Like Water and Rain (Season 3 Premiere)

As Kiara and I stepped away from the edge of Pride Rock, the animals still cheering, we went over to Simba and Nala, who nodded proudly. I looked over and saw my mom literally crying in joy at what I have become, causing me to blush in embarrassment. Trust my mom to always embarrass me in front of everyone…

At another direction, I noticed Zuri talking to my sister, causing Kiara and I to walk over to them.

‘’Something going on here?’’ I asked in amusement.

‘’Oh nothing, i’m just telling your sister about all that you did here.’’ Zuri giggled. ‘’It’s quite charming, really.’’

‘’Zuri, stop it.’’ I smirked. ‘’I am only a small part in the larger Pridelands. A mere ant.’’

At my shrug, Zuri smacked my head. ‘’Hey, don’t be such a downer! This is amazing! A nice development for the couple!’’

‘’Zuri…’’ Kiara whined as I struggled to hold in a laugh.

‘’So when are you going to get married?’’

‘’What?’’

What?

What?

Zuri smiled. ‘’When are you two going to get married and have cubs and be King and Queen an-’’

‘’Zuri, we’re not going to do ANY of that.’’ I coughed. ‘’Well...we’ll wait for the first one.’’

Kiara’s cheeks became light pink as Zuri had a smug look on her face directed at her friend. ‘’And who decided that?’’

‘’Why, Kiara did.’’ I said with the same look as Kiara now blushed more. ‘’But seriously, it’s getting a bit late.’’

I looked at the sky, which indeed was the night sky. The other pride members have gone to sleep and Kiara, Zuri and I were the only ones awake...until now. Zuri and Kiara walked back into the den, the latter licking me before doing so until a familiar fiery lion appeared.

‘’Hm...didn’t expect you to actually go through the concept of marriage?’’

‘’Huh?’’

Scar shrugged with a flat look. ‘’You’ve always been against the concept of marriage, as you yourself had made a vow to never do so.’’

‘’Well...time passes.’’

I walked back up to the edge as Scar followed. ‘’I don’t think I was meant to be this way. I was wanting everything to transpire the same way they originally did, but instead, I accidentally wrote myself in the history books.’’

‘’Yes.’’ He scoffed. ‘’We ended up putting ourselves in the same book...just in different ways.’’

As I looked to the fiery lion, he continued. ‘’I let my desires and greed put myself in the bad parts of history...perhaps this battle is my way of making up for that?’’

‘’Scar…’’ I sighed. ‘’What you did years ago was indeed terrible...but I think saving both The Pridelands and Outlands from destruction...is more than enough to make up for it.’’

‘’I suppose.’’ He snarled. ‘’But if I reveal myself to Simba and Nala, it’ll only cause trouble for you.’’

‘’Nonsense!’’ I chuckled. ‘’It’ll all be fine in the end, pal.’’

He disappeared in flames before I walked into the den, ready for a new lease on life.

--

And by new life, I mean a life free from troubles, from inner conflicts and major outside threats. I had managed to get my family to let Kiara and I sleep together since, after all, we were practically in a relationship at this point, though my parents are still sleeping near me for...protection purposes, according to them.

It was roughly a week after the war with Zira and uniting of the prides wrapped up. I woke up to the sound of snoring and looked to Kiara, who was sleeping next to me, but not making any noise...but then I heard that it was coming from my dad...right...without the mask that blocked out his snoring back at home, his snores now were heard and they woke me up.

‘’Dad.’’ I whispered while poking him, but he wouldn’t budge. ‘’Dad, can you stop snoring..?’’

He kept doing so and I rolled my eyes before getting up and stretching, yawning.

'''Could you be any louder? I was trying to sleep…'''

Oh, good morning. Have a nice sleep?

'''Tch. If you call you and my great-niece’s banter enough to put me asleep, then yes. I fell asleep listening to you go back and forth with your pointless debate over the qualities of a passion fruit.'''

Walking outside of the den, I blinked. It was still rather dark...ah well.. Walking down the rock, I sniffed the air. It felt..calmer. It was approaching the wet season, or this world’s version of spring, meaning that there will be more rain than normal, though I assured my parents that this won’t be an issue for me.

Looking around, I noticed not many animals were awake, which was understandable. It was roughly five in the morning, so I couldn’t really blame them for still sleeping. I sat down and thought of all of the things that has happened since I came to this wonderful world.

