Love Beyond Reasons

A/N: Here's Part Two, everyone! Hope you enjoy it!

Chapter 12

Solo Patrol and Rescue

Part Two

Deep within the Outlands, near some steam vents, Jasiri was struggling to fight against Janja's followers. She had been running from them and fighting against them all day since she made a break for it late the other night, and she was exhausted.

She already was suffering a few deep scratches on her back and her legs, all of them slightly caked in blood. She panted heavily for some much needed breaths as she glared at Janja, who was cackling loudly.

"Gotcha now, Jasiri." He said sinisterly.

Jasiri was starting to see spots in her vision as she struggled to stay on her paws. But she wasn't going to faint now, just because of the loss of blood. She was a fighter, and she was going to be one until the very end.

"If you want to stop me, you'll have to kill me." She snarled, taking a battle stance despite the pain that she was feeling.

"With pleasure." Janja said, crouching low into a fighting stance. Jasiri tried to lunge forward as much as she could on her injured leg, but Janja dodged it and pinned her roughly on her back, further spotting her vision.

"I'm going to enjoy this." Janja said, growling.

But Jasiri didn't waver her hateful glare, despite the immense throbbing in her head as she struggled to remain conscious. Janja raised a paw to swipe at her chest, but then, he was tackled down roughly, away from the injured female hyena, by a large golden blur.

Jasiri carefully righted herself back up, but then collapsed on the ground, finally losing all of her strength. As much as she wanted to slap herself for being weak right now, there was only one animal that she doesn't mind letting down her defenses in front of. And he was that golden blur that now hovered in front of her, ready and poised to fight and protect.

Kion. The name echoed in her mind before she finally gave into the darkness.

The teenage lion growled fiercely at the clan of seven hyenas that jumped at the sight of him. "Janja!" Kion called him out. "You hurt my friend, and now, you're going to regret it."

"Kion?!" Janja exclaimed. The golden prince just deepened his snarl as he maintained his defensive position. But then, the hyena leader just gave him a smirk.

"Well, I'll admit, you have grown from that annoying little furball into someone worthy of a real fight." He said.

"Big talk from someone who keeps getting his tail kicked by yours truly ever since I was a cub." Kion retorted back.

Janja's smirk was replaced with a growl. "Let's see if I can make you eat those words." He said.

He then charged towards Kion, but the teenage lion only leaped forward and pounced on his back, pinning him down hard. But then when Cheezi and Chungu tried to tackle him, he jumped up and then pounced on all three of them.

"Geez." Janja's muffled voice came from underneath. "You've gotten heavier."

"Comes with growing up." Kion answered back snarkily. Then he jumped off to deal with the other four hyenas.

Kion dealt punch after punch, one paw swipe after another, his claws out if he needed them. He easily then had all of them down within seconds. But then, Cheezi and Chungu tried to attack him from both sides. But he just smirked and ducked, letting them both collide into each other.

But then, Kion saw that Janja was getting closer to the injured Jasiri, his fangs bared, ready to deal the fatal blow. From then, he saw red tinting the edges of his vision.

"NO!" He screamed and lunged at the lead hyena, the two of them rolling away from Jasiri. After a few struggles, the lion had his enemy pinned back onto his back, his claws slightly digging into his shoulders. There was a cold snarl on his face as he glared at him.

"If you come near her again, I will not hesitate to claw your eyes out." He threatened coldly, making Janja gulp nervously. Then, he pounded him on the head, making him dizzy.

Kion got off of him and went over to Jasiri. He gently nudged her, but there was no response. Now, he got a better look at her. Despite the bloody scratches on her body, she was just as pretty as he remembered her, maybe even more so. Her mane had grown onto her back, her bangs were longer but still hovered above her eyes, and she still had the strong but sleek form of a fighter. There was still a faint pulse when he nudged her, so if he could get her some help in time, she'll be okay.

Carefully, he started to lift her onto his back. But before he could attempt to do that, he heard loud snarling coming from behind him. He groaned and rolled his eyes as he turned to face the hyenas, all of them standing back up, as they cornered him and Jasiri.

"Don't you ever give up?" He asked Janja.

"Don't you?" Janja retorted back, a glare in his eyes.

Kion smirked as he got into a battle stance. "Nope." He answered simply as he got ready to use the one thing that can send those hyenas running with their tails between their legs.

