♥Warnings for Series: Drug use, Semi-Dark content, Guns, Gang related activities, murder, general warning for Bonten being Bonten.
♥ Timeline: Bonten
♥ OC summary: The 15 year old daughter of Hajime Kokonoi has a luxurious life, having never wanted for anything in her whole life. She seeks to be recognized by her father, and in doing so, becomes more involved in Bonten’s dark world.
♥ wc: 1.7k
♥ a.n: Chapter 2 is out! Somehow Kokonoi ended up with a second daughter, Hisui. She may eventually get her own story.
An absolute coward.
Himekawa hadn’t returned to school in days, and Nyoko had only gained popularity due to the viral video of her breaking his nose. Many girls approached her, showering her with praise. Deservedly so, but she grew bored with the constant chattering. It might be better if he had beenthere, to hear all the ridicule.
The bell tinkled, announcing her arrival. Motor oil and rusty metal hung in the air, burning her nose with each breath. Honestly, being inside the bike shop made her skin crawl with dirtiness. Nyoko brushed her manicured fingers through her raven hair, frowning as she moved forward.
“Well, if it ain’t the Princess herself. That violent side of yours is gonna land you in trouble.”
Her crimson eyes narrowed at the other owner of the bike shop. She never liked Draken, only tolerating his presence to visit her father’s best friend. Even though their lives had taken different paths, Nyoko admired that they had remained friends.
“I do not have a violent side.” She turned her head away as if he weren’t even worth her gaze. If he couldn’t have more tact, then she certainly wasn’t going to waste any time on him.
But as she passed to go to the back garage, his call only made her angrier.
“A scowl ruins a pretty face, princess."
Nyoko bit her tongue, choosing to move on instead of responding. He’d probably twist her words to suit him anyways. It was warm in the shop, making her feel sticky. She found Inui sitting on the floor, tinkering with a bike. "Hisui sent me to pick up her game.”
The things she did as a big sister. Her hermit baby sister, Hisui, never left the penthouse unless she had to. She went to school online, even. Not a social bone in her body. This bike shop, however, she came to from time to time. Inui had a calming presence, and next door was the gaming shop that Hisui frequented.
But since Hisui was sick, she’d requested for Nyoko to pick up the latest game she’d purchased.
“It’s on the table.” Inui nodded his head toward the small table with an ashtray of half smoked cigarettes and scattered beer bottles. It looked like they’d just had some visitors before she came.
But he wasn’t about to let her go without saying anything.
“You aren’t a part of Bonten.”
Nyoko tucked the game into her school bag but straightened at his words. Of course, she knewthat. At least, she wasn’t a part yet. “I’m aware. Why is everyone so concerned about me defending myself from a boy who tried to assault me?” He had put his hands on her.
Inui tightened a bolt before setting the wrench down with a clang. “You’re pushing too much. Someone is going to take you as a threat, and as much as you think that you’re safe being Koko’s daughter, you’re making yourself a target.” His friend had voiced his concern for Nyoko more than once. A few self-defense moves were not going to help her in an actual fight.
She was much too stubborn to listen to him.
“I’m not as weak as everyone seems to believe.”
That is not what he said… Inui sighed, giving up on his poor attempt to get through to her. She was far too strong headed. “Just be careful. I don’t want to see you get hurt."
Nyoko promised that she would be, because she was always careful. It was the fact that she was cockier than she was careful that tended to put her in unsavory situations.
On her way home, she stopped for a cup of coffee to revive her energy. All these opinions were draining her.
It wasn’t until she moved away from the stand that she caught a glimpse of someone in the alley. Of all fucking people… Nyoko let out a haughty breath. He had some nerve.
"Skulking in the shadows like a common criminal, too scared to show your face at school. It would be truly hard to make you any more pathetic.”
Himekawa shrugged his shoulders, taking a step further back into the alley. “I’m hurt that you’d take such pleasure from hurting me, but I’m willing to forgive you. That’s how deep my affection is for you, Nyoko.”
He could hit all the buttons that made her angry. Nyoko fell right into his trap, forgetting a very important lesson that her father had taught her.
Never forget your surroundings.
If she had been paying a little attention. She’d have seen the man looming nearby. She’d have noticed that he didn’t match the rest of the scenery. Hat covering his eyes, gaze down. Hiding his identity.
The man slipped up behind her, grabbing her arm tightly and pressing the barrel of his gun to the middle of her back. “Scream and I shoot.”
The grin on Himekawa’s face made her nauseous. But she wouldn’t show it on her features. Forced down the alleyway, far enough away that anyone on the street wouldn’t notice their presence.
“Don’t be afraid. I would never let him kill you. And this should prove that I do have a significant amount of money to hire muscle. He’s the best hitman in the country.” Himekawa was incredibly proud of himself, boasting without restraint.
His wording left her with the impression that he would let the man shoot her. Somewhere not fatal. And she should choose her next words wisely.
But.
Did she just laugh out loud?
Oops.
“I’m sorry, did you just say the best?” Her sides hurt from how much laughter she couldn’t contain. He truly was a lowlife idiot. Nyoko tilted her head, swallowing down the rest of her giggles. “If he was anywhere close to the top, he wouldn’t have a gun pressed into myback.”
“And he was stupid enough to still show up?” Himekawa was only partially right. He didn’t have resources to dig up the information that her father was an executive in Bonten. If he did, then he’d be holding that information over her. Threatening to cause problems.
In which, he’d likely end up dead.
Nyoko glanced back at the hitman, wanting to get a decent look at his face. She let out a yelp when his fingers entangled in her hair, keeping her head forward.
“I’m sorry he hurt you.” Himekawa stepped close, caressing her cheek. Even with her palm slamming against his chest, he managed to dip down and press his lips against hers.
