Notes: You know who you are and what you did made this come to life.

Summary: More phone calls...

Chapter 6-Abasement

"A reputation is a useless and fake quality that others impose on us."

-Act 2, Scene 3, Othello by William Shakespeare

It was a cold and dreary day—the kind of day where all Kyoko wanted to do was snuggle in bed. She laid beneath her blankets wrapped like a burrito. Things had been crazy since Tsuna had agreed to go to the cafe dressed as a girl for them.

But Kyoko adored the whole situation even if it was getting messy. She had never seen Tsuna so animated and happy before. He had finally come out of his shell without being forced to.

For the longest time, she had been worried for Tsuna. He tended to be a loner and would stay at home if given half the chance, only leaving to go to classes and forced outings with their group, but that was better than the ghost he had been in high school. She hated that she had been so indifferent to him back then.

Why had she been so dumb and blind to not see the amazing person hiding underneath a terrible reputation?

She never wanted to judge someone by rumors alone again. What would have happened if Tsuna hadn't bumped into her during their college entrance day and she hadn't given him a chance? She shuddered, scared to go down that route.

Tsuna was a true friend and unlike every other boy she had ever met, he genuinely wanted to just be friends without any ulterior motives. He was an absolute gem and she would hold onto him until he kicked her out of his life.

It was ironic to Kyoko that popularity was her curse. It made her life so much easier than say Haru's, but people tended to want things from her and demanded that she give it to them like they had a right to her time and devotion.

She often felt trapped because she wanted to be a good person, but not when expectations came with cruel intentions and made her want to scream at the world. It was truly a mixed blessing. One day, she wanted to be a normal person and not be noticed for her looks or her outward personality.

Tsuna wasn't the only person that she was worried about in their group. Haru had seemed a little manic after hearing about Tsuna's date. Haru had her head in the clouds and while she was romantically driven, Kyoko had never even seen her give any guy or girl a second look.

It was a mystery and she wanted to get down the bottom of it. Maybe, Hana could help her investigate? Hopefully, she wouldn't be too angry about being bothered as she was always studying and worrying or working and interning. Kyoko hadn't had the chance to reconnect with her in awhile. Maybe they could go to the cake shop together and try out some new cakes? She was fortunate her brother always forced her to go running with him in the mornings or she would have gained a ton of weight by now.

Beep. Beep. Beep. 6:30 AM.

Her alarm clock went off right on time. She shut it with a well practiced tap. In a few moments, her brother would be there to pull her out of bed to go on their run. She snuggled deeper into her blankets, already knowing that she would have to leave its comfy depths all too soon.

La-di-da-di-dee-doo. La-di-da-di-dee-doo-"Hello, it's Kyoko." she sleepily answered her cellphone, not even bothering to check her caller ID.

A concerned voice spoke through the speakers, "Kyoko-chan, I'm so sorry to bother you this early, but—." The voice cracked, but continued "..have you heard from Tsuna recently?"

It was like a bucket of cold water had been thrown on her. Kyoko woke up from her daze. She replied, finally recognizing the voice, "Mama Sawada…I haven't heard from Tsuna-kun since I heard from him yesterday, I texted him early in the morning..."

She stopped pausing for a second and then continued in a more gentle voice, "Is something wrong?"

Ms. Sawada started sobbing, her voice a little hoarse, but eventually she was able to compose herself enough to continue the conversation, "Tsu..Tsuna's gone missing. He never came home last night. And you know...he's a good boy, he would never spend the night somewhere without at least telling me."

Kyoko froze after hearing the terrible news, but she jumped into action. "Is there anything I can do?" she asked, determined to help find Tsuna.

Ms. Sawada was still crying, but Kyoko patiently listened to the sounds of her blowing her nose, while waiting for a response. Kyoko heard her voice faintly over the phone and ended up having to increase the sound on her phone, "...Kyoko, if you don't mind...can you...call the rest of the girls? ...I've already called the police. They said that they'll look into it, but they haven't even been by the house yet…"

"Of course. Don't worry. We'll find him," Kyoko said reassuringly.

"Thank you… I will talk to you soon." Ms. Sawada said with a shaky voice and ended the call.

Kyoko freaked out. She grabbed one of her pillows and screamed all her frustration and anger into it.

She did not hear a knock or the sound of her door opening. "Kyoko, it's time to run to the extreme!" An enthusiastic voice called out to her. She lifted her head quickly.

"Onii-san," she said, trying to disguise that she was upset. "I'm sorry, but I can't go with you today."

"Did something happen? Was it a boy again?" His voice had lost all of its enthusiasm, becoming serious. He stared deep into her golden eyes trying to pin down the reason why his precious sister was distressed and trying to hide it.

"No, onii-san. Tsuna's missing. He didn't come home...last night." She said after being pinned down by her brother's gray eyes. It wasn't fair that he had their mother's eye color, while she got their father's.

"That's definitely not like him," her brother commented, having met Tsuna before and having given his approval of their friendship.

Kyoko explained further, "And the police don't really seem to care…" She trailed off.

A hand was comfortingly placed on her shoulder, while the other rubbed her back as he surrounded her in a reassuring hug. Kyoko closed her eyes and enjoyed the feeling of safety created by her older brother. He gave the best hugs.

He spoke again with confidence, "Don't worry, Kyoko. I know a guy that can find Tsuna. Just let me take care of it, okay?

Kyoko felt hope nestle deep into her chest. She affirmed, "Okay. I trust you onii-san. But, I'll still call the other girls and see if maybe they know anything."

"Hello?"

"We've got your boyfriend, Reborn. And unless you want to see his pretty little throat cut, you better listen carefully to these demands. In twenty four hours, we want a dead drop of $100,000 in non-sequential American dollars at the following location we'll be sending in twelve hours. And if you do anything...and I mean anything out of order, he'll get hurt. Got it?…" Click.

"Fuck."