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Back at the Lair, the Guard was starting to get a little bit worried. Fuli was even pacing back and forth on the stone ground. "Shouldn't Kion be back by now?" She asked. "It doesn't take that long to patrol the perimeter. All of us could do it within an hour."

"Maybe he's pushing himself to get his first hunt." Bunga suggested. "He could easily get a kill."

"Maybe." Fuli said. She knew that she had helped Kion with his hunting skills as they got older, and with the added lessons from his parents, he was more than capable to bring back his first kill if he wanted to. "But still, he should've been back by now, kill or no kill."

"Maybe I could check on him from above." Ono suggested. "See where he is."

"That would be a good idea, but wouldn't we be spying on him?" Beshte asked. "We did promise him that we'll let him do this by himself. And he would've let us know if he needed any help."

"Good point." Ono said.

"Well, how will we know if Kion needs help?" Bunga asked.

Right after he had said that, there was a thunderous roar echoing from far off in the distance. The Roar of the Elders. "Oh, I guess that's how." Bunga said.

"Let's move, guys!" Fuli ordered. Quickly, the Lion Guard left their Lair and they came face to face with the royal family, who had come out of Pride Rock when they heard the Roar.

Simba was the first to speak up. "We all heard it, too." He said. "Find my son and make sure he's all right."

"We will." Fuli assured the King. "'Til the Pride Lands' end..."

"Lion Guard defend!" The other exclaimed their battle cry as they hurried off.

"I'll see where he is!" Ono said, flying high above. When he was high enough, he used his eyesight to get a better look of where Kion might be. Eventually, he did find him, but he was very surprised to see where he was.

"Hapana!" He exclaimed. "Kion's in the Outlands, fighting against Janja and his hyenas!"

"What is Kion doing in the Outlands?" Beshte asked.

"I don't know, but whatever it is, it can't be good." Ono said, coming back down to his team.

"Well, let's see if he needs any back-up." Bunga said.

"Lead the way, Ono." Fuli commanded.

"Affirmative." Ono said, saluting to her and began leading the group to where Kion was.

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Kion roared loudly as he sent the hyenas flying back deeper into the Outlands. Soon, he stopped when he saw that they were all gone. "These hyenas are like fleas you can't get rid of." He muttered under his breath.

"Uh, a little help here?" A familiar voice asked.

Kion saw that it came from inside one of the steam vents. Worry was etched on his face. He ran towards it and peered inside, and he was surprised by what he saw.

"Janja?" He asked, shock written on his face. The lead hyena was struggling to keep himself from falling into the lava under him. But he couldn't keep himself up forever, nor did he have the strength to pull himself back up.

Even though Kion was probably going to regret this, he knew what he had to do. Right before Janja could slip and fall to becoming burned alive, the teenage lion grabbed him by his mane with his teeth and pulled him out of the vent. Once he was out, he tossed him away and then licked his own fur to rid himself of the taste of Janja's fur.

"Bleh!" He exclaimed. "When was the last time you took a bath?" He asked. "You do have watering holes in the Outlands."

But the lead hyena was confused by the young lion's actions from a few seconds earlier. "You, you saved me?" He asked.

Kion got rid of the taste from his tongue, and then faced his enemy with a neutral expression on his face. "I still respect the Circle of Life." He answered. "Even the lives of those who don't."

Janja gave him a confused look. But then, it turned to fear as Kion took one step closer to him, the stone expression still on his face. "Now, get out of here before I change my mind." He said, narrowing his eyes.

The lead hyena gulped nervously at that cold statement and quickly sprinted away to catch up with the rest of his clan. Kion watched him leave in a rush, not saying a word. Once he was sure that Janja was out of sight, he turned around and came back to Jasiri.

"Kion!" The lion tensed visibly and looked up. There, standing above him, much to his relief, was the rest of the Guard as they came over to him.

"We heard your roar." Bunga said, leaping down to his best friend.

"What happened?" Fuli asked. Then, they noticed the injured hyena by Kion's paws. And from the way he stood over her protectively, they knew who it was. "Is that Jasiri?" She asked.

"Yeah." Kion said, trying to get Jasiri onto his back. "She was attacked by Janja and his clan. I caught her scent when I was hunting, and came as fast as I could."

"She needs help, and fast." Ono said.

"I'm going to take her to Rafiki." Kion said.

"What?!" The Guard exclaimed.

"Kion, you know your father hates hyenas." Fuli reminded him. "If he sees her, he won't hesitate to finish her off."