He tasted like stale beer and poor people. Disgusting. She couldn’t turn her head or pull away. Nyoko bit down hard on his bottom lip, drawing blood and making Himekawa reel back. She spit out the blood, not wanting to ingest his nasty germs.
“You-” He stopped short of name calling. Shaking his head, he waved his hand at the hitman. “I’m sorry for this, but I’ll simply have to teach you a lesson. Do it.”
Hitting the brick wall knocked the air out of her. She surely had some scrapes on her pretty, smooth skin. The grit of pavement dug into her knees as she struggled to catch her breath. This worm had the audacity to harm her perfect body.
“That is no way to treat our princess.”
Nyoko looked up to see Sanzu throw his arm around the hitman’s shoulder like they were old buddies. He gave her a little wink, to reassure her that he would protect her.
“Now,someone has to pay for this. It’s only fair.” Sanzu grinned, the silencer on his gun resting against the man’s temple. It was terrifying how easily he’d slipped into the group without being noticed, and completely taking control.
And then his body slumped, and Sanzu let the corpse crumple to the floor. He scratched his head with his gun, turning his attention to the teenager trembling with shock. “You must be the little prick who thinks he’s good enough for our Nyoko.”
Her nose crinkled at a rancid smell as she stood. Nyoko brushed the debris from her knees and looked to Himekawa.
The boy had pissed himself out of fear.
“Disgusting worm.”
Sanzu let out a dramatic sigh. “Boss said not to kill ya, so scram kid. Before I decide to break a few bones.” He wanted to torture the boy who dared harm his Nyoko. But he had his orders. The kid’s family had something that Mikey wanted.
It wasn’t until he escorted her to the car that Nyoko even registered what had really happened. Sitting on the seat, she watched Sanzu wrap her knees with careful movements. “How did you know where I was?”
“I can sense when you need me, my princess.”
Bullshit. Nyoko chewed on her lip until the only explanation came to mind. Her fist hit his shoulder with a soft punch. “You were following me?”
He laughed softly, caught. “He was worried about you, and he ordered me to keep an eye on you.”
“You didn’t have to listen!” She hit him a second time. There was no force behind it. “Haru you’re the second in command!” A higher rank in the organization. The highest rank outside of Mikey.
“Not when it comes to you! I had no choice. I was forced.” Sanzu hugged her legs, resting his cheek against her knees. He didn’t like when she was angry with him. “But you have to admit, you were in a bad situation. I couldn’t stand by and watch him hurt you.”
His blood boiled just thinking about what their intentions were. Kokonoi would have killed him if she’d been beaten or shot. He stepped in because he loved her. “Please forgive me.”
Nyoko sighed. “I guess I should be angry with my father, not you.” She patted his head. “I forgive you, Haru. And thank you for helping me.”
“Your palace awaits! I think you deserve a nice bubble bath and some champagne. I’ll make sure your wounds are properly wrapped after too-” He was a complete softie for her. She was basically Bonten’s daughter, belonging to everyone. He’d been there for her first steps and was the first name she said after daddy.
“No.”
Sanzu had nearly shut the door when she spoke. “No?”
“Take me to the office. I want to see daddy.” She needed him to explain why he’d sent Sanzu after her. It was frustrating and there would be no relaxing until she gets to say her piece.
The entire drive to the office was in complete silence, and Sanzu decided to skip his afternoon duties to avoid the wrath of the princess.
concept—insert y/n l/n. in their mid twenties, comes from an affluent family, went to all the best schools, received the best grades, graduated almost at the top of their class with a bachelor’s degree in finance, and even works at the biggest stocks company in japan. they’re so kind, so helpful, so patient, so naive, truly the textbook definition of a people pleaser. they’re almost like tinker bell, something close to needing attention to survive. one problem though: the ceo isn’t a fan. how ever will y/n survive?
pairing—ceo!hajime kokonoi x black!afab!reader.
word count—2.7k
genre—ceo!au, slight office!au, fluff, angst, suggestive?, one-sided enemies to lovers.
warnings for the chapter— mentions of unwanted advances [nothing vulgar but i’m putting it just in case!].
the sound of y/n’s ringtone awoke them from their deep slumber at six in the morning. y/n sighed into their pillow before reaching over to decline the call. they moved to put their phone under their pillow but stopped as it began to ring again. without checking the caller id, y/n put the phone up to their ear. “yes?” they grumbled, eyes still closed as they spoke on the phone.
“our flight is in two hours and you’re still sleeping, l/n?”
y/n paused and checked the caller id, eyes widening as they realized that kokonoi was on the opposite end of the line. they silently cursed themselves before putting the phone back up to their ear. “i apologize. i must’ve pressed snooze on my alarm clock.”
“i figured. i’m in front of your apartment and i need you to be down here in less than 10 minutes. feel free to dress comfortably as we have a bit of flex time once we land,” kokonoi said, not giving y/n a chance to respond as he hung up as soon as he finished his sentence. y/n looked at their phone before scurrying out of bed to change into something more appropriate.
for the past few days, y/n had been acting as kokonoi’s interim assistant and they found that it wasn’t as daunting as they expected. it was less work than they were used to since kokonoi wasn’t passing his work down for them to do and their assistant duties only consisted of making appointments, filing paperwork, making spreadsheets, and other tasks that didn’t require too much for them. the only real downside of the job was how awkward and skittish kokonoi made y/n feel. his presence alone was enough to have them on edge, so having to eat meals with him, since he insisted on having lunch meetings, was the most nerve-wracking thing of the day.
y/n made quick work of their face, deciding to just wash and moisturize before putting their products in the bag that they packed the night before. they opted to wear sweatpants with a white shirt and a cardigan that matched the sweats, hoping that kokonoi wouldn’t think that this would be too relaxed. they did take off the scarf that they had on, opting to tie their braids back since the scarf would definitely be too relaxed.
they checked their watch and their eyes widened as 8 minutes had passed since kokonoi’s phone call. y/n quickly grabbed their phone, the charger still attached, their carry-on, and their suitcase before rushing out the door, not before slipping on a pair of slides. after securing their apartment, they ran to the elevator which was conveniently stopped on their floor and pressed the button for the ground floor, booking it out of the lobby once the doors opened.
as y/n looked around for kokonoi, they were surprised by the sight that greeted them.
kokonoi was dressed in similar clothes to y/n with his long hair in a ponytail and his hands in his pockets. he was leaning against the car with the driver standing on the sidewalk, waiting for y/n to give him their bags.
