As the Cherry Blossoms fall [[SexyLover and Yukio]]

[Yukio_of_the_Snow]

Atarashi Hatori has known his entire life what he was going to be. It was planned for him from the start. Groomed into him to become second nature, not something he would ever question and simply something he would accept to be the path he had been born into. His family hailed from a long line of CEOs to a highly acknowledged and renown Corporation. Every generation in his bloodline had produced Heirs that would take over the ropes of their predecessor when the right time came. At the start of their 19th birthday. Never has the CEO not been of Atarashi decent and never has any of the Heirs allowed the company to fall from the high pedestal it has always stood upon.

 

Hatori is no exception to this. He knows what must be done to keep the company in good standings and he isn't afraid to make the right sacrifices and make the right pawns move every now and again.

 

However, in the middle of his 21st birthday celebration, he runs into a man that he feels a strange bond with. By no means is the man someone who should be allowed to mingle with people of Hatori's standards, nevertheless he is an acquaintance of a business associate so Hatori allows him to stay during the celebration. That does not mean that the strange nagging feeling that he should know this man escapes him though....especially when he feels that this other man knows something he's not telling him.

 

A few weeks go by after his birthday, Hatori puts the encounter and his strange feeling for the man into the back of his head. He has a Company to run and more important things to worry about after all. Yet he gets the shock of his life when he meets the new employee to his Company. The same man he met at his birthday celebration weeks ago. And this time, the man is under no keenness to keep whatever he knows a secret from Hatori.

 

When the man reveals a forgotten past between the two of them, how will Hatori react? Especially with this man claiming to be his long lost brother? One who seems to have more than brotherly feelings towards him?

[Yukio_of_the_Snow]

Grumbling softly under his breath, a long haired brunette stood quietly...patiently as he waited for the elevator to reach its destination. It was rather early still, being no later than 8 am yet this was the typical hour the brunette usually showed up for work, even though many knew by heart that mornings were not his strong suit. Atarashi Hatori, known commonly at simply "Tori" by his close group of friends, was a CEO and regardless of his inner struggle with morning hours, he had a responsibility to uphold. The young 21 year old had been running his family's Corporation from the tender age of 19 after having spent his entire earlier years getting groomed to become the successor his family needed him to be. Though running the Company itself wasn't overly difficult, Hatori had never enjoyed having to spend hours locked inside four walls, answering numerous phone calls, signing countless files of papers, and responding to endless business messages that always seemed to need his immediate attention. Nevertheless, as a CEO he had come to accept that this would be his life until the next Heir took his or her place. Might as well buckle in and enjoy the ride that had only just begun.

 

"Morning Tori!" a cheerful female voice chirped the very second his elevator stopped at the Industry's 50th floor and the doors slide open to reveal his form to the people already buzzing around in the large floor space. "Yumi, good morning" came Hatori's soft spoken greeting, one that carried a heavy tone of sleepiness still present in it. "Hmmm, it seems like turning 21 has done nothing to help you handle mornings any more easily, Tori~cyan" a perky blonde haired woman grinned up at him as she joined his side when the man began to make his way through the people and towards where his office was located. "I doubt my age will ever matter when it comes to mornings....I'll end up hating them a bit more every year that passes" Hatori replied, shooting his friend a amused look as she giggled beside him. "I don't doubt that....But it can't be helped....Here are a few of the papers you have to look through before signing them, they come from several of our sister companies and business partners. You have a conference at 12 today and then you have lunch planned for 3 pm with the department heads" the woman smiled while informing him of some more important tasks in the day, all the while passing him a bundle of papers.

 

"Got it, thanks. Could you send me some coffee to my office. I might need it to function through all that today" the long haired brunette requested, stopping briefly at the large oak door to his office. "You don't even have to ask, silly. Coffee will be here in just a few, promise" the woman nodded cheerfully before all but skipping out of view as Hatori opened his office door and slipped into the massive room. Walking a few steps in to approach his large wooden desk, the young CEO elegantly sank down into his comfortable black chair, placing the papers calmly on his desk before flipping open his laptop to look at what he had to analyze. It seemed that today would be simply just like any other day.

