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

wrong with it. But it never worked again.
    When wielded as a physical manifestation of willpower, without the accompanying purification that nen inculcated, his thought could become nothing more than a crude, lethal weapon.
    Kyoya wasn’t sure he had yet reached that stage. That was why he invited the poltergeists to take him on, testing himself, confronting the threat with a single blow and a minimal projection of nen , and then dispersing them without annihilating them.
    When he said “Good enough,” he was referring to those possibilities of control.
    After a few more minutes, he had everything ready to go. To allow him maximum movement, he put on a pair of stretch jeans and a training jacket. His only luggage was a nylon day pack stuffed with a change of clothes, towel, toothbrush and toiletries. He’d pulled five thousand yen out of the ATM on his way home. He didn’t imagine that a credit card would do him much good where he was going.
    He wouldn’t mind carrying some Shorinji Kenpo hidden weaponry into the battle, such as shuriken and tetsugan iron pills, but he didn’t have any on hand, so that was that.
    He left his aunt and uncle a letter stating that he’d be going on a trip for three days. He played hooky all the time to take off to parts unknown, so it wouldn’t be anything to worry about. But Kyoya wasn’t sure he’d be back in three days.
    Not waiting for morning, Kyoya left the slumbering abode. According to the glowing face of his watch it was midnight, the tenth of September. Three days and three hours were left. He could drop by the Information Bureau and have a detailed knowledge of Shinjuku implanted via their auto-suggestion devices, but gave it a pass. He wouldn’t be doing himself any favors trying to take shortcuts at this stage in the game.
    As he hurried down the midnight streets to the robot bus stop, Kyoya addressed Asura in his left hand.
    He was committing himself to this course. Like you said, of my own free will . It was a little late to be sorry about being such an unreliable son, but right now, Dad, I’m going to need all the strength you can give me .
    Then he shrugged. No matter what, he still had to wonder how an ordinary high school student ended up going to a place like that— Demon City .

Part Three
    The ruins stretched out before him.
    Beneath the cold autumn moonlight, the black mountains of bricks and shattered concrete went on and on. Somewhere in the darkness, a wild beast howled. Judging from the lights, people must be living here. Not only that, but as he focused his gaze, hither and yon in the rolling hills of rubble, the outlines of buildings and unit housing came into view.
    One structure soared toward the heavens. Another squatted next to the earth, indistinguishable from the surrounding wreckage.
    If he concentrated even more, far in the distance he could make out the innumerable lights dotting the periphery, like the guard towers of a penitentiary. The watch towers of a prison—the metaphor was not necessarily inappropriate. The lights came from the windows and neon signs of the surrounding skyscrapers. To the north, the former Omiya and Kawagoe; to the south, Miura Peninsula dividing Tokyo and Yokohama; to the east, Narita; and to the west, Hachioji.
    In one corner of the Tokyo megalopolis, these sad and abhorrent remains were exposed for all to see—they called it “Demon City” for short.
    As if endeavoring to illustrate the source of that unfortunate name, a sense of dread shrouded the environs. It wasn’t only felt in the air, but somehow stained the starlight and moonlight as well. And the cold—not that of a winter’s night, but a chill that reached into the heart and soul—the cold of the wayward spirits embracing the visitor with unease and fear.
    What was Demon City? It was once Shinjuku.
    Back when Tokyo was still the Tokyo of old, the wards of Yodobashi, Yotsuya and Ushigome