“you didn’t have to rush. you’re my acting assistant, i wouldn’t leave you if you took longer than ten minutes,” kokonoi said as he took in y/n’s appearance. he opened the back door of the car, motioning for y/n to get in. y/n nodded and handed the driver their luggage, keeping their carry-on so that they could prepare a few things in the car. “i must be paying you well if you can afford to live here.”
“my parents paid the original payments but my salary does indeed allow me to live comfortably. thank you sir.”
“you don’t have to… nevermind.”
“i forwarded you the itinerary for the flight as well as your schedule for once we land. i also emailed the flight coordinator at the airport to arrange breakfast items for once we get in the air. if there’s anything else you need, just let me know and i’ll do my best to arrange it for you,” y/n said once the car began to move, pulling out their ipad to fix the order of a few things.
“you’re even eager to please at the crack of dawn, hm?”
“just doing my job, sir,” y/n said, not looking up from the ipad on their lap.
“feel free to rest, l/n. i’ll let you know when i need assistance,” kokonoi said, pulling out his phone.
“i’ll rest on the plane. thank you for your concern.”
there was silence as the two paid attention to their devices rather than to each other. y/n would occasionally glance over to kokonoi to see what he was doing, but his phone was angled out of their view and it would be deemed nosy if they leaned over to take a peek. whatever it was must’ve been important or at the very least interesting with how hard the man was looking at his phone.
“do you drive, l/n?” kokonoi asked, breaking the silence that y/n was sure would last until they arrived at the airport. y/n was met with kokonoi’s stare as they gave him their full attention.
“not usually, but i do have my license. may i ask why?” y/n replied, leaning back from the hunched over position that they were in.
“i’m only asking because i wanted to know if i had to drive everywhere or if we could drive interchangeably. if you’re comfortable with that.”
“i can drive. it’s no problem,” y/n replied with a shrug, receiving a hum in acknowledgement before there was silence again.
y/n was beginning to regret their outfit of choice once they stepped off of the plane. spring in japan consisted of colder nights and warmer days and the same could be said about seoul as y/n was greeted with a faceful of warm air. it was warmer than expected for mid-spring, truly feeling like midsummer.
“we have a car waiting for us out front. it will be ours for the entirety of this trip. if you’d like, i can drive,” y/n said, speaking to kokonoi for the first time since the two of them boarded the plane.
“i’d actually like to drive. thank you for offering,” kokonoi responded, walking away from the terminal with y/n in tow. y/n was informed that all of their luggage would be arriving at the hotel soon after they would arrive, giving y/n one less thing to worry about.
there was a man standing in front of a sleek car, holding up a sign that had kokonoi’s name on it. y/n seemed to notice it before kokonoi did as he began to trail behind them as they walked towards the car.
“kokonoi?” the man asked, looking at y/n as their boss had yet to quite catch up to them. y/n confirmed their identity before the man gave them the keys which y/n relayed to kokonoi. y/n thanked the man before sitting in the passenger’s seat, waiting for kokonoi to get in the car which he did eventually.
the silence in the car was a bit awkward as neither kokonoi nor y/n made any effort to make conversation, mostly because y/n was still a bit tense around him and kokonoi could sense that. kokonoi was the man who controlled whether or not they kept their job and while this wasn’t their preferred field of work, y/n would still like to have a means of income by the end of this week, even if it meant sitting in long periods of silence.
“why are you working in human resources when you have a higher financial degree?” kokonoi’s voice stole y/n’s attention away from the view outside of the window as the car was stopped at the green light.
after turning their attention to the man in the driver’s seat and seeing him already watching them, y/n replied, “that’s the department that i was placed in when i first began working for you. i assume that the finance department was just as crowded back then as it is now.”
“you can transfer departments after a year of working, you know. i’m sure if you tried you could’ve gotten it switched,” kokonoi said, casually readjusting his position in the driver’s seat.
“i’m fine with working in the human resources department. transferring would include paperwork for me, my superiors, and those in the finance department.”
“i was just asking. i was curious, i guess,” kokonoi said, not sparing y/n a glance as the light changed back to green. y/n hummed in acknowledgement before pulling out their phone, forgetting about it as it was still on airplane mode.
y/n received a few messages in the time that they had turned airplane mode on. they ignored the one’s from their mother, figuring it was about their absence at breakfast despite having told her that they had a week-long business trip. they did respond to charity, who was currently splitting y/n’s workload with vaughan, who had recently received a promotion to a manager position after one of the junior managers quit. there was also a missed call from talia, one of y/n’s good friends, probably asking y/n why their mother had decided to contact her about y/n’s absence seeing as that was usually the woman’s first instinct when y/n refused to talk to her.
y/n suspicions were correct as they opened a message from talia asking y/n if it would be inappropriate to block their mother. y/n let out an amused breath as they read the string of messages that followed the initial one before replying with a simple “i’m sorry”.
the car came to an abrupt stop, prompting y/n to look up and notice that they had arrived at the hotel. y/n quickly exited the car while also pulling out their ipad to get the information for the rooms. “i’m gonna go check us in and make sure that our luggage is on its way.”
