Brothers Conflict - Yuri

Ukyo and Sakura, Iori and Sarada

Ukyo and Sakura commenced work the same day. Ukyo as a lawyer and Sakura as a legal secretary. Ukyo didn't even notice that Sakura existed, but Sakura noticed him. How could she not when all the secretarial staff were buzzing about the new lawyer that had started today and wasn't, he absolutely dreamy.

Sakura was a clutze. Somehow, she would always knock, drop, break, trip or fall over something. Luckily, she was excellent at everything else.

Sakura, like all Sakura's was a pretty girl but unlike other Sakura's she had a average body, and nothing to stand out to say "Wow, look at me I'm beautiful " even her pretty looks were hidden. How were they hidden? They were hidden by glasses. Some people look better with glasses, Sakura was not one, she was the opposite, it didn't matter what style of glasses she tried, her pretty features were ruined and as a result no-one noticed or even paid her mind. As long as she did her job, that's all that mattered. Sakura long gave up on anyone noticing her so she wore the glasses that made her job the easiest, ones that didn't cause her headaches or cause her vision to blur from being to small.

Sakura watched Ukyo steadily rise up the lawyer ranks, helping him quietly and he never noticed this quiet girl who was excellent at blending into the background, being so unobtrusive that occasionally the lawyer's would forget she was there and demand a secretary's presence immediately to take the meetings notes to which she would ask "Excuse me, sir, is not my presence enough to take the notes?"

"Oh, I am sorry, I didn't notice you there!" They would reply and yell "Forget that order! We have a secretary here!"

To which the secretarial staff would roll their eyes and go "The Sakura ghost strikes again!"

They all knew of Sakura; in fact, she was the preferred note taker as she was able to do her job more effectively because she was unnoticed. Sakura, just by being there, made everyone's job easier and by her results should have been in charge of the secretarial department, but she wasn't.

Instead Sakura, by her choice, looked after Ukyo, not that he noticed, he didn't even notice that he was always catching her falling until Amamiya Reiko started work.

Reiko within a very short period of time won his heart and boasted about being engaged to him. In that time, she noticed Sakura's devotion to Ukyo and made her life hell. Akyo only then noticed her, but barely.

One-time Sakura was carrying the documents Ukyo had left to be filed back and Reiko, deliberately tripped her, Ukyo didn't see this all he saw was the mass of files flying through the air and the poor girl struggling to find her feet only to land indecorously at his feet. Sakura had sprained her ankle and was in a lot of pain, looked up with tears in her eyes, the tears made bigger by her glasses and of all things apologises "Sorry Ukyo Sorry I am in your way." As she starts picking up the files scattered around.
Reiko laughed at how pathetic Sakura looked.
Ukyo squatted down and helped her pick everything up and asked "Are you ok now?"

"No I am not" she replied "I think my ankle is twisted"

To her and Reiko's surprise, Ukyo asked "Where's your desk?"

To which Sakura points to her desk, which was his secretary's desk. Ukyo blinked in surprise, he had never actually noticed his secretary as she did her job so well that he never had to ask anything of her, even when he had letters for her to type up, he just left it in his secretary's pile of "to do" stuff and it was done to perfection.

Ukyo never even noticed that his secretary was female. But he scooped her up put her in her chair and the fallen files on her desk. He then left her to get a bandage to strap her ankle and a ice pack to reduce the swelling.

Meanwhile Reiko stormed over to her and said "Don't think you are going to have my fiancé!"

Sakura replied "How can I? I don't even exist to Ukyo. It's impossible."

"And don't you forget that " Reiko sneered and then left.

Ukyo came back, strapped her ankle and put ice on it.

"Thank you Ukyo " Sakura said "I apologise again for being in your road, and that it's likely I won't be able to help you properly the next few days"

Sakura was saying this as she did not think that she would be able to come into work for a couple of days as her foot was really hurting and she was thinking of going to the Accident and Emergency department to make sure that it was not broken. Sakura did go and was told that she was not to work for 1 week and keep her foot up. They gave her crutches to use and a Doctor's certificate to be off work.

Sakura went home and let off her steam to her vivacious bubbly sister Sarada. They had moved out of home together when Sakura had started her job at the firm and Sarada was studying to be a teacher. Sarada would often get annoyed by her sisters' devotion to her boss Ukyo, who for all intents and purposes didn't even see her. Sarada was a teacher, a very good teacher.

Ukyo's life that week was torture. Not only did he gain a unwanted sister, Ema, he found out his fiance Reiko was just using him to get ahead in the business, and she had. He ended his relationship with her. His work life also went sour too, the replacement secretary was useless in his eyes. She couldn't type, he had to constantly chase her for documents he needed either for court or typed.

"Why can't you do anything without instructions?" He snapped at the replacement secretary

"I am not Sakura " she replied "Sakura is special, even amongst secretaries. I bet you didn't even thank her or notice her for what she did for you!"

Ukyo realised that she had a point, he didn't even know he had a secretary until she fell. He determined that he would be more attentive to her on her return. But he soon forgot.

Sakura on her return, went out of her way to get him back on track, spending hours of her own time catching him up. She had been to his house several times before, and knew that he was his brother's "mother" and that he disliked being called that. She figured that with everything Ukyo was responsible for the least she could do was help him.

None of the brother's, except Iori, noticed that she was a regular visitor, dropping off cases or work Ukyo needed for the next day. Iori, would often chat with her about his garden, school and later work. No-one but Iori noticed her comings and goings because she was so unobtrusive. She felt her heart breaking when she met Ema, as she knew that Ema was so Ukyo's type looking almost exactly like Reiko, except Ema was sweet and innocent.

