Desires Of A Model

Chapter 5


A/N: Thank you all for the lovely and amazing reviews! They cheered me up so much! Special thanks to my beta Brokenshardsofmyheart99, who has to beta like 25 stories in such a short amount of time.


The day before they had had their first elimination. In all honesty, it hadn't bothered Kurama. The model had been wanting to quit, since he never wanted to come there in the first place. Today they had the day off due to some technical difficulties that the staff had earlier in the day. It felt rather nice not having to fret over whether or not the camera was being aimed at him. Needless to say that with all the cameras off, some of the models went a little overboard with their freedom.

At first it had been shocking to walk into the bathroom and see Touya and Jin kissing each other in rather odd positions that he hadn't even thought were possible. It had stunned him until Yusuke walked in as well and then dragged both himself an Kurama out. Hiei had already left the room, so there was no telling if he knew about Jin and Touya. However, their roommates weren't the sole couple taking advantage of the technical difficulties. In short, he and Yusuke along with some straight models had to apologize almost every time they opened up a door.

Throughout the day, there were guys who kept handing out alcoholic drinks from out of nowhere. Yusuke drank more than most people there, but he was still sober. Though Kurama knew he wished he had been drunk when someone suggested they sing karaoke. It was Yusuke's turn soon and the model kept on drinking more by the second. The worst part about it was that someone else chose your songs for you, even if you didn't know the lyrics. There was no real prize for the winner, but it seemed most of the models participated for the fun of it.

"Yusuke Urameshi, get your butt up here! Your song is…" The voice of a model by the name of Karasu was drowned out as a massive cheer for Yusuke erupted from the rest of the somewhat sober males around them. Yusuke raised himself and headed to the little stage that some had made in order for the event to seem more real. It was rather hilarious for Kurama to see his friend getting his rear groped. The shouting that Yusuke made, made all the others burst out with laughter.

After seeing his friend take hold of the microphone, he saw Karasu whisper something into Yusuke's ear. Karasu was one of the most sought out models in the industry. It was his eyes that were the usual focus of many of the jobs he had had in the past. From rumors, he had learned that the long-haired model was one of the favorites to win the competition. Even though they were rumors, Kurama knew better than to dismiss them as nothing. Karasu was fierce competition for anyone who wanted to win.

"Hell no!" Yusuke had shouted at Karasu and into the microphone when Karasu had finished whispering. Despite the protests, Karasu walked away from the makeshift stage, ignoring Yusuke. The music began to play and Kurama tried not giggle. As if it was some kind of pay back, Yusuke ended up getting the same song he had dared Kuwabara sing a few months ago.

Having no other choice, Yusuke began to sing along to the song. In truth, he sounded far better than most of the ones who had gone up to sing. The whole situation reminded Kurama of the teacher that he and Yusuke had had a few years back. She was a qualified trainer for all kinds of models, and they had been very fortunate to have caught her interest. Chuckling to himself, Kurama picked up his glass. Rather than alcohol, he had settled on grape juice.

"What Hurts The Most, Was Being So Close
And Having So Much To Say
And Watching You Walk Away
Never Knowing, What Could Have Been
And Not Seeing That Loving You
Is What I Was Trying To Do"

"Fool," Kurama heard from behind him. Instead of turning, he laid his head against the soft sofa and smiled. At least he did until Hiei came and sat next to him. As usual, the haughty model was smirking at the actions of someone else. In his hand, Hiei held a glass filled with something dark.

Trying to clear the tension in the air, Kurama cleared his throat. "I didn't know you drank," he said as if he were commenting about the weather. Hiei didn't answer him, but kept his eyes on Yusuke as the model was finishing the song up.

When Yusuke had completed the song, several cheers and even cat calls were made. "It'll be your turn soon," the brooding model said to him. With the same calmness he had used before, Kurama nodded. "For your sake, I hope you're not worse than your friend."

