Summary: At the age of four, while on a vacation to America with his family, the young tennis prodigy, Echizen Ryoma, disappears. Wandering the streets alone, he is picked up by a stranger and is then sold…to the child sex slave trade! He is rescued 2 years later, by the organization One Child, and is given therapy. Six years after his rescue, at the age of twelve, the police are finally able to locate his parents, and he is sent back to his loving family, fully "healed"…or so everyone thinks. After reuniting with his old childhood friends, will Ryoma finally be able to let go of his painful past?

DemonicEmbrace: Hey all! Okay, today, in school, we had an assembly about child sex slavery, and some of the things I learned about were absolutely terrifying. I felt so helpless, and I still do, but my way of coping with that is writing this fanfiction to raise awareness.

Disclaimer: I don't own TenniPuri.

Ryoma
Age 4

I look around, tears streaming down my face. "O-oyaji? Okaa-san!" I shout, looking desperately around.

Where did my parents go?

"O-onii-chan!" I shout again, thoroughly terrified.

Suddenly, as I turn a corner, a pretty lady comes into view.

She smiles sweetly and says something in a language I don't understand. As I look at her quizzically, she seems to realize that I don't understand and just holds out her hand. Drawn in by her gentle smile, I go up to her, taking her hand. She holds my hand gently and heads off. Does she know where my family is?

Suddenly, we arrive at a car, and I climb in without a fuss, thinking that this car would take me back to the hotel my family was staying in.

On the way, I fall asleep on the ladies lap, but she doesn't seem to mind. I feel safe, knowing that when I wake up, I will be back with my family.

Suddenly, I am awoken when I fall to the floor hard. Groggily opening my eyes, I look around, not recognizing where I am.

The pretty lady from before has disappeared, and the only other person in the room is a man, about my father's age.

Tumbling up to him, I pull on his pant leg and he looks down at me.

"W-where am I?" I ask, scared.

The man just smiles wickedly at me and says something menacing.

Suddenly, I am very afraid.

Age 6

I am woken from my fitful sleep by a ray of light falling on my face. The room is pitch black, and there are no windows. The only way for light to come in would be from the doorway.

Getting up, I look fearfully at the doorway. I see a man's silhouette and back up as far as I can, pressing myself to the wall. Trembling, I close my eyes in preparation for the beating that is surely to come.

Then, when I don't feel anything, I open my eyes and see that the man from before has been joined by two women. I am suspicious. Are they new customers?

Slowly, the older of the two women walks up to me and I press myself closer to the wall, terrified.

"Hush now, child, it's okay. We're here to help you," she says in a gentle voice.

I start shaking my head, not believing her. The last time I went with a strange woman, I ended up here.

Her expression then looked so sad. "Please, son, I promise we won't hurt you."

I shake my head, feeling a scream building up in my throat.

The lady seems to see this, because she stops advancing.

The man finally speaks.

"Don't scream. Whatever you do young man, do not scream."

He says this in a stern voice, but something about that sternness puts me at ease. I look at him closely, and see that he has black hair, and a kind face. He reminds me of someone I knew a long time ago, but even this can not make me trust him fully.

Then, the last of the group of three speaks.

"Won't you come with us?" she asks. Something about her makes me want to trust her. I look at her curiously and see that she's only a teenager, about ten years older than me.

Coming closer, she puts a hand on my arm, and I flinch, but I don't move away. Then, she gathers me into her arms and for the first time in years, I feel safe.

She begins rubbing my back and slowly, slowly, I begin to sleep. At first I'm hesitant, remembering the last time this happened, but the rhythm is so soothing, and the girl so gentle, I eventually drift off.

When next I awake, I'm in a comfortable bed, and the girl from last night is in a chair beside my bed, sleeping peacefully. I look around and realize it…I'm safe.

Age 12

"Ryoma!"

I turn to the sound of my voice and smile. "Aly!" I shout, running up and hugging the girl that had become like an older sister to me.

Hugging me back, she says, "How're you doing?"

I smile at her. This is the first time I've seen her in weeks. She's just come back from another rescue mission. "I'm doing good! And you'll never guess what!"

"What is it?" she asks, smiling, seeming amused.

"I got a perfect on my Japanese language test!" I say triumphantly. The place I lived at, a rehabilitation centre run by the organization One Child, gave proper education to the children, and though some classes were mandatory, we were allowed to choose one course which we wished to take. For me, that course was Japanese. According to the investigation the police had been leading since I had been rescued, I was actually born in a country called Japan. What I had been doing in America, nobody knew, but in an attempt to feel closer to my home, I began to take Japanese language lessons. The language and culture greatly interested me and as a result, I was doing very well.

Her face lights up into a bright smile and she says, "That's wonderful, Ryoma!"

I smile back, happy at her approval, then, I hear my name again.

"Ryoma!" says a disbelieving voice and I turn around.

Standing there is a woman I don't recognize. She has shoulder-length brown hair and gentle brown eyes. Even though I've never seen her before, she seems profoundly familiar to me.

She runs up to me and hugs me tightly, saying again, "Ryoma!"

As she rocks me back and forth, clinging tightly to me, her tears making my shirt wet, I suddenly know who she is, and I wonder how I couldn't have recognized her.

"O-okaa-san…" I say, feel my eyes prick with tears.

DemonicEmbrace: What did you think? Please review and tell me what you thought, hm? Also, I'd just like to say, that the organization One Child, is a very real organization, based in Canada. It's run mostly by young people and it helps fundraise and save children from sex slavery. Anyone can be a part of it. Go to their website, onechild(dot)ca, for more information. Even though you don't see it, slavery still goes on today, and not only in the poor countries. It's happening right here in my own back yard, Canada. It happens in the US, England, Thailand, Sri Lanka, all over the world, but you know what? We aren't powerless! We young people have more power than we believe, and we can make a difference! Join One Child today and help us become the generation that stops slavery for good!...Also, look forward to the next chapter, but until then, see you later!