 

Hatori didn't know how long he spent sitting there, fingers tapping away at the keyboard and eyes roaming through sentences and sentences of words. His coffee had arrived and quickly had been gulped down throughout the time the man had sat there. Something quite usual for him to do. What was not normal was someone interrupting him in the middle of his work. Lifting his gaze from his computer screen the moment someone knocked on his door, Hatori frowned lightly but nevertheless called out "Come in!".

 

"Mr. Atarashi, I was just showing the new kid around. I thought you'd want to have a few words with him before he got set out on his own" one of his employees said politely, gesturing for the new employee to come in before quietly leaving the room. Hatori was just about to dismiss this new face when something clicked in his head....He had seen this kid before.....Yes, he definitely had....at his party if he remembered correctly.

 

"You? What are you doing here? Aren't you too young to be working here? " he asked quietly, tone never raising from those calm almost stoic level even as a thin brown brow arched up curiously.

[SexyLover]

Takeshi leaned his head back against the rather uncomfortable iron fence. It didn’t matter much, as he was just about to leave. Pushing himself away from the stupid fence, he strode away from the graveyard that held the bodies of what used to be his parents.

 

He had a job to go to and he didn’t want to be late, especially considering it’s the first day. He wasn’t anyone important, just an errand boy, but what else could be expected from a fifteen-year-old student who still had to go to school as much as he’d rather avoid it. And just his luck, his usual hours would require him to literally run from school to work immediately. There would be no leisurely breaks in between the two. He was lucky in that today there was no school.

 

It was worth it though, if that’s what it took to see his brother. His older brother had been separated from him when they were young, and it seems he lost his memories of the time. The thought still upset Takeshi, but he hoped that Hatori, at the very least, had a better childhood than himself.

 

Shaking away the upsetting thoughts, Takeshi paused at the doors to the company. Taking a deep breath, and a moment to question his sanity, he walked into the building.

 

He had managed to catch a glimpse of his older brother at Hatori's 21st birthday party. He was only invited because it happened shortly after his meeting with one of the department heads. The same guy that got him this job.

 

Quite abruptly, Takeshi froze in a panic. He did a quick check to confirm that he had, in fact, removed his piercings and his usual attire was exchanged for a white button down shirt and a pair of black jeans that were not faded or ripped. He did a fast confirmation that his hair was properly combed into a more professional hairstyle and then he breathed a huge sigh of relief as he found that he hadn’t forgot anything. At least, nothing he had noticed yet.

 

After he made his arrival known, he was taken on a tour. He found himself constantly smiling and attempting small talk. Fortunately, he didn’t have to keep these conversations going as he rather disliked making small talk. Takeshi found that he liked most of the people in the company and was rather quickly making friends with everyone.

 

And then the bomb dropped. His tour guide, whose name was already forgotten much to Takeshi’s displeasure, told him that he needed to meet the boss. The boss was his brother who had forgotten all about Takeshi’s existence. Hesitantly, Takeshi follows his guide to the door that hid the sight of Hatori.

 

After knocking on the door and getting permission to enter, his guide did so.

 

"Mr. Atarashi, I was just showing the new kid around. I thought you'd want to have a few words with him before he got set out on his own"

 

This was all the warning he got before his guide gestured him inside and he was left facing his older brother, feeling more than a little unprepared. It’s one thing to see him from a distance, like at the party, and another thing entirely to be standing in front of him in his office.

 

Takeshi can’t help but stare at his gorgeous older brother. Perhaps that’s not how most younger brothers think of their older sibling, but Takeshi has been in love with his brother since he was little, not that he had known what it was back then.

 

"You? What are you doing here? Aren't you too young to be working here? "

 

Hatori’s voice was quiet and calm, but his raised eyebrow showed his curiosity.

