Acceptance [WMatsui fanfic]

Chapter 9

Rena was doing her best to keep her mind focused on her upcoming show on stage but her clumsy fingers, fumbling with her outfit endlessly, betrayed her true emotions as she was getting prepared in the dressing room. Tonight, it wasn't the imminent show that rendered her so abnormally agitated. Her first nervous performances on the main stage of the strip club – when she was still a beginner back then – were already a far distant memory. After almost three months of working at The Blue Moon, Rena had acquired enough and necessary experience. Dancing provocatively and removing her clothes in front of an audience full of strangers didn't cause her the same apprehension anymore.

No, what was preventing her at this précised moment from controlling her nerves was a different matter altogether. One specific issue related to a beloved dark, shoulder-length girl sitting at a table in the main area, but to her dismay not completely alone as Rena would have anticipated her to be. No matter how many times Rena kept repeating to herself she absolutely ought to keep her composure if she wished to deliver her next performance in the best conditions, the memory of what she had shockingly witnessed a few minutes ago kept flashing in her head and haunting her.

This Saturday night, when Rena had stepped inside The Blue Moon to begin her shift, a certain scene in particular had made her blink and pause in consternation. Under normal circumstances, a pleased smile would have instantly plastered her features at the view of Jurina, impatient to join her table and spend some quality time with the younger girl. However, this evening, her joy hadn't lasted very long, when she had noticed a certain bold stripper sitting by Jurina's side and flirting with her shamelessly.

Yes, Nana.

The précised same person with whom Rena had had a very courteous – yet serious discussion – the previous week-end, after listening to Anna's stupefying revelation, and discovering what had happened in her absence. Undeniably, her little chat with Nana hadn't had the expected impact. Otherwise, how could she explain the person newly recruited by the club was deliberately ignoring her request, and doing the exact opposite of what she had asked by approaching Jurina again?

A week ago...

It was almost 3 a.m. when Rena arrived at The Blue Moon to begin her shift. As she suspected, the place was crowded at this late hour of the day, and Rena was conscious an extremely busy night awaited her. Making a beeline towards the dressing room to change, she hadn't failed to notice – after a swift scanning of the main area – that Jurina was nowhere to be found.

It was to be expected, Rena reasoned when she let the discovery sink in. And, not for a single instant, did she hold it against the younger girl for choosing to go home. When Rena's superior had informed her the previous day she needed to change shifts with another girl, Rena hadn't dare to protest, yet welcomed the news with great disappointment. The fact Jurina was one of the first things that came to her mind was the undeniable proof of how important the other girl had become in her life. Rena knew she needed to find a way to warn her in advance of the change of plans, if she hoped to meet her that Saturday.

Unfortunately, her best intentions were put to an abrupt halt when realization dawned on her she had entirely forgotten to ask for Jurina's phone number the last time they met. The previous week-end, she was decided to finally exchange phone numbers with Jurina, yet the thought ended up slipping her mind completely the instant they had entered the VIP room.

Her unfortunate oversight was preventing her from warning Jurina in advance, but Rena felt uncomfortable leaving her in the dark about the change of shifts, and even more to make her wait for hours in vain. Contemplating a solution, her thoughts soon drifted to Anna, knowing she could trust that specific waitress to deliver a message to Jurina for her. Rena had always been on good terms with all the employees of The Blue Moon yet Anna was granted with human qualities that appealed to her the most, amongst them her kindness and great discretion.