Chapter 6

Disclaimer: See Prologue & Chapter 1.

A chance?

*Kopa*

A week has passed and Simba still has not done any fire bending. I am really starting to get worried. What happens if he runs into Zira and she can get around his other three elements? I sigh and then hear someone walk alongside me. I see it is Tojo and I just grunt.

"Well hello to you too, Kopa!" He responded with a hint of sarcasm.

"What do you want Tojo?" I was getting annoyed already and I could already tell this was not going to be pleasant.

"Nothing. Just making sure nobody else got hurt by that brother of yours!" He said brother with such venom that I almost snapped but kept my cool because I did not want a fight.

"Tojo. For the umpteenth time, Simba did not mean to hurt Nala on purpose. It was an accident and Nala already forgave him for it. Geez, do you have a hearing problem or is your brain in those dumb claws of yours?" I saw his eyes twitch as I mentioned his claws. I then saw him snarl and turn away.

"Just keep Simba away from my sister!" He said before walking away.

"I will let Simba play with her. I'm not his dad and neither are you." I muttered under my breath. I sighed as I thought of how me and Tojo became such enemies after the incident with Simba. It had severed our friendship, but I wished things could go back to normal, when we were all friends. I then saw a shadow come over and looked up to see my grandmother, Uru.

"Hello Kopa! How are you today?" she asked with a nuzzle.

"I'm doing fine Grandma. I'm just thinking right now." I said. Which was the truth, I was trying to think of a way to help Simba, but so far nothing. Maybe I could try sparring with him… No that wouldn't work. Or maybe he and I can try pulling pranks on the other with our flames… nah, he wouldn't do that either. Dang it, why can't I think of something?

"Thinking about Simba?" She asked with a smirk and a raised eyebrow. If she is reading my mind, I wish I could tell her to stay out of it.

"Yeah. He is really starting to worry me. Even swatting him on the head did not work, even if it cheers me up. He still won't change his mind. I don't know what will do the trick."

"May I make a suggestion?" She asked. I lent her my ear, and she whispered her ide, "You could try tricking Simba into using his fire bending during a game of hide and seek. How you trick him is up to you." My eyes widened and could not help it but to smile.

"Grandma, that's a perfect plan! I think the others will agree as well." I smiled and was about to run when I felt her paw on my tail. I looked back to see her smirking. "Something else Grandma?"

"I think you forgot the price for asking my advice! Guess I have to remind you."

She went to grab my scruff, but by then my mind recalled what she meant and I surrendered. Grandma and I had made it a rule that if I ever asked her for advice, then I would allow her to bathe me. I often wondered why that was her condition and she later told me it was because she missed the days when she bathed Dad and Uncle Scar. I felt her grab my scruff and then place me in her forepaws.

"Tuckered out already? Ok, Bath Time!" She then began the process of bathing me. As I felt her tongue run along my back, I could not help but think. How in Mohatu's name did she convince me to agree to this?

*Nala*

Me and the others were all hanging out at the water hole. Tojo had walked off earlier, and I knew it was to look out for Simba. Kings above, my brother practically mauled him a week ago, he feels guilty enough for hurting me. My brother is not helping matters by watching out for him. Sometimes I just want to ..

"Nala?" I heard a hesitant voice behind me, instantly knowing who it was, a smile migrated across my muzzle. I turned and saw that the bruises from when Tojo hit him had healed over, but that he still looked afraid of being near me. Once again, he was twitching as he looked around.

"It's Ok Simba. Tojo left a while ago. Even if he does come back, I will not hesitate to freeze him solid." He let out a sigh that sounded like a calm breeze when I told him Tojo was gone but he anxiously came up beside me. He looked me in the eyes and for some reason my heart melted as his scarlet eyes looked into mine. What the heck was that? They're just his eyes.

"So are you Ok?" I rolled my eyes at this. He still blamed himself for what happened a week ago and despite him being my friend it was getting annoying for him to keep checking.

"Yah, I am fine. For the last time, it was not your fault. Ok? I am not some weak blade of grass." I saw him look down nervously at his paws ,and was about to scold him a bit for feeling so guilty, when I was cut short by another familiar voice.

"HEY GUYS!" I heard Kopa yell. I turned and saw him running towards us at full speed, only to skid to a stop in front of me and Simba. Simba's face light up when his brother arrived, and was able to breath a sigh of relief.

"Hey Kopa!" He got up and happily sat next to his brother while the rest of the gang came up to join us.

"Hey there bro!" He said as he playfully bats Simba and then looked at me. I saw that his brown eyes, even the one where his scar,were filled with a strange mixture of hope and mischief. The hell was he thinking about?

"Whatcha been up to Kopa?" asked Kula who came up and nuzzled his chin.

"Just escaped the bath of doom from Grandma Uru. and avoided a shouting match with Tojo the sourpuss." He said with a roll of his eyes as he said 'Tojo', but broke out laughing with the thought of his bath. The others soon joined in.