My adventures with The Lion Guard. The Ukumbusho. Training with Zira and the Outsiders, Kiara and a lot of other stuff. Looking back, some of those weren’t the best of ideas, such as leaving The Pridelands. True, I did it to protect everyone and infiltrate the Outsiders’ ranks, but I caused Kiara and the others panic and grief and I hate that.

But that was the past and this is the now. I have to put my past behind me. Bad things happen and I can’t do anything about it.

….Or at least that’s what Timon said in the first film.

What I didn’t expect was the presence of Rafiki, who was sitting on a tree branch, seemingly meditating. I walked up to the baboon. ‘’Rafiki.’’

The baboon didn’t respond, instead smiling peacefully.

‘’Something must be good considering your smile, ya old baboon.’’

‘’Indeed.’’

I blinked at the sudden response. However, Rafiki continued. ‘’You have found your place in De Pridelands, no?’’

I looked down. ‘’Partially.’’

‘’Hm?’’

I shrugged at his raised eyebrow. ‘’Because of me, we weren’t prepared for the war with Zira enough. I told Simba and Nala about her plan, but the ambush still happened.’’

‘’My boy!’’  He shouted and hopped down and wrapped an arm around me. ‘’You already HAVE found your place!’’

‘’I have?’’

‘’OF COURSE!’’ He cackled as he put a finger between my eyes. ‘’YOU are Shujaa! One dat, even in the most troubling of times, helped de Princess through thick and thin! Together, de pride ended up winning, uniting both prides and bringing peace back to our land!’’

‘’But that’s just it! What purpose do I even have here beyond being a hero?’’

‘’Hm…’’ He stroked his beard. ‘’Well, I guess you will have to find out with de help with your friends! Try helping de Lion Guard again! Perhaps den will you find it, hm?’’

‘’I suppose…’’

Suddenly, he was on my back, meditating. ‘’Zira’s training has formed you into a very capable fighter, but you must learn to control your emotions. Do not let anger take you over or you will think irrationally, brutality is not the way if you want to be on good terms with dese lands.’’

‘’I have mental disabilities, Rafiki. Holding in emotions will be difficult.’’

‘’Den meditate.’’

‘’What?’’

‘’Meditate to control your emotions, my friend!’’

‘’I mean…’’ I blinked. ‘’I guess I can. Thanks Ra-’’

But when I turned around, he was gone. ‘’I hate that baboon sometimes…’’

--

Later in the day, I was with my mom, dad and sister at the waterhole, since Kiara was out receiving royal lessons from Simba and Nala. Zuri also joined us, so that’s neat.

‘’So you’re saying that a magical being ended up sending you here?’’ My dad asked me with a raised eyebrow. At my nod, he facepalmed. ‘’That sounds a bit hard to believe.’’

I shrugged. ‘’Eh. I thought I was in my bed, but I was in The Pridelands. I blame whoever sent me here for that.’’

Still keeping my identity a secret?

For now, only Kiara needs to know. Nobody else.

‘’But he’s been a really good influence for everyone!’’ Zuri said. ‘’I mean, I even think of him as a brother!’’

‘’Thank you, they really need to know that..’’ I rolled my eyes fondly at her declaration. ‘’But seriously, The Pridelands has changed me more than I changed it’s residents...though my...disabilities can pop out at times.’’

‘’More often than at home?’’ My mom asked and at my nod, she sighed. ‘’Of course…’’

‘’Not to worry!’’ I put a paw up. ‘’Rafiki told me to meditate in order to get them in check.’’

‘’Good.’’

‘’Okay, so.’’ I continued. ‘’Before I left for The Outlands, we ended up encountering a monitor lizard named Kenge, a villain with a bite that paralyzed nearly the entire Lion Guard.’’

A whisper from Zuri. ‘’Are you sure you want to tell them this? I’m still a bit uneasy when discussing it.’’

‘’Eh, they’ll live.’’ I shrugged before coughing. ‘’Anyway, I formed a team consisting of me, Zuri, Kiara, Bunga and Ono in order to stop him. We managed to trap him between two large rocks, but Kiara ended up falling, causing me to save her, but us to get trapped.’’

