The Loud Cloud Club

by 3PeopleInACoat

The Loud Cloud Club, founded by Nemuri Kayama, is a safe haven for university and college students to work and make a lot of money in a short amount of time. The club is safe, protected, and runs smoothly. Of course, it's nearly impossible to have a work space that doesn't have some kind of drama, and for the workers of this strip club, they were no exception ...

2. Welcome to the Club

The coffee shop around the corner? Thanked her for the résumé but said that they had chosen to hire someone else.

The convenience store? Apologized in the email and told her that all of their positions had been filled, but they would keep her in mind for any future openings.

The janitor's position at the university? Evidently decided to hire someone else, seeing as there was someone dressed up in a blue uniform cleaning the halls yesterday.

The goddamn McDonalds on the freaking campus? Didn't even respond to her application.

Indeed, it was now day fifty-eight of being unemployed, and at the current moment, Ochako Uraraka was in a panic. Letting out a small groan as she paced up and down the living room of the apartment she and her roommates shared, Ochako pressed the reload button for her email for the fifth time in the last ten minutes, desperately praying to see a new email pop up from out of nowhere, and the familiar sight of old school emails and fanfiction updates she had gotten yesterday did not help her anxiety.

With a small, pathetic whine, Ochako tossed her phone onto the leather couch and sat down heavily, taking off her glasses and putting them on the coffee table as she moved her hands over her eyes to rub them, her heart beating uncomfortably fast in her chest as a feeling of nausa passed through her, making her feel like she was going to be sick, and she tried to remember the breathing lessons her mom and dad taught her whenever she had an anxiety attack when she was young, trying to count to a hundred.

But no matter how slowly she tried to count, she couldn't stop her hands from shaking as her mind subconsciously returned to her phone, glancing down at the message that had kick started her small anxiety attack in the first place - the reminder that rent was due soon.

Another sixty thousand and something yen, sent off so she could have a roof over her head for the next month, when rent would be due again. And her phone bill had been a bit higher this month too, and she still needed to send money to Momo to pay for her share of the internet bill. So ... so instead of having to spend sixty thousand yen, adding it all up ...

... it was probably going to be around seven thousand yen. So ... grocery shopping was going to have to be the bare essentials this month.

Again.

Letting out another shuddering breath, Ochako closed her eyes, her heart pounding in her chest. Her breath began to come out shortly, her eyes widening slightly as she was beginning to find it harder and harder to take in oxygen. She distantly heard the sound of the door opening and closing, and the sound of someone calling out her name, but she couldn't respond.

The thought of having to spend money she didn't have ... her bank account emptying with no income ... all that money she had made during high school for college, having to be spent so she could survive ... what her mom and dad would say if she told them she had run out of money ...

... she couldn't ...

... she couldn't ...

"- Ochako!"

The slightly sharp voice breaking through her thoughts made Ochako jolt, her eyes opening quickly as she became aware that she was no longer alone on the couch. Her hand, which had been around her eyes, was brought down by a pair of soft hands wrapped around her own hand, careful to not let Ochako accidentally float her, and Ochako looked around at her roommate.

"Ochako," Momo said in a quiet, gentle voice, "you need to breathe, okay? Just try to watch my hand."

Ochako, tears slightly in her eyes, still nodded, and turned to look at Momo's hand as she began moving it slowly up and down as she tried to focus on breathing. This was something the two of them had gone through multiple times - Momo was well aware of her past issues with her anxiety, and had done excessive study into panic attacks to recognize when Ochako was feeling overwhelmed, so she could take her away to try and help her calm down. It was just one of the things that made Ochako appreciate her best friend, letting her hold her hand as she tried to get control of her breathing.

It took a little bit, with Ochako watching Momo's hand move slowly and repetatively, and then, soon, she felt her breath begin to slow a bit. Her heart slowly began slowing as well, and she squeezed on Momo's hand, and soon enough, she let out a long sigh as she looked away from Momo, closing her eyes. Momo didn't speak immediately, giving Ochako a moment to collect herself - she didn't know if Ochako was recovered completely, so she was content with being silent for a bit if needed.

Finally, Ochako opened her eyes again, and looked around at Momo with a weak, shaky smile.

"Thanks, Momo," She said, her voice as shaky as she felt as she slowly nodded, "I'm ... I think I'm better."

"Are you sure?" Momo gently asked, keeping herself quiet, "Do you need some space?"

"N-no, I'm ... this is nice."

"Okay," She nodded, reaching up to brush some sweat (or maybe tears) from Ochako's cheek with her knuckle. Luckily, Ochako didn't recoil, and instead sighed as Momo used her thumb to wipe the liquid away. "Do, uh ... do you wanna talk about what happened? Or do you wanna take your mind off it?"

"It's ... it's stupid," Ochako shook her head, frowning, "I was just ... I got a reminder about rent, and ... and I ended up working myself up. L-like I said, it's just stupid -"

"No, it's not," Momo shook her head, "it's not stupid at all, Ochako. I completely understand. I ... well, I suppose this means you didn't hear back from anyone yet?"

"Nope," Ochako groaned, flopping back against the couch as she pouted at the ceiling, absently reaching for her phone on the table and lifting it up, "I didn't get anything from anywhere. Not even a 'thanks for applying but no' email." With a small pout, she dropped her hand against the side of the couch, staring off at nothing. "This sucks."

"Well, we knew that it wasn't going to be easy for you to find a job during this time of year," Momo worked her way out of her spring coat, folding it up and putting it down on the opposite chair, and then reached over to rest her hand on the top of Ochako's head, "but I am sorry. I'm sure that someone will get back to you with good news eventually."

Ochako merely grumbled at that, but still raised her hand to pat Momo's as her roommate got up, stretching her back slightly, and then picked up her coat to go fold it up in her room and get changed into her comfy clothes.

As one could clearly see, Ochako and Momo were close enough that the rich girl helping the lower class girl through her panic attacks (which thankfully weren't that often anymore) was pretty much the norm for them. They'd been friends for about a year now - they had been paired as roommates when they had both applied for Musutafu University, both of them nervous about living with a complete stranger and ... well, definitely being a bit of an upward struggle to live together, seeing as they were both from two very different classes of society, with Ochako being relatively lower class and Momo having enough money to use it a kleenex (although she had been shocked when Ochako had made the comparison.

Indeed, for Momo, living somewhere that wasn't a large mansion had been quite the change, and something that she had struggled with initially - and yet, even if she had been unused to living without butlers or maids to help take care of her, she had thrown herself into this new life excitedly. She had been more than willing to learn from Ochako how to live in conditions she wasn't used to, and Ochako had, at the very least, been patient enough to teach Momo how to do things she'd known since she was a little girl, like cleaning the bathroom and how to cook her own dinners. But thankfully, those times had helped Ochako and Momo bond together, so much so that Ochako considered Momo her closest friend.

Well, one of her closest friends, Ochako sighed as she checked her messages from her best friend and flopped back down on the couch, but she couldn't know that Ochako was in Musutafu until Ochako had a job, and she could pay to take her out for dinner to catch up.

At the sound of Momo's door opening again behind her and her slippers shuffling on the hardwood floor, Ochako acted automatically, raising her head and shoulders up for Momo to sit down on the couch, and her roommate giggled and Ochako put her head down in her lap. Thankfully, Momo took the hint, gently brushing some of Ochako's hair off her forehead and then beginning to run her hands through Ochako's hair like she liked - as mentioned before, they were now close enough that such acts of intimacy between them weren't really thought of. Besides, this was pretty much how their entire friend group acted, with their other two roommates having no problem cuddling during their movie nights either.

"So," Momo sighed, her smile sliding off her face as she raised one of her hands to let her hair out of its ponytail, "no one's gotten back to you yet."

"Nope," Ochako grumbled, "and now not only have I got my test to worry about next week, now I've gotta worry about this."

"Well ... I mean, you did send out a few résumés to the warehouses, didn't you?"

"I did," She nodded, although she did frown at the mention of that, "but ... well, those jobs are designed to be soul sucking, Momo. I'd drive myself into depression just walking through the doors."

"I - well, I recognize that," Momo shook her head, giving her best friend a small pout, "but even if it's horrible, it's better than nothing, isn't it?"

"Yeah," Ochako reluctantly agreed, "at this point, I guess a job's a job."

"Indeed," Momo nodded, and then glanced away, her pout still on her face, "and working at a warehouse must be a better job than ... you know ..."

She shuddered a bit.

"... a strip club."

At those last two words, Ochako let out a sigh as she moved up, sitting so she could properly sit beside her best friend, and watched as Momo reached for the brush she brought from her room, running it through her long black hair to get rid of a few knots. Still, Ochako couldn't help but pout a bit as she brought her socked feet up onto the edge of the coffee table, wrapping her arms around her knees.

