Rowenstar: LOL I was once a server, too. I never really cared about the percentage I got for tips. I just figured they would tip her badly just because. I actually got that quote from The Big Bang Theory from Penny. I hope you enjoy the new chapter.

Author's Note: Hey, everyone! Sorry it's been so long since I've updated any of my stories. I've just lost my muses lately and work has overrun me a couple of times. I'm going to try updating all my stories by the end of this week. We'll see how it goes!

CHAPTER TEN

Emily's prediction had been accurate. The Ancient One had been greatly startled and worried about the appearance of the warlords. Emily was forced to explain about not having sealed the nearby gate until late.

"That explains why they came. But it doesn't explain the how," he had told her.

There were so many theories about that, but not enough for one night to be solved in. Jay had to stay in the hospital for a day or two to make sure everything was all right and he had given her time off from work. Because the incident had made the paper that morning and it had mentioned her getting injured, Emily had had to force Halo's power to not heal the scratch on her arm.

That morning, she had found out a few more answers. There was no Elizabeth Ann or Tom, but Emily was still a very big helper with the theatre. She was also signed up for a writing class which coincidentally was only once a week. Insisting that her godfather continue to rest, Emily had left him and Blaze to go to class.

The class had turned out be really good. All the classmates seemed to know her, if all of them greeting her when they came in were any indication. It seemed as though she did interact greatly with others, but others didn't know a whole Hell of a lot about her.

Class had ended over half an hour ago. Emily was currently sitting at a table outside the student center. She was reading the class textbook which had various types of short stories in it. There was a classmate, a freshman by the name of Kyle, who sat across from her quietly eating his lunch. He had been silent for the most part until he finished eating.

"Did you really stop that psycho at the restaurant?" Kyle asked.

Emily calmly placed her bookmark to mark her place in the book and put the book down.

"You bet your butt I did," Emily answered.

Kyle smiled.

"Cool beans. You give it to him good?" Kyle questioned.

Emily winked. "Hell yes."

Kyle chuckled as he picked up his trash and discarded it in the trash can. He told Emily good for her before apologizing for having to go off to his next class. Emily waved him off just as one of the art professors came by. It appeared that she was still viewed as a great artist since the man asked if her piece was ready for the gallery yet.

"I'm anxious to see what you've painted for us this time. Can you have it ready for the showing in two weeks?" the art professor asked.

Emily already knew what piece she wanted to give him. The painting of the two lovebirds perched on a tree branch overlooking the sunrise would be perfect.

"It's ready now. You can come pick it up any time," Emily told him.

"Hmm. Well, I'm a bit busy this week. Could I come by on the weekend?" the art professor asked.

Emily nodded. The man thanked her graciously and wished her a good day before departing. Emily opened her book and decided to read a little more before going back to the apartment.

"You look remarkably well for someone who was injured in an attack," spoke a familiar voice from behind her.

At least it's not Cale, Emily thought.

She laid her book down as the warlord walked around the table to drop down into the seat beside her. She could clearly see now that it was Dais. She remembered him as one of the more deadly of the warlords. He was the quietest and had played her many a time in chess.

By this evidence, she knew he was very calculating and, if any of them were to find out what she was capable of doing, he was most likely to be the one to figure it out. That, or Rowen.

"The ass got lucky. He only caught me once with the knife," Emily replied.

Dais smirked.

"May I inquire as to where he 'caught' you?" Dais asked.

Emily let out a sigh as she rolled her jacket sleeve up to reveal the long, angry looking scar stretching from her elbow to wrist. Thankfully, the knife hadn't gone through the inner side of her arm. Otherwise, it could have caught veins and made things very difficult with Emily. She had to stop herself from flinching when Dais out to firmly grasp her wrist.

Using his grip on Emily's wrist, Dais drew the arm closer so he could take a better look. The scar was pretty much a straight line and didn't look deep. He could tell it had been more like a glancing blow than anything else.

Mortals are such fragile beings, Dais thought while running his thumb over the scar.

The light motion freaked Emily out, causing her to jerk her arm out of the warlord's grasp. Dais raised an eyebrow up at her as she shot him a dirty look.

Hmm. Seems the little waitress has more fire to her than we thought, Dais said to himself.

"How's your…friend today?" Emily asked, hesitating only slightly to say the word 'friend.'

Dais chuckled.

"He is well. He actually managed to eat something this morning. Thank you for your concern," Dais replied.

Emily snorted as she stood up. She placed her book into her backpack while keeping her gaze on the other.

