toxic spa room (sfw)

[devil_or_angle]

*a new door has opened, this time leading to a fancy, futuristic spa straight out of a sci-fi movie. past a waiting room filled with comfy chairs looms a sauna with a sign touting its advanced restorative properties, which, unbeknownst to those who enter, will zap out whatever they consider their most toxic traits and send them to a goopy hellscape.

killua is the first to enter, gawking as his clothes are replaced with a fluffy bathrobe, cinched around his waist by a tie. intrigued, he ventures further in, drawn toward the large sauna in the center of the space. the sign beside it catches his eye, and though he's wary of what the airship might think is "restorative," he decides that after nearly dying and coming back to life, he could use a little relaxation.

he heaves open the thick metal door and steps inside, finding the room comfortably warm and filled with a strange but pleasant, sanitized smell. he sits down on the bench toward the back of it, breathing it in and wondering when, if at all, he'll notice its effects.*

Comments

[galacticgroovin]

Pitou halted in her stride next to him. She looked down at him with a sense of pity. Despite her own hatred for him, she could only relate to him now.

I think it’s entirely obvious why they would want us gone. I doubt I would want me back either. She probably feels happier without me. She looks up.

Without me, I think she can move on. I could be wrong, it I may be holding the memories she didn’t want. Not anymore at least.

She sat down next to Killua. Tell me, what bothers you more? Your own body rejecting you or not seeing Gon again?

[devil_or_angle]

*killua shakes his head bitterly. he can't even console himself with the thought that he'd be happier without these feelings, because he knows he won't be. he'll just go back to being empty like he was before he met gon.*

it's... it's the realization that to get rid of my jealousy, i'd have to stop loving him, too.

*he grips angrily at his knees, claws oozing from his fingertips and stabbing into him as his voice raises in self-hatred.*

why can't i just be okay with it like he is? he doesn't mind that i've got someone else too! it's not fair for me to be angry with him for getting with you...

*his claws sink in so deep they simply become a part of his knees, fingers fusing into them. perhaps if he keeps sitting here, he'll just melt away completely.*

...maybe i really am toxic.

[galacticgroovin]

Pitou holds her tail on her lap. Picking as the goo as if it will come off.

We are possessive. I know you spend a fair bit of time in that cat room. I know because Alluka spends a fair bit of time in there, least what she told me.

I am part cat. Felines are very possessive. What we consider ours, we don’t want to share under any circumstances. Be it someone being near them or them going to someone else.

You’re a rude brat…but I wouldn’t call you toxic.

She fell silent into quiet contemplation of what she is. A bundle of anger, hate and memories no longer wanted by herself. Her loyalty the king, not needed. Her chimera ant instincts, irrelevant. Without memories of Gon, she’d be able to move on without pain. You have a better chance of taking care of him than I do, if I don’t escape here…She mutters quietly. She felt confident her now “healthy” self didn’t want her. Any of it.

[devil_or_angle]

*killua looks up slowly as she speaks, realizing the irony that their commonalities are exactly what made them enemies in the first place. he snorts at her backhanded reassurance before laying his head back on his knees.*

...thanks.

*what she says next makes his heart squeeze with remorse, the thought that either of them might go on living without love unbearable to imagine.*

i don't think... it's better not to have felt.

*tears well up in his eyes again, big globs that blur his vision.*

i spent so long, trying not to feel... to be the cold, calculating assassin my parents wanted me to be, and i was miserable. if i can realize that, i'm sure you will, too.

[galacticgroovin]

Pitou scratched her claw in the ground. Random lines and swirls as she listened to him.

Are you certain about that? Are you certain it’s not better to have not felt? Feelings is what got us here.

Honestly, I thought you’d be happy by me telling you to take care of him.

She stopped her drawing. Do you really think your less miserable with feelings, even with us being here?

[devil_or_angle]

*killua nods, wrenching a melting hand out of his leg and using it to wipe his slimy tearsaway, or at least reabsorb them into his face.*

i'm miserable this way too, but i'd still take this over how i was. hopefully he'll feel the same.

*he turns his gaze up to look at her again, finally addressing something that's been on his mind with a somber frown.*

earlier you said... you'd killed me. was that true? back in your universe?

[galacticgroovin]

Pitou hummed quietly. Thinking for a moment. She remembered something. But it felt vague. Like a dream. Was it a dream?

No matter how hard she tried the memory she thought she knew slipped away. A different one day in its place. Unbeknownst to Pitou, Nanika did more than show her what she wanted to see. Her story was far different.

When I was born…I thought..I thought I killed you. But I guess it was a dream. I found myself staring at you, Kite and Gon.

I was ready to attack! You were intruders in our nest, but kite stopped me. Informing me of the queens final command before she was killed.

I didn’t believe him at first..but some of my people confirmed it. I was told I’d be taken away for testing and execution.

But then Gon stepped in. She looked at the slime she had scooped up absentmindedly. He said the hunter association can’t do that. “She’s a living being!” He said. “She just hatched and you want to kill her? She hasn’t done anything wrong!”

I didn’t trust him of course. My people would eat humans. Yet he stood there, defending me…A small smile came to her lips. I didn’t know it then, but he would become everything to me.

