Just Things I Like!

AU yap time!

So I listened to Kanade's Shadow Shadow alt and decided to draw her as a ghost (and got a little carried away she doesn't really look like a ghost but whatever)

and then I remembered that Mafuyu can see ghosts, so I thought why not make Mafuyu friends with this Kanade? And then I remembered that Shizuku can also see ghosts, so I thought why not make them friends with Shizuku as well? And then Kanade sort of got sidelined as I thought more about Shizuku and Mafuyu.

So, a little more explanation about the AU itself:

note - i am using she/they for shizuku here. also tw for suicide.

Shizuku met Mafuyu on the school rooftop, both looking for a place to eat lunch without being bothered. Shizuku being Shizuku, decided to talk to Mafuyu, and Mafuyu being solidly in Good Girl mode, talked back even though she just wanted to be alone. The two keep talking on the roof for a few weeks, and eventually Shizuku opens up to Mafuyu about their mental health, leading her to trust them enough to talk about hers.

One day while they're walking home, Shizuku admits that she had plans to kill herself after school the day she met Mafuyu, and she's very glad she didn't go through with them because she never would've gotten to become friends with her if she did. Mafuyu is about to respond, when she's distracted by the sound of two people arguing very loudly.

They both turn around, and see two girls who don't seem to care that the whole street can hear them screaming at each other. Shizuku instantly recognises one of them. Momoi Airi. An idol who was pushed so far by her agency that she felt the only thing in her life she could control was when it ended. But Airi was dead, and Shizuku knew that very well, because after she died, Shiho made them quit. She found out what happened to Airi, and was so terrified of losing Shizuku to the same pressure that she made them promise to never go back, no matter how much they wanted to, even if they thought things would be different.

So Shizuku approached Airi, and the other girl who she vaguely recognised but couldn't name, just to make sure they were real. "Could you two keep it down?" she asked. And Airi replied, "You shouldn't be able to hear us."

Airi explained that they were dead. Ghosts, if you will. Shizuku and Mafuyu should not be able to see them. The other girl — Ena, as they'd later learn — told them to meet them the next day, at an old abandoned middle school. The school was abandoned because of rumours it was haunted after multiple students who were completely fine before suddenly killed themselves in the exact same spot on the rooftop, so it was perfect for meeting ghosts.

This school is where Shizuku and Mafuyu are in this art. Shizuku knows full well that they're in the right place, she's just scared. As soon as Mafuyu reassures them that it's okay, a girl covered in blood jumps out from behind them.

"Hi! I'm Mizuki! You're Shizuku and Mafuyu, aren't you? It's so great to see people again! It's been so long!!"

Shortly after that, a boy comes running towards them, shouting at Mizuki to wait, and then he apologises to Shizuku and Mafuyu for her behaviour. He introduces himself (Kamishiro Rui — a name they both remember seeing before, but not where or when.) and leads them inside to Airi and Ena.