Chapter twelve! Whoo! Hope you guys like it. :D Please read, review, and enjoy!

I do not own Prince of Tennis

"I'm coming with you."

Yagyuu slowly sat down the file and looked over at Niou in concern. "That probably isn't the best idea. We'll be-"

"Don't care." Niou straightened up in the chair he was sitting in. "Those kids in there are practically my family. We've been together through thick and thin. And besides, I want to watch the bastard who murdered Gakuto led away in cuffs. So I'm going."

Yagyuu ignored the hustle and bustle of the squadroom and reached into his desk. He pulled out a file and read it over. It was several minutes later that he finally looked over at Niou and nodded. "Fine. But you're wearing a vest, and you aren't to leave my side. Not for anything. Do you understand me."

Niou nodded once. "Of course."

It was only an hour later that they were standing around a large, Victorian-like house. It was old and falling apart, but it was beautiful in that majestic kind of way. Niou had never actually seen the outside of the house he was kept in. He was always blindfolded when led from the car to the house. And he decided that it'd have a certain charm if it hadn't been the place where he was locked up for a year and a half.

Yagyuu placed a hand on his shoulder, drawing his eyes up to the detective. "This is it."

"We're saving everyone, huh?"

"You're saving everyone."

Niou smiled at this. Yagyuu looked around at the uniformed officers, the SWAT team, and several other detectives. He hesitated, and Niou spoke up.

"Yagyuu. I want you to be the one to cuff the bastard."

Yagyuu blinked down at him in surprise. "But I have to-"

"I'll be fine. There are plenty of officers out here. Go on. Go in there and get the guy you've been chasing after for so long." Niou grinned up at him. "I wanna see you in action."

Ten minutes later, Yagyuu was suited up in a bullet proof vest with his gun in his hand. Niou watched him gesture to the rest of the officers and they stormed the place. There was a lot of banging and shouting. A lot of splintering wood and shattering glass. Niou held his breath. He shifted from one foot to the other. He tugged at the collar of the vest. He licked his dry lips. He dreaded the sound of gunshots, and he hoped to god that he wouldn't hear them. He waited for what seemed like an eternity. Scenarios and images flashed through his mind, none of them good, and he winced every time he heard a loud noise. Then finally, finally, the door busted open again and Yagyuu stepped out, pushing an angry, angry Yukimura in front of him.

Yukimura was spitting and yelling, struggling against the cuffs, and when he caught sight of Niou, he started shouting louder. At the look in Niou's eyes, Yagyuu changed directions and led Yukimura past him. And as they went by, Niou smiled. "You're going to make some man very happy in prison. You're going to be someone's bitch."

Yukimura snapped out profanities, and Niou just smiled in satisfaction. When he glanced over at the door again, he watched kids being led out. Some of them were almost seventeen, and they would've been slated for death or reselling within the month. Others couldn't have been older than ten or eleven. Niou felt something swell within him. Happiness. For the first time in a long time, he was happy. They were all going back to their families. They'd have a warm place to sleep and some decent meals. Gakuto would never get that, though. And Niou himself was going to be shipped off to foster care. But everyone else... They all made it out.

The moment he saw Zaizen and the others step out, he ran forward until he was in front of them. Fuji's cheeks were streaked with tears, and that was the first time he'd ever seen the boy cry. Fuji wrapped an arm around his brother and smiled weakly at Niou. "Thank you." He whispered. They hugged, wrapping each other up. They were all shaking, they were all crying. For the loss of their friend, and for the thankfulness of finally getting out of that nightmare.

"Niou."

Niou turned his head slightly, but refused to distangle himself from the others. He didn't bother looking at him, but he already knew who it was. He could recognize Yagyuu's voice anywhere.

"Niou, I think you'll want to see this."

Quite reluctantly, Niou turned all the way around just as Yagyuu stepped to the side. Niou's heart stopped, his eyes widened, and the tears came faster than ever. "Gakuto!"

They launched themselves at him. The boy had bruises all over his face and dried blood on his clothes, but he was standing. He was alive. He was there.

