Somehow, the world didn’t seem so bad at the moment.

            Goku had found it impossible to worry while he was in the shower – the hot water and soap just seemed to wash all of his cares away.  It was odd how a simple thing like a shower had such a relaxing effect on him, but he generally didn’t question what happened to work for him.  He just… he hadn’t really appreciated the soothing effect that a shower had on him until after he became a Hunter.  Maybe it was because it reminded him of the Holy Water he had to bathe in at least once a week.  Whatever it was, Goku didn’t know.

            All he knew is that it should have somehow felt different where he was right now.  He was in Sanzo’s apartment, with only a door and probably twenty feet in between them.  He should be afraid – that was the logical response.  However, he found that while the water was relaxing him, the scent of the shampoo he was using also put him at ease.  Goku remembered smelling it faintly right before passing out, while he was in the middle of the trance he allowed Sanzo to put him in.

            It also bothered Goku that he was already thinking of the Keikan in such a familiar manner.  It was like they had known each other for a long time, and he had just met him earlier that night.  Or… had it been technically last night?  Goku had no idea what time it was – he had not seen any sort of clock from his position in the blonde’s bedroom, and passing out had disoriented his grasp on time.

            Gritting his teeth, the Hunter picked up the bar of soap and worked up a good lather.  With it he went about washing away the evidence of his fights – happy when he saw the dried blood slowly disappear from his skin and fade into a pink stream with the water that went down the drain.  He had actually been surprised with his *ending state* of his last fight.  Minus his neck, he had no injuries.  His muscles ached like hell, but that was to be expected.  No one ever got ready for a kill knowing in advance that it would be an ambush – at least not yet, anyways.

            The Hunters had been trying to figure out who was behind the attacks ever since they had started, but despite all of their sources, they still hadn’t discovered a thing.  Goku knew that the moment they found out about the next one (because he knew there were going to be others, especially after his failed like it did), a team of Keikans who were on their side and a few Hunters would probably go and see if they could collect any information.  Goku secretly wished that he would be called on that mission when it would hopefully come up – but then again he knew that all Hunters wished to get a chance to demand an answer from the ambushers to ask what the hell was going on.

            Sighing, the brunette pushed these thoughts out of his mind as he began to wash his hair.  He had more important things to deal with right now – like trying to think about what he was going to say to Sanzo.  Goku knew that he sometimes didn’t think clearly, but even he knew that he would not be able to simply say “thank you for saving me!” and just leave the apartment.  No one did such philanthropist-like actions anymore.  The blonde wanted something.  And Goku had to admit, he wanted to learn more about this mysterious Keikan that he did not recognize.

            A sharp knock on the bathroom door seemed to reaffirm his previous thought, causing him to turn slightly in that direction and cease washing his hair.

            “Get out,” he heard Sanzo say loudly from the other side of the door.  “I don’t need you using up all of my hot water.”

            First he tells me to go take a shower, and now he wants me to get out…  Goku almost wanted to slow down just to annoy the blonde, but something inside him told him that that would be a bad idea.  Turning back to his shower, he proceeded to rinse his hair.  Just as the last of the suds were rinsed away from his scalp, he felt the temperature of the water drastically drop.  The sudden change made him yelp and grapple for the knob to turn it off.  Still shivering, he reached for the towel hang next to the shower curtain, when he realized that he had heard another stream of water shut off seconds after his.  Pushing the curtain back, he saw the Keikan leaning against the bathroom wall next to the sink, a hand still on the faucet.

.

            Sanzo didn’t know exactly why he did what he did.  Goku hadn’t been in the shower for that long before he had gone and knocked on the door, and had simply decided to use the excuse of his water ration to try to get him out.  He really DID have a limited supply of hot water allotted to him a day – a nice “perk” of living in one of the more upscale apartment complexes – but Goku was nowhere _near_ his limit.

            The blonde had never remembered being this impatient before.  The young man was finally awake, and with the opportunity to get the answers he had been looking for so close to his grasp, it was getting frustrating.  However, when the brunette had first woken up, he realized that there would have been no way for him to concentrate on having an informative conversation with the scent of blood still so heavy on his prey- the man’s, he caught himself – body.  But now it was gone, and Goku would just have to deal with having a short shower.

            He had not expected for Goku to push back the shower curtain without even putting the towel around his waist.  It still was in the hand that was against the wall, while the other held the curtain in place.  Sanzo guessed, by the look on the man’s face, that he had not expected there to be anyone in the bathroom when he did that.  He found his eyes traveling, watching the droplets of water roll down Goku’s muscular chest and to his legs.

            Goku, on the other hand, had seemed too startled at first to do anything except stare back in shock.  When the vampire met his gaze again, he remembered himself and quickly wrapped the town around him.  Sanzo’s eyebrows simply rose.

            “What – what are you doing in here?”  Goku stammered, still obviously uncomfortable about his current state.

            “Making sure you got out of the shower.” Sanzo said simply.

            Goku tried to glare at the vampire, but the expression only came out to be somewhat annoyed.  “You didn’t have to do that!”

            “It worked, didn’t it?” he replied with a smirk.

            The young man hesitated.  “But…”

            “-What?”

            “You didn’t have to come in,” he said quietly, “I heard you knock…”

            “It’s my place, I can do whatever the hell I want to,” he said with finality.

            “I wasn’t using that much water,” Goku sulked.

            “Water costs money.  Or, were you going to pay for it?” Sanzo questioned critically.

            “You’re the one who told me to take a shower…”