Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha but he's "bringing sexy back." Don't own that, and I of course HAD to include a song in my disclaimer! ;)

Enjoy!

"It's not fair!"

Inuyasha was having a difficult time coaxing his son, Yuudai, to come back to the hut before the sun had completely sunk behind the mountains in the distance. The human boy was sitting with a scowl on his young face at the edge of the river, the cicadas chirping melodically as the shadow of nightfall began to stretch gracefully across the land. His long black hair hung in his face, his small shoulders hunched in a position of defeat.

As Mamoru and Ryota aged, their strength naturally grew at an exponential rate, thanks in large part to their half-demon blood. Yuudai, however strong his growth made him, would never reach the strength of his brothers without hard work and great discipline. The idea had never really crossed his mind, until earlier that day, when six year-old Ryota managed to lift a sizable boulder that had been in their path on the way to Miroku and Sango's hut. The humiliating component of the whole situation was that Yuudai had desperately tried to budge the great stone with all his strength, and was not rewarded with so much as an inch of movement. That of course gave his little brother a burst of confidence, which in turn lead to the gloating that had driven Yuudai to his father, seeking a believable explanation.

Of course, he gave the real answer:

"Mamoru and Ryota are both half-demons. They're gonna be a bit stronger than you, little guy."

And that was how his son had wound up sitting at the side of the river, sniffling and watching his tears dive into the water, one after another.

"Yuudai," Inuyasha sighed, trudging over to his son. The boy whipped his head away from his father, doing his best to growl.

"Come on, little guy," he reached a clawed hand towards his son's shoulder. It was promptly slapped away before it reached its destination.

"Stop calling me 'little guy!' I'm NOT little!" Yuudai yelled, glaring into his father's face with such ferocity.

Inuyasha marveled at the way he could be so affected at the sight of Yuudai's eyes; they were the same warm, brown eyes which belonged to his wife, Kagome. Seeing them like that summoned a thousand memories of looking into the furious gaze of the spirited girl he had fallen in love with.

"I know you're not little," he raised his voice slightly.

"No you don't! You know, Shippo's right! You really are STUPID!" the little boy screamed, finding satisfaction from the irritated look in his father's eyes.

WHAM!

The boy was often whacked on the head by his father; though it was not enough to make him cry, it certainly was enough to capture his attention.

"I AIN'T stupid! Now apologize!"

"S-sorry, Dad," he mumbled, rubbing the lump on his head.

"You're gonna' be ten soon, so start actin' like it!"

Yuudai glared down at his bare feet. His father didn't understand!

They spent the next minute in silence, Inuyasha's ear twitching in the air poisoned by tension.

"Look, I know I made you upset earlier…wanna talk about it?"

Yuudai didn't answer.

The half-demon mentally cursed himself for coming. He was the wrong person for this job; Kagome was much better when it came to comforting their children, especially since she had twice the patience he possessed.

It was also the night of the new moon.

Being out in the forest wasn't bad, but it wasn't as safe. He worried that if they got into a bind, he wouldn't be able to protect his son.

He swore as he watched the moon come up…and his claws changed into fingernails.

"Yuudai, look at me," Inuyasha ordered as he felt his hearing worsen.

The boy looked up, slowly, and what he saw seemed to shock him for only a moment. It was strange seeing his father without his silver hair, his dog ears, his golden eyes, his claws…everything that proved his demon heritage.

"I didn't know that was tonight…" the boy admitted, stunned by how much his father resembled himself. He had seen him like this numerous times, but it still caught him off-guard.

"Yeah."

His son looked into the water, following each silver twinkle that appeared on its rippled surface.

"You know, Yuudai, it's just as hard to be a half-demon as it is to be a human."

The boy glared up at his father, disbelief flashing in his warm brown eyes.

"You're just saying that! Being a half-demon would be great! If I were a half-demon…I'd be strong, and I could smell better, and see better, and hear better…and everyone would come to me for help! And I could…protect everyone…" he mumbled the last bit, embarrassed to admit such a thing.

