Hey there, people! Good to be back.

SOF: MMMMRRRR.

Here's the surprise friendship chapter! The person is...

SOF: ::does a drum role::

MANTA!! Surprised? The one person who got it right was hieikag, so they get a virtual cookie! A big thanks to everyone who has reviewed, favorited, and / or alerted this story so far. I'm so happy that you guys are enjoying this. An author, amateur or otherwise, loves to hear praise as well as constructive criticism. As a special treat, I have invited a guest from last chapter – Ren!!

Ren: ::looks around:: When did I get here?

Just now! Say hi to the nice readers and do the disclaimer!

Ren: Go to Hell.

...

Bason: H-Dawg does not own either series mentioned in this story nor does she own the any of the characters mentioned. She is merely an unemployed girl who would rather read online stories than actually do her university work... did I read that right?

Yep.

Oneshot #4 – The Tall and Short of It

Pairing: MantaxKagome

Genre: Friendship

Kagome walked briskly through the halls of her high school as classes were let out for the day. Too bad she had cram school to attend before she could go home.

Cursing under her breath, the teenage girl picked up the pace while reviewing the work she had to do after cram school, "Get on the train, get home, feed Buyo, finish homework, wash uniform to get ink stain out – No better do that as soon as I get home,..." Kagome kept rambling on without really realizing that someone had stepped into her path. She probably wouldn't have noticed anyway, as he wasn't even as tall as her knees...

Manta had just stepped into the hallway to head for his cram school classes. He was reading a fairly thick book as he walked. So interested in his book, the young man was completely oblivious to the much taller girl that was about to collide with him...

"Kyaa!" Kagome screamed as her legs hit something that made her lose her balance. The object screamed, too, as it was almost crushed by her legs. 'What was that?!' Kagome thought as she used her arms to prevent having her face hit the dirty, stone floor. Catching her lost breath, Kagome turned her head to see a very tiny person with blond groaning in pain as he lay on the ground, pinned by her legs. "Oh!" she squeaked as she quickly got off of the boy and knelt next to him. "Gomen nasai! I wasn't looking where I was going. Are you okay?"

Manta shook his head to clear it as he heard a girl's voice. Looking up, he blushed lightly at the view of a very pretty girl kneeling next to him with a concerned expression. Gulping lightly, he nodded his head. He had never really been this close to a girl that he did not know before, not counting Pirika's hug when she thought he was Kororo.

Kagome sighed in relief. "Thank goodness. I thought I had squashed you. No offence, but you're really tiny," she said with a sheepish look on her face.

Manta puffed his cheeks in indignation. 'I know I'm small!' He mentally yelled in his head. Sighing slightly, he met her eyes with a small smile, "It's okay. I get that a lot. At least you're not teasing me about it."

The girl gasped lightly. "Why do they tease you. You look adorable with your size!" If she was trying to make him feel better it was not working. Guys did not want to be called 'adorable.'

Handsome? Yes.

Cute? Maybe.

Adorable? Rather degrading.

Kagome noticed the deadpanned look on the boy's face and realized he was probably rather sensitive about his height. Sweat dropping, she put on an apologetic smile and said, "Gomen. You're probably embarrassed by stuff like that."

"It's okay, really. I've never actually been called adorable before. It's kinda new to me."

"Still... Oh, shit! What time is it?!" Kagome suddenly yelled.

Manta's head shot up. Oh, no...

"CRAM SCHOOL!!!" the two teens yelled as one. In two seconds the two teens were racing down the nearly deserted hallway in the same direction.

As they ran, Kagome turned to the tiny blond. "By the way, what's your name?" she puffed.

Still facing the hallway ahead, Manta panted out, "Manta... You?"

"Kagome."

And so a friendship was forged with laboured breath.

"So you live on a shrine, Kagome-chan?"

"Yes," the girl smiled down at the boy walking beside her. She still found it a little hard to believe that she was the same age as her. He was the same size as Shippo, who was small even for a seven-year-old! She mentally giggled at the image of Manta with kitsune ears and a little, bushy tail wagging behind him. "It's been passed down through my family for generations. Right now my grandfather owns it, but he will probably pass it down to either me or Souta in the future."

