rowenstar: I love the cliffhanging! Lol I'm glad to hear my Little Sister series is a favorite of yours. I figured since Emily's family worked on her not cursing that she would have come up with words to keep her in the green such as "Oh, fudge!" or "Oh, screwball!"

Last time:

"Good evening, good evening. I am Emily and I will be your server this fine evening. Can I get you anything to drink tonight?" Emily asked, pulling out her pen and moving a piece of hair out of her face.

"What would you recommend from the bar?" spoke an eerily familiar voice.

Emily froze.

Please tell me I just imagined hearing that jerk Cale, Emily thought.

Emily slowly lowered her book and locked gazes with a familiar pair of dark blue eyes.

Oh, screwball.

Oh, happy days, here is the new chapter!

CHAPTER NINE

Emily swore her face cracked with the fake smile she quickly slapped onto her face. Not only was she acting as a server for Cale, but also Kento, Dais and Anubis. Emily moved her hair back to behind her ear, revealing her hearing aid.

"I'm sorry. What was your question?" Emily asked, trying her best to keep her voice neutral.

Shooting her an annoyed look, Cale repeated his question. Emily leaned over to flip the menu to their drinks and started explaining some of the deals they had going on. She also told him about some of the drinks she tended to favor. During that time, Kento had leaned over to the side to say something to Dais.

As Emily took down Cale's drink order, she found herself listening to what Kento was saying. She almost snapped her pencil in half when she comprehended what he was saying. She imagined that because he was speaking in Japanese, Kento thought she wouldn't be able to understand him. Big mistake.

Emily finished taking the drink orders and left to go input them into the computer. She growled under his breath as she stabbed her finger into the computer screen. When she was done, the blonde woman walked around to the bartender. Leo was a bald man with tattoos all over his body including that of a full-sized dragon that took up an entire arm that he kept hidden under long sleeves.

"Hey, Leo. I need a Fireball Special," Emily murmured to him after she stepped behind the bar.

Leo's eyebrows shot up. It was very rare that a server called in for a Fireball Special. It was an especially powerful drink that was strong in alcohol and heat. They had their fair share of creeps come through there that got their just desserts with this particular drink.

"Who pissed you off?" Leo asked as he started mixing the drinks.

"See the burly one there at table 55?" Emily asked.

Leo nodded. "What'd he do?"

"It's not something he did. It's something he said," Emily growled angrily.

Leo stopped what he was doing to give Emily his full attention.

"What did he say?"

Emily pulled the man down and murmured something in his ear. It was only thanks to the tight grip on Leo's shirt that Kento didn't get a tall glass or worse thrown at his head. And Emily knew just how true the bartender's aim was.

"One Extreme Fireball Special. Coming right up," the bartender spat out.

Emily smiled as she went and put in the order of jalapeño poppers Ryo had asked for. Naturally, the drinks were up and ready first. She had to go to the door to greet guests and seat them so Marcus was delivering the drinks as Emily came by. Kento looked at the drink in front of him suspiciously.

"I didn't order this," he said.

Marcus smiled warmly.

"Compliments of the house, sir. Your server should be back with you in a minute," Marcus said, before walking away.

Dais chuckled before taking a sip of his own drink. Kento turned his head and asked him what.

"If only she knew what you called her. You'd be getting a black eye instead," Dais replied.

Kento rolled his eyes before taking a large sip. Emily was walking down the side with the jalapeño poppers when Kento flew down the aisle. Anticipating this ahead of time, Emily tossed the basket carefully up into the air and ducked. After he had passed her, she expertly caught the basket without dropping a single piece.

She walked the rest of the way to the table and placed the appetizer down along with some napkins. Dais was looking at Kento's drink thoughtfully.

"I wouldn't recommend any of you drinking this," Emily cautioned as she took up the drink.

They all gave her a look as Dais spoke.

"What's in that?" he asked.

Emily winked at him.

"Old bartender's secret recipe. You tell your friend," Emily had to resist cringing. "-to keep his comments to himself."

That particular statement had the other two snapping their heads up from behind their menus. Dais raised an eyebrow.

"You understood him?" Dais questioned.

"Watashi wa mottomo tashikani shimashita [I most certainly did]," Emily answered.

She knew she was treading on thin ice, but she was not going to allow any of them to insult her in her adoptive family's home language. Especially when they were right in front of her. Anubis smirked as he spoke.

"You speak quite fluently…Emily, was it?" Emily nodded. "Are you from Japan?"

Technically, no. I was actually born in the Nether Realm and grew up in Japan, Emily said to herself.

But she sure as Hell wasn't going to tell him that! Thank the gods she had already come up with a cover plan.

"No. My dad's a translator and my mom studies languages. I can speak a few languages, but Japanese," Emily flashed a smile at Kento as he finally returned to the table. "-I am fluent in."

Kento jerked his head up with a very surprised look on his face.

"You are-," he started.

"I am," Emily finished.

He visibly winced and Emily nodded her head to him. He laid his head down on the table with a groan. The others laughed. Emily walked away to give them another minute to look over the menu while she put away Kento's drink and got him a pitcher of water.

[Ha Ha. The little mortal got you, Hardrock.]

Kento lifted his head to give Cale a dirty look.

[How the Hell was I a'pposed to know the damned mortal knew Japanese?]

Anubis chuckled, earning him a glare from the upset warlord. Anubis nudged Cale quietly.

