Do me right • Tokyo revengers

Chapter 9

'See you tomorrow night, guys.' I waved goodbye at the remaining waiters and barmen who stayed later to clean everything up.

A cool breeze caressed my bare legs as I stepped out of the club and into the empty street. The upper part of my body was enveloped in my fur coat. It was now around 4 am. I didn't know where Rindou and Raven were. They could have already left for all I knew. But Rindou had told me he'd drive me back to Bonten's hideout, so I waited for him in front of the club, enjoying the way the cold air felt against my warm skin. Despite what some people might believe, being an exotic dancer required a lot of strength and endurance, and after a night of work, I was always really tired.

I slipped my hands in my coat pockets. That's when I felt my phone. Amidst the chaos of these past days, I hadn't even thought of checking it. I pulled it out of my pocket and quickly read the few texts from my friends. But another text soon caught my attention.

From Detective Tachibana -Found anything new?

It would take me less than a minute to send Naoto the location of Bonten's hideout.

Should I do it?

I chewed my lower lip and nervously looked around. Still no sign of Rindou. With an erratic heartbeat, I looked back down at my phone and started typing a reply to the detective. But when I heard the faint sound of approaching footsteps, my hands stilled their motion. My gaze came up to a girl who was fiddling with her hands while alternating between taking a step towards the entrance of the club and a step away from it.

I called out to her. 'Hey, are you gonna stand there all night or are you gonna go in?'

Thanks to the flickering neon lights of the club that shone on her face, I could see the adorable blush spreading across her cheeks.

'Sorry. I probably look stupid right now. It's just...' She paused, nervously scratching the back of her neck. 'I heard you guys were hiring dancers and I wanted to apply for the job.'

She looked so naïve, so pure... just like me before I had started working here. Some people just don't have the luxury to keep their innocence forever.

I pushed off the wall and crossed my arms across my chest as I walked the short steps to her. 'How old are you?'

'I'm 16.'

'That's way too young to work here.'

'But you work here and you're like...?' Her stare swept me from head to toe while she tried to guess my age. '17?'

'I'm 21 actually.'

Her lips parted in surprise at my answer. I knew I looked a little younger than I actually was. My big doe eyes, small nose and freckles on my cheeks gave me an everlasting youthful look that attracted a lot of male customers, some of whom could have been my father. How disgusting, I thought as I recalled the many 50 year-old men who had tried to book a private room with me.

'Look.' I started, placing a hand on the girl's shoulder. 'Trust me when I say that you do not want to work here. I know it might look like a dream from far away but it's far from being a fantasy.'

She must have felt I was speaking from the heart because she sheepishly nodded. 'Right...'

'Luna!' The loud scream broke the peace of the night, startling the two of us. All color drained from the girl's face as she turned to the man who had just shouted her name and was now quickly striding towards us. I battled the urge to slip back inside the safety of the club because I couldn't leave Luna alone, and instead chose to turn to the man. I recognized my high school boyfriend in a heartbeat despite how much he'd changed over the past 5 years. He still had the same earrings and piercings but his hair was now longer and styled in a mullet. His soft lavender eyes were the same, still able to make my heartbeat pick up a pace with how pretty they were. The gang uniform I was used to seeing him in had been replaced by an oversized sweatshirt and a pair of jeans.