I fidgeted with the pink rosary that always hung from my neck. I watched as the scenery blurred past me as the car I was in drove me to an unfamiliar place.
"There's no need to be nervous, dear." My mother said. She must have noticed how on-edge I was.
I turned my head away from the window to look at her. "Isn't normal to feel nervous about having dinner with a family I never met before?"
"Don't worry. Mr. Sakamaki knows how to behave himself, and he'll keep his sons in line." She assured me.
"Before today I never heard you mention a Sakamaki." I commented. It was true. The first time I heard that name was this morning when my mother informed me that he invited us to dinner tonight. "Is he a good friend of yours?"
"Friends is too strong of a word." My mother nearly scoffed at the mere idea. "We're acquaintances."
Seeing mother's disdain expression, I asked, "You don't like this man very much, do you?"
"I don't think anyone does." She answered offhandedly.
"Then why did you accept his invitation?"
She looked at me, saw my confusion and sighed. "Mr. Sakamaki isn't someone to say no to. He's the type who is used to getting what he wants. If I rejected the invite, it's quite possible he would find ways to make things difficult for us."
I felt even more nervous. My mother wasn't the type to be forced to do things she didn't want to do. I've seen how people responded to my mother. They're intimidated and scared to make the wrong move. I can't blame them though. My mother was a witch; an extremely powerful one. And she is as terrifying as she is beautiful. It's concerning that this man was able to get such a strong-willed woman to do his bidding.
"Mother, what is this dinner for?" I asked.
She didn't respond right away. It looked like she was internally debating with herself. "Mr. Sakamaki wished for you to meet his sons. They're around your age. Some a little bit older."
"Why?"
"Perhaps he wants his sons to have some sort of connection to a witch."
I noticed how her eyes shifted away from mine. Although unusual, I decided to let it go. "His sons-" I began, "Are they- are they nice?"
"You'll see for yourself soon." she replied as she looked through the car window.
Following her gaze, I saw that we've pulled in front of a huge manor. As I observed the beautiful, haunting exterior, I sensed an unwelcoming atmosphere. The sound of the chauffer opening our door broke me from my thoughts. Mother exited first and I followed. The chauffeur tipped his chat and went back to the driver's seat. I saw an older-looking man standing a couple of yards away, and he was slowly making his way towards us. As he got closer, I took note that his skin had a greyish tint to it, his dull eyes were vacant, and his hair fell flat. It didn't take long for me to recognize him as a familiar.
"Mistress Kasai. Young mistress Kasai, Welcome." We were greeted by his monotone and bow. "Please follow me. I'll escort you inside." He turned and began walking, leading us inside.
The interior gave off the same expression as the exterior. The design was grand, but it carried a daunting vibe that I couldn't ignore. I stuck close behind mother as we followed the man deeper into the mansion. Soon, we arrive at the doorway to dining room. I felt a strong tightening in my stomach when I saw the number of people seated. I turned to mother who silently mouthed 'it's okay.'
The servant stepped into the room. "Master, Mistress Kasai and her daughter have arrived." He announced, stepping aside. It was a signal for us to enter.
When we entered, eleven pairs of eyes were on us. Mother stood confident and proud while I so desperately wanted to hide behind her like I used to as a little girl.
The man sitting at the head of the table immediately stood up. His white hair flowed down his back and his golden eyes shined. "Oh, Morika! It's so good to see you after all these years." He greets my mother gleefully, as if they were lifelong friends. Suddenly, he was in front of me. He towered over me with a smile. The smile seemed friendly, but I noticed his fangs.
Vampire. He was a vampire, which meant his sons are vampires as well. And my mother apparently didn't think to tell me.
I've met vampires before. Some of them were pleasant enough, but others were just monstrous. Though I just met him, my gut was telling me that he was dangerous. "This lovely young lady must be your daughter." He said, his eyes flickered over to my mother. I glanced at her and saw how she tensed up. They held each other's gaze; it was almost as if they were having a wordless conversation. The atmosphere began to feel weighted down and I just wanted to break the tension.
"I presume you're Mr. Sakamaki." I said, turning his attention back to me. "I'm Kasai Yui."
"Mr. Sakamaki?" He chuckled. "Don't be so formal, dear. Call me Karlheinz." He moved behind me and gently applied pressure on my shoulders to guide me to an empty seat beside his. "Come now. Dinner will be brought out soon." He plopped me down in a chair, walked to the other side of the table to pull the chair out for mother before taking his seat.
I felt eyes burning through me. I looked down the table and was met with several intense stares. Karlheinz must have noticed.
