DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT own any of the characters from "The Jungle Book 2" or some of the dialogue in this story. The dialogue and characters of this AMAZING AND WONDERFUL Disney sequel belong to Disney. I do however own Mowgli's special name for Shanti and the plotline of this story

Enjoy!

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"Just Some Girl from the Village"

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Shanti walked through the jungle, hoping and praying that she would find Mowgli soon. She was worried about her best friend and she wanted to make sure he was okay. After all, Mowgli was the reason Shanti was walking through the jungle, scared as anything. She didn't like it in here and she wanted to go back to the village, but she couldn't do that until she rescued her friend.

As Shanti ran through a side path, she heard voices up ahead. She gasped as she realized one of them was Mowgli's! Shanti's heart leapt for joy as she rushed forward, following the sound. As she got closer, she ducked behind a tree and hid in some bushes. She didn't want to be seen just yet. As Shanti stood there, she caught the rest of Mowgli's conversation he was having with whomever was with him. Shanti assumed it was Baloo, but she didn't know for sure.

"That's all they do," Mowgli said, exasperatedly. "Washing, dressing, fetching, cleaning."

"Wow! I'm tired just listening to it." Baloo said, leaning up against a tree.

"I don't want to talk about it," Mowgli said, looking away. "Especially not about Shanti."

Shanti frowned as she heard this. She thought Mowgli was her friend. Surely he must care about her a little bit.

"Whose Shanti?" Baloo asked, bringing Shanti out of her thoughts.

"Oh, she's just some girl from the village," Mowgli said, absently.

Shanti made an indignant noise with her teeth. "Just some girl" indeed! She thought she meant more to Mowgli than that. Shanti stayed silent, although she could feel tears welling up in her brown eyes.

"Wait a minute," Baloo said, patting Mowgli's head, "Not that same girl who lured you into that village in the first place."

"Yup. That's the one." Mowgli confirmed.

"I knew it! I knew it! I knew she was trouble."

Mowgli didn't respond, which gave Shanti a glimmer of hope. Maybe Mowgli was just over excited to see his friend again and that's why he had said those things. Shanti prayed to Allah that she was right and Mowgli really didn't mean what he had said earlier.

"I even tried bringing her to the jungle and she got me in trouble!" Mowgli confided in his best friend.

Shanti felt a wave of guilt sweep over her at the sound of this. She was sorry for what she had done. Hadn't she told Mowgli that twice before?

"Say what?" Baloo asked.

"I just wanted to show her how much fun we have," Mowgli explained.

"And she got you into trouble for that?" Baloo asked, incredulously.

"Yup." Mowgli replied. "She thinks the jungle is a scary place."

"Where would she get that crazy idea?" Baloo asked.

"Got me." Mowgli replied.

Shanti shivered, just thinking about what dangers awaited her come night fall. She had no idea how to get back to the village and she knew she would have to spend the night. She thought about revealing herself and asking Mowgli's friend for help, but that thought quickly vanished as hurt came over her. How could Mowgli think about her like that? They were supposed to be best friends.

"Well, forget about that girl. You're better off without her. You have everything you need right here. And me, I got my old singing partner back."

Shanti growled in frustration as tears came to her brown eyes. Well, if that was the way Mowgli was going to be, then she didn't need him either. Shanti turned around to leave, not bothering to listen to whatever the two were singing. She really didn't care at the moment. All she cared about was getting back home.

But as Shanti got deeper and deeper into the jungle, she sighed. She didn't know where she was going and she was beginning to feel really scared. She didn't like the jungle and being here at night was making it worse. Every little sound she heard made her jump and every time the trees rustled, Shanti would cringe. She just wanted to be back in the village, where she knew tigers couldn't get her.

Finally, after walking for an hour, Shanti decided to call it a night. She curled up in a patch of leaves and trees and fell asleep. As Shanti drifted off, she prayed to Allah that he would keep her safe.

The next morning, Shanti awoke with a start. The sun was streaming down from the heavens above and it blinded her for a second. After Shanti's eyes adjusted to the light, she looked around, not sure where she was at first. But as the previous night's events came floating back to her, Shanti sighed as tears welled up in her eyes once again. This time, she let them fall. She couldn't believe Mowgli had said those things about her. Was that how he really felt? Did he really hate her? As these thoughts ran through Shanti's mind, she heard a sound from behind her. She jumped and whirled around to see a black panther, gazing at her from a patch of trees on the other side of where Shanti was now. She shrank back further and brought her knees up to her chest. She started to whimper and shook her head, as if willing the creature in front of her to go away.

The panther eyed the little girl with concerned eyes and came closer. He wanted to make sure she was okay. She looked familiar, but he couldn't place where he had seen her before. As Bagheera got closer, Shanti whimpered and tried to move even further back, but she couldn't. She gazed up at Bagheera, tears of fear and anger towards Mowgli in her eyes.

