Only One Ring in the End

By silentrose24

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha.

Summary: Kagome goes on a reality show with 14 other women to capture the heart of one lucky bachelor. Guess who he is? Inuyasha. A/U, InuKag, R&R please

Author's Notes: Erm-hope you like the fic. And review please!

Chapter 1:

Meet the Bachelor

~*~

Kagome Higurashi stepped off the bus into the bright Tokyo sun. She put on her sunglasses and glanced at her watch. Ten minutes early.

She sat down on the bench outside, already occupied with another girl, with long black hair pulled back into a ponytail. She looked just about as nervous as Kagome felt.

Kagome assumed she was another of the girls who was waiting for the huge coach bus that was going to take fifteen girls to a gigantic, beautiful mansion where one lucky bachelor was waiting for his future love.

At least, that's what the commercials were going to say.

"Hi."

Kagome turned around, trying to place the unfamiliar voice. She spotted the girl looking at her. "Oh, hi."

"Are you waiting for the--" the girl hesitated.

Kagome picked up the sentence where the girl left off. "--bus, yeah, I'm on that show, 'Only One Ring In the End'."

The girl's face brightened. "Oh, you too?"

So she was another girl from the show. "Oh, yeah. What's your name?"

"Sango. Yours?"

"Kagome Higurashi," Kagome replied.

Sango nodded. "So-you nervous?"

Kagome gave a nervous laugh. "Oh-very."

"Just think. One of is supposed to find the love of our life, who we haven't even met yet, on national television." Sango leaned back against the back of the bench, as if exhausted at the very thought.

Kagome laughed again. "And one of us is supposed to marry him in a matter of six months."

Sango sighed. "Crazy, isn't it?"

Kagome nodded, agreeing. "Pure insanity."

There was a brief uncomfortable silence. After all, they barely knew each other, and were going to be competing against each other.

Kagome spoke first. "So, where you from?"

"I'm from this little town called Shikon, it's near Kyoto. It's, um, really small. Um, so what about you?"

"I live in an apartment in Tokyo."

"Oh, that sounds nice."

Kagome nodded. "Yeah, it is."

There was another brief silence until a new voice broke in.

"Excuse me. Is this the bus stop for the women who will be on 'Only One Ring in the End?"

Kagome and Sango turned around. Their gaze met another girl, who looked uncannily like Kagome, only with dark eyes that were of a darker shade of brown and ebony hair that was much longer. She looked incredibly prim and well groomed, slightly reminding Kagome of a poodle without the overly puffy fur around her feet and her neck.

Each long, wavy hair on her head was in place; not one was sticking out. She stood up perfectly straight, her head was held up high, and she held a light pink satin purse. She was wearing a light pink, sleeveless summer dress, a pearl necklace, pearl earrings, light pink strappy sandals with three-inch heels, and a painfully condescending look.

Kagome felt incredibly underdressed and self-conscious as she realized she was in black jeans and a dark blue tank top. And flip-flops.

She glanced at Sango, who was in similar attire. She seemed to be thinking along the same lines.

"Uh-yes," Kagome said.

"Thank you." The Kagome look-alike sat primly on the other side of the bench.

The girl gave Kagome an uneasy feeling. Looking at Sango, she could tell she felt the same.

Nevertheless, she tried to be friendly. "What's your name?" asked Kagome.

"My name is Kikyou," she said, giving Kagome a less than friendly look.

"Oh." Kagome hesitated for a moment. "I'm Kagome, and this is Sango."

"I see." Kikyou nodded once.

Kagome looked at Sango. Sango returned a look that said exactly what both of them were thinking:

This girl is creepy.

"Hello, this is the bus stop for that show, isn't it?"

Another contestant that was going on the show.

'Let's hope she's not so creepy,' Kagome thought before turning around.

She turned around and saw a sweet looking girl with black hair and brown eyes. Kagome was relieved to see that she was dressed casually-light blue jeans and a white t-shirt.

"Yes."

The girl smiled warmly. "Thank you." She. She took a seat between Kagome and Kikyou. "My name is Misora. What's yours?"

