A/N: Well, hello everyone! I am here with Bella's chapter! She really out did herself in this! Please take the time to write a review and tell her how awesome she is. Also, let's have Japan in our prayers and thoughts after the horrible tragedy. Does anyone else feel like their heart has been ripped out? (me!)

Well, please enjoy the chapter!

Chapter 8: And the friction sets in . . .

After only a few days, I had fallen into a new schedule. Either Sango or Ayame would drive me to school, I would have lunch with Inuyasha, have people escort me to my classes, and then Ayame would drive me home and stay until dinner, which was when Inuyasha came home and I would have to shove a bowl of food filled Tupperware into her hands because she didn't want to take the food and I didn't feel right if she didn't. Today was no exception. Ayame was supposed to be helping me choose something to sculpt for art, but she was too busy pouring over her sketches for new clothing to be of any real help.

"Maybe an animal," she said absentmindedly, erasing something really hard.

"No, too many people will be trying to do that." I mused. "I need something original something like . . . like . . ." I trailed off, not knowing what to say.

"A rainbow?" Ayame finished for me.

"What?" I gaped. The Ayame I knew would never say such a preppy little thing. She really was going crazy because of her work. "Who are you, and what have you done with Ayame?" I joked, feigning horror.

"Sorry Gome, I'm just too tired to think right now." Ayame had gone from being slouched in a chair to resting with her arms and head on the table. The poor thing looked so tired and I realized that she should've left for home forty-five minutes ago. I texted Inuyasha to see where he was, but he didn't answer after fifteen minutes so I called him.

"Hey Kagome, what did you need?" His voice was light, so I took it that he was having fun. If he was, he was going to get hell back at home.

"Where are you Yasha?" I whined, using the little pet name I had given him. This trick always worked on him. "You should've been home an hour ago. Ayame's still waiting for you to get here so she can leave."

"Is it that late already? I started talking to a classmate and lost track of time." He sounded repentant, so I considered making him not suffer tonight. "Is it alright if I bring them to the house?"

I shrugged. What did I care that he would bring some guy to come and talk with him? I mean, Miroku just wasn't good company sometimes."Yeah, sure, just hurry because I think Ayame needs to start working on her prototypes tonight."

I walked back to the kitchen to find poor Ayame passed out on the table. I woke her up and she hugged me before going out of the door, bowl of dinner taken without complaints for once.

"Ayame," I called, just as she was leaving. "Don't forget to sleep! I feel so bad that you had to wait this long."

Ayame waved her hand to dismiss my feelings. "Don't," She yawned. "Worry about it." With that, she got in her car and drove away.

Feeling a little less protected I started cleaning up the house a little bit and working on my journalism homework, just to have something to do. If I didn't, scary things would start being made in my head and I didn't want to be rocking in a corner when Inuyasha and his friend came home. I mean, I was strong and I could be alone for a little bit.

I was trying to wait for Inuyasha and his friend to come home so I could eat dinner but they were taking an awfully long time. Inuyasha and I made it a point to eat all of our meals together because our schedules were so busy and that was a little bit of time that we would be able to spend together. Unfortunately, he was still nowhere in sight and I was starving and was out of homework so I resigned to eating dinner alone. He was definitely getting some hell when he got back home.

I washed the rest of the dishes and put dinner in the fridge so he could eat when he got there. The house phone rang and I jumped when I heard it. The only person that called on the house phone was my mom and I had just talked to her not too long ago. I went to answer it anyway; maybe she had some news or something.

"Is this Kagome Takahashi?" The stoic voice on the other line asked.

"Yes, this is she." I answered, wondering who would be calling me.

"Well, this call is to inform you that you have been selected for the receptionist job here at the Fumaka Company. Your hours will be from five in the afternoon until eight-thirty on weekdays and ten to five at the end of the week and weekends. Your request to not work on Sunday was approved. Thank you."

The phone hung up and I screamed, but not for the reason you're thinking.

I had gotten the job as a part-time receptionist at a company not too far from here! I got the job! I was about to do my happy dance when Inuyasha came into the kitchen, his classmate following behind.

Oh. Hell. No.

I couldn't believe my eyes. I had expected his classmate to be a guy, you know, someone who Inuyasha could bump chests with or something 'manly' like that. She wasn't, and I would totally have been okay with it had it not been that it was that skanky waitress from the restaurant that Inuyasha and I had our date in. Was he blind or just a huge idiot?

First of all, she was standing way to close to my man and was wearing a way too skimpy dress that showed too much cleavage. What the heck was he doing hanging out with her? All of the joy that I felt from the phone call evaporated like a puddle in the sun. I could not, would not have this woman in my house. Period. End of story. I gave Inuyasha a look but he either missed or ignored it.

"Hey Kaggers." He put his bag down and gave me a kiss that I'm not even sure I even returned because I was too busy glaring at that skanky little waitress chick. Inuyasha glanced at the clean kitchen and cocked his head to the side.

"You ate without me?"

Did he still have the nerve to ask me that? "Well you are home almost an hour and a half late." I tried to say lightly, but of course, didn't. I glanced toward the skank again. Something about this girl rubbed me the wrong way and was making it hard to be nice, even to my own husband.

"I know, sorry about that." He waved it off as if it wasn't important. "I'll just eat later." As if he had suddenly realized that he had brought a girl home, he introduced her. "Oh and Kagome, this is Leila. Leila, this is Kagome, my wife." Leila sneered at me and said,

"So are we going to get to work?"

