Love Beyond Reasons

A/N: Okay, the final episodes of Season 3 of the Lion Guard really threw off my ship and somehow sunk it in one day. But before I could go into a deep depression about that, I remembered something about my stories that I have and planned to share. This story tells my version about what happened if Kion didn't leave the Pride Lands. If he didn't leave, then he wouldn't have gone to the Tree of Life.

Now, I have nothing against Rani, but Kion and Jasiri will always be my OTP. So I'm still going forth with this story and more in the future.

So let's get on with Chapter 9. Roll it!

Chapter 9

Meeting the Outsiders

It had been at least a whole month since Kion's second accidental trip into the Outlands. And a lot has happened since then. Kiara have put in charge as temporary queen when both of their parents left for some royal business. That was one of the worst days of his life. He had to deal with not only Kiara's attitude, but Tiifu and Zuri as well, and had to save her skin when she was lured into the Outlands by Janja and his clan. They had been fighting almost the entire day, but they had managed to resolve their differences in order to work together to defeat Janja's hyenas.

Kion did see a slight change in his sister's behavior after that little misadventure, with her knowing that her future destiny isn't as easy as it seemed. She even got her fur and paws dirty to take care of herself and her friends when they were in another unfortunate situation. But still, he hardly ever saw her whenever he's at home at Pride Rock, or when he's out patrolling the Pride Lands with the rest of the Lion Guard. The only time he did was when he came back for dinner, or when it's time to sleep.

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One day, he and Bunga were playing baobab ball for the first time in a while. The fruit was bouncing across the ground as both the lion cub and the young honey badger struggled to get it first. Finally, it landed near a thick bush. Bunga laughed.

"Now I gotcha!" He exclaimed, reaching for it. But Kion had zipped ahead and pushed it away from him with his head.

"Too late, too slow!" He teased, chasing after the fruit.

"Oh, yeah?" Bunga challenged playfully. "Zuka Zama!" He cried, jumping onto Kion's back, making him fall flat on his stomach.

"Hey!" Kion exclaimed playfully as both he and Bunga tried to reach the baobab fruit. "The baobab fruit is mine!"

Bunga got off of Kion and quickly grabbed it with his claws, but Kion had managed to get a hold of it with his teeth. The two struggled to pull it away from the other. Finally, Kion gained the upper hand and flung it away, along with Bunga, who lost his grip on it.

But he quickly regained it. "Ha, ha!" He laughed, holding it up over his head. "Winner winner, zebra dinner!" He teased.

"Hyena in the Pride Lands!" Someone screamed in panic. "Hyena in the Pride Lands!" A trio of gazelles were quickly running towards Bunga, so he quickly threw the baobab fruit in the air and ducked to avoid the panicked herbivores.

"Hyena in the Pride Lands?" Bunga repeated in curiosity, turning towards the bush that was behind him, thinking that the hyena might still be following the gazelles.

"Alright, hyena." He called out to the bush, which was now starting to rustle a bit, readying himself for a fight. "You picked the wrong day to come into the Pride Lands." The rustling stopped. "That's right. And I'm gonna-"

He stopped when he saw Jasiri jumping out of the bush. "Hey, Bunga!" She greeted cheerfully.

Bunga loosened his defensive stance, recognizing her. "Wait. You're not from Janja's clan. You're the hyena who is Kion's old friend, and who helped him when he was stuck in the Outlands."

Jasiri chuckled. "Well, we helped each other out." She corrected him.

Kion came over to them, a bright smile on his face upon seeing his old friend. "Jasiri! What are you doing in the Pride Lands?" He asked.

"Looking for you." Jasiri said. "I have a problem back home, and I need your help." She sat down on her haunches.

"Is it Janja and his hyenas?" Kion asked.

"No." Jasiri answered, looking very worried. "Actually, it's lions."

"Lions?" Bunga questioned while looking at Kion, wondering if he heard correctly.

"In the Outlands?" Kion added, who was just as confused as his friend was.

"That's right." Jasiri confirmed their suspicions, nodding her head. "They've taken over my family's watering hole, and they won't share it."

