked closely next to Natin, and though they weren't touching, the younger lion could feel the tension oozing off Natin's body.

I don't think Natin was imaging things... something's up.

Then, in the next moment, he had an epiphany as he fixed his gaze on Kovu's bare back.

We're alone with Kovu.

"Patience," Natin suddenly whispered in his ear, as if something on his face had given him away.

Asuma tried hard not to growl in frustration. Attacking Kovu, right then and there, would get it over quicker, but it was also the quickest way to getting killed. Not only would they most likely cause enough noise to alert the lionesses, but it would also be Tanga's death sentence. Even if they struck fast and quick, at least one of the lionesses must have seen them go off alone with their leader. He didn't need Natin to tell him that.

Clearing his throat, Kovu stopped walking abruptly and turned to them.

The pair of younger lions halted as well.

"Kovu, you wanted to talk with us?" Natin asked.

Kovu nodded and sat down. "Yes, I wanted to talk to you about our plans."

"Of course, sir. What is it?"

"Tomorrow evening," Kovu began, "we will have the hunt. Then we will make the trek to the border of the Pride Lands where we will regroup and plan our attack. Sauda wishes to keep our momentum and head straight for Pride Rock and take them by surprise. Stopping, she believes, would waste time."

Natin looked around, seemingly for the sake of it. "Well, I'm just guessing here, but I suppose that's not what we're gonna do since she wasn't invited to this meeting?"

Kovu nodded. Almost imperceptibly, the old rogue sighed. "She's brash and can't comprehend anything beyond the end result. She's a strike force, not a planner."

Glancing at Natin, Asuma knew he wanted to say something nasty, but luckily his cousin held his tongue.

"But her lionesses are strong fighters. If we go to battle for the throne," Kovu continued, "then we'll need them."

If? Asuma narrowed his eyes.

Kovu then turned his attention to Asuma. There was a smile on his face. "There are other ways to get what we want, right?"

Uncertainly, Asuma slowly nodded. He felt Natin's eyes on him as Kovu continued.

"Chaka's the only one we're after," he said, "we don't need to drag the rest of the pride down with him. They won't be a problem once he's out of the way."

Asuma stiffened, and at his side he felt Natin do the same.

"Father, what are you saying?"

"Tomorrow night, when you and Tanga are hunting," Kovu said to the light furred lion, "Natin and I will find an excuse to slip off into the night."

What?

Natin stammered, "Wait... we're gonna do wha-"

"We'll leave them behind! And we can use the hunt as a distraction. We can use the night as cover."

"But... A distraction for what now?"

"We're taking the Pride Lands without the lionesses. We don't need these rogues to win!"

Kovu then grinned widely at Asuma. His eyes glistening in the moonlight.

"Right, son?"

"You can't trust someone who has an insatiable appetite. You were trained as an assassin. I keep wondering why you haven't returned to Pride Rock and taken Chaka out. We don't need these rogues to win."

His heart started to hammer in his chest. Faintly, Asuma recalled the words he had scathingly said to Kovu the morning before. He was still unsure of why he had spoken like that in the first place, why he had immediately walked away afterwards. He was angry with Kovu for being so selfish and blind. He was also frustrated with Natin's deliberate stalling. Maybe, deep down, those words had been more carefully chosen than he thought? Maybe he had wanted to torment Kovu into taking a less passive aggressive route? Drive him down some path that would force Natin to react as well? Now, he certainly saw the amount of influence he had over Kovu.

Natin snarled angrily, his ears pressed against his head. He sprung to his paws. "Have you finally lost your mind?"

Asuma's eyes widened.

Kovu rose to his paws as well and charged forward. "Listen, you-"

Scrambling backwards with a nervous growl, Natin bared his teeth and lowered his body slightly to ground.

Asuma cringed and closed his eyes, anticipating the attack he hoped would and wouldn't happen then and there. He opened his eyes after a moment when he could only hear the heavy pants of his father, and saw that Kovu was standing a whisker's length in front of him with his back arched, the hairs along his spine raised.

A smug look pinched Kovu's face. He had stopped himself from physically punishing Natin for speaking out. "We're only after one lion," he snapped instead, "and that's Chaka. We've wasted enough time."

"You're talking about a suicide mission," Natin argued. "The pride-"

"No, Natin," Asuma finally spoke up, cutting Natin off.

