Silently, Rin hoped they wouldn't find themselves in a sticky situation today either. They've trained, but not nearly long enough to be prepared for something as dangerous as an ayakashi attack. From where they stood, he couldn't see or sense any nearby, at least not yet, but he wasn't about to let his defenses down just because of that. They could see the finish line up ahead, drawing closer and closer with every step...

"Just stay on the trail. We can't let her slip by now." He picked up the pace, arms pumping at his sides while he kept up at Sousuke's side, though once they darted around the corner into another alleyway, Rin paused and clenched his jaw. Other dogs. Quite a few of them actually. They couldn't have been all strays, could they? Though now that he thought about it, something did seem off about them...

Fists clenched, Rin kept his eyes on the flash of white now bounding towards the other end of the alley. Looked like a dead end... which could have proved both a blessing and a curse, really. A low growl from behind soon caught his attention and with a quick glance of his shoulder Rin noticed a couple more of those strange dogs beginning to creep up from the shadows. Looks like he spoke too soon.

"Sousuke," he started as one of the phantom dogs bared its fangs and snarled, "they're ayakashi."