[devil_or_angle]

*killua's brow furrows as she retracts her statement, wondering if her heightened toxicity in this plane had caused her to confuse her memories of hating him with the act of disposing of him. but the more she goes on, the softer his expression gets.*

...that does sound like him. idiot.

*his voice cracks when he next speaks, his heart trembling in his chest.*

...so were you together back then?

[galacticgroovin]

Well..not at first. I willingly went with the hunters. I had nowhere else to go. My queen was dead and there was no king to serve.

But he would always make sure I was safe and comfortable at the headquarters. In my little cell. He visited a lot.

It didn’t take long before I grew fond of him. She looks at Killua with a small frown. You never really trusted me. You often insisted he stay away from me. Even when he visited, you sulked in the corner, glaring at me.

Cause of that, I wasn’t fond of you either. You wanted to keep him away from me. Eventually I was let free.

You know what he said when I was freed? “You should get a hunter license like me and Killua!”

[devil_or_angle]

*killua listens to the rest of her story, eyes round with curiosity about this future he'd never know. he scoffs when she says he never liked her even there, muttering,*

and that... sounds like me.

*it seems they're at odds in any universe, especially if she was as close to gon as it seems.*

did you get to become a hunter?

[galacticgroovin]

I did. Not that I’d really be a hunter. It meant I’d get to stay close to gon. That’s all that mattered.

She tucks her knees in, wrapping her arms around them. We had become close. A couple even. Then I was here. Seeing that this Gon left me for you, I started to worry if my Gon did the same…

Why did we have to both fall for the same boy?

[devil_or_angle]

we're not the only ones. there's just something about him...

*his gaze scrapes the dark, dank swamp they're still trapped in, heart aching for the light of gon's smile.*

he shines.

*as he says it, he starts to feel lighter, somehow, like the slime is melting off his body -- or rather, his body itself is melting away, diffusing into the smoggy atmosphere. he should feel panicked, frightened, but all it brings with it is a pervading sense of peace as he shuts his eyes and waits to be dissolved.*

[galacticgroovin]

Pito smirks, laughing lightly. Yeah…he does.

She thinks about how he would always look at her. Eyes bright with a wide smile. Her heart feeling more full since arriving thinking of the memory of seeing his curious face upon her birth.

She closed her eyes, not even noticing Killuas state as she felt lighter. She didn’t notice that her body seemed to begin dissolving.

[devil_or_angle]

*back in the spa, killua has tracked down the tank that the vent inside the sauna leads to and unscrewed the lid, theorizing that whatever it sucked out of them must be inside it. he's immediately hit with a puff of thick, green, foul-smelling gas, not unlike the stuff that caused him to go mad with arousal. he coughs and sputters, but as his lungs clear so does his head, his feelings and even strange, secondhand memories of being trapped with pitou inside the can itself returning to him as the toxin courses through his bloodstream. with a sigh of relief, he realizes that he's once again his flawed but whole self.*

it worked...

[galacticgroovin]

Pitou was peeking over Killuas shoulder as pulled the lid away. Quickly being met with the same pungent gas. She reeled backwards coughing and trying to wave it away from her face.

She realized the difference nearly immediately. The sudden flood of memories, actions and desires returned to make her whole. She sneezed as everything settled into place.

Worked would..be an understatement. She poked and prodded her hand, the memories of the toxic hell still making her question if she was her.

At least you found the way to make us whole again. We should probably board this place up..probably wouldn’t be great if anyone else got in here. They may not try to collect what was taken.

She was still trying to gather her thoughts. The memories of outside and inside the toxin jumbling together, due to happening simultaneously.

[devil_or_angle]

yeah... i'll get alluka to make a sign...

*he's dazed, still getting used to the blend of memories from this world and that, blinking. a sober sense of resignation begins to fall over him, the culmination of both of his experiences. he steps away from the can with a deep sigh.*

i think... i need to have another talk with gon.

[galacticgroovin]

Pitou raised her brow. I probably need to have one with him as well. If he will listen that is.

But, you’re the one that’s with him. So you have first say. Just don’t go repeating anything I said in there. I’d prefer to tell him myself.

She sighs. Right now you’re the only one who knows…what I am. He still thinks my species is a different kind of human. I’m not sure how he will..take that information.

[devil_or_angle]

*killua slips his hands into the pockets of his robe, giving a quiet huff.*

probably not that differently than he did in your universe. he's weird like that.

*he starts to make his way out of the back room where he'd found the tank and into the main spa, heading for the door to the airship, still quietly contemplating all he'd learned about himself and pitou.*

[galacticgroovin]

Pitou follows him out. Intending to head for her room. The whole experience has left her more tired than relaxed.

Hey, Killua. She hesitantly pats his shoulder lightly. Thanks, for getting us out of there. Hopefully next time we meet up, it will be better. Less yelling, anger and toxic pits.

She smiles at him softly feeling a touch more comfortable with him now. She hoped maybe there will be a Killua that won’t hate her.

[devil_or_angle]

*killua pauses in his steps at pitou's touch, glancing back at her to hear what she has to say. after all that's been said and done today, he can't help but see her as an ally instead of an enemy.*

...yeah. i hope so, too.

*he flashes her a brief, sad smile before exiting the room and heading back toward his cabin.*