Chapter One

Kagome

"Bad." I turned the channel. "Ugh, that's just tasteless." I clicked the remote once more. His face was there for the millionth time.

"It's a risk that even I, Sesshoumaru, will not take. Condoms. Be safe. Stay protected."

"Stupid commercial", I muttered, throwing the remote down beside me and getting up. I walked over to my kitchen and picked up my cell phone, quickly dialing the number of a friend I knew could help me get out of my rut. "Hello my beautiful wife! Metaphorically speaking, of course!" I smiled at the shrill laughter Sango gave me in return.

"Someday I may just have to marry you", she spoke. "My stupid boyfriend ruined my weekend. I swear I am tired of him."

"Then leave him", I said, dragging my fingers up and down my wall subconsciously.

"I would if I could, but you know I can't…" Her tone grew dark.

I sighed. "Yes, I know. Hey can we hang out?"

"Actually, I'm going somewhere. I got a weird invitation to some thing that is supposed to be a contest for being beautiful or something… I figure it would be a great confidence boost if I could win."

"Oh. I wish they had invited me. I must be the ugliest girl in town, then." I looked to the ceiling. "Not that I care about that."

"Don't be silly. You're gorgeous. Go check your mail, you may have an invitation. Anyway, I have to go. Bye Kagome, make sure to have some fun without me for once!"

"Yeah, right. Bye my love."

"Ciao, ciao!"

I closed the cell phone and sighed. She always knew when I was being lazy.

I walked to the front door and opened the mail box. My heart skipped a beat when I read the message on one of the envelopes.

'You are invited to a contest for beauty and knowledge. See if you are the best woman in town. There is a lot of money in store for you.'

I opened the invitation and found directions to the place. I had nothing better to do, because if I didn't go I would just be stuck watching that stupid actor all day. I nodded my head in determination and ran to my room, arming myself for battle.

-XOXO-

The room I entered was chilly, making me regret my strapless dress that stopped just above my knees. I looked around the beautiful room and smiled. Someone rich was definitely in charge. The décor was lovely, starting from the deep red walls to the soft black curtains and chairs.

I continued walking until I found a room filled with girls. Suddenly I felt inferior. Beautiful women surrounded me. Usually I'm not prone to calling women attractive, but I can honestly say I appreciated the beauty that filled this room. Blonde wavy hair, skimpy dresses on well toned bodies. I was going to lose.

Then I caught sight of a short woman, a bit bigger than she needed to be for what she was wearing. Her body folded over her waistband on her mini skirt as her shirt showed off her belly, which to be honest was huge. My motto has always been 'if you got it, flaunt it, but if you don't, hide it away for our sakes'.

I turned away and smiled at the sight of Sango.

"Sango! I got an invite! I guess I am pretty beautiful!" I waved at her and got a smile out of her as she ran over to me and threw her arms around me.

"Kagome! See, I told you to check your mail!" She looked at me. "You look nice! It's like you're going on a date or something!"

I looked at Sango's short dress and recognized it. She wore the same dress I was wearing. We had bought them together a few months ago for a party.

"You don't look too bad yourself. Love the dress." We both laughed but stopped at the clinking sound of silver wear against a wine glass.

"Excuse me ladies." Everyone stopped talking and looked to a tall, regal man with long silver hair tied back into a pony tail. He wore a nice black suit without a tie, giving him a look of care free sophistication. "You have been brought here for your beauty. However…" He smiled warmly at us, charming us all. I was extremely charmed and I knew I wanted to be with him right then and there. "You have been brought here to compete for the love of my brother…" He stepped to the side. "Sesshoumaru Takahashi."

As everyone exploded into applause, I stared with my mouth wide open in anger. This man (if you can call it a man) was the person I couldn't escape on my television. And now I was trying to date him? I was tricked! I turned to Sango, who would normally share my disgust only to find her smiling happily.

"Sango! We were tricked and you're happy?"

"Well you know I can't stay single for too long before I get lonely…" She averted her eyes nervously.

"So Miroku broke up with you?"

"Well, yes… He said he wanted to see other people… But you don't need to hear the sob story." She put her head up high, an indication that she didn't want to talk about it, and smiled at the new prospects she had with this Sesshoumaru thing.

"So here", started the beautiful specimen I could now identify as InuYasha Takahashi, "is the man of the hour!"

Sesshoumaru walked out, looking ultra confident, which only pissed me off more. How could he be proud to have tricked women into coming to compete for his love? Which, let's face it, was non existent because famous people are just shells of nothing.

"Hello ladies." His voice was steady, and every inflection he used patronized my tiny soul even more. I would have died out of frustration if that had been possible. "I look forward to getting to know all of you." His eyes locked with mine for a long minute. I believe he was drawn to my intense hatred, because I'm sure my eyes were blazing with it. "Now we will assign nicknames."

I rolled my eyes. The grueling process would just serve as a way to further degrade us women.

I was pushed into the line by Sango, who was way too excited about this. I waited for my turn and when I finally got to the front of the line I sent Sesshoumaru a death glare. He would know I hated him!

"Hello…?"

"Higurashi, Kagome. But you can just call me Higurashi sama, Sesshoumaru kun." I sneered at him, but he simply looked at me.

"What an interesting girl. You dare to speak to a famous man in such a way? I think I'll call you Higurashi Sama. I won't nick name you. A fine girl like you should not have a fake name, hm?"

I shivered and stuck my tongue out at him. Probably not my most mature moment. His only response was to watch me walk away. He seemed as disinterested in this process as I was. But if he dared try to keep me, I would make myself totally useless to him in every way.