Manta looked at the train schedule on the wall of the bullet train station. Good, he didn't miss his train. Turning back to the black-haired girl beside him, he grinned as a thought came to his head, "Hey, my best friend actually has a family tradition kind of like that. It's a whole estate, but he's so lazy he'll probably sleep through the entire ceremony to pass it down to him." 'Unless Anna-san gets after him,' he thought with a slight quiver. Nothing got Yoh gunning quite like Anna could. It was like having a devil at your heels...

"Looks like my train's here, Manta-kun," Kagome sighed, bringing Manta out of his thoughts.

"Oh," Manta said, a little disappointed. It felt good talking to someone as a friend again. Ever since the Shaman Fight ended and Yoh and the others separated to go try and make the world a better place in the eyes of Hao, he hadn't really had any companionship to turn to. It was getting very lonely. He received letters from Yoh quite a bit, but it wasn't the same as actually having Yoh beside him, hanging out like they used to. Watching the clouds, eating ice cream and burgers, taking things the slow and easy way. The good old days without life-or-death situations or major responsibilities.

However, they were not kids anymore and had things they needed to do. While Yoh and the others had their own duties to attend to, Manta was determined to do his part, as well. He would find a way to bring the shaman world and human world together in cooperation. If it meant being separated from his closest friends in the short run, he would do it. He had to show Hao that humans could do the right things, too.

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Manta turned to Kagome and grinned. "I'll see you tomorrow, Kagome-chan," he said.

"Bye, Manta-kun," Kagome bid farewell to her new friend as she went to board her train.

Unknown to Manta and Kagome, they had been followed by a few of their male classmates. Now both of them were glaring at the small blond who was waving goodbye to Kagome.

"I can't believe that hot, new girl is hanging with that midget! What's so special about him?!"

"Shut up, Hiiro! We can't get him here. There are too many people. We'll wait for him to be alone after school tomorrow. Doesn't he have that cram school shit to go to?" Rei whispered to his fellow friend.

"Kagome goes to that cram school, too, idiot! They could walk together for all we know," Hiiro whispered back in a harsh voice, his jealously spitting venomously as he said the word 'together.'

"Then we'll ambush him tomorrow morning, before class starts. That'll teach him to mess with our girl," Rei said with so much confidence in his voice. After all, what could the pipsqueak do to defend himself?

"... Fine, but I want the first punch."

"Deal."

The next day Manta was jogging to school. He would be arriving earlier than expected that day, meaning more time to chat with Kagome before classes began. He still could not believe that he had another friend to talk to, after so many years. 'Maybe, since she lives in a shrine, she might know about shamans...'

Turning a corner, Manta ran face-first into a black pant leg and fell backwards from the impact. Groaning slightly, he looked up and immediately started to shake in fear.

Staring down at him, both with hateful and cocky looks on their faces, were Takuya Hiiro and Fujiwara Rei. They were known as both the school bullies and the school womanizers, the difference depending on what gender you were. Needless to say, Manta had been a routine target of their ridicule ever since he started at the school. However, he had a sinking feeling that this meeting was going to be very different and much more painful...

"F-Fugiwara-san... Takuya-s-san... Good morning..." Manta tried to sound as casual as he could while staring at the two giants, but he still stuttered slightly. Getting onto his feet again, he made a move to try and walk away, but was stopped by a large hand grabbing a fistful of his light-coloured hair. Giving a small cry of surprise and pain, Manta tried to shake himself free from the hold, but was not strong enough to do so.

"Wait, Manta-kun," Hiiro said in a casual tone. Too casual for a person who was holding a person by their hair. "We just wanted to talk to you. It's rude to just walk away when a person wants to talk," As Hiiro spoke, he tightened his grip on Manta's hair, causing the boy to cry even louder before Rei slapped a hand over his mouth to muffle the noise. The bullies dragged the small boy into a dark alley, out of sight from any person who happened to walk by.

Once they were certain that no one would see them, the bigger boys threw Manta to the ground roughly, resulting in a small 'oof' from the blond. Manta quickly scurried back, but hit a wall that seemed determined to keep him at the mercy of the bullies in front of him. If they even had any mercy.

'Oh, God,' Manta thought, starting to panic.

"So, Oyamada," Rei sneered, "you think you're so high up in the money that you think you can buy Kagome's attention?"