Natin's blue eyes widened for a moment before he glared hard at Asuma. "You-"

"Natin," Asuma stressed, holding his glare firmly as he spoke. He turned towards his cousin and took a step forward. "We'll find a way to ambush him instead. It would be less messy and nobody else would be involved. He won't know what's hit him."

Realization dawned on Natin's face.

Exactly...

"My son is right, Natin," Kovu said. "We'll be putting our skills to use. Remember everything that I've taught you?"

"Yeah, I see now. It makes sense." Natin straightened up slowly, glancing between him and Kovu. "The lionesses will try to track us, but there's a river I know that we can cross," he remarked. "That will throw them off. The big herds drink from it. It's a few days out of the way, but we can do it."

Inwardly, Asuma was grinning. He scarcely listened as Natin and Kovu discussed how careful they needed to be, how the darkness would be their greatest advantage, and just how well Tanga would be able to work with the plan. Natin would tell her about it once they returned to the camp.

Asuma turned to Kovu. He had one last thing to ask. "Are you certain they do not know the way to the Pride Lands?" he said.

Kovu nodded again. "Without us, they'll wander. Even knowing the general direction will do nothing for them once we lose them at the river."

Asuma smirked. "Good."

Kovu then turned to him. The old rogue's expression was soft, certainly very fatherly.

Asuma couldn't help but blink. The smirk faltered on his face. I don't think he's ever looked at me that way... Natin did say he's not right in the-

"Son, we're gonna make this right again," Kovu said, "You're finally gonna get what you deserve." He then looked away for a second. More quietly, he added, "I know I wasn't there to see you grow up... but I hope this will help make it up to you. We'll do this together."

It took every bit of energy to trick the muscles in his face to draw out a sweet smile.

"Right, Father," he said earnestly. "We are in this together."

...But this ends with you...

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Letting out a soft sigh, Kiara slowly opened her eyes and twitched her nose. The sky was still dark, but by the stillness of the cool, sweet air, she could tell the night was losing its grip little by little. She was uncertain as to why she had woken in the middle of the night. She had had no nightmares to speak of, nor did she believe she had heard a noise. Throughout the den, she could hear the soothing, rhythmic breathing and quiet snoring of her pridemates. Hours would pass before any of them bothered to crack an eyelid.

Kiara lifted her head away from the body-warmed stone floor and glanced around, making sure nothing else besides some internal factor had woken her. When she was satisfied, she pushed herself to sit up while she yawned deeply. Then, when she looked over at the vacant, lifeless spot next to her, her ears lowered and her shoulders sagged.

Maybe again someday, I won't have to wake up alone... she thought with a tired sigh.

Closing her eyes tightly, the lioness turned her face away. She then stood and walked to the mouth of the den where she spied Chaka's peaceful silhouette. For a moment, she paused and watched from a few lengths away as he slept. He was curled up with his paws tucked under his chin, his sides rising and falling slowly and deeply. The various muscles on his face that were tense during the day were softened by his slumber. She wondered if he had looked like that when he was a young cub, so unaware of the troubles his future held.

I hope one day you can be even half as untroubled, brother. I wish that for all of us...

Kiara silently continued past Chaka. Once outside, she turned and began to climb to the very top of Pride Rock. The path was steep, worn, and narrow, but just going to the presentation point felt... empty. As a cub, she remembered her father and how he'd taken her there one morning to see the sunrise and all of the Pride Lands. Then, everything as far as she had been able to see had been cast in gold. Looking across the flat stone once she had reached the top, she sat down and scanned the moon-bleached land. After taking a moment to clear her mind, she found herself noting just how devoid of sound the night was. There was no rustling of breeze-blown grass, no hiccuping calls coming from the zebra herds, no elephant trumpets, and no shrill squawks or trilling birdsong.

Like every tiny fly to the tallest giraffe senses that changes are coming.

Chaka had been relentlessly drilling the pride's lionesses, and the day before had been the worst yet. Along with various, simple combat moves he had them practice with the former Outsider lionesses, he also had them running laps and climbing all over Pride Rock to build their stamina. Though she didn't agree exactly with what her brother was doing, she made it a point to join in and act as an example to the rest of her tired and sore pride. Stupidly, she thought, Chaka also continued to threaten the lionesses with death in battle if they weren't prepared. Kiara knew that death occurred in battle, but did her best to console the increasingly frustrated lionesses. The longer they lived with the anticipation of battle- if there even would be one- the higher chance there would be for the lionesses to suddenly put their paws down. The last thing they needed was for the entire pride to abandon Chaka and leave for calmer lands.

