Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha or any of its characters.

Prompts used: Claws, Childhood

Brave

The day Inuyasha learnt to use his claws turned out to be an important one.

In the last year – the third of what he, for now, already considered a long life – he had become more aware of them and everything had become a discovery. He vaguely remembered his mother's words when she advised him to be careful and not injure himself, but he had never given it a second thought. Blood and pain did not frighten him; after all, he had to become even stronger and there was no room for fear.

Therefore, he had taken advantage of every free moment to go forward, to use his claws as weapons and, why not, as a tool to make himself useful to his mother. He loved presenting her with something and receiving in return one of those smiles she reserved only for him; he loved making her happy.

That enthusiasm, however, came to an end the day the half-demon learnt something fundamental about his claws: not only could he use them by making contact with the target, but also by throwing even deadlier blades from the tips.

The discovery was entirely accidental – he was waving his hands pretending to be a valiant warrior – but no less sensational. After all, for a child, every discovery is such, and it was no less so for Inuyasha.

When he ran to his mother to show her his latest feat and make her proud, he did so by waving his hands again and inadvertently launching another attack. He couldn't know how to control his new ability and, as a result, couldn't avoid injuring Izayoi.

And at that moment, for the first time, Inuyasha hated a part of himself. Not the ears on his head that his mother liked to caress before going to sleep, nor his unusual colours that always earned him strange looks but reminded his mother of the father he had never met. No, Inuyasha hated his claws and wished he could get rid of them.

He ran crying and screaming to her, who was now sporting a wounded arm, forgetting that strong warriors should not cry or show weakness, but it was also true that three-year-olds could hardly wear that mask for long.

He curled up in her lap, hiding his face in her colourful robes and wiping tears and snot on them while trying not to be seen, and with those gestures, he expressly asked to be cuddled and comforted but also forgiven. "I don't want them anymore," he continued, the sound of his voice broken by the cries muffled by her clothes, and Izayoi continued to caress his head tenderly, ignoring her injured arm for a moment – but not as badly as it had seemed to the little one's eyes.

When all that was left of his tears were small sobs, Izayoi thought it wise to pull Inuyasha out of his shelter, gently lifting his head. Immediately, the half-demon encircled her neck with his still somewhat plump arms, resting his head in the crook of her neck as one of his mother's hands continued to stroke his back to comfort him.

"My little man," she began, "what happened to your dream of becoming a strong warrior who will save all princesses like me?"

"I don't want anymore," he muttered almost incomprehensibly.

"No? But then who will come to our aid in times of our need?"

Inuyasha shook his head stubbornly. "I just want to be with you."

"I want to stay with you too, honey. However, the time will come when we both may need someone very brave, or when we will be required to be so. What will you do then?"

He raised his face and looked at her with wet eyelashes and a quivering lower lip, his golden eyes full of questions and pleas, but – difficult as it was – Izayoi was unmoved and sent him back a gentle, encouraging look in response.

"Can I be brave then?"

"Every warrior is brave, Inuyasha. It mostly means facing our fears and, in your case, using the claws you now so hate."

"No, no." He shook his head again. "I don't want to hurt you anymore."

"And you won't, my little man, because you have learnt another important thing today, which is that the stronger these claws are," she took his little hand and traced each one before bringing them to her mouth and kissing them, "the more cautious you must be. Did I hurt myself now?" The child shook his head. "That's right, because I have been cautious. But if you stopped using them now, you would never learn how to control them, and that's when you would risk hurting me again."

Inuyasha held his breath and tightened his grip on his mother. "But how will I learn without hurting you?"

"Are you my warrior or not?" She brought the hand she had held so far to his chest and resumed. "You will understand this for yourself, just as you have learnt so far. And every other mistake you make will serve as a lesson for you to grow stronger and stronger. For remember, Inuyasha, one day it will be necessary to be so for yourself before others." And although Izayoi was aware that Inuyasha would not understand everything she was telling him, she hoped that when she would no longer be beside him to guide him, he would remember those words and treasure them. She hoped he would never have to use his claws to defend himself, but she wasn't delusional, not with the knowledge of the world she had.

In the meantime, however, she would try to pass on as much love and encouragement as possible so that, in the future, he would have enough to carry on alone.