"We have arrived at our destination," exclaimed the train's public-address system.
"Wow what?" I drowsily rubbed my eyes, bringing myself out of my snooze. Gon was still asleep with his petit head against the windowpane. His mouth was slightly open; I felt a slight twinge of guilt for having to wake him up. "Come on, we're there, Gon!" I stood up to flick his forehead.
"Ow!" Gon shot right up unexpectedly, jamming his head into my face. The impact caused me to plummet backwards into my seat.
"Gon…."
"Oops! My bad, Killua! Are we there already?"
"Yeah," I rubbed the bridge of my nose. "That hurts."
Gon chuckled gleefully, and gripped firmly onto my hands. "Let's go, Killua!" Without further ado, he began dragging me towards the exit of the train while stepping right and left to avoid the passengers.
"To our resort!" I grinned with satisfaction.
After battling through mobs of people, we successfully escaped from the train. My eyes widened as I viewed the exquisite resort. It was gargantuan. Spectacular. Beyond my expectations, really. Enormous mountain ranges surrounded the building with gondola stations scattered along the white snow fields. The sky was clear of ominous clouds like a gateway to Heaven— a sheet of sheer, royal blue. Gon and I watched with amazement and excitement.
"T-This is incredible, Killua!" remarked a content Gon. "We're going have to thank your pops for giving us tickets to this place!"
"Yeah! We should get started right away!"
"Right away!" He repeated after me.
"Welcome to Utopia resort." A man donned in formal attire, akin to a butler, beckoned Gon and I to come over. "This way, please. I will be leading you to your room, as I am your guide for today."
"Ah! Thank you, mister!" Gon replied hastily. His emotions were so transparent; it was obvious that he was anxious to try out the hot-springs. The raven-haired boy informed me that he was looking forward to it, considering the fact that he had never tried. But then again, neither had I. It would be an interesting experience, I guess.
The man guided us through a series of immense corridors, up a flight of spiralling stairs, and into an elevator. It was actually quite astounding. The amount of money that was put into the resort. Every inch of this place was veiled with decorative designs.
"Your room is 757 on floor 7," The man inserted his hand into his pocket, extracted a card and offered it to Gon. "This is the key to your room. Your luggage should have already arrived."
"Oh? This place lives up to its expectations," I supposed. "I just hope the bath is satisfactory."
"You do not have to worry. And for your information, the bathhouse is outside the resort—up one of the mountains. To get there, you must ride the gondola." Gon and I gave him a nod of comprehension.
With a ding, the metallic doors of the elevator glided open, revealing more hallways with doors along the walls. We sauntered down the extensive passages, and paused in front of an entrance that was marked, in golden numbers, 757. Our room.
"If there is anything, please contact the help desk."
"Yeah, yeah," I replied with impatience. I just wanted to be alone with Gon. This was supposed to be a trip just for us.
"Understood!" Gon swiped the key down door's card-slot, and a sound was emitted to alarm us that the lock was released. "Killua and I will be fine now! Thank you!" The jocund boy presented the man a gleeful smile before dragging me into the darkness of the unlighted room.
"Gon!" He shut the door quickly behind us. "We have all day, no need to be so eage—"
Before I was able to finish, two arms, out of the blue, wrapped around my slender chest; my heart began to pound at a staggering rate as if the organ was about to rupture. Unable to calmly analyze the situation, I stumbled into the closed doorway while forcibly inhaling air through my nose. "G-G-on?" I inquired. Due to the heavy thumping in my chest, it was difficult to voice audible words. All I felt was the throbbing of passionate desire flowing through my veins and arteries.
"Killua," Gon released his arms, and subsequently, a blinding surge of light followed, lifting the dark concealment of the room. "You smell like chocolate!"
"W-w-what?!" I exhaled a breath of air. "You almost gave me a heart-attack!" Honestly, Gon's touchiness often provoked the savage beast held within me. It was truly difficult to constrain that selfish desire; I wonder how much longer I could keep that fiend behind the bars.
"Heh!" Gon stuck out his tongue teasingly, "Look, Killua! It's our room!" As my nerves relaxed, I was finally able to definably perceive the room. As expected, it was pretty large, but rather empty.
Other than the fancy chandeliers suspended in the midst of air, and the two queen-sized beds sitting at the center of the room, there wasn't much else that was noteworthy. Just like an ordinary hotel room, there was a closet and bathroom. Pieces of luggage containing our possessions were neatly rested on the surface of the two beds.
"Two beds," I muttered to myself in a low tone. "Damn."
"Did you say something, Killua?" inquired Gon before leaping into the soft comfort of a bed. "I call this one!"
"Should we get going soon? The sun is probably going to set in a few hours." I suggested, while going into my suitcase to extract enough towels, shampoo, and body-wash for the both of us.