But what if all of this is pointless? We can only do so much. If Kovu shows up with his lionesses, can we really do anything to stop him from spilling the blood of each and every member of our pride?

This thought was familiar to Kiara, and it tended to plague her every waking moment. She knew that every lioness in the pride was thinking that same horrible thought. She knew they were going about things the wrong way.

But then... what's the right way?

Swallowing the lump in her throat, Kiara closed her eyes for a moment before she lifted her gaze to the winking stars. She waited patiently for something... anything to happen. She would've been delighted just with one lonely star streaking across the sky. If the tales of the Great Kings of the Past were true, why was nobody helping them? Surely, they wouldn't want them to die, so why hadn't they intervened? Kiara was desperate for someone to help them, someone to turn to who knew all the answers. She knew Chaka was wrong. She knew she was doing something wrong, too. She wanted someone to tell her what to do.

Daddy... Mom...

The pain she felt for her dead parents stabbed at her gut. More than anything she wanted to be a cub again. As much as she had loathed it, she would have given anything then and there for someone aside from Chaka to give her an order. Even a stupid one. She wished sorely for someone to drop the answers in front of her, and she wondered what her parents would have done in her place. Would they act differently? If so, how then? Somehow they had known what to do when they had faced Scar, even if they had made mistakes with Zira, and once in her life Kiara thought she had known the answers, too. Now... she felt she had lost those answers and made far too many mistakes.

Maybe... maybe it's only me who can help me... maybe I have to start searching for the answers again...

"Don't give up!"

Kiara perked her ears and straightened up. She had equal right to control the pride just as much as Chaka. In fact, she had more right. There had been no ceremony declaring him king. She had been instructed all her young life on how to be queen. She knew he saw her as little more than another subject, rather than an equal. More so, he treated the other lionesses like a hired army when they deserved nothing less than that to be treated as a beloved family. She had been the one who had brought them and made them stand together!

Frowning, Kiara wilted with a huff.

Still... I'm a leader who doesn't have all the answers that they need...

Her eyes turned up to the sky again, and she asked herself what her son and daughter had been thinking when they had followed Natin, and why they had trusted their cousin in the first place. They had followed a stranger who, for all they knew, could have been leading them into a hostage situation. The only thing she could be certain of was that they knew the truth now, maybe more than she thought she herself knew. They also knew she had misled them, even if she had done it out of protection. She would've been outraged if her mother had kept secrets from her like the ones she'd kept from her children. Perhaps it had been their anger that had fueled them to act? She certainly feared the extent of Asuma's motives, wondering how much he had been struggling with alone over the years. They were going after their own father, for Great King's sake!

Yet... they've put their lives in danger for a chance to save the pride, the end result of whatever they are feeling. They're doing something about it, and nobody gave them instructions but themselves.

A small breeze fluffed her fur, as if the night had sighed a breath in relief.

...But I'm not going to find my answers sitting here at Pride Rock, waiting for them to fall down in front of me.

With a quick stretch, Kiara jumped to her paws and turned to climb back down to the den. Once inside the warm, dark space, she crept up to Suki. The younger lioness's cubs were resting in a pile at her side while she laid with her legs stretched out. Lightly, Kiara placed her paw on Suki's shoulder.

Suki groaned and stretched. She opened her eyes and took a moment to focus on the source of her wakefulness.

"Wha-? Kiar-"

Kiara stuck her paw on the lioness's mouth and hushed her. With a brief glance to confirm that nobody had been disturbed, she whispered into Suki's ear, "Follow me. Bring Isabis and Neo with you."

A crease formed between Suki's eyes.

"Please?" Kiara urged. "I have an idea."

Suki slowly stood up and yawned before bending down to whisper in her cubs' ears to wake them up. To Kiara's surprise, Isabis was just as silent as Neo, though from the moment she woke she was almost bouncing on her paws.

