"So I hear you're getting pretty good with a sword."
Rin straightened. "People are talking?"
"Not exactly," Kohaku replied. "But you are training with Inuyasha."
"I guess." She looked away in uncertainty.
"Don't tell me Rin's doubting herself."
"It's not that." Unable to look him in the eye, she stared past his shoulder and at Inuyasha's hut. The cover moved. They were being watched. "I wish I had my own weapon. One made just for me."
For a moment Kohaku seemed to be thinking. "That is a problem," he muttered. "Maybe…"
She perked up. "Maybe what? Oh please tell me."
"I can't say yet." He saw her frown. "You're a fast learner, though. Maybe a slayer one day. Keep at it," he said, patting her head.
Rin watched him leave. She knew exactly what that gesture meant, and resented it.
You'll be alight, Rin. Growing up is hard for everyone.