Secrets of a Rose by Igneous Phoenix

Surprises

Hey everyone, if you haven't noticed, I just changed my penname!! You know... I used to be Archangelz. Heheheh. Yep... it's me again with another story; I hope you guys will like this one more than my last.

Secrets of a Rose

By: Moonlight Secret

Chapter 1: Surprises

"What was I thinking?" Sesshoumaru asked himself in disbelief as he looked out the limo's window. A grand mansion, which was known as the bachelorette's villa, was coming within view.

"Hey, you can't back out now," pointed Mr. McNeil, producer and host of The Bachelor reality show. "You have already signed the contract."

"I never said that I was backing out," Sesshoumaru growled.

"Good," Mr. McNeil smiled.

Sesshoumaru sighed. He still can't believe that he had signed the stupid contract, agreeing that he would be the next bachelor for the fifth season of 'The Bachelor' show.

"Come on, don't look so down. Remember, you are getting 20 percent of the profit that we make in this show. Who knows? That could be millions and millions of dollars." He said, and then smiled slyly. "Besides, I thought it's every man's dream to be surrounded by 25 gorgeous and single women."

"Well, it's not mine." Sesshoumaru shot back. The only reason that he had agreed to be the next bachelor was because his idiotic manager had signed him up for it, saying that it would help increase his fame and fortune. Of course, being a world-renowned model and owner of a multi million-dollar company named the Shikon Corp; Sesshoumaru was already wealthy and didn't care much about the money that was promised.

"Who knows," the producer shrugged. "You might even find your 'soul-mate.'"

When Sesshoumaru remained silent, refusing to reply, Mr. McNeil sighed in weariness. When he first heard about Sesshoumaru, he thought that it was a great opportunity. Because almost everyone across the globe had heard of Sesshoumaru Taisho, Mr. McNeil thoughts that it would make 'The Bachelor' show even more successful if he had someone as famous as him in it. Being 27 and single, and one of the most eligible bachelors, Sesshoumaru was the perfect bachelor for his reality show. But it seemed that Sesshoumaru had no intention of even finding a girlfriend, let alone a wife.

"Well, we are here," he producer said as the limo pulled to a stopped in front of the Bachelorette villa, which was where all the 25 bachelorettes were gathered. Opening the door for Sesshoumaru to get out, he looked at him. "Please, even if you are not interested in those women, just try to act like you are. Besides, all you have to do is go on a couple of dates and pretend to like them. You don't have to marry them; although it would be much appreciated if you do."

Sesshoumaru looked at him indifferently before replying, "Dating is acceptable but marriage or engagement is out of the question."

Brushing off the wrinkles in his suit, Sesshoumaru walked up the steps that led to the doorway of the bachelorettes' mansion. To be polite, the producer/host opened the door for him and allowed him to walk in first, with tones of cameramen taping and following Sesshoumaru's every move.

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"Okay ladies," Mr. McNeil said towards all the bachelorettes as he entered the mansion, capturing their attention. "Since I am sure that most of you are just dieing to know who the mystery bachelor is, let me have the honor of introducing him. Everyone, please meet the one and only, Sesshoumaru Taisho!" (A/N: drum roll). The door opened and Sesshoumaru stride into room, his handsome face calm and stoic, betraying not even a single emotion.

Once all the bachelorettes realized that the bachelor was going to be 'The Sesshoumaru', some of them screamed in excitement while others fainted in pure joy.

"Heheh," Mr. McNeil chuckled nervously as he looked at some of the fainted bodies. "Maybe next time, I should cut back on the surprises." Looking back at the ladies, he began. "As you can all guess, Sesshoumaru is going to be the bachelor and who knows, maybe one of you will be his soul-mate or even get marry to him."

All the bachelorettes squealed in excitement again as they thought of getting married to someone as famous and wealthy as Sesshoumaru. The producer/host smiled. Yes, his plan for having Sesshoumaru as bachelor was indeed, a great one. "Sesshoumaru," he continued. "Why don't you introduce yourself to these lovely women."

"My name is Sesshoumaru Taisho," he began his speech, his voice smooth and silky. "I am here to find someone whom I can love and spend the rest of my life with..."

When Sesshoumaru finished introducing himself, Mr. McNeil was impressed; he actually sounded like as if he really did want to find his soul mate. "Well then," he said towards Sesshoumaru. "Why don't you go over there and get to know the ladies a bit more."