"Gakuto, Gakuto, oh god, we thought- he told us-"

"I know." Gakuto whispered, obviously ignoring all the pain he had to have been in. "I know what he told you, I know what he implied. But I'm fine, I'm here. He'd locked me up in a different room, and... well, you all know what he did. He told me he was going to keep me there so he could use me when he wanted." Gakuto clung to Niou tightly, happy to be surrounded by all his friends. "How did all this happen...?" He looked around at all the cop cars and uniformed officers.

"It was Masaharu." Yuuta said quietly. "He got us out of here."

Gakuto grinned at him. "I knew you could do it."

Gakuto pulled away from Niou's embrace and spotted something over his shoulder that made his eyes widen. "Yuushi..."

Niou blinked and turned around. Several feet behind him stood a tall, tan-skinned boy with dark hair and dark eyes. He looked like he hadn't slept in days, but there was a timid smile on his face. "Gakuto."

"Yuushi!" Gakuto ran to the boy and crashed into his arms, his body racked with sobs.

Yuushi stroked Gakuto's hair. "Oh Jesus Christ, look how skinny you've gotten. And your face... Oh, man, Gakuto, I'm so so sorry. I'm sorry this happened to you. I never, ever stopped looking for you."

"I know." Gakuto's whisper was muffled. "Detective Yagyuu told me."

Yuushi looked up at Yagyuu and mouthed the words "thank you".

Niou turned back to Yagyuu and smiled. "I'm happy." He informed simply. "I've made a difference. Yeah, some of us used to get into trouble. Hikaru used to get arrested for drug use, and I used to get arrested for petty-thefts. I know there's other kids that came out of there who had records, too. But you know what? None of us deserved this."

Yagyuu reached out and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "You're right. There was no reason for you to go through what you went through."

"In the end," Niou continued quietly, placing his hand on top of Yagyuu's, "we're all innocent."

Eventually, they were all checked out by EMTs. They were all severely malnourished and dehydrated, and they were all taken to the hospital to get their wounds taken care of. It was a whole four hours later when Niou was getting grateful hugs from Fuji and Yuuta's sister, and Zaizen's parents, and Gakuto's boyfriend and parents, and all of Eiji's siblings and parents. He was even getting handshakes and hugs from people who's parents he didn't know. He was worn out and almost dead on his feet. He was sitting slouched in a chair in the waiting room. All in the matter of hours, he saved the lives of over one hundred kids and reunited them with their families. They all had someone to go home to. And although several of them (Gakuto included) had to be kept in the hospital for observation for a while, they were all happy.

A cup of hot coffee was suddenly held in front of his face. He looked up at Yagyuu and took the cup gratefully. "Thanks," he murmured.

"I have to go talk to my captain," Yagyuu gestured to a stern looking man with brown hair and glasses. "It won't take long. Promise."

Niou smiled and nodded. He sipped carefully on the coffee, unable to take big gulps of it like he wanted to. It was warm, and it felt good sliding down his throat. And although he was happy with the days events, now that everything was over and the adrenaline rush was gone, he could only think about one thing. What was going to happen to him? His mother was in jail, he had no clue who his father was, his older sister had left as soon as she turned eighteen and his younger brother was staying with his father. Nobody wanted him. He had no where to go. And it wasn't like he was going to be adopted. A fifteen year old boy with a rap sheet? One who'd recently been pulled out of a human-trafficking ring, at that. He'd be such a problem child in the eyes of anyone who saw his records. He got pulled out of a nightmare just to be shoved back into one.

"Niou? Are you ready?"

Niou looked up blankly. "For what?"

"Well, it took a lot of bargaining, but I talked my captain into letting you come home with me."

Niou nodded. "Until you find me a permanent place to stay?"

"No." Yagyuu broke out into a rare grin. "Forever."

I'm beginning to think that I should've left Gakuto dead. :| What do you guys think? I honestly didn't have the heart to do so. I would've cried. Well, I would've cried harder than I already have. XD