"Now, now," Bagheera said, gently, taking Shanti by surprise, "there's no need to be afraid. I won't hurt you. I'm a friend of Mowgli's. I'm Bagheera. What's your name?"

Shanti brought her knees down from her chest and gazed at Bagheera for a few minutes, as if searching his eyes for any sign of falseness. But as Shanti stared into the panther's yellow eyes, all she saw was concern and kindness. And it was this that allowed Shanti to let her guard down.

"Sha-Shanti," Shanti said, softly. Her voice was still full of fear.

"Shanti," Bagheera repeated, more to himself than to the little girl cowering in front of him. Then to Shanti he said, "That's a very pretty name."

"Thanks," Shanti replied, starting to warm up to Bagheera slightly.

Bagheera smiled. Shanti was rather cute.

"Are you lost, Shanti?" Bagheera asked, wanting to help his new friend in any way he could.

Shanti took a deep breath and nodded.

"Ya-yes," she said, still a little unsure.

"Well, want to team up? I'm looking for someone myself. Maybe we can help each other. I'll help you back to the village and maybe you can help me find Mowgli."

At the sound of Mowgli's name, Shanti glared towards the river and sighed.

"Are you Mowgli's friend from the village?" Bagheera asked, wanting to know why Shanti's mood had suddenly changed at the mention of the man cub's name.

"I thought I was," Shanti said, quietly, almost whispering.

Bagheera wanted to help Shanti feel better, but he dare not touch her just yet. He knew she was scared and he didn't want to lose her trust.

"What did he do, may I ask?" Bagheera asked, sitting down across from Shanti.

Shanti sighed.

"He-he said, he said that I was ja-just some girl from the village. He actually said that…" Shanti's voice trailed off as the tears came again. "I thought he cared! I thought we were friends. I thought…" Shanti's words gave way to tears.

Bagheera couldn't help himself. He came over to Shanti and put a gentle paw on her shoulder.

Shanti looked up and then did something that totally surprised Bagheera. Instead of pulling away, Shanti wrapped her arms around Bagheera's neck and cried into his fur, desperately seeking his comfort.

Bagheera soothed Shanti as best he could. He knew she was scared and wanted nothing more than to return home, but he also had a feeling that Mowgli owed Shanti an apology. Bagheera didn't approve of eavesdropping, but he had a feeling Shanti hadn't done it on purpose. She had probably been looking for Mowgli and happened to come upon him and Baloo talking. Whatever the reason, Bagheera was going to talk to Mowgli once they found him.

After Shanti had calmed down, Bagheera motioned for Shanti to climb on his back. Shanti did so, relieved for the break from walking for awhile. They rode through the jungle in silence, that is, until they came upon Mowgli and Baloo picking fruit from a tree. Bagheera motioned for Shanti to be quiet until the time was right. Shanti nodded and obeyed her new friend.

Bagheera and Shanti watched as Mowgli got some mangos down from the tree. Shanti then watched in fascination as Mowgli used the trick she had shown him back home.

"Where'd you learn that?" Baloo asked, taking a mango from Mowgli and stuffing it into his mouth.

"Shanti showed me," Mowgli said, sounding more up beat.

Shanti smiled inwardly. Maybe she was right and Mowgli had just been over excited to see Baloo. Maybe he really did care about her like she thought he did.

"Shanti?" Baloo asked, frowning.

Mowgli shook his head.

"No-no, I said 'wanti'. I 'wanti' another mango."

Shanti growled into Bagheera's fur, but at the same time, tried to hold back a giggle. Mowgli was silly sometimes..

"No you didn't," Baloo insisted. "You said, Shanti."

"No I didn't," Mowgli said, glaring at Baloo.

"Yes you did." Baloo persisted.

"No I didn't." Mowgli replied.

This went on for a few more minutes until Mowgli said something that made Shanti gasp.

"Who cares about Shanti. It was just a stupid trick, all right?" Mowgli asked, wanting to drop the subject.

Shanti had had enough. She jumped off Bagheera's back and ran forward. When she was right behind Mowgli, she tapped his shoulder.

Mowgli jumped in surprise and whirled around. Shanti's brown eyes glared back at him. She had her hands planted on her hips and she did NOT look happy to see him.

Mowgli tried to collect his thoughts. He didn't want to hurt Shanti further, but before he could speak, Shanti beat him to it.

"You have a lot of explaining to do, Mowgli!"

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I know this is an open ending, but I (Laura F. Simons) did NOT write this story. (And that DISCLAIMER does not belong to me at all.) It was written by somebody else, who deleted it right after I reviewed it, asking him to continue. HOW RUDE. Luckily, I copied and pasted it just before he deleted it, and so I decided to repost it. I honestly have no idea how this story should continue. If anybody has an idea, write the story yourself. It could be called "Just Some Girl from the Village: Part 2. Just remember to give ME credit on reposting it in the first place, (and try to keep the content at a "K" level.).