Author's note: Let's follow Miku around a bit, and see what she does.
While S.O.N.G. still waited for approval by the city to use that much power, and negotiated with the conversion of Hibiki's Phonic Gain into electricity as bargaining chip, Miku walked around the base. Shem-Ha simply observed her surroundings, and her interactions with others, for the time being. Miku found Hibiki, Kuriyo, Shiori and Yumi waiting in a break room.
"There you are," Miku said, drawing the others' attention to herself.
"Oh, hi Miku," Hibiki said, "We were just talking about the Symphogear."
"I see," Miku said, and sat down on a free chair.
"By the way, how's Shem-Ha holding up?" Kuriyo asked.
"She has been quiet, but present," Miku answered, "She is pretty much just watching at this point."
"I hope she's not too mad that we tricked her like that," Shiori said.
"I would like to speak with them," Shem-Ha said.
"Hold up, she wants to say something," Miku said and handed control to Shem-Ha.
"You can rest assured, I do not hold your actions against you," Shem-Ha said, "Quite the opposite, in fact. While it is true that I would have punished you going against me in the past, realizing that you tricked me made me realize just how far you have come, and how wrong I was to try and return you to what you once were."
"Well, that's good to hear," Shiori said hesitantly, and asked, "Right?"
"It is, yes," Shem-Ha answered.
"I just wish we could get bonus credit for this," Kuriyo sighed.
"What is this bonus credit you speak of?" Shem-Ha asked.
"For drama class," Kuriyo answered, "Basically, we learn to play different roles, put on plays, and stuff. My grades aren't the best, so it would be nice if I could put tricking you down as a project to improve them."
"I see," Shem-Ha said, "Yes, you have done quite well yesterday. If I had any authority in this modern age, I would tell your teachers to consider this."
"Th- thanks," Kuriyo said and blinked a few times, and the other three girls looked at Shem-Ha as well. Just as Shem-Ha was about to get up and leave the room, Elfnein entered, carrying a leather bag with a shoulder strap.
"Hibiki, there you are," Elfnein said, "We got permission to use the required energy, but we still have to shoulder a third of it, and feed the excess electricity back into the city's systems."
"Alright," Hibiki said and got up, and followed Elfnein out of the room, leaving Shem-Ha with the three future Symphogear wielders in an awkward silence.
"So, what now?" Yumi asked after a while, breaking the silence.
"Have you ever tried making your own anime?" Shem-Ha asked, startling Yumi.
"Who, me?" Yumi asked and answered, "Well, no. Not really."
"I will admit, I do not know a lot about them," Shem-Ha said, "But I understand that it is an artistic medium, meant for entertainment."
"Well, yes," Yumi said and asked, "Why?"
"Then it should be right for you," Shem-Ha answered and explained, "I wrote the basis for human DNA, and just like I could write the algorithm to determine which relic you are most compatible with, I can tell what tasks would come most naturally to you."
"Wait, how does that work?" Shiori asked.
"Just like your appearance, the structure of your brain is determined by your DNA," Shem-Ha answered, "They are related, which allows me to identify the individual strengths of every individual person."
"So what, we're just made for a specific job?" Kuriyo asked.
"In a sense, yes," Shem-Ha answered, "There is a field of information that each of you is predisposed to comprehend and apply better than others, but those fields are fairly broad, and this does not mean you cannot succeed at other jobs."
"And you're sure I could draw manga?" Yumi asked.
"Yes," Shem-Ha answered, "Storytelling is your strongest suit." The room went quiet, and Shem-Ha felt that she might have said too much again, or at least the wrong things. She avoided eye contact with the others, without really understanding why, and found herself thinking about Genjuro again.
"Keep it together, will you?" Miku piped up in the back of her mind, "He is at least a whole millennium too young for you, and a few decades too old for me."
"What do you mean?" Shem-Ha thought, "What are these emotions?"
