(A/N: Alright - let's do this then!)

Simba could tell that his mate was still smiling as she made her way over towards him.

That's it, then, he thought, she's finally gotten over it.

Nala continued to smile, with her eyes affixed to Simba all the way until she approached him and gave him a nuzzle and lick on the cheek.

"So what finally won you over?" Simba asked.

"Lenny reminded me that a big part of this game was strategy. And I figure you'd be good at that."

"Ah."

"But hun, promise me something," Nala added, taking a step back and looking him ever deeper into the eyes, "please be careful. I don't know what I'd do without you."

Simba sighed but was able to manage a smile at the same time. "I will," he replied. "But…if something does happen to me, you have my permission to marry Guvu."

"Simba…"

"Of course if you wouldn't want to, that's fine too…"

"Simba…look…if either of us get into trouble who's going to be there for Kiara?"

"The pride," Simba replied instantly. "You know them, they'd give her the royal treatment. She'd grow up to be a spoiled, pathetic moron."

"Well we need to be there for her then…to make sure that doesn't happen."

"Agreed."

"Besides," added Nala, "I wouldn't like to marry Guvu now, anyways."

"Really?" inquired Simba. "Why not?"

"His best days are behind him…he finished fifth last year. Rumor has it this is his final Siku Choka. No…all the hype now is on Elvis."

"Okay…what does he look like?"

"I don't know, but he finished third last year and listen to that name, Elvis," Nala sung.

Simba blinked. He didn't know quite how to put this. "Nala, hun…just because a lion has a name like 'Elvis' doesn't mean that he's…" but Simba's explanation was cut short as a young, handsome lion with the front of his black mane hanging over his forehead and an upper lip that was curled on one side walked on by.

Nala sighed as she watched him. "Isn't he dreamy?" she asked.

Simba mumbled as a response. "Note to self, push Elvis off buffalo in front of stampede…"

"I know Rafiki said that only fools rush in, but I can't help falling in love with him."

"May I hit on one of the female competitors too?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because I'm like that."

"There are thirteen competitors out there who all may want to kill you, Nal. Don't make it fourteen."

Nala chuckled. "Simba, don't take it so seriously," she said, giving him a playful shove. "If I didn't love you, I wouldn't have been so mad with you earlier."

"Somehow that makes sense," Simba replied. "I mean…like this Elvis guy is really like the real Elvis."

"He's from the Dixieland Pride," Nala added, looking back at him.

…

"Okay, well maybe he is a bit, but at least you still know who protects you and your kingdom."

"Alright folks!" suddenly came a voice through a loudspeaker. Simba and Nala recognized that voice instantly. It belonged to Kanafa the cheetah, the former assistant to Bwana Zungumza. Bwana Zungumza was the lion that had organized the Siku Choka until he had passed away a year and a half ago. Now, Kanafa was in charge. "Are you ready to meet your fifteen Siku Choka competitors?"

The crowd let out a cheer. Simba and Nala had been so lost in arguing with each other that they hadn't realized how much of a crowd had built up. Lions, cheetahs, leopards, jackals, meerkats, ostriches and more filled up the four rolling hills that surrounded the track-and-field shaped dirt oval on each of its four sides. The elephants and giraffes found more comfortable spots standing in the flat pieces of ground between each hill. The only animals that weren't present on the hillsides were antelope, zebra and buffalo. They were all gathered in the infield. The hunting party had cornered them earlier so that they could be used for the game. Many of them wouldn't be needed at all and would be released the next day when the event ended. The Siku Choka only ever took place in prides with excessive numbers of herds to help keep down the number of herbivores that were eating their grass.

"Alright then," continued Kanafa, "here they are!"

"Competing in her first ever Siku Choka, from the Ngorongoro Pride, let's hear it for Bilauri!"

The crowd around the four hills let out another cheer. Sure, they didn't really know who this lioness was, but any rookie entering the Siku Choka for the first time was a brave soul.

"Hmm…" murmured Nala, "…middle aged…female, healthy, looks like she had a good sleep last night," she said as she watched the lioness pace out onto the track in front of the crowd. "I'd give her a six."

"Oh, we're rating them are we?" asked Simba back. "Okay…um…eh…seven."

