Chapter 24. Surprise

"Nice to meet you again Ayana, Nala... My name is Asafa." He said slightly nervous. How would they react to him still being alive?

At first, Nala and Ayana tried to figure out how this stranger could possibly know their names unless he was an enemy spying on them.... But only after a few seconds did his introduction finally set in.

Their defensive agressiveness receded and what overtook them was confusion.

Ayana looked sceptical, how could this stranger have the same name as HIM?

Nala frowned heavily, trying to overlap the face in her memories with the one in front of her.

Only then did she realise how similar they were, and only then did she realise why the lion in front of her was so similar to their former king.

"...Asafa?" Nala asked in nervousness. Could it be true? Could it really be true that he had returned from death.

Her eyes filled with tears as uncertainty overtook her. She hoped that she was right but what could be the odds, that this lion that looked like him, and had the same name as him, wasn't him? Still she didn't dare to hope to much.

"It's me... Nala." Asafa said with a tone of softness in his voice. He had really missed these two.

"ASAFA?!" She shouted as she pounced him, this time to showcase her relief and sorrows.

They put their head together and rubbed them in nostalgia.

Asafa felt like his heart relaxed.

"Sister don't be fooled... by him." Ayana said, still sceptical, yet she couldn't bring herself to completely stop her sister as she saw how relieved her sister seemed.

'Can it be really him?'

"Oh boy..." Timon whispered.

Timon and Pumba had hidden themselves in the bushes when they noticed the bad atmosphere, but things turned worse for every second Timon looked on.

"Isn't this good news Timon?" Pumba asked, wondering why Timon seemed so down.

"No... Pumba it isn't..." Timon said with wisdom beyond his years.

Asafa and Nala hugged and enjoyed each other to showed affection. Only after a while did Nala back up, with slight tears in her eyes.

"How are you still... Alive?" She asked, barely able to believe this.

"Wait, let me ask you something." Ayana proposed. The scrutiny in her voice was clear, obvious to all of them that she didn't believe this at all.

After all, it is possible that he is a spy, and that he had overheard them talking about Simba and Asafa. Nala and Ayana occasionally reminisced about their past, and it's possible that this lion had overheard them while spying.

"Go ahead." Asafa said, excited to start teasing little Ayana... Well she isn't so little anymore.

"I once asked you... Asafa in private if he wasn't worried about not being the crown prince.. if you're really him, tell me what you answered me!" She somberly said, hoping that he could answer yet didn't let her hopes up.

Nala frowned, even she wouldn't remember the details of specific conversations she had with someone so far back. How can he remember something so trivial.

In fact, even Ayana only rembered that moment because his words left a big imprint on her heart that day.

Asafa started thinking for a while before a sad smile overtook his lion lips. He remembered Simba. Asafa wished that Simba could also meet these two again, but he can't, he will never...

"Being king is no good, having to work hard and take care of everyone... It's better to be the prince. Same royal treatment but no responsibility. Yes, only a dummy wants to be king!" Asafa said in a chuckle as he remembered his youthful words and how he was picking at his brother at that time since he was going on about becoming king.

"Only a dummy would want to be king..." Ayana repeated with shock in her eyes.

Nala looked on, worried that Ayana wouldn't agree, but Nala knew in her heart that this was definitely Asafa, son of Mufasa.

As for Ayana, the words that had once echoed in her youthful heart, echoed once again. She remembers how those words were so shocking to her at one point.

After all, being king, seemed like the biggest achievement for her when she was young, yet her crush told her that it's the opposite, it's better to let someone else be a king only dummys want to be king. Those words really had an effect on her, that's why she remembers it so clearly.

"You're him... Aren't you." She finally said in disbelief.

"I have been tryin to tell you." Asafa said with a soft smile.

Suddenly she pushed him as well, and since Asafa was relaxed, he allowed her to push him down and start to show her affection and how much she had missed him.

Both Nala and Ayana seemed to have completely forgotten their troubles as they started hugging and and rubbing heads with him and licking eachother as this was how lions showed affection for eachother.

After a while, Ayana finally come to her senses. "Hold on, if you're the hyena Hunter... Why did you never return to the pride lands?" She finally asked, even Nala stared at him, not understanding the situation.

"... It's complicated." Asafa tried to avoid the subject.

"Explain it, we have been under immense grief from the belief that you died... You owe us at least that much." Nala said.

"I..." *Sigh* "fine, it all started the day my father died." Asafa said, trying to chose his words carefully.

Both Ayana and Nala listened closely. That was a painful day that changed the whole pride lands.

"That day led me and Simba to falsely believe that it was our fault for our father's death..." Asafa said in a sombre tone.

Both looked confused at this.

"In the end, the guilt of believing that we killed our father made us run away, escape from the pride land to never return again." Asafa explained.

"Wait, both of you survived??" Both Ayana and Nala realised what he said and spoke out.

Simba looked slightly sad at this.

"Yes, we escaped as far as e could and found this place... which became our home."

"Then where is he?" Nala asked.

"Gone... He died a few months back in an accident." Asafa said with a hurt tone.

"..."

Both realised that he was still in pain and started rubbing heads against him.

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Fine, out fo the kindess of my heart, I'll spare you another chapter for today... But can you guys at least leave a review? I only have 13 reviews so far and it would make me happy to have more.