I Choose The Villain Duke

It was a cold winter in the Hajime residence. Snow was falling steadily outside the window. A small girl with skin as white as snow and hair as black as raven's feathers was sneaking in to a room that wasn't hers.

There was a boy sleeping under the covers unaware of his little sister's ninja-like movements. He also had skin as white as snow and hair as black as raven's feathers. When she was already close enough to the bedside, she leapt up on the bed and jumped up and down.

"Merry Christmas, Onii-chan!"

Yuzan groaned. His head was still swimming with so much business information. He had lessons about the stock market until ten in the evening despite it being Christmas Eve already.

"What time is it, Mia-chan?" Yuzan said, rubbing his eyes.

"It's . . . Christmas . . . time . . . Onii-chan!" Mia said in between jumps.

"Mia-chan, stop jumping. I'm getting dizzy," Yuzan said.

Mia stopped jumping and gasped for breath.

"That was tiring," Mia declared.

"Yes, it was. Come here, Mia-chan," Yuzan said and gently pulled the little girl into his arms.

She snuggled to his chest, rubbing her nose at his neck.

"Is it midnight, Mia-chan?" Yuzan asked.

"Yes, it's Christmas, Onii-chan," Mia said happily.

"Is it all right if I give you my gift in the morning? Onii-chan wants to sleep more," Yuzan said while caressing Mia's head.

"Okay but I'll give you my gift now!" Mia said and sat up.

She handed him a handmade card. Yuzan felt his chest tighten with emotion. The card had a drawing on the cover. The drawing was a mess but he guessed that the black-haired doodle of a boy and the small black-haired doodle of a girl were the two of them.

"That's you, Onii-chan. I even drew your eye bags!" Mia pointed at the dark circles under the eyes of drawing version of himself.

Yuzan chucked. "That is very accurate. Thank you, Mia-chan."

Yuzan opened the card. There was a letter inside. Yuzan squinted his eyes at the messy handwriting but the power of his sister complex would enable him to deciper even if Mia used hieroglyphs.

"Dearest Onii-chan,

My wish is for you to be happy always and if okay with you, please be with Mia always. Thank you for caring for Mia.

I love you, Onii-chan.

Huuuuuugs!"

Yuzan squeezed Mia and buried his face in her hair.

"Thank you, Mia-chan. Onii-chan will always be with you. I love you too," Yuzan said.

"Can't breathe!" Mia removed his arms around her.

"Onii-chan, you didn't look at my other drawing!" Mia fumed.

"Your other drawing?" Yuzan asked in confusion and looked at the card again.

At the left side was the letter and at the right side there was indeed another drawing that he failed to notice. The drawing was of a boy with brown hair, brown skin, and green eyes.

"It's your favorite character! Suzaku!"

***

For those who haven't watched Code Geass (Spoiler alert!):

Suzaku was the best friend of Lelouch (Mia's favorite male character) but they became enemies afterwards because Lelouch accidentally killed Euphemia when his power went haywire (Mia's favorite female character).

***

Yuzan's eyes widened and laughed.

"Oh! Sorry I was just distracted by the colors. You're really good at coloring. I see, you really got the color of his eyes right and his skin looks the same. You're so talented, Mia-chan!" Yuzan said, trying to hide the fact that he didn't recognize the drawing at all.

Mia grinned at him proudly.

"I know that Suzaku is your favorite character, Onii-chan. Now you can take him with you always," Mia said.

"Ah, yes. How thoughtful of you, Mia-chan," Yuzan said.

He wanted to have it framed instead and preserved eternally. He didn't want to accidentally throw it away thinking it's one of his lecture notes.

"Onii-chan, why is Suzaku your favorite character?" Mia asked.

"He looks fine as hell," Yuzan said then his eyes widened in realization of what he just said.

Mia cocked her head to the side. "What does that mean?"

"I mean he looks nice, Mia-chan. His eyes look kind and his skin looks like chocolate. I mean, his skin is quite different from ours and I like it," Yuzan said.

Why did he feel like he was digging a hole for himself?

"Suzaku is like chocolate?" Mia asked, still not understanding what her brother was saying.

"Um, you'll understand when you grow up, Mia-chan. Anyway, I also like how he's protective of Euphemia," Yuzan said.

"She's my favorite female character!" Mia said.

"Yes, I know, and your favorite male character is Lelouch," Yuzan said.

***

For those who haven't watched Code Geass (Spoiler alert!):

Lelouch is the main character of the anime, Code Geass. He gets a power to control people when giving them a command. He takes on the role of a villain for the greater good.

***

Mia nodded enthusiastically.

"Thank you for your gift, Mia-chan. I will treasure it well," Yuzan said and hugged Mia.

"Are you going to sleep now, Onii-chan?" Mia asked.

"Yes, can you stay here, Mia-chan?" Yuzan asked and laid down, his arm still around Mia.

"Okay. Let me get your pillow, Onii-chan," Mia said.

"No need. Mia-chan can be my pillow," Yuzan said and hugged her.

"Mia is not a pillow," Mia pouted.

"Good night, Mia-chan. Thank you for your gift," Yuzan said and kissed the top of her head.

"Good night, Onii-chan," Mia said and closed her eyes.

*

*

*

Mia's eyes fluttered open. She felt something placed on her ears. They were headphones but she didn't know that yet as she was still half-asleep.

