Chapter 2: Petals Born on Spring, pt. 2

Claude glances at Kusakabe with a shrug, responding a bit quieter than the usual outdoor voice (but still loud enough to overhear for those nearby) in a light-hearted tone, "Oh, no need to go hush-hush, I'm sure by now your opinion is very much known to anyone in close vicinity. But in a way, perhaps I am. He seems to be little more than a pretty face who's admitted to being drunk on passion, but that's exactly something I've found to be very scarce in the last few days of my life, so I'm keeping my options of fixing that open.

If, after meeting with the chief, the photo-incident ends up being resolved without burdening me with a conflict of interest in regards to Oto-chan, I would very much be open to proving to myself that Chimera was mistaken regarding his lack of certain characteristics."

Abenanka sighs. It shouldn't have been a surprise that they'd walked into yet another trouble just after the last one, since that seemed to be all they ever did. That probably made a lot of sense, with the steadily growing population of Tokyo, but then she'd always been vocal about the issues of bringing too many people together in once place. Even if it did mean she'd meet people she wouldn't normally, some of which she'd never want to have been without.

Well, wishful thinking aside she starts to pat herself down for something to use which would attract the others... wherever they'd gotten to, as she rounded the corner to find out what was going on in the alley.

Claude looks at Roosevelt in puzzlement. "Roleplay? We have a real cop with handcuffs with us, so I don't think that would be appropriate. Anyway, you bringing up toys reminds me," Claude turns to Homura, with a hint of a judgemental frown, "that when you were making moves on the little birdie, I put our rivalries aside and supported you unconditionally, offering you a chance to give her a gift she really appreciated. Instead of questioning what you could possibly find in her."

The girl's banter is interrupted, as they walk along the street, when they notice Abenanka slipping into an alleyway, with faintly heard growls and screams!

Naturally the girls would hasten their pace, which results in Otoya tripping and falling over Shizuka, who doesn't even stagger. "Oof, sorry ma'am!"

He takes a tad too long to regain his balance, charming his way out of the embarrassment "I must say, you're Hakama is very nice, and soft~" He says, before stepping away (or being shoved).

---

Now, the girls reach the entrance of the alleyway, with Abenanka right ahead.

Then, from behind a rubble dumpster, rises a monstrous silhouette. As it slowly steps towards them, the light shine on it, and the lobster shamon becomes fully visible!

It stops right next to where Abenanka is (or was), and fixes its gaze on the group behind; in fact, it gazes directly into the violinist, and it's violin case, before going feral again!

Shizuka instinctively went to knee Otoya in the nose when he felt onto her, since she was wearing all of her police gear to include her sword and pistol. A lot of rowdy drunks tended to "accidentally" fall onto cops to reach for their weapons. However, he landed on her badly injured thighs, which were still badly injured enough that even normal contact made her wince in pain. She didn't get to smash his face in, but did try to make sure he didn't pickpocket anything on the sly.

Once she got her bearings, she had to remind herself that she was a public servant. Even if this guy was shady and allegedly working with the shamon, she couldn't just beat the tar out of him. Plus Abenanka had arrived and seemed to have something important to say.

"Ugh, stop wiggling around. I know you're up to something..."

Before she could continue, the lobster shamon appeared and it seemed to be glaring at Otoya. The shamon either had a thing for violins or there really was some musician-conspiracy after all. Unfortunately Shizuka was still handcuffed to Otoya, so if the shamon did go after him they were at a big disadvantage.

"What?! It's that lobster thing again? I will try to keep Otoya in one piece if you all can bring it down. It seems to really be interested in his violin."

She said that, but had zero confidence that Otoya could manage a few steps without tripping. If the shamon manage to get close, she fully intended to grab him by his collar in order to to yank him out of the way of any incoming attacks.

Seeing what just happens, Claude decides to try impressing Gozen as a thief-thwarter, and to do so, leans closer to Otoya, attempting to distract him, "Now, Oto-chan, you wouldn't want to cause me to have a conflict of interest, right?"

At that point, Claude tries to filch the keys back from Otoya, but, unfortunately, has no experience being a thief, and so continues speaking before being sure whether the attempt succeeded, raising and opening a hand for Shizuka to see, "You wouldn't want to be caught pickpocketing these keys off Gozen-san, would you?"

An instant after he touches her, he's on the ground, with a bruised nose and socket, which would most probably turn into a black eye, if no care was administered.

Despite that, after a moment of regaining his bearings, brushing his cut lips, he defaults again to that silly smile, "Wow, what a kick, ma'am! I'm glad to have you between me and the criminals of this city!" He says, then struggles to stand up, careful not to support himself on her.

A feel steps forward Claude tries her act, she's surprised by how much ease she has slipping the keys away from his hand: "Ah, if you ask so nicely like this... I can't help but comply!!" His hands holding the keys as firmly as a leaf.

"W-wait, ma'am! Those aren't the actual keys, but the knockoff (actually my front-door keys) I'd plant so Lady Handcuffs wouldn't notice!" He pulls another key from his cuffs and offers it to her meekly, "Here, please take them!" He says, bowing.

---

At the scene with the shamon, he glances at Shizuka, "Uh... If we're going to stand at a safe distance like this... Would you mind if I play a little? Of course, I'd have to do it left-handed, because of the handcuffs, but... Oh well~"

Shizuka was more worried about him taking her gun than the keys, but it was good that Cluade had caught him in the act. Speaking of which, he was definitely putting on some sort of act but it at the moment she just wanted to get the photo issue resolved to appease the SPF commander. Plus, even if he did run away they would probably run into him again in the future since he seemed obsessed with Homura.

