Kion and Kovu's Secret Romance

Chapter 2

As Kion made his way back to the Pride Lands, he kept thinking about Kovu. Kovu definitely isn't as bad as he thought. Maybe he doesn't follow Scar's footsteps, or even his mom's. Maybe they can be friends some day!

But for now, Kion decided not to mention Kovu to anyone. He doesn't want to get weird looks and judgements from the other animals. Kovu is still an Outlander. No, it's best to keep it a secret. For now.

Kion arrived at the watering hole. Besthe and Bunga were resting in the water while Ono and Fuli were on land. Bunga decided to make a dive into the water. He climbed upon Besthe's back and then jumped off of him, splashing the water. Almost all of the water landed on Fuli, making the cheetah wet everywhere.

"Ugh, seriously?!" she grumbled.

"Oops, sorry." Bunga said.

Kion laughed as he walked towards the members of the Lion Guard.

"Bunga, it's almost like you're doing it on purpose!" he said.

"I'm not! I swear." Bunga replied.

"Yeah, whatever." Fuli said with an annoyed tone.

"How did it go, Kion? Any intruders?" Besthe asked.

"Um, nop! No intruders at all." Kion replied with a smile.

Kion never lied to his Guard before and felt bad about it. He hoped his friends didn't notice the lie, and as far as he could tell, they didn't.

"So, did you guys rest well?" Kion asked.

"Affirmative. Ready for the next patrol." Ono replied, as he stretched his wings.

"Great! Let's go everyone!"

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Kovu made his way back home. Most of the lions were either resting or searching for some termites to eat. Everyone was minding their own business, as usual. Even Nuka didn't have to babysit his little half brother anymore, since Kovu became independent quite quickly. It's every lion for itself out here. As long as Kovu was present at noon at the battle field to train. That was basically the only rule for him.

The sun was almost at the center of the sky, so Kovu decided to head to the battle field. It was an area with hard ground and some big rocks nearby. Nothing special, really.

When he arrived, his mother was already waiting for him.

"Kovu, I'm glad to see you." Zira said. Kovu noticed his siblings were there as well, as usual. Normally he would fight against them, sometimes even both at the same time. But now, there was also an adolescent lioness with them: Mwalimu. Kovu raised his eyebrow.

"Today we're gonna step up your training. Your fight skills are improving, as you showed yesterday when you beat both Vitani and Nuka. It's time for the next step." Zira continued.

"Do I have to fight... her?" Kovu asked, glancing at Mwalimu. She gave Kovu an evil grin. Mwalimu was pretty big, about the size Nuka was, but stronger. Kovu doesn't get scared easily anymore, but he knew he couldn't take down a lioness that big and strong.

"Of course! One day you will take the fight against Simba, to become king of the Pride Lands." Zira replied, walking around her last born son. "You can't only train with cubs. You have to be prepared."

"But mother, there is no way..."

"Hush! Take the fight and think about everything I taught you." Zira said as she took a good distance from Kovu and Mwalimu. Vitani and Nuka followed their mom.

"Good luck, Kovu." Vitani said before leaving Kovu alone with the strong lioness.

Kovu turned to face Mwalimu who was still smiling evilly at the cub.

"Ready?" she asked.

Kovu got into position.

"Ready."

Both lions waited for each other's move. Not long after, Mwalimu charged and jumped towards Kovu, but Kovu managed to dodge the attack. He then charged towards the lioness, but then was hit by Mwalimu's paw, letting the cub fall onto the ground. He quickly got up and hit Mwalimu's face with his left paw. She barely moved or even flinched. This surprised Kovu with much fear, not paying attention to the fight anymore. Mwalimu then pinned Kovu hard on the ground and was on top of him so he couldn't escape. Eventually, Kovu gave up. Mwalimu got off of Kovu as Zira and her cubs were walking towards them.

"What were you doing, Kovu? Were you lost in your thoughts? You just stood there, letting Mwalimu pin you down!" Zira said angrily.

"I-I'm sorry mother. I... I was distracted." Kovu replied.

"Do you think you can be 'distracted' in the middle of a fight? Do you think Simba will wait for you until you come back to reality?" she growled. 

"No, mother." Kovu flatted his ears as he frowned, looking on the ground.

Zira sighed. "Your hit hardly did anything because your claws were still sheathed. You need to let them unsheathed once you fight Simba."

Kovu nodded. Zira noticed her son was disappointed he lost the fight.

"Tell me. What do you do when Simba pinned you down with nowhere to go?" Zira asked.

"I scratch his underbelly."

"The most sensitive part of a lion's body! Very good! And next?"

"I bite his throat while I push Simba off of me, so I'll be on top of him."

"Exactly! You see? You know just what to do. If you believe in yourself, you can take down Simba and be king of the Pride Lands." Zira said while smiling. She petted Kovu's head, and made the brown cub feel more comfortable again.

"Now, there are still some ways to take down Mwalimu, even without using your claws. I'll teach you tomorrow, we're done for today."

And by that, Zira left the battle field with Vitani, Nuka and Mwalimu. Kovu also left and made his way to a small watering hole nearby to take a drink.

Kovu didn't actually want to kill Simba and take the thrown. Sure, he took down Scar, but Kovu wasn't really mad about that. How was it hurting him? Why does he have to kill Simba? But he loves his mother and doesn't want to disappoint her. What else could he do?

Kovu laid down near the water, thinking about Kion. It isn't fair to him to let him help me. He doesn't know I'm being trained to kill Simba and become king. Kovu thought. He didn't know what to do and decided not to think about it. Instead he thought about what he could do with Kion tomorrow, which made him smile. He was looking forward meeting Kion again.