Archive of Our Own

Dio Brando hated most things.

He hated humans, he hated dogs, and he hated cats. He hated blissful adults and careless children. He hated those who sang and danced right outside his window nearly everyday as he attempted to get some sleep. He hated his parents and he hated those he would pretend were his "friends". He hated acting and the things he was forced to do in order to get anywhere in his life.

In fact saying he hated "most things" was a tremendous understatement. If he was going to be completely honest he would say he hated everything. Everything on this goddamn forsaken earth.

Some would say he was bitter, others would say he was just being jealous and maybe some would have the excuse that he was just an introvert. Few might even say that he was simply bad since the day he was born.

But most would obviously blame it on the fact that he is a vampire.

Perhaps Dio was just living up to the popular vampire stereotype by hating things. Perhaps it really was just part of him being the monster he was or perhaps it was just something he had before he was even made into a blood sucking demon anyways. If he could remember such a time. It had been a while.

It didn't even matter much anyways. He was a vampire and therefore his life was made up of killing people, sucking blood and sometimes having to deal with annoying other vampires. He would sleep during the day, or try to, if annoying humans weren't being annoying, and do his typical day to day business at night as usual. Sometimes if a human was attractive and he didn't loathe them with his entire being on sight he might decide to fuck them before he sucked their blood, ending their life.

It could be called his little "fuck and suck" method, despite how this little plan involved sex - when he called it "suck" he did not usually mean it in a sexual way. But sometimes he did, and that only made things even more ironic than they already were. He might even have laughed about it, if he were that kind of person.

But oddly, there was a night when Dio's life did change. No matter how anyone looked at it, that was when things got out of hand when Dio never meant them to.

It just happened.

He would have liked to say he had no control over the matter but that would have been a lie. In fact, the entire situation happened because he didn't stick to his plan. Things got out of hand and it was completely and utterly Dio Brando's fault.

It was meant to be a normal night like any other but Dio had different ideas than what was typical of him. Usually he would roam the streets of some town, usually London since it was a place brimming with moronic humans, and find anyone who was naive enough to trick into doing anything Dio ever wanted them too.

The only problem which came with roaming the streets of a city was that it opened the possibility of him running into some other vampire which would cause an encounter Dio would rather avoid completely. If he were perfectly honest, if there was anyone he hated more than humans it would be other vampires. Humans were easy to toy with and he could easy get rid of them with the snap of his fingers if he wanted to. Other vampires were completely different and disgust formed at the heart of his very being at the mere thought of them. He would like to avoid any interaction with them at any costs, so often he would hunt in small villages or farms just to evade competition from them.

In fact, he even always made sure to kill his victims completely instead of letting them turn. He despised he mere idea that he could be the cause of more scummy vampires being born.

But this night, a night near the end of August, was downright the opposite of what he usually did. Maybe he was just curious. Maybe he was sick of always going up and down the same roads or ravaging the same towns. Honestly, he didn't have much reason at all to walk the direction he was heading. He just felt like doing so. Felt like he was meant too, if that were a valid excuse. Almost like it was fate.

He was walking down some dirt road in what was known as the countryside. This path was likely only taken by nobles in their carriages seeing as how land like this couldn't belong to anyone other than some wealthy land owning prick who never worked a day in their life. People like this used to drive Dio mad even more than typical humans did, but now that he had been a vampire for some time, money just seemed somewhat irrelevant. It certainly was an irritating factor, but it was easier nowadays for Dio to just group them with all the other humans and call them filth, no different from anyone else.

It was on this day when he saw the young man who would one day revolutionize every aspect of Dio's life. He was sitting on the branch of a tree in the middle of a grassy meadow near a small creek, gazing up at the stars from his little branch and watching the moon hide behind some dark cloud in the vast night sky.

Dio hadn't expected to see anyone this far away from the nearest town; though, he supposed it wasn’t out of the question for some noble to be out and about out here. He just didn't think those pretentious types were the kind to stay outside late into the night, gazing at the stars and climbing up trees.

Dio must be lucky then. This meant he did have someone to feed from all the way out here. This was actually extremely convenient, there wasn't much chance for someone to escape out here, no one would be around to hear his screams and there were no other vampires around to give Dio a hard time.

It was perfect.

The rich brat was dead the moment Dio laid his eyes on him.