"Good morning, Mia-chan."

The voice did not belong to her brother. Mia was sure of that. The voice was like velvet, smooth and regal.

"It's Lelouch."

Mia's eyes widened. She was now wide awake.

"Look into my eyes, Mia-chan."

Yuzan turned on the television in front of his bed and it showed the face of Mia's favorite anime character. He had black hair and a very handsome face with an air of regality. Not of a Prince Charming but more of a very alluring evil prince.

Mia stared at the screen dumbstruck.

"Lelouch vi Britannia commands you: LIVE A HAPPY LIFE!"

Mia's jaw dropped open.

"Merry Christmas, Mia-chan."

The handsome character in the television smiled then the video ended.

"Um, Mia-chan, are you okay?" Yuzan asked, a bit worried at his little sister who looked frozen in shock.

"Was that real? Was that a dream?" Mia mumbled and pinched her arm.

"Ouch. Not a dream," Mia said then turned to her brother.

"Onii-chan! Lelouch! He greeted me!" Mia screamed.

Yuzan laughed. "Yes, he did. That is my Christmas gift to you. Do you like it?"

Mia jumped up and hugged Yuzan.

"I like it so much! Can I watch it again?" Mia asked.

"As much as you want," Yuzan said with a gentle expression on his face.

*

*

*

The recording was short but Yuzan went through hell to get that gift for Mia. He had to use his family connections to contact the voice actor. He also had to persuade their parents to let him get that recording for his sister. He blackmailed them by threatening that he would not study and also begged them because they were really hard to threaten. In the end, their parents agreed in the condition that he would still study even on Christmas Eve.

It was worth it just to see Mia shine with happiness. He would willingly go through it again to see her smile like that.

They ate breakfast together. Their parents were nowhere to be seen as usual. They were probably at a Christmas party for wealthy people, mingling but with business still in their minds.

There was a mountain of gifts under their very luxurious tree which were prepared by their parents. Yuzan and Mia barely looked at them. Their parents did not know and did not care for their interests so they just asked their assistants to buy the most popular and most expensive gifts for them.

Mia would gladly give those away to unfortunate children. She was already happy with Yuzan's gift. She was going to replay the recording over and over again.

Yuzan would give away their parents' gifts to less fortunate children too. Mia's hand-written letter was a treasure he would keep forever. He thought about how he should make it into an heirloom.

"Are we going to watch something today, Onii-chan?" Mia asked.

"Yes, I'm free for today. Let's finish watching Cardcaptor Sakura," Yuzan said.

"Yay!" Mia squealed.

Yuzan was not actually free. He would have to cram his calculus assignments late at night but for now, he was going to focus in spending time with his little sister.

They went inside the movie room. The movie room looked like a mini theater with leather seats and a big screen on the wall with a projector hanging from the ceiling.

Mia plopped down the leather seat and Yuzan sat down beside her. A maid went in and gave them bowls of popcorn. The maid quietly went away.

The room smelled of butter and popcorn. The opening song of the anime started and Mia sang along with it.

"Onii-chan, I know who's your favorite," Mia said while her cheeks were filled with popcorn inside.

Yuzan chuckled, thinking she looked like a chipmunk.

"Who do you think is my favorite, Mia-chan?" Yuzan asked.

"It's Touya, right?" Mia asked.

***

For those who haven't watched Cardcaptor Sakura (Spoiler alert!):

Touya is the name of Sakura's older brother. He likes teasing Sakura but he's actually an overprotective brother. He has a male best friend named Yukito and he gave up his magic power for Yukito's sake.

***

Yuzan was surprised.

"How did you know?" Yuzan asked.

"He has dark skin too. Like chocolate," Mia said.

Yuzan laughed.

"Yes, you're right. Hmm . . . I do like his looks but I think he's more of a role model, I guess. I think I should learn some pointers from him," Yuzan said as he watched at a scene where Touya had his male best friend, Yukito, cornered at a wall and their faces were really, really, close.

"What about you, Mia-chan? Who's your favorite?" Yuzan asked.

"It's Eriol," Mia said while blushing.

Yuzan frowned. "Isn't that kid kinda shady? He looks bad, Mia-chan. He's a sweet talker but I think he's a villain."

***

For those who haven't watched Cardcaptor Sakura (Spoiler alert!):

Eriol is a black-haired good-looking elegant boy in the anime. He took on a role of a villain for the greater good.

***

"Handsome villains are the best!" Mia said.

Yuzan laughed. "I do worry for your taste but I'm not one to preach. I do have a . . . preference of my own too."

"Chocolate guys!"

Yuzan's cheeks reddened. "Shush, Mia-chan."

Mia laughed.

"Well, as your big brother I have to protect you from any handsome villains you might fall for. I wouldn't want you to fall for the wrong kind," Yuzan said.

"Hmm . . . He should be as kind as Onii-chan," Mia said.

"I will have to check if he really is but that is a discussion for another time," Yuzan said.

"Onii-chan's chocolate should be kind to you too. If not, I will eat him!" Mia said with her arms crossed.

Yuzan smirked. "You can't do that. Only Onii-chan is allowed to do that."

It was a very happy Christmas for the siblings. Nothing else and no one else was needed. They had each other and that was enough.