Author's note: God, zoo, yadda yadda.
As the group's zoo visit continued, Shiori suddenly ran ahead. Shem-Ha looked where she went, and saw her talk to a man running a small cart. The rest of the group followed her, and before she knew what was happening, Shem-Ha held a stick with a fluffy pink mass on one end, and the group continued walking.
"You're not gonna eat it?" Hibiki asked, plucked a bit of the mass she held, and put it in her mouth.
"I- I am," Shem-Ha answered, not sure what to expect, and simply repeated what Hibiki did. When the treat hit her tongue, she froze for a moment, and just took in the sensation.
"And?" Hibiki asked, "Cotton candy just hits the spot, right?"
"Y- yes," Shem-Ha answered, then continued walking, eating her cotton candy in the process.
"It truly shames me to admit," Shem-Ha thought, "But to create such beauty proves that humanity has surpassed my expectations by far."
"Out of all the things, cotton candy teaches you this?" Miku responded, catching Shem-Ha by surprise.
"Yes, what of it?" Shem-Ha asked.
"Nothing," Miku answered, "I'm just surprised. I mean, you died to a human weapon, empowered by human belief. So it's kind of surprising that something so simple has this kind of effect on you."
"By the way, did you figure out where you want to go?" Hibiki asked, pulling Shem-Ha out of her mental conversation with her host.
"One moment," Shem-Ha said, ate another bite of cotton candy and thought, "Miku, where can I learn more about your world?"
"Library," Miku responded.
"Much appreciated," Shem-Ha thought and said, "I would like to visit the library."
"Alright," Kuriyo said, "Let's finish up with the petting zoo, and then off to the library." The group continued through the zoo, finishing their cotton candy and throwing the sticks in one of the many trash bins. They took a shortcut past a water fountain to wash off the sugar from the cotton candy, before reaching a small enclosure full of goats, sheep, and other animals.
"You can even feed them!" Hibiki exclaimed excitedly, pulled out her wallet and ran over to a small vending machine to buy a small bucket of animal feed. Kuriyo smiled and let out an amused sigh, and the group followed Hibiki.
"Look, look," a small boy called out, "It's standing on that rock like it's nothing." Shem-Ha looked over to the source of the voice, and saw several children look at a goat standing on a rock that was heavily sloped. One of the boys jumped onto the rock, but slipped off and fell back down, landing on the ground and laughing. Without thinking, Shem-Ha walked over to the boys as that one got back up. His short red hair was a bit ruffled from the tumble, but he was otherwise fine.
"It is pretty difficult, yes?" Shem-Ha asked and explained, "Goats have special hooves with a soft sole that adjusts to the surface they stand on, allowing them to stand solidly on all kinds of slopes, provided they are not actually vertical."
"Really? Awesome," the boy who fell exclaimed, and they all looked at the goat in awe.
"I wish I could do that," another boy, with medium-long black hair, said.
"We all have our strengths and weaknesses," Shem-Ha said, "Goats can climb well, eagles can fly, and humans… humans are creative, and always find new ways to surprise you."
"I wish I knew what I was good at," one of the boys, with short brown hair, said.
"Let me see," Shem-Ha said, pretending to ponder for a moment before asking, "Have you tried tending to plants?"
"No," the boy answered and asked, "You really think I can do that?"
"Only one way to find out," Shem-Ha answered, knowing there were actually two, "Ask your parents if you can try to take care of a plant, and see how it goes."
"Alright," the boy said, and a smile lit up his face.
"Miku, are you coming?" Yumi asked, pulling Shem-Ha's attention away from the boys, "Hibiki needs some help." Shem-Ha looked over to Hibiki, who was surrounded by various animals, all of whom looked at her expectantly.
"What? No, I don't," Hibiki answered, holding up her hands to show that she had no more food, and tried to get through the animals. A sheep nudged her, and she bumped into a goat, which stepped back to prepare for a very literal headbutt.
"Sorry, I'm taking the wheel," Miku piped up and took control of her body again. She ran over to Hibiki, jumped onto a rock and grabbed Hibiki's hand, pulling her along. She brought her legs around, using the momentum to make Hibiki spin around her center of mass, and both girls came to a stop outside the mass of animals.
"Miku, are you alright?" Hibiki asked, and Miku caught her breath.
"Yes," Miku answered and asked, "What about you?"
"I'm fine," Hibiki answered, "But… it looks like someone told these animals how legs work." Miku looked around, and realized they were now both surrounded by the animals.
"Let me handle this," Shem-Ha thought, "I can get you two out of this."
"Alright, but no tricks," Miku responded and handed control back to Shem-Ha.
"Of course not," Shem-Ha thought, then looked around among the animals.
"So, what do we do now?" Hibiki asked and said, "Also, sorry for getting you into this mess, too."
"No need to apologize," Shem-Ha said, "I just need to convince the leader that there is no more food to be had here."
"The leader?" Hibiki asked and titled her head.
"All these species are social animals," Shem-Ha answered, "They follow the most experienced member of the herd, since they can keep them safe from danger the best. So, if I can find that one, and convince him to go somewhere else, the rest will follow."
"I see," Hibiki said, "That's pretty clever." Shem-Ha looked around until she found the leader, then looked him straight in the eyes. After a brief moment of eye contact, and despite the glasses Shem-Ha was wearing, the big sheep understood that there was no more food.
"Well, the good news is that he knows that you have no more food," Shem-Ha said, without breaking eye contact with the sheep.
"Then, why doesn't he leave?" Hibiki asked.
"Because your hair color reminds him of his mate," Shem-Ha answered.
"Hold on, how do you know that?" Kuriyo asked.
"I can see it in his eyes," Shem-Ha answered, "Those are the eyes of someone who has lost a loved one."
