Illumi pushed through the doors of the front gate to his home, the assassin finally back from his three day trip away from the comfort of his room to complete his mission. All he wanted was just one good meal and a few decent hours of sleep. It wasn't the actual mission that made him so exhausted, but the trip back that made him want to get home as soon as possible.

It was the morning after his successful assassination of a CEO and Illumi was on his way home. He decided to take the bus back to not attract too much attention and perhaps take some time to relax before he would be sent off for another job the second he would step foot on the property.

Taking his seat near the back, the man across from him had set his phone down to acknowledge his presence. Illumi didn't really mind, since he knew the man wasn't a threat to his identity, but after four whole minutes of staring, it was beginning to bother him.

"Can I help you?" Illumi didn't usually talk to others, whether it was before or after a job, but he had to do something if he was going to get his minimal privacy back. His tone was light and it held no hint of threat, but his face was as expressionless as ever.

The man across from him didn't flinch when he was called out. He only smiled and tucked his phone into his pocket, seeming happy that he had finally caught his attention. "I'm not sure if you get this often or not, but has anyone told you that you should model?"

Illumi turned his head at the question and almost stared back at the man wordlessly, unsure if he was being legitimate or just using a bad pick-up line. He still held no manner of curiosity or irritation though he was starting to wonder if he should have chose a different form of transportation. "No."

His answer did nothing to deflate the man's smile and he even pulled out a business card from his breast pocket of his suit, handing it to Illumi without a second thought. "You would be a perfect model for tomorrow's shoot. Your hair is by far the prettiest I've ever seen and your face is so well structured. It would be a waste if I let you go without getting a few photos."

Illumi decided that he wasn't taking the man's card, nor was he staying to listen to his ramblings. As soon as the bus stopped, Illumi got up and walked to the doors, leaving the man behind before he could hear any more of his weird compliments. It was safe to say that in all his years he has never felt more self conscious about his body than he has now.

He never looked back at the bus as he walked off, the assassin wanting to walk home rather than take his chances with the modeling agent. He had to make it back to the Zoldyck estate without blowing his cover, which meant no killing anyone that wasn't his target, no manipulating people in public, and not making a scene. It was difficult when he still had a ten hour trip ahead of him on foot, surrounded by the city's civilians.

"Sir!"

And it suddenly became a whole lot harder.

The modeling agent was back with his briefcase in hand, his card in the other. He seemed a bit out of breath from the run it took to catch up to Illumi, but it didn't sway his determination. "Please, just come to one photo shoot. It'll be worth the time, I promise."

"I'm not interested in your offer." Illumi turned on his heel and continued to walk, his pace faster than before to hopefully shake the man off without the need to run. If he could, he would have disappeared and used the rooftops to walk home, but he didn't want to gamble startling him and risking his identity. It was only a matter of time before the agent would lose hope and give up.

It was easier said than done. Without using excessive force, Illumi had to think of ways to ditch his stalker but all of his plans were ruined by his perseverance. Illumi attempted to throw him off by buying train tickets and hiding behind a wall of the station, only for the agent to find him three minutes later with a grin on his face and another offer for a modeling job.

His second attempt was to shake him off by hiding within the crowd in the busy streets of the city, but Illumi was discovered by the man's sharp eye a moment later. It was his hair that gave him away, he had explained.

The third attempt was the only one he had left and the Zoldyck hoped that his idea would turn his follower away for good. He had confronted him near a vacant drug store, his hands clenched slightly to prevent the use of his needles. The suited male finally caught up to him and it seemed as though he believed that Illumi had finally taken up his offer.

"I am not interested in your offer, I am not interested in modeling for you, and I am not interested in arguing with you. I request that you leave and stop following me. This is the last warning I am giving." Illumi turned around and walked away, refusing to look back to see if the man had listened to his caution or not.