 

Takeshi bites his lip and hesitates before the words fully register. “Me? What I’m doing here . . . I’m the new worker. Well, a part-time worker. I was offered a job as an errand boy, so I was just getting a tour from . . . ” He trails off, unsure of the name of the guy who gave him a tour. He wanted to hit himself, because seriously, why couldn’t he remember the name of the nice guy who has been taking time out of his work day to show him the place?

 

He shakes his head, upset with himself but recognizing that this may not be the time to worry about his failure to remember a name. Now was the time to make a choice.

 

He has to decide whether or not he will tell Atarashi Hatori that he, Takeshi, is actually his younger brother.

[Yukio_of_the_Snow]

Blinking at the boy that stood in front of him, Hatori had to fight the very subtle twitch of his lips as a brief spark of amusement flickered through him. Though this boy didn't look like he belonged here in this upscale world, the young CEO would have still hoped the kid would manage to remember the simple name of his tour guide. Clearly he had been wrong. Then again, perhaps he had been expecting to much of the young man in front of him. Truth was, Hatori was even surprised the boy managed to get a job in his Company. The boy honestly couldn't be more than 15...maybe 16 years old. That was an unlikely age for him to be working in such a renown Corporation....then again, perhaps whoever brought him in saw a potential Hatori himself wasn't seeing at the moment.

 

"Umemi Kaname....That's the name of the man who was showing you the building. As a sign of courtesy and respect, I suggest you try to remember his name for further occurrences" Hatori stated lightly, lowering his icy crystal blue gaze to his laptop screen once more as his finger once again resumed their tapping away. It was obvious that though the boy still had a fraction of his attention, Hatori was more interested in getting back to his work than to converse anymore with the new errand boy. "I am surprised that someone your age has been hired into the Company, nevertheless I trust your employer's judgement. Bare in mind that working here will not be an easy task. If you want to keep your job, you will have to carry your weight. The moment you become a hindrance, I will see that you are terminated without hesitation. I won't tolerate any weak points in my Company. I will assume we are clear at that point, if you have any problems with my policy then you are free to leave now" the brunette addressed the boy calmly, tone indifferent and sounding as if he was reciting something incredibly boring yet unchangeable.

 

"If you decide to stay, I expect you will do the work provided to you without protests. Should you ever have any questions about an issue, you may refer to the Department Head who hired you, my personal assistant, or myself. However, I won't waste my time with pointless inquires...Unless the matter is of a pressing nature, one of which no one but myself can answer, then you are to pass your questions to the two people I mentioned before" Hatori added after a moment, wanting to make that last statement very clear. He had plenty of work to deal with, to have to handle foolishness on top of it all. Whoever hired this kid would simply have to put up with his questions. Hatori would have none of it.

 

"What is your name boy? I would prefer to address you by your given name instead of simple 'Errand boy'" the brunette finally asked, lifting his eyes briefly to look at the dark haired teen in front of him. The serene stoic expression never changing as he spoke.

[SexyLover]

"Umemi Kaname....That's the name of the man who was showing you the building. As a sign of courtesy and respect, I suggest you try to remember his name for further occurrences"

 

As soon as Hatori reminded Takeshi of the name, it jogged his memory. That’s right, his name had been Umemi Kaname and he had a dog named Jun. Which was awkward considering Takeshi’s name given at birth was Atarashi Junichi and he was usually just called Jun. Sharing a name with a dog was actually kind of amusing for Takeshi and not all that surprising. Jun meant obedient, after all. Ironically, it seems that Umemi-san’s dog was not very obedient. Just like Takeshi, actually. Usually, Takeshi was good at remembering details but he sometimes needed a memory jog. Especially with names.

 

Takeshi returns his focus to his new boss to see that he had returned some of his focus to whatever he was working on. Clearly, the new worker wasn’t much interest to him and he understood why. It was made more clear by his next words.

