The smell of the ocean was almost overpowering, the odd blend of seawater and the stench of decaying fish threatening to make the Japanese girl retch as the hanyou crouched down to let her back on solid ground.
Willing herself to ignore the smell, Kagome looked around cautiously, taking in the somewhat-breathtaking sight of the ocean in twilight, with the distant light of ships marking the horizon, and the silent, dark silhouettes of warehouses dotting the bay side.
Turning to her companion, she whispered softly, "Are you sure"
The silver-haired hanyou nodded, "He's here. The scent's freshest here"
Without another word, he grabbed her by the hand, silently leading the way past warehouse after warehouse, only to stop a moment later in front of one among their number. Peering into the darkness, Kagome tried to make out what made this one so special, staring past the chain-link fence into the compound.
She frowned, pointing into the distance, "Careful, Inuyasha. There seems to be a security post over there. We can't be caught lurking around"
The half-demon cut her off in mid-sentence, scoffing as he looked in the direction she indicated, "What's the big deal? Even if they spot me, it's not like they can"
He trailed off, his eyebrows narrowing into a frown, "Something's not right. C'mon, we gotta go look"
Higurashi Kagome barely had time to realise what was happening before Inuyasha leapt into action. Scooping her up in his arms, he crouched down momentarily before springing up and over the fence, landing deftly on the other side as quietly as any cat. In a flash, he was off with her still in tow, sprinting with his trademark speed in the direction of the security post.
Alarm rising within her, Kagome willed herself not to yell, speaking instead with quiet forcefulness, "What are you doing! I told you that's a security post… do you want to get caught"
He responded with silence, instead sliding to a halt as he reached his destination. He sniffed.
"Just as I thought. Look"
As the hanyou set her down again, Kagome turned cautiously, looking inside the brightly lit room only to stifle a gasp. It was, indeed, a guard post, and it presumably did once act as a base for security personnel guarding the warehouse.
Now, it was simply a morgue. Four bodies, withered and shrivelled, but otherwise intact and still in their uniforms, sat slumped in their seats in front of a large, damaged surveillance console.
The Japanese girl tried to avert her eyes but found them inextricably locked with the ghastly sight that lay before her. Instinctively, she drew closer to her hanyou companion, who was shaking his head in disgust.
"Feh. Looks like their life energy's been sucked right out of them. No soul, no nothing. Not a drop left"
"Did… did a youkai do this"
He raised an eyebrow, giving her a look that said she'd just uttered something stupid, "Do you know any human who could do something like this? Of course it's a youkai, baka"
Kagome remained silent.
The hanyou muttered something under his breath for a moment, then started walking off, "C'mon. We're just wasting time… let's go hunt the bastard down and make him pay"
The Japanese girl watched momentarily as he walked away, watched as the dark of night again shrouded his sleek form. She moved to catch up.
You know, Inuyasha, just as I do.
You know there is one human who could do something like this.

Entry into the warehouse proved easier than expected - the door to a side entrance leading in had been left unlocked. Nimbly stepping past some debris on the floor, Kagome walked carefully, trying not to bump into anything, waiting for her eyes to acclimatise to the darkness.
Squinting, she called out, "Inuyasha, wait up… it's too dark for me to see in here"
Sighing, the hanyou whipped around angrily, "Look, we're never gonna get anything done if you keep fumbling around like that!" Crossing the distance between them, he grabbed her hand, muttering as he did, "Just… just follow where I go, and you'll be fine"
As they made their way through the confines of the warehouse, Kagome slowly found herself able to make out more of her surroundings, aided in part by the moonlight streaming in from the glass panels set high in the walls. What that revealed, however, wasn't particularly spectacular - nothing seemed out of the ordinary about the place. For all intents and purposes, it was nothing more than a storage facility, containing row after row of the massive twenty-metre-long cargo containers used to hold goods during sea transport.
Looking to her silver-haired hanyou for reassurance, she squeezed his hand, feeling as he reciprocated her gesture. Softly, she whispered again, "Can you sense anything"
Inuyasha shook his head. He opened his mouth, as if to speak.
And bumped right into a black-clad human form.
Instantly, the form reacted, screeching out in a high-pitched wail. Whipping around, it fumbled at its side, as though reaching for a weapon. Inuyasha didn't give it the chance. Clenching a fist, the hanyou slugged the form hard across the face with enough force to send it flying clean across the room and right smack into one of the containers, the impact creating a huge dent in the side of the sturdy metal frame.
For a moment, it lay motionless. Then, unbelievably, it got back up, shakily walking back in their direction, the high-pitched wail once again emanating from within.
Kagome watched as Inuyasha tensed up, every fibre of his being signalling his readiness to fight. Again, a low growl escaped from his throat.
Why didn't he sense them?
For the briefest of moments, moonlight fell on the face of their opponent, and the Japanese girl found herself instinctively taking a step back, for within the black-clad form, staring back at her, was a face not too dissimilar from the ones they had just seen on the dead guards outside the building.
Her mind raced. Not human.
And I don't even have my bow.
A slight movement in front caught her attention, and her eyes widened in alarm, "Inuyasha, watch out! There are more of them behind the first one"
The hanyou smiled menacingly as he watched the half-dozen or so forms slowly congregate, "Keh. Brought some friends, did you"
His claws glinted in the moonlight, as his smile broke into a full grin, "Not that it'll make any difference." He broke into a run, arms outstretched and poised to slice apart all who stood in his way.