"I'm Kagome, and--"

"-And I'm Sango," said Sango, smiling up at Misora.

"And what about you?" Misora asked, looking at Kikyou.

Kikyou gave her the same unfriendly look. "I am Kikyou."

Misora looked slightly taken aback at Kikyou's unfriendliness. "Oh. All right then."

~*~

Ten minutes had already passed, and Kagome, Sango, Misora, Kikyou and eleven other girls who were single and looking were on the coach bus.

"So, what do you think he's like?" Misora asked, leaning over her the armrest of her gigantic cushioned seat, looking at the other fourteen women.

"I bet he's really cute," said a contestant named Mitsuko.

"Well, duh, he has to be," said Ai, another contestant. "He's going to be on national television and fifteen girls are supposed to go after him. If he was ugly, we could just leave, couldn't' we?"

Kagome laughed. "That's some seriously twisted logic you've got there, Ai."

Ai shrugged. "Well, it's true."

"I bet he's sweet and charming," said Sango.

"Mr. Perfect," Kagome agreed.

"Imagine if one of us fell in love with like, the cameraman or something," Misora mused.

"Oh, please. How would that happen?" Sango laughed.

"Yeah, I know," said Misora. "Honestly, which one of us would pass up a huge, nationally televised wedding with a cute guy for a cameraman?"

Kagome laughed. "But anything's possible, isn't it?"

Another contestant with long, curly locks named Esumi laughed. "Sure is."

Fourteen women carried on with their lively conversation. Who was the other one?

Kikyou.

No one noticed her silence as they continued chatting. But if they had, they might've thought it a little odd. And if they had noticed the vindictive and calculating look on her face, they would've thought something was going on.

They might've believed that Kikyou was up to something.

~*~

"We're here!" Esumi squealed excitedly, who spotted an enormous mansion behind a colossal iron gate.

There was a chorus of oohs and ahs throughout the bus. It wasn't too hard to tell why.

The vast property that they were going to be staying on for the next six months was-there was no other word for it-amazing.

The Gothic style mansion was made out of stone, and parts of it were covered in green ivy crawling and twisting around the walls and the roof. It had at least five floors, but it wasn't just the mansion that was amazing.

It was surrounded by green, grassy land, accented with roses and peonies and all sorts of other flowers growing on the sides of the mansion and around the edges of the property. Kagome could've sworn she saw a fountain with one of those Cupids with water shooting up out of their mouths there somewhere, and saw something that resembled an apple orchard far away.

Kagome smiled. This was going to be great.

~*~

"Off the bus, ladies!"

A man with black hair and blue-green eyes was standing at the exit of the bus. He shook hands with each woman, introducing himself Eito, the host of the show.

When all of the women had gotten to the door of the mansion, Eito stood in front of them.

"After our bachelor greets each of you, wait at the top of the stairs for the butler, who will see you to your room.

"So, ladies," he said, "I'm sure you've all been dying to meet this guy, and you will-right about now."

Eito opened the door to reveal a man with long silver hair and golden eyes. 'And a killer smile,' Kagome thought. 'He is so cute.' She figuratively melted on the spot.

The women filed into the mansion, eager to meet the man with those amazing golden eyes. He greeted each woman with a smile, and some with a wink. When it was Kagome's turn, he flashed his 'killer' smile again.

"Hi, my name's Inuyasha Taisho," he said.

"I'm Kagome Higurashi," Kagome introduced herself breathlessly.

She stood there for a little while, staring at him. He wasn't classically handsome, but he was definitely cute.

Apparently, she stood there too long, because Eito tapped her on the shoulder, and said, "Uh, miss? Could you move it along there?"

"Oh.. right." Kagome's face flushed red, and suddenly realized that there was a line of women waiting impatiently behind her. She forced a smile onto her face, as if her loss of sense over a man was just a big joke. "Heh. Sorry." She walked away.

'Stupid, stupid, stupid!' she thought as she went up the stairs.

Kagome stood at the top of the stairs, waiting for the butler to come show her to her room.

She really, really hoped that they wouldn't air the part where she stood there gawking at Inuyasha like an idiot.

~*~

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