 

"I am surprised that someone your age has been hired into the Company, nevertheless I trust your employer's judgement. Bare in mind that working here will not be an easy task. If you want to keep your job, you will have to carry your weight. The moment you become a hindrance, I will see that you are terminated without hesitation. I won't tolerate any weak points in my Company. I will assume we are clear at that point, if you have any problems with my policy then you are free to leave now"

 

Takeshi cocks his head slightly, agreeing that it was strange for a fifteen-year-old punk (not that the boss knew about that slight detail) to work in a high class company. The only reason that Takeshi wasn’t confused by it is that he knew why the department head had done it. He had wanted Takeshi to go back to the ‘right’ path. Takeshi only cared about being able to see his brother. Although, now Takeshi was excited about working in the company for more than just seeing his brother. Now he knew that the other workers were going to be fun to work with. Or work for. Takeshi isn’t quite sure which it is but either way, fun people are fun.

 

As the more childish part of his personality gets suppressed once more, he focuses on the last part of what Hatori had said. He listened as his boss warns him of the difficulties of working here and how he would have no issue firing Takeshi if he made any sort of fuck-up.

 

"If you decide to stay, I expect you will do the work provided to you without protests. Should you ever have any questions about an issue, you may refer to the Department Head who hired you, my personal assistant, or myself. However, I won't waste my time with pointless inquires...Unless the matter is of a pressing nature, one of which no one but myself can answer, then you are to pass your questions to the two people I mentioned before"

Considering Takeshi had been roped into regular meetings with the department head responsible for his new job, that shouldn’t be too hard. Takeshi bites his lip a bit, wondering if the detail of them being brothers would be considered as a ‘matter of a pressing nature’ or not. He finally concluded that it could wait so that he could make the decision with circumstances that held less pressure. Although Takeshi wanted to be near his brother, he was still holding onto a fear that his brother might refuse him. Takeshi is terrified of that possibility. He didn’t want to lose his brother and first love just because he wanted to get closer to him. And he didn’t want to risk screwing up his brother’s life by revealing himself.

 

"What is your name boy? I would prefer to address you by your given name instead of simple 'Errand boy'"

 

Taking a deep breath, he thinks for a moment. “I respond to being called Takeshi.”

 

Takeshi is lost in flickers of memories of the time he had spent with Hatori as his brother. He thinks of the times they have smiled together, laughed, all the times they played, too. It had been Hatori that Takeshi went to when he had a nightmare or was upset for some reason and needed comfort. It was to Hatori that Takeshi had gone to when he was hungry, lonely or even just bored. He remembered when they took baths together and would get the water everywhere because they had too much fun. He remembered how Hatori would defend him when his parents got angry.

 

And he, standing in front of the Hatori that remembers none of this, he felt a great sadness that he didn’t know what to do with. Ultimately, he had lost everyone in his family. His parents were dead, his grandparents and other distant relatives didn’t want him and his brother had entirely forgotten his existence.

 

“You really don’t remember, huh? I mean, I knew that already. They had told me . . . But to see it is a lot harder than I expected,” Takeshi sighs, and feels a telltale burn in his eyes. Blinking back the tears, he swallows hard. “I’m sorry,” shaking his head he takes a step back towards the door. Right now, he had to get away from this person because Hatori definitely should not be seeing this. Or hearing it, for that matter. “I didn’t mean to say anything. I’m an errand boy, just an errand boy. That’s all. That’s all I should be. I- I’m gonna go get to work now, if you’ll excuse me,” he bows politely and respectfully and then he turns away, trying to keep Hatori from seeing his face. Trying to keep him from seeing the tears that had spilled. He quietly leaves the office, hoping he hadn’t offended or angered Hatori.

 

No. Not Hatori. He can’t be the little brother anymore. He doesn’t get to call him Hatori. He’s Atarashi. Atarashi the CEO of the company Takeshi works for as an errand boy. And that’s all it should be. This was for the best.

 

At least, that’s what Takeshi told himself as he walked away from Hato- Atarashi’s office. He managed to turn the corner before all he could see was a blurred array of colors and he fell against the wall, sliding to the ground. He rests his head on his knees trying to control his breathing. His eyes burned and his head pounded and all he could think of was his older brother.

