Love Beyond Reasons

A/N: This chapter actually took a bit faster than I thought. I had the beginning of it written down a while ago, but I was stuck there until a few days ago, when I was rewatching some episodes from the Lion Guard. One episode gave me an idea of how a scene could go. From then on, it was pretty easy to write the rest of it.

Well, let's get on with Chapter 12! Roll it!

Chapter 12

Solo Patrol and Rescue

Part One

The next day, all of the lions and friends of the royal family gathered around Pride Rock. As part of a coming-of-age ritual, the son of the king must do a solo patrol around the entire Pride Lands by himself. And as an extra challenge, if he wanted to, he could bring back to the pride his first successful kill. Though it was mostly the females to do the hunting, sometimes the males would do solo hunts while the females hunt in groups.

Simba took a deep and long nervous breath. He knew that Kion was more than capable of doing a solo patrol and a possible hunt all on his own with little to no problems, but he was still a bit worried about him. His son was growing up. It seemed like only yesterday that his son was just a little mischievous cub, playing and frolicking his days away, playing games with his friends. Now, he was a strong teenage lion, and the leader of the Lion Guard, restoring its lost honor, along with his friends who help him protect the Pride Lands.

Then, Nala and Kiara came beside him, both of them giving him reassuring smiles. His daughter had grown into quite a beautiful adolescent lioness; she was much taller than when she was a cub, and was still pretty lithe and slender. But she was still a couple of inches shorter than her mother, as she was almost nearing complete maturity.

"There he is!" Someone exclaimed. Kiara knew that overly excited tone as she rolled her eyes with a little cheeky smile on her face, facing the entrance of Pride Rock. She won't lie, her little brother had turned into quite the heartthrob of the pride and was the apple of almost every single young lioness' eye in the Pride Lands, much to his annoyance and discomfort.

The most persistent of his group of unwanted admirers was Zuri, which Kiara found ironic, knowing that back when they were cubs, Zuri wanted nothing to do with him. Mostly because he liked to get his paws and fur dirty, while she would make sure that her claws were shiny, sharp and perfect. But ever since he had saved her from some crocodiles back when they were young, her attitude towards him did a complete 180, much to the disturbance of Kion. There were a few other members of that group, including Tiifu, but she would just get easily flustered around him rather than flirt excessively like Zuri would do.

But Kion wasn't ready to even find a possible companion, let alone a mate, for his duties as the leader of the Lion Guard were his top priority. Romance had always been the furthest thing from his mind. He had once told her that his admirers all wanted him because of one of three reasons; for his looks, for his status since he was the prince, or because he was pretty much the only eligible bachelor in the Pride Lands. He admitted that a lot of them were really nice, especially Tiifu, but their attitude left much to be desired, particularly Zuri. His sister only laughed at her brother's misfortune, and assured him that one day, someone would come along and like him for who he is on the inside. Kion only sighed with a huff and gave her a sarcastic response of, "I can't wait for that day to come."

Rafiki stood on a nearby rock near the cave entrance as Kion appeared next to him. He was now taller, maybe even standing an inch above his sister, a bit more muscular around his upper body and forelegs, and his mane had grown slightly larger and down to the nape of his neck. The reason for the slow development of his mane was due to a strange and rare disorder, but when he would reach a little past his prime, his mane would be fully developed.

The two stubborn strands that always hovered above his eyes grew thicker into bangs, along with a third one above them, and the speckles on his ankles have almost faded away completely. The scar from his cubhood years was still visible on his left eye, still long since healed from he first got it, but he knew that he will always have it. His admirers all thought it gave him a roguish hero look. And the mark of the Lion Guard was on his left shoulder, as usual. However, to his family, he looked very much like a younger version of his grandfather Mufasa and his father combined, while still having the same facial features of himself. Kion couldn't be more proud to know that he looked so much like his late grandfather, who had continued to be a guide for him through his growing up years.

"Kion." Rafiki greeted the adolescent lion.

"Rafiki." Kion returned the greeting cordially.

As the young lion came down to his parents and older sister, he ignored the adoring giggles from the young lionesses, but he did hear Timon give him a teasing wolf-whistle from where he was standing with Pumbaa. He rolled his eyes when he heard that, though.

He then saw the Guard standing near the entrance of the Lion Guard Lair. He smiled at them when he saw just how far they all had come in the past couple of years. Bunga was still as fun-loving and daring as ever, even though he now reached up to Kion's shoulders, and the wild thatch of fur on his head had grown longer, as did his claws. His upper arms have also grown a bit more muscular.

Beshte was still a gentle giant, even though he was now almost the same size as his father. The tuft of hair on his head was longer, the bangs almost falling into his eyes, and he had whiskers beginning to form on his face.

Ono was almost the same size as Bunga, his neck and legs slightly longer than when he was younger. The pale orange crown feathers on his head were also longer. But his eyesight still never failed the team, neither did his brains and sarcastic wit.

And Fuli had become a very pretty cheetah. She was about the same size as Kiara, and her spots had gotten darker. Her tail was also longer to help her balance when she runs, and she was still very lithe, slender and agile.