“i’ll be in the lobby soon. i have to wait for a valet,” kokonoi said, motioning to the empty valet stand behind y/n. y/n nodded before closing the door and putting the strap of their travel bag on their shoulder.
y/n made sure to get their own room to avoid the possibility of any awkward encounters that could occur if they shared a room. they even booked the room with their own money in case kokonoi view it as a waste of expenses. they quickly received the room keys and walked to where kokonoi was standing off by the side, waiting for them.
“i’ll reimburse you for your room. i was planning on going alone since i couldn’t find a replacement for my assistant and am only now realizing that you must have had to use your own funds for the room,” kokonoi said after receiving his room keys from y/n. y/n couldn’t even object as kokonoi walked away to the elevator, opting to just silently follow him.
y/n sucked at the whole assistant thing.
y/n was glad that the meeting that kokonoi was supposed to have was turned into a virtual meeting since that meant that they no longer had to dress in their work clothes and could remain casual after taking a shower. y/n wasn’t sure how long the meeting would last as kokonoi was directly informed instead of the information going through them first. however, the day after they landed proved to be busy as the man had two morning meetings as well as an early afternoon photoshoot and a late evening dinner meeting.
while y/n only worked for his stocks company, they were well aware of the man’s other businesses, which included the talent and entertainment agency that was being featured in a magazine, prompting for kokonoi to have to take a few pictures for the article. y/n was given the tasks of reviewing pictures as they were being taken and also calling for pictures to be retaken. y/n assumed since they could do as kokonoi asked while doing tasks for those on set, all would be fine. they did it at the office, doing what kokonoi asked while still receive assignments from the senior managers without the man’s knowledge, so there was no harm.
that was soon proved to be incorrect.
to say that y/n was not a fan of the photographer was an understatement. she made obvious advances towards them, which they indirectly rejected but she didn’t seem to get the hint as she proceeded to bother y/n as they reviewed the photos that were taken. in the intermission period of the shoot, the photographer switched cameras and asked y/n to be her test subject as she adjusted the settings on the camera. y/n, who was uncomfortable with taking pictures, reluctantly agreed after the photographer continuously insisted, sparing kokonoi a glance to see that he was less than pleased.
y/n was asked by a few of the staff to stay behind and help clean the set if they had time and, despite not wanting to, y/n agreed to stay, telling kokonoi that they would let him know when they returned to the hotel. he told them that he would just wait in the car and y/n took that as his approval as they began to collect accessories that had been carelessly disregarded by the other participants of the photoshoot. it didn’t take too long since they had an extra pair of hands and the staff thanked y/n for their kindness before letting them leave when the job was mostly finished. y/n hadn’t noticed until they went to grab their own things, but kokonoi left his blazer that had his wallet in it. y/n quickly grabbed it before grabbing their own things and leaving the site.
y/n approached the car and expected to see kokonoi in the passenger’s seat, but instead was greeted by the sight of him in the driver’s seat. they put their belongings and his blazer in the back before getting in the passenger’s seat.
“you left your blazer, so i grabbed it f—,” y/n started as they began to buckle their seatbelt, but was quickly interrupted by kokonoi.
“is it your job to help the crew or to assist me?” kokonoi asked, not moving the car from its spot in front of the building. y/n could tell by his tone that he was unhappy with something, but the amount of annoyance in his tone was a bit excessive for what they did.
“to assist you, but sir, i—,” y/n was cut off once more.
“so why did it seem like you were helping others more than you were doing that? is that a bad habit that you have?”
“no, i was just trying to be helpful. the shoot was already understaffed so i—,” y/n stopped talking as kokonoi opened his mouth to interrupt, growing tired of being cut off.
“being completely complaisant with whatever someone says despite it making you uncomfortable is not helpful, especially when i asked you to do something. that’s called being insubordinate and that’s annoying. it disrupts the flow that i have as i will have to make up for where you slack. no more of that. understood?”
y/n sat in silence instead of answering, not trusting themselves enough to not say something that would get them fired. their silence was also one of shock as they believed that his reaction was a bit much. sure, they should have been more focused on what he asked them to do, but they thought that helping everyone would make the shoot run smoother overall. his annoyed reaction to their actions was justified, however it was bigger than what y/n thought was appropriate. judging by the way that he tossed his phone in the backseat, they were going to assume that something happened whilst they were cleaning and they happened to receive the harsh end of it. that didn’t excuse anything, but y/n let it pass nonetheless.
concept—insert y/n l/n. in their mid twenties, comes from an affluent family, went to all the best schools, received the best grades, graduated almost at the top of their class with a bachelor’s degree in finance, and even works at the biggest stocks company in japan. they’re so kind, so helpful, so patient, so naive, truly the textbook definition of a people pleaser. they’re almost like tinker bell, something close to needing attention to survive. one problem though: the ceo isn’t a fan. how ever will y/n survive?
pairing—ceo!hajime kokonoi x black!afab!reader.
word count—2.2k
genre—ceo!au, slight office!au, fluff, angst, suggestive?, one-sided enemies to lovers.
warnings for the chapter— feigned naivety, cursing, y/n’s parents, cringy behavior?
they were usually punctual, made great contributions during department meetings, helped their co-workers and their superiors, and had no problem running early morning coffee orders. their work quality was above average and they had a pleasant and appropriate attitude in the work environment. they hadn’t received any citations since they began working for the company and they didn’t plan on getting any. in their mind, and many others, they were an ideal employee.
which is why y/n is confused as to why they were being summoned to the ceo’s office.
while they were creating a new spreadsheet for an upcoming department meeting, y/n received a curt email from kokonoi asking for them to come to his office when it was most convenient for them. though it may have sounded like he allowed them some time before their meeting, y/n knew that “most convenient time” meant right now.
y/n didn’t have much time to worry about their career being on the line as by the time the thought crossed their mind, they were already knocking on his office door.
