Disclaimer: This story is based on "Inuyasha," copyrighted by Rumiko Takahashi. No infringement of copyright intended or implied.
The Plan
Tracking a wounded flyer was not easily accomplished, even with lupine senses. Hakkaku and Ginta managed, however, patiently working through a spiral search pattern around the downed bird youkai, until they discovered the nebulous trail of blood that had reached the ground from the wounded neko. Eventually, they found where she had landed, whereupon the trail became dominated by the human scent. They were able to move quickly, then, but they halted when they smelled the smoke of a campfire.
The two youkai huddled together, whispering.
"We need a plan," muttered Hakkaku.
"A good plan."
"A cunning plan. This human stole the neko. He's dangerous."
They exchanged nervous glances. They'd learned how dangerous humans could be over the last year, especially formerly dead ones. This one was fully alive, but he had taken the neko from Inuyasha's pack, so they knew they couldn't take chances.
"Do you have any ideas?"
"No. Do you have any ideas?"
The next exchange of glances bordered on despairing.
Hakkaku spoke first. "What would Koga do?"
Ginta knew the answer to that. "Koga would just rush in. But we're not Koga."
"But, we know how he fights. And we're two, not one."
"Four. The wolves."
"Four. We rush in from different sides."
"You mean, you run in from one side, I run in from the other?"
"And the wolves. Don't forget the wolves."
"And the wolves."
"Yeah."
"Right."
The glances were grim.
"Let's do it."
"Yeah. Do it."
Well, it was a plan.
Author's Note: This was written for the prompt "Cunning", for the LiveJournal Community "Inuyasha's Unsung Heroes." It was originally published on June 22, 2011. It won the contest.