"Kurama?" When he turned to see Yusuke, he noticed that the male was not staring at him, but at Hiei. "I'll be right back. I've got to go and take a you-know-what." Kurama nodded and tried hard not to giggle at the poor substitute Yusuke had chosen for going to the restroom.

Once the cheering and the hollering quieted down, Karasu walked up to the stage and announced the next person. "Yomi! Get up here and sing this pretty song for us, you jerk!" From the way Karasu slurred his words everyone knew that he was drunk already. And if that didn't make it clear, Kurama was sure that the way he kissed Yomi did.

The moment Yomi took the stage, Kurama turned his attention to Hiei. As he tried to come up with a topic for discussion, he kept telling himself that was not still frightened of the man. Though speaking with a man that was rumored to be a murderer was not much better either. The sole difference was that one of them had tried to kill him, and it wasn't Hiei. When he had given up on trying to decide on a topic, he decided to go through with whatever came out of his mouth. Though the silence in the room at least made it easier for him to speak without having to shout. Just as he opened his mouth he was interrupted by Hiei's words.

"Pretentious… It's people like him that make the rest of us look like idiots who are solely good at looking pretty for the cameras," he muttered. Realizing that the dark-clad model had spoken to him, Kurama nodded. When he was sure that Hiei wasn't looking, he looked around to make sure that he was the one Hiei had spoken to. "Stop fidgeting. It makes you look like you're the idiot's giddy fan."

With heat creeping into his cheeks, he nodded. "Forgive me, I was just… " His words were cut short when he noticed that Yomi was no longer on stage. One look at Hiei, and he knew he was in trouble.

"I tried to give you up, but I'm addicted
now that you know I'm trapped, sense of elation
you'd never dream of breaking this fixation
you will squeeze the life out of me
bury it

I won't let you bury it
I won't let you smother it
I won't let you murder it
and our time is running out
and our time is running out"

As Yomi sang the words to him, Kurama couldn't move. Not even when the man who had been semi-responsible for the scar he now wore on his chest played with hi hair. His mind kept calling out for Yusuke. Whenever his friend was there, he always found himself being stronger than ever, but now he was alone and he felt defenseless. From where he sat he was able to see some of the males glare at him. They had eyes for Yomi, but knew nothing of what he was capable of. When it became clear that Yomi was leaning in for a kiss, Kurama felt a surge go through him.

Yomi leaned further in, and Kurama brought his hands up to push him. "Trying to move in on my territory?" His hands paused in midair. The deep voice that had spoken had come from the seat next to him. It seemed that Yomi was too caught off-guard by the claim, for he had stopped singing. Kurama was certain that Yomi had asked a question, but he hadn't caught it. The reason being the body that had pressed against his, and the hand snaking around his waist in a possessive manner. "Live or die, it's your choice," he heard Hiei whisper loud enough for Yomi to hear. Seconds must have flown by, he was certain, but Hiei hadn't removed his hand from his waist. The music had stopped and now Jin was signing a love song to Touya.

Kurama couldn't bring himself to tear away from Hiei for two vital reasons. The first being that the man with his arm around him had a rumored murder on his hands. And the second was that the odd feeling of being tense around Hiei had dissipated. Acting as if he hadn't noticed Hiei's hand still there, he turned half of his attention to watching Touya blush out of both flattery and embarrassment.

"Because you live girl, my world (my world) has twice as many stars in the sky
Because you live, and breathe
Because you make me believe in myself when nobody else can help
Because you live girl, ('cause you live) my world has everything I need to survive,
Because you live, I live
I live"

The song ended with the couple kissing rather than Jin singing the lyrics to the song. Almost everyone in the room applauded the couple before focusing their attentions on Karasu who had returned back from a brief talk with another model. "Let's see who's next… Ah, Kurama! Please, gentlemen, act like gentlemen. This certain model has a rather endearing ass, and I'd rather him not feel molested." Karasu laughed, though no one else in the room knew why.

