Hikaru

Dinner the night my parents came was as awkward as ever. We didn't talk at all unless my mother was giving some kind of order. As Ryuto would say later on when we went to bed, it was hell. During the dinner, I realized that I'd have to deal with it for the next few days until they left.

And the next few days were as awkward and nerve-wrecking as ever. At school, I found myself tapping out the notes for my piano recital on every surface I came across and when Ludwig noticed my fingers, he'd take my hand and hold it in his where I would squeeze his fingers until they turned purple. Then when the others noticed us holding hands, they'd start making fun of us and telling us how they knew we'd end up dating. Finally, one of us would end up throwing something at Francis's or Gilbert's head since they were the ones who'd start it each time.

But Ludwig was really helpful to me. The day when my parents came to our school, he found me before I left the school and started blabbering about how I would never have to worry about competing for his affection because I was the only one he'd… After that, I shut up him with the kiss I've always wanted to give him since the first time he kissed me.

"I like you," I remember whispering to him after I kissed him. "And I always will."

When the night of my recital came, I sat in my room in front of my vanity desk as Auntie fixed my hair. I was a little nervous since my mother was going to be in the audience. But then I remembered that I had my friends there and my father and Ryuto. My mother...

"Why doesn't Mama like me?" I asked Auntie before I could even think about it.

Auntie stopped brushing my hair and looked at me in the mirror. "Your mama?" Auntie said and I nodded. "Your mama…your mama is complicated." Auntie took a deep breath before she started talking again. "When your mama was married to your papa, she had everything she wanted. Money, a handsome husband, and everyone to adore her. Your papa loved her a lot, too, and when he heard she was pregnant with you and your brother, he was ecstatic. But she wasn't. She wanted to have an abortion but your papa made her keep you two. She fought over it but in the end she had no choice but to agree with your papa.

"And when you two were finally born, your papa instantly loved you because he said you looked exactly like your mama. Your brother, on the other hand, looked like your papa so it was hard to believe you were twins."
"But why doesn't Mama like me?" I asked again.

"I'm telling you. Your mama wasn't happy when you were born. I remember her telling me that a man could only love one woman and that was enough. In a way, she was jealous that you had your papa's attention so she turned all hers to your brother."

I opened my mouth to say something but someone knocked on my door and my father entered. My father was holding up a white and black dress covered in a plastic with a matching white flower dangling on the side. The dress was cute and I knew why my mother was jealous. I was my father's favorite, not her anymore.

"Hikaru, I bought this for you while we were still in Japan," he said, handing it to me. "I thought you might like it."

I felt the soft material in my fingers and smiled at my father. "Thank you, Papa," I said, hugging him.

Auntie took it and brought it out of its plastic. "Come on, Hikaru," she said, pulling me into my private bathroom. "Let's see how it looks on you."

A Note from your Author:

So here we are at chapter sixteen! ...Have I really written that much? My original document says 26 pages and 12, 221 words at the end of this chapter…not that I'm bragging or anything *laughs* So in this chapter, we finally know why Mama doesn't like Hikaru. She's not Papa's favorite anymore and once Mama figured that out, Mama decided to turn all her attention on Ryuto. Nice mother, eh? But Hikaru has her papa to spoil her and buy her everything she needs and wants and whatever he thinks she'd like. Honestly, I didn't even know what I was writing in this chapter. I usually plan ahead and boom! I have a chapter but last night…or was it this morning?...I was writing and writing and writing and it popped out of the snow like daisies *laughs* Oh, and yes. Hikaru and Ludwig/Germany are finally dating. It feels so sudden, I know. I'm sorry. I wanted to go into it more but I felt like I needed to get this conflict out of the way. By the way, the girl Hikaru was jealous of was Seychelles but I couldn't find her human name…does she even have a human name? I was going to include that but I like it like this. I don't need to make myself crazy going over that conflict… Also, Ryuto and Lily/Liechtenstein are sort of dating but really not because of Basch/Switzerland *laughs* I wish Ryuto good luck in that relationship. Enjoy!