Indeed, Momo had wasted absolutely no time reprimanding Ochako for applying to the Loud Cloud Club last week, a strip club in downtown Musutafu, after Ochako had found a flyer advertising to send a résumé to their email address. Ochako herself had no idea what she had been thinking when she had sent a copy of her résumé to the website, but she had figured that it couldn't have hurted - she didn't even think that they would seriously respond to her, seeing as she had only edited in that she knew the bare essentials of mixing drinks (she had considered lying, but if they had responded, it would've been easy for them to figure it out, and she was raised to be honest about her skills).

Still, her only half-heartedly sending in a résumé to them had resulted in Momo dropping a plate when Ochako had informed her about it offhandedly, and the smaller girl had been subjected to about a half hour of Momo lecturing her about why she was foolish to even entertain the idea.

But still ...

"Like I said, Momo," Ochako leaned down so her chin rested on her knees, still pouting, "at this point, I'm desperate for anything. A job's a job."

Momo frowned at that, turning to look at Ochako, but before she could open her mouth, Ochako shook her head and let out a small giggle that held no humour in it.

"Besides," She shrugged, "it's not like they got back to me."

"I ..." Momo hesitated, and then nodded, "... I suppose that's true."

"..."

"..."

"... and like I told you, the application wasn't to be a dancer, it was for a bartending position."

"Still!" Momo shook her head, standing up from the couch and continuing to comb her hair as she walked towards the bathroom, still turning to speak to Ochako, "Working at a strip club would be a very bad idea, Ochako! That's not the kind of place you should even consider working, even if you're desperate! It's probably filled with - with horny men and provocative women -"

"Is that supposed to be a downside?" Ochako muttered to herself, although she was quiet enough that Momo didn't pick that up.

"- with customers trying to - to - to touch the dancers and taking their - their thingies out of their pants so they can -"

Momo shuddered again, unable to even finish that sentence as a grossed-out expression crossed her face.

"B-besides," She tried to get back on track, "what would happen if they were to - if they were into shady dealings? Like - like drug dealing, and prostitution, and even - what if there's trafficking in there?!"

"I ... don't know about that," Ochako tilted her head a bit, wanting to remain fair, "in that case, shouldn't there be something on the internet about it? I mean, I did a bit of research about the club, I didn't hear anything about shady stuff happening there, except this one piece that ... kinda made it feel like whoever was writing it had a grudge."

"Well, even so! I'd rather pay the bills myself then have you work at a horrible place like that!"

There was a small pause, and Momo glanced around at Ochako.

"That ... is an option, isn't it? I could just -"

"No, Momo," Ochako sighed, shaking her head again as she frowned, "I wanna contribute to taking care of everything, just like you and Mina and Tooru. We can't just expect you to pay for everything. I just ... I just need a little more time to find something. Anything."

Momo felt herself falter as Ochako flopped back down onto the couch with a long sigh, and she grimaced slightly. It was clear that Momo knew that she had made Ochako sad with her not very thought out words - which especially made Momo feel awful, seeing as she walked in on Ochako having a panic attack. So, letting out a sigh, she quickly walked to the bathroom, flipping the light on, before turning to give Ochako a smile.

"W-well, anyway, let's try to take our minds off it for now," She tried to sound cheerful as Ochako glanced at her, "you've probably felt anxious about this enough today. I think Mina and Tooru have to stay late at school tonight for volleyball practice - why don't we go to my room and watch a movie after I brush my teeth? And maybe we can talk about that friend you were telling me about? Maybe I can help you brainstorm about restaurants you can take her to."

"I told you," Ochako shook her head, frowning, "I wanna treat her when we go out for dinner - and I kinda need a job for that."

Momo winced, but at least Ochako seemed to realize that she wasn't making things better, sighing and sitting up on her elbows as she tried to smile.

"Er - sorry," She apologized quickly, "you're ... you're probably right. I've been moody all day about this, I should probably - I'll take my mind off it. I'll check my email one more time, and then I'm turning off my phone for the rest of the night. I'll heat up some pizza in the fridge for us to share."

Momo smiled happily at that, which only made Ochako smile more naturally, and she watched as Momo quickly headed into the bathroom, leaving the door half-open in case her roommate called out to her. With a small grunt as she rolled herself up onto her feet, Ochako absently stood up, grabbing her phone and unlocking it, and pressed the button to refresh her email, glancing up at the sun continuing to set through the window.

With a sigh, Ochako grabbed her glasses from the coffee table and slid them back onto her face, brushing one of her longer bangs away from her cheek. Momo was right, she supposed - she spent enough time worrying about this today, feeling so anxious she wouldn't be surprised if she grew a canker sore in her mouth. The stress of nothing going into her bank account was just getting to her - she needed to take her mind off it, and having a girls' night with Momo would definitely do that. She could spend all of tomorrow sending off email and feeling panicked. Right now, she needed to relax.

So with a giggle, Ochako glanced down at her phone, seeing the new email with the subject line 'THANK YOU FOR CONSIDERING THE LOUD CLOUD CLUB :) - Potential Interview' and nodded, closing her phone and putting it down on the table as she turned to walk into the kitchen so she could -

- wait.

Feeling herself freeze, Ochako stared blankly ahead for a moment, her eyes widening behind her thick glasses - and then she whipped her gaze back around at the table, staring at her discarded phone in absolute shock.

Wait, did that - that was -!

Moving to scramble back to the coffee table, Ochako squeaked as she moved too fast and hit her knee against the corner, letting out a loud curse as she tripped over herself and flopped down onto the ground between the table and the couch, whining as she grabbed her knee and holding it off the ground as she let out a loud groan of pain. But the thought of the email quickly overrode the pain, and she managed to raise a hand up to feebly try and grab her phone, before finally getting a hold of it and sitting up so she could quickly put back in the password.

"Ochako?" Momo's voice came from the bathroom, sounding a bit muffled as Ochako quickly opened the email. "Are you alright out there?"

There was a brief silence as Ochako read the email.

"Ochako? Are you okay?"

"... the strip club got back to me."

There was another long pause in the apartment as both rooms went quiet, Ochako staring blankly at the email she just receive from her spot in between the couch and the table. And then there was a shuffling of feet, and she glanced around, her eyes wide, to see Momo poking her head out through the door to the bathroom, a toothbrush hanging from her mouth and a bit of toothpaste on her lip.

"Da wha' go' bac' do you?" She asked in a muffled voice due to her mouth being filled with toothpaste, but Ochako was quick to whip her gaze back down to give her complete and undivided attention to the email, her eyes quickly scanning through the message again as though she had somehow missed something.

Hello, Ochako Uraraka,

Thank you so much for your application to the Loud Cloud Club for the position of barkeeper! As luck would have it, we do have an open position at our bar for nights, if you are interested. If you are still looking for a job, we can schedule an interview for this weekend - if not, you can simply disregard this email.

With that in mind, please keep in mind that we do have a process to apply for the role of a barkeeper at our club. We have any potential newcomers do an audition, essentially acting as a test run - you make a few drinks for our bartender to try, and she'll judge you based on how well you can make the drink, as well as how you act under pressure.

In any case, is there a specific date that you would like to come in and do an audition? I will be available this upcoming Saturday and Sunday during the mornings, but if there's any time that you need, we'll help you work out a day you can come in.

Thank you, and hope to hear from you soon,

Nemuri Kayama

Ochako continued to read the message over and over again, only dimly aware of Momo hurrying back into the bathroom so she could sit into the sink. But on the third read, she felt her heart begin to beat a bit quicker again - but this time, it wasn't due to anxiety. Instead, she felt tears appear in her eyes as a shaky smile appeared on her face.

She ... she got a job offer. She actually got a job offer. She would be able to afford rent this month. And buy actual groceries. She could actually eat things that weren't crackers or bread or pocky sticks. She could pay the internet bill and her phone bill and not go to bed with a knot in her stomach. She could actually spend money and not feel like she was going to have a meltdown afterwards. She could reach out to her best friend and slyly offer to ask her if she wanted to have dinner, and confirm that she was back in Musutafu for school.

She could finally be comfortable.

Quickly, she began typing back a response, nodding stiffly even if no one could see her as she tried to keep her hands from shaking and messing up her messages. Once she ahd typed up a message that confirmed that she was still interested in the position, and that she was alright with any time that this Kayama woman wanted her to come in, she quickly read through the message one more time to make sure that she hadn't made any spelling errors.

Once she was sure that it was good to go, she raised her finger to the 'SEND' button -

- and then, just as she pressed it, Momo quickly stepped out from the bathroom, lowering a cloth from her mouth to wipe away the toothpaste on her lips, and quickly looked around at her.

"You rejected it, didn't you?" She asked her, sounding anxious as Ochako blinked down at her phone, and then looked up at her. "T-there's no way that you can work at a strip club, Ochako - who knows what kind of seedy characters would be in there! You rejected the offer, right?"