However, oddly enough, the young man looked pretty sitting on that tree by himself next to a small, dimly lit lantern. His hair was dark and his figure was broad and attractive. His suit seemed a little tight on him due to his large muscles but it didn't change how beautiful he looked. He also appeared somewhat peaceful sitting on that branch with his head leaning on the trunk, tilted up towards the sky.

Maybe he looked attractive and Dio did not loath him from the bottom of his being the moment he laid his eyes on him. Maybe he could leave some time to fuck him before he killed him. He wouldn't mind doing a little "fuck and suck" tonight. It could be fun.

"Excuse me but, um, can I help you?" the young man's voice spoke up, finally noticing Dio's presence.

There was nothing wrong with conversing with your victim before you snapped your trap on them.

"Hello, my name is Dio Brando. I was just going on a normal night time stroll and I wasn't expecting to see anyone." Dio said, forming his words carefully. Usually he would have to lie to manipulate humans but in this situation the honest truth would work better than any lie he could come up with.

The young man nodded. "I wasn't expecting anyone either, I actually climb this tree nearly every night and never see anyone around, ever. I guess not many people are outside at this hour.... Anyways, my name is Jonathan Joestar, but I'd prefer if you just call me Jojo."

Joestar. That was a familiar name; humans would mutter it every so often when speaking of wealthy land owning families.

So it was as Dio figured; this man was some wealthy noble. Having this information be confirmed for Dio did increase his hatred for him slightly but not enough to make him lose interest in fucking him. He was still hot, attractive, and in some ways drop-dead gorgeous. Even if he hated him with his entire soul it'd take a lot to make a handsome face like his unfuckable.

"Jojo, huh?" Dio smirked. "So, Jojo, what are you doing on some tree in the middle of the night, every night?"

"Well, I don't really remember when I started but," Jonathan paused. "It was just something I always did. I guess this tree is my favorite tree, I've climbed up it ever since I was a little kid. I am glad it still lets me up here, despite how I've grown up now." He laughed softly. "But as for why I'm outside now, I guess I just like looking at the sky."

"That doesn't change how it’s still a bit weird for you to be outside at this hour."

"Isn't it a bit weird for you to be taking walks at this hour?"

"... I guess you have a point, Jojo.” Dio sat down near the tree trunk. He was in no rush. He could take his time and humor this human with his kindness before he showed his true colors. Besides, he didn't want to admit it but maybe he was slightly curious in this Jonathan Joestar character. Just slightly, it never hurt to know a thing or two about the person you are killing before you kill them anyway.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, neither of them saying anything. Dio never cared much for the night sky, but he tried looking up at it now to understand what the appeal was for Jonathan to come outside every night just to stare at it for hours. Dio never saw it as anything other than a dark void covered with a few white dots, but, apparently, some people saw it as being more than that. Jonathan appeared to be one of those people.

"So what's so interesting about the night sky anyways?" Dio eventually asked.

"'What's so interesting?' What do you mean by that? It’s the sky after all."

"It was just a question, Jojo." Dio retorted.

"Well, the sky is what covers us right? It's what's above us little ones on earth."

"Right."

"Doesn't that seem interesting to you? It's what’s above and beyond us on this planet. All those little spots of light, stars, are something unbelievably far away from us. No one in this world can ever hope to reach them, yet we could see them displayed right in front of us just sitting here out in the open. Doesn't that amaze you?"

"It's never really occurred to me."

A few more minutes pass by in silence.

"It is beautiful though, isn't it?"

"Maybe....." This was the first time he really sat down and stargazed. If he thought about it the way Jonathan seemed to, he could understand his fascination. Maybe it was something he didn't completely hate, all the stars ever did was just sit around in the sky, minding their own business and never actually acknowledging Earth or anyone on it. That, and they looked pretty, so he had to give them some credit.

His tongue licked the tips of his fangs. He wondered how long he would sit here listening to whatever his prey had to say. He could just lunge right now, just grab him and suck all of the poor bastard's blood out at this very moment. He'd never see it coming. It would be easy and quick. Dio could even take his time walking home silently without any more distractions if he went through with it at this very second. Then again, that method would likely end with him not having any sex at all tonight and Dio wasn't all for that.

Whatever. For now he would just listen to whatever this "Jojo" person had to say. Maybe he could even learn a thing or two about the stars. Maybe.

"Are you studying astrology?" Dio spoke up after a chilling wind blew, rustling the browning leaves on the tree. He pointed to a book Jonathan was carrying with him which Dio only now noticed.

"No, not really."