Before getting up, Kurama remembered the arm around him. It was then that he blushed and turned to look at Hiei. With a knowing smirk, Hiei released him. If it had been the alcohol that had relaxed Hiei to that extent, Kurama hoped the effects lasted a bit longer. His walk up to the stage had been uneventful, which he was grateful for. Karasu winked at him as he handed over the microphone.

"I hope you know this song," he whispered into his ear before leaping off the stage and landing in a perfect pose. It was impressive, more so when the person doing it had had several drinks now.

The song began and Kurama smiled. Perhaps today was his day. Through the beginning of it, he just began singing it without a thought in his mind. Then again, it had been a song that he had gotten addicted to after Shizuru, Kazuma Kuwabara's sister kept on singing it several times. Towards the end of the song, though, he noticed how Hiei kept staring at him, unlike the same way he had gawked at the others that came before him. For that one time, he was thankful to the songs that got stuck in his mind.

"Like a rose without its thorn
Like a bird without a song
Like the fire without the flame
If there's a painless love, we
wouldn't be the same
Undress me, undress me
Unlock this chain and set me free
Remind me to be myself, my self
Undress me, undress me
Unleash my heart and make me see
When I become someone else
Undress me, undress me
Unlock this chain and set me free
Remind me to be myself, myself
Undress me, undress me
Unleash my heart and make me see"

After the song died away, the cheering and the applauding soon followed. Kurama bowed at the audience and got off from the stage. As he neared his sitting place he noticed Yomi smirking at him, as if he knew something Kurama didn't. Dismissing it to paranoia, he sat down next to Hiei. He had expected ridicule and nasty comments, but he got the opposite instead.

"At least you were better than the rest," Hiei muttered, sipping his drink.

With a smile, Kurama replied, "Thank you. It does mean so much to get a great praise from someone like you."

The raven-haired model almost chocked on his drink. When Kurama curbed his laughter, Hiei glared at him and stood up. Thinking he had angered the man, Kurama stopped and was got ready to dodge a fist to his face. However, Hiei didn't even look at him as he walked away. Hearing the whispers around him, Kurama noticed that Hiei had been called up to the stage. The room go silent, even Karasu had sobered up when he handed the microphone over.

The music began. It sounded like it was to Hiei's taste since he didn't demand they change the song. Even though the rules had been that someone else picked the song, whether the person knew it or not, he had a suspicion that if Hiei wanted a different song, no one would object to it. Halfway through Hiei's song, Yusuke came back, apologizing for taking too long and blaming it on guys who kept staring at him while he tried to urinate. Though Kurama didn't hear half of the excuses and complaints. The way Hiei sang the lyrics and even moved around stage seemed to have captured most of the audience. It was the last set of lyrics that made Kurama shiver.

"I Want To Make You Move
Because You're Standing Still
If Your Body Matches
What Your Eyes Can Do
You'll Probably Move Right Through
Me On My Way To You
You'll Probably Move Right Through
Me On My Way To You"

When Hiei was through with the song, he walked of stage, not even acknowledging the ovation he received. As he headed toward them, Kurama tried hard not to think about how Hiei had been on stage. And to forget any impractical thoughts about Hiei singing to him, and not to everyone in the room. "Great performance," he said to him.

"Hn," Hiei replied. After picking up his drink, he walked over to him, paused, and then left.

"Strange guy… You sang better than him, though." Yusuke grinned at him after taking a long drink from whatever it was that he had gotten before coming back.

Kurama shook his head. "He's not so bad," he muttered. No one had heard him, though, since Karasu had gotten up to announce the winner of the contest.


A/N: I don't own those songs at all! They are: "What Hurts The Most" by Cascada, "Time Is Running Out" by Muse, "Because You Live" by Jesse McCartney, "Undress Me" by Anggun, and "Paralyzer" by Finger Eleven. Thank you!