"From the Eastlands, competing in her second consecutive Siku Choka, let's hear it for Eboni!" exclaimed Kanafa as a brown lioness made her way out onto the circuit.

Nala thought for a second. Hmm…what are the odds for this one? she asked herself. Finally, she told Simba: "Seven."

"Seven," Simba replied again.

"The same you gave Bilauri?" Nala asked, bewildered. "Eboni has experience…Bilauri doesn't."

"Oh, we were rating them on ability? I was rating them on their…um…physical appearance."

Nala rolled her eyes.

"King of the Dixieland Pride, competing in his second consecutive Siku Choka also, let's hear it for Elvis!"

The cheer that came from the crowd sounded a little bit more feminine this time.

Nala smirked. "Eleven," she said.

"Not after I get through with him," Simba replied.

"Competing in his fifth consecutive Siku Choka and two-time champion, from the Grassland Pride, let's hear it for Guvu!" exclaimed Kanafa.

Simba and Nala found it difficult to exchange ratings this time. Despite not having won in his last two outings, Guvu was still popular and the crowd was letting him know it.

"Competing in her first ever Siku Choka, from the Kijanilands, give it up for Juveda!"

The crowd went to cheer but some of them hesitated. They all thought back to when Tumaini had made her debut. Her fur had looked just as scruffy…if not a little less. So perhaps this lioness didn't have all the looks, but could she still possibly have the personality? Nope. She didn't acknowledge the crowd. She didn't even wave at them. She just walked her way out onto the circuit, did the pacing that she'd been told to do, and walked her way back into the crowd in the infield. The whole time, her head was hanging.

Simba and Nala exchanged glances.

Could she be the next Wamariri?

They both were a bit worried. Wamariri was a lioness who had infamously crept her way on by the rulebook in order to help her win the Siku Choka. She never managed it, however. She had only gone and killed a lot of lions before finally meeting her own demise in the 25th running of the Siku Choka.

"From the Majani Pride, competing in his third consecutive Siku Choka, let's hear it for Lenny!" called out Kanafa.

Simba and Nala felt a bit bad when they heard the lack of applause Lenny got. Just because he wasn't any good at this game didn't mean they shouldn't congratulate him. They would have joined in themselves but they knew that they'd probably get a few funny looks from the other competitors if they did.

"From the Kaskazi Pride, competing in her first Siku Choka, let's make some noise for Linda!"

Simba shook his head. "What's with all these English-sounding names?" he asked Nala.

"Actually, Linda means 'to protect' in Swahili," Nala corrected him.

"Oh…"

"Competing in her first Siku Choka, your female Nyimbas…" began Kanafa.

"Uh oh," said Simba, looking back at his mate. "You know what that means, Nala," he said.

Nala indeed knew what it meant. "Nyimbas" was a term given to any lion or lioness competing in front of their home pride.

"…from right here in the Pridelands, let's hear it for your queen – Nala!" called Kanafa.

Just like her mother had two years before, Nala took her own first steps out onto the dirt circuit. She looked up at the crowd and saw the massive amounts of animals that were all there, cheering for her. She didn't bother trying to find her own pride, but she knew that they were probably sitting somewhere along the frontstretch.

Back in the infield, Simba watched his mate go along down the track.

"Eight," he said to himself.

"Competing in her second consecutive Siku Choka, from the Serengeti Border Pride, let's hear it for Peponi!" called Kanafa.

The crowd let out a roar of approval this time. Obviously she must have put on quite a show the year before. But, Simba noticed, there may have been a little more to it than that…

Nala made her way back over to her mate.

"Good grief," she chuckled, "you feel the ground rumble when you go out there – it's incredible!"

However, Nala stopped rambling as she realized that her mate's eyes were affixed onto something else. Nala looked out onto the circuit and saw the lioness that had gone out behind her.

Even Nala couldn't deny it, she was a nice-looking lioness, but she had to check that Simba remembered who it was that caught the meals that fed him…

"Simba," called Nala, with a hint of a sharp tone in the back of her voice, "how would you rate her?" she asked, pointing towards Peponi.

Simba shrugged. "She is pretty," he admitted. "I'll give her a nine. I reserved the 'ten' for you."

"Aha," replied Nala, "sure you did."

"From the Lionrock Pride, competing in her fifth Siku Choka…she's taken a year off, ladies and gentlemen but I'm sure you remember her…give it up for Shairi!"