There was a moment's silence.

"... uh." Ochako said in a dumb voice, and Momo's eyes widened to the size of saucers, which only made Ochako wince.

"You ..." She said in a blank, emotionless voice, "... rejected the offer ... didn't you?"

"..."

"..."

"... l-listen, Momo -"

"Ochako!" Momo gasped in horror, quickly hurrying around the table to grab her roommate's shoulders, and Ochako let out a small gasp as Momo shook her slightly in her shock. "W-what were you thinking?!"

"T-that I -" Ochako managed to say through Momo's shaking of her, "n-n-need a-a-a s-s-tead-y-y-y p-p-aycheck."

"No!" Momo shook her head, finally stopping her shaking of Ochako (with the smaller girl's glasses hanging limply from her ears, her head spinning slightly as she was overcome with dizziness, "Can't you see that this is not something that you should be doing?! Working at a club that have p-perverts staring at you and - and maybe wanting to - no! You have to understand that this -"

---

"- is most definitely a mistake!" Momo continued to protest, much quieter than she was a few days ago as they walked down the street, Ochako continuing to sweat nervously as she stared down at the map on her phone, "This kind of place must be horrible to work in, Ochako, what with all those - those - those unsavoury characters wanting to leer at you!"

As one would suspect, Momo still felt the same way about Ochako going in for a job interview as she did a few days ago, and Ochako couldn't help but feel even more nervous with Momo trying vainly to get her to come home with her, even as they were walking to the interview itself. Ever since the owner of the Loud Cloud Club had emailed Ochako back to confirm that they could do the interview on the following Saturday, Ochako had been in a state of nervousness, trying desperately to look up any tips for interviews and drink making, but at the moment she was feeling more nervous about Momo whispering her protests.

But still, even if Ochako was nervous about the interview, that was nothing compared to how terrified Momo clearly was, who insisted on coming along and at the very least waiting outside the place she felt was a trap. Normally, someone might feel annoyed by Momo's whispers about walking away, but if Ochako was being honest, her trying to half-concentrate on her roommate's protests was at least helping with her overall feeling of nervousness, walking into an interview she had a good feeling she was going to mess up, wearing a baggy sweater and a skirt with her leggings.

Well, at least the Kayama woman had told her to dress comfortably, with no need to look too fancy since part of the interview would be done behind a bar, so it wouldn't make sense to wear heels and a dress suit for that. Not that Ochako could afford to own a dress suit.

"And another thing that you may not have considered -!"

"Momo," Ochako let out a small sigh, holding her hand up against her forehead as her eyes stayed on her phone, "I know. I do get what you're saying, but ... at this point, what choice do I have? I'm running out of money, and at least this place is willing to give me some. I'm - well, I'm kind of out of options here."

"I - okay, I realize that," Momo shook her head, still looking clearly nervous as she looked around the street, as though someone was about to come out and attack them, "I realize how important it is to have a stable income, Ochako, but - but a strip club? Is this really the best course of action?"

"Honestly, Momo ... kinda."

Momo merely sighed at that, looking down at the ground as Ochako continued to type away at her phone - and then the heiress let out a whine, reaching up to smooth her hair back.

"Okay," She finally said, sounding as though she was saying this through gritted teeth, "okay, I will stop trying to distract you. But please know that I still think this is a horrible idea, and I will be waiting outside the club. If you don't text me in ten minutes, I will assume they have kidnapped you and -"

"Momo, I don't know how long the interview will take."

"... t-then twenty minutes."

Ochako merely sighed again, but she still looked up at her friend with a small smile as Momo glanced down at Ochako's phone at the map, both of them trying to figure out where the club exactly was. They had not been to this part of Musutafu before, seeing colourful restaurants along the street, a few stores, a bar on the side of the street, but ...

... no strip club.

At this point, they were about ten minutes away from when the interview was to take place, and now Ochako was starting to feel her heart hammering in her chest from the anxiety as she looked around for where the sign for the Loud Cloud Club was supposed to be, feeling more than a little nervous about potentially being late. She was so focused on trying to find it, she didn't even notice the green-haired guy they passed by the sidewalk as she bit her lip.

"Are you sure this is the right spot?" Momo seemed to share Ochako's concern, although she still looked very unsure about this as she likewise looked around for the club.

"Y-yeah, it was supposed to be ..." Ochako's eyes darted around, trying to stop herself from shaking too much, with Momo likewise glancing around as though trying to make sure that no one was going to approach them out of nowhere if they stopped walking for a moment as they slowed their pace, and Ochako's hair bobbed around a bit as she looked for the sign.

After another few moments and no club suddenly appearing before her, Ochako let out a groan, pulling her phone back up to stare at the map, letting out a small whine of frustration.

"I can't see it," She told Momo, looking around at her as Momo, against her will apparently, gave her a concerned look, "it's gotta be around here somewhere, Momo, I seriously cannot be late for this!"

"Well, I believe you can be!" Momo tried to convince her, although a flash of guilt did cross her face at the crestfallen look on Ochako's face - but another glance around at the dark alleyways that surrounded her only made Momo's own heartbeat quicken in nervousness. "This place seems so seedy ... and please, Ochako, I know what we talked about, but - but if we can't find it, then maybe we should consider ..."

Ochako only let out a small sigh, and opened her mouth to refute what Momo was saying -

"Uh ... excuse me?"

At the unfamiliar voice speaking up right behind them, both Ochako and Momo squeaked a bit, jumping slightly as they were spooked. Quickly, Momo moved to stand protectively in front of Ochako, with the smaller girl somewhat rolling her eyes as they turned to face the man who had snuck on on the two of them -

- but at the sight of the small, albeit lean guy standing near the wall, wincing slightly, they both faltered.

For some reason, Ochako had expected some big, burly guy to be calling out to them, wearing a leather jacket or having a big beard, but instead, her eyes fell onto a guy that looked ... well, he kind of looked like a normal guy they would see around the college, wtih messy green hair sticking out in some place, a round face similar to Ochako's, and an awkward look on his face as he straightened up, showing that he wasn't much taller than Ochako and a bit shorter than Momo. He was wearing a white t-shirt with the kanji for 'bedsheets' on it, which made Ochako raise her eyebrow slightly, but then her gaze flickered to the compression sleeve he wore over his arm, and realized that it might be a bit rude to stare, and quickly looked back up at his face.

As her eyes met his, for some reason, Ochako found herself blinking a bit - he was giving the two girls a small, weak smile, but there was something about him that just ...

... well, it was probably dumb to think this of a complete stranger standing where they assumed a strip club was, but at the soft look on his face, Ochako felt her shoulders, which had been tense with nerves, relax a bit.

"Uh ... sorry for interrupting," The guy grimaced weakly, looking more and more awkward the longer Momo gave him a tense, somewhat fearful look, "but I couldn't help but overhear. Are you ... are you both looking for the Loud Cloud Club?"

Both Ochako and Momo blinked in surprise, with Momo straightening up a bit as she felt herself go still. She had been trying to convince Ochako not to head to this club all week, and this guy pretty much gave her an opening to just say 'no' and continue walking on, to convince Ochako not to work at an establishment like that - but she found herself feeling suddenly flustered.

"I ..." She managed to get out, "... yes, we are."

Immediately, she winced and cursed herself for her stupidity.

"Oh, uh - it's - it's actually right there," He pointed to a normal looking door beside him, and Ochako quickly looked around to give it a surprised look as she saw a small tag on the helm of the door, something she probably would've easily missed even with her glasses, that read 'THE LOUD CLOUD CLUB'.

"It's kind of hard to find the front," The guy continued to explain in his slightly awkward voice, "I know I had my problems finding it when I first applied?"

Ochako felt her mouth open, relief coursing through her as she realized she wasn't going to be late and give the owner a bad first impression as she turned to thank the guy - and then what he said suddenly registered to her, making her blink.

"Applied?" She repeated, feeling her eyes widen slightly as she glanced at Momo briefly, the taller girl likewise giving the guy a surprised look as they both stared at him, the guy turning his attention to Ochako. "So - so you work here?"

"Uh ... yeah," He nodded, looking like he wasn't entirely certain as to what was going on, "do you two need me to -"

However, before he could finish his offer, and Ochako could open her mouth to ask him what job he had (was he a bartender? A bouncer?), the door to the club suddenly began opening. Both girls quickly jumped as the heavy door was pushed open, and Momo, breifly going back into her 'we're going to get jumped' mindset, quickly reached down to hold Ochako's hand, just in case.

"Hey!" The girl who came out from the door smiled, holding what looked to be a bottle of pills in her hand. "Sorry for keeping you waiting, Himiko wanted to chat with me about something. But here's your ..."