“you may come in,” y/n heard from inside, mentally preparing themselves before opening the door to be greeted by kokonoi with his hands folded on his large desk and his eyes directly on them.
“you wanted to see me, sir?” y/n asked as they approached his desk.
“yes, take a seat,” he said, motioning to one of two chairs that sat in front of his desk. y/n sat in the chair, straightening their posture and their clothes before looking at their boss who was now staring at them. “as i discussed in the meeting, i’m looking for a new personal assistant. i have a few business deals in another country next week and i need someone to assist me with the tasks that i will have.”
“yes, i’m aware of your predicament. as the human resources department is usually in charge of hiring, though you have the final say, we’ve compiled a list of potential replacements that you could interview and choose from. i’ll be able to bring it to you if you’d like,” y/n offered, remember the list that her senior asked them to create for their boss. they spent almost a week sifting through applications and doing background checks. it was supposed to be a collaboration responsibility amongst the senior managers, but the work was given to y/n as usual.
“interviews will take too much time. i won’t be able to choose a proper candidate in less than a week,” kokonoi rebutted, looking at his employee. y/n nodded in agreement. it was hard to choose a good employee in two weeks so something as important as a personal assistant would definitely take longer than that.
“i can help you find a temporary replacement amongst current employees. it should only take a day or two,” y/n said, already thinking of candidates. there was kouki ōta in the media department who had personal assistant experience from his paid internship days or akemi satō in the technology department who was adaptable and compliant. or even—
“i’m requesting that you fill in temporarily.”
“…pardon? i’m not sure i’m understanding,” y/n said after a few moments of stunned silence. “i have no personal assistant experience and i hold a manager position in my department meaning that i have a larger workload than the average employee. someone will have to do my extra work. i’m not a fan of burdening my peers.”
kokonoi snorted at y/n’s statement. “but you’re a fan of your superiors passing their responsibilities to you? how selfless of you.”
“i just think that i lack the requirements, sir.”
“you have a bachelors in finance, are flexible, good at impulsive decision making, good communication skills, and have never had a write up that pertained to negative work conduct. you would be a temporary solution to a problem that i’ll fix eventually,” kokonoi said, leaving no room for any kind of argument. “you can start in two days as tomorrow is your day off and i’ll let your superiors know. i’ll have the office across the hall prepared for you by the time that you come in tomorrow. you will still have access to your current office, but as my assistant, i’ll need you to be easily accessible. you will receive a pay raise for the time that you act as my assistant. do we have a deal?”
y/n racked their brains for a reason to decline that didn’t wreck their pride or put their job in jeopardy. y/n had no negative feelings towards the ceo, but he made them feel small. he was intimidating and monotonous as he spoke, leaving no room for interruption or disagreement. y/n was honestly just extremely skittish around him and knew that would affect their ability to work properly in his presence.
unfortunately, y/n couldn’t find an excuse. “yes, sir. i’ll see you bright and early in the morning.”
taking his silence as their dismissal, y/n bowed shallowly before exiting his office and making their way back to the elevator. they were glad to see that no one else was waiting for the elevator meaning that no one would see their much needed elevator tantrum.
y/n silently screamed to themselves before sliding down the wall of the elevator. they wouldn’t last two weeks as his assistant. especially if they had to rely on his body language and facial expressions to answer their questions.
y/n quickly straightened out as the doors of the elevator opened, putting on a kind smile at the sight of their co-workers. they intended on dropping the smile once they hit their office door but the sound of their name being called made them pause and turn to face one of their superiors.
“yes?”
“we are having lunch amongst the managers. will you be joining us?” she asked. y/n nodded, seeing as all of the other managers seemed to be attending as well.
“just let me grab my wallet and jacket and i’ll be right out,” y/n said, opening the door to their office and doing exactly that. “i’m ready.”
“it’s a short walk. we’ve made a reservation.”
most of the older managers walked together, conversing about some humdrum topic that the majority of the junior managers found no interest in. y/n was walking alongside another junior manager who couldn’t have been much older than them. if y/n remembered correctly, her name was charity zhao. she was foreign, much like y/n, and started working with the company about a year after y/n joined.
“i hate these things,” charity groaned to y/n. y/n hummed in agreement as charity spoke again. “they don’t even ask us where we want to eat. they just pick a place and we go. no care for dietary accommodations.”
“y’know these aren’t required. we don’t have to come to these,” y/n reminded their colleague who brushed off their words.
“yeah, but if we don’t come, they’ll see it as disrespectful as they are our seniors. a bunch of bullshit if you ask me. i’m surprised that you aren’t more opposed to this kind of thing,” she said, continuing when y/n gave them a look of confusion. “every time we go out as a group, you end up paying for people who do nothing but give you a hard time. that doesn’t bother you?”
y/n shrugged, “i guess i never really noticed. besides, i don’t mind paying for other people.”
that was a complete lie. y/n did notice that they were the ones to pick up the bill or to pay for things that those around them wanted. it happened outside of work as well. of course they knew that people were mostly paying them attention due the fact that they had a black card, but they didn’t care because in their mind, it was still good attention. they’d get that anyway that they had to.
“let me buy you lunch sometime. instead of you spending your money on us, i’ll pay,” charity suggested, holding the door for y/n as they group entered the restaurant.
“we’ll see,” y/n said, still following the group to a table big enough to fit all of them. there were about 9 managers per department as the departments usually had just over 300 employees.
the lunch was pretty uneventful as everyone indulged in their own conversation as pairs of two or groups of three with y/n talking to charity and another junior manager for most of it. against charity’s advice, y/n offered to pay for the meal after seeing the price. before the waiter could take the check however, they were stopped.