[He does have a point. How many Americans do you know speak Japanese fluently?]

They all shrugged. Anubis had a point. Emily soon returned to take their orders. Surprisingly, Kento only accepted the picture of ice cold water and nothing off the menu. Emily had an explanation for that.

"Our special pretty much burns the taste buds right off the tongue. You'll be fine tomorrow."

After she finished taking the orders, Emily walked off to input them into the computer. She was behind the bar tapping in the orders when she heard a commotion from the kitchen. Emily walked into the kitchen, only to come upon a terrifying sight.

The manager Jay was unconscious on the floor outside the manager's office, Jenny was cowering on the ground under the soda fountain and the kitchen staff was backed up from the food line. A crazed looking man in his twenties was wielding a large knife and was standing over Jenny threateningly.

"Jenny," Emily gasped.

The man whirled around to reveal an all too familiar face. Different reality or whatever, it was plain to see that Michael, Jenny's ex, was still a force to be reckoned with. The man moved so quickly that he caught Emily off guard. He swung the knife wildly, slicing clear across Emily's arm from elbow to wrist. She stumbled backwards, clutching her arm.

"No one is going to interfere! This ….. belongs to me!" he shouted.

Thankfully, the sounds of the kitchen covered his voice from carrying outside. Unfortunately, that also meant they couldn't call for Leo for help. Using Halo's power to stop the bleeding, Emily sprang into action. Emily whipped out her server's pad and flung it expertly at the man.

The small yet thick book hit him solidly on the wrist. The knife went flying out of his hand and clattered across the kitchen floor. The man swung around to throw a punch at her but she ducked under it, caught him in the stomach with a hard punch, and swept his feet out from under him.

The last thing the man knew the blonde was on top of him with a raised fist.

"This is for Jenny, you ass!"

CRACK! One hit to the nose and his head hit the ground and he was unconscious. Jenny quickly scrambled to her feet while one of the cooks checked on Jay. Jenny grabbed a cloth and quickly pressed it to Emily's arm.

"Someone get Leo. Tell him to call an ambulance, but don't worry the patrons," Emily said in a commanding voice.

One of the other cooks moved away from the food line and stepped out of the kitchen in search of the bartender. A moment later, Leo entered the kitchen without the cook.

"Linus gave me the cliff notes version. The ambulance is on the way. We've closed the doors, but we're allowing those here to finish up. How many tables need food?" Leo asked.

"I just put my order in and I think that's Jenny's food that's up," Emily replied, standing.

Leo nodded and grabbed up the food to deliver it himself. Two cooks were able to rouse Jay but kept him from getting up in case he had serious injuries. The paramedics came in through the back door of the kitchen, per the bartender's request. They wanted to take both Jay and Emily to the hospital.

"I'll be fine," Emily reassured them.

"We'd feel better if we had someone clean up your cut and bandage it. It should only take about an hour," the paramedic explained.

Emily tried to protest but a woozy Jay insisted that she come with him. A quick glance down at her hand had Emily willing to leave in the ambulance; she shouldn't have been surprised that Jay was terrified of hospitals.

"Jenny, can you finish up with my table? I just have the one. The kitchen should have their food up in a minute," Emily asked.

"Of course. I'd be happy to. Thank you, Emily. You're very brave," Jenny said, pulling her friend into a tight hug.

Emily nodded her head as she followed the paramedics out the back with Jay. Once outside, they started loading Jay onto a gurney. Emily stood back waiting. She noticed a movement in the bushes and saw a disguised White Blaze peeking out at her from the bushes.

"Stay, Blaze. I'll be back soon," she whispered, just low enough for him to hear.

He disappeared from her sight as she was led into the ambulance. She sat by Jay's side and took his hand. She could tell by the smile that the gesture was much appreciated. Emily knew with Jay here the other manager would have been called in; thankfully, he lived close by.

/…/

"Thank you so much, Emily! He just came out of nowhere. Leo didn't even see him come in," Jenny said the minute Emily reappeared.

It had taken no time at all to shift through the Shadows from the hospital to the restaurant. Jenny explained that the cops had showed up otherwise and Jenny had been forced to give Emily's table a short version of what had happened.

"I didn't tell them you were injured or what you did. I swear! I just told them we took care of the psycho," Jenny replied.

"Okay. When did they leave?" Emily asked.

"Oh. Only a few minutes ago. They had some other friends show up but it was just to pick them up," Jenny answered.

Emily felt a sense of dread when she asked how many had been total in their group. The cold set in at the bottom of her stomach when Jenny told her there had been nine total.

That means they're all here. My godfather is not going to be happy to hear this, Emily thought.

"I haven't had a chance to close out their check yet. Most of the stuff is still on the table," Jenny told her.

"Thanks," Emily murmured.

She walked away from Jenny to begin bussing the table. The other woman knew better than to do it for her. She had already been told she was to go home once she finished with the table. Emily picked up the black book and opened it to the tip inside.

Seeing the amount, Emily checked the bill and snorted.

"Come again, boys…" she murmured, holding up two dollar bills. "…with the other half of my tip."

A lousy tip to end off a lousy night. Perfect.

END OF CHAPTER NINE

Hope y'all enjoy the new chapter and a very Happy New Year to everyone! Sadly, I won't be able to update for another week or so. Main reason: Next chapter isn't written yet. LOL Don't forget to leave me a review!