However, upon her gaze flickering over to Ochako and Momo standing in front of the guy she was speaking to, her voice trailed off as she took in their appearance, blinking a bit in confusion. Ochako, meanwhile, tried her hardest to straighten her back and not show how nervous she was - the girl before them had her long, almost orange-red hair tied in a ponytail on the side of her head, wearing a black t-shirt that explosed her surprisingly toned arms, making both Ochako and Momo wonder if she were some kind of bouncer.

Well, if she was, it made sense. Ochako would definitely not wanna mess with a girl who looked like she could benchpress a truck.

"Oh, I'm sorry," The girl jolted Ochako out of her thoughts, her gaze flicking from her arms to her face, seeing the orange-haired girl smiled a bit stiffly, "uh ... can I help you both?"

"Ah - y-yes!" Momo quickly took over for Ochako when she realized her roommate wasn't going to speak, taking a small step forward while trying to remain polite - she had heavily resisted Ochako's applying here, but now that they were facing what looked to be an actual employee, she couldn't do anything that harmed Ochako's interview.

"I ... well, my friend has a scheduled interview today. Her name is -"

Smooth, Momo, Ochako thought, wincing, you sound like my mom.

"Oh!" The girl gasped before Momo could finish, Momo grimacing slightly as she realized that she had pretty much taken over for Ochako, and watched as the new girl turned to Ochako, "You must be Uraraka!"

"Y-yes," Ochako stuttered over her words a bit, still feeling incredibly nervous, but the stiff smile had slipped off the new girl's face and was replaced by a more genuine, friendly smile, which made some more tension escape from Ochako. The girl with the ponytail strolled forward, holding out her hand, and Ochako quickly took it so that they could shake hands, keeping her pinkie up so as not to accidentally float her.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," The new girl smiled, "my name is Itsuka Kendou, but you can just call me 'Itsuka' or 'Ken'. I'm one of the bartenders downstairs - I'll be the one you'll be working with if you get the job. So I assume you're here for the interview?"

"I, uh - yeah," Ochako quickly nodded, relief filling her as she realized that she wasn't going to be late after all, and quickly stepped forward - and then, realizing that she must be coming across as weird, felt herself wince.

"I'm - I mean - I am interested in that job. Yes."

Smooth, she inwardly criticized herself.

"Okay, great!" Itsuka smiled at her, and then turned to look back over at Momo as the taller girl took a step back. There was a small pause, and Itsuka began to look awkward.

"And, uh ... I'm sorry, but, uh ..."

"Oh!" Momo gasped, going a bit red as she realized that she had been standing there like an idiot this entire time and no one even knew who she was, "Well, uh - you see, I only came here today because of - er - I apologize for sounding rude, but I didn't exactly ... trust the nature of this establishment. I - I simply wish to be here for moral support, and just in case something may happen. "N-not that I mean to offend you -"

Someone please kill me, both Ochako and Momo thought as they realized that Momo was slowly but surely making things worse. Luckily for them, Itsuka only smiled.

"And I'm not," She nodded, looking between both girls, "I get it. I can't fault you for wanting to look out for your friend. So, uh - would you like to come in with us? We have a few seats outside the stage that you could wait in. We're closed right now, so it's just me, the manger, and a few of our dancers downstairs."

"Oh, I -" Momo hesitated, feeling herself pale - oh, god, she wanted to make sure Ochako was okay, but she never considered having to actually go inside the strip club to do it, "- I don't know -"

"It's seriously no problem," Itsuka assured her with that same kind smile, before turning to look at Ochako, "but anyway, we've wasted enough time - Nemuri's gonna be waiting for us, so I'll bring you down to her office. Oh, and before I forget, Izuku - here's your meds."

The two girls blinked as Itsuka turned to address the guy who had been standing off to the side silently this entire time, seeing him jump a bit when she turned to hand him the bottle. He was quick to take it from her, the shaking of tablets inside making Momo blink a bit and glance between the both of them as he quickly pocketed it.

Once he had the bottle, the guy, who was apparently named Izuku, quickly turned to bow to both Ochako and Momo, not noticing Ochako glance at his arm one more time before blushing and glancing away again, and then watched as he turned to begin walking down the street.

As he left, Itsuka smiled at his back, and then turned back to the two girls.

"Okay!" She clapped her hands together, "Please, come on in."

Ochako took a moment to take a deep breath as Itsuka moved to open the door and held it open for her, feeling her heart hammer in her chest as Momo looked clearly hesitant, and then, after another second of trying to gather her courage, stepped inside the club as Momo quickly hurried after her.

Once they were inside the small stairwell, Itsuka followed them in, quickly moving to the front of the group as she guided them both down the stairwell with red lighting, Ochako and Momo glancing at each other nervously as they moved. As they walked down the stairs, Momo hesitated for another second, and then awkwardly cleared her throat.

"Er ... about what you handed that young man ...?"

"Huh?" Itsuka blinked, looking around at Momo in confusion for a moment - and then suddenly, realization hit her eyes.

"Oh! Oh, no, those were his, Yaoyorozu - he forgot his medication when we were leaving last night, so he stopped by so I could go in and grab them for him. He's not allowed in the club on his days off."

"Really?" Ochako wrinkled her brow, feeling her eyebrows raise. "Why?"

"Because he'll totally stay to try and help out," Itsuka smirked, shaking her head as she turned back around to lead them down to the club, "and Nemuri will want to wring his neck for technically working on a day he wasn't scheduled in for, even when he tries to prevent her from paying him. So he's got a ban from the club on the days he's not scheduled in for - we have instructions to wack him with the broom if he tries to set one foot inside the club."

Ochako couldn't help but let out a small giggle at that, thinking of the girl before him wacking that guy outside with a broom like he was some kind of cat.

"So ... he's a dancer?" Momo inquired, looking a bit confused, "I must say, I expected ... er ..."

"Someone flashier?" Itsuka guessed for her, smiling at the blush on her cheeks as she glanced up at them again, "yeah, he's very normal when he's not on the stage. But when he is on ... well, all the girls love partnering up with him for their dancers. He fits everyone like a glove - he'll adapt to their dances, if it's slow and sensual or fast and rough. But off the stage, he's a sweetheart."

"Is that right ...?" Ochako muttered a bit, thinking back to the guy upstairs - the thought of him being a stripper surprised her, honestly - but before she could open her mouth to ask another question about him, she blinked as she realized that they had reached the bottom of the stairs, standing in a small enclosure, and Itsuka pulled open another door, letting the sound of music playing quietly in the background fill the small stairwell.

"Okay," She turned to smile at them again, "here we are. Welcome to the Loud Cloud Club."

Gulping nervously, Ochako tried to push whatever other thoughts she had to the side so she could concentrate, straightening her back again, and quickly followed Itsuka into the basement.

To tell the truth, just by walking in and looking around, Ochako automatically knew that the club wasn't what she had expected. She had imagined it to be something small and claustrophobic, probably smelling like ... jizz, as much as she shuddered about that thought. What she hadn't expected, however, was for the club to be so ... big. As in, the bar being on its own separate stage, oak wood risen a bit off the ground and stools around the bar with several booths off on the side, and the counter behind the bar being filled with different coloured alcohol, dim yellow lights giving them a tantalizing look while another door was off to the side, presumably leading to a kitchen.

Turning to the side, both Ochako and Momo blinked - the room where the bar was connected to the other side, and to tell the truth, they hadn't expected it to look so ... fancy. A large stage was in the center of the room, with several chairs with comfortable seats surrounding it, while there was a few seats lined up around the stage. Purple velvety curtains lined the walls near the back of the stage, and several shining metal poles were sticking out from the stage and up into the ceiling. Over the speakers, quiet synth music played, the volume low enough that it wasn't overbearing but still enough to give the room a bit of ambience.

So the Loud Cloud Club was ... definitely not what either girl expected, with Ochako glancing at the bar in amazement and Momo blinking at the stage in confusion.

"Oh! There she is," Itsuka came up behind them, her eyes trailing to something that neither two girls noticed, and called out, "Nemuri! Uraraka is here for her interview!"

Ochako and Momo looked around, and blinked as, from the dark lower part of the club, an older woman looked around, standing up from the table she had been leaning against, and began to walk over to them, her long dark purple hair bouncing a bit as she walked towards them with her heels clicking against the floor. She was beautiful, wearing a pair of oval glasses over her eyes as she glanced between both Ochako and Momo, licking her lips a bit to moisturize them, and wearing a comfy blue sweater and jeans.

Thankfully, she was smiling at both of them, even if her gaze flickered to Momo and looked a bit confused. She was able to hide it, however, as she turned back to Ochako.

"Uraraka, right?" The older woman smirked as Ochako stiffly nodded, and held out her hand to shake hers. "I'm Kayama, the one who's been emailing with you - but you can just call me Nemuri. I own the club."

"Y-yes!" Ochako quickly said, moving forward to shake her hand, "I'm - I'm Uraraka. Yes."

