Are You Mizuki?

Mizuki left the dorm earlier than usual that morning.

“I'm heading to campus first. Gotta print my assignment. Mr. Willy’s gonna lose it if I’m late,” he said while slipping on his shoes.

From inside the room, Shunsei just gave a small nod and smiled faintly, still stirring his coffee, untangling the mess of his earphones.

He didn’t say “Be careful” or “Take care, alright?” Because he didn’t know, that was the last time Mizuki spoke as himself.

That afternoon, the university caught fire. Shunsei heard the alarms. Thick smoke from the third floor. Supposedly an electrical short circuit. Someone was trapped inside. That someone, was Mizuki.

Shunsei’s heart dropped. He ran out of the dorm. There were ambulances, police, professors panicking, and students crying.

From all the chaos around him, a few words hit the hardest,

“The shelf collapsed on Mizuki.”

“His head’s really bad.”

“But he’s still breathing. Barely.”

Shunsei stood behind the police line. He could see the smoke still pouring from the building. There was blood flowing out of the classroom door. Not much, but enough to make Mizuki pass out.

And then Shunsei saw something.

A shadow behind the shattered glass.

Someone was standing inside, still. Smiling. But when he looked again, it was gone.

He rushed to the hospital, heart pounding, where Mizuki was taken.

The doctors told him and Mizuki’s family,

“He’s critical. He’ll need surgery. They weren’t sure he’d make it.”

Six months passed.

Mizuki stayed in a coma.

Shunsei visited four times a week, sometimes every day when he didn’t have class.

Sometimes he’d read manga aloud, study, chat with Mizuki’s family if they were around, or just sit quietly… staring at Mizuki’s pale face.

Sometimes he talked. Even knowing there’d be no answer.

Everyone said Mizuki could recover.

But hope was fading.

And Shunsei?

He started looking for weird stuff. Occult forums. Strange videos. Books about spirits and summoning.

He didn’t believe in that crap. But he was desperate.

One night, when his roommate was gone, he tried a ritual.

He drew a circle on the floor with permanent marker.

Lit four small candles.

Cut his finger and let a few drops of blood fall into the center.

He whispered, eyes closed.

“Mizuki… if you’re still here… if you can hear me… Please come back. Or at least… talk to me.”

Seconds passed.

No wind.

No knocking.

Just silence.

He wiped the blood, blew out the candles, and laughed at himself.

“God. What the hell am I doing.”

He cleaned it all up, of course the permanent marker is hard to remove, and went to bed, empty and exhausted.

The next morning, he got the call.

Mizuki had woken up. Around 3 AM, they said. The nurse called his family, then Shunsei.

He sprinted to the hospital, out of breath, hair a mess, And there he was. Mizuki. Eyes open. Smiling faintly.

“Took me long enough, huh?”

Shunsei broke down crying.

He hugged Mizuki so tight it hurt.

“Ow, hey, I just woke up,” Mizuki winced.

But Shunsei didn’t let go.

“I was so scared.”

Mizuki just smiled, gently patting his back.

Everyone called it a miracle.

Shunsei didn’t overthink it.

He was just grateful Mizuki came back.

Weeks passed.

Things seemed normal.

Semester break. Mizuki went home, rested, and hung out with Shunsei again.

Same Mizuki, clumsy, sarcastic, obsessed with strawberry ice cream.

But Shunsei noticed something felt off.

Sometimes Mizuki looked like he was trying too hard.

Like he was thinking too much about how to act.

Like he was remembering how to be himself.

Shunsei brushed it off. Trauma, probably.

One day, they sat outside a shop, sharing warm takoyaki.

“Hey… would it be okay if I asked about the fire?”

Shunsei asked gently, not wanting to trigger anything.

“Yeah, it's fine. Why?”

“Why didn’t you run? Did you not hear the fire alarm?”

Mizuki paused. Then shrugged.

“Don’t really remember. I think I was in the computer lab… still had my AirPods in.

Noise cancelling’s a killer, huh.”

Shunsei went quiet.

Mizuki continued casually.

“Besides, the fire spread fast. Plastic-built computers, y’know.”

Shunsei didn’t respond, voice flat.

“Back when you were unconscious... For six months… I got so desperate I tried something crazy. A ritual or whatever.

And the weird part... You woke up the next morning.”

Mizuki turned slowly.

Confused… but with a hint of a smirk.

“Seriously? You really went all out for me, huh? Maybe that’s why I came back. Maybe I heard you calling.”

Shunsei froze.

“What?”

“...How do you know I did that?”

His voice was quiet.

Mizuki smiled, eyes drifting away as he blinked.

“Well… isn’t that how you wake someone up from the other side? You call their spirit. I think it's pretty common like in horror movies.”

Shunsei gave a small smile back.

But something inside him twisted.

Four months later.

A camping trip. It was a department event near a lake. Everyone was joking, laughing, like nothing had changed.

That night, around 2 AM, Shunsei woke up. Thirsty. His water bottle was empty.

He stepped outside the tent.

And saw Mizuki.

Standing at the edge of the lake.

His hands…

Weren’t human.

They were long. Dark. Wet and slick like leech skin. His fingertips ended in something like tentacles. He was trying to catch fish.

Shunsei froze.

Mizuki turned.

Eyes wide. Panicked.

His hands shifted back into normal ones, but it was too late.

“Shunsei… I can explain,” he said, voice trembling.

Shunsei took a step back.

Mizuki stepped forward and hugged him tight.

“Please… don’t leave me,” he whispered.

Shunsei’s heart was racing. His mind spinning.

Mizuki kept holding on.

“I’m not Mizuki. Not really.”

“That night… when you called for someone…

I was the one who heard you.”

“His body… was already dying. So I entered.”

“I just… wanted to understand humans. But when I saw you…”

“I felt safe. I didn’t want to be alone.”

Shunsei couldn’t speak.

His hands were cold.

His brain went blank.

That night, he finally understood.

The person he loved was already gone.

And this one.

Was just something pretending.

But strangely.

He couldn’t push Mizuki away.

Because part of him.

Didn’t care.

Because his love hadn’t died yet.

Even if Mizuki had.

But this is still a hard time for him.

Mizuki kept holding him, crying.

“Please don’t leave me.”

Shunsei stayed still. Then whispered.

“Yeah.”

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