Manti

Manti is the het ship between Mowgli and his best friend/love interest turned girlfriend Shanti from the The Jungle Book fandom.

The Jungle Book 2
When Mowgli was telling the story of his life in the jungle to to the people from the village, Ranjan, Mowgli's adoptive little brother, joked saying that he didn't needed to tell them about the end of the history because they all knew how it ended: He headed for the village after Shanti blinked at him and he decided to follow her. Shanti fibed that that didn't happen like that while Mowgli nodded yes. Shanti, still smitten with Mowgli, replied that "she got something in her eye" and Mowgli sarcastically replied "in both eyes", hinting that she was looking at him. Shanti flirtatiously followed suit, replying that he was so ugly that tears fell from her eyes when she saw him for the first time, until the village's leader interrupted their discussion. As Shanti headed home, bid good night to Mowgli in a flirtatious and seductive manner, and teasingly blinked her eyes at him, knowing the boy had a soft spot for her lovely eyes, Mowgli said good night and warned her to be careful of Shere Khan on the way, but Shanti didn't take it seriously and brushed it off by debunking the probability of such things happening..

The next day, Mowgli followed Shanti when she was taking water, using as excuse that he was there to watching out for danger. When Shanti was going to leave saying that there was no danger, he lied to her saying that yesterday he saw tiger tracks and that's why he was worried, but she but she kept thinking it was a joke. In the end Ranjan jumped out at her and scared her, making her fall into the river and revealing that the two were just trying to play a prank on Shanti. Shanti called them "horrible stinky boys" and left very angry with Ranjan telling him that he shouldn't listen to everything Mowgli tells him. Knowing she has a crush on Mowgli, Ranjan was surprised to hear her doubts about him. Then Shanti admited that she did like Mowgli as more than a friend but stopped talking and blushed as she realized had Mowgli heard her and brought back the water jug that she had left on the river bank and Shanti relunctantly accepted it and grudgingly thanked him. After what Shanti told Ranjan, Mowgli tried to win back the latter's trust and her heart by teaching him a trick he learned in the jungle, while Shanti also taught him another trick that she learned, competing with, surprising and impressing him. Mowgli then started singing a song about how fun the jungle was, encouraged Shanti to join the party and fitted her with a peacock-like crown, apparently convincing her until in the end it turned out that Mowgli motivated all the children to enter the jungle and Shanti regained consciousness, taking off the peacock crown and yelling at everyone not to enter. Mowgli got mad at Shanti for telling on what he was doing to the tribe leader and getting chanted for her fault, even though she tried to apologize and just wanted to do the right thing.

To apologize, Shanti went to bring Mowgli food in the evening, until he found her crush and Baloo playing and she screamed saying there was a beast in the village. By chance it turned out that Shere Khan was also in the village, and when everyone woke up Mowgli and Baloo had already left, they thought that the beast Shanti was referring to was Shere Khan. Since no one listened to Shanti when she tried to tell them that the "real beast" had gone with Mowgli, she decided to look for Mowgli.

When Mowgli escaped with Baloo, he told him about the village and Shanti and how he didn't want to go back to the village, let alone go back to the girl after what he did to her. When Mowgli showed Baloo the trick Shanti taught him, Mowgli suddenly denied what he said because he didn't want to admit that she taught him. However, when Mowgli and Baloo found out that the townspeople were looking for him, he wondered if Shanti was looking for him too, hinting that he still loves her. However, he resented it again, saying that if Shanti finds them, Baloo would scare her. When Baloo and Mowgli hid in King Luoie's palace - which is now abandoned and turned into a club for animals - Baloo told everyone that in the village people only work and there is a girl named "Shanti" who is afraid of the village and which, fortunately, Mowgli will never see again. This made Mowgli sad, who definitely missed the village, and he began to sing a song so that Shanti could recognize him and find him.

When they met, Mowgli was caught by surprise by Shanti trapped in some vines, the two best friends happy to see-and still crushing on-each other and Shanti and Ranjan tried to help him. However, Baloo found Mowgli with Shanti and decided to scare her, as he and Mowgli had planned, while Mowgli tried to stop him. Baloo got caught in the vines too and punched in the nose by the girl. Baloo explained that it was Mowgli who planned to scare Shanti, which caused her to get angry with him again and leave with Ranjan in disappointment, disgrace and disgust. Mowgli went looking for Shanti and Ranjan, but it turned out that at that moment Shere Khan was threatening to eat them. Shere Khan started to chase Mowgli and Shanti went with him, leaving Ranjan alone (who later ended up in the hands of Baloo and Bagheera).

Baloo and Shanti made amends when they realized that the two were trying to help Mowgli, and the two along with Mowgli tried to defeat Shere Khan by distracting him by banging on gongs. However, Shanti's gong fell and Shere Khan almost eat Shanti, until Mowgli almost offered himself to save her. Baloo began to fight Shere Khan so that the two children could escape, although he lost quickly. Mowgli and Shanti managed to escape from Shere Khan by jumping over a lava cliff, while Shere Khan fell, but he didn't die.

When they returned safely, Mowgli introduced Shanti to Bagheera, saying that she is his best friend and she nodded her head in agreement, still crushing on him. Then Shanti saw the villagers and told Mowgli to go with them, but he was unsure whether to go back to the village or stay in the jungle he loved so much. Shant told her that at least she had to go, and she went with Ranjan. Baloo encouraged Mowgli to go to the village with Shanti, and although Mowgli also wanted to go back, he wished Baloo would go too. Mowgli came back and Shanti and Ranjan were very happy so the three of them went back to their families.

The next day, Mowgli apparently went to fetch water with Shanti, but in the end it turned out that the two were going to visit Baloo and Bagheera. In the end the three of them danced and sang together, and on Baloo's back the two best friends/lovebirds held hands, and it is implied that after the movie Shanti and Mowgli went to visit the jungle often.

Fanon
The ship is supported for being the main couple in the story. With their first interaction with each other being very short in the first Disney film of the Jungle Book, the attention on it truly started to grow after its second film came out. From it showcasing Mowgli and Shant's friendship and the bond they have formed. Within the "man village" and the jungle.

Fandom
FAN FICTION