"Mm-hm," Nemuri nodded, her smirk returning as she looked up and down Ochako, "and I see that you're nervous."

Ochako squeaked a bit, her cheeks going red.

"Well, there's no need to be," Nemuri giggled, letting go of her hand and taking a step back, "you'll be doing your application with Itsuka today, and trust me, this'll probably be a lot easier than what you're probably thinking. Itsuka's the nicest employee I have, when she's not being snarky with me."

Itsuka gave her manager an overtly innocent look, pointing at herself as though to say 'who, me?', which made Nemuri laugh before turning back to Ochako.

"Now then, did you bring a copy of your résumé?"

Ochako quickly nodded, reaching into her purpse and pulling it out, smoothing the page out before handing it to Nemuri.

"Good, good," Nemuri smiled down at it, "just so we have a hard copy on file. Now then," She then turned towards Momo, seeing the young woman stiffen up quickly as the manager raised her eyebrow, "I believe -"

"Oi! Old lady! Where are you?"

Ochako and Momo blinked at the sound of a rough voice coming from somewhere on the stage, looking around. Itsuka let out a small sigh as she glanced up at Nemuri, seeing a vein clench in the manager's forehead as she was interrupted, and slowly turned her head towards whoever was speaking on the stage, her kind smile slowly becoming stiffer and clearly more annoyed.

"Himiko," She tried to say in a sweet voice, the name making Ochako blink a bit, "I'm doing the interview right now. Please refrain from the nicknames, at least for now."

"Oh, please," The curtain was pulled back, revealing Himiko in her comfy pants and t-shirt, and making Ochako's eyes widen behind her glasses, "if anyone's gonna work here, they'll eventually know every nickname I have for you. Anyway, do you know where Mezo left the music list? Ky wants to practice her routine and she's been bugging me to find it."

"I don't know, Himiko - did you check my office?"

"You haven't unlocked it yet!" With a grunt, she hopped off the stage, making sure to clear the chairs near it as she landed, and then walked up up the rows to the bar, her eyes trailing around the four women there, "And I don't wanna text Rikido to come in on his day off, so I guess I have to ... bug ... you ..."

The reason she suddenly faltered, however, was due to her eyes continuing to move around the four of them - and then landing on Ochako, making her pause in her step. Ochako, for her own part, felt herself go still, her nervous thoughts about the interview she was about to have fading away as she stared at the woman in shock, and Himiko's own eyes widened.

There was a small pause, in which Momo, Nemuri and Itsuka glanced between the both of them in confusion.

"... Himi?" Ochako managed to finally squeak out.

"... Ocha?" Himiko's jaw dropped.

"'Himi'?" Itsuka blinked.

"'Ocha'?" Momo likewise looked surprised.

There was a brief pause in the strip club, with Nemuri, Itsuka and Momo glancing between both women in surprise, watching as Ochako and Himiko stared at each other in shock for a moment - and then Himiko suddenly and loudly squealed, loud enough that everyone jumped a bit, and launched herself straight at Ochako.

The girl in glasses let out a loud gasp as Himiko leapt onto her, wrapping her arms and legs around her, but luckily she was quick enough to catch her, bracing herself automatically for Himiko's weight. Now that she was jolted out of her surprise, Ochako was unable to stop herself from laughing loudly as she hugged Himiko back just as tightly, spinning a bit in a circle.

"It's really you!" She laughed in delight, giving Himiko another squeeze before putting her back down on the floor, both of them breaking from the hug to beam at each other in happiness. "I almost didn't recognize you! It's been so long!"

"Since middle school!" Himiko nodded, happily smiling her wide, sharp grin as she looked up and down at the smaller girl, reaching out to poke the sides of her glasses, "You look good! Very mousey, but good! What's with the glasses?"

"Vision started getting fuzzy in my last year of high school," Ochako sheepishly grinned, "but where are your buns? I used to never see you without your hairbuns!"

"Nah, I was feeling lazy today. But now that I know you're here, I guess I've got all the reasons to start wearing my hair up! Gotta look good for you, after all."

"I ..." Itsuka glanced between them with a small smile as they giggled together, "... take it you know each other."

"Of course we do!" Himiko wheeled around to her coworkers, beaming as she wrapped one arm around Ochako's shoulders and pointed at her with her other hand, "Ochako's been my best friend since we were kids! I used to live with her parents back when we were little, but I ended up moving away from Mie back in middle school. We kept in contact since then, but I had no idea you were in Musutafu!"

"Yeah, I came here for college," Ochako giggled, looking a bit embarrassed now that she realized that she was still technically in the middle of her interview, but at least Nemuri was smiling warmly at the pair of them, "I would've let you know last year, but you went away for that ... what was it ...?"

"Oh!" Himiko's eyes widened, "My trip around Japan with Tsu! That's why you said not to visit you in Mie!"

"Mm-hm. I was actually trying to surprise you," Ochako giggled a bit, "I wanted to get a job and take you out for dinner before I dropped the bombshell, but ... well, I guess the surprise is ruined now."

"Excuse me," Himiko batted her eyelashes, "I'm still very interested in having dinner bought for me."

Both girls giggled, Himiko giving her old friend a fond smile, before she turned to Nemuri with a pout, pointing straight at Ochako.

"I hope you know," Himiko made clear, "that this girl better be walking out of here with a job by the end of the day, or I'm gonna bite you."

"I'll keep that in mind," Nemuri waved her hand, giggling as Himiko gave her a glare, "and she still has to do her audition with Itsuka. But let's just say she's got a few points in her favour now."

She then turned towards Ochako, smiling when she saw that the smaller girl was now far more relaxed than she had been looking when she came in, a big smile on her face as she looked back around at Himiko. With a giggle, Nemuri then turned to Itsuka.

"Kendou will be taking care of you from here," The older woman explained, "she's going to be taking you over to the bar so you can make her a drink of her choosing, and she can gauge your skill. No need to worry about giving our dear Itsuka a drink so early in the morning - she's just going to take a sip and then dump the rest of it down the drain. Now then, she's in your care, Itsuka."

"Sounds good," Itsuka gave her boss a thumbs up, and then turned to lead Ochako over towards the bar, rolling her eyes a bit as Himiko immediately tagged along, giggling and wrapping her arm around Ochako's as she began chatting with her, apparently confident that Ochako would be walking out of the club with a job.

Which ... she definitely was, Nemuri rolled her eyes, but she wanted to at least leave it as a surprise.

Once they were at the bar, Itsuka and Himiko sitting in the stools and Ochako stepping around the side into the bar itself, Nemuri turned back to Momo, who had been watching Ochako and Himiko silently for a moment with a small smile on ehr face, and then, when she felt eyes on her, quickly glanced over at Nemuri and seemed to realize that she skipped a few steps. Being, as one would know, the only person in the club that was currently uninvited.

"Oh!" She gasped, and quickly turned so she could bow to Nemuri. "My name is - it's Momo Yaoyorozu, I'm Ochako's roommate. I - well, I came here to - um -"

"Make sure that she wasn't walking into a trap?" Nemuri guessed, her smirk returning as she noticed Momo freeze, and let out a small giggle. "It's alright, Yaoyorozu - it's not anything we haven't seen before. I know Itsuka over there came with one of her own friends when she started working here, I completely understand."

"Oh. That's - that's good."

"Now then," Nemuri straightened up, "while we wait for Ochako to be finished with her audition, why don't you and I have a seat together? I can get you something to drink, if you'd like."

"Oh, uh ..."

"Just soda or water, nothing from the bar."

"Er - right, of course," Momo nodded, blushing a bit again from embarrassment, and Nemuri smiled as she gestured for her to head over to one of the booths, a round couch around the table t hat would be comfortable for her to sit in, and as Momo walked quickly over, Nemuri turned to head into the kitchen, walking past the chatting Himiko as she talked to Ochako and Itsuka rolled her eyes again at their interview being railroaded.

As she sat down, Momo took a chance to glance around the club again, feeling curiousity begin to overcome her nervousness. It definitely ... wasn't what she expected. It was much brighter in here, for one, and the low music playing from the speakers allowed her to feel a little bit more comfortable. It was suprrisingly neat for a place of such debauchery, Momo glancing down at the floor and not seeing a scrap of garbage or litter in sight, but perhaps that shouldn't surprise her - it was still pretty early in the morning, and the club wouldn't be bursting with activity until later that night.

At least Ochako seemed to be a lot more comfortable now than when they had walked in, Momo thought as her eyes trailed over to Ochako as she stood behind the bar a bit nervously, although her roommate giggled when Itsuka reached out to shush Himiko with her finger, pressing it against her lips so that the bartender could actually get around to getting started with the audition. Still, at least the tension in Ochako's shoulders had completely left, and a more natural smile was on her face - something that Momo hadn't seen in a long time, ever since the stress of trying to find a job started to get to her.

