CHAPTER ELEVEN: (Neph Champion and Dream of Stories and Kit)

Bunta and Rashid looked down in shame. How could they have lost Duo's little brother in only four days?

Duo however was grinning. "You haven't found him for three days? That shows that my training is working!"

Quatre laughed at Duo's exuberance. "Duo, we still need to find him…"

"Don't worry, Quatre I'll find him no problem. We just need to lure him out, easy." Duo then began to laugh. "A hair cut?"

The two Maguanacs nodded. "He has some split ends and his hair is getting a bit long…"

Duo laughed again. "I bet it's something I said…"

"What was that Duo?" Quatre asked him.

"I told him that if he grew his hair out, that I'd teach him to braid it. And then the braids would become our trademark." Duo smirked. "Funny isn't it?"

Quatre began to chuckle. "That is funny."

The two Gundam pilots had to take five minutes to stop laughing. "Sorry, Rashid, we'll start looking now."

Duo and Quatre took two hours to completely canvas the house. Duo looked thoughtful. "Think he's in the house? We haven't found him yet. He might be outside…"

Quatre nodded. "Outside we go then…"

xx

Duo and Quatre were looking in the front yard when something alerted Duo to something in the trees. "Harry? Are you up there?"

"…Duo…?"

"Come down please, Harry."

"How did you find me?"

"Well… why are you hiding out here?"

"Because they want to cut my hair!"

"Harry, they won't cut your hair. I won't let them."

"…You promise…?"

"Yes Harry, I promise as your older brother not to let Bunta or Rashid cut your hair."

"Ok, I'm coming down now." Harry jumped into Duo's outstretched arms. "What gave me away, Duo?"

"You made the branches move too much." Duo informed him.

"I'll try not to do that again, I promise." Harry hugged his brother tightly.

Duo put him down. "Let me look at you, Harry."

Harry loosened his grip and let Duo put him to arms length. "Can I learn to swim soon, Duo? Please?"

"We'll have to talk to Quatre. That reminds me…" Duo turned. "Quatre! I've got Harry, he's ok now."

Quatre, who was on the other side on the yard came running. "You found him?"

"Yes, he looks just fine."

Quatre was grinning as he came into view. "Hey Harry. Bunta and Rashid were really worried about you. Did you booby trap the house?"

Harry nodded. "I wanted them to keep thinking that I was in the house, they were only distractions. Meanwhile I was hiding out here the whole time."

"Very good, Harry." Duo praised. "Now, let's get you in the house and we can dismantle the traps."

"Yes, Duo." Harry followed the two older boys back into the safe house. "Hey, Quatre?"

"Yes, Harry?"

"Can you give me swimming lessons now that you're back?"

"Sure, little one. We'll start after breakfast, how's that?"

"Okay."

Rashid and Bunta blinked when they saw Harry with Duo and Quatre. "What happened to your hair, Master Harry?" Rashid asked in surprise.

Harry looked at Rashid and Bunta in confusion. "What do you mean?"

Duo hummed. Something seemed to be a bit different, but he couldn't quite spot what it was.

Rashid smiled. "It grew a bit, young master...about three inches or so, in fact."

Harry's eyes became wide in shock, his body started to tremble. Duo saw this and motioned the two Maganaucs to leave them for a bit.

"Harry?"

When the little boy didn't answer, Duo knelt down in front of him, looking him over. He hadn't given Harry more than a quick look over before to make sure he hadn't been hurt too seriously. Now though… he blinked. Harry's hair couldn't have grown long enough to roll into a bun already had it? Before they'd left it had only just been long enough to scrape into a ponytail!

Harry noticed the instant his eyes widened and felt a rush of terror go through him. This wasn't like before with seeing the lady that looked like a mermaid! He'd asked one of the Sweepers and they'd said it was normal for little boys to think they'd seen things. But this, this was really a freak thing. Normal people didn't have hair that grew so fast! Duo would know he was a freak now, he'd know and he'd be punished or even sent away from Duo. That would be horrible! He might never even see his big brother again – especially if he died like Heero!

The mere thought of his big brother dying was enough to cause tears to well up in Harry's eyes and he threw himself at Duo, clinging to him desperately. Duo's arms wrapped around him tightly, and Harry couldn't hold his sobs in anymore. He focused on his brother's smell, the way the strong arms held him securely but not tightly so that no one would be able to take him away and he tried to remember how it felt. He wouldn't blame Duo if the older boy decided to get rid of him, but he would try not to forget how happy he'd been the last few months anyway.

Above his head, Quatre and Duo shared a puzzled look before Quatre motioned for the two Magaunacs to leave them alone for a bit. They did, shooting concerned looks at the boy behind them. When they had gone, Quatre knelt down and touched Harry lightly on the back. The sudden overwhelming feelings of terror, sadness and shame washed over him, causing him to pull back in shock, his own eyes tearing up. What could have happened to make the usually bouncy, happy boy feel that way?

"Quatre? What is it?" Duo asked, puzzled. He glanced down at Harry in worry relaxing his arms so that he could see his little brother better. "Is something wrong with Harry?"

