Chapter Sixteen

Simba's POV

I was still fuming mad when I woke up the next morning, not so much at the situation, but at Nala's constant questioning and undermining my parental decisions. I was Tano's father, did I not have a say on how he got punished? Zazu approaching allowed me a moment to concentrate on other things.

"Good morning sire, shall I give you the morning report?" he asked in his ever-cheery tone.

I sighed, my head was throbbing and the last thing I needed to hear was his off-key singing voice, "Sure Zazu, can you just speak it though?" I asked, trying not to sound rude or offensive while doing so.

"Most certainly sire, the vultures report a sizeable herd of antelope near the south boundary, and the giraffes are saying the rains should start here in the next couple of weeks. Call me crazy sire, but it's like they control the weather, their accuracy astonishes me." he rattled off quickly

I nodded, paying very little attention to what he was saying, "Any news from the other territories?" I asked

He nodded, "Yes sire, the plains pride to the extreme north has inquired to the whereabouts of your uncle Nadugu."

Oh man, I had completely forgotten about uncle Nadugu, I'd let him stay with my pride after Tano was born, he'd immediately taken a liking to Zira after arriving and stayed a lot longer than we'd originally agreed on.

But he was family, and as long as he didn't try to drop me off a steep cliff or break my neck in my sleep I really didn't care if he left or not.

"Yeah it is kinda wierd that he hasn't checked in with me since the other day." I said, becoming a little worried

"Perhaps he and madam Zira have been...preoccupied, sire?" Zazu suggested, sensing my concern

I smiled and shook my head at the question, "I'd still better go drop by at least." I said, letting a small laugh.

Zazu nodded, "Mhm, perhaps, I suppose one can never be too cautious." he agreed

I left Zazu and made my way to Zira's den, it was there that uncle Nadugu had decided to stay, "Zira? Nadugu? Hello?" I called into the dark cave.

"King Simba? What are you doing here?" a small feminine voice asked after several moments of silence.

Zira's daughter Vitani slowly emerged from the den, "Just looking for your mother, or Nadugu." I answered

Vitani sighed, "I haven't seen either of them since yesterday morning sir, and I haven't seen my brother since yesterday afternoon." she said

What kind of parent leaves a seven month old cub unattended?

I cocked an eyebrow, "So you're all alone?" I asked, concern starting to creep it's way into my voice

Vitani slowly nodded, "Yes sir, but I know how to take care of myself, mother has been teaching me how to hunt." she said, I could tell she was bragging about that, most female cubs didn't learn that until they were a year or more old.

I then noticed something about Vitani that seemed all at once: Peculiar, worrying, and eerily familiar. "Vitani, what happened to your ear?" I asked her

Unlike Tano, Vitani was only missing a small chip out of her ear, but the similarity beteween the injuries was unmistakeable.

"Well, this bully Kufa was picking on me. He got a little rough." she replied

Wow, this wasn't like Kufa, even though he was the pride's bully.

I shifted my stance, something wasn't right here, "Did you know Tano has a injury that looks pretty close to that one?" I asked her

Vitani shook her head, "No. Kufa's mean though, I wouldn't put it past him, Is Tano ok?"

I nodded, "He's fine." I said, then in an abrupt return to what I'd originally came here for, I asked, "Do you know where your mom and Nadugu liked to go Vitani?"

She seemed to think it over for a long time, "They have three places they like to go to, down by the river, over by the gorge, and down inside the gorge."

Well, it wasn't much, but it was a start.

"Thank you for your help Vitani, be careful." I said as I turned and walked away

Usheja's POV

As the sun beat down from above that morning, I laid on my back soaking up it's warm and refreshing rays. I was in a trance, one that I never wanted to come out of...

...But Zira's voice dragged me out of it

"Usheja! There's been a terrible accident, come quickly!" she said, her voice cracking with what seemed at the time to be genuine terror.

I lept to my feet quickly, "Zira, what happened?" I asked, wanting to help my friend

"Nadugu, he's hurt bad...or dead. there was so much blood..." she said

Zira then motioned for me to follow her, and my feet couldn't move fast enough.

Rafiki's POV

The sun had been up for an hour or so when I heard the king making his way up my tree.

"Whoa whoa whoa there, King Simba! Be careful please!" Poor guy was like a bull in a china shop, knocking stuff over and breaking branches in his hurry up to my home. "What brings you here this morning?" I said with a smile. I always enjoyed his visits. He reminded me so much of his father, whom I still missed so much.

"Rafiki, I just don't know what to do. Nala and I have been fighting so much lately. We both think we're right all the time, which leads to more arguments. We haven't even kissed since before Tano's last incident with Kufa a couple weeks ago. I don't know what to do. I'm just so mad at her." I could see that the King was very upset, and I knew I had to show him the answer.

"Have you ever considered why she's mad at you? Have you tried seeing things from her perspective at all?" I asked.

