Author's note: Shem-Ha's day at the zoo continues.
Shem-Ha walked beside Hibiki, looking around the zoo, entranced by the various enclosures. Penguins and polar bears were mere meters apart, rather than an entire world, and meerkats stood guard in their enclosure, watching the guests who had come to watch them. The group walked over to the patch of soil surrounded by a glass fence, and Kuriyo read the sign, furrowing her brow.
"It says here that they have an intricate alarm system," Kuriyo said and asked, "What do you think that looks like?"
"It looks like nothing," Shem-Ha answered, "It is a series of sounds designed to inform the group when there is danger, as well as what kind of danger. This is how they would warn of short-term risks, for example." She made a sound, and all the meerkats immediately rushed into their burrows. The group looked at her in surprise, and Shem-Ha realized she probably shouldn't have done that.
"You sure do know your stuff," Yumi said, then looked back at the enclosure, "But it's a shame they're hiding now."
"Not to worry," Shem-Ha said, "It was just a call for danger that would dissipate quickly, like a bird of prey flying overhead. They will come back out shortly."
"Isn't there a sound to let them know it's safe?" Shiori asked.
"Who could make it?" Shem-Ha asked and said, "They are all hiding, so there would be no guards to confirm the group's safety."
"I guess you're right," Shiori said, "Anyway, let's keep going."
"Sounds good," Hibiki said and grabbed Shem-Ha's left hand, and the group headed on to the next enclosure. Shem-Ha hissed, imitating a snake and provoking the meerkats to come back out. Once the first few saw that the coast was clear, they informed the rest of the clan, and everything returned to normal.
~o~
Standing in front of the hippopotamus enclosure, the five girls watched one of the massive pachyderms crush a watermelon like it was a grape. Save for Shem-Ha, the group cheered, along with the other zoo visitors standing around them. After most of the watermelon disappeared down the hippo's throat, the animal walked away to lie in the water that made up half of their enclosure. Shem-Ha looked around, then stepped back and pulled on the sleeve of Hibiki's pullover to get her attention.
"That one is going to attack this man," Shem-Ha said, nodding towards a hippo and one of the zoo employees picking up trash in the enclosure, "You have to save him. But be careful."
"Got it," Hibiki said, "Thanks. And don't worry, I'll be fine." She ran off to a remote location, where no one would see her activate Gungnir, the God-Killing Spear. Shem-Ha stared in disbelief, failing to process what she had just done. Without thinking, she had awoken the most terrifying weapon in the world, and unleashed it upon her own creations.
"Hina, are you alright?" Kuriyo asked and tapped Shem-Ha on the shoulder, startling her, "Look, I think something's happening." Shem-Ha turned around and saw the hippo eyeing the employee. There was no malice in its eyes. Its attack was entirely premeditated, but it had no personal grudges against the man.
"Y- yes, I am fine," Shem-Ha answered and leaned forward, holding onto the handrail to support herself.
"Where did Bikki go?" Kuriyo asked.
"She… has something to do," Shem-Ha answered, "Right now." Suddenly, the hippo broke into a full charge, aiming for the zoo employee. The crowd gasped, both because the animal suddenly attacked, and because it could easily outrun any human athlete.
"Not on my watch!" Hibiki called out and landed in front of the hippo, ready to stop it in its tracks, while the zoo employee fell over backwards and rolled off to get back onto his feet, before running away. Shem-Ha watched, frozen in shock, but knew the outcome of this match-up already.
"That's our Bikki," Kuriyo said, and the crowd looked at Hibiki, expecting her to stop the charging animal. The hippo swept Hibiki off her feet like she wasn't even there, and ran a circle around its enclosure while she tried to hold on to it. The hippo opened its mouth, and Hibiki's left boot got caught in its mouth. The hippo stopped, throwing Hibiki off, and swung its head, throwing her around a few times before she broke free.
"Wait, how is a hippo of all animals able to do this kind of damage?" Yumi asked and said, "The unassuming ones usually only kick ass so bad in anime."
"This isn't an anime," Shiori said.
"I know," Yumi said, "That's why I'm surprised." When Hibiki saw that the zoo employee was out of the enclosure, she jumped across the large pond in the middle of the enclosure to gather her bearings, and see if her armor got damaged too badly. However, Shem-Ha knew that the water wouldn't help as much as Hibiki thought.
"Get out of there!" Shem-Ha called out as the hippo charged again. It ran into the water and disappeared, only to come running back out on the other side while Hibiki was still thinking about what she should do. Hibiki manifested a gauntlet on her left arm and punched the hippo in the face, stunning it and stopping it in its tracks. It got back up, shook its head and trudged off.
"Sorry," Hibiki said and rubbed the back of her head, then walked over to the exit and left the enclosure. Kuriyo, Shiori and Yumi breathed a sigh of relief, and Shem-Ha found herself doing the same. At the same time, her grip on Miku's body slipped away, and Miku took over.
"Sorry, this is urgent," Miku said mentally, then turned to her friends and said, "I'll be back in a bit." She ran off, heading for the toilets, and returned to her friends afterwards, handing control back to Shem-Ha once she got back.
"Hey Miku," Hibiki said, "Thanks for letting me know about that hippo." Shem-Ha would prefer to question Miku about her sudden silence and reappearance, but social interaction demanded her attention now, so she decided to postpone that conversation.
"You are welcome," Shem-Ha said, "And I am glad it all worked out. Although, if I recall correctly, I did tell you to be careful."
"Oh, yes, sorry about that," Hibiki said, "I tried to stop that hippo normally. I wanted to just lift it up, and then let if back down gently after the guy was safe."