Did she just blow me off? She totally just blew me off! Inuyasha nodded and took some sodas from the fridge. I was about ready to sink my claws into that witch.

"Leila's going to open a restaurant and asked for some help with some details."

"Mm hmm." I replied, skeptical of that proposition. More like she wanted to get in his pants, but that would have to wait until I was dead and six feet under. The more I looked at Leila, the more familiar she looked until, bam! It hit me like a train.

"Why don't you head on into the living room?" I said looking a Leila, my anger rising even more now that I knew who she was. I glanced back at Inuyasha. "I need to speak with you really fast Inuyasha."

I waited until Leila was seated on the couch before hissing to Inuyasha, "Do you realize who you've brought to our house?" Inuyasha looked at me blankly and shrugged. I sighed. There was no way he could be that freaking clueless. "That's the waitress that kept flirting with you. She dropped boiling soup in my lap. Remember?" I tapped my foot and crossed my arms so that he could see that I wasn't in the mood to negotiate.

"Kagome that doesn't mean anything; we already established that it was an accident." Inuyasha sounded exasperated, the same way I felt, but for a totally different reason.

"Yeah, well I'd be able to think that if I hadn't seen her with Takeshi not too long after that." Sucking face with Takeshi to be exact, but he didn't need to know the gory details.

"Kagome, I understand that you don't necessarily like Leila, but that doesn't mean you have to peg her to Takeshi." He rolled his eyes at me. ME! His freaking wife! "So she spilled some soup on you, no big deal; time to move on. But don't lie to me saying she was with Takeshi to make her seem like an enemy."

I stared openmouthed at Inuyasha as he walked away. After all of this, he didn't even believe me when it came to things about Takeshi. I just couldn't believe it. Did he forget what happened to me at Ayame's wedding? Was he just begging for a replay?

I didn't need to hang around to know that Leila was flirting with Inuyasha again. I went to bed, making sure to throw his pillow and a blanket on the floor, where he belonged right now.

And I didn't even get to tell him that I start work next Friday.

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"I'm going out."

I muttered this angrily in Inuyasha's direction before letting the door slam shut behind me. Leila's laugh echoed in my mind. I got into my car and squeezed my eyes shut, trying to get the image of Leila touching Inuyasha's chest out of my mind before I could go back inside and strangle her, because if I did, she would end up in the morgue.

Leila made a habit of coming by everyday to ask Inuyasha for "help" but she spent most of her time giggling and making jokes with nasty innuendos. She also made it a point to touch Inuyasha . . . constantly. And to top it all off he never said anything! What the hell was I? Chopped liver?

"Stupid ho bag." I muttered darkly turning on the car and driving away from the house and trying to stop the murderous thoughts that were playing in my head. I went to a store or two to find a few new shirts for work, since I didn't have anything professional in my closet. Of course, Inuyasha was supposed to be here, but that skank had made sure that she occupied all of Inuyasha's time. It was like I didn't exist anymore.

I stopped by a coffee shop and picked up a large French vanilla latte when my cell chimed. I found a message from Inuyasha asking me to come home because he wanted to talk. I was going to ignore the message and go see a movie, but I thought better of it and went home. Maybe he wanted me to cook dinner for him and his little 'friend'.

Inuyasha was waiting for me in the living room when I got home. He had his head in his hands and I sat down and sipped my latte, waiting for him to say something. He looked up and I was surprised to see nothing but pure worry and fear in his golden eyes.

A bad feeling took hold of me; Inuyasha never showed fear quite this clearly. Hell, he never showed it! It was always disguised by something else, but not today.

"What's wrong?"I asked immediately, the fear in my voice was about as clear as the fear in his eyes.

"Everything." He shook his head and grabbed my hand. "Kagome, I really want to apologize for everything. I fell like maybe I haven't been doing all that I should be." He paused, gathering his thoughts. "I mean, well. . ." Inuyasha scratched his head and made a face. "Everything that's been going on with Takeshi is very, very serious. I know how threatened you've felt by him and now that I think back on it, there were way more precautions that I should've been taking with you to make sure that you were protected. I know that it seems like I've been blowing you off lately when you say things and I just walk away, but honestly, I don't know what to do about Takeshi, and that scares the hell out of me." He gulped. "It scares me way more than you know because I don't know how to protect you." His eyes were soft as he looked at me. "But I swear to you now Kagome, I'm going to be here for you more, okay?"

I just kind of stared at Inuyasha not knowing what to say or do. Finally, I just nodded. That talk had come as a big shock, and that wasn't what I was expecting at all. But then again, this was Inuyasha. He motioned for me to come to him and when I did he pulled me onto his lap and wrapped his arms tightly around me. "I'm sorry." He said, softly kissing the top of my head.

"I forgive you." I said and snaked my arms around his waist. I wanted to ask what brought this on, but then I really didn't so I didn't bring it up, and neither did he. For the first time in what felt like forever, I felt like everything was normal. There were no bills, no drama, no Takeshi or Leila; there was just Inuyasha and I.

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A/N: Oh yeah! Give it up for Bella you guys! I liked this chapter and I hope Bella can keep writing kick-ass chapters like this. Thanks to all of you guys who have voted, because this story is currently in the lead! Thanks a million for making this story matter.

~Daichi