The remaining hours had passed and he was finally home, but the pestering man was still on his tail and Illumi wasn't sure how long it would be until he would be stopped by the front gates or by Zebro. He was tired and all he wanted was his bed so he could sleep for an hour or two in peace.

He passed by three butlers along the way to the mansion, each of them greeting him before letting him continue. After making the first step into his home, he felt a sense of relief wash over him knowing that he was no longer going to be bothered by any obnoxious men in suits for the rest of his day.

He went upstairs and retired to his room, closing the door behind him and falling onto his bed gracelessly. His head was planted in his sheets before he rolled over on his back and closed his eyes.

Illumi didn't know what woke him up hours later, but his room was dark and it was well past midnight. His dark eyes blinked open slowly, the assassin spotting a large, looming shadow outside on his balcony. The doors leading to the terrace were wide open and the shadow was already shuffling towards him, heavy pants coming from the form.

Illumi didn't need the light to know that it was the modeling agent, his body lifting from his bed in a fit of frustration.

"S-sir-" He was clutching a piece of paper in his other hand, his briefcase gone. His suit was ripped and tattered from the trip through the estate- an obvious sign of struggle- but Illumi was only feeling the urge to strangle the man. "If you could just sign this form-"

"How did you even get in here?!" Illumi grabbed a pillow from his bed, the deadly assassin smacking the man on the face. "Go, shoo!" He wasn't sure how he had managed to escape Zebro's attention, or Mike's for that matter, but there was no question that he could not have made it here alive while the butlers were all at their stations. He was regretting not killing this man earlier.

"I just need a signature!" His voice was smothered by Illumi's pillow, his body being forced down by the other man.

"Leave me alone!" He hardly ever rose his voice, but this guy was really pissing him off. He wanted to make as little noise as possible, but his shout had apparently drawn the attention of Kikyo, who had heard the commotion on her way to bed.

She knocked on his bedroom door, the sound enough to make Illumi pause in his attempted murdering. "Illumi, dear, are you alright?" She asked through the door, her voice muffled.

The torn sleeves swept along the floor as the man under him struggled to breathe and he shoved the paper in front of him to read, desperate for his consent.

"Yes, mother. I'm just-" He pushed the pillow down harder and ignored the cry that was nearly swallowed completely by the cotton. "I'm just talking on the phone."

There was a pause that Illumi noticed before she spoke again. "It's not Hisoka, is it?" Her tone of voice was authoritative.

"No." Illumi felt the man push against his stronger arms, his fingers clawing through the plush pillow to stop his victim from making any more noise. "Please, just go to sleep." He wasn't sure who he directed that plea to, but Kikyo left and Illumi finally took his weight off of the man and let him breathe once it was safe.

The suited agent coughed and convulsed when he rolled onto his side, trying to gasp the air back into his lungs. His face was red, but his hands still held the crumpled contract that had been haunting Illumi since he had met the guy.

"Your body..." He coughed out, "... be perfect for our h-health magazine..." He stretched his legs out and sat up, his eyes fixed on his feet. "Really strong arms..."

Illumi growled and lifted the man up by the sliced collar of his shirt, pulling him off of the bed and dragging him towards the balcony of his bedroom. He heard a whimper and pulled the agent against the railing, the assassin pulling a pen out of the man's breast pocket.

Without a word, his scribbled his name on the dotted line provided at the bottom of the page, pushing the paper into the other's chest.

He managed a smile at the action, his bruised lip splitting and drawing blood from the wound. "Thank you s-so much, sir. I'll-"

"Leave."

Illumi's tone didn't leave word for argument. "R-right away." He fumbled with folding the paper, his shaking hands sliding the contract into his pocket before he was pushed, Illumi's hand pressing him back until he flipped over the ledge of the balcony and onto the thorned bushes below.

Illumi heard the loud thump and pained groan that followed, his fingers moving to brush the strands from his eyes before he returned to his bedroom once more. He locked everything, including his own door, before finally getting back to the sleep he needed.