Which ... probably meant that Momo shouldn't try to convince Ochako not to take this job, she sighed as she turned her gaze away from the bar and down to the table. She already felt guilty for trying to push down Ochako's hopes that she could get a job here, out of concern that someone was going to take advantage and hurt her, but ... well, if there was someone working here that knew Ochako, knew her well enough to be called her best friend, and that person knew the owner ... well, then Ochako would be fine.

And yet ... and yet Momo couldn't help but still feel worried.

"And here you go."

Momo jumped a bit as the glass of water suddenly landed on the table before her, quickly glancing up to see Nemuri smiling down at her. The older woman moved around the table so that she could join Momo in sitting in the booth, giving Momo a bit of room as Nemuri put down the clipboard she had apparently grabbed while getting Momo's drink, and then, once she was comfortable, turned to smile at the heiress.

"So," She tapped one of her fingers against the wooden table as she gave a knowing look at the younger girl, "I think Uraraka's not as nervous as she was when she came in, right?"

"Er ... yes, I - I think that's right," Momo nodded, taking the glass of water and sliding it over to her, glancing at it and seeing a small straw there.

"And how about you?" Nemuri raised an eyebrow, "Are you still nervous, Yaoyorozu?"

Momo blinked, and felt her face go red as she had realized that she had been caught, merely lowering her head to sip on her water. Luckily for her, Nemuri only let out an amused laugh as she leaned back in her seat.

"My apologies," She giggled, "but you're very easy to read."

"Er - well, I - I don't mean to offend you -"

"And you're not," She brushed some of her purple hair out of her face, "I know that for a lot of people, they can be a bit nervous when they first come in here. And they can especially be nervous when it's their friends and family who come to work here - not that a lot of my employees actually tell their family that they work at a strip club. But trust me when I say that Uraraka will be okay if she starts working here - she'll be behind the bar at all times, and we have two other guys working there in case anyone tries to be grabby. And that's not to say that Itsuka won't be looking out for her either.

"Oh, I - I see."

"Mm-hm. Now then," Nemuri leaned forward again, "how about we take our minds off that for now, and you tell me a bit more about Uraraka? Just so I have an outside perspective on who I might be bringing in to work for me."

"Y-you would like my opinion on Ochako?" Momo blinked, using both her hands to hold the glass of water. "Wouldn't that be ... I don't know, biased?"

"Maybe a bit," Nemuri shrugged, "but I feel like I wouldn't get anywhere if I just went up to Ochako and asked her to give me her good points. Besides, you're her friend, right?"

"Y-yes, of course! We're - we're roommates."

"Oh! Then that's even better," Nemuri nodded, "you're friends and you live together, which means that at the very least, you see her every day. Now then, why don't you tell me a bit more about Uraraka? Did you two choose to live together, or did something happen to bring you together?"

"I ..." Momo hesitated for only a moment, feeling taken offguard - telling Nemuri more about her roommate? Out of the blue? - but then she glanced down, and saw a pen in Nemuri's hand, with the other hand slightly tapping the clibpboard beside her.

At once, Momo felt her hesitation fade, and she straightened up a bit. Perhaps ... well, perhaps this was part of Nemuri's application process. Have the person do their interview with someone else while Nemuri went to the person they came with to get an idea of who she was bringing on? It was smart, Momo acknowledged, and she nodded slowly to herself. In that case ... if the decision to hire Ochako also depended on what Nemuri heard about her from Momo ...

... well, she couldn't let her friend down.

"... well, we - we initially met when we were paired together as roommates in university, about a year ago," She began to explain, seeing Nemuri lean forward with an interested look, "after we lived with each other for the year, we agreed to join two of our other friends in a student apartment near the university."

"Oh? So you have two other roommates."

"Yes - Mina and Tooru. Mina is in Ochako's classes, and Tooru is a friend of Mina's. We all became friends while living in the dorms."

"Interesting ..." Nemuri mused, pulling her clipboard over to scribble something down, "... so the four of you are close. But I assume that you and Ochako are especially close? Since you met each other first."

"Er ... well, we all get along," Momo explained in a slightly awkward voice, "I certainly like Mina and Tooru, they're both dear friends of mine. But Ochako ... well, she helped me adjust to living in ... conditions I wasn't used to."

"Oh?"

"Well, I - I don't mean to sound as though I am looking down on anyone," Momo quickly clarified, going red again, "but I am ... actually from a rather well off family. When I started attending university and moved out, I - well, I definitely struggled living in a place I wasn't used to. I imagine that I probably wouldn't have adjusted as well as I did if it wasn't for Ochako."

At that, a small smile appeared on Momo's face. "She was far more used to living in conditions that I wasn't used to - in fact, she almost fainted the first time she came to our shared room. She didn't hesitate to help me get on my feet and help me figure things out that she probably knew since she was a little girl, and she never showed me any bitterness about how I lived. And since I felt indebted to her, I agreed to help her with her own studies, and ... well, our friendship simply went from there."

"That's cute," Nemuri smiled, writing something else down on her clipboard, and glanced over at Ochako as she went to the bottle that Itsuka pointed out, "so she got you used to middle-class life?"

"Well, I - I definitely still struggle a bit, even now," Momo was unable to stop herself from giggling slightly, "but yes, she definitely helped. If - if I am to be honest, Ochako is probably one of my first real friends. I do find there are places I still struggle in, but she's always so patient with me, and for that, I'm very - er -"

She suddenly faltered, however, as she realized that she was kind of getting off topic, and felt herself blush yet again.

"- oh, you must not be very interested in that kind of thing," She quickly looked away, picking up her water and taking another sip from the straw to distract herself, "I'm sorry, Ms. Kayama."

"Don't be," Nemuri waved her hand, "it is what I wanted to know, Yaoyorozu. I asked you about Ochako, and I think I got my answer. And since I don't think you're trying to talk her up on purpose, I think I wouldn't have any trouble with having her begin to work here - she seems like she's a good kid."

"S-she is," Momo quickly nodded, looking back around at the manager, "Ochako is a dear friend, and - and it would be a great benefit to you if you took her on."

"Mm-hm," Nemuri nodded again - and then she smirked, making Momo blink as she looked around at her with a mischievous glint in her eyes, "and I suppose that means that you'd be comfortable with letting her work here?"

"I - I'm sorry?"

"Let's not kid ourselves, Yaoyorozu," Nemuri put down the clipboard before leaning back in her seat again, relaxing her arms against the top of the couch and giving the confused Momo a smirk, "like I said, I'm very good at reading people. Kind of comes with the responsibility of owning a club like this. And I know that you want to help your friend, but I can tell that you're uncomfortable with her working here."

"I - oh, no -"

"You don't need to lie to me," Nemuri shook her head, "it won't impact Uraraka's application. And I'd prefer if you were honest."

"I'm ..." Momo faltered again at that, and the knowing look in Nemuri's eyes silenced her for a moment. After a few seconds of silence in the booth, with the only sound they could hear being the soft music and Himiko happily chatting with Ochako over at the booth, Momo let out a small sigh, her face dropping as she turned to look at her drink.

"... are ..." She hesitated, "... are you sure that v-voicing my thoughts won't hurt Ochako's chances?"

"Of course it won't," Nemuri assured her, "and I appreciate those who can speak their minds. It's one of the reasons I keep Himiko around."

Momo slowly nodded at that, and then let out a sigh as she slid her glass away from her on the table, turning back to Nemuri.

"I'm ... well, then I'll - I'll be honest," She closed her eyes, breathing out another slightly shuddering breath, "I'm ... I'm not entirely comfortable with the idea of Ochako working here."

"I guessed that."

"I - I do understand that you said that she'd be okay, and - and I want to trust you, Ms. Kayama," Momo winced slightly, "but - but the nature of this establishment just doesn't sit right with me. I - I don't mean any offence, but I just - I don't know how I can watch Ochako work here without feeling worried for her."

"I see," Nemuri raised a hand to her chin, obviously thinking, "so that means that you want to look out for Uraraka, in case she gets in trouble."

"Yes."

Momo finally fell silent as the manager slowly nodded, glancing over at her clipboard as she obviously thought for a moment -

- and then, in a ppery voice, Nemuri said, "Well, I suppose in that case, I'll have to offer you a job here as well."

There was a good few seconds of silence following Nemuri's statement, Momo staring blankly ahead for a moment as her brain didn't exactly catch up - and then it registered to her just what Nemuri had said. Blinking, she straightened up in her seat, and slowly looked around at the manager.

"... I'm sorry?" She asked in a blank voice.

"I said," Nemuri began to smirk again as she tapped her fingernail against the wooden table, "that if you want to keep an eye on your friend while she works here, to make sure she doesn't get in trouble - well, you should work here as well. After all, it'd be awkward if some woman was standing off to the side of the bar watching one of the bartenders, wouldn't it? It'd give everyone ideas. So this way, you could put in a bit of work and make some money while making sure Uraraka's okay."