Shooting the producer an I-hate-you look, Sesshoumaru walked over to the group of bachelorettes and began listening to their mindless chattering.

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Sesshoumaru inwardly groaned for what appeared to be the tenth time. All the women were giggling and talking nonstop, introducing themselves while he just pretended to be listening, although his mind was wandering off somewhere.

"And so my favorite color is pink and my favorite food is..." one of the female began.

'Blah blah blah,' Sesshoumaru's inner voice droned out the female's voice as he once again stopped paying attention. Looking around the room, he began to count how many females there were and was surprised to find that there were only 24 women when there were supposed to be 25. "Where is the last bachelorette?" Sesshoumaru asked the producer in his usual bored voice.

Mr. McNeil smiled secretly before ushering for a cameraman to tape a close up of him. "For all the viewers at home," he began, looking directly at the camera. "In order to make this season of The Bachelor more exciting than the last, we decided to add a mystery bachelorette."

'Uh oh,' Sesshoumaru's inner voice said, 'this can't be good. Leave Sesshoumaru, leave while you still have a chance,' his inner voice urged him.

Still smiling, the producer looked at Sesshoumaru and then at all the curious faces of the bachelorettes before continuing in an excited voice. "Everyone, it is my pleasure to introduce you to the world famous, music sensationalist, Kagome Higurashi!"

"Oh my gosh," one of the women screamed like an excited fan. "It's The Kagome Higurashi!"

The door opened again and this time, in walked Kagome, looking absolutely drop dead gorgeous with a genuine smile on her face. She was dressed in an elegant yet formal black dress, and looked like as is she had just stepped out of a photo shoot. However, her smiled instantly faded as she recognized Sesshoumaru.

"What is she doing here?" Sesshoumaru asked the producer, his face was blank but anger and hate were evidenced in his eyes.

"W-Well," the producer answered nervously, beginning to realize that Sesshoumaru and Kagome weren't what you can call good friends. "I thought I already explained to you that she was going to be one of the bachelorettes."

"What!?" Kagome all but shouted at the producer as she heard what he had just said. "What do you mean bachelorette? I thought you told me that this was a ball for charity." Looking around the room, Kagome saw that it wasn't the right environment for a ball or dance. "You mean this is not a ball?"

"Um... you see," Mr. McNeil said, smiling nervously as he rubbed the back of his neck, something that he was accustomed to do whenever he was struggling to find an answer. "Okay, I admit it; I lied to you, Ms. Higurashi. This is not a ball, it's The Bachelor; and you have been chosen to be one of the 25 bachelorettes."

"You have got to be kidding me," she muttered in disbelief, her cheeks turning into an attractive shade of red from anger.

"Actually, I am not," the producer said.

"Oh this is great," the singer said as she threw her hands into the air. "I flew half way around the world for nothing. I am so out of here." And with that said, Kagome turned and stormed out the room.

"Wait Kagome," Mr. McNeil called after her. He looked at the cameramen, whom were taping the whole conversation. "Remember to cut that part out, okay? I don't want the public to see it." He then turned back to Sesshoumaru. "Well," the producer said. "Why don't you just, um... continue to get to know the ladies a bit more, okay? I will be right back." Mr. McNeil quickly ran out the room and towards the direction that Kagome went.

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"Oh, I am glad to find you, Kagome." The producer panted. After running around like a mad man, trying to find the singer, he finally located her in the garden.

"Really? I'm so glad to see you too," Kagome replied sweetly, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Look Kagome," Mr. McNeil began. "I apologize for lying to you, but you see, I knew that you wouldn't agree to take part in this show so I had no choice but to lie to you."

"It's alright," the singer said thoughtfully. "I forgive you."

"Really?" The producer asked, his eyes twinkling with hope.

"No, not really." Kagome answered, still very much angry with him.

"But will you at least pretend to be the bachelorette? At lease until the rose ceremony and if you still want to leave, then you can refuse the rose and I will get you a flight back to wherever you came from."

"Tempting offer," she said. "But no, I don't want to have anything to do with Sesshoumaru or this bachelor show."

"Kagome, please," the producer begged, getting on his knees and pleading with her. "I will even pay you."

The singer sighed. "Mr. McNeil, I don't want money; I just want to leave."