"When will you learn Kopa? No lioness has ever failed to bathe her cubs and grand cubs are no exception. Or so I've heard from my mother." Said Chumvi with a chuckle.

I could see everyone had just become happier with said little joke, except one. Simba had a nervous look on his face and I already knew why. Kopa must have also noticed, as he beat me to the question.

"You ok bro?" He asked

"What did Tojo say?" He asked and I could already see tears welling up in his eyes. Darn it Tojo! (Simba is a very sensitive cub huh. Never pictured him like that.)

"It's not important." But then Simba shot him a sort of pleading slash demanding look and Kopa caved. "He said nothing more than that you are to stay away from Nala." Kopa said with a wince.

"Damn that Tojo. He has got a lot of nerve!" Said Tama with a hiss. She has never been super close to Simba, but she still was protective of him.

"Yeah. Sure, Simba messed up, but did he really need to hit him?" said Kula who rubbed her paw on Simba's back. My heart squeezed at the memory of Simba dripping blood from his muzzle.

"I think he got what he deserved." Said Chumvi. I gasped. How could he seriously approve of Tojo attacking Simba like he did?

"Are you saying you would do the same thing?" Kopa asked, and I could not help but hear Kula snarl. Tama let her claws unsheath, but appeared amused by Chumvi, who remained surprisingly calm despite the deadly looks pointed at him.

"I would not have hit Simba, but I would give him something to think about for sure. Tojo was an idiot for hitting him, but I would react the same way if someone hurt my sister." He said with a calm tone, but I just rolled my eyes. Simba, who had begun backing away, but I put my paw behind him and pulled him close to me.

"Still Chumvi, no excuse for drawing blood. He caused him to give up firebending for king sakes." I could tell he was about to retort at Kopa, but he was cut short by once again, "Speaking of that, my grandma came up with an idea." I perked my ears at this, as we all began to huddle around. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted Kopa shoving Simba to the waterhole. Simba pouted, but did not fight back. Once I knew that this was a secret plan for Simba, I could not help but to feel relieved. Kopa made his way back to us.

I immediately asked. "What's the plan Kopa?"

"Here is how it will go, …." He began explaining the plan very carefully, but for the most part it sounded like just a game. "We will make Simba think we are just having a fun time with hide and seek, but we are meant to trick him into going into a cave." He turned to me and smirked. Obviously I have a big role. "You are going to play the scared cub he has to save inside." I frowned at that. Excuse me?

"I don't know Kopa. I don't think Simba fall for this. I mean, he knows me so well." I said with a frown. Then again, Why not? After all, Simba saved him so many times with Zira.

"Do you want Simba to fire bend or not?" He asked with annoyance. I sighed and nodded. I did not like being seen as helpless, but if it helped Simba, I will endure it.

Everyone else nodded to Kopa and we made our way to Simba who had managed to scratch the four symbols of the different elements into the ground. He shot up anxiously and immediately went to me.

"So Nala, what did Kopa say?" I looked to Kopa and he winked at me to give me the good to go.

"He wanted to know if you wanted to play hide and seek?" I asked before I heard a growl that I feared would show up. I saw Simba hide behind me and I immediately tensed up.

"Not with you he won't!" Tojo. He always has the worst timing. I growled and was about to freeze him where he stood when Tama put a paw in front of me in a way that said 'Allow me!' She shot her paws down onto the ground and a pillar of earth appeared beneath Tojo and sent him flying back to Pride Rock. Nice one Tama!

"Sooo, now that he is gone. Simba, do you want to play?" I looked at the now somewhat relaxed cub and he nodded.

"OK then you are it first!" I said with a smile and then ran off with the others to hide. Here we go!

*Simba*

Here I was by the waterhole, counting to 100 for a game of hide and seek that my brother suggested on the spot. At first, I was excited with the idea of playing with everyone, but seeing Tojo's angry expression quickly shook me up.I don't know what to do if he should come back for me. I should not be left as a target like this. I started hyperventilating but calmed myself down by thinking about the game and the smile Nala gave me when I said yes to the game.

"Ninety-Nine, One Hundred! Ready or not, here I come!" I immediately heard a rustle in the trees nearby and I ran up and hit one with my paw. No surprise came when I saw Kula and Chumvi hit the ground.

"I saw you this fall!" I chuckled before I saw Kula glare and stopped right in my tracks. Females are so crazy!

"Two down, three more to go Simba!" Chumvi said and I immediately ran off to find the others.

There were plenty of places for cubs our size to hide despite not being allowed in the other areas of the Pride Lands. There were tall grasses, kopjes, and even rocks to hide in. I knew there was too much land for me to cover by walking, so I closed my eyes and used a trick Tama taught me during my earth training. I slammed my paw on the ground and sent a vibration through the ground. I immediately felt a vibration return to me and I opened my eyes in the direction it came. It was a boulder with a complete smooth surface except for a few rough areas that bulged out. I raised my eyebrow, but then smirked as I walked forward and pulled the bulge apart to reveal Tama standing there with a smirk.