"Okay, fine. Play it before the shamon attacks!"

She took door keys and then motioned for Claude to unlock the cuffs so he could play his violin.

A bit surprised by how everything worked out in the past minute, Claude nonetheless does unlock the handcuffs.

For everyone's surprise, the shamon seemed particularly reluctant to engage in violence, though it's presence was still terrifying enough!

Though it couldn't match Otoya's surprise as Shizuka unlocks the handcuffs. "Oh, thanks, ma'am!" He says, eagerly taking the violin from its case, a beautiful violin in red wood, with corners sculpted into roses and the scroll (above the pegs) sculpted into a cherubim, for those who only saw it now.

He unpromptedly starts fiddling the instrument, producing a melody not unlike the one he played before, though now a melancholic undertone is evident; that was, in retrospect, present in his last piece too. It's a very moving piece, even for non-connoisseurs.

As the music goes on, the shamon's advance slows down, until he stops, right in from of them, his growls quieting down.

Then, in flashes of iridescent light, it's form shrinks and morphs, until it's the size of a tall man. Finally, as the flashes stop, they can see the violin buyer from before, with a disheveled appearance. Pressing his head with his hands, he slides down on a wall and sits on the ground, quivering.

As that happens, the music ends in a long note and the pluck of a string. "Phew, nice! We got here in time!" Otoya cheers.

While Claude's innuendo was lost on her as well, this did manage to pierce Homura's thick skull. "Making moves...!?! No, no, no." She waved the implication off lightheartedly. "You're reading too much into it. I just wanted to win something nice for her. Nothing more, nothing less!"

Why do I sound so defensive?

She didn't get to say much more before they caught sight of Abenanka heading into the alleyway.

---

Homura had been prepared to attack the shamon, her eyes glowing faintly with psychic power, but she hesitated at its apparent reluctance to attack. Once Otoya began to play, she simply relaxed and watched how it would play out.

She couldn't have possibly predicted that the shamon was a man. Even more shocking, he lined up with Chimera's sketch. "C-Chimera... No, Detective Roosevelt, you were right all along! This is Gouki...!" The man had disheveled red hair, a powerful build, and...

Homura squinted. Once her eyes fully recovered from the flash of light, she saw the truth. Wait, no, that's just the violin guy from the antique shop.

Was she disappointed? Maybe a little.

She was just as suspicious of Otoya as Chimera was, but she prioritized the violin buyer. She walked over to him and kneeled to meet his eyes. She had no clue what was going on with him, but she saw a person in clear distress, so she couldn't ignore it. Reaching out, she gently rested a hand on his shoulder.

"You're going to be alright. I promise. We can help you, but to do that, we need to know when this started happening. Do you think you can tell us?" Her voice was warm and comforting.

Of course the others would stumble in at the important bit. At first Abenanka sighed, and then she smiled despite her initial apprehension. In a way this worked, and more than that she had to admit it felt better to be together than having to do all of this alone. Even the wolf kamuy ran in packs. Unlike the others, she seemed to be the only one not all that surprised by the shamon to man transformation though.

Well, it could be because she'd seen the man to shamon transformation initially, but even then she hadn't found it all that surprising. A lot of old scripture from the mountain talked about people becoming animals or the other way around. All people aimed to ascend and become a kamui of the mountain after all.

She crossed her arms, and waited for the initial ruckus to settle down then joined Homura crouched in front of the man. She checked him with practiced fingers, and then from somewhere in her robes she produced a small vial of clear liquid. She held it out to him. "Sake of the mountains. I made it personally, it'll have a kick but its good to purge grime from your flow."

Only after he took it did she realise how close she'd gotten to Homura, and averted her eyes quickly.

"Oh, Kim'Unko-san, you've been here all along? Maybe that means you know more about what's going on . . ."

Claude was a bit surprised and relieved, and ready to ask a small burst of questions, but seeing the scene that was unfolded, prompty went silent and took a step back, suppressing a smile.

With the current shamon situation being resolved with music, Shizuka had more questions than answers. Does this mean all shamon were humans, or did the shamon just have human forms they could take? She let Chimera to most of the interrogating though, since searching Otoya's house was still a priority.

"For someone who talks so much, why didn't you say you had magical violin powers before?"

Claude stares awestruck at the revelation. "This is big. We need to contact the chief. Get in touch, find a spot to meet safely. Discuss the news, and find a way to keep everyone and everything safe. This news may help defend Tokyo, and maybe other places, from further attacks."

Homura noticed how Abenanka looked away from her. Normally she would just dismiss it as shyness, but after what Claude said earlier, she was a bit more aware. She gently nudged Abenanka with her elbow and whispered. "Good job finding the culprit. I should've known you were a step ahead of us." She smiled warmly.

The violinist's tale had challenged everything Homura thought she knew about shamon. She knew they weren't from this world—that was just common knowledge—but she never thought any of them could be sapient, nor did she think they could overcome their nature. Yet here he was, the living proof of it. He could speak and think and create, just as a man could. It frankly disturbed Homura, but she tried not to let it show on her face too much.

"Sacrilege is a bit much," Homura grumbled, her cheeks tinted red from embarrassment. Her gaze followed the man's pointed finger, landing on Otoya. She glared at him before returning her focus to the violinist. "I can't believe he came in handy... Alright, we acknowledge he didn't have anything to do with this. He's still on the hook for other stuff, though."

Homura looked unsure, but she agreed with Claude nonetheless. "Hm... You're right. The chief will know what to do! I'll go find a phone."

She left the alley and tracked down the nearest payphone so she could get in contact with the theater and update them on the situation.