Nodding to Suki, Kiara motioned with her tail and led them quietly past Chaka. Kiara let the others pass her as she paused briefly, with one of her paws raised, to glance over her shoulder to the gaping mouth of the den where the rest of the pride would sleep well into the night.

"To truly lead my pride," she whispered determinedly, turning away, "I owe to them to find the answers."

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When they had returned to the camp that evening, Tanga was already fast asleep, as were most of the lionesses. Their bellies were grossly distended as they laid splayed out on the ground. Natin stopped a few lengths away from where Tanga rested. He sighed and let his legs buckle so he would flop onto the ground. He sighed tiredly. Behind his eyelids, he knew that Kovu had gone deeper into the band of lionesses while Asuma laid down within reaching distance. Tanga wasn't far away, either.

Shifting his sore muscles, Natin rested his chin on his crossed paws.

"Natin, we need to talk."

He flinched. His head snapped up and he frowned questioningly at Asuma, who was crouched over him.

"C'mon," his cousin whispered. He gestured with a jerk of his head.

Natin was sure he had fallen right asleep, but he didn't know how long for. With a yawn, he stood up and looked briefly around before following Asuma.

Silently, they walked back into the quiet darkness together. As they walked, Natin could feel that the sunrise wasn't too far away. He flared his nostrils, taking in the cool air. The night was peaceful, that was for sure.

My nights probably won't be this peaceful after tomorrow... he thought with a grimace.

"Natin."

Natin paused and looked back over his shoulder. Behind him a few lengths, he noticed that Asuma had stopped, and he turned back around to sit down with his cousin.

He stifled another yawn as he asked, "What did you wanna talk about?"

"First, I need to know what happened with you and my sister. Neither of you said a word to each other today, so you can't pretend."

Natin frowned and flicked his tail. Inwardly, he chided himself for being so transparent. He should have forced Tanga into talking to him. He hadn't been thinking.

"We just had a little argument, that's all."

Asuma pressed, "About what?"

Natin shrugged indifferently. "Differences in opinion."

Asuma narrowed his eyes and was quiet for a moment. "Natin. I hope you still differ in opinion."

"Asuma, of course," he replied. His heart was fluttering slightly in his chest. "Do you think I don't know what needs to be done?"

The momentary silence unnerved him, but with a nod it was apparent the answer he'd given had been satisfactory. The younger lion sat there looking thoughtful.

Nervously, Natin yawned again and stretched, pushing himself to his paws. "If that's all we're gonna discuss, then how about we try to get some more sleep, alright?"

Asuma shook his head. "No, sit back down. I'm not finished."

Natin raised a brow. "Oh? Really now..."

"Yes, really now."

With a shrug, Natin sat down.

"What was that? With Kovu?"

Natin frowned and eyed Asuma skeptically. "I'm not sure what you're talkin' about."

"You called him crazy and he lunged at you," Asuma snapped. "That's what I'm talkin' about. You can't do that."

Natin felt his face flush. "Hey," he said, narrowing his eyes, "I wasn't the one who challenged him into suddenly growing a conscious. Now he's changed plans on us."

Asuma mirrored his glare. "For the better, Natin, you know that. I was surprised you reacted like that, and even more surprised when you didn't see the opportunity more quickly."

"Caught me off guard."

"Well don't do that then. Don't get caught off guard again," Asuma growled. "That's why I'm concerned."

Natin opened his mouth to defend himself, but his tight throat took hold of his words like a vice. All he could do was stare back at Asuma, but even then he couldn't stand to do that for too long. Guiltily, he watched his claws churn up the dirt.

Asuma sighed. Almost comfortingly, he said, "We're in this together. You told me that, didn't you? Right?"

All he could do was nod. His heart skipped a beat as he shot Asuma a fleeting glance.

"Then what's your problem? Natin."

The ice in Asuma's voice made him shiver as he forced himself into looking up to meet his cousin's judging gaze. After a while, he realized he was holding his breath. There was a ringing in his ears, and the silence of the night deafened him.

His face then flushed with anger.

Quietly, Natin said, "I'm not gonna say what my problem is because surely you already know... You've always known."

Asuma barely skipped a beat. "You're a coward."

The voice at the back of Natin's mind instantly demanded that he attack Asuma, to make him eat his words. To call Asuma out as he dug his claws into his hide. Though the words weren't any less than true- he knew that- they still cut deep. He couldn't kill, even for his mother. He knew also he'd never have the strength to turn on Asuma like that.

