A/N: Hi guys! So this is the first chapter of the next installment of The Sakamaki Brides series! If you now anything about Beethoven's Symphony No. 7, I'm planning to create this story around the basic structure of it. I thought that was fitting for Shu's story, don't you? Anyway, this story is going to be written in third person, I think. It just clears up a lot of misunderstandings that appear in first person narratives. Okay! Enough rambling, you don't really want to hear from me. As always, enjoy and comment, favorite/follow if you like! Feedback is always appreciated! Thanks! ~Nique

Chapter 01: THE BEGINNING

Shu slept in the entryway, wondering when the next bride would arrive. Sakamaki Tougo, also known as KarlHeinz, the Vampire King and the boys' father, had contacted Shu, saying another girl was coming soon, and to be ready for her. They couldn't kill this one either. It was becoming a disturbing theme. He had actually been asleep upstairs in one of the music rooms (not Laito's piano room, though. His brother and his little mate often did lewd things in there, and Shu wasn't too keen on sleeping on that bench), but something had compelled him downstairs. He'd been woken by his nightmares again.

To be perfectly honest, it was why he slept so much and was always so exhausted. He never slept well for longer than a few hours. Always, the same dream haunted him and forced him to wake up in a cold sweat. It had been many years since that fateful day, but the guilt had never abated for the gorgeous blonde Vampire Prince. Always, he thought, What if I'd just been there a little earlier? Could I have saved Edgar? The thoughts tormented him, along with the grotesque image those flames had painted on the inside of his eyeballs. It was an image he would never be able to unsee.

The light knocking startled Shu out of his thoughts and he sighed, slowly sitting up from his sleeping position on the couch. The door opened of its own accord and a pink, headphone clad head appeared in the entryway. Pulling out some kind of music player, the young girl turned down her music and pushed her headphones down to rest against her pale neck.

"Hey, is anyone home? I can sense you, you know. You don't have to hide from me, I promise I won't bite... hard," she teased, flashing her fangs as she giggled at her own joke. Shu appeared in front of the girl, his bored expression never leaving his face as he greeted her lazily. Without visibly opening his eyes, Shu discreetly scanned the girl from head to toe, taking note of her bright pink hair, black headphones, clothing and body figure hidden beneath them. He nodded approvingly when he reached her chest, playing it off with a sigh as he spoke for the first time.

"So you're here then, Nakamura Sachiko. I've been expecting you. The butler will take your bags, so follow me," he said, disappearing briefly before reappearing at the top of the extravagant staircase. She snorted.

"Just call me Chiko. So where are we going, Mr. Show-off?" she asked, following him carefully. But Shu didn't answer, in regular fashion, mostly asleep standing up. Leading her this way into the main parlor, Chiko was thus introduced to a few of the other Sakamaki brothers.

"Hi, I'm Chiko. You must be the other Sakamaki Princes. It's a pleasure to meet you. I'll be staying here for a while, so we're sure to get better acquainted," she introduced herself when it became clear that Shu wasn't going to do it. Reiji sighed and replaced his teacup back on the saucer with a soft clink.

"Must I always do everything myself? Well, you good-for-nothing, I take it she's the new sacrificial bride? And am I right to presume we have instructions not to kill her either?" Shu's only response was a quiet grunt as he lounged on the couch in apparent sleep.

"Very well," Reiji said as he pushed his glasses up on the bridge of his nose. "Allow me to introduce my brothers. That good-for-noting you met earlier is Shu, the eldest. I am Reiji, the second son. You will likely be meeting two of the twins, Ayato and Laito a little later, as they seem to be very preoccupied with their mates these days." Just then, a high-pitched scream echoed throughout the house. None of the boys in the room moved, although Shu chuckled. Chiko looked a bit confused, glancing around the silent room for an explanation. The young lilac-haired vampire murmured to his teddy bear off in the corner.

"Laito-kun and Kimi-san have finished round one, ne, Teddy? Do you think we'll see them before dinner tonight? We haven't seen Kimi-san for a few days... Ne, Teddy, do you think she'd make that cake for us again?" Reiji sighed and gestured to the exhausted looking boy.