Dio raised an eyebrow. "Then what are you studying? Or at least, what is that book about?"

"Astronomy is one of my interests, don't get me wrong, but my main passion lies with archaeology."

"Archeology?"

"Yes, I've always have been curious in that sort of thing. I also have tons of books on the subject, if you are ever interested," he said, displaying the cover of his book for Dio to see. It was an archaeology text book after all.

"Thanks for the offer, but I'll have to decline."

"Then what have you been studying, or just do as a job in general?"

Dio had to think about the question for a few seconds. Now that he thought about it, he did have a human life beforehand, correct? Oddly he seemed to have forgotten most of his pre-vampire life despite it not being too long ago. Or at least that's what he thought; he'd lost track by now. It couldn't have been more than fifty years? Maybe it was only twenty - it couldn't have been less than ten though, could it? Thinking about it made his head hurt.

"Law." he said automatically after a few moments.

"Law? Are you a lawyer?" Jonathan inquired.

"You could say that...." Dio wondered what made him say that so subconsciously. He guessed that was what he did when he was human. He had mostly forgotten but maybe he still remembered, deep inside the mess his brain had become.

The two sat together in silence for a long time after that, neither really having much to say to the other. Dio was starting to wonder if he should just rip Jonathan's throat out now while his guard was down, but strangely there was a sort of peacefulness out here in the middle of the silent meadow. A kind that Dio had never felt in any of the towns and villages he'd murdered in before. It was a type of peacefulness that would be a sin to disturb, to ruin this beautiful and gentle place with the blood of an innocent being.

Perhaps Dio could just sit here and pretend for one night that he wasn't some vicious monster who was on the hunt for human blood.

After an hour or so of relaxing silence, Jonathan swung his legs over the side of the branch he was sitting on, shaking the tree and causing a few of the leaves to fall to the ground. He then leaped off and landed with a thud not far from where Dio sat, leaning against the trunk.

"It's been fun, but I have to go home now. If I don't make it back soon my father will have my head, but thank you for keeping me company tonight. I've never really had anyone meet me out here before.... do you want to meet up here again?"

Dio didn't answer. He just stared at Jonathan, stared into those blue eyes of his, studying him. He wondered if his gaze intimidated Jonathan because, after a minute or so of steady eye contact, Jonathan glanced away and began fumbling with the tie of his suit awkwardly.

"Well, good night, Dio." Jonathan said before he began walking down the same path Dio had walked down not long ago.

After watching Jonathan's figure turn smaller and smaller as he disappeared down the road, Dio stood up silently and turned in the opposite direction, planning to make his way back to whatever place he felt like sleeping in for the duration of the next day.

"Goodbye, Jojo." he murmured to himself as he listened to the sounds his shoes made as he stepped on the dirt.

It wasn't like he was that thirsty in the first place anyways.

--✦--

The next night he got the strange urge to go back to the tree once again. He killed some poor bartender along the way simply because he hadn't gotten any blood the day before and he felt the need to make up for it. It was a simple, quick feeding which left plenty of time for him to once again sit against a tree, listening to the gentle rustling of the leaves and grasses along with quiet breaths of Jonathan Joestar.

Dio didn't know why he felt like returning to the tree. He had absolutely no idea. He tried to tell himself he was only coming back to kill Jonathan to make up for not doing it the night before, but part of him knew he didn’t really feel like it. Maybe that was why he killed that bartender, so he could have some reason to not kill Jonathan. After all, he had already fed beforehand, right? He could put off killing the Joestar for a while. Besides, if he killed Jonathan that meant he would never again be able to spend another quiet and peaceful night with him again. He wasn't exactly fond of that idea; if he were to admit it he'd say he actually rather enjoyed yesterday anyways. However, he would never willingly admit that to anyone, ever.

Once again he was not the first to arrive at the tree. When Dio was only a few meters away from it he could already see Jonathan sitting there, exactly the same way he had been just the day before. When he noticed Dio's presence he began waving to him, welcoming him back as if he were expecting Dio's return.

"Hello, Dio! I wasn't sure if you would come tonight but I'm glad you did, I brought an astrology book so we could maybe study the stars together tonight. If you want to that is, I just thought it would be a good idea seeing as how we were talking about it yesterday...."

Dio nodded. "We were, weren't we? Can I see what's in the book then?"

Jonathan's arm reached down from his spot on the tree, handing Dio the astronomy book and his small lantern. The lantern certainly helped him read what little text there was, but most of the book was pictures of different constellations anyways. It really didn't matter much.

