Silence.
Sesshoumaru stood in the centre of the glade, motionless; a small breeze whipped strands of his long silver hair across his face but he did not even flinch.
His muscles were tensed and ready to spring in a heartbeat, his keen youkai ears strained to catch every sound and his eyes darted constantly – the only part of him to move.
Every nerve ending in his body tingled as he stood in a state of hyper-alertness; he revelled in the feel of the soft springy grass beneath his bare feet and resisted the urge to shiver when the breeze hit his naked torso.
All of a sudden he moved; in one fluid motion he bent his knees and back-flipped out of the way of the demons that had been stalking him. Assessing the situation quickly he realised there were seven; as he landed he brought his hands together, smacking two of the demons' heads together and knocking them unconscious.
Crouching low he launched himself into a spinning roundhouse kick, which took out three more; the remaining two he dispatched quickly with a flying kick to the ribs.
Panting, Sesshoumaru stood motionless once again amongst the prone demons; silently Sesshoumaru bowed and sunk to his knees.
In the blink of an eye another demon stood before him; this demon was tall, broad-shouldered and wore his greying hair in a topknot framing his noble face.
"Sensei." Sesshoumaru's voice was respectful.
"Very good, Lord Sesshoumaru. You defeated the foes in 1 minutes and 23 seconds; now go and rest, you should not over-exert yourself."
"Thank-you, sensei."
Sesshoumaru rose and bowed once again before walking swiftly towards the castle; very soon the tall imposing walls of his home swam into view and before long he was walking the corridors to his chamber looking forward to a hot bath to soak his muscles.
But first.
Taking a deep breath Sesshoumaru rounded the corner into the corridor that would take him to his father's study; he knew it was his duty as a son and future heir to report on his progress but he dreaded facing the stern tai-youkai that was his father.
But, thought Sesshoumaru. I have nothing to fear today, I did well. Even the sensei was pleased with me; I will make him proud.
Carefully schooling his features into a neutral expression, devoid of emotion, Sesshoumaru knocked respectfully on the door.
"Enter."
Sesshoumaru did as he was bidden, the oak door feeling heavier than it should have as he was pushing it open; once inside he approached the desk his father sat behind and bowed low on his knees.
"Father, I have come to report on today's training. My most honourable sensei trained me to deal with multiple foes unarmed; the time was 1 minute and 23 seconds."
Sesshoumaru fell silent as his father's amber eyes gazed down on him dispassionately; without a word the great tai-youkai gestured for his son to rise and leave him, as Sesshoumaru reached the door Inu no Taisho spoke in a low voice.
"I defeated them in less than one minute when I was half your age; you must try harder if you ever want to be worthy."
Sesshoumaru left the room, his eyes shining with unshed tears; quickly he forced them away and, with some difficulty, maintained his mask of neutrality – his father always said emotion was weakness.
Instead of taking the corridors that led to his room Sesshoumaru once again took the route that led out of the castle; ignoring his aching muscles he strode out into the twilight, he went straight past the training fields and up the path towards the forest where demons lived in abundance.
Standing in silence once more Sesshoumaru forced his tired muscles into a state of tension once again and began his wait.
(Meanwhile)
Naraku peered through the trees at the dog demon standing so still, a look of concentration on his near-perfect face.
Naraku realised he had never seen anything so beautiful in his life; as the wind tossed the stranger's hair about and ruffled the tail he wore wrapped over his shoulder it took his breath away.
The two stayed like that for many hours, one completely unaware of the other's presence – standing, still and silent; the other gazing in adoration at the new object of his desire.
A/N:- I have just realised I haven't warned any readers that this may be a story with many chapters……tee hee I just don't seem capable of short stories do I?