Read Online Demon City Shinjuku: The Complete Edition by Hideyuki Kikuchi - Free Book Online Page A

time. We’re talking fifty tops for that.”
    Big Man ignored him. “How about it? Gonna pay up? Or maybe you can work it off.”
    Sayaka stared back at him blankly. Saviors turning on a dime into extortionists was a new experience for her. She’d grown up in the harsh environment of the Moon colonies, where cooperation and good intentions were synonyms for survival. She had no personal understanding or practical experience with people who were bad on purpose. She couldn’t imagine that Big Man and Cyborg contemplated selling her into the sex trade.
    She’d followed her father to Earth only six months ago, so it was no wonder. “I don’t mind working for my keep, but I’m in a bit of a hurry today. If you tell me your address, I’ll see to it you’re paid back later.”
    â€œWhat kind of fools do you take us for?” said Big Man, stepping toward her.
    â€œC’mon, knock it off. She’s just a kid.”
    Shorty interposed himself between them. And then floated skyward as Cyborg grabbed him by the collar and lifted him up. “Back off!” And tossed him off the platform. His arms flailing, Shorty hit the tracks and slumped unconscious between the rails.
    â€œWhat did you do that for? There’s no need for such violence!”
    Sayaka rushed to the edge of the platform. Big Man grabbed her arm. Sayaka screamed—not a scream, but a kiai , a martial shout. Followed by a grunt. That came from Big Man, his wrist wrenching painfully as he fell onto the platform in an Aikido joint lock.
    â€œPrick.” Cyborg grabbed for her.
    â€œI am not a man,” said Sayaka. She slipped through the alloy steel arms and fired her paralyzer.
    The next scream came from her as well. She had misjudged the separation between them and the angle of attack. The beam reflected off Cyborg’s chest and hit her squarely.
    â€œStupid bitch. My skin and skeleton can withstand a thousand g’s of force. That toy ain’t gonna work on me.”
    He easily hoisted her onto his shoulder. The reflected power of the paralyzer was significantly diminished, so Sayaka was already regaining consciousness. She tried to resist, but her body was too numb to move.
    Out of the frying pan and into the fire . She really was coming to her wit’s end. Paying no mind to Sayaka’s struggles, the Big Man walked up, rubbing his sides.
    â€œDamn, what a pain in the ass that chick is. Still, nice piece of work. She’ll go for a pretty price. Easy living for a year, minimum. First thing in the morning, we head to Kabuki-cho and—”
    â€œThat’s not going to happen,” interrupted a voice from the shadows. “There will be no tomorrow for you two.”
    Big Man and Cyborg exchanged puzzled glances, then scanned the dim interior of the station platform. Other than Shorty still slumped across the tracks, nobody else was there. Big Man pulled the heater from his belt.
    â€œCome out, wherever you are!”
    Something grabbed their feet. Big Man looked down. His blood ran cold. Two dirty rust-red hands grew out of the concrete. They didn’t break through. The wrists melded seamlessly into the floor.
    â€œWhat the—! Let go!”
    Big Man tried to pull free and back away. An even stranger apparition appeared in front of him. Not releasing its hold on his ankles, the upper half of a human torso pushed itself out of the floor, like the fast-forward of a sprouting plant. Only when its entire body had “floated” to the surface did it let go and pop up head first, as if hinged at its feet.
    It wore the mantle and hood of a Catholic monk that shadowed its face. But its radiating red eyes instantly robbed the spirit from the Big Man’s soul.
    This was Doki.
    Big Man stood there ramrod straight. Doki pushed him aside. Cyborg set Sayaka down on the ground and grabbed his heater. His self-confidence was of a fatal variety.
    Six hundred thousand