"Love," Miku explained, "Not the kind I talked about earlier, though. That was a mother's love for her children, or a ruler's love for their subjects. This is romantic love."
"You used to have different words for different kinds of love," Shem-Ha thought, "The Curse of Balal took them from you."
"Hey, Shem-Ha," Yumi said and asked, "What are you thinking about?"
"I was conversing with Miku," Shem-Ha answered.
"Cool," Kuriyo said and asked, "About what?"
"Different words for things," Shem-Ha answered, "But to change the topic, I am rather curious how I am represented in modern art." A smile crept onto Yumi's face, while Kuriyo and Shiori looked uncomfortable, knowing what was to come.
"You really shouldn't have said that," Shiori said.
"Nonsense," Yumi said and jumped up, "Come on, Shem-Ha. I'll show you some of my favorite anime featuring Gods." She rushed over to Shem-Ha, grabbed her wrist and pulled her onto her feet.
"Please, for the love of whatever you believe in, tell her to narrow it down," Miku pleaded as Yumi pulled Shem-Ha along and toward the door.
"C- can you please narrow it down?" Shem-Ha asked, stammering a little due to Miku's change in tone, and said, "For now, just the ones featuring mankind's creator." Yumi paused for a moment, and gave her a confused and surprised look.
"Alright," Yumi said, "I think I know just the ones." Just when she was about to leave the room, the door opened, and Aoi almost bumped into Yumi, carrying three bags of clothes.
"Oh, sorry," Aoi said, "I came to bring you your uniforms, since the Japanese government insists that all Symphogear wielders work for S.O.N.G. now. Don't worry, it's just a formality, so if you don't want to, we'll just keep you as reserves and hold on to your Symphogear after we've tested your compatibility."
"Oh, nice," Kuriyo said dejectedly, "Thanks." She got up and took her and Shiori's uniforms from Aoi, while Yumi took hers and carried it under her free arm.
"Anyway, where are you two going?" Aoi asked, looking at Yumi and Shem-Ha.
"Shem-Ha wanted to know how she's seen in pop culture," Yumi answered, "So I decided to show her some of my favorite anime featuring God as mankind's creator."
"I see," Aoi said, "If there's anything I can do to help, let me know."
"Will do," Yumi said and asked, "On that note, do you have a big screen here that we can use?"
"Well, we do have a cinema," Aoi answered, "And while we mostly use VHS and other storage systems, we can access the internet and streaming services, too. Follow me." She turned around and walked away, and Yumi followed her, pulling Shem-Ha along and tightening her grip around Shem-Ha's wrist, as if to prevent her from backing out at any point.
"I know I've said this before, but I'll leave this entirely to you," Miku said in the back of Shem-Ha's mind, "It's nothing personal, I just can't sit through another anime marathon with her." Suddenly, Shem-Ha felt completely alone as Miku retreated into the deepest depths of her mind, shutting out any outside influence.
"Here we are," Aoi said as they arrived at a large door, "I'll help with anything you need, since the system is pretty advanced."
"Thanks," Yumi said and paused for a moment, then said, "But I'd like to get changed first, if that's alright."
"Sure," Aoi said, "I'll take care of Shem-Ha in the meantime."
"Great, thanks," Yumi said and hurried off to the changing rooms, leaving Shem-Ha with Aoi.
"I'm really glad you decided to stop being evil," Aoi said with a mildly unsettling smile, drawing Shem-Ha's attention to herself, "I'd like to know your opinions on a little thing I studied when I was younger. Here, take a look." She pulled out her phone and showed Shem-Ha a clip of her younger self, practicing martial arts. While watching, Shem-Ha analyzed the movements, and grew increasingly scared.
"It is… efficient," Shem-Ha said and asked, "What is this?" Aoi paused the video, showing her dislocating a larger man's shoulder with ease.
"It's called Krav Maga," Aoi answered, "Unlike other martial arts, which focus on avoiding injury or something like that, this one prioritizes neutralizing human aggressors and ending fights quickly and decisively."
