Volume II: Chainsaw Man's Roar in a Dream
Tokyo was shrouded in its usual gloom.
A biting wind swept through the streets. Pedestrians huddled in their coats, heads down, hurrying along.
The icy drizzle only strengthened their resolve to get home. In this gray city, everyone was focused on themselves, with little energy to spare for others.
Unless they had to notice someone.
"Alright, the clerk's gone! Pochita, let's go!" Denji, crouched in an alley, watched the bored clerk dump expired goods into the convenience store's dumpster. Once the clerk was back inside, he gestured to the orange dog-like creature beside him, and they dashed across the street.
"It's—a burger! Pochita, it's a legendary burger!" Denji's eyes lit up as he lifted the dumpster lid. Excitedly, he held it up for Pochita to see. "Look, two buns with something in between! It's gotta be a burger!"
"Woof!" Pochita shared his excitement, tail wagging furiously.
"Sniff... Kind of smells off. That cheapskate owner waited until it went bad before tossing it." Despite his complaints, Denji quickly stuffed the slightly rancid sandwiches into his clothes, stopping only when the front of his shirt was bulging.
"Oi, you little punk again!" A gruff voice roared from behind him. Denji whirled around to see the burly, fat owner standing at the alley entrance, glaring at him.
"Stealing my bread again! Pay up!"
"You threw it away! I'm just picking up trash." Denji, naturally lacking funds, argued his case.
Tch, caught again…
"Don't gimme that! I never said I didn't want it! That idiot Tanaka just put it out early!" The fat owner grinned, revealing a set of uneven yellow teeth. "Pay up, including what you stole before! 3,000 yen per bun, not bad, right? I'm always fair with my customers."
"Like I'd pay you, you rip-off artist." Denji, no stranger to extortion, knew what the owner was up to. He bolted down the alley, familiar with the escape route—
"?!" Reaching the end of the alley, he found the usual hole in the wall blocked by rubble and debris.
"Huff… huff… Give it up, kid!"
Though Denji and Pochita tried frantically to clear the blockage, the debris was too much. The panting owner caught up before they could escape.
"We're done for, Pochita."
"Woof..."
Denji's heart sank as the owner approached with a menacing grin. Pochita's tail drooped.
He probably won't kill me, but he might kick Pochita to death. There are no demon protection laws in Japan.
Looking at his only companion, Denji grabbed Pochita and hurled him over the wall.
"Pochita?!"
"Come back when he's gone!" Denji sighed in relief as Pochita landed on the other side. Then, a kick sent him sprawling.
Ah, what a shame. There were so many things I wanted to do.
Eat a proper burger with Pochita.
Have someone to sleep beside.
Live happily with a family who cared…
A rain of blows—
"Woof..."
"Woof woof~ You're called Pochita because you always say 'woof woof?' Why not Pochi-chan? Maybe you'll evolve into a pink, busty, guitar-playing, socially anxious pretty girl."
"Woof?"
"You made a contract with him, and I made a contract with him. Let's get along, okay? Especially if there's danger, transform and save me, alright~"
"Woof!"
Who… Pochita…? Denji's consciousness surfaced from the darkness. Pain jolted him awake. He forced his swollen eyes open.
In the dim light, he saw a figure crouching before him.
Long white socks hugged shapely legs. A wet black skirt and top clung to a well-proportioned figure. Jet-black hair cascaded down her back. Ribbons framed a cute face with sparkling red eyes.
But Denji was Denji. Such things held no appeal for someone perpetually on the brink of starvation. Only one thing mattered—
"Big," he muttered.
His deadbeat dad used to say busty angels would take him to heaven. Am I dead?
That bastard actually killed me! What about Pochita? Will he listen to me, take over my body, and live a happy life—
Thwack!
A sharp blow to the head yanked Denji back to reality.
"Ow!" He yelped, clutching his head. "What was that for?!"
"Sexually harassing a girl you just met? It's called self-defense." The angelic-faced girl, having just committed a decidedly un-angelic act of violence, looked at him innocently. "You're a pervert."
"So many men in Japan have lost their families and jobs because of this kind of behavior, ending up jumping off rooftops. You should be grateful I just knocked you on the head after you harassed someone as perfect as me."
"Who was harassing who...?" Denji, now fully alert, immediately searched for his companion, spotting the innocent-looking devil in the girl's arms.
"Pochita, come on, let's go!" Relieved to see his friend, Denji pulled a crumpled sandwich from his pants. "We're having burgers today!"
"Woof!"
The excited Pochita leaped towards Denji, only to be caught mid-air by the girl, who grabbed his tail.
"That's not a burger, dummy." The girl looked at the crumpled sandwich with a haughty air. "It's a hot dog."
Skrrrt~