His father didn't answer; his gaze locked on the cliff that hung leering over the river. He smiled a little.

"What?" Yuudai demanded, livid at being ignored.

"I was just thinking about something. Never mind," he dismissed the topic for the moment, his eyes shining.

"No, I wanna know! What?"

Inuyasha sighed as he leaned back, supporting his weight with the palms of his hands.

"When I first met your mother…I didn't really like her all that much."

Yuudai's face twisted into an expression of disbelief.

"You didn't like Mama? How come?"

"She reminded me of someone," his eyes softened as he recalled Kagome's frightening resemblance to Kikyo. "Anyway, she was bathing in the river one day, and I decided I was gonna steal something from her. I was standing up there, hiding," he indicated the cliff, "When I saw her…"

He blushed. "And, well, your Mama was a lot prettier than I had first thought."

Yuudai looked at the cliff intently, as though attempting to force the scene to unfold before him.

"So did you see her naked?" he questioned, fascinated.

His father floundered for a lie as his son began to snicker.

"Haha! You did, you did! I bet she 'sat' you for it, too!"

Inuyasha struggled to control his annoyance.

"Yep…she did," he admitted, forcing his fist to relax, "See? Even half-demons can't resist everything!"

Unfortunately, his son misconstrued his statement, taking it as a compliment for half-demons, and consequently, as an insult to humans.

"Just go away, would ya?" Yuudai yelled, angry and tired of being patronized.

"Yuudai! That's enough!" his father sat forward and turned his son towards him. "I'm not just saying this stuff!"

"Yeah you are! If I were a half-demon I could do anything!"

"As a human, you're lucky!"

"Am NOT!"

"Yes you ARE!"

"Am NOT!"

"You ARE!"

"What do you know?"

"I know that humans are scared of half-demons and demons hate them for being part human! I know that it's difficult to find people who accept them! I've been lucky: the villagers here aren't as stupid as they are in most of the places I've been to! It is NOT easier to be a half-demon!"

Inuyasha wasn't aware of just how loud he had been yelling, or how angry he looked. His son shrank away from him, eyes brimming with tears.

"Y-Yuudai," he softened, his tone repentant.

"…"

"Yuudai…"

He pulled his son into a rough hug, ruffling his long, black hair.

"…I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell at you like that…"

Yuudai cried into his father's haori, gripping the blood-red fabric desperately.

"I'm so weak…" he sniffled, "I cry at everything…everything makes me so upset…! I'm such a baby!"

Inuyasha pulled his son away so that he could get a good luck at him.

"You ain't weak. You're sensitive. You can show your emotions. That ain't weak," he smiled down at the boy.

"Yes it is! I cry all the time! The boys in the village think I'm a weakling!"

"I'm telling you the truth. I know crying makes you feel weak…but it's not weakness. Your mother taught me that," he admitted, his eyes soft.

Yuudai ceased his crying.

"She did?"

"Yeah. She was the first person I cried for."

"Why? What happened?"

"One time, when we were fighting some bad people, she was poisoned. By the time I got to her, it seemed like she was dead. I went around destroying everything that I could, but that didn't help. All I wanted to do was be with her. As I held her in my arms, I had never felt so alone. Your mother was the first person I ever really trusted, and she was always there for me. I hadn't realized it until then…how much I loved her…until she was gone. Then she woke up suddenly; Old Myoga managed to suck the poison out of her system. I put her down, and I turned away. I was so relieved, the tears started to come out of my eyes…"

Yuudai listened keenly. He'd never admit it, but he loved hearing stories about his parents and their adventures. He often wished that he would have an adventure of his own, one day…

"…crying is a part of being human. I used to think it was weak, but it's not. It means that I have a human heart, and that's very important to me."

