Son of a Legend

Part 12: Healthy Again

Hey guys. Before we start, I just wanted to say sorry for not updating in a minute. It's just been a long past few days because I'm involved in quite a few extra curriculars. Anyway, enjoy the story!
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"Never better!? But you were twitching like you were having a nightmare, not even 5 minutes ago!" Taji exclaimed.
Mkali smiles. "I was, but then I thought back to a lesson that you gave me. It fixed everything. I think that it even fixed my scar and shell shock."
Rani raised an eyebrow. "I don't know if that's how it works, Mkali." She said doubtfully.
Suddenly, Ullu comes flying into the den. "Everyone! Makucha's army is attacking!" She hoots. Before anyone else can process the information, Mkali sprints out of the den.
"C'mon, Lion Guard!" He shouts over his shoulder. Everyone looks at each other, shrugs, then runs out of the den after Mkali. Everyone gets there just in time to see Mkali roar Makucha's army away.
He turns to look at them, his scar stops glowing as he does. "You guys missed all the fun!" Mkali says to them.
"You beat them already!? We were like 10 seconds behind you!" Koda exclaims.
"And you felt no fear of any kind?" Taji asks.
"Nope!" Mkali says as he shakes his head.
"And you feel as though you can control your emotions?" Taji asks again.
Mkali smiles and nods his head.
"I guess that the only thing left for your healing is putting weight back on you guys." Taji says, excited that she helped to heal Mkali, but sad that the Lion Guard might be leaving soon.
"Even after we get healed, we'll stay here. At least until we get rid of Makucha and his army. It's the least we can do since we led them here." Mkali says. His guard nods in agreement.
"Thank you, Lion Guard! You have no idea how much this can help!" Rani exclaims, happy that she has as many people possible to help fight this war.

