#I've been in full Special Interest Mode for the past several weeks

[dat-asslyn]

real quick

I know I've been reblogging a lot of Attack on Titan stuff lately so I just wanna be clear, I do NOT in any way support legitimate anti-semitism or any of the other Actually-Problematic-in-Real-Life aspects of the manga/anime. It's just another flawed piece of media whose premises must be carefully interrogated.

[namedaftercommunists]

Three of Eight [Kokonoi Hajime]

Masterlist

' Yukioto Ei, she's a full-blooded Filipino but she has a Japanese name'. I've always thought of it as strange, not to mention that she is unnaturally tall despite her nationality and sex. 'Well you can't really say it's a Japanese name, it's more comparable to that of a foreigner coming up with what they thought to be a Japanese name, using only random syllables and words from the language' I thought to myself, whilst bringing up a hand to my chin.

That in it brings up even more questions. If she made it up herself, what exactly is her real name? Despite not being fluent in the language you would be able to come up with a more believable name than the one she has now.

Despite her having notoriety and a still infamous reputation, nobody knows where she's from and who she is, not even here in Bonten. Before bailing her out I had only ever known of her reputation, a few of her achievements, her accident, and her arrest.

On paper, it seemed like I knew quite a bit about her, but those were things anyone from the general public could just look up and find out. I had tried to get more from the information department and a few of the executives, but all that I had gotten from them were the names of some of her past sponsors and the lifestyle she had before her arrest.

' I assume a few of her past sponsors did her a favor in scrubbing out her history in exchange for work' I mused at the high possibility. Before getting arrested Yukioto Ei was an illegal street racer, though what she did would be comparable to that of horse betting -Yukioto being the horse-. Every few weeks or so, her sponsors and sponsors of others would set up underground street races, they would bet on who wins, who loses, who gets injured, etc.

In exchange the racers would be tended to, taken care of, and get paid by their respective sponsors for winning races. Venues would change, and terrain would be different from the last one, laps became harder to do and harder to remember. Because of this every race was fresh and brought out competition from one another, more competition equaling more money.

Most sponsors participating in these races often have multiple racers, each specializing in different aspects and different combinations, these teams ranging from 10-20 people. Though this may be the case, Yukioto Ei had never been on a team of more than ten, this is because she specializes in all types of transportation.

Every vehicle, every terrain, every mode of transportation under the sky, all of which she had mastered and excelled in. Because of this, she was sought out by many other millionaires who were interested in winning, even despite the lavish lifestyle she had led, ie: Gambling and having an expensive shopping addiction.

But that was before her accident and before her arrest.

"Kokonoi-kun?" Yukioto calls out, the sound of ‘Hiro Yanagimachi’ shoes and standard Nike sneakers can be heard echoing from the building. I turned my head to the side, letting her know that I was listening, though not faltering from my pace. "Please refer to me as Kokonoi-san, Yukioto-san.'' I reprimanded, slight irritation hidden in my voice. "Oh okay. Kokonoi-san, where are we?" she asks once more, but this time heeding my instruction.

The day had already turned to night during the long drive here. Upon entering, multiple people were coming to-and-from the building, men and women dressed in the most lavish of clothing not too different from mine, all of which either carrying several casino chips, playing cards, rolling dice, or holding glasses filled with luxury alcohol. Cheers and jeers, along with the occasional noise of disgruntlement could be heard from the people, only to be drowned out by the noise of several slot machines and background music.

"What are you talking about? It's obvious we're in a casino" I reply in jest, knowing that it was not what the question was about. "Good evening Sir" An attendant seated on the side of the elevator greeted me and I nodded in recognition of the other. A faint 'hello' could be heard from Yukioto, greeting the woman at the desk.

"I know what a casino is Kokonoi-san, but we're in a quiet hallway right now. Y'know, where the casino part of the building isn't at?" She replies back, now in a hushed manner in an attempt to not disturb the working woman. 'I should hire someone to teach her how to speak formal Japanese, her rude way of speaking is really getting to me.' I thought, a sigh escaping me. "The Bonten executives and I are---" The sound of the elevator cuts me off and opens on our floor. Inside were Haruchiyo and Haitani Ran.

"I thought we were having a full executive meeting a few minutes from now?" I ask in confusion, in need of an explanation as to why two other executives were going down from what was most probably the floor we were supposed to hold the meeting on.

"Good evening to you too, Hajime-san," Haitani greeted as both men stepped off the elevator. I offer an irritated look in exchange. "Who's this?" Asked Sanzu, eyeing Yukioto in slight annoyance and confusion, most likely trying to figure out where he might have seen or met her before. "I'm--" "Her name is Yukioto Ei, she's a candidate I'm going to introduce in the meeting for who we should recruit as a valet" I cut her off, knowing full well her way of speaking might set Sanzu off, especially since he looks as if he's just coming down from a pill.

"Something came up, Mikey wants to see you in particular. I've been sent here to come and fetch you, and Haruchiyo-san was given an errand to run," Haitani says, a sigh following after before continuing. "Haru, can you lead Hajime-san's guest to an available room, while I escort him to Mikey?"

"The hell?? No way, I got shit to do. Let the attendant do it" Sanzu complained, the slowing drug trip irritating him as he weaved past me and Yukioto to get out of the situation. The attendant -already getting up to lead Yukioto to a room.

"The rooms are on your way out Haruchiyo, and Kamado-san has to stay here to inform the other executives of the canceled meeting" Haitani Ran motions a hand down to have Kamado, the attendant, sit back. A -tsk- leaves Sanzu’s person, only to be followed by a hand motioning to come with as he continues to walk.

I'm a bit hesitant to have Yukioto go with a recently come-down and irritated Sanzu, but it seems as though this change of plan and the apparent need for my presence to be with Mikey is important. With no choice left, I nudged Yukioto to go with the pink-ette, and she followed to his side only after throwing a look of confusion to me.

'At least she can read a room, things would've been difficult if she insisted on going with the attendant instead'. Another sigh leaves me. Haitani calls the elevator back down and I go in with him. I'm a bit worried as to what this emergency meeting is about.