“i’ll pay for it, instead,” y/n promptly looked away at the sound of kokonoi’s voice, not realizing that he took his lunch at the same time as they did. “this is a company meal, is it not? shouldn’t you all be using the company card for your department?”
“i forgot it on my desk, so l/n offered to pay instead, sir,” the head manager explained causing kokonoi to look at y/n who was looking away from the scene, drinking from the straw in their drink. y/n was inwardly cringing as they noticed the man holding their card for them to take back.
“thank you.”
“two days, l/n. watch your emails.”
“…her eldest son just became chairman after her husband stepped down from his position and a few of her other children have jobs in law enforcement. i invited them over for dinner next week so that you’d all be able to meet them. i expect you all to be here as soon as possible,” y/n found themselves listening to their mother rant about a new friend that she had made during one of her outings. their mother had the habit of meeting and introducing people to the family as a way to subtly brag about her children’s accomplishments. that was one of the only times that y/n was of any true importance to the woman. y/n doubted that their mother would give them a minute of her time if they were less accomplished.
“i have a business trip next week due to an impromptu and temporary adjustment in my position. i have been selected to act as the ceo’s assistant until he can find a better fit. i assume it’s because i have a human resources position and we are usually in charge of this kind of thing. i apologize for my potential absence at the dinner. i’m sure i’ll be able to meet them another night,” y/n spoke for the first time since they sat down at the dinner table. their mother looked at them disappointedly as she sighed.
“is a work vacation more important than spending time with your family?” their father asked, sitting at the head of the table. this was also the first time that the man had spoken to y/n that day. the two of them hadn’t seen much of each other throughout the day as they both go to work early and come home just before dinner time. y/n would be lying if they said that their overlapping schedules were inconvenient to them.
‘does spending time with my family pay my bills or help my sanity?’ y/n thought as they wiped their mouth to speak to the man. “it’s a business trip where i’ll be working most of the time. it is not a vacation. and i didn’t say it was more important than my family. i have to work so that i can live comfortably.”
“you wouldn’t have to worry about that if you tried to marry. many of my friends have asked me to introduce one of my children to theirs and you are the only one that is of age and unmarried. perhaps if you stayed and came to the dinner, that would change.” and there was the other reason that y/n’s mother put up with them. the promise of marrying off another one of her well behaved and high-achieving children. the thought of an arranged marriage made y/n want to gag.
“if you’ll excuse me, i have an early morning. i will see you for dinner tomorrow. good night,” y/n said, standing up from the table, their plate basically untouched as they walked away from it. this topic of conversation never failed to make y/n appetite disappear.
“y/n,” their father said, making them turn around to face the man. “don’t bother with tomorrow.”
“i understand,” y/n said, slipping on their shoes and coat before leaving without a second goodbye. y/n often told joey to go home to his family after he dropped them off at the family house, him never listening as it was a part of his job to wait for them. times like these were one of the few times that y/n appreciate joey ignoring their request from him to take an early leave.
“are you alright, y/n?” joey asked as he opened the door for them before they could reach for it. y/n gave him a small ingenuine smile as they nodded and got into the car.
at least, they didn’t have to worry about being late to dinner tomorrow.
concept—insert y/n l/n. in their mid twenties, comes from an affluent family, went to all the best schools, received the best grades, graduated almost at the top of their class with a bachelor’s degree in finance, and even works at the biggest stocks company in japan. they’re so kind, so helpful, so patient, so naive, truly the textbook definition of a people pleaser. they’re almost like tinker bell, something close to needing attention to survive. one problem though: the ceo isn’t a fan. how ever will y/n survive?
pairing—ceo!hajime kokonoi x black!afab!reader.
word count—2.6k
genre—ceo!au, slight office!au, fluff, angst, suggestive?, one-sided enemies to lovers.
warnings for the chapter—feigned naivety, cursing, that’s all i think.
y/n was perfect in every way. well, more like in every way that mattered.
they come from a long line of generational wealth with their immediate family acting as the face of the legacy. they graduated summa cum laude from one of the best schools in the country, and had a picture perfect face with a personality to match. that’s all that society had to know in order to paint them as perfect. y/n would like to say that they didn’t care about how they were viewed by those around them, but they would be lying. y/n basked in all of the good attention that they received during charity events or public gatherings, eating up the non-stop praises that they’ve received from colleagues of their parents or their own.
y/n pretended to listen to what their mother was saying as they ate their breakfast fast enough to be finished quickly, but not too fast to avoid being scolded by their mother. everything that the woman was saying went in one ear and out the other with some phrases being caught in y/n brain so they could at least feign knowledge about what the woman was saying. y/n was grateful that they no longer lived with their parents as their mother sure knew how to talk.
“…do you think you’ll be able to attend? your siblings will be there so it’s expected that you will be as well,” y/n heard as they returned their focus to their mother. y/n checked their watch and stood from the table, stacking their dishes before a maid took over.
“if it doesn’t conflict with my work, i’ll be sure to let you know. i have to head to work now. i’ll see you for dinner if i don’t stay late. if i do stay later than usual, i’ll call you and see you for breakfast tomorrow. i love you, bye,” y/n rushed as they saw their younger sister walking down the large staircase, wearing her school uniform.
“work hard and be sure to get back to me about the event i told you about,” their mother said, giving her attention to her youngest child as the older one slipped on their shoes and jacket before leaving out the door, work bag in hand.
per their father’s request, y/n was driven to and from work by a driver that he had hired for them while they were in school. y/n still had their own car to get around on days that they didn’t work or if the driver had other things to handle. y/n tried to need the driver as little as possible, not wanting to take up too much of his time, but he insisted that they weren’t a burden as this was his job.
“good morning, joey. how are you?” y/n said as they saw him standing next to the sleek black car that he usually drove them in.
