A couple of weeks passed without incident for Kito and his family, save the few bitter arguments and hateful glares from the old Pridelanders.
The young cub was still growing strong, and he was starting to spend more and more time with Nala. Her mother seemed to be less concerned about him, and more concerned about the animals of the Pridelands who were becoming more and more ornery.
One day he was playing with Nala as Shani slept nearby. Nala's mother, Sarafina, was silently staring out into the distance from the main lounging spot of Pride Rock. Her bright eyes were hooded, and her tail flicked back and forth.
Kito looked up at her after Nala had pinned him down to the ground.
"What's wrong with your mother? She looks really weird," he whispered.
Sarafina's ears perked up and she turned her head to look at Kito. Nala let him up and he padded a few steps towards Sarafina.
"Are you okay?"
Sarafina's mouth moved slightly into a small grin.
"I never thought I would hear a kind question out of Zira and Scar's cub... then again I never thought they would rule the Pridelands and have cubs. Yes, I'm okay, Kito. I must tell you something though."
She paused and Kito waited patiently for her to continue. She took a breath and looked back out at the horizon.
"As King, you must respect all of your subjects, no matter how small or insignificant they seem. A certain King doesn't understand the Circle of Life, and I have a feeling we're all going to pay dearly some day."
She glanced back over at him as he sat there thinking to himself. He didn't understand what she was saying, but he felt like it was important somehow.
"I'll try to respect my subjects as much as I can. What if they're mean, though? Can I just kill them like the hyenas do?"
Sarafina tensed up and her eyes widened.
"No! No, Kito. Don't ever do what the hyenas do. They're a terrible example," she said.
"But they're loyal to my father. Shouldn't I be loyal to him, too?"
Kito's question hung in the air as he looked up at the lioness.
Sarafina's jaw worked and her eyes searched the ground in thought. Nala looked at her mother quizzically, wondering why she was in a lecturing mood.
"Well... there has to be some good in him, and he is your father... Just follow your instincts. That's the best advice I can give you."
Kito nodded and smiled.
"I will, and thank you. Can we keep playing now?"
Sarafina laughed lightly at Kito's politeness.
"I don't see any reason why not."
Kito's smile widened and he turned back to Nala. She grinned back at him, her brows raised as if to taunt him. He let out a soft growl and jumped forward, pouncing on her chest. She giggled and rolled away before he could truly pin her down.
Kito marveled at her grace and agility as he tried again and again to pin her down. He succeeded once or twice, but he was almost always the one on the bottom.
He stared up at her from the ground, grinning from ear to ear.
She let him up slowly.
"Why are you always smiling like that?" she asked, shoving him playfully with one of her paws.
"Because I like spending time with you," he said.
She looked at him doubtfully for a moment. Then she smirked and started to walk teasingly away.
"Well if you want to spend time with me, you have to keep up with me!"
She laughed and started running away from Kito into the savanna below.
Kito laughed and followed after her.
"Don't go too far, Nala!" Sarafina called.
"I won't, mom!" came the brief reply.
The two cubs raced through the grass, laughing wildly as they went. It wasn't until Nala took a break to catch her breath that Kito caught up to her.
"Rawr!" he shouted as he pounced.
He landed on her back and they rolled in the dirt. He nipped at her neck and back and she rolled around to bat at him with her paws.
After a while they sprawled out exhausted next to each other, both of them breathing hard.
"That was fun," Kito said after taking a few deep breaths.
"Heh heh, yeah," Nala giggled.
Suddenly they heard rustling in the grass and they jumped to their feet. A few loud cackles pierced the air and the cubs watched as three hyenas stepped right in front of them.
They were all laughing hysterically, and one of the males was trying to talk through the laughter.
"So I said to this zebra as I was about to eat 'im 'Are you really white with black stripes, or black with white stripes?' He was about to say somethin' when I interrupted him and said 'Well, what does it matter? You'll look the same no matter what when you come out next!'"
They all broke into another fit of laughter.
Kito looked over at Nala to see what she thought they should do, and he was shocked to see how terrified she looked. It was as if she were frozen in place, and he wasn't exactly sure why. They were on his father's side, after all.
After a few moments the hyenas stopped laughing, and the female in the middle looked down at the two cubs.
"Why hello there, little prince and princess! We hate to interrupt, but your parents were getting a little worried that you had gotten lost or somethin' crazy like that. You aren't lost, though... are you?"
She stared down at Kito, and for a moment he wasn't sure what to say. Then Nala broke in.
"You tried to eat me and Simba before! Get away from us!"
Nala bared her teeth at them, but they just laughed it off.
"Why can't we just let bygones be bygones? It's all in the past now," the female chuckled.
Nala snarled and ran off towards Pride Rock. The hyenas continued to smirk and chuckle to themselves.
"Who knew so much feistiness could fit in such a little body?" the female sneered.
"Well, look who's talking!" one of the males joked.
The female snapped at him, and he cackled as he dodged the blow. The other hyena just smiled in a twisted way as his tongue lolled out from the side.
Kito stood watching them uncomfortably, not sure what he should do or say. He started to walk back towards Pride Rock when the female stepped in his way.
"Now hold it a sec. Scar wanted us to escort you back, so we're gonna escort you back. Otherwise he'll have our hides put in his cave as decorations."
She grinned at his terrified look.
"Nah, maybe he'll just leave us out for the buzzards. Plenty of those around these day, eh boys?"
The two other hyenas nodded in amused agreement.
"So why don't you just let us guide the way? The name's Shenzi, by the way. These two idiots are Banzai and Ed."
The male called Banzai puffed up and bared his teeth.
"Hey, who are you calling idiot?!"
"You, stupid."
Shenzi and Ed laughed as Banzai huffed under his breath.
"Alright, let's get movin' before Scar sends out Zira and the whole hunting party after us," Shenzi said.
She started walking and Kito followed after her. Somehow it felt right to be around the hyenas, especially since his father trusted them.
He heard the two hyenas following after him and suddenly he felt the power of being Prince. In that moment, he felt invincible.