"What is this one?" Dio said, pointing to some random drawing of a constellation he found which appeared to be called The Seven Sisters according to the book. "Can you see it tonight?"

"Which one?" Jonathan climbed down from his branch to get a better look at what Dio was looking at by sitting in the grass next to him. "Um, I don't think you would be able to see this from England. See, it's in the southern hemisphere section so I'm afraid you wouldn't be able to see it unless you go to Africa or some place similar to that."

Dio cursed himself for being an idiot and picking something at random like that. He must look like a damn fool. He glared at the grass angrily.

"No need to get upset though, here," Jonathan began flipping through the pages a little until he seemingly found what he was searching for. "This is the section with things we could see right now if we looked hard enough. Um, see," He pointed to a page in the book. "This is Polaris, also known as The North Star, and you can see it every night in the same place in the sky due to its location."

Dio stayed silent for a couple of seconds, trying to see if he could remember what that was since the words "North Star" did sound familiar.

"It's supposed to be the brightest star in the sky, isn't it? At least, that's what I've heard." He added that last part so he wouldn't sound like a complete moron if he were wrong.

"Yes, that's what most people say." Jonathan then pointed somewhere in the sky, "I believe that one is the brightest, do you think that one could be it?"

Dio couldn't tell which one Jonathan was pointing at. There were thousands of visible stars after all. "Perhaps. Check the book, aren't there supposed to be constellations you could reference?"

"That's a good point. Let me see...." He looked back at the book and flipped the page.

They spent an hour or so pointing out stars and constellations, anything they found in the book and felt like locating in the sky, until Jonathan decided to bring something else up.

"Dio, I've been meaning to tell you this but I was thinking about how you asked what was so amazing about the night sky yesterday.”

“What about it?”

“The way you asked that question reminded me of something, but I couldn't remember what at the time. I spent some time today thinking about it and I believe I’ve remembered what it was.”

“Then what was it?”

“I once heard a myth that no one truly dies. When people die on Earth, that only means that they have left their bodies and have moved onto the sky.”

“Isn’t that just what the Bible teaches?” Dio called bullshit on such things as religion long ago. Maybe he could accept the concept of there being a God, but if they did exist there was no possibility they weren't a horrible and cruel person. The idea of them being a good person was laughable, and if an afterlife existed it definitely wasn't good, or what some would call "Heaven". If things like these were real then how would Dio, an immortal blood sucking monster, exist in the first place?

"No, I don't mean that. I meant that when people die their souls just become a new star. Like, I know it's just some myth but it's nice to think about. The idea that all of your ancestors are looking over you from the night sky is kind of comforting, you know?"

It was far from comforting in Dio's case. He tried to forget about his family long ago but Jonathan mentioning the idea that they were watching over him made him sick. How disgusting - he would have preferred to have never been reminded of his father's existence. He was the worst and did not deserve to float in the sky as a spectre of light. His mother on the other hand did deserve good things like that, but he didn't like the idea that she had to watch her son drink the blood of the human beings he'd killed.

Plus, the idea of dead people watching him from above was far from comforting. How many of his victims were watching them now?

"I don't see it as comforting. It's actually quite creepy to think about." Dio said. He felt sick to his stomach.

"I guess I can understand why you would think like that. Well, my mother died not long after I was born so I don't have any memories of her. Watching the sky helps me feel connected to her. It's nice to just sit here for hours and wonder if she is somewhere up there. Maybe that's why I come here so often...."

Dio stayed silent a few moments, processing what Jonathan had said. It sounded naive and foolish but perhaps that's just the kind of person he was: one to believe these rumours and see only the good things in them, none of the bad.

"Doesn't the idea that dead people are watching you terrify you at all?"

"Not really? I don't think I've angered anyone who is dead enough to really be creeped out by this."

How naïve. "You wouldn't be scared even if there were a ghost in your house? A vengeful spirit who wanted you dead more than anything?"

Jonathan furrowed his eyebrows. "I don't think I've really upset any spirit enough to make them go that far. Besides, I'd feel bad for them. I'm sure they were a good person when they were alive with family, friends and lovers. It's a tragedy that they were made into what they are now, so I sympathize with them."

How foolish. "Then how do you feel about death? Do you fear it?"