Nala's eyes grew. "Oh, the sisters are here?" she asked, checking back out towards the track. Sure enough she could see that, as the golden yellow lioness took her first step out onto the track, a lioness that was slightly younger than her, but otherwise similarly looking, was watching her go as she departed from her side.

Simba and Nala recognized that other lioness. Her name was Winda and she had almost won the Siku Choka two years ago despite being a rookie. Rumor had it that she had done very well in the 26th running as well. Shairi, on the other paw, had been feared dead for the longest time during the 25th Siku Choka. At the end of the event, Rafiki had diagnosed Shairi with a twisted windpipe and he was able to fix it for her and save the lioness's life. Shairi had probably "taken the year off" under Mommy orders. But now she was back! Yet one could wonder whether her being "killed" had made her lose the nerve for this game. They would soon find out…

"Competing in his fifth Siku Choka also, from the Nyaziland Pride, let's hear it for Shemshi!"

A male lion walked out onto the circuit this time, greeted by a great chorus of applause.

Simba was confused. "How come I've never heard of Shemshi?" he asked.

"He quit because of Wamariri," Nala replied. "He didn't want to risk his life competing against her. I guess once he learned that she's dead, he came back."

"So has he won any?"

Nala shook her head 'no.'

"He's came close though," she added.

"And now, let's give a warm welcome to your second nyimbas, King of the Pridelands, competing in his first Siku Choka – Simba!"

The ground shook in the infield this time when Simba walked out onto the course. Nala wasn't too surprised; the story of how Simba had defeated Scar and brought back prosperity and peace to the Pridelands was well-known.

"I was the one who told him to come back," muttered Nala to herself, "just saying…"

She looked back out onto the circuit.

"He's only a six anyways," she added, smiling.

"And now, King of the Southkenya Pride, competing in his first Siku Choka, let's hear it for Tonka!"

"Yay," said Simba as he walked back up to Nala. "He's always fun to have negotiations with. I wish the best for him." Then, he turned back to face his mate. "So…did you smack talk me when I went out on the circuit too?"

"I wouldn't have if you hadn't," replied Nala.

"How do you know I did?"

"You did," she replied. "I just know these things."

"And now, ladies and gentlemen, it's time to make even more noise – let's hear it for your reigning Siku Choka champion – all the way from the Mimpaka Pride, in her third Siku Choka – Tumaini!"

The ground shook more for Tumaini than it did for any of the other competitors. Not just that she was the reigning champion, but she had became a personality outside of the track too. She had changed so much from her first outing when she had been all about winning. Over time, she had learnt to just have fun in this game and to give the crowd what they came to see. Last year, it had paid off well for her. Simba and Nala knew that it could this year too.

"And now, last but definitely not least, last year's runner up – competing in her fourth Siku Choka, from the Lionrock Pride, give it up for Winda!" shouted Kanafa. The crowd did as he commanded. "And that concludes the competitor introductions for the twenty-seventh running of the Siku Choka," said Kanafa, putting the loudspeaker back down.

Simba took a deep breath. He knew that was it. It was time. He had stood in line, he had buckled in, and now it was time to go on the rollercoaster. It's a sucky feeling when you're not ready.

Nala knew this and so she turned and licked him on the cheek. "You're going to do fine," she reassured him. "It starts off easy anyways. Just one antelope. They don't release the zebra and buffalo until later."

Simba nodded his head. "Thanks Nal'," he replied, taking each of her words to heart.

"Well!" Nala finally exclaimed, letting the butterflies that had been building up inside her finally pop out, "let's get onto the track – shall we?"

"Lead the way," Simba replied.

(A/N: Want a short list of the competitors? Here you go:

Bilauri (female)

Eboni (female)

Elvis (male)

Guvu (male)

Juveda (female) - similar personality to a lioness called Juveda that I wrote about with fanfiction author Kovukono in a story called "I Don't Love You"

Lenny (male)

Linda (female)

Nala (female)

Peponi (female) - also the title of an awesome song by "The Piano Guys"

Shairi (female)

Shemshi (male)

Simba (male)

Tonka (male)

Tumaini (female)

Winda (female)

p.s. Even though I've decided that I'm going ahead with the story, reviews will still be appreciated!)