"Well, come to think of it, I just think about how mad I get at her. I haven't really thought about how she feels. Oh man, how could I be so selfish? I love her and I haven't even tried to understand how she feels. Rafiki, how can I fix this?" He groaned in frustration with himself, and I could see that he would be open to the advice I was about to give him.

I placed my hand on his shoulder and looked into his eyes earnestly. "Simba, you must go to her and apologize. Let her know how much you really care about her. Show her your love and care, and open up to her about how you feel. When she sees your sincerity and change of heart, she will open up to you too. Just remember: follow old Rafiki, he knows de way!"

And with that, I popped him on the head with my stick and leapt from my tree, giggling like a madman the whole way.

Simba's POV

Well, I knew Nala had been right. I needed to talk to Kufa's mother.

In fact, I stopped looking for my uncle to go talk to her.

I couldn't bear the thought of Nala being angry with me anymore, and I knew I had to do my job as Tano's father. It was time to step up and take responsibility. I made a mental note to sincerely apologize to Nala after talking to Natashu about her unruly son. I made my way into her den, but she was nowhere to be found. To my surprise, little Kufa was napping in the corner. Well, perfect opportunity to nip this right in the bud.

"Kufa, I need to speak with you."

He nearly jumped out of his fur. I could see I had startled him, and he could see that I was here to take care of business. No time for games.

"G-g-good m-morning, King Simba, sir. What c-can I d-do for you, s-sir?" he replied shakily, and I could see his apparent anxiety at my approach.

"What has been going on with you and Tano lately?" I figured that this question would bring a confession, to which I would reply with a stern reprimand and all of this would be taken care of as quickly as it had begun.

"Uh… nothing, s-sir. I'm sorry for fighting with him before, but I haven't played with him for at least two weeks. Mom's had me grounded to the den for the last fight Tano and I had, sir. I haven't done anything, I promise!"

I stared into his dark little eyes, trying to find some hint of a lie, but I could see that he was telling the truth. Which thoroughly confused me. If Kufa didn't do it, then who did? How could Tano lie to me AGAIN, after I covered his little ass so many times over this? Well, at least Kufa learned his lesson, one way or another.

"Alright. I'll talk to your mom and make sure I'm getting the full story. Go back to sleep, Kufa. And keep behaving. I'll make sure Tano does." And I meant it.

Nala's POV

I was still fuming over our argument when I woke up the next morning. So angry, in fact, that I stayed in the den for most of the morning, avoiding my husband at all costs. If I had to face him and that cocky, self-centered attitude one more time…

As the sun began to move high in the sky above Pride Rock, I turned to see him entering the den with a solemn, apologetic expression on his face. Great, here we go again, I thought.

"Can we talk? Please?" His eyes told me he was really serious this time, and it caught me off guard. I hadn't seen this Simba in a while. I nodded and beckoned for him to come closer.

He sighed and began to pour his heart out to me in a way he hadn't done since he told me about the stampede right before Tano was born.

He looked deep into my eyes and softly said, "I love you and I'm sorry for my behavior lately, especially last night. I've been so stubborn and foolish, and you don't deserve that. I went to talk to Natashu about Kufa, but she wasn't there. Kufa was though, and I honestly scared the crap out of him. He denies anything to do with Tano's ear, but I promise I'll talk to Natashu as soon as she returns from the daily hunting party tonight. I love you and I am so sorry. Please, Nala, please forgive me."

I felt tears forming in my eyes, and I buried my head in his mane and nuzzled my Simba. "I love you too. I'm sorry for what I said about you not being a good father. I'm the luckiest lioness in the world because you are the father of my son. I forgive you, Simba." I looked up into his eyes, and he was tearing up too.

He smiled, and we pulled each other close for the first time in what had seemed an eternity. This was the Simba I fell in love with so long ago. He kissed me softly, and I thanked the kings above for bringing my Simba back to me once again.

Zira's POV

I knew I had to do this quick. She had once been my friend, but she was getting a little too suspicious and asking a few too many questions. I knew I couldn't allow her to ruin my plan, even if it meant killing my former best friend.

She saw his lifeless body and the huge gash across his neck and gasped. "ZIRA? Oh my- how did- I- WHAT DID YOU DO?" she spat in disbelief, seeing through the veil of mock surprise and horror I had put up to get her to follow me here.

I sighed. Here goes.

"Well, he rebelled. He turned away from me and my plan to overthrow Simba. So he had to go."

"YOU KILLED HIM? How could you DO that? You know what? I'm done. I'm out of here. I don't even know who you ARE anymore!" she shrieked in mortified surprise.

I leapt toward her, and with a quick slash to the neck, I put her on the ground in a pool of her own blood. As she gazed up at me with hurt and confused eyes, taking her last breath, I whispered into her ear, "I'll tell you who I am. I'm someone who gets what she wants. And will eliminate ANYONE who stands in her way." She lay still, and I pushed both bodies off the ravine and into the river, never to be seen again.

A/N: Two days, two chapters, both me and my co-writer went into a writing frenzy.

look out for 17 soon readers, thanks!