‘’And after Kiara was with Bunga, he stayed behind in order to face Kenge head to head...and getting bit in the leg. When The Guard came back, all healthy, Kion used the roar, albeit reluctantly, blasting both your son and Kenge away, the former of which went head first into a cliff.’’

The gasps from my parents and the raised eyebrow of my sister caused me to roll my eyes. ‘’Took a bit to heal up, but I got better around a couple months in The Outlands, no thanks to Zira’s horrendously complicated training.’’

I shuddered at the memory.

''‘’Alright!’’ Zira shouted as Kovu and I stared at each other, both of us smirking in excitement. ‘’First one to be incapacitated, thus being unable to move, LOSES!’’''

‘’Zira, isn’t that a bit-’’ I was about to protest.

‘’GO!’’ Zira yelled and Kovu came straight at me, pinning me down as I wrestled my way out of it, then knocking him down and charging him into one of the mounds, causing a small crater to be formed.

‘’That sounds terrible..’’ My mom said, horrified. Zuri shared the same sentiment, as I never told her the true extent of the training.

‘’She would make all of us fight each other in matches varying in size.’’ I explained. ‘’I was most often put up against the lionesses, as that’s what most of this pride’s population consisted of.’’

‘’So basically, she was preparing you for anything that someone like Nala would throw out?’’ My sister asked and I nodded. ‘’Kind of smart when you think about it.’’

‘’True. But what Zira didn’t take into account was me. I wasn’t truly loyal to her, instead following along in order to see her strengths and weaknesses. When she sent Kovu and I to save Kiara, I saw this as an opportunity to get her out and back to The Pridelands, thereby reuniting with the others.’’ I explained. “I don't know how or why, but Kiara and I became...attached.”

“It's natural!” Zuri laughed. “We knew it would happen from the moment you arrived here!”

‘’True, but it doesn’t explain mu-’’

‘’It means you found the very thing you were always against: a girlfriend!’’ My dad said, causing me to blush. ‘’See? I told you you’d get one.’’

‘’Dad, stop…’’ I blushed harder.

‘’Are you going to get married?’’

‘’NO!’’

‘’Yeah, right!’’

‘’Dad!’’

Zuri giggled next to me as my mom and sister laughed.

‘’Shujaa!’’

I blinked at the voice of Vitani, skidding to a halt before us. ‘’Something up, Vitani?’’

‘’You know Janja?’’

‘’Yeah, I chased him away from The Pridelands permanently.’’ I nodded as I took a drink. ‘’What about him?’’

‘’They’re back.’’

The revelation made me spit out my water, blasting Zuri in the face, who had a face of annoyance.

‘’You got my fur wet…’’

‘’Sorry.’’

‘’But this is serious!’’ Vitani shouted as Zuri and I were bantering, causing us to look at her. ‘’I overheard a conversation and they said something about Scar.’’

Scar…

I have NOTHING to do with this!

Then who does…?

‘’I don’t think Scar is responsible for this.’’ I shrugged. ‘’Seems too tame.’’

Thanks….

Well, I had to think of something.

‘’Then who do you think did it?’’ She asked with a raised eyebrow.

‘’Why don’t we find out?’’

‘’Connor.’’ My mom said. ‘’Let us come with you.’’

‘’No need. I’ve dealt with him multiple times, both when I got here and during our scuffle with Zira. We can handle this.’’

‘’...If you say so.’’

Vitani and I managed to reach the gorge, where she reported seeing and overhearing the hyenas.

‘’Why would they be here?’’ I asked, gazing down at the place where Kovu and Zira fell to their deaths. ‘’Unless it’s to scavenge the bodies.’’

‘’Possibility.’’ She agreed. ‘’But why? Their bodies were washed away in river when it got into the gorge.’’

‘’And with the wet season approaching, that’s probably going to get worse.’’

I slowly began to make my way down the gorge, hopping on several large rocks that could withstand my weight with the former Outsider following me. As we advanced, I saw the hyenas pulling something out of the water….it was Zira.

Immediately, I moved faster, landing before them. ‘’What did I tell you about not coming into The Pridelands?! Zira is dead, Janja, there’s nothing you or I can do about that.’’

‘’Oh!’’ Janja immediately backed away, sweating heavily, either out of fear or exhaustion. ‘’S-Shujaa! Buddy, how are you doing?’’

I raised an eyebrow. ‘’What was the first thing I told you when you came to The Pridelands last time?’’