Jonathan's answer came quicker than expected. "No, not at all really. I know if I died tomorrow I would have done all I could to be happy, so I believe I would be at peace. I also don't mind the idea of one day becoming a star myself, wouldn't that be nice? Maybe then I can actually meet my mother and find out what she's like in person. People would also be able to see me in the sky and I hope I can inspire them with my brightness. I don't know, maybe it's childish to think this way but I don't care. It's nice to think that I would be a star and maybe then people would show up at my funeral."

Dio didn't know how to respond. He wasn't expecting Jonathan to be at peace with the idea of death; he hadn't expected anyone to feel this way.

He hadn't expected anyone to not fear death the way he did.

Maybe this kind of foolishness was refreshing.

The two stargazed for a few minutes longer until Jonathan noticed he had been out for far too long and decided it was about time for him to make his way home. He waved Dio goodbye, gathered his things, and slowly descended into the dark as he had the night before.

Dio tried not to think about it too hard. He tried convincing himself he didn't care about Jonathan at all; he was only coming back because he felt like seeing the stars. But Dio knew that was a lie, he never cared about the stars before and there was no reason he should start caring now.

Yet that didn't stop him from coming again the very next night.

He got into what some would call a routine. He would get up when the sun went down, like any other vampire would, find and suck the life out of some poor soul as quick as he could so he could have as much time as possible sitting in a meadow with Jonathan. The Joestar would always be there already when Dio showed up, which wasn't any surprise seeing as how Jonathan was human and likely watched the sun set from his branch, and he would greet Dio before talking enthusiastically about whatever has been on his mind.

Dio found that Jonathan was getting more and more comfortable and open with him every time they met. He would smile brightly whenever Dio showed up and talk about whatever happened in his day. Sometimes he would talk about something his dog did and other times he would mention something interesting which happened around his manor. They would often look up and down the same astronomy books and point out things in the sky they haven't noticed before. Jonathan said he would like to see a shooting star sometime but sadly neither of them had the chance to witness one yet. Their conversations weren't limited to just stargazing, however - sometimes Jonathan was more in the mood to discuss some new discovery in the field of archaeology instead. Other times they would just talk about nothing in particular and just sit in the grasses together, making small talk or not talking at all.

It was disgusting how Dio kept coming back and never actually killed Jonathan. It was so sickening and horrible the way he was acting, as if he were Jonathan's "friend". He would sometimes walk home just trembling thinking about how soft he was, why was it that he could no longer picture himself with his hands around Jonathan's throat? Why was that? Dio was a vampire and Jonathan was a human, that was the natural order of things. So why the fuck was Dio acting like some child whose only purpose in life was daydream and frolic through the grasses without a care in the world? He hated his new found softness. Until now he never had any reason to hate himself but ever since Jonathan invaded his thoughts he would go home wanting nothing more than to rip all his hair out and bang his head against the wall.

But no matter what he did, no matter how much he shook with resentment and anger, every night he would come back to the tree. The moment he saw Jonathan's gorgeous face, all those feelings disappeared and were replaced with the kind of calmness Dio could only feel only at this very location. He told himself that this was the only reason he hadn't killed Jonathan; he simply liked the tranquility he felt around him which he didn't feel with anyone else. Plus, maybe he was more bearable than others of his kind. Being with him didn't put a lump of hatred in his stomach the way others did. He wondered why.

For a few weeks they became what some would call "close". Dio was reluctant to call Jonathan his friend but somewhere inside he knew that was exactly what they were. Friends. It was sickening and Dio knew it; he was naturally the predator and Jonathan was meant to be the prey. This "friendship" they had was twisted, screwed up beyond belief.

It was unnatural and Dio knew it.

It was almost funny how, while the concept of their friendship was something Dio despised, that didn't prevent him from looking forward to their meetings. He wouldn't admit it to himself but he would try to be quick with his pre-meeting feedings and would quicken his walking pace when making his way down the same path he always did to get to the same place he and Jonathan always went. He actually did look forward to seeing Jonathan. It was pathetic.

Given time, Jonathan wasn't the only one acting more open. Dio was too, even if it was subconscious. He was quieter, more reserved in the beginning; similar to how he would act preparing to kill. Now, he would talk more when talked to. He would give his opinions on things and try his best to seem intelligent on matters he deemed important. He would say what he wanted on topics Jonathan would go on and on about and sometimes, if he were feeling pissed at something, he wouldn't hesitate to rant about some irritating subject which he found annoying.