Sakura watched Ukyo and Iori try to court and also fail with Ema, who loved and married Subaru. She helped with the paperwork for Yuri's job offer and later Wataru and Chikako's arranged marriage. Not once was she noticed. Ukyo, plain forgot again about his invisible secretary who just happened to know everything about him, his needs, his wants and what he needed for work.

Sakura, after Wataru was remarried to his wife, decided to take long service leave. She figured that she needed the break, her heart couldn't take being ignored any longer.

Ukyo's work life became instantly harder. He could not believe how suddenly he became a ineffectual lawyer. It was not just him, it was the whole office, the whole office fell apart, to the point where Ukyo was staying back late just to stay up to date.

Iori caught him tiredly enter his home for the third week in a row
"Hey Ukyo " he greeted "You're home late again, I was wondering whatever happened to your pretty secretary?"

You see Iori had seen Sakura without her glasses one night as she was leaving. She had not seen him, or she would not have taken the time to take her glasses off wipe her tired eyes, look at the sky for a bit, put her glasses back on and go. But Iori had seen her and was staggered by her prettiness only have it all disappear by putting on her glasses.

"What pretty secretary?" Ukyo asked.

"You know the girl who was always here dropping off stuff for your cases or picking up things that you left?"

"I had someone like that?" Ukyo asked, suddenly wondering if that was why his life had become increasingly difficult.

"What?" Iori said staggered "Do you seriously mean to tell me that you never noticed that pretty lady? You know the one who has been working with you since you started?"

"I had someone like that?" He asked

"Seriously Ukyo, you need to pay attention, from what I can tell, if you lose her your life is going to remain difficult. I guess that I can understand why you would not remember her, she is so unobtrusive that I think of all our brothers I am the only one who noticed her coming and going."

"Thanks for the advice Iori" Ukyo said.

Ukyo then remembered the last time his life was difficult. It was when the girl who claimed to be his secretary was absent for a week due to twisting her ankle. When she returned his life went back to normal. He didn't even thank her like he wanted to.

The next day he went to work and found out about his secretary. He found her name was Soma Sakura and yes, his life went to hell when she went on leave. He also found out her plans for her long service, as she had told her plans to her boss and that he had a chance to go with her on a cruise.

The secretarial department boss said "You better do something to get her back as Sakura had written that she was unsure that she would return as she felt she had wrapped to much of her life in someone who didn't even see her."

Ukyo nodded and took long service leave for the following 2 weeks. He then got onto Iori and asked him "Please accompany me on the pacific Island cruise as you're the only one who has seen the lady who made my life easy."

"Fine" said Iori "But I will not let you hurt her any more, she's too nice a lady"

"How do you know her?"

"As I said, she came over regularly and I was lucky enough to talk with her. She sure knew you, did you even notice her?"

"No, it wasn't until she left I noticed and missed her" replied Ukyo "I need to get to know her!"

So they left to go on the same cruise that Sakura had gone on. Except that they were travelling first class with 2 bedrooms with king-size beds off a comfortable lounge, and Sakura was travelling in the cheapest room she could afford.

Iori and Ukyo spent the entire first day looking for Sakura and failing. In desperation, Ukyo went to the captain and told him of the situation, so the pair came up with a plan for Ukyo to meet the girl. Although Ukyo was footing the bill, the next day it was announced that there was a special 50-year draw and the following rooms were the winners and got to go on a exclusive island tour tomorrow while they were docked for the day. Congratulations rooms 202 and 3578.

Ukyo, Iori and Sakura showed up and they went on their 'date'. Iori excused himself, as soon as he saw it was Sakura, so that Ukyo had a chance to finally get to know his secretary.

By the end of the day, Ukyo wondered "How the hell did I miss this awesome lady? She's smart, kind and funny. I wish she was pretty though."

Sakura felt Ukyo warm up to her, like she was a actual person.

"Do you want to come to my room?" Asked Ukyo thinking that she could stay with them and be more comfortable than in her tiny shoebox she had described.

"Sure, but I won't stay long," replied Sakura " I am tired from today. "

"I am glad" smiled Ukyo "I really enjoyed today with you you know?"

"Me too" agreed Sakura tiredly, removing her glasses to rub her tired eyes.

Ukyo happened to be looking at her then and did a double take at how pretty she was.

"You're so pretty " Ukyo said without thinking.

This compliment startled Sakura so much she forgot to return her glasses to her face "What?" She asked not believing her ears "W-what did you just say?"

"I said, you're so pretty" repeated Ukyo, wondering how he missed that she was indeed pretty. It was like the glasses held a superpower of making the pretty - ordinary.
But now that power was rendered useless. For now, Ukyo had seen her actual face, he like Iori, could not unsee it. It was then like the glasses became invisible on her face.

She let out a bitter laugh as she returned the glasses to her face "now I know you're having a go at me, no one sees me as pretty." Her voice catching says so quietly that Ukyo nearly missed it "No-one sees me, I doubt they know I exist."

Ukyo's gentle side was triggered then, assuming that he would be rejected but doing it anyway, hugged the girl and tilted her face up to his, looking into her pretty hazel green eyes and kissed her mouth, which was Ruby red from biting her lips, from worry or nerves.
"I am sorry that I took so long to see you, but you exist to me and I hope that you always will, if you will let me?"

Sakura was so surprised by the kiss and what weirdly sounded like he cared about her she just stood in silence, stunned. Thinking surely, I am dreaming this?

Ukyo perturbed by her silence and stillness worried he offended her. "Are you ok Sakura? I am sorry if I offended you."

"I am ok, sorry Ukyo, I was just surprised, it sounded like you cared about me." She replied, still convinced that she was dreaming, After all in the 15 years of working beside him he only ever saw her the once, and that was when she twisted her ankle due to Reiko. He didn't even notice her all the other times he had caught her, it was like