"That is Kanato, the fourth son. And the sixth son is Subaru, who is likely out in the rose garden at the moment. Now, Miss... Chiko, did you say?" At her nod he continued, "I suppose you'll want to share your back story with us, but let me assure you, we have absolutely no interest. I shall say this only once: You are nothing more than a source of food. Know your place." With that, the dark-haired vampire brother took a seat back in his leather armchair, dismissing the pink-haired vampirette. Chiko glanced around awkwardly, beginning to feel a little unsettled.

Just then, the two parlor doors flew open and two red-headed brothers entered, accompanied closely by two very lovely, if disheveled-looking vampirettes.

"Nfu~, what have we here, brothers? A new snack? Or maybe a play toy? Would you like a playmate, Neko-chan?" the first brother asked, turning towards the brunette, who blushed as she glanced up at the longer-haired twin.

"No, Laito-san, you are more than enough for me to handle," she replied to the perv, clearly the male she had claim to. Brushing a hand thru her short brown hair, the vampirette smiled at Chiko, flashing her fangs in a friendly, if very human, gesture. Chiko liked her immediately.

"Hi," the vampirette said, stepping around her vampire boyfriend and stretching out her hand to shake Chiko's. "I'm Kimi, Laito's... uhm... girlfriend?" she trailed off, looking back at her grinning boyfriend. He corrected her gently, coming up behind her and pressing his entire body against the length of hers in a display of affection and lust.

"Mate. Nfu~, silly Neko-chan, you're my mate, remember?" he crooned into her ear, his long tongue flickering out to lick the space just below and behind her ear. The vampirette, Kimi, couldn't hold back a soft moan at the contact, which only made the vampire boy's smile grow wider. Reiji sighed, and it snapped the two lovebirds out of their revelry.

"How many times must I tell you two to take such activities to your own room?" Reiji scolded like a mother hen. The couple ignored him. The girl extracted herself from his grasp and turned back to her new, pink-haired friend.

"Sorry about that, Laito can be... insatiable, sometimes. Anyway, it's very nice to meet you. It'll be great to have another female in the house, evening up the playing field a little," the vampirette said with a smile, still wrapped in her boyfriends arms, his front to her back. Chiko smiled back.

"I'm Chiko. It's very nice to meet you too, Kimi-chan."

The blonde vampirette waved from where she sat sprawled across the lap of the other red-haired brother's lap. He wouldn't let her up to greet Chiko more properly, no matter how hard she struggled.

"Hi, Chiko-chan, I'm Yui. I'm sorry, I would stand, but Ayato can be... rather possessive," she said apologetically. The vampire boy in question scoffed, clutching her more tightly to his chest and licking her neck sensually.

"Ore-sama wants to keep his Chichinashi close, you got a problem with that?" he commented rudely, but Chiko heard the fond undertones in his voice. She smiled understandingly at the blonde vampirette.

"It's very nice to meet you too, Yui-chan. It's okay, I understand. The Princes get to do whatever they want, right?" At that, a low chuckle rolled across the room and Chiko noticed Reiji shoot the gorgeous blonde brother a glare that could have killed a human. Ignoring his brother all together, Shu stood slowly and sighed, turning to face the parlor doors.

"What a pain... Fine, I'll take the little pixie to her room. I do not wish to be bothered anymore tonight." With that he vanished from sight, clearly having left the room. Chiko sighed and met the sympathetic eyes of the other women in the room.

"It was very nice to have met you all. I'm sure I'll be seeing you all again very soon. Please excuse me. Goodnight." She spun on her heel and rushed out of the room in search of her reluctant guide.

Back inside the room, the remaining brothers lounged about the room. Laito was (predictably) trying to convince Kimi to go for another round on top of the pool table with him, while Ayato was content to cuddle his mate and drink her sweet blood. Reiji drank his tea broodingly, while Kanato continued to whisper to Teddy quietly in the corner. His whispers got louder and louder, until Kimi found an out and left to make her special cake with the liliac-haired vampire. Subaru was still nowhere to be found. Reiji seemed to murmur to himself,

"She's quite an interesting character. Her manners are unspeakably poor, but if He sent her... She must have some special quality. The trend would have to continue, yes? I wonder whose perfect mate she is, then? Perhaps I will throw my hat into the ring for this one as well..."