“good morning, y/n. i’m well,” he replied, going to open the door for them. y/n beat him to it, being closer to the handle than he was. “you’re still playing that game? after all these years?“
y/n smiled brightly at the man. they used to try and beat him to the door handle when they were young, often losing as they got distracted by something else. “old habits die hard, i’m afraid.”
y/n let him close the door as they buckled themselves in and sat their bag on the seat next to them, pulling out their cellular device. they hadn’t checked their emails or messages all morning and were sure that they had received an abundance of inquiries, requests, and casual conversations from their co-workers. a few of them were coffee orders which they were fine with getting as they usually did.
“are we stopping at the cafe this morning?” joey asked, peaking at y/n in the rear view mirror.
y/n nodded and looked up to meet his eyes in the mirror. “i’m ordering the orders right now. would you like me to get you something? i don’t see your usual cup of tea.”
“i assure you that i am fine, y/n. thank you for the offer.” y/n hummed and smiled before returning their gaze to their phone. y/n’s generosity was another reason why their colleagues spoke so highly of them. always willing to give and equally as reluctant to receive.
y/n picked up the orders with ease and was soon dropped off at their place of work, thanking joey as they usually did before heading into the building. they worked on the 19th out of 25 floors that were in the building, often using their associate’s degree more than their master’s. despite their desire to work on the financial part of the company, y/n was made a manager of the human resources department after their promotion. they were still somewhat satisfied with their area of work, but not as satisfied as they knew working with numbers would make them.
y/n made many stops before reaching their office, saying hi to a few of their colleagues and dropping off respective coffee orders. y/n was left with their own cup of coffee and two empty drink trays. y/n set them down by the trash before getting situated at their desk and starting up the computer. y/n sighed as they opened their emails, hoping to work on a few of the documents that they had been sent. before they could even begin typing, the door of their office swung open, revealing one of the senior managers.
“good morning, sir,” y/n greeted.
“morning. you don’t seem like you’re too busy, so i need you to do something. the ceo is requesting a huge meeting with at least one rep from each department. usually, a senior manager would be the one attending, but we all have a lot of paperwork to get through. i need you to fill in for me,” he requested, though it sounded more like he already made the decision for them.
“i actually have a few of my own doc—,” y/n said, trying to politely decline a duty that she didn’t feel qualified to do.
“thanks. you can send me whatever notes you take during the meeting. it starts in about fifteen minutes,” the man said, ignoring y/n’s attempts to decline.
“but i—,” y/n tried again, but before they could finish, their superior was out the door. y/n turned back to the spreadsheet that they had previously opened before groaning quietly and resting their head on the desk. y/n cursed under their breath, thinking about how this meeting would make them have to stay later and miss dinner at home. while y/n wasn’t totally opposed to not seeing her family for dinner, that meant that they would have to cook something themselves or order out, neither of which they felt like doing.
a knock on their office door had them straightening their clothes as they sat up. “come in.”
“hey,” vaughan, one of the general employees, greeted as he entered the room. “i’m assuming that somebody just gave you a bigger workload seeing as a senior manager just left out of here and you look seconds away from ripping out a braid or two. what’s up?”
“i have to go to the meeting with the ceo today and it’s about ten minutes from now. i have no clue what it’s about or how to prepare, but everyone else has paperwork and i have a lesser workload right now.”
“you have more files on your desk than i’m pretty sure all of the senior managers have combined. this is like a week worth of work,” he said, opening and closing a few of the files after getting a glimpse of it’s contents. he sat a pastry bag down on the desk. “i got you one of the strawberry glazed donuts. someone brought them in this morning and i thought i’d get you one.”
“thank you. and our seniors are probably working on more pressing matters so i’m fine with doing this. i’m more worried about meeting ceo,” y/n said, biting into the donut that he sat on their desk.
vaughan’s eyes widened as he looked at them. “you’ve never met him? not even in passing?”
“nope, i spend most of my time in my office to see him,” y/n replied, checking their watch and groaning again. “but, i will be meeting him in ten minutes. i have all of the documents that we’ve gone over in meetings on my company ipad, so hopefully i’ll be able to come up with something. wanna walk with me?”
vaughan shook his head. “i would but i have my own stack of paperwork waiting for me. are we on for lunch?”
“yeah, i’ll pay,” y/n said, gathering the ipad and notebook on their desk before walking out of the office with vaughan behind them.
“no, it’s my treat this time. you paid the last time,” vaughan objected.
“and i’ll pay this time as well. see you at noon!” y/n called over their shoulder, leaving no room for further objection as they left the department area. the bigger meetings were usually held on the 23rd floor and y/n hoped that they would be able to follow a few others to the room where it would be held.
y/n’s prayers were answered when they noticed a few department heads getting on the same elevator that they got on. they got a few hellos and looks of confusion from those who were probably wondering why they were seeing y/n and not an older manager. y/n could only hope that the ceo wouldn’t mind their presence in the meeting, sparing them of the explanation.
speaking of the ceo, it’s not like y/n didn’t know who he was, they were well aware that they worked for hajime kokonoi. he was usually only seen entering and exiting the building and y/n entered after he did and usually left before.
y/n followed the group into a meeting room and didn’t see the ceo yet. after choosing to sit in the seat furthest from where the ceo would be sitting, y/n looked around to see if there was anyone that they were familiar enough with to ask about the purpose of this meeting. there were only two people that they knew the names of and they were sitting on the opposite end of the table. y/n thought about asking the person next to them, but, before they could go through with that plan, the doors opened and kokonoi entered. many people sprung to their feet, y/n opting to do the same and bowing in the direction of his seat before sitting down like their seniors were.