[Yukio_of_the_Snow]

“You really don’t remember, huh? I mean, I knew that already. They had told me . . . But to see it is a lot harder than I expected,”

 

Frowning and tilting his head ever so slightly to one side at those words, Hatori gazed at the young teen in front of him with quiet curiosity. What was this boy talking about? Why did he act like he knew something Hatori himself didn't? What was it that Takeshi claimed Hatori didn't remember?

 

Parting his lips to question the teen about the first part of his rambling, Hatori didn't even manage to get a word out before the errand boy was bowing to him and hurrying out of the office. His actions and movements were jerky and quick, almost as if he was trying to hide something from the young CEO. Nevertheless, the brunette managed to catch a glimpse of the shine of tears in the boy's eyes and that had his confusing thoughts rising all the more.

 

Hatori didn't think he had treated this new employee any differently than he often treated everyone else. People just simply learned to handle his nature and moved on.....never had he seen anyone cry because of how he had spoken to them. It was an odd sight. However, something was telling the young CEO that it wasn't really his words that had triggered such a reaction.

 

There was this small, annoying sensation growing in him that had started the moment the teen had walked into his office. The same feeling he had had when he had caught a glimpse of Takeshi in his birthday celebration. Hatori couldn't quite place his finger on what it was...just that it was annoying him. Like there was something just beyond his reach that was somehow connected to Takeshi. A memory that was calling for him to discover it yet too vague for him to piece together.

 

Plenty of people knew that Atarashi Hatori didn't remember anything before his 11 years of age. No one knew exactly why that was and when questioned, the young child simply had shrugged and responded with a quiet "I don't know". His friends had reached a conclusion that something traumatic must have happened to him for his mind to create such a block to memories before the time he came to live with his grandparents. Hatori for his part hadn't really paid his lack of memory much mind. Growing up under his grandparents wing was hard enough, even as a child he knew he couldn't afford any distractions. Regardless, there had always been this small nagging sensation in his heart that he was leaving someone he loved perhaps even more than himself, behind. The brunette had never truly figured out why he felt that or what it meant, but he reached a sort of peace with himself. If handling life within the family would keep whoever he had left behind safe, then he would not fight what he had to live through while growing up as an full-fledged Atarashi.

 

It had been years since he had felt that feeling grab hold of his attention so strongly. The fact that it had resurfaced under the appearance of Takeshi made Hatori wonder if the two things were connected in some way or form.

 

Sighing heavily and passing a hand through a few loose strands of hair that fell at either side of his face to frame it, Hatori mumbled a soft annoyed statement under his breath as he rose from his chair. He had pressing work to get to, he knew that very well however, he also knew he wouldn't be able to concentrate fully unless he got to the bottom of whatever this Takeshi boy was hiding. If it were anyone else, Hatori would have completely ignored his curiosity for them....yet he found himself unable to do that when it came to his Company's new Errand boy.

 

Striding out of his office a few moments after Takeshi had left, Hatori glanced around trying to figure out the direction the teen had gone in. It took a few minutes but slowly, he decided to trust an instinctive tug to go down one direction of a long hall. Rounding the corner, his crystal blue eyes lowered to land on the person he had been looking for and though he had been taught early on never to allow his emotions to rule his judgement, Hatori couldn't help a small softening in the walls he usually set up to guard his heart.

 

"Takeshi" he addressed the child, tone of voice a bit gentler than how it had been before. Though his new employee was a teenager, Hatori couldn't help but still see him as quite young. Heck, they had a 6 year gap between them. In Hatori's eyes, the kid was still so young....someone who should be full of spirit....Not crumbled against a wall as he was now.

 

Ignoring the fact that he would have never been caught dead doing this for anyone but his close friends, Hatori knelled down in front of the teen and hesitantly reached out a hand to place it gently upon the boy's shoulder. "I believe there is something you aren't telling me...." he said softly.

 

Getting to his feet again, the brunette lowered his hand to lightly grasp one of the teen's wrists. Tugging ever so slightly to get the teen up to his feet, Hatori's serenely detached expression never changed even as he said "Come....Whatever it is, I would like to know if it concerns the company or myself. We should finish discussing this in my office".