"He'll have to go through me first." Kion said firmly. "I can't let her die."

"Let me take her, Kion." Beshte said. "I can carry her back to the Pride Lands."

Kion looked up at the hippo, and then reluctantly moved away from Jasiri. Beshte then carefully lifted her up onto his back.

"So what will we do about Simba?" Bunga asked.

"Let me deal with him." Kion said. "Right now, I think that when Jasiri wakes up, she'll need something to eat."

"You want me to help?" Fuli asked.

Kion shook his head. "I think I got this." He assured her. "Just take Jasiri to the Lair. I'll explain everything to my family as soon as I get back."

With that, he raced out of the Outlands to continue his first hunt. The Lion Guard took on a slow pace as they followed their leader.

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Minutes later, the Lion Guard are in front of Pride Rock, Kion having a fine antelope carcass behind him, but having a stoic look on his face as he stood in front of his father, who looked ready to explode. His mother and sister, however, looked very much confused.

"Have you lost your mind, Kion?!" He shouted, making the Guard flinch at his tone, but Kion didn't move a muscle. "You have brought a hyena here?!"

"Dad, she's injured." Kion said, his voice slightly raising. "I couldn't just let her die back there."

"What good reason do you have to bring her here?" Simba demanded.

"I owe her my life!" Kion shouted back, making every gasp in surprise. Taking a deep breath, he calmed himself and began to explain.

"She's the same hyena that helped me find my way back home when I was little, when Kiara and I went to the Outlands." He said. "She also helped save me from the jackals that attacked me and gave me my scar."

Simba glowered as he looked at the pink scar on his son's face. Then, he looked back at the injured hyena lying limply on Beshte's back. Apparently, if it weren't for this hyena, Kion would've died years ago as a cub. Then, he looked back at his son. His amber eyes were silently pleading with him.

"It's just until she's recovered from her injuries." Kion added. "She'll stay with us in the Lair under constant surveillance. Then when she's better, we will personally escort her back to the Outlands."

Simba narrowed his eyes at his son, and he returned it. "I know you can trust me, Dad." He said. "You can still trust me now."

The King turned away, deep in thought. Nala then stepped up to her mate. Her son did have a point. And she trusted him inexplicably.

"Simba, you know you owe this hyena your son's life." She said. "And you do trust our son's judgment. He must be telling the truth."

"Mom's right." Kiara piped up, appearing next to her mother. "If she was anything like the others, Kion wouldn't be standing with us right now."

Simba took a long, deep breath and exhaled sharply. He then turned to his son. "I trust you, son." He said. "But you know what must happen if she does anything out of bounds. The second I see she did something wrong, I won't hesitate to kick her back to the Outlands, healed or not."

Kion felt a huge weight lift off his shoulders, and he had to hide the urge to give a big, relieved smile. That certainly was better than what he thought might happen. So he'll take it.

"Thanks, Dad." He said. He then turned back to the Guard. "Ono, go and get Rafiki. The rest of you, make sure that Jasiri is as comfortable as possible."

"Right away, Kion." Ono saluted and took off to the sky. The others carefully made their way down to the Lair to make sure that Jasiri was comfortable when the mjuzi arrived to check on her injuries.

Kion then turned to follow, dragging the antelope carcass with him by the neck. "On a brighter note, Kion." His mother called to him, making him stop and put down his catch. "Congratulations on your first hunt."

Kion smiled at her. "Thanks, Mom."

"Now I have to make a really good impression if I want to do as well as you on my first hunt." Kiara added, giving her brother a teasing smirk.

He just simply rolled his eyes at his sister's comment, a smile on his face. "You better." He said. "Or you'll make yourself look really bad."

"Oh, I will!" Kiara called back to him as Kion once again picked up his kill and dragged it down to the Lair. She has to. Even though she and Kion were on much better terms, and closer than ever, she still had some pride in her. And she wasn't going to let her little brother outshine her this time.

A/N: The next chapter will have Jasiri waking up and knowing of her situation. No "Sisi Ni Sawa" just yet, we need one more character to hear it. But soon, we'll have Kiara going on her first hunt.

And I looked it up, it's true. Male lions do hunt, but they usually do it on their own and not very often. And I think I gave a reasonable enough explanation to Kion's slow developing mane.

So I guess I'll see y'all in Chapter 13. Please leave a comment about what you think.

Got to fly! ;)