"Concern? Please! He got what he deserved," Emily told him.

"Perhaps. But how were we to know you could understand our native language?" Dais questioned.

This mortal girl intrigued him. She wasn't afraid of him and she didn't fixate on his face, or more specifically, his eye patch. Most mortals were nosey and got curious about it. If this mortal, this Emily, were curious then she was very good at hiding it.

His gaze was now drawn not to the now hidden scar on Emily's arm, but the finger-cut gloves she wore on her hands. They didn't appear to be biker gloves yet it seemed natural that she wore them. He didn't recall her wearing them the night before. He looked up when Emily spoke again while swinging her bag onto her shoulder.

"Did you know that Chinese is spoken regularly in more American homes more than any other language?" she riddled.

Dais smirked. "Chinese is not Japanese."

Emily conceded to the fact with the tilt of her head.

"Of course, it isn't. I was only pointing that out to remind you that there are many languages found in this particular country. Don't let appearances fool you," Emily answered before stepping away and walking off.

Dais watched her as she went. He thought about her last words.

"Indeed."

/…/

"Oof!"

Emily clutched the back of the tiger's head as he nuzzled his head into her clothed stomach. The Ancient One chuckled from his place on the couch.

"It seems he likes something you were near," her godfather pointed out.

Emily frowned.

"Oh, wonderful! He must love the stench of warlord," Emily grumbled.

The Ancient One's head snapped back up from the book he had been reading.

"Excuse me?"

Emily groaned as she walked over to her godfather. She sat down on the carpeted floor beside the coffee table. White Blaze nudged his face against Emily's head playfully as she recounted the tale of how she had met with one of the nine warriors.

"What could they want here? What would bring them here?" Emily asked.

The Ancient One shook his head. He had a theory that they had known which gate had been closed last. But it was only a theory, for now.

"I do not know. You must be very careful, goddaughter. I intend to return to the Nether Realm tomorrow and will continue my search for what has happened to you," her godfather told her.

"You did say the final gate was sealed, correct?" Emily nodded. "Then I truly do not know."

Emily's thoughts dwelled on the possibility that the warlords, all nine of them, may detect the power of the armors within her. She would have to be careful about using any of them, even the illusions. If she took White Blaze out with her, she had to hope that her illusion would hold and Dais wouldn't sense it.

Or one of the others, Emily thought as she scratched the tiger behind his ear.

White Blaze let out a friendly purr as he continued to nudge against Emily. He turned his head and nibbled playfully on her ear, causing her to giggle.

"White Blaze!"

/…/

"You still haven't seen him?"

Ryo rolled over onto his back on the couch he was laying on. Kento was leaning on the back of the couch looking down at him.

"I think I would know if there were any reports of a large, white and black Siberian Tiger roaming around the cities of Japan," Ryo replied sarcastically.

Kento chuckled. He and Ryo were the only ones in the house. It had taken almost nothing to secure themselves a home in the States. The house was located on the outskirts of town. It wasn't as deep into the woods as the final gate that had been sealed. It was funny. They could sense a general location of the gate but they couldn't find the damn thing.

"Where you think he got off to?" Kento asked.

Ryo shrugged. "I dunno."

"He's never done this before, has he?" Kento questioned.

Ryo shook his head.

"Nah. He probably caught scent of something and went hunting. I'll go back in a couple of days if I don't hear anything," Ryo replied.

Kento chuckled before flipping his body over the couch and landing on Ryo's stomach. The Wildfire bearer let out a string of curses before grabbing Kento and shoving him off the couch. Kento landed on the floor in front of the couch chuckling. Ryo continued to curse before whacking Kento good in the back of the head.

"You ass," Ryo growled.

It took several moments to regulate his breathing. He whacked his friend in the back of the head again. Just for good measure.

"So tell me about this mortal who scorched your tongue."

Now it was Kento's turn to mumble curses while Ryo let out a dry chuckle. The mortal girl had become the talk of the group. The four warlords had told their fellow warlords about her when they had come to the restaurant. This was after the incident in the kitchen.

"She's got balls, I'll give her that," Kento growled.

Ryo laughed. She would have to to get away with the stunt she had pulled. The warlords currently split up during the day doing different things. Yet they all came together at night to hit the night scene and would return to the house to rest.

"I think I would like to meet this mortal. She sounds interesting," Ryo commented.

Kento snorted. "Dais said she hangs around that university in town."

Ryo smirked.

"Perfect."

END OF CHAPTER TEN

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