“good morning, everyone,” he greeted, earning a chorus of ‘good morning, sir’s and ‘morning, chief’ from those who were more casual with him. he took a look around the room and furrowed his brow. “no human resources representative today?”
as he finished his sentence, y/n internal wished that the floor would open up and swallow them. as they felt a few pairs of eyes land on them, they stood up and spoke. “i’m here, sir.”
kokonoi met their eyes and his expression changed slightly, almost as if he was unimpressed with their presence. “i requested the presence of one of your senior managers. though i’m sure you’re just as capable as they are, may i ask why you are here?”
“they asked me to take their place as they are handling important paperwork,” y/n answered, maintaining eye contact with the man. he quirked his eyebrow at them before looking back at the paperwork before him.
“thank you for filling in, l/n.”
instead of verbally answering, y/n settled for bowing slightly and sitting back down in their seat, wishing that the meeting would end quickly.
thankfully, the meeting, which y/n quickly found out was about discussing his need for a temporary personal assistant as the usual one is pregnant, only took about an hour. y/n would’ve been the first one out the door if it wasn’t for kokonoi asking them to stay back for a minute.
“i don’t appreciate you allowing my employees to slack off and abandon their responsibilities,”he said, not looking up from the many papers that were laid out before him. y/n was lost for words at his accusation, not really knowing what to say as a response. “nothing to say?”
“i’m confused as to what i did that was wrong? my superior gave me an order and i followed it. i apologize if my being here complicated things for you,” y/n apologized, waiting for him to dismiss them as he didn’t speak again.
“it’s not their job to give you orders. it’s their job to follow mine. keep that in mind. you may leave,” he said, finally looking up at them. y/n opened their mouth to retort but closed it and settled for nodding.
“yes, sir. i apologize on their behalf as well then. have a nice rest of your day,” y/n quickly exited the room and sped to the elevator, hoping to be on it before he decided to leave the room himself. y/n wanted nothing more to bang their head into the wall of the elevator a few times but decided against it as that reaction would be too dramatic for the current circumstance.
as they made it back to their office, they were greeted by the unpleasant sight of more files stacked onto the pile on their desk. they groaned silently, shoulder dropping in displeasure before sitting down in their desk chair and working on the pile.
so much for going home at a reasonable time.
nine hours later and y/n was still seated behind their desk, sifting through complaints, inquiries, and spreadsheets that weren’t assigned to them. all of their co-workers had already left, even vaughan, who they had to push out the door when he insisted on staying until they were done. y/n appreciated the notion, but they wouldn’t get any work done with vaughan around.
two knocks on y/n’s door had them looking at the time and back at the door, “you can come in.”
y/n expression wavered as kokonoi walked in with his briefcase and coat in hand. y/n looked at the time again and realized that they were supposed to leave two hours ago, but were too caught up in their work to realize.
“you do know that you don’t get paid for overtime, l/n?” he said, standing in the doorway of their office.
“ah, yes sir. i was just finishing up some of this paperwork. i’ll leave now,” y/n says, turning off the computer and beginning to pack up their belongings.
“is this the paperwork that your superiors were so called swamped with?” he asked, causing y/n to freeze. if they lied, it would be too obvious for him not to notice, and if they told the truth, their superiors would be up their ass tomorrow.
“i’m not sure, sir. these were here when i came back from the meeting. you would have to ask one of them,” y/n answered, pulling on their coat. the two stepped out of the office, allowing y/n to lock it behind them. “i have to call my driver.”
“i don’t have to ask them to know where these came from. you don’t have to lie for them.”
concept—insert y/n l/n. in their mid twenties, comes from an affluent family, went to all the best school, received the best grades, graduated almost at the top of their class with a master’s degree in finance and associate’s in human resources, and even works at the biggest stocks company in japan. they’re so kind, so helpful, so patient, so naive, truly the textbook definition of a people pleaser. they’re almost like tinkerbell, something close to needing attention to survive. one problem though: the ceo isn’t a fan. how ever will y/n survive?
pairing—ceo!hajime kokonoi x black!afab!reader.
genre—ceo!au, slight office!au, fluff, angst, suggestive?, one-sided enemies to lovers.
potential warnings—cursing, bullying in a sense, suggestive phrases or scenes, violence, y/n acts oblivious but isn’t so feigned naivety?, unfair family dynamics, sensitive topics, & the usage of the ‘n’ word as y/n and other included characters are black!
You are a girl with ambitions, nothing seems to be wrong in your life. You’re graduation in med school, the job of your dream a family and friends who care for you but most of all, your boyfriend Ran Haitani…Nothing can be wrong until some days before graduation you finally ask Ran to live with you only to leave you after a 7 years relationship. Who’s gonna be there for you?
More of my cute selfinsert x Koko, from tokyo revengers. It was fun trying to copy the manga lineart style, I think I will implement it in my drawings from now on
There is so much more to you than cash and business deals.
There’s that starry-eyed blushy boy who sees the world with bright eyes.
There’s that determined hero who risked his life to save someone.
There’s that goal-driven student who studied all the ways and means he can to save up money for someone he values.
There’s that quiet kid who never failed to follow and protect his best friend.
There’s that strong-willed adviser who may or may not go nuts because of his team. (istg he sometimes regrets teaming up w/ KMG)
Behind that scheming, investing, money-making man, is a loyal and ever supportive follower.
Today, you’ll turn 32 and I hope you’ve forgiven yourself for your flaws. And I hope that you do understand that Inui would still choose you despite everything.
So if that’s Ran in the birthday art and he did know Koko before because they were doing business together
then does that mean all this is potentially his fault?
Originally I assumed Izana had heard about Koko through either Inui or Kisaki or even just random rumours. But what if Ran was the one who told him all about the money making genius who could help Tenjiku reach new financial heights?
We also cut straight to Ran after Shion tells Koko he made a wise choice in joining them.
ALT