Harry flinched and Duo turned Harry around so that he was sitting in Duo's lap. The younger boy was trembling and had clasped his hands together so tightly that the ends of his fingers had gone an angry red. Duo opened his mouth to tell Harry that it was alright, that he'd fix whatever had happened and that everything would be okay, but before he could do so Harry looked up at them with tear filled eyes and started babbling out an apology. He was speaking too fast for Duo to understand the first part, and from the look on Quatre's face he couldn't understand it either, but they both caught the end bit perfectly clearly.

"…And I'm really, really sorry! Please don't make me go away! I'll try not to be a freak anymore I promise!"

Duo frowned deeply and shook his head. "No Harry, you are not a freak. You will never be a freak. We may not know how some things happen, but that does not make us freaks. We all have abilities, having your hair grow a bit doesn't mean anything apart from the fact that your hair grows fast." Duo smiled, switching moods as fast as a mad-hatter...or in this case, a Shinigami. "Besides! This means that you are a bit closer to being able to braid your hair like me! It's awesome!"

Harry began to calm down, feeling relieved that Duo still didn't think him a freak with something this small. He began to wonder though; what would happen, what would Duo think when some of the really big things happened around him?

Duo saw that Harry was calming down, and picked Harry up, resting him on his hip. Changing the subject to make Harry calm down further, Duo looked down and smiled brightly at Harry.

"Now! Lets go into the house and have a look for some swimming gear! It's totally time you learned Harry! And I'll be with you, so will Quatre, and we'll have a great time!"

Laughing, Duo stepped into the house, but the thoughts of Harry's hair growing so much, so fast, never left his mind.

xx

The trio reached the swimming pool an hour later and Duo guided Harry to the ground for some instructions and a set of rules that he felt was important.

"First of all, lil' Bro, there are three rules to swimming you have to know about before we even touch the water, ok?"

Harry nodded. He wanted to make Duo proud of him, that was the only thing that really mattered to him now.

"Fist rule, Harry., and the most important one of all. Never go swimming alone. You must have one of us, whether it be me or Quatre, or Rashid and Bunta, with you at all times. This is to ensure that you are safe no matter what. Is that clear, Harry?"

Harry nodded, sensing that when Duo was this serious, a very rare occurrence, that this was to be obeyed at all times. Besides, he didn't think that it would be very fun by himself...

"The second rule, Harry, is to stay near the edge of the pool until we think that you have gotten the hang of swimming properly. This, too, is to ensure that you are safe. The last rule, is to...HAVE FUN!"

Harry jumped, not expecting Duo to become so loud so quickly, but he nodded anyway. Duo had never lied to him, had never hurt him, and he always made things better. Harry vowed to always listen to Duo when he told him to do something. He knew that when Duo told him things like this that he was very serious.

Duo clapped his hands, rubbing them excitedly. Time to teach his little brother how to swim!

Duo gently guided Harry into the water, keeping a hold of his waist to make sure that he kept above water. He didn't like to think about what would happen if he let go now...like the incident on the boat...or was that off the boat? Duo shook his head. 'Keep your focus, Duo. Harry's counting on you now.'

Once Harry was in the water properly, Duo guided Harry's arms around his neck to make sure that he had a proper grip and took a hold of the side of the pool.

"Now, Harry. The most important thing that you do is to keep breathing through your mouth and nose. You breath in through the mouth, and out the nose. This makes sure that you are always kept above the water. What I am going to do first, is to make sure that you can float on top of the water. This is the first step to learning how to swim, ok?"

Harry nodded. He was afraid, but at the same time he was so excited! He was learning something that he always wanted to, and his big brother was teaching him!

Duo guided Harry onto his back in the water, his arms underneath him, keeping him afloat as Harry got used to the sensation of the water surrounding him.

"Remember, Harry. Breath like I told you to. This is to help you keep floating."

Harry nodded. Suddenly, water was rushing up his nose. He struggled in the arms. He wanted that sensation gone.

Duo saw what happened and righted Harry up, holding onto him as Harry coughed and spluttered. He winced at the sensation that Harry would be feeling. He hated that.

As soon as Harry calmed down, Duo put him back into the 'rest' position. He reminded Harry to breath again, but instead of nodding, Harry replied with a positive.

Duo held Harry like that for five minutes, making sure that Harry had the rhythm going before going to the next step.

"Harry. I'm going to let you go now. My arms are still underneath you, but I wont be holding you. You need to keep breathing, but keep your back straight . Try to relax. This is the next step, ok lil' bro?"

Harry looked up to Duo,. He had closed his eyes while he was held there, enjoying the sensation of the cool water against his body.

"Ok, Duo."

Duo nodded back and let go of Harry. He kept his arms ready in case of anything, but it wasn't needed. Harry kept to the same position and was breathing to the same instructions as Duo had told him to.

After a few minutes, Harry started to lose his buoyancy and Duo quickly pulled him pack up for a hug.

"Well done Harry! Sweet! We'll stop for now, but we'll do this again tomorrow, ok? And we'll see what else you can do apart from this so that you can swim properly later!"

After all, Duo thought, you never know what will happen. Best for him to learn as much as he can now before it's too late.

Harry, not tuning into Duo's thoughts, nodded eagerly. This was so much fun! He got to spend time with his big brother and learn to swim at the same time! It was awesome!