Manta's eyes widened at Rei's words. "Wha... What are you talking about? Kagome-chan and I are just friends," he said. 'And she wouldn't want anything to do with you jerks!' he wanted to shout, but thought better about it. If he could come away with one less bruise because of it, he wouldn't say anything too harsh to these guys. They were not playing around this time.

"Oh, really?" Hiiro asked. Tilting his head slightly, he smirked at the smaller boy while saying, "So you wouldn't mind if we... hung out with her, would you?"

Standing up straighter, Manta countered, "She can be friends with whoever she wants. I can't control her life like that."

"Oh, we don't want her friendship. She's too hot for that stuff. Now, if she wanted a quickie... that would be awesome," Hiiro said.

Manta just stood for a moment, shocked at Hiiro's words. His face suddenly twisted into an angry expression and he shouted, "How dare you say that about Kagome-chan!! She has more self-respect and dignity than that, you bastards! If you try anything with her I swear I'll-"

Manta lost his breath as Hiiro kicked him in the gut and sent him flying into the wall behind him. Manta quickly curled himself into a ball and clutched his aching stomach while coughing and wheezing for air.

"You'll what, midget?" Hiiro sneered, watching in sick satisfaction as Manta tried to collect himself.

"MANTA-KUN!!" a familiar feminine voice screamed from the entrance to the alley. Rei and Hiiro turned around and saw Higurashi Kagome looking down at their victim with a terrified expression. "What did you do to him?!" she cried.

Rei smirked at the beautiful girl just in front of them. "Just putting him in his place, babe."

Kagome's scared face soon morphed into one of hate. Settling her fiery blue eyes on the two bullies, she hissed, "You bastards... How dare you hurt my friend?!"

Manta opened his eyes to look at his new friend with worry. His eyes became wide as he saw a faint pink aura begin to surround Kagome. 'Sh-Shaman magic...? No, it doesn't feel... like Yoh-kun or the others...' Manta lifted his gaze to Hiiro and Rei's profiles. They still had their superior looks on their faces. 'They... can't see it.'

Suddenly Kagome lifted her hands, palms facing the perpetrators. The pink aura expanded and flew at the targets with enough force to knock them right through the wall that had prevented Manta form escaping them earlier. They didn't even have time to scream before they were knocked out cold.

Seeing that the attackers were not going to wake up anytime soon, Kagome once again focused her attention on Manta's small body. She ran towards him and carefully picked him up into her arms. "Manta-kun, are you okay?" she asked with so much worry in her voice he almost felt guilty.

Smiling slightly, though blushing at his position in his friend's arms, the blond nodded and said, "Yeah, don't worry. They only got one kick in on me. Though my stomach does hurt a little." He suddenly gained a confused look on his face. "How did you know where I was?"

"I was walking by the alley when I heard you start yelling at those jerks." Kagome paused before she continued, "Manta-kun, did you mean what you said before, when you were defending me?"

Manta thought back to when he started threatening the bullies to not go after Kagome. He smiled at little when he thought about how he was either stupidly brave or bravely stupid for saying stuff like that to men that could probably crush him under their feet. "Of course, Kagome-chan. With the way they were talking about you... I just couldn't let them get away with their words. I know it was pretty dumb, but you're one of the few friends that I have. I have to defend you in some way. I wouldn't be much of a friend if I didn't."

The next thing Manta knew he was being hugged tightly by his new friend. Peering to the side, he could only see Kagome's black locks of hair as she whispered, "If I could count anyone as a friend it would be you, Manta-kun. Thank you."

The blond could hear the tears in her voice, so he lifted a small arm and wrapped it around Kagome's shoulder as much as he could. Smiling softly, Manta closed his eyes and said, "No problem, Kagome-chan."

Isn't friendship all about standing up for the one's you care about?

::sniff:: I almost started crying as I finished this. Manta's such a great guy. Even if he is a bit cowardly at times, he knows when to step in and defend a friend. ::sob::

Ren: God, you are such a sap.

Shut up!

::ahem:: Anyway, I've decided I'm going to do one more friendship story before moving on to the other genres, so hang tight and keep sending in those requests! I won't leave you in suspense this time and tell you straight out that it'll be a FaustxKagome friendship chapter. A couple of people have been wanting me to make one for a while, so I've decided to grant their wish. Keep your eyes peeled for it! Ja ne!