"But there shouldn't be any lions in the Outlands." Kion said. Was there something he was missing here? If there were any lions out there, then why hasn't his parents told him and Kiara about them?

"You sure they're lions, Jasiri?" Bunga asked.

A smile briefly came on her face when the honey badger asked her that question, and she playfully scoffed. "I know what lions looks like, Bunga." She said with a teasing glint in her eyes.

"Okay." Kion said. "Well, I'd be happy to talk to them, Jasiri. Maybe they're lost or something."

Jasiri stood up and gave her friend a grateful look. "Asante, Kion, thank you." She said.

Kion gave her a reassuring smile before taking charge and turning to his best friend. "Bunga. Go back to the lair. Let the rest of the Guard know that I'm going to the Outlands with Jasiri."

"Okay." Bunga said. "We'll meet up with you there."

"No need." Kion assured him, shaking his head. "I should be right back. These are lions, after all. It's probably just a misunderstanding."

Jasiri sighed. "I hope so." She said as Kion came over to her side.

"Lead the way, Jasiri." Kion said.

"See ya!" Bunga called after them. "Oh, and by the way, I win!" Kion rolled his eyes playfully when he heard that. He can easily imagine Bunga holding the baobab fruit above his head, claiming victory.

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In a matter of minutes, both Kion and Jasiri were in the dry canyons of the Outlands. As they walked along the trail, Jasiri began to make small talk, voicing some concerns that she had. "You know, Kion, I was kind of worried you might not help me." She admitted.

Kion gave her a confused look for a second, but then smiled kindly at her. "Why wouldn't I?" He asked. "We've helped each other before a couple of times."

The smile that he was giving her made her start to feel a little warm inside, so she bashfully looked down at her paws for a few seconds. "Both of those times were different." She said. "The first time, the bad guys were jackals, then they were hyenas. This time, they're lions."

"They probably don't realize that there are good hyenas in the Outlands." Kion said. "I had that problem at first too."

Jasiri chuckled. "That's true." She said. "It did take a while for us to trust each other. Back when we were young cubs, and then when you accidentally wandered here after your little swim."

Kion gave her a mock glare. "Hey, try swimming through those crazy rapids." He retorted. She just giggled again, making him laugh as well.

Soon, they had arrived at Jasiri's clan's den. There were two adult hyenas sitting on the rocks, but what stood out the most to Kion was the young adult female who was playing with two four-week-old hyena pups, a boy and a girl. It was Madoa. She seemed to have hardly changed much since he had last seen her when he was a little cub.

The two pups were yipping playfully up at Madoa, but then they stopped and ran to hide right when they saw Kion. Madoa was wondering why, but then she saw her sister. "Jasiri, you're back." She said. But then, she stopped right in her tracks when she saw Kion. "K-Kion?" She asked, as if she couldn't believe her eyes.

The lion cub smiled. "Hey, Madoa. It's been a long time." He said.

Madoa chuckled as she came over to him, looking him over. "My, have you grown!" She said. But then, she saw the scar on his face. "Your scar."

"It's fine." Kion assured her. "It doesn't bother me."

The two pups nervously peeked out from behind the rock where they were hiding. Kion just gave both of them a friendly smile, not saying anything. They looked at him curiously, wondering why this lion hasn't hurt them yet. Then, they hid behind the rock again.

Madoa just smiled at him. "You can't blame them for hiding." She said. Kion only nodded in understanding. "All they know are bad lions."

"Like the ones who stole our watering hole." Jasiri added bitterly.

"Well, that's why I'm here." Kion said reassuringly. When they heard that, the hyena pups shyly peeked out from behind the rock again. "I don't know why these lions are in the Outlands, but I'm sure I can clear things up."

"I hope so." Madoa said, looking back at the pups, who were whimpering needily. "Those little ones need the water."

"We all do." Jasiri piped in.

"Then there's no time to lose." Kion said. "Let's go, Jasiri." She smiled at him, and the two of them took off towards the watering hole.

A/N: Part Two will be up soon! So hang tight!