"I - I'm sorry?!" Momo repeated in a scandalized voice, quickly standing up from her seat with her eyes widened. "I - I'm sorry, but I can't - I won't - no, I cannot do that! T-this establishment is -"

"- completely safe." Nemuri interrupted her before Momo could get carried away, "Of that, I assure you. That's why, and no offence, Yaoyorozu, I'm a bit amused by your overprotectiveness - half the staff here are women. Do you not think that we'd be keeping them safe, making sure that we have precautions? And trust me, anyone I hire here can easily handle themselves - this is a stressful job, so I want to make sure that everyone can deal with the stress of men and women who don't understand why our bouncers tell them 'don't touch' before they come in. I wouldn't be taking Uraraka on if I didn't think she could take care of herself."

"I - well -"

"But if you're insistant that you don't trust the club to keep an eye on her," Nemuri shrugged, "then I can respect that. So instead of wasting your nights sitting in a booth watching the bartenders, why not make some money by working with us? Trust me when I say that our boys will keep you safe as well from any ... 'deviants' that you may be worried about. And if you're interested, I also pay for self-defence lessons, over at the Gunhead gym over in teh Ehime prefecture, if you wanted to sign up for that."

Momo was clearly aghast with what she was hearing, staring at Nemuri incrediously while the older woman smirked back at her. However, before she could try to find her words, the smirk did fade from her face, and Nemuri leaned forward.

"I won't be pressuring you into doing something you don't want," She made clear, "if you don't want the job, you don't have to take it. But the offer is on the table, Yaoyorozu."

"I ..." Momo hesitated for a moment, not even sure what to say - but before she could even open her mouth, Nemuri seemed to have another thought, the older woman blinking a bit.

"Oh, hold on a moment," She seemed to realize, pulling her clipboard over and flipping the page, "I just realized that I don't have your résumé, so I'm not sure about your skills."

"My - my what?"

"So I guess in that case," Nemuri tilted her head, "I'll just have to ask you now. Can you mix drinks?"

"M-mix drinks?" Momo stammered a bit, going red, "I - well - n-no, I've - I've never done that before."

"Hm," The manager nodded slowly, jotting a note down on her clipboard that made Momo automatically wince, "can't mix drinks ... okay. I'd ask you if you were up to being a bouncer, but ... well, no offence, Yaoyorozu, but you seem to be the kind of person to avoid confrontation, so that might not work out."

"I - hold on a second -!"

"How about service? Can you serve drinks and food? Like a waitress."

"I -" Momo hesitated, and then glanced away as she shrugged helplessly, "- I suppose I can, but - I'm - wait, hold on a second!"

"I guess so," Nemuri jotted down another note, although she did raise her eyebrow, "although if you're hesitant about being around the customers, it might not be a good idea. So ... I guess that leaves one final question."

Uh oh, Momo thought as she braced herself.

"Can you dance?"

Momo felt herself wince slightly at the question - it was clear what Nemuri meant when she asked that question, and yet, Momo couldn't help but feel her back straighten up as she finally collected her thoughts, and moved to put her hands down on the table.

"L-look, Ms. Kayama," She said in a shaky voice, "I - I do appreciate that you are willing to accomodate me. I am grateful for that, but - but this isn't what I had in mind. I am hesitant about Ochako working here, and - and I don't think me working alongside her will solve anything. I - I'm not even comfortable with Ochako working here, how can I work here as well?"

Nemuri paused, glancing up from her clipboard to the young woman as she stood above her - and then, raising her eyebrow, asked, "So you need some time to get to know the place? To know that it's safe before you consider having Ochako work here?"

"Y-yes."

"And ... does that mean that you're not opposed to working here?"

Momo did wince at that, but still took a shuddering breath and straightened her back.

"I - I didn't say that," She made clear, "but ... but as I said, Ms. Kayama, I do appreciate your offer."

Nemuri slowly nodded for a moment, clearly thinking - and then she let out a small, amused sigh as she took off her glasses and put them down on the table.

"Alright," She shrugged, "in that case, I suppose the original plan can go on ahead with a few adjustments."

"I -" Momo blinked a bit, "- I'm sorry?"

"Himiko!" Nemuri suddenly called for the young woman, speaking in a louder voice that made Momo jump a bit, "Leave Uraraka alone for five seconds and come here for a moment, there's something I wanna ask you."

Across the bar room, Himiko let out a grumble as she was summoned, and stuck her tongue out at Itsuka as she giggled a bit, but still did as she was asked and swung herself out of her seat, grutning as she hopped off the stool and back onto the floor. With a wink to Ochako as the brown-haired girl grabbed a bottle of rum from the selection Itsuka picked out for her, Himiko skipped across the large room where her boss and the new girl were sitting.

Momo, for her part, was confused as to why Nemuri was calling her over, watching as Himiko casually slid into the booth beside the club's owner and put her head down on Nemuri's shoulder. Nemuri, for her part, merely chuckled and bumped Himiko's head with her cheek.

"Yeeeees?" Himiko asked in a sing-songy voice, "How can I help you?"

"Himiko," Nemuri smiled a bit as she leaned back to speak to Himiko, "I suppose you've already guessed what I'm considering for Uraraka."

"A job? Say it's a job. I swear to god, I will stab you if you don't give her a job."

"I'd punch you out long before you could even think of stabbing me," Nemuri said in an affectionate voice, "but yes, thanks to you and Yaoyorozu here, I'm leaning towards saying yes and Ochako a job. As long as you promise not to get distracted and chat with Ochako when on the clock. And if I'm going to give Uraraka the job, you know what that means."

"Ooh!" Himiko suddenly gasped, her eyes lighting up in delight. "A party?"

"Good girl. I'm thinking about hosting it next Saturday. Be sure to spread the word when everyone's here for their shifts, we don't want anyone to miss it. Now then," Nemuri clapped her hands together, looking around at Momo as she glanced between the two of them in confusion, "just so Uraraka can be included on this conversation, let's head over to the bar. I believe they're almost done over there anyway."

With that, Nemuri began to climb out of the booth, and Momo blinked as she strolled right past her to begin walking over towards the bar. Quickly scooping up her glass of water, Momo reached over for her glass of water, hurriedly sipping on it as she began to follow Nemuri towards where Ochako was pouring a glass of something dark into a shotglass, aware of Himiko walking behind her as they went over.

She was, of course, unaware of Himiko glancing up and down her back, taking her time and slowing her pace so she could take in what Momo looked like. A smirk appeared on Himiko's face as she licked her lips - she had a feeling, based on her small glances at the two of them over from her spot near the bar, that Momo might be around a lot more, and she certainly didn't mind having someone with an ass like Momo's around - besides, she had a feeling that she'd enjoy getting a few teases in with how red this girl's face could get.

"Okay," Ochako gulped nervously as the other three approached the bar, putting down the glass now filled with coke and rum, onto the table before Itsuka, "here you go."

Itsuka flashed her a smile as she scooped the shot glass up from the counter, and raised it so she could give it a small sniff. Ochako watched anxiously as Itsuka took a small sip from the glass, her eyebrow raising as the beverage entered her mouth, and put the glass down on the table as she made a small face, shuddering slightly as she swallowed, and smacked her lips.

"It's ... well, it's definitely not perfect," She decided to say bluntly, smiling at Ochako cringing immediately, "there's a lot of rum in there and not enough coke to mix the two together. But you know what? It's not bad for a first attempt. You said your dad showed you the ropes?"

"Uh - yeah, a little bit," Ochako grimaced weakly, "just for my eighteenth birthday, he showed me how to make a few drinks for when I got to university. My, uh - my mom wasn't really happy with him when she found out."

Itsuka giggled at that, and then, as Nemuri leaned against the counter beside her, she turned in her seat towards her boss, gesturing to the suddenly nervous Ochako, and nodded.

"She's an ameteur," Itsuka confirmed, aware of Ochako shrinking a bit and smiling, "but she's got potential. I bet if I show her the ropes, she'll be able to make a Rum Martinez with her eyes closed."

"Good," Nemuri smiled, looking over at Ochako as the smaller girl glanced at her, "and I had a good long talk with Yaoyorozu here about you, Uraraka - it sounds as though I'm bringing in someone with a good head on their shoulders."

"Does -" Ochako hesitated, obviously hopeful as Momo stood behind both Nemuri and Itsuka, and Himiko leaned against the bartop, "- does that mean I got the job?"

"That's right," The manager nodded while Himiko bounced in excitement, "you got the job."