"Not bad Twinkle Toes! You used what I taught you pretty well!" But I had already turned my head from her as I saw some grass rustle. Why would the grass rustle? There is no wind!

I pounced into the grass and smirked as I landed on top of my brother, Kopa who also had a smirk on his muzzle.

"Got you Bro!" I chortled. I saw him roll his eyes and then shove me off!

"Shouldn't you be looking for Nala?" He said with a raised eyebrow and a smirk. OH Kings, I forgot about Nala! I started getting excited about catching her and was about to run off when I felt something on my tail. I turned and looked to see my brother with his paw on my tail and still smirking. What?

"Nala ran into that cave! Good Luck!" I turned and saw the cave he was referring to and I raised an eyebrow. I know Nala did not like the dark and would not willingly do it on her own. Is there something else going on?

"You sure she went in there?" I looked at Kopa and tried to read his expression but his scar made reading his eyes next to impossible.

"Ya dude! I saw her run in there. Now off you go before I tickle you!" He started making tickle motions with his paw. I squealed and ran into the cave. No way! Last time he tickled me I kept laughing for hours afterwards and everyone looked at me like I was crazy or something. My thoughts were cut short as I heard a scream.

"Simba! Help me! I can't see anything in here!" Nala. But her voice sounded more like she was just sitting there shouting while looking at her claws. I feel like I am being played.

"Just follow my voice! Nala, follow my voice and you can get out!" I heard shuffling and then I heard nothing but silence. "Not funny Nala! I want to get out of here!"
"SIMBA! HELPP!" This time her scream was of sheer terror and I saw a blue glow in the distance. OH no!

I ran towards the blue glow and what I saw made me cringe. Zira was here, in the cave, with blue flames circling her and Nala on the ground before her whimpering. Zira smiled wickedly and stepped closer towards her. Seeing her move made something in my head snap. Zira, you BITCH! I screamed in my head. I thrust my paws forward with the thought of protecting Nala and a white flame shot out of my paws and at Zira. She immediately became blinded and I used this opportunity to use my air bending and blow her to another part of the cave. Once I saw she was gone, I turned and helped Nala up.

"You Ok?" I asked with worry as I saw she was burned on the back.

"I am fine Simba! Thanks by the way!" She said with a nuzzle which caused me to purr.

We were walking out when we saw Jeong Jeong standing there with a big smile on his face. Next to him, was my brother Kopa and the rest of our friends.

"What is going on here?" I demanded because I also saw that Nala was smiling as well. WHAT THE HELL?

"Simba. Calm down Bro!" Kopa said with a bigger smile on his face. It was then that I realized. They set me up!

"You guys set me up! Why would you do that to me? Nala could have been seriously hurt?" To say I was angry would have been sugarcoating it. If possible, a lightning storm would be forming above us.

"Simba relax! We did not plan for Zira, but we were trying to get you to be better with firebending like you were in there."

"I don't see how!"

"Simba. Did you release a white fireball at Zira?" Kopa asked and I froze. I did recall and just realized that I had done that. How did my fire turn white? I had only ever seen a flame be blue with Zira, green with my uncle Scar and red with my Dad. Why was my fire white?

"Y-Yes. What of it?"

"So I was right about you. You can do that kind of flame. Dad told me about it once when I was curious about Uncle Scar's and Zira's." Kopa asked with curiosity.

"What did he say?"

"A white flame is a sign of a fire bender whose focus with his flames is to protect those he loves and cares for. Only your will to protect Nala could have brought them forth." I drank in what he said and I was happy that my caring for Nala made it possible but I could not help but wonder if I could always do this.

"Simba. Why don't you resume your firebending training so you can utilize your white flames better?" Nala said while giving me a playful shove. I began to smile at her but saw her burn and recalled my first attempt.

"But what if you get hurt?"

"Train so that such an incident won't happen again. Please Simba! I want you to be the best you can be and that can't happen if you're afraid of fire. It is like the idea of a waterbender being afraid of water. It does not work."

"But Nala.." But she cut me off again.

"And in your case, it does not help if the avatar is afraid of using one of his elements just because of one mistake. Simba please. Do this for me!" She looked at me with her pleading eyes and I could not help but falter. Damn it! Why does she have to be so cute?

"Do you have to use that on me whenever I want to argue?" She giggled and I rolled my eyes at her.

"So you'll do it?" asked my brother, who looked at me with surprisingly hopeful eyes.

"Yeah. Let's go find Master Jeong Jeong or Dad."

1) If you were a lion from Lion King? What would you look like?

2) If you have a patented technique for a certain bending element, what would it be? (The one I like the best will most likely end up in this fic!)

A/N: For all who read this, please leave a review as I like to hear opinions