Too old for you • Tokyo revengers

Chapter 1

♫ Lovers rock - TV Girl ♫

As the sound of my alarm pierces through my peaceful slumber, I try to hold onto the fading images of him that linger behind my closed eyelids. My mind desperately clings onto the fragments of the dream, trying to piece them together. I want to make them last a little longer, but like every morning, the fog clouding my sleepy mind eventually dissipates and reality sets in.

I dreamed of Mikey. Again.

I groan in frustration and reach for the pillow next to me, burying my face in it.

"What the hell is wrong with me?" I mutter into the pillow, the words muffled by the soft fabric.

I take a deep breath and force myself to sit up, rubbing the sleep from my eyes.

As I go through my morning routine, a gnawing sensation persists in my chest. It's a feeling of yearning that refuses to be ignored, mingled with a sense of guilt that I'm now too familiar with. I can't help but think about Mikey even though I know he's off limits and out of reach.

It's not like I haven't tried to shake off these feelings before. I've done everything I can think of to push them aside, to focus on other things, to distract myself. But nothing seems to work. The more I try to push my thoughts and feelings for Mikey aside, the stronger they become.

I know it's wrong to feel this way. He is my father's boss and his friend, plus he's way too old for me. But I can't help it. The feeling of longing will stay with me, like a constant companion, until the day I can finally find a way to let it go.

My father is having breakfast at the kitchen table, already dressed in his usual three-pieces suit, when I walk into the kitchen.

"Good morning," He greets me, briefly lifting his eyes from his newspapers to look at me.

I lean down and give him a quick kiss on the cheek. "Good morning, dad."

Yes, I'll admit it - I'm a total daddy's girl. To be fair, my dad is the only parent I've ever known, so the bond we've formed is quite special. My mother was just a teenager when she got pregnant with me. She didn't feel ready to raise a child, and she wanted to give me up for adoption. My father was still very young at the time too. He convinced my mother to let him raise me instead. He didn't do it alone, though. My uncle, Ran, was right there by his side the whole time. He's the one who chose my name, Ruby. He wanted it to start with an "R" like theirs both do. They passed down their shared last name, Haitani, and many of their physical traits.

And then there are my three godfathers - Sanzu, Kakucho, and Kokonoi. When I was little, I used to think of them as the three good fairies from Sleeping Beauty, but instead of pink dresses, they wore sharp suits.

Together, we form a big, dysfunctional family, yet somehow more loving and functional than most families out there.

I sit at the kitchen table, grab a toast and take a first bite.

"Nervous?" My father asks me, laying his newspapers down.

Oh, shit. I have a math's test today. I almost forgot.

"A little bit," I reply after swallowing.

"I can always threaten your teacher and tell him I'll kill him if he doesn't give you an A," He offers nonchalantly before lifting his cup of coffee to his lips to take a sip.

I stop chewing and narrow my eyes as I study him over the table.

I can't really tell if my father is kidding or not. It's just that his profession is... unusual. The same goes for my uncle and their inner circle. They've never shared the details with me. They probably think I'm still too young to understand.

Well, whatever their work is, it seems to be lucrative. We reside in a luxurious house, I'm chauffeured around by a private driver, and I attend one of the most prestigious private schools in the city. Money has never seemed to be a concern for us.

"I never know if you're joking or not," I mumble and my father shrugs one shoulder, the corner of his lips lifting a little bit as he picks up his newspapers again. "There's always a little bit of truth behind every joke anyway."

"Plus," I continue, "If you're really planning on killing my teacher, could you do it before third period so I don't have to take his test?"

He snorts at that.

"Isn't it too early to talk about killing someone?" My uncle asks as he enters the kitchen.

He has lived in the same apartment as us for as long as I could remember. I couldn't imagine living without him here now. He's like a second dad to me.

"There's no better way to start the day," Dad replies and Ran grins.

"Agreed."

He ruffles my hair as he passes behind my chair. "Good morning, angel."

"Good morning," I smile at him as he takes the seat next to me.

"Ready for your test?" He asks me as he reaches for the bread.

"Not really...," I admit. "I should have studied more but I also had a presentation for my English class to prepare for tomorrow. Speaking of which..." My throat tightens as I bring my gaze to my father.

"Dad?" I start tentatively.

He hums, his eyes still traveling across the newspapers.

"I was wondering if I could sleep at Julia's tonight? We have presentation to prepare together and we would like to have a sleep over-"

"No," he replies flatly, not even bothering to look at me.

"Dad, please," I plead, desperation creeping into my voice. "I'm almost 18 and I've never been to a single party or anything. Please just let me spend the night at Julia's just this once-"

"I said no," he repeats, his tone final.

I turn to my uncle, silently begging him to come to my rescue. He and my dad kind of have a good-cop, bad-cop dynamic, and I'm hoping that Ran will be the good cop this time.

"Come on, Rin. She's old enough to spend the night at a friend's house," he argues. "Plus they're just going to have a sleep over. We were doing much worse at her age, remember?"

My dad considers this for a moment before finally relenting.

"Fine," he says with a sigh.

I can't help the huge smile that spreads across my face, but before I can even thank my dad, he raises a finger. "On one condition."

I remain silent and wait for him to continue.

"Frank stays posted in front of Julia's house during the night," he declares.

My heart sinks at the mention of Frank, my private chauffeur. His presence will definitely complicate my plans for the night, because the truth is, Julia and I aren't planning on having a sleepover. We want to go out.

"Deal," I accept, trying to hide my disappointment.

I know it won't be easy to sneak past Frank, but I'm determined to make it happen. Because if we get caught, I'll be grounded until I'm old and gray.