All of them gave him words and gestures of encouragement when Kion walked past them. At first, they were eager to help him with the patrol, but he reminded them that this was a solo patrol, meaning that he had to do this alone. However, he told them that if anything dangerous comes up that he couldn't handle on his own, he'll let them know.

When he came over to his family, he nuzzled his mother as she returned the same affection to the back of his neck. "You'll do great." Nala said.

Then, when Kion turned to his sister, she gave him a friendly swat on the shoulder, even though he was now about an inch taller than her because of his slightly larger mane. "Show them what you got, little bro." She said proudly.

Kion playfully narrowed his eyes at her. "By five minutes." He said in a mock annoyed tone. Both siblings just chuckled at the little joke as they gave each other a friendly headbutt.

When Kion turned to face his father, he saw that he was worried. "Dad?" He asked him hesitantly. He really hoped that his father didn't change his mind and decided to delay his first solo patrol just because he was concerned for him. He knew that he can take care of himself, but still, his father was still a bit overprotective of him and Kiara.

Simba sighed heavily, seeing the brief flash of worry in his son's copper eyes. "Just... be careful out there, son." He said.

Kion smiled. "I will." He promised. Simba returned the smile proudly and playfully ruffled his son's developing mane with his paw, making him laugh. Then, he started down the rock, heading out into the savannah.

Everyone then started to leave the area once Kion was out of sight. Simba and Nala stared out in the direction where their son ran off to. Then, the latter, along with their daughter, left the scene. Simba stayed in his spot, his eyes still glued in the direction Kion ran.

The Lion Guard soon came up to their king. "You want us to keep an eye on him?" Bunga asked.

Simba looked down at the young honey badger, and then back up towards the savannah. As much as he wanted them to keep an eye on Kion, he knew that if there was any trouble, he will let them know. And he trusted his son that much. Plus, Kion would be very angry with him if he did.

"I think he'll be okay." Simba said. "Just keep an ear out for any trouble." With that, he left the peak and headed inside Pride Rock. The Lion Guard looked back over at him with surprised eyes.

"I'm surprised he's being that cool with all this." Bunga said. "I was almost sure that he would have us keep an eye on Kion while he patrols."

"It's because he trusts Kion." Ono said, flying off of Beshte and landing next to the honey badger. "More than he does with Kiara. He knew that if Kion was in any danger, he'll let us know. Kiara is a bit more headstrong and would go behind her father's back if she knew that he was having someone shadow her."

"Good point." Bunga said.

"Let's go, guys." Fuli said. "Let's wait in the Lair until Kion gets back or if there's any sign of trouble."

"I hope that it will be the former." Beshte added as everyone headed down to their Lair.

************************

Meanwhile, Kion was running throughout the Pride Lands, the wind in his still developing mane and in his fur, feeling amazingly free. Sure, he feels this a lot whenever he would patrol with the Guard, but doing this on his own, it kind of felt like he had no responsibility to worry about. But he does, and he had to stay focused.

He stopped running to catch his breath and started sniffing the air, trying to smell if there were any intruders within the Pride Lands that passed through the area. So far, there was nothing suspicious that were triggering any alarm systems in his brain. So far, so good.

He then continued to run along the perimeter of the Pride Lands, past large herds of herbivores and tree groves full of animals that can either fly or climb. They all greeted and cheered to the teenage prince as he jogged past them, keeping his pace even and steady. He only gave the spectators a bright smile before pressing on. As he did, he began humming under his breath as a familiar song from his cubhood years came into his mind. Then, they became words as he glanced at them, then up at the sky.

Even those are gone
Are with us as we go on.
My journey has only begun.

Tears of pain, tears of joy,
One thing nothing can destroy
Is our pride deep inside.
We are one.

He still remembered what his father had told him and Kiara about this back when they were cubs. He had an idea about what he meant, but he felt like there was still something missing about the phrase that he just wasn't getting.

Just then, Kion caught a new scent. A delicious one. He stopped running and crouched down low when he saw a herd of antelope about a few hundred meters away from him. According to tradition, he could bring back his first hunt if he wanted to. Kion knew that he was capable of hunting and patrolling at the same time.

Slowly, he started to inch his way closer to the grazing herd, his golden coat blending in almost perfectly with the pale tan savannah grasses around him. It was the dry season, but thankfully, it was to be a short one. The Lion Guard had a lot more problems during this harsher time of year, but by now, it wasn't anything they couldn't handle.

Kion watched his steps and carefully shifted his weight to remain as quiet as possible as he got closer to the peaceful herd. Thanks to the many lessons and training sessions with his parents, along with a little extra help from Fuli, who had been hunting since she was a cub, Kion had become quite an expert hunter. Kiara was still a little struggling with her stalking, but he was sure that soon, his sister will become a great huntress. Hopefully in time for her first hunt.

He quietly shifted his paws and got ready to charge once he was absolutely sure that he was close enough to the herd. But before he could strike, he caught a strong scent coming from the Outlands, slowly getting near the Pride Lands. Usually, that meant trouble.

Kion quickly left the herd without startling them, following the scent. For some reason, that scent was very familiar, like he knew it from somewhere before when he was young. But there was also something unfamiliar about it. He took a few more sniffs, and his eyes widened in horror.

"Oh, no." He whispered. Blood.

A/N: Part Two will be coming very soon. So hang tight!