Everyone was shocked. Something like this only happened rarely to a young cub like Maliki. So young and innocent...
Kovu and Kiara were the ones to suffer the most, of course, but Simba, Nala, Vitani and everyone else in the pride mourned as well.
Kim was still shaking after all this. He hadn't stopped all night, no matter how much Kiara tried to comfort him. Of course it was hard to her at the moment, she was in pretty bad shape herself, but she could understand the pain Kim was going through at the moment, losing his own brother that he had loved so much. That's what she thought, at least. Kim was feeling sick both physically and emotionally. He just couldn't forget Mali's scream when he fell. He had a fear of heights, for gods' sake! And Kim had did the most horrible thing one could imagine to do to his own big brother.
Simba saw how tired and sad Kiara was, so he took Kim with him and said: "Kim, maybe you should take a nap." Kim nodded, though he knew perfectly well he couldn't get to sleep. Simba took him to the corner of the cave and whispered: "Kim, I know very well what you're going through, I've lost members from my family too. I know how you feels You shouldn't blame yourself for anything."
"Oh, I shouldn't?" Kim thought.
"I know it'll hurt for a long time, but were all here for you." Simba smiled encouragingly and Kim felt like crying. He couldn't face Simba's eyes. "Now, Kim, I have to ask something important from you." "What?" Kim sniffled. "Take care of your mother, she needs you now." "Doesn't Dad take care of her?" Simba smiled a little. "Of course he does, but she is in a very difficult moment right now, like we all are and you have to remember she cares for you a lot and..." Simba paused for a moment, then continued. "Well, I guess what I'm trying to say is, please don't get her upset in any way. Don't run away without telling her where you are and when she wants to be alone, let her be. Do you understand?" Kim nodded again. "Good," Simba nuzzled him and let him sleep. Of course Kim couldn't sleep. He made sure nobody was watching and sneaked out of the cave.
y anything, I know how you feel," Shani whispered. "No, you don't. You can't..." "I know he was your brother Kim, of course you loved him." Shani nuzzled him again and Kim couldn't bare it anymore. He had to tell her. "Shani, it...Mali...It-it was all my fault," he cried. "Kim, I know it's hard for you but you can't blame yourself for this." "But I do! You-you have to understand, I..." "I understand, Kim. I really do. But I know he wouldn't want you blaming yourself." "Shani, you don't know..."
Shani hushed Kim, nuzzled him and comforted him until he wasn't shaking anymore. "Are you feeling better now?" she asked and tried to smile a little. Kim wasn't feeling better, but she had tried so hard to help him and she was hurting too, so Kim just nodded. "Yeah, I-I guess I am." He smiled half-heartedly and she returned the smile. "Come on, I think we better go down. I don't like being up here." Mali didn't either, Kim thought to himself and sighed. Before he got up to leave, Shani licked his cheek and whispered: "Don't worry, I'm your friend, I'm here for you." Kim felt himself blushing and looked at Shani who was already walking ahead.
Yes, he thought. She really is my friend, isn't she? MY friend, not Mali's. MINE.
Now that he started to think about it, he felt better about the idea Maliki wasn't around anymore. Shani would now trust Kim and Kim alone, no-one would tell lies about him anymore to her. And no-one could steal her away anymore.
Kim smiled to himself. If he only would have seen his own face right now, he would have noticed he had changed. For a quick moment he had green eyes instead of red and his fur was darker. "It's Time"

Kovu was looking at the sunset. He had been through a lot of emotions after Maliki's death. Emotions he had never felt before. Zira had always taught him not to be weak, and Kovu had accepted that kind of view. Now he felt weaker than ever before in his life. Kovu sighed. First he had been full of frustration and self-accusation, then he had been angry though he didn't actually know who he was angry with. Then he had felt empty and meaningless, after that, only sad and miserable. That's how he felt now. He had tried to be a good father but he couldn't even protect his son.
He turned and slowly headed back to the cave. "Kiara? Are you here?" he asked. First he didn't hear anything, then silent sobs from the shadows. "Kiara?" he asked again. He walked to the figure in the corner and nuzzled it. "Are you okay?" "No," Kiara sniffed. "I'm not." "What is it? Come on, you can tell me," Kovu said quietly.
He was silent for a while and then asked: "Is it Mali?" "Well, sort of, or...maybe not, I...I don't know!" Kiara burst into tears again. "How come? What is it? Tell me, Kiara, please!"
Kiara couldn't reply in a while, then when she calmed herself down, she whispered: "Kovu, I'm pregnant."
Kovu blinked his eyes in amazement. "W-what? K-Kiara...I...That's wonderful news!" "It is?" Kiara asked. "Well, I-I mean...Aren't you happy?" "I don't know...Maybe, maybe I'm afraid to be happy." "What do you mean?" "Because of Mali. He-he was our son, I-I loved him so much...And I know you did, too. But...I, I want t-to have this baby, Kovu, and...still, still I don't. I don't know if it's making any sense." Kiara bowed her head sad and Kovu was silent for a long time.
"Are you...Are you afraid the baby is...going to replace Mali?" he asked. Kiara nodded. "I know I would never forget Mali, I couldn't, but Kim...He loved Mali so much. I'm afraid he might be jealous." "Maybe I could talk to him." "No, no, please, don't say anything to him yet, not until we're sure everythng will go well. If I lose this baby, it's going to be the second brother Kim lost. Or a sister, of course." Kovu nodded. He understood what Kiara meant. "So...we're not going to tell him just yet?" Kiara shook her head. "Well, if that's what you want, I'm okay with that." Kovu gave a smile and licked Kiara's cheek.
"I wish you could be happy about this, I know I am. I don't ever want to replace Maliki either, but a new baby...It's, just so thrilling!" Kovu couldn't hide his excitement and Kiara had to smile too. "I hope everything will be fine," she said. "I'm sure it will, don't worry." Kovu nuzzled her and Kiara felt much better already.
Outside the cave, Kim had been listening all the time. "So, a secret, eh? And they were't going to tell me?" he thought. "That means they don't want me to be the king of Pride Rock. It's because of the baby. A new Maliki...He'll probably be just as much trouble as he was. Well, WE won't let that happen, will we? WE just have to get rid of the new brat before everything goes wrong."
Kim smiled to himself for a while, then his