"Yes," Shem-Ha said, "These techniques could do serious damage to the human body." She blinked, and just now realized that none of the movements stuck to her memory.
"Impressive, right?" Aoi asked, put her phone away and said, "I just wanted to let you know what we humans have made while you were dead. It was actually developed over a hundred years ago, to fight some pretty awful people, who oppressed others by force."
"I- I see," Shem-Ha said and asked, "But to change the topic, has Miku ever used a Symphogear herself?" Aoi returned to a more neutral expression, and Shem-Ha relaxed as well.
"Yes, she did," Aoi answered and asked, "Why?"
"There is something she wanted me to do," Shem-Ha answered, "And if you have a recording of her song, I think that will suffice."
"Well, alright then," Aoi said, "She doesn't seem to have anything to say either, so it's probably fine."
"Y- yes," Shem-Ha said and pulled out Miku's phone, "I would like to get the song on her phone, if that is agreeable with your group's rules."
"Of course, let me see," Aoi said and took Miku's phone, pressed a few buttons and handed it back, "Here you go."
"Thank you," Shem-Ha said and looked at the new sound file. She played it, and listened to the lyrics, to confirm that it would serve its purpose. However, something seemed wrong.
"Is everything alright?" Aoi asked.
"What are those other sounds?" Shem-Ha asked.
"Well, it is an audio recording of a fight," Aoi answered, "And while I tried cleaning it up, that's the best I could do."
"Yes, but I believe I can do the rest," Shem-Ha answered and wrote a little code, then ran it.
"What is that?" Aoi asked.
"A new program," Shem-Ha answered, "It compares a relic's Aufwachen waveform with the melody of a song, and analyzes the lyrics, then constructs an entirely new song that continues the original song in as faithful a manner as possible."
"And you're sure her phone can handle that?" Aoi asked and said, "It's nowhere near as powerful as our main computer, after all, and even that couldn't handle your program."
"Yes, very much so," Shem-Ha answered, "I initially failed to consider the restraints of mineral-based processors, as it had been a while since I worked with them, but after seeing the computer systems fail, I remembered how to use them properly."
"I see," Aoi said, paused for a moment and asked, "Wait, did you say you worked with mineral-based processors before? When?"
"Eons before your sun even formed," Shem-Ha answered, "We arrived at a planet rich in quartz and other minerals, and so I made creatures from that, rather than organic compounds."
"You mean like living stones?" Aoi asked.
"Not living, no," Shem-Ha answered, "But sentient. I am certain they have long since been destroyed, due to their central star going supernova when your species was in its infancy. But I have also been wrong about the potential my creations possess before, so they may still be around."
"Hey guys, I'm back," Yumi said, drawing the duo's attention to herself, and asked, "How do I look?" She wore the standard S.O.N.G. uniform, but with an apple blossom scarf around her neck. She twisted her body a little, to show off her uniform some more.
"Great," Aoi said, "Now if you're both ready, we can get started."
"Yes, you look good," Shem-Ha said, then quickly set the song her code produced as Miku's ringtone and put her phone away again.
"Thanks," Yumi said, "Now let's get to watching. Shem-Ha, you can go and make yourself comfortable, while Aoi and I handle the important part." Aoi and Yumi went to select the first anime to watch, while Shem-Ha found a seat for herself, and prepared to see what kind of entertainment her creations have come up with in her absence, and how they viewed her. Despite all she had seen, though, or maybe because of it, she felt a little uneasy, but before she could really worry about that, the big screen in front of her came to life, and Yumi and Aoi sat down on either side of her.
Author's note: Shem-Ha basically turned the audio from Miku's fight in G into the full song.
Also, she's trying to wingman for Miku by putting that song as ringtone, so it plays next time Miku gets a message.
And had Yumi not come back in that moment, Aoi could have asked the creator of all life for the de-facto definition of life.