Asuma started to smirk.

But then Natin thought, it takes a coward to know a coward...

"Asuma, have you stopped once to question if we're really in the right?"

The smirk faltered and turned into a glare. "Of course we're in the right, Natin. He's a killer."

Natin's jaw tensed and his ears pressed against his thick mane. "But... if we..." he stammered. "If we do this we'll become-"

"No!" Asuma snarled and jumped to his paws. "We're nothing like him! Do you hear me? NOTHING!"

"You'll go down with him if you do this."

"Your father-"

"No, not just my father. Asuma, too."

"What can you expect? We're trying to find a solution. Our elders weren't doing a whole heck of a lot!"

"So you concoct an elaborate, insane plan to take care of things?"

"As I recall, you were the one who suggested the elaborate, crazy plan."

"I didn't think you'd buy it!"

"Natin!" Asuma snapped.

His whole body was shaking now, his face pinched in pent-up frustration and anger. He felt, as he tucked his chin into his chest, that he was folding in on himself, becoming smaller and more helpless... like he had the day his mother had died. He clenched his eyes shut tight. He had been unable to admit his fears to Lewa, and now he had exposed himself to Asuma.

"Natin! Nat-"

The words burst from his mouth. "I don't wanna kill him!"

"I don't care if you don't wanna," Asuma snarled, "we have to, so suck it up! We're standing between him and the pride!"

A cold sweat broke out all along his body as Natin urged, "But now we're only standing between him and Chaka!" He was panting. "What if we bring him to Pride Rock. Alive. We can bring him to justice-"

"No. That's not good enough!"

Natin's eyes widened. "You think that killing him is going to solve all your problems?"

"No, it isn't about me, stupid, everyone's prob-"

"No!" Natin lip curled and again the urge arose to jump Asuma. He was struggling and losing the battle to keep calm as he blurted, "I'm not talkin' about everyone, I'm talkin' about you. You'll become a monster, Asuma."

Asuma's eyes widened.

Natin lashed his tail. "I hate to say it, but you are becoming a monster!"

Asuma's jaw dropped and his ears lowered. For a moment, it looked like he had become frozen, shocked right back into reality. Soon, however, to Natin's disappointment, Asuma expression blackened and his head lowered aggressively. "If that means that he's paid for his crimes..." he sneered, "I don't think I'll mind it too much."

His claws dug at the ground. Natin felt more helpless when his voice cracked. "It's too high a price, Asuma, and we can't undo it. Why does violence have to be the answer?"

I can't believe I just said that...

As Asuma stared blankly at him, he rolled his shoulders and growled. He stormed around Asuma. "I refuse to lay a paw on him. Do what you want."

"Oh, goody..."

Natin gritted his teeth at the taunt, but he kept walking.

Asuma scoffed behind him. The younger lion called, "Has somebody grown a conscious? Or has he forgotten who murdered his mother..."

Natin bristled and stopped in his tracks. With a growl, he was unable to resist the urge to turn around. "Who are you to tell me what is right and what isn't? Or to tell me to suck it up," he snarled. He started back towards his cousin, eying him. "Look at you... you haven't even grown into your body yet. And you know what? All this time you've only seen me as a fool. Now you're upset because, as it turns out, your puppet has teeth. Why don't I just train you myself to do Kovu in?"

Natin could smell the anger as it rolled off of Asuma.

When his cousin didn't respond, Natin snorted in disgust. "What? No takers?"

"We don't have time for that."

"You haven't once asked me to train you, and I offered."

Asuma lifted his chin and puffed out his mane. "I could do it."

"No, the distinction is do you think you could do it, Asuma. It's not that you, deep down, know it's wrong, or that you don't wanna dirty your paws- unless I've really been underestimating you this entire time, then otherwise congratulations are in order. I'd almost have more respect for you in that case. But no! It's that you fully believe that you're physically incapable of getting the job done. You fester in your weakness. That's what you do. You can't pull the trigger, even though the longer you wait, the more your hatred grows for him. So then you saw that your big, strong, vengeful cousin was up to the task and you jumped right on board."

Asuma was shuddering, his eyes wide. "It's not like-"

"Yes it is!"