Ochako immediately sagged over, letting out a long, relieved sigh - and then, realizing that she probably shouldn't show that kind of reaction in front of her new boss, quickly straightened up, clearing her throat. Luckily for her, Nemuri was too busy shaking her head and laughing a bit at the reaction, but for her it seemed as though she took it all in good humour as she straightened up, and ignored Himiko immediately jumping up to lay overtop the bar to hug Ochako in congradulations- although Itsuka cleared minded, the orange-haired girl's eyes widening as she stood up.

"Ey, ey, ey!" She quickly leaned over, grabbing the back of Himiko's shirt and attempting to lift her off the wooden surface she was laying on, "Don't lay on top of the counter and get your gross boob sweat all over it, I just cleaned it twenty minutes ago!"

"But I wanna give my bestie a hug!"

"Then go around the counter and hug her like a normal person!"

"Alright!" Nemuri clapped her hands together to get everyone's attention again, Himiko reluctantly slipping off of Ochako so that the new recruit, with slight tears behind her glasses from happiness, could look around at her new boss. "So first things first, Uraraka, congratulations, you're now part of the crew. Just so you know, around here we try and run a pretty steady ship - everyone has to pull their weight, on stage and off stage. You'll be training and shadowing Itsuka for the first few nights, and she'll teach you how to make the usual mixes. Everyone has to help clean the club at the end of the night, and we don't accept any excuses if you suddenly have to dip. That sound fine to you?"

"Y-yes, ma'am!"

"Now rule the first, and this is the most important rule: don't call me 'ma'am'," Nemuri giggled at Ochako immediately freezing in shock, "that makes me sound so old."

"But you are old!" Himiko helpfully pointed out.

"Shut up, Himiko. Anyway, Uraraka, you can just call me Nemuri, everyone does. I'll be having you meet Cathleen once she gets back from visiting her family in the states, she's one of the co-owners of the club. Speaking of that, we'll also be having you meet the rest of the crew all at once - which is why we're going to throw you a welcome party."

"A - a what?" Ochako blinked, surprised, "A party? O-oh, no, you don't need to do that -"

"Actually, we do," Nemuri countered her while flipping some of her long purple hair behind her back, "every time we bring someone new in, we like to throw a little party to celebrate the new addition to our team, and introduce the new person to everyone on the team all at once. It's just a way for you to meet everyone and get to know them. If you're worried about it getting expensive, well, there's no need to be - we try to keep things on the down low. Just a small gathering with pizza and soda here on the floor, nothing too wild. But I want things to be a little different this time," She then turned to Momo, "and invite you as well, Yaoyorozu."

"Huh?" Momo blinked, looking around at her, "M-me? But - why?"

"Because," Nemuri said plainly, "I want you to be able to trust us. Like I said before, I understand that you have your reservations, Yaoyorozu - but I also want to assure you that Uraraka will be safe working here. And to do that, I want you two to come to the club during one of our regular nights and have a look at how we work. No need to worry about anyone approaching you, we'll have one of our boys walk around with you, just in case. You can watch how we do things, and hopefully by the end of the night, once we have our party - we'll have convinced you that Uraraka will be safe to work here."

There was a moment's pause, with Momo clearly unsure as she glanced over at Ochako, seeing her roommate give her a concerned look as well. Momo turned off to the side to think for another second, a conflicted look on her face - and then, after a long sigh, she nodded.

"I ... very well, Ms. Kayama," She nodded again, turning to bow to the older woman while folding her hands in front of her, "if - if you believe that is what necessary - I'll come to this party. J-just as long as it isn't anything bad."

"Excellent!" Nemuri happily clapped her hands together, no one aware of Himiko glancing off to the side nervously at the mention of 'nothing bad' happening, while Itsuka merely rolled her eyes at her, "In that case, we'll be getting everything ready for you by then. How does this upcoming Saturday work for you both? Cathleen will be getting back that morning, that'll give you enough time to meet her before she probably passes out from jet lag. Now then, if that's -"

"Nemuri?"

At the sound of a male voice calling out her name from the stage, the five women quickly straightened up and looked around, Momo and Ochako blinking as they realized there was someone else here. Poking his head from around the curtain on the stage, a taller guy with a mutant quirk - four arms connected to each other on each side, wearing a blue mask around his lower face - waved to his boss to get her attention.

"Ky wants to try out a few new moves on the stage," He informed her, "we found the playlist, she was just wondering if it'd be alright to play the music a bit louder now."

"It is, Mezo!" Nemuri confirmed, calling out to him in a louder voice so he could hear her. "We just got done with our interview anyway. Now then, ladies -" She turned back to Ochako and Momo, "- I have some paperwork to do before my meeting later today. Uraraka, I'll reach out to you through your email about the details of the tour we'll be having you go on, and your party. Be sure to bring in a void check next time so I'll know where I'm paying you. I hope you ladies have a nice rest of your day."

With that, she spun around on her heels and began to jog lightly over to a door on the side. As she left the group behind, Himiko let out a giggle and completely swung herself over the counter so she could hug Ochako again, the girl in glasses letting out a small laugh at her acrobatics and flashing an apologetic look to Itsuka as the other girl looked less than impressed by the move, reaching over for a cloth to wipe where Himiko's hand and body had been.

"Y'know, Itsuka, that's kinda rude," Himiko pouted at the bartender as she gave where she had been a thorough scrub, "you know I just jumped out of the shower, right?"

"Yeah, but you should also see all the guys who try and lean on the counter," Itsuka grumbled, shaking her head, "the one disadvantage of this job is that it made me a germaphobe. Anyway, Uraraka," She glanced up at the girl in glasses with a bright smile, "welcome aboard - I'll be having you making drinks in your sleep in no time."

"Er - thank you," Ochako smiled weakly at her as Himiko nuzzled into her, "it ... wasn't really that bad, was it?"

"No, no," Itsuka giggled, shaking her head while Momo tenatively approached the bar, "you just need some practice, is all. Don't worry, you'll be a pro in no time. Anyway," She moved to grab both the shot glass she drank from and the glass of water Momo had emptied and put on the counter, "I'm gonna head to the back so I can get these washed, and then I can go in and write up what we need to order this week for our inventory. Himi, do you mind showing Uraraka and Yaoyorozu out for me? And how they can get in for next time?"

"Sure thing!" Himiko nodded, saluting her as Itsuka gave the other two girls a wave as she started to walk away, and they watched as she went through the door near the back before Himiko turned tolook at both Ochako and Momo.

"Now then," She giggled, "why don't we all head back up top? And you, Chako -" She suddenly turned to give Ochako the stink eye, making her blink, "- why don't you use that time to tell me thoroughly why you didn't reach out to me at all for living here for an entire year?"

As Ochako sputtered a bit, going red while Himiko pouted at her, Momo found herself sighing a bit, glancing around the club again with a small pout. She ... still wasn't entirely sure about this place, but the fact that Nemuri was going out of her way to make sure Momo was comfortable with Ochako working here ... as much as she didn't want to admit it, it did score some points with her.

It was just ... the part about offering Momo a job. The heiress couldn't help but shake her head at the thought, her gaze flickering around to the stage automatically as though wondering what it would look like for her to -

- and then, as her gaze fell onto the stage, she blinked as she noticed that there was ... someone up there, casually swinging from the pole as though she were in her own little world, completely ignoring the three of them over at the bar.

For some reason, Momo's thoughts slowed down, staring at the girl as she slowly blinked, and Ochako and Himiko's light teasing faded from her mind as she stared up at the girl on the stage. She wasn't wearing anything provocative - in fact, she was dressed quite modestly, wearing a black sweatshirt and a pair of shorts that fell to her knees. She was absently swinging around on the pole, not moving too fast as she kept her eyes closed, and Momo's eyes flickered to what looked like an earphone jack, stretching from her ear to wrap around the pole beside her hand.

Momo found herself falling silent, unable to stop herself from being captivated by the sight. If this was a dancer, it wasn't what Momo expected - she looked more like someone from her college playing around on stage. But Momo had experience dancing, even if it wasn't the kind of dancing that happened here - she could tell that this girl was experienced. She wasn't doing anything especially athletic, but the way her feet moved gracefully, wearing a pair of anklets that allowed her to gracefully slide her feet across the stage, told her that she was clearly used to doing this kind of thing.

The girl's head nodded along to the subtle song playing on low volume in the background, raising a hand to move her short, violet hair out of her face, and Momo found herself blinking as she finally got a look at her face - just as the girl opened her eyes and realized she was being watched, looking up just in time to meet Momo's eyes.

For a moment, they both stared at each other, their eyes widening a bit as they took each other in, and the girl up on stage paused. Now, was this a spontaneous reunion like Ochako and Himiko were having at the moment?

No.

But as they stared at each other, both girls, at the exact same time, had the exact same thought, as blood began to run up to their faces, and their gazes turned from curious, to shocked, to horrified.

'Isn't she from my math class?'

And then, without further ado, the girl swinging from the pole accidentally loosened her grip, and with a yelp, flailed around as she fell straight off the stage and onto the floor.