Back in Italy

October 6th

"Elena, what can I do for you?" Giotto asked with a smile as he set down the current paper he was reading. He ran a hand through his golden locks as his amber eyes looked at Elena, who was standing in front of his desk, a slight frown on her lips. Noticing this, his smile slowly turned serious. "Is something wrong?"

Elena's clear blue eyes glanced at her hands in front of her before she met gazes with Giotto. "Did you notice anything…different…about Daemon before he left for Japan? I don't mean to sound like the paranoid fiancé but I think there was an ulterior motive for Daemon to go to Japan other than the mission you gave him."

At this Giotto smiled. "Elena, I doubt Daemon went to Japan to have a fling with a Japanese woman." He chuckled. "You have no idea how much he talks about you at our meetings."

"That's not it." Elena responded immediately, her frown deepening. "I trust him not to do that—I didn't mean anything like that. I meant he went to Japan for…dark reasons."

Giotto's smile faded away as he leaned forward, his chin resting on the top of his folded hands, his elbows resting on the table. "What do you mean? You think he's becoming corrupt?"

"I…" Elena looked at the ground as she clasped her hands together behind her. "I'm not sure what I think. Ever since he received that ring in the mail he's been different. It's hard to notice, but I've been with him for years. He's just been…different."

When she spoke of the ring Giotto's hyper intuition flared. "Ring? What ring? What does it look like?"

"I've only seen it once, but it looks like a horn." She looked at Giotto. "I just can't help but think that that ring is corrupting him. I know that may sound weird but…"

Giotto shook his head, his brows creased in thought. "No, it's not weird. I've heard about rings that can corrupt people. They're called hell rings, though I heard that they were lost ever since Primo's time." He sighed as he stood up from his chair. "There are six of them, though not much is known about them. It may be that Daemon has come across one and it's trying to control him. Did you contact his siblings to see if he's with them? He told me that after his mission he was going to check on them." He began to walk out the door, gesturing for Elena to follow him.

"I can't contact Mukuro or Nagi." Elena said as she walked next to him. "I've been trying for the past couple of days. Do you think something has happened to them?"

"I hope not." He pulled out his cell phone and scrolled through his contacts. Selecting one, he held up the phone to his ear. It rang twice.

"Giotto? Did I do something wrong?!" Lampo asked hesitantly on the other side of the phone.

The man smiled, though it didn't reach his eyes. "No, not this time. I think Thanksgiving has come early this year. Could you get G and come to my room? We need to talk."

"Is my little brother okay?"

"Yes. We'll talk in my room."

"Okay. We should be there in a few minutes."-CLICK.

He looked at Elena. "We'll get to the bottom of this." He said with confidence. She nodded. He then scrolled through his contacts again and selected another one. He held the phone to his ear. It rang once.

"What's up Giotto?" Cozarto said seriously. "There is no way you finished your paperwork already."He added on. Possibly as a joke, but right now was not a joking matter, and so Giotto ignored it.

"I need you to come to my room. We need to discuss something important."

Though he couldn't see the red head he knew he nodded. "Be there in a few."-CLICK.

The duo continued to walk down the hall towards Giotto's room. Once there, they entered and waited for the three they were expecting.

…

As they had said, Lampo, G, and Cozarto were in Giotto's room within a few minutes. The three knew the situation was serious and seeing Elena in the room made them instantly think it had something to do with Daemon. Elena took great care of him, and when she was extremely worried it was usually Daemon's fault. The three sat down in the sitting area away from the center of the room where Giotto and Elena were already sitting, G and Cozarto next to Giotto on the large sofa while Lampo took the chair opposite from Elena's chair.

"I've called you three here because I have a mission for you three." Giotto said seriously. "Elena believes Daemon has come across a Hell Ring."

The three gasped. "Seriously?" G said in astonishment. "Those haven't been seen since Primo's time."

Giotto nodded and looked at Elena. She seemed to get the message. "Daemon received a horn shaped ring in the mail a few weeks ago. There wasn't a letter or a note or anything else with the ring. Ever since he received it, he's been acting…weird."

"I haven't noticed anything different." Lampo noted. "He still acts creepy and he still taunts Alaude all the time."

Elena nodded. "It's a hard change to notice. You haven't been with him as long as I have, and even then it took me a few days to notice the change." She shook her head sadly. "It's a dark change."

"So, what are we to do Giotto?" Cozarto asked, looking at his best friend.

The blonde male sighed as he ran a hand through his hair, a habit he developed ever since he moved to Italy. "We're going to Japan. Daemon last said he was going to visit his younger siblings. They're currently staying in Kokuyo, which is between Namimori and Shimon. We're going to stay in the Vongola house prepared in Namimori."

"And while we're there we're going to visit our family, right?" Lampo asked hopefully, wanting to see his little brother.

Giotto nodded. "It would be suspicious if we didn't. Plus, I've missed Tsu-kun so much!" He said the last part childishly.

Everyone in the room giggled for a moment. The laughter then died out and everyone then returned to their serious attitude. Giotto said, "Really, though, our main priority is to find Daemon and confirm if the ring he posses is truly a hell ring. If it is then we will have to confiscate it and seal it within the Vongola vault." Every nodded in agreement. "Elena, Cozarto, Lampo and I will go to Japan." He looked at G. "Can you help keep down the fort here? I'm going to contact my father and ask if he can help as well."

G just waved him off. "Please, I can take care of this place without his help. Just make sure you let Alaude know what's going on or he'll beat your ass."

Giotto nodded in agreement. "I will."

…

The four boarded the private Vongola jet, their suitcases already packed a few minutes ago. After taking care to call Alaude and let him know the situation, they took off for Japan. They had decided to not contact anyone until they were in Namimori and were able to meet them personally. They didn't want anyone to catch on to what was going on. When they arrived they were going to settle down in the Vongola house and wait until the next day to see their family. By then their jetlag should be gone. After they meet with their family for a bit they would set off to Kokuyo to search for Daemon. They believed this plan was quite solid.

They had no idea of what was to come.