Asuma flinched. He looked away, frowning hard. The growing moisture in the younger lion's eyes was as clear as day.

Natin shook his head, his lip curling. He lowered his eyes to the ground. "I saw your eagerness a mile off," he said, more in control. "I should have quit being a scared little cub and done it myself."

He then lifted his gaze and glared hard at Asuma. He thought of the blood he had seen on his cousin's tattered paws that evening.

The anger that pulsed through his body was evident in his voice when he said, "Now I've involved you."

Asuma sniffed and blinked hard, still looking away from a moment. When he opened his eyes and was glaring back full in the face, he croaked, "Well, it's the least you can do to help me."

"Through murder?"

"No, no, no," Asuma croaked, shaking his head, "you're not seeing the whole picture."

"Then are you gonna explain it to me, Asuma? Explain this big picture you've got formed in your head."

The muscles in Asuma's jaw jumped. "Do you remember how it was when we were cubs?" he began.

Natin's heart fluttered.

"You were the brave, strong, charismatic one, and I just so happened to be the son of the king and queen. You were perfect, and you were destined to outshine me when we came to the throne with Tanga. I was constantly teased by you-"

"It was all in fun," Natin put in. His stomach felt like it was trying to kill him. He wasn't surprised by what Asuma was saying, but it still horrified him.

"Fun? No, not to me. An-and we always had to do what you wanted to do-"

Natin closed his eyes and started to shake his head.

"-because that's what Tanga wanted to do, to follow you around like some m-mindless-"

"Get to the point!"

Asuma's eyes widened in surprise. He then glared at Natin and again he lowered his head threateningly. "I'm in the position I am now because you tricked Tanga and I into going hunting with you that day. I wouldn't have gotten lost, and I wouldn't have found Kovu, right in the act of burying my grandfather."

"You can't blame others for your own decisions, Asuma."

In response, there was a malicious gleam in his cousin's eye.

Natin frowned. "What? So now it's time for you to collect a debt?"

"It's mutually beneficial to us both."

"Asuma!" Natin cried, exasperated. "What are we gonna do after Kovu is dead and we survive? What are you gonna do?"

Asuma's lip curled.

"And what about Isabis?"

"What about her?" Asuma snapped.

"And Tanga? You haven't once thought of her."

With Kovu's training, Natin easily saw it coming, and back-stepped away from Asuma when he swung his paw to hit him. The weaker lion stumbled on his paws and grunted in frustration.

"Shut up, Natin, just shut up!"

Natin stood on the offense, ready if he decided to try again. "You're acting like a child, Asuma."

"This conversation changes nothing! Kovu still needs to be stopped. He'll slaughter them all if he gets the chance, you've said that over and over again. We have to stop him!"

Natin felt his chest tighten. Despite of everything Tanga had tried to tell him, and despite his fears, there was no escaping their ultimate decision to assassinate Kovu. The rogue was planning his escape in a day... and then they would be alone with him. It would be their last opportunity to take matters into their own paws, and as much as he disliked Chaka he knew he couldn't allow him to fight Kovu. And as much as he hated Asuma for pushing him to it...

He was trapped.

He set Asuma in a hard glare, which the younger lion returned ten-fold. "You're right, Asuma," he said, his tone mocking. "You're nothing but right."

Asuma curled his lip, his teeth peeking through.

"But just so you know, dear cousin... I'm not doin' this for you or for myself. I'm doing this for my pride, even if most of them don't deserve it... including you. I'm the most capable, and I can't afford to let them down."

Natin turned away and headed back towards the camp.

"Only sick cowards need an ambush to win a fight, right, Natin?"

Natin stiffened and stopped again in his tracks at Asuma's taunt. It was the same thing he had told Asuma and Tanga when they had first heard Simba had supposedly been ambushed by rogues. Gritting his teeth, he contemplated turning around to finally give Asuma the beating he was clearly asking for.

It won't do us any good... Unfortunate as it is, you need him tomorrow. You wouldn't wanna make it harder for him to fight, hmmm?

"Fine then, you keep walking. Just make sure to keep your word!"

Natin closed his eyes. And you call me the sick coward...

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A lot of the unspoken subtext that's been floating around previously came to the surface in this chapter, that's for sure. Like I said, I don't know when the next update will be, but I'm working on it. Please review…? :3