Jonathan was a good listener if anything. Good conversational partner too along with being a good person to stay silent with and relax when Dio wasn't in the mood. Plus, maybe Jonathan wasn't exactly boring to listen to. Anyone could tell he was an educated man with many thoughts on many different matters. His ramblings weren't exactly as mind numbing as majority of the people Dio had come across over the years had been.

Simply put, Dio let Jonathan into his life. What an idiotic move on his part.

--✦--

September was coming to an end. Dio had been visiting Jonathan for about a month. That was far too long yet it hardly seemed like that in the slightest; visiting the tree really did seem to make time go faster and before he knew it an entire month had slipped away since their first meeting.

That was when the days of Jonathan not acting like himself begun.

It was a gradual change; it didn't happen all at once. It just seemed as if Jonathan was quieter, not as lively as he was in their previous meetings. He didn't have as much to say and would spend more time staying silent when usually he would be going on and on about something Dio didn't care much about.

Dio didn't notice much at first. Maybe Jonathan was good at hiding things or Dio was just not as experienced with him and people in general as he had previously thought. Actually, it would be completely reasonable that he wasn't good at understanding others given how antisocial and unsympathetic he was. It was just strange how Jonathan was the only person he even got slightly close too and it was a weird thought to think that Dio really didn't truly know him. After all, Jonathan didn't truly know Dio. Who was Dio to think it would be any different the other way around?

It took two or so weeks for Dio to notice the differences. For one thing, it was uncanny how silent Jonathan was acting, and his smiles just seemed more fake than they used to be. Not to mention he looked tired as well, more worn out and stressed than usual. There were even bags under his eyes which Dio could have sworn hadn't been there before.

Dio finally decided to bring it up. Jonathan's behavior had been bothering him and it was pesky to think about someone else's problems and not even know what their problem was. He needed to know.

"Jojo, what is the matter with you?" Dio said one night.

Jonathan didn't answer at first, so Dio sighed and repeated himself, a little louder and more direct.

"Hm?" Jonathan said, finally snapping out of whatever trance he was in.

"I said, what is the matter with you?" Dio repeated once more. "You've been acting strange, different than how you used to be. Why?"

"I.... I don't understand what you mean. Did I do something wrong?"

Dio glared at Jonathan for a minute or so; thinking. "I guess it's nothing." he finally said, letting the subject drop. He did not feel like dealing with this right now, and if Jonathan really was feeling more drained and tired than usual, what was Dio going to do about it? Tell Jonathan to get some sleep? No, he wouldn't do that. If Jonathan were to actually sleep when he was supposed to, then that would mean these nightly meetings would end. Dio did not want that. Maybe Jonathan would get better given time.

He didn't.

Time wore on and Jonathan was zoning out more and more, staring at nothing. Dio thought he must be lost in thought, thinking about something that was bothering him. He would ask what he was thinking about but Jonathan wouldn't say much in return - just short one worded answers. It irritated Dio how unresponsive Jonathan was acting but there wasn't much he could do about it. The only way Dio knew to force people to talk was to put his hands around their throats and show off his fangs, but that no longer seemed like an option when it came to Jonathan.

How frustrating.

--✦--

The night things truly began was a day in mid-October. The air was crisp, as expected of autumn weather, so Dio wore a nice scarf he’d stolen from some rich merchant he’d murdered a week or so ago. Jonathan might have complemented it if he were his past self but he didn't even notice Dio had it when he first wore it. That was a shame - Dio was quite fond of the scarf and whatever rich, fat middle aged man he took it from didn't deserve to have something so nice.

Nevertheless, it was irrelevant. What was relevant was something much more important and significant to this night in particular which made things extremely different from how they usually were.

Jonathan was not at the tree.

This was the first day out of a month and a half of nightly meetups. Every single night without fail Jonathan was here, sitting on this tree, waiting for Dio to arrive.

Why was he not here?

Dio checked around the tree but Jonathan was not hiding behind it. Nor was he up higher in the branches or anything, not like they could support his weight if he tried anyways. He was not running in the grasses and he wasn't walking near the creek either.

He just wasn't here.

Why? Where is he?

Dio wasn't the type to show how angry he was and it was typical of him to act calm and collected on the outside while boiling with rage on the inside. Tonight on the other hand, he couldn't care less about concealing or acting calm. He did not hesitate when it came to punching the tree right in its trunk in frustration.

He needed to know why Jonathan wasn't here. Why now out of all the nights they’d known one another? Did something go wrong? Did something happen with his father? Did something happen