‘’That worse things will happen than what occured…’’ He gulped.

‘’Good. Now why are you here?’’

‘’Our boss told us to come and get Kovu and Zira, to scavenge their bodies and bring them to him.’’ He explained.

‘’Who?’’

‘’He prefers to have his identity kept a secret.’’

I pinned him down, choking him. ‘’WHO?!’’

‘’He calls himself Kudanganywa.’’ He coughed. ‘’I...have no idea who or what he is or what his motivations are. Just let us go this once, okay?’’

I looked at Vitani, who had a look that told me not to kill him. Hesitantly, I got off. ‘’Run away and don’t come back...this is my last warning.’’

His hyena clan instantly scurried  away, leaving only the bodies of Kovu and Zira there. Walking to them, Vitani sighed. ‘’I wish there was another way we could have solved this…’’

‘’But in the end, we brought peace.’’

‘’At what cost?’’

That made me look to the ground. ‘’I don’t know….but Janja normally carries out orders produced by Scar, yet scavenging bodies isn’t something Scar would look to do. He would rather leave them there to die.’’

My, don’t you know me well?

Sniffing the bodies, I coughed. ‘’Well, they certainly smell dead, that’s for sure.’’

‘’We should get back to Pride Rock.’’

‘’Indeed.’’

--

As we made it back to Pride Rock, Kiara, who was back from her royal lessons, came up and nuzzled me. ‘’Dealing with trouble?’’

‘’That’s The Guard’s job, Kiara, not mine.’’

‘’True, but it doesn’t mean you can’t help.’’

‘’Was there an issue that explained your disappearance from The Waterhole?’’ Simba asked and I nodded.

‘’Janja came back and said something about a ‘kudanganywa’.’’ I explained. ‘’I quickly dealt with him and his clan, but they were trying to scavenge the bodies of Kovu and Zira.’’

Me saying that made most of the pride shudder. ‘’Why, I am not sure. But there must be trouble on the horizon.’’

‘’He does sound like a potential threat…’’ Simba sighed. ‘’But, I won’t do anything for right now.’’

‘’Understood.’’

‘’I’ll have The Lion Guard patrol the borders in case anything happens.’’

I shrugged. ‘’They can’t do everything by themselves.’’

‘’They’re a team, but they declared you a reserve because of Kion’s admiration.’’

‘’That’s his fault then.’’ I chuckled as Simba did the same. ‘’I’m not a superhero.’’

I’m not one of this world’s version of The Mane Six. God forbid i’m the Rarity of this world. I’d rather be Discord.

Focus!

Oh. Right.

‘’Although, I do have a particular job…’’ Simba coughed. ‘’As you know, Kiara is my daughter and Princess of The Pridelands, so since you’re practically romantically involved, I figured you could be her personal protector.’’

I blinked as Kiara had a grinning look that made me smirk. ‘’Now, aren’t I good enough at that job already?’’

But then, the Princess smacked me in the head. ‘’Yep!’’

‘’Then it’s settled.’’ Simba said. ‘’From now on, you’ll be her bodyguard and protector.’’

This is going to be fun…

Probably not.

--

It was late at night at a beehive...which Zazu was having issues with. It was a thing I was doing with The Lion Guard to rid Zazu of yet another bee problem...I hate bees.

‘’Zazu, how did you even get into this situation…?’’ I groaned.

‘’The elephants own this territory, so they wanted to see if I could handle it.’’

‘’Look where that god you.’’

‘’We need something to get rid of the beehive and get it away from Zazu.’’ Kion told The Guard and I. ‘’Bunga, think you can do it?’’

‘’Don’t sweat it, Kion!’’ Bunga said before jumping up on the branch and grabbing onto the top of the hive. Shaking it to where Zazu could get out, he grabbed on and started running off with the ive. ‘’ZUKA ZAMAAA!’’

‘’Bunga, wait!’’ I shouted to the honey badger before I heard stings. ‘’Stop before they-’’

‘’Ow! Oof! Okay, bees, you can stop no-OW!’’

‘’...Sting.’’

Next: A mysterious lion named Tashi pops up in The Pridelands and is accepted in open arms by the monarchs, but Shujaa and Vitani are not so certain about this new member, especially when he starts to flirt with Kiara, which angers the former.