"I guess my human heart's important to me…"

"You bet it is! It's because you've got a human heart that you can care about others so easily! There ain't a lot of demons who are that nice!"

"You mean like Uncle Sesshomaru?"

"Sure! He's a pretty good example!" Inuyasha smirked.

"But…even if I've got that, I don't get to live for a long time, like you do!"

"I don't have that either, Yuudai. I had to give it up when I married your mother."

"Why would you want to?"

"Because of my darn human heart," he chuckled, "I love your Mama too much to live a long-life without her. When a demon chooses a human, they lose their immortality. I'm still strong, but I will die of old age, living out a human's life-span. That's the sacrifice I made. But it's more than worth it, Yuudai. I think you should like your mortality. I think you've gotta learn to like who you are."

"I guess so…"

"And Yuudai, all I meant earlier was that your brothers are naturally strong. That's just how they are. You can be as strong as they are, if you work at it. You're my son, so I know you can do it."

The boy smiled a little. "I will do it! I'll be stronger than both of them!"

"That's right!" Inuyasha exclaimed, standing up. "Now come on, big guy! Mama's probably waiting for us."

"Okay," he conceded, leaping off the ground.

They walked down the forest path for a short while. Yuudai ran ahead as they could make out their hut in the distance; there was light peeking out from behind the bamboo curtain that covered the entrance to their home.

"Hey, Dad?" Yuudai called back to his father, who was walking just a bit slower.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for talking to me," he smiled.

Inuyasha crossed his arms together with a smirk. "Don't mention it!"

Before they had even walked up the little hill on which their hut was situated, Kagome had come running outside, wearing only her white under kimono.

"Inuyasha, Yuudai! There you are!" she called, her voice relieved. She ran forward and embraced her son, who was embarrassed by all the attention.

"I was so worried," she admitted, holding him closer.

"Sorry Mama!" he blushed.

"No hugs for me, huh?"

Kagome smiled.

"But I wouldn't want to steal you away from the others who want to hug you!"

As though on cue, Ryota and Kazue scrambled out of the hut and dove for their father's red-clad legs. Mamoru made his way towards them, grinning at the scene before him.

"Daddy!" his younger two cried in unison, overjoyed that he was back.

Yuudai watched his family, and as he did, he really began to realize what his father had meant by the gift of humanity. With it, there was unimaginable weakness; there was a feeling of helplessness.

But with humanity, there also came a capacity to love.

Aww...even though I think they were all kind of OoC, I still loved writing this story!

Just some background: at this point, Yuudai is 9 (going on 10). Mamoru is 12, Kazue is 8, and Ryota is 6.

About Inuyasha's immortality: In my imagination, when a demon (or half-demon) mates with a human, they sacrifice their ABILITY to live an unnaturally long life. Inuyasha didn't give up his half-demon strength or anything, it's just that he will probably not live as long as he would have had he not, well...with Kagome.

This story was so fun to write! I love the back and forth between father and son! Honestly, out of all the children, I think Yuudai is probably the most similar to his father, and I love the dynamic! I felt bad for Yuudai because he's the only human (male) in the family, and he just wants to feel needed in a family full of super-strong half-demons. I know Inuyasha seemed pretty out of character, but I think he would have matured a little over the years. I think he can reflect back and appreciate certain events in his life. I loved the memories too! :)

So, they're at the river where Inuyasha catches Kagome bathing and she sits him off the cliff and then he sees her in the clothes that make her look even more like Kikyo. I thought it'd be cool to have him tell his son that story! :D

Please leave me a review (tell me what you thought: likes, dislikes, errors, cool things, didn't like the song I used in my disclaimer, didn't like that Sesshomaru was put in a negative light {not really, Sesshy is precious and kind! Hah! That's a good one...;D I kid, I kid!})! I love hearing from you all- every review makes my day! :D

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this story, and I wish you the best of luck in your own writing endeavors! :D

Have a great day!

Byebee:3

TohrutheGreat