-XOXO-

I was sure to stay away from the mobs as he made his rounds from lady to lady. Sango had somehow gotten entangled in a group of horribly fake women, but she seemed happy and in her element, so I was okay with leaving her alone.

I wandered over to a surprisingly girl-free table with beverages on it and grabbed a small glass of wine and drank it while observing the people around me. Some were too drunk to walk; others were trying to strip to catch the attention of our main attraction. However, when I looked to the man, he was staring directly at me. He looked bored with the two girls cuddling up against him on his leather couch. His eyes followed every movement I made. It was creepy, so I walked into a different room.

I looked around and found that the room was empty so I sat in a comfortable chair and breathed finally. I was tired of the whole process and it hadn't even truly begun.

"May I come in?" I looked up at the smooth voice and saw the face of InuYasha.

"Yes", I responded in a wimpy, but man-seducing, voice.

I watched as his tall figure walked in, sitting in a chair beside mine.

"I am InuYasha, the brother of Sesshoumaru. I am trying to help figure out which women are fake and which are real." He looked to me and smiled.

"Well it seems you are faking it. We all know you're the real party boy of the house, InuYasha." I winked at him and giggled. He had a huge reputation for being gruff and party-ish, so his out of character actions were throwing me off.

"Well yes." He blushed slightly and turned away, gritting his teeth. "But I've been asked to tone it down for the show. My family feels disgraced by my recent actions." He looked back towards me and smiled again. "Anyway, tell me about yourself and how you would be if my brother picked you."

"Well", I started, "I would be the worst girlfriend ever. I ha-"I cut myself off at a great idea. I would use this situation to make InuYasha jealous so that he'd choose to be with me. "I have this horrible insecurity. Men tell me I'm a great girl and then leave me, so I have a hard time believing I am wanted, so I'd probably just bring him a lot of baggage."

"An honest girl from the start." He looked satisfied and grabbed my hand, kissing it softly. "I will put in a good word for you." He smiled at me and stood, walking out of the room.

"I'd rather just get your digits", I mumbled. The only reason I would stay if asked to stay would be for InuYasha. The finest man alive and he was trying to change his party ways. I would love that man!

I smiled and got up, leaving the room.

-XOXO-

An hour later, InuYasha got up to announce that the first elimination would begin in about 15 minutes. We were supposed to go and make ourselves look good but I decided to just stay as I was. I wasn't exactly trying to impress Sesshoumaru. Just InuYasha.

I walked upstairs to the room I would now share with Sango and a few other girls and sighed. The room was beautiful; however I would be spending many boring, unfulfilled nights in that room.

I watched silently as girls tripped all over the place getting their hair curled and putting on gallons of makeup. After a few minutes of people watching, I went down to the room where elimination would take place.

The small room was empty. The walls kept the black and red theme, but stairs led up to a small platform where I figured we would all line up and wait for our fate to be told. A few feet away from the platform I noticed a table with necklaces on it. I figured the necklaces were our passes. I walked over to the table and touched the small pendant on the necklace. It was covered in expensive diamonds and it was in the shape of a heart with a big S in the center representing Sesshoumaru. (Thank you, captain obvious!) I picked up one of them. I was impressed by the big waste of money these things were.

"You seem eager to have one." I turned around to see the face of a girl who looked a lot like me. Her hair was smoother and longer, though. The black hair framed her face quite well and made her pale skin stand out. Her dull brown eyes stared at me as if she was going to attack me.

"Has anyone ever told you that you look like someone in a horror film?" I covered my mouth after speaking, realizing I had used my dreadful habit of speaking my mind. The girl didn't seem to care, though.

"Well actually yes. Because, you see, I am a star in some horror films. My name is Kikyou Morinaga."

I gasped softly. She was a famous actress. But how on earth was she duped into being here?

"Then why are you here? Usually these shows are filled with regular girls."

"I think I'm insulted." She sighed and put her fingers to her temples and walked closer to me. "I am already important to Mr. Takahashi. I am his ex girlfriend and I was asked here by his brother InuYasha to assist in making sure none of you girls get into big trouble." She looked over her shoulder at the clock. "But it seems elimination is about to start. I have a feeling that Mr. Takahashi will be keeping you. If these girls target you, I will not stop them. I will actually enjoy it, seeing as you have absolutely no respect for those greater than you." She laughed softly but darkly and turned away.

I simply said bye and went up to the stage, watching as women filed in through the door laughing and talking. I wasn't about to let the evil scary woman get in my way though. I wasn't interested in her beloved Sesshoumaru. No, I preferred InuYasha. So therefore I should not be a problem for her.

Right?

The girls grew quiet, signaling to me that I should probably focus. InuYasha walked in and stood by the table as Sesshoumaru followed, looking blank.

"Let's make this quick", spoke Sesshoumaru, picking up a necklace. "Higurashi Sama, come here."

I was not happy to be picked first, but I walked down anyway, forcing a smile.

"Do you accept staying here?" His eyes looked amused, as if he was looking right through me. I didn't know him at all, nor did I care to know him, but InuYasha was watching, so I decided to flirt it up.

"Of course, you sexy beast." I hit his chest flirtatiously and bowed my head so that he could place the necklace around my neck. He did so and then lifted my chin and smiled an awkward smile. I could tell that to him I was like a fish and he wanted to catch me in his net.

But I know he's a catch and release guy.

I fluttered my eyes at him and blew him a kiss before turning and walking away to my room. The other women were not happy, I could tell. But at least I was one step closer to winning InuYasha.

They could all marry Sesshoumaru and I wouldn't care.

To come in chapter two…

Kagome gains attention from Sesshoumaru, even winning a challenge where she did absolutely nothing. This attention has gained her some unwanted aggression, and an angry best friend.