However, the producer wasn't about to give up so easily. He know that if he can get Kagome to be the bachelorette, then his reality show would be a phenomenal success. After all, Kagome does have countless fans all around the world and most of them would do anything to see her on T.V. "I am afraid that you can't leave," he began. "You have already signed the contract, stating that you would take part in The Bachelor."

"I signed the contract, agreeing to attend the ball for charity," Kagome stated. "Not for The Bachelor."

Mr. McNeil sighed in weariness. "There is nothing I can do, Kagome; you have already signed the contract. Whether the paper is a lie or not, you cannot, ever, break a contract."

Seeing that Kagome was about to explode in anger, the producer quickly continued. "However, if you agree to be the bachelorette, I will promise you that I will donate ten percent of the profit from this show to charity. And trust me, ten percent is a lot of money."

Kagome stayed silent and thought for a bit. "Alright," she said slowly. "I will be the bachelorette but you have to promise me that you will make the donations."

The producer smiled in relief, glad that Kagome have always had a soft spot whenever it comes to helping charity. "Don't worry, Ms. Higurashi. I never break a promise."

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'I can't believe that Kagome is here,' Sesshoumaru inner voice screamed while he remained calm on the outside. After eleven years of no contact, he finally met up with her again and now, his emotions were a mess. He didn't know whether he should hug her and forget about what happened in the past or if he should slap her in the face and kick her out. 'Of all the couple billion women in the world, why does she have to be one of the bachelorettes?' he silently asked to whoever Gods that were listening to him. Well, at least now he can complete his list of 'ten reasons why he should have never signed up for this'.

However, his thoughts were interrupted when the door opened and Kagome, and Mr. McNeil walked in again.

"Kagome has happily agreed to stay and be the bachelorette!" Mr. McNeil announced. But one look at Kagome's expressive sapphire eyes and anyone can tell that she was far from happy.

"Well, why don't you introduce yourself to our bachelor Sesshoumaru," the producer suggested.

Kagome sighed before walking up to Sesshoumaru and held out her hand. "Hi, my name is Kagome Higurashi," she introduced herself, pretending that she didn't already know him. She continued her introduction, her voice blank and empty as if she was reading out lines from a script. "I am 25 and my career is singing."

Sesshoumaru nodded and shook her hand. "I am Sesshoumaru Taisho," he introduced himself; also pretending that he didn't already know her.

'This is great,' the producer thought with excitement. 'I have two very famous people here on my show! Now if only I can get them to marry each other...'

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After shaking hands with Sesshoumaru, Kagome quickly walked off into the corner of the room, away from the bachelor and the flirting bachelorettes.

"Those girls sure act like as if they are love sick puppies," a voice next to her said.

Kagome turned her head and saw a girl about the same age as her. She smiled; glad to find someone out of the bunch of females that weren't as crazy about Sesshoumaru as the rest.

"I am Sango," the girl introduced herself.

"Nice to meet you, Sango." Kagome said as she shook hands with her. "I'm Kagome."

"I know," Sango said and laughed. "It's pretty hard to not know you when you are on the headlines of almost every magazine. So... why are you here anyway? You don't look any more excited about this as me."

"I don't want to be here," Kagome admitted. "But I have already made a deal with the producer. What about you, Sango? Why are you here?"

"I came here to find my soul mate," Sango answered. "But when I realized that the bachelor was going to be Sesshoumaru, I knew that he just wasn't going to be 'the one'."

Kagome nodded in agreement, "Yeah, I don't think he's going to be the one for me either."

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After chatting for a while, Kagome and Sango became fast friends, and it felt like as if they had known each other for half of their lives, rather than only half an hour.

"Hey look, I think the other girls are going back to their rooms," Sango pointed out as the other bachelorettes began to leave the room.

"Let's go then," Kagome said and the two left for their rooms.

However, just as Kagome was about to leave, a deep, masculine voice stopped her. "Ms. Higurashi, can you please stay for a minuet."

"You can go ahead, Sango." Kagome urged to her new friend. "I will catch up with you in a minuet."

Sango nodded and left, leaving only Kagome and Sesshoumaru in the room.

After making sure that Sango was out of hearing range, Kagome turned around and looked at Sesshoumaru. "What do you want?" she asked him, her voice clearly telling him that she was not in the mood to talk to him.