The creatures stood their ground. Slowly, as one, they reached to their sides, drawing out dark, metallic objects that shone in the moonlight as much as the hanyou's claws did, moments ago.
For the second time in minutes, Higurashi Kagome's eyes widened in alarm. Dropping to a crouch, she screamed out at the blurred form dashing towards the creatures, "Inuyasha! No! They have gu"
Her voice was drowned out by what sounded like deafening rapid cracks of thunder. She stared, horrified.
The initial hail of bullets struck the hanyou hard, tearing into his fire-rat cloak and slamming into his chest. Momentarily, he winced, stumbling back as the pain travelled through his body. He could smell the scent of his own blood, slowly seeping through his clothes.
Shit… what the hell was that?
Already, he could see another wave of the sharp, piercing objects flying toward him, eager to strike the fatal blow. But the hanyou was a fast learner.
Breaking into a run, Inuyasha swerved erratically, dodging the projectiles that had proven effective in hurting him before leaping high into the air, even as he plunged his claws deep into the wound.
"Hijin kessou!" His arm lashed out, sending claws of blood flying into the midst of the creatures, instantly rending them and their weapons to shreds. Dropping to the ground, he quickly inspected his handiwork, making sure that none survived. Behind him, he could hear Kagome running to catch up.
A moment later, she was at his side, checking for wounds, the question already on her lips, "Inuyasha, are you… oh, god… you -are- hurt. I… my medical kit"
The hanyou brushed aside her concerns, "Look, you should know me better by now. I'm not gonna die from something like this… even if those were very strange weapons"
"But"
The sound of a door opening at the far end of the room stopped Kagome in mid-sentence. Beside her, Inuyasha reached to his waist, his hand grasping Tetsusaiga's hilt.
From the far door, a black mass of the creatures came pouring out, all wailing in the same high-pitched manner, and steadily making their way towards the human girl and the hanyou. In a flash, Inuyasha had Tetsusaiga drawn and at the ready, but his face betrayed an uncharacteristic concern. He shook his head, "I don't get it… I can't sense them at all. There's no scent, no smell… nothing"
He grinned, "No matter. I'll finish them off with one swing before they can even reach us"
"No, Inuyasha. You can't use Tetsusaiga"
The hanyou's head whipped around to glare at Kagome, "What do you mean I can't use Tetsusaiga! There's too many of them for me to take down one at a time"
She shook her head firmly, "You just can't! There could be tons of explosives in some of these containers… and who knows how much damage the kaze no kizu will do in here! You could bring down the whole building and kill us both in the process"
Yelling back, he glared daggers at her, "Well, then how do you expect me to stop that many"
Trailing off, the hanyou paused as something caught his attention. Sheathing his sword, he turned back to her, "Go. Stand far back, as far as you can… I think I have a way out of this"
"What… what are you planning to do"
Golden eyes locked with hers. "Just go. Trust me"
Still looking at him, Kagome did as she was told, stepping back and away from the silver-haired hanyou. Don't do anything stupid, Inuyasha.
In the distance, she watched as he turned back to the approaching horde, watched as he flashed another smug grin. Then, without warning, he crouched down, digging his hands beneath the nearest cargo container. His body tensed.
Kagome's eyes widened. No…
With a loud growl, Inuyasha heaved the massive container clean off the ground, exerting with what seemed to be every iota of his considerable hanyou strength, his whole body quivering with the effort. Sensing the danger, the approaching horde stopped, readying their weapons.
The growl morphed into a roar as the hanyou lunged forward, sending twenty metres of metal container crashing into the horde and into the wall beyond, the entire building shaking with the force of the impact.
Wordlessly, the hanyou turned, grabbing Kagome and leaping out the way they came.

"What the hell were you thinking, doing something like that! You could've gotten hurt, especially when you're already wounded"
The hanyou gave her a long-suffering stare, "You told me not to use the Tetsusaiga. I had to do something"
Kagome glared back at him, her hands busy working the bandage around the wound on his torso, "Yeah, but did you have to do that! What if that container really did have explosives inside? What then, you moron"
He turned away, "Feh. I didn't see you coming up with any suggestions"
Standing up abruptly, he stretched a little, easing his cloak back on. Turning to her, he watched her for a moment. He spoke.
"Look… I want you to go home. It's getting a little too dangerous, and you don't even have your arrows with you. I'll handle things from here"
Dumping the bandage back inside the medical kit they had found inside the now-abandoned security post, she stood up as well, her face lit with indignation, "There's no way I'm letting you back in there alone"
"There's no time to argue, Kagome"
"I told you no and I mean"
"Kagome… please. I can handle this"
His quiet urging startled her, dissolving her resolve to argue. She looked down.
He smiled, "Good. Go straight home and don't look back. I'll be back before you know it"
Standing up, he looked at her again, giving her one of his reassuring smiles before he raced off, "I'm prepared for them now. They won't even see me this time"
Silently, Higurashi Kagome watched at the red-cloaked form disappeared into the darkness. Slowly, she stood up, tidying up the medical kit and shutting it tight. She looked in the direction he had run off in.
And followed.
She did not notice the form swiftly catching up with her from behind. She did not see its eyes glinting in the darkness as it trailed her.
But she felt it, when a steely hand grabbed her by the face and dragged her into the twilight.