"Chris will never let me hear the end of this," Hibiki said and asked, "Can you let him know that I'm sorry for his loss, but I'm not a sheep, and it's not healthy to hang on to her like this?"
"Of course," Shem-Ha answered and maintained eye contact with the sheep a bit longer, until he eventually turned to leave, taking the rest of the group with him. Hibiki and Shem-Ha went to meet back up with Kuriyo, Shiori and Yumi, and the group went to wash their hands again before leaving the zoo. On the way out, they stopped at the souvenir shop.
~o~
In the train back home, Hibiki hugged her hippo plush, Shiori looked at her tortoise key chain, and Kuriyo and Yumi put their zoo-themed pens in their bags, then leaned back to rest. Shem-Ha looked out the window as the city zoomed past, and thought back at all that had happened since she woke up in Miku's body.
"Miku, are you there?" Shem-Ha thought.
"Of course," Miku responded, "What is it?"
"I… have many questions," Shem-Ha answered, "I am unsure whether all can be answered within my lifetime, however long or short that may be."
"Well, let's see," Miku explained, "You were scared you would die when you cut my finger, you were anxious about PE, and relieved when you realized it was easier than you expected. And you had fun at the zoo."
"I have no more questions," Shem-Ha thought, "I actually quite like the last thing."
"Yeah, I know," Miku said and asked, "But why exactly did a sheep have a crush on Hibiki? In fact, why do animals fall in love with people in the first place?"
"Bonding between species is an unfortunate side-effect of social species," Shem-Ha answered, "The first creatures I made on this planet had no social structure, and did not experience this phenomenon. However, they had other problems, such as parents attacking their own children. So, we had to wipe them out."
"Yeah, I think that makes sense," Miku responded after taking in the information, and asked, "By the way, who wiped them out, and how? I mean, there are theories on what happened, but if it was you guys, how did you do it?"
"We used a powerful weapon," Shem-Ha answered, "I cannot explain it properly as of yet, as I still do not understand enough of your modern language. However, I promise to answer your question once I can."
"Hey Miku, what are you thinking about?" Yumi asked, pulling Shem-Ha out of her inner dialogue.
"Who, me? Nothing much," Shem-Ha answered and asked, "What about you?"
"Just that you seem really interested in animals," Yumi answered, "If you want, I can show you some anime focusing on animals. Most of them are fairly old, and never got popular enough, but they're still fun. There are also manga, which cover more of the story." Suddenly, Miku took over.
"Thanks, but I'm good," Miku answered and thought, "Sorry, but this is for your own good." She handed control back to Shem-Ha, who had no idea what just happened.
"Alright. Just let me know if you change your mind," Yumi said and leaned back into her seat.
"What are anime?" Shem-Ha thought.
"Animated series, basically moving pictures with sound and all," Miku answered, "She keeps talking about them all the time, but at least it's not annoying. Funnily enough, she recognized herself in one too many anime characters that are intended to be hated, and decided to tone it down."
"And manga?" Shem-Ha thought.
"The source material, I think," Miku explained, "I'm not entirely sure how it works, but every once in a while a manga gets adapted as anime, which gets her really excited. Sometimes she says it's long overdue, other times she didn't expect it at all. But basically, they're closer to books, but with pictures and speech bubbles and all."
"I see," Shem-Ha thought, "And… I know I said something else before, but I do still have some questions. To be honest, I have even more now than before. Why keep those animals in enclosures if you do not intend to eat them, or use them for labor?"
"You know the rules," Miku responded, "If you want to know why we do those things, you'll have to figure it out yourself."
"I do not appreciate you testing me like this," Shem-Ha thought.
"And I do not appreciate you trying to take over the world," Miku responded, "Which means we're even now, so stop complaining and be grateful I'm helping you."
"What authority do you presume to have over me?" Shem-Ha thought. Suddenly, Miku took control and sat up more straight.
"By the way, Hibiki, there's something I've been meaning to tell you," Miku said.
"No, wait!" Shem-Ha called out in the back of Miku's mind, desperately trying to regain control, but to no avail.
"This authority," Miku thought, "Now play nice."
"What is it?" Hibiki asked and sat up properly as well.
"I think we're out of milk," Miku answered, and handed control back to Shem-Ha. Now that she had a body again, she began to breathe quicker, but luckily, none of the others seemed to notice.
"Really?" Hibiki asked and said, "I guess we'll have to check when we get back home."
"Yes, we should," Shem-Ha said and leaned back into her seat, trying to calm herself, and thought, "You are cruel."
"I am not cruel, I am your jailer," Miku answered, "And I am your judge, and your jury. Step out of line, and Hibiki will be your executioner. But if you prove that you can behave, and be a proper part of society, then you will be allowed more freedom. For example in the zoo."
"Wait, that was why you were so silent?" Shem-Ha thought.
"Yes," Miku responded, "You had been behaving well, so I gave you more room to be yourself."
"You continue to perplex me," Shem-Ha thought, "You allowed me this much, yet were willing to have me banished so quickly."
"And you gave us this entire planet, and free will," Miku responded, "Yet you were going to take over mankind so quickly, without even learning about us first. At least I am giving you the chance to argue in your favor before I cast judgment." For the remainder of the train ride, Shem-Ha remained silent, thinking about all sorts of things. Once they got back to the school, Hibiki and Shem-Ha went to their dorm room, and Hibiki put her plush in her bed before checking if they had milk left.
Author's note: Something about Miku being sassy is just really fun for me. Almost makes me regret that I didn't make this fic longer, actually.
Also, Miku is getting a bit meta about Yumi there.
Shem-Ha also kinda relapsed, but Miku quickly reigned her back in.