"I just wanted to get to know you a bit more, Ms. Higurashi." Sesshoumaru smoothly said. "After all, we didn't seem to get much of a chance to talk with the other women around."

Kagome rolled her eyes before replying, "Drop the act, Taisho; you already know me. Now will you just tell me what you want or am I going to have to stand here for the entire night?"

Instead of replying, Sesshoumaru walked to a near by window and gazed out into the dark night sky. "It's been eleven long years, hasn't it?" he asked her.

The singer nodded but didn't reply.

"Kagome, our relationships were so strong. How did it end?" Sesshoumaru questioned her.

Kagome laughed bitterly. "Why are you asking me? Is it not you who moved away without even giving me a goodbye? Is it not you who left me waiting and hoping that you would return although you never did?"

"Why are you blaming it on me?" Sesshoumaru said to her, his usual emotionless face hardening with anger. "You are the one that cheated on me."

"What are you talking about!?" Kagome asked in disbelief. "I never cheated on you!"

"Do you take me for a fool?" he snarled at her. "I saw you, Kagome. I saw what you did with my own eyes."

"For the last time, Sesshoumaru, I never cheated on you!" she said, anger swirling in her beautiful sapphire eyes.

Sesshoumaru turned his head and looked away from her. "Even to now, you continues to lie to me," he said and shook his head. "I used to think that you were a kind and caring person, Kagome. Now, I know that you are nothing but a lying whore."

The room was silent for a while; no one uttered a word, and the quietness were only broken by the constant ticking of the clock overhead. "I don't know why you moved away, Sesshoumaru." Kagome whispered quietly, a tear rolled down her face. "I don't know why you never told me where you went. I don't know why you never contact me. I don't know what I did wrong. I don't know what happened to you over these past eleven years. But I do know one thing..." she said as she looked straight at him, crystal blue eyes meeting piercing golden ones. "...I never cheated on you."

To say the least, Sesshoumaru was shocked. "Kagome..." he began but she quickly interrupted him.

"I don't want to talk anymore," the singer said. "Let us finish this discussion some other time." With that said, Kagome turned and walked off. As she was reaching the doorway, she paused before turning back to him. "Goodnight Mr. Taisho," she bade him and walked out the room, leaving a stunned Sesshoumaru to stare after her.

For the people who doesn't know what The Bachelor show is, please read the following:

The Bachelor is kind of like a matchmaker, romance reality show where a man (the bachelor) is surrounded by 25 women (the bachelorettes). The man will go on group dates or individual dates with the women and get to know them better. The whole point of this reality show is for the bachelor to see if out of the 25 bachelorettes, there is one that he can love or even more, marry. At the end of each week, a ceremony called the Rose Ceremony will be held where the bachelor will give out roses for the women that he thinks, might be 'the one'. Those who don't receive or refuses to accept the rose during the ceremony will immediately leave the bachelor and leave the show.

For example:

Week one: there are 25 women but only 15 roses; which means that only 15 women will remain to continued on for next week, and a chance for the bachelor's heart.

Week two: there are 15 women but only 10 roses; which means that 5 women will be asked to leave.

Week three: there are 10 bachelorettes but only 8 roses.

Week four: there are 8 women but only 6 roses; which means that 2 women will leave.

Week five: there are 6 women left but only 4 roses.

Week six: there are 4 women but 3 roses.

Week seven: there are 3 women but only 2 roses.

Week eight (final week): there are 2 bachelorettes left but only one rose. The bachelor will give the final rose to the woman that he has the strongest feelings or is in love with and usually, they get engage or marry.

During the eight weeks, the bachelorettes will be living in a mansion called the bachelorette's villa; so, they live there, eat there, and sleep there. (I think). Sometimes, the bachelor might move into the mansion with them so that he can get to know the women more. So... this is pretty much it for the show. Oh yeah... later on in the weeks, the bachelor usually goes on one-on-one dates with the bachelorettes rather than group dates.

A/N: I might be wrong with explaining about the show because personally, I don't watch The Bachelor; it's only one of my friends, whom explained it to me and encouraged me to write it. If you see any errors, please feel free to tell me. I know that I should finish my other fanfic first before starting a new one but my other story doesn't seem to be very popular so I have lost inspiration. (Sorry to all those that wanted me to finish it; if there is even any.) I hope you like the first chapter and PLEASE, PLEASE, review and tell me what you think.