Shizuairi

"And thank you too, Airi-chan. It's okay. What you said just now made me really happy. Probably the happiest I've been since becoming an idol. You really are my idol, Airi-chan."

- Shizuku to Airi in MORE MORE JUMP! Main Story Chapter 12

Shizuairi is the femslash ship between Shizuku Hinomori and Airi Momoi from the Project SEKAI fandom.

Canon
Shizuku and Airi are both members of the idol group MORE MORE JUMP! as well as close friends. They also attend Miyamasuzaka Girls' Academy as second-year high school students. Airi is very headstrong, a bit tomboyish and often acts as the straight man of the unit. Meanwhile Shizuku is more feminine, calmer and has the appearance of a perfect girl, but in reality she is quite airheaded and can be very sensitive. As such Shizuku respects Airi very much, especially her work ethic, and has even mentioned that she considers Airi "her idol" and someone who "helped her find herself." Meanwhile Airi often looks after Shizuku, especially due to the latter's horrible sense of direction, as she tends to get lost even in places she's familiar with due to her habit of taking walks and detours.

Prior to MORE MORE JUMP!'s Main Story, the two knew each other because they were both part of the same agency and rivals, although in different idol groups (Airi was an ex-idol of QT, and Shizuku was still a member of Cheerful*Days). The two are first shown in Chapter 2, where Minori and Haruka see Airi confronting Shizuku on the rooftop, asking if she really isn't getting along with the other members of Cheerful*Days and that she was considering switching groups. When they spot Minori and Haruka, and upon finding out Minori is trying to become an idol, Airi tells her she has no chance of doing so. Shizuku tells her to stop and how Airi is still supposed to be an idol who gives hope to others, even when she's not in a group anymore. This causes Airi to calm down a bit, especially after Shizuku says she doesn't like Airi telling others that. When Minori asks for the two to help her, Shizuku agrees to do so, and then tells Airi how she [Airi] said before that "idols should never ignore those who dream of becoming idols themselves." Airi, in tsundere fashion, agrees to help as well. After their first practice session, Airi is impressed by Minori's determination and Shizuku giggles, saying how seeing Airi reminds her of the time Shizuku started as an idol and Airi was her mentor. When Airi tries asking about the conversation of Shizuku's current situation, the latter goes silent and Airi decides to not interrogate her more.

During their next training session, Minori blurts out she wishes she would be as pretty as Shizuku. Shizuku tells her one doesn't simply become an idol because of their looks, and how they also need to have a desire to work their hardest, before mentioning how someone else told that to her before. Later Shizuku and Airi talk about the show they saw at Stage SEKAI, with Shizuku pointing out that Airi seemed like she enjoyed it. When Shizuku asks her if she still doesn't want to be an idol, Airi shakes her head saying the former knows well why she quit being an idol, before thinking back on her times when her agency started pushing her more as a variety show talent rather than the idol she wanted to be. When Shizuku tries telling she's a wonderful idol, Airi denies her words and snaps at her before realizing what she said. Shizuku runs away in tears, feeling extremely sad that even Airi thinks she has it easy. She then reminisces the time they met for the first time when they were starting out, where Airi told her inspiring words and gave her the towel Shizuku still uses. Afterwards Airi deeply regrets her actions and when she tells this to Minori, she mentions she was jealous of Shizuku having everything Airi doesn't, and how she feels terrible.

Upon finding out Shizuku has left her group, Airi demands Shizuku tell her the truth and how she literally had no reason to quit being an idol. This time Shizuku snaps at her, repeating Airi's words that gave Shizuku the hope to keep moving forward even when the other members ostracized her, and Airi feels extremely guilty upon hearing that she is the reason for Shizuku's retirement, to the point of running to the Cheerful*Days Theater to confront the other group members. When they express their resentment towards Shizuku, Airi admits she felt jealous of Shizuku as well, but also defends her by mentioning that she never took advantage of her position, how she still kept doing her best, and then apologizes to Shizuku, causing the latter to cry again.

Fanon
Shizuairi is one of the most popular ships in the fandom as well as the most popular for both Shizuku and Airi. The ship sailed due to their natural chemistry as well as the fact that the two are often paired together in events. Although the two are almost exclusively shipped together, Shizuairi is sometimes rivaled by rarepairs such as Airiena and Tsukashizu.

It is currently the 10th most written ship on AO3.

Fandom
FAN FICTION

ART

Trivia

 * Shizuku and Airi have two covers together currently, "Tsugihagi Staccato" and "Romeo to Cinderella". They also have another vocal versions for "Happy Synthesizer" and "Karakuri Pierrot".
 * Their "Romeo to Cinderella" cover is rather famous and regarded as iconic in the fandom because of the intimate gesture they do in 3DMV during the "Nee, watashi to ikitekureru?" line.
 * Airi is the shortest member of MMJ! at 156 cm, while Shizuku is the tallest at 168 cm.
 * Shizuku's area item in the Stage SEKAI is the towel Airi gave her.