A common theme in most series is that the fans form theories, headcanons and fanart/fanfiction. But on occasion people sometimes wonder about what could have been and what could be in a series. Basically they wonder what could happen as they see it happen and learn if they are correct or not, or they might wonder if something else different could have fit into the story in the same way as what happened.
When I went back to watch season 1 and saw how the Kurumi arc went, I formed my own idea for a "what if" scenario and this is what I ended up with. A scenario where due to having powers of Shadow and Time, Kurumi's shadow took life and was the one who killed so many people.
The "what if" goes like this.
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When Kurumi first appeared on Earth she as attacked by the AST just like the other spirits were, but since Kotori was nice she felt like Tohka had, rejection from the world. Since her powers are of Time and Shadow a very strange phenomenon happened, responding to her doubt her shadow started to gain its own mind and body soon becoming independent from Kurumi entirely, as Kurumi's shadow was fromed form negative emotions it became cruel and psychotic which lead to many ying by the shadow's hands.
Kurumi's shadow would eventually be encountered by Mana who killed her, but since the shadow lacks a physical form Mana can't kill it which is why she's "killed" it multiple times. And when the events of Volume 3/Season 1 episode 7-9 finally role in Kurumi ends up in Tenguu city and tries to live a normal life in school, but Mana and her shadow followed as well. After being introduced in class, Kotori later alerts Shido to the fact Kurumi is a spirit.
Shido shows Kurumi around in order to get her readings high enough to be sealed, and Kurumi ends up simply not understanding what Shido is telling her (including the accidental showing her panties comment) out of naivety similar to Tohka.Later on we see the 3 guys end up encountering Kurumi's shadow and meeting their unfortunate end, and Mana once again "kills" her. Origami is sure Kurumi won't appear tomorrow but is shocked when she does right after she tells this to Shido, and then Kotori and Reine show the footage of Kurumi being "killed" by Mana.
Origami goes after Kurumi and asks how she isn't dead, Kurumi's reaction is silence before running. Origami chases after her and ends up running into Kurumi's shadow causing her to realize there are two Kurumis, and that the one she's seeing is the one that isn't friendly. On the next day Shido asks Kurumi for a date and she accepts, Origami hears him while doing this but before Origami can warn him Shido runs off which leads to her asking him for a date after Tohka does so. Eventually during their date, Kurumi notices her shadow coming but is unable to get Shido away in time.
Mana "kills" the shadow again and the discussion between Shdio and Mana follows after, Shido is unaware that Kurumi's shadow was the one that nearly killed him but despite what he saw he states he'll still save Kurumi after Tohka's words of encouragement. The next day Shido tells Kurumi he will save her, but Kurumi tells him to not even try and tries to get away. After Kurumi tries everything she can to stop Shido from trying to save her without success, Kurumi's shadow appears once again causing shock to everyone seeing her appear.
Mana attempts to "kill" the shadow again, but Mana soon learns the shadow was never being serious and she's defeated in an instant. The shadow explains that she was born from Kurumi's own doubt and she won't let Kurumi's powers be sealed as it will erase her independant existence if that were to happen. Kurumi's shadow completley takes out all opposition against it and right as it's about to let off the space quake, Kotori's own space quake cancels it out. Kotori tells Shido she'll buy him time to seal Kurumi's powers and the fight between them begins.
While Kurumi's shadow and Kotori are fighting, Shido tries to covince Kurumi that while she would have to live with her her shadow had done, she can be saved, after Kurumi sees Shido's trust in her she cries and asks her to save her. Shido then seals her powers and the shadow finally disappears with the root of its existence gone. But that's also when Kotori's spirit personality takes over and targets all the others forcing Shido to protect them and causing Shido to end up in the sick bay.
Despite the shadow disappearing, it didn't fully cease to exist as it still existed within Kurumi's powers. When Shido sealed Kotori and gained back the memories of 5 years ago, the shadow managed to leak out and gain a new existence in a new body that looks similar to Shido as Shiori. Due to being formed from Shido instead of Kurumi, the shadow gains traits due to Shido's former despair and decides it needs to destroy the First Spirit for an unknown reason, a reason that Phantom may have given to her. (This would be how Kurumi's roles after Volume 3 would still be fulfilled.)
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And that is my "what if" scenario for another way the Kurumi arc could have gone. I'm not sure if this would actually work in the series itself, but I still like to think of what other paths the series could have taken at some points. I might very well even make a fanfic that uses this "what if" one day.
So tell me, what are some "what if" situations in the series you think could have happened?