signs of jealousy and concern when a non-family member "takes" their brother away from them, fearing he may forget or leave them. Twelve sisters Each sister has a unique method of addressing her older brother. Each method is derived from either onii-san or ani, both of which mean "older brother". However, most of the methods are rarely or never used in Japanese culture, except for Karen's onii-chan and Rinrin's aniki. There is never any sibling rivalry among the sisters: although they certainly each vie for his time and attention, they never see themselves as competitors; their unconditional love for him only strengthens their bonds with one another. The sisters not only regularly hang out with one another (often to exchange tales of how wonderful a brother he is), but they also arrange to "share" him when he inadvertently neglects to or cannot regularly visit any of them. Hailing from France, Aria is a rather soft-spoken character who has a tendency to cry whenever there is trouble, uttering the phrase "kusu" (an onomatopoeia for sniffling) when doing so. She enjoys sweets, especially parfait, and can usually be found wearing very frilly dresses with plenty of lace and bows. She refers to herself in the third-person, which is considered childish in Japanese culture, and speaks slowly. In the first anime, Wataru comments that time seems to pass more slowly around Aria, especially to someone who is used to the high-paced life of the city. In the second anime, Aria comments that being in the brother's company relieves her of her 'sleepy feelings', energizing her. She addresses the brother as the most childish name for one's brother. In English, she calls him "Mon Frère" (French for "My Brother"). Her birthday is November 2, is a Scorpio, and stands 139 cm (about 4' 7") tall. Mysterious and occasionally gothic, Chikage is very much into spellcraft, the occult, and religion. She is an accomplished practitioner of dark magic, but prefers to utilize her sorcery in subtle methods, rather than brute power. Common images associated with her are the Christian cross and butterflies. In the anime, Chikage claims that she and the brother have been together in previous lives, possibly as brother and sister, perhaps as lovers. She expresses a desire to have him for herself somehow, but admits that he has refused the offer or simply slipped from her grasp several times throughout their incarnations.