"Is something wrong with Gungnir?" Kuriyo asked and said, "I mean, you would think a hippo would be no match for a Symphogear, but that thing just played with you." Hibiki looked down at the red amulet hanging in front of her chest, unsure what went wrong, and the group walked away again. Shem-Ha realized she should learn more about the world.
"Honestly, I don't know," Hibiki answered, "I mean, I could have Elfnein check it out, but if it needs to be repaired, I couldn't use Gungnir for a few days. I could wait and hope for the best, at least until some of the others get back, but if this is a serious issue, and something else happens, Gungnir could be damaged permanently."
"Looks like you have a decision to make," Miku suddenly piped up in Shem-Ha's mind, "You could tell her about hippos, and ease her worries, letting her know that Gungnir is fine as is. Then you could go to the library, and learn more about the world and how we call things nowadays. Or you could take your chance and ask to go to the HQ, where the support staff would insist that Hibiki hands over Gungnir for inspection, leaving you free to do as you please."
"Yeah, that's a tough call," Kuriyo said, "You could get this looked at right now, potentially putting you out of commission for a few days and leaving us defenseless, or you wait until it's safe, but risk serious problems in the future if you have to use Gungnir again before then."
"I know," Hibiki said and sighed sadly. Shem-Ha considered her options as well, weighing one against the other. If she were to explain what happened, she would lose her freedom, but make Hibiki happy. And considering their past, keeping Hibiki happy was far more appealing.
"You can relax, Gungnir is not faulty," Shem-Ha said and explained, "Hippopotamus have incredibly low body fat. You can imagine them as though a muscular person wears loose clothing."
"Wait, really?" Hibiki asked, "You mean those things are like Genjuro if he wore a big sweater?"
"Yes, pretty much," Shem-Ha answered, "They are mostly muscle and bone, making them denser than they appear. That is why they are so dangerous, and why I told you to be careful. The only creatures an adult hippo has to look out for is another adult hippo, a rhinoceros, or an elephant."
"What about lions?" Yumi asked, while the others were speechless, and said, "I've seen something in an anime once, and it felt weird that a lion person couldn't harm a hippo person." Shem-Ha chuckled and shook her head a little, amused by how humans, despite their higher education, still underestimated her other creations.
"A lion's claws are not even four centimeters long," Shem-Ha answered, "By contrast, a hippo's skin is six centimeters thick. Under that is a thin and protective layer of fat, followed by almost a ton of rippling muscle."
"That sounds serious," Hibiki said, "I'm glad I got out of there when I did. Who knows what could have happened otherwise." She chuckled innocently, and Shem-Ha almost forgot why she was afraid of her.
"It is very serious," Shem-Ha said, "If that hippo had been serious about hurting you, you would not have stood a chance without singing."
"But at least that means Gungnir is fine," Hibiki said, "I'm really happy that I just underestimated the danger."
"Also, you're going to be on the news later today," Shiori said with a smile, and motioned around. Hibiki and Shem-Ha looked around, and saw that many guests had their smartphones out to take pictures and videos of the animals. Hibiki groaned, while Shiori, Yumi and Kuriyo giggled as the group continued walking through the zoo.
~o~
The group watched the giraffes being fed, and then headed over to the reptile house. As they entered, a wave of warm and humid air washed over them. For a moment, Shem-Ha regretted creating endothermic animals, before she remembered why she did it. Kuriyo stopped by the first exhibit and looked through a glass panel, where the group saw a snake swallowing a rabbit whole.
"Isn't that cool?" Kuriyo asked after the rodent disappeared into the reptile's throat, only to find most of the group looking somewhere else.
"It is quite impressive, if I am honest," Shem-Ha said, "The way their jaws unhinge is unique, and difficult to replicate."
"Hina, did you study every animal in the zoo lately?" Kuriyo asked and said, "Because between knowing that hippos are more dangerous than they look, that mice and giraffes have the same number of vertebrae, and this, it sure seems like it." Before Shem-Ha could answer, the group heard a squeal from somewhere else, and went to investigate.
"What's going on?" Hibiki asked as she rushed into a room, where she saw children and teenagers sitting around a woman holding several lizards, with some children holding lizards as well.
"It's so scaly," a girl exclaimed with a big grin on her face, and held a brown lizard with a fin-like crest on its back towards Hibiki. She looked over to the woman, who nodded, and then reached out to let the lizard climb onto her right hand.
"This is a common basilisk," Shem-Ha said as Hibiki let the lizard climb around on her. Kuriyo just sighed, as if she knew Shem-Ha would know what this was, and the others gave her impressed looks.
"Correct," the woman said, "You sure know your animals. Due to its ability to run on water, it's also called the Jesus Lizard, after the son of god in Christian faith."
"The son of god, huh?" Hibiki asked, talking more to herself, as the lizard walked up her arm and nestled against her neck, then looked at the lizard and said, "Hey there, little guy. Nice to meet you." Shem-Ha saw a strange look on Hibiki's face, because while she smiled, it was different from her usual, happy smile.
"She's a girl, actually," Shem-Ha said, deciding to not bother trying to understand Hibiki's new expression.
"Oops, sorry," Hibiki said, walked over to the others, and sat down on an empty chair. Shem-Ha followed her and took another basilisk, and Kuriyo did the same, while Yumi and Shiori stayed a bit further away, and the whole group listened to the woman talk about lizards for a while.
Author's note: God-Killing Spear vs. Spear-Killing Hippo.
At first I thought of having Hibiki simply flip the hippo, but I figured having it barrel through her was more interesting. This also lets me pass this chapter off as educational.