18 months later...
Mkali has just turned 18. His mane is completely grown in. He now stands at about 6'4"and 216 lbs. He is meeting up with the Lion Guard and Night Pride at the watering hole. He starts to head that way.
"Mkali!" Koda shouts from behind him. He is now 17 years old and is the same size as Mkali. His black mane has not yet grown in fully.
"Hey, what's good, my man?" Mkali asks as Koda runs up and dabs him up.
"Happy 18th!" Koda congratulates his cousin.
"Is it my birthday!?" Mkali asks. Koda nods. Mkali sighs. "I feel bad that we've been away for so long. I've missed Laika, and I's 17th, and now 18th. I hope she's having a happy birthday."
Koda pats his cousin on the back. "Cheer up, man. How can you be down when you're 18? You're a real Lion now! Plus, how can you be sad when you have a girlfriend like Misuli?"
Mkali glares at his cousin, but he can't help but smile at Koda teasing him.
"Man, why don't you believe me when I say that there's nothing going on between us?"
Koda smiles and starts shaking Mkali lightly. "C'mon man! Don't lie to me! You can tell me!" He teases.
Mkali smirks. "You want a confession out of me? Fine. I do love Misuli," He pauses for effect. "Like a sister." Koda's face falls, and Mkali bursts out laughing.
"Booo!" Koda jokes. The two laugh. 3 other lions their age come walking up to the cousins. 1 with sand colored fur, hazel eyes, and a dirty blond mane. He stood at about 5'11 "and was about 180 lbs. He had the mark of the Lion Guard on his left shoulder. The other two had chocolate colored fur, dark brown manes, and stood at 6'1" and weighed about 195 lbs. These two lions were identical, with the exception of their eyes. One had brown eyes, and one had grey-blue eyes. They each had the mark of the Night Pride on their right shoulders.
"Kushona! Tamaa! Simko! What's good?" Mkali asks the three lions.
"Not much. Happy 18th!" The brown eyed lion responds.
"Thanks, Tamaa." He thanks the other two lions as they also wish him a happy birthday.
"How does it feel to be 18?" Simko asks.
"If I'm being honest, I still feel like I'm 15." Mkali responds. Suddenly, a white lioness comes running up to the group. She has a black nose, blue eyes, and the mark of the Lion Guard on her left shoulder. She is 5'9", 150 lbs. Koda lights up when he sees her.
"Hey, Kasi. What's up?" Mkali asks the Pridelands fastest.
"What's up is that you guys are late! Rani is not happy about it!" She states to the group of lions, sounding impatient as always.
"So you're just not gonna say happy birthday to Mkali?" Tamaa asks.
"She has to be first in everything, so she swung by earlier to say it." Mkali informs. Kasi turns to go back to the watering hole.
"You lions coming, or what?" She asks over her shoulder.
"We're coming!" Mkali says as he starts to run after her. The other lions follow. The group gets to the watering hole and sees that Rani, Baliyo, Taji, and Misuli are all waiting there for them.
"Why are you guys so late?" Rani asks the group of young adult lions. They all look at each other, then back at Rani, and they all shrug in unison. Rani can't help but laugh at the group. They all remind her of her late mate, who died when her cubs were no more than 4 years old from an unknown illness.
"Anyway, we received some good news from Ullu this morning. She said that she saw Makucha and his army split up and go their separate ways. The war is over!" She tells the group. Everyone cheers. "Oh, and also, Happy Birthday, Mkali. It's crazy to see how much you changed from minutes old to 18 years old."
Mkali nods.
"So, does this mean that we are going back to the Pridelands? You did say we'd stay until the war is over." Kushona asks his leader.
"Ummm, I don't know." Mkali said. He didn't want to leave because he had developed feelings for Taji, and he felt like he was ready to confess his feelings. He, of course, didn't want the guard to know about that, so if he got asked about it, he'd need to come up with a better excuse.
"Why don't you want to go back to the Pridelands? Don't you miss your family?" Rani asks.
"Plus, you said word for word, 'I feel bad that we've been away for so long,' no less than 10 minutes ago." Koda chimes in.
Mkali shakes his head. "It's just... my parents. I don't want to go back and find out that they died. It's like, if I stay here, then there's still a chance that they're alive. There's still a chance that they survived." Mkali looks down at the ground. Taji walks over and sits down next to him.
"Hey, I understand. When my dad died, I didn't want to accept it. But there is a chance that they are alive. You need to go home so that you can find out.
Mkali turns to his guard.
"You guys talk about it and decide what you want to do. No matter what you guys decide to do, I will support the decision. Koda nods and gets the conversation started. Taji taps Mkali on the shoulder.
"Let's go talk somewhere private." She helps Mkali to his feet. The two of them walk into the forest.
"What'd you want to talk about?" Mkali asks.
Taji looks up at Mkali, who is about a head taller than her (she is 5'8" roughly 160 lbs). "Why do I get the feeling that your parents isn't the reason you don't want to go back to the Pridelands?"
Mkali sighs. "Because it's not."
"What's the real reason then?" She asks. Mkali looks away from her. Taji puts a hand on his shoulder. "Mkali. You can tell me anything. Just because you're healed doesn't mean that that changed."
Mkali takes a deep breath and looks at her. "The real reason I don't want to leave is..." Mkali pauses. Taji raises an eyebrow, curious of what he is going to say. Mkali sighs again. "I have feelings for you." Mkali says finally.
Taji gasps. "What!?"
Mkali nods. "Yeah. I have feelings for you. You know how to calm me down, and when I'm with you, everything feels like it's gonna be okay, and you have this ability to understand me like no one else has been able to before. You were there for me when I was at my lowest point, and you pulled me out of the darkness, and I love you for that."
Taji pauses. She's liked Mkali for a long time now, but she never thought that he had the same feelings about her. She snaps out of her daze, reaches up, pulls Mkali's head down, and kisses him. Mkali's eyes go wide as Taji's lips lock on his. He is finally able to process what is happening and kisses Taji back. The two separate from each other. They lock eyes and smile at each other.
"So, we're a couple now?" Mkali asks.
"Yes, but let's wait for your guard's decision before we tell anyone." Mkali nods. The two of them walk back to the rest of the group.
"There you guys are. We've come to a decision." Koda says after seeing Mkali and Taji.
"Alright, so what are we doing?" Mkali asks his guard.
"Pridelands." They all say in unison.
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There you guys have it. Mkali and Taji are a couple, but the Lion Guard has decided to return to the Pridelands. Will Mkali and Taji stay together? Will Kion and Vitani be alive? And will the Lion Guard even be welcomed in the Pridelands? Find out in the next part. I'd like to say sorry again for not updating in forever. School has been crazy this past week, so to make it up to you guys, I will publish another part today. Thank you guys so much for reading, and have a good one!