"Okay!" Gon rapidly hauled himself up from his bed, and bolted towards the entrance. "Race you there!"
"You're not going win!" I hurriedly wrapped the bottles of soap with the towel, and whipped it behind my back before launching myself at Gon. I ran against walls to surpass him in speed, but Gon always managed to keep up with unusual acrobatic moves. He had an infectious laugh that naturally brought chortles out of me. We both laughed our way down the resort.
"Hah! Goal!" panted Gon as he dived through the main entrance of the resort.
"Not if I can help it!" I grinned. Clutching onto the collar of Gon's jacket for support, I projected myself outwards. "My win! Agai-"
Before I was able to finish my statement, Gon drove into my back with such force I fell face-to-face with the colourless snow. Though the coldness returned to sting my flesh, I couldn't help but unlock a light-hearted laugh. A laugh that I would only share with Gon. A laugh that could vaporize any pain contained in me. A laugh of pure, pure happiness.
"No fair!" A pout crept on Gon's tanned face to showcase his discontent.
Nonetheless, Gon offered me his hand, and pulled me out from the snow-blanketed ground. "Killua!" He pointed towards one of the gondola station as his expression altered to a beaming smile. "Let's go over there!"
"Okay," I replied, while wearing a big grin on my face. Gon didn't let go of my hand as he bolted towards the station. My heart rate accelerated, painting my pale face with a light-red hue. Ah. This is bad for my health,I thought.
What will Gon think if he managed to take a look within my mind? My desire for him was growing at an imaginable pace. It was hard to say, but I no longer viewed him as my best-friend. I want something…something more. Perhaps a relationship that a pair of lovebirds would share—Oh God, what am I thinking? Am I suggesting that I want to make out and do thatwith Gon? Well— I do, but—I—Ugh. I don't know.
"Killua?" Gon's voice brought me out of my internal conflict.
"Oh," I responded, sliding my hand out of Gon's grip. "Sorry."
"Are you okay?"
"Of course! Better than ever! Just nervous..." I lied, feeling trapped in a web spun by my opposing feelings.
Upon arrival at our destination, a short-haired female worker by the station greeted us with a wave, "May I have your names please?"
"My name is Gon! Gon Freecs!" I didn't understand his excessive energy, but hey, that was Gon for you. "And this is my best-friend, Killua!"
"S-stop that, it's embarrassing! I can introduce myself!" I stuttered while trying to keep a straight face.
"Ah…" She took a look at a tablet-like device held in her right hand, and pressed the screen a couple times. I assumed that it had touch-screen technology. "Residents in double-room 757, yes?"
"That's right!" My 'best-friend' presented her a cheery smile. I know I'm being selfish, but sometimes, I wish that smile only belonged to me.
Hanging onto strands of metallic wire, a cable car was on its way to our station. As it approached us at a moderate pace, I was rather fascinated. I mean, I'd seen gondolas on television with Gon, and such, but I'd never ridden one. Everything was new to me.
The worker signalled us for preparation with a thumbs-up. Without hesitation, Gon and I brought ourselves into one of the red-coloured gondolas, and were jolted backwards as it began moving. In a spark of surprise, I muttered "Ah!" and tumbled into the cable-car's seat. The boy with gravity-defying hair snickered, planting his bottom onto the seat adjacent to mine.
Inch by inch, we were rising to the summit of the mountain. Thick clouds stood in the way, making it rather difficult for my eyes to perceive the silhouette of the bathhouse. Instead, I carried my attention to the birds-eye panorama that the gondola had granted me.
"Waaa-"esteemed Gon, holding the breathtaking view in high regards. His beauteous brown eyes glimmered like a precious stone in the presence of light. I couldn't decide which the better sight was: Gon's flawless features or the vista. Well, I could admire Gon's characteristics anytime— this gorgeous prospect however, was an utterly jaw-dropping magnificence that I could only view for a limited amount of time in my life.
The most splendid part of the aerial view was the amount of area it was capable of capturing. The resort that seemed once so grand, along with plenty humans, became ant-sized, strolling around as if looking for their lost Queen. Series of evergreens along the side of the mountain gave off a vivid colour as it reflected the sunlight with the white snow. Everything was in a wondrous mixture of whites, grays and greens. Although I resided at the peak of Kukuroo Mountain, I was never able to enjoy such a view. I had never noticed that Mother Nature's womb was impregnated with such beauty. And best of all, I am enjoying this with Gon, who was still dazzled by the scenery, gazing out the windows of the gondola.
For about five more minutes or so of continuous admiration, while exchanging words of awe amongst ourselves, the cable car Gon and I were in ascended beyond the clouds and arrived at the bathhouse. Rivalling the extravagant resort, the bathhouse resembled an opulent businessman's mansion. A giant sign was held above the glass doorway, with its contents reading: Utopia Bathhouse.