"My apologies. I almost forgot to make the introductions. Boys, this is Kasai Morika and your daughter, Yui." He gestured towards us. "Ladies, this is my eldest, Shu. My second eldest, Reiji. The triplets; Ayato, Kanato, and Laito. My youngest, Subaru. My adopted sons, the Mukamis. Ruki, Yuma, Kou, and Azusa." With each name, he motioned to said boy. Looking at them, it was striking how different each of them were from each other.
"Hello, nice to meet you." I said the common pleasantry as my eyes did a quick glace over all of them. Most of them had a cold, uninterested look in their eyes. I looked across at my mother, unsure about what to do.
Thankfully, the servants began filing in with platters. After they set the platters down and took their leave, I realized how hungry I was when the sashimi was placed in front of me. As soon as everyone had their dish, they began to eat.
"I hope you enjoy your meal. I didn't know your preferences, so I thought sashimi would be a safe choice." Karlheinz said, looking at me.
"Oh, this is more than fine. Sashimi is one of my favorites. Thank you," I responded with a polite smile.
He returned the smile and turned his attention back to my mother. "Morika, how have you been? It's been sixteen years since we last met. So much to catch up on."
"I've been fine." She replied coldly.
"Still aloof as ever" He chuckled.
As their conversation continued, I glanced at the others. They were all focusing on their meals. No conversing. They weren't even looking at each other. Is it always like this?
"Yui," Karlheinz addressed me, "your mother's skills are rather impressive. Do you share the same talent?"
"Hardly," I scoffed without thinking. "I mean, my mother has been teaching, but it'll be a while before I'm anywhere close to her prowess."
"Oh, don't be so modest. I heard you're ahead of most witches your age."
From the corner of my eye, I saw my mother glaring at him. "How do you know that?" She asked.
"I have my ways. You know this." He spared her a glance before looking back at me. "I'm curious about something, Yui."
"Oh?" I wasn't sure what to say. The knots in my stomach was back.
"Have you inherited your father's power?" He asked. His smile was wider which made his fangs more visible.
"My father?" My eyebrows knitted together in confusion.
"Karl," My mother snapped at him. I know that tone. It was a warning.
"You know my father?" I asked.
"I do. We met when we were such foolish teenagers. We got into a lot of trouble together," He chuckled. "I introduced him to your mother. Sparks flew and I mean that quite literally. Isn't that right, Morika?" I glanced over to my mother. Her fists were clenched and her eyes were filled with disdain. When it was clear she wasn't going to respond, he continued on. "He was strong-headed, stubborn, and a bit conceited. But he was powerful, strong, and ambitious."
"Seems like you know him well. Certainly, better than I do." I couldn't help but give him a somewhat bitter smile. "The only thing I know about him is that he left my mother when she was pregnant with me." The sound of utensils clanging against China stopped, and I felt their eyes on me. But I paid no mind to it.
"Is that so?" He obviously didn't expect me to say that. "He hasn't visited? Have you tried to contact him?"
"No." I responded bluntly. "He made it clear he didn't want to be a part of my life when he walked out. I'm not sitting around, praying for him to come back. I have a mother who has successfully raised me for sixteen years. I don't need him."
Silence filled the room. I looked around the table. All eyes were on me. Mother's gaze was one of worry. Karlheinz looked like he was contemplating something. His sons had a look in their eyes that I couldn't quite decipher.
"I'm sorry." I forced out a smile as I stood. "I didn't mean to make things uncomfortable. Mother-" I turned to her. "perhaps it's time to take our leave." Not missing a beat, she appears next to me. "Thank you for having us over for dinner. The meal was delicious. But we best be going now." I addressed Karlheinz.
Before he could respond, my mother grabbed my hand and with a flick of my wrist, we were home.
Back at the Sakamaki household, Karlheinz let out an amused chuckle. "She wasn't what I was expecting."
"What's so funny, old man?" Ayato asked annoyed.
"Morika's daughter is a very interesting girl." The father said.
"What was the purpose of inviting them over?" Reiji questioned, pushing up his glasses.
"I wanted to meet Miss. Kasai." Karlheinz answered as if it was obvious. "After all, she is going to be the Queen of the Demon world. That had all his sons facing him.
"You're getting a fourth wife?" Shu asked him, though he sounded bored of the conversation.
"Does that make the girl our stepsister?" Kanato asked, squeezing Teddy. "Teddy, we'll have a new doll to dress up. Won't that be fun?"
"I'm not marrying. There's no fourth wife." Karlheinz clarified. "And I wasn't talking about Morika."
"So, you're talking about the daughter?" Ruki asked, his cold persona in place.
"That's right. If I were you boys, I'd try to get on her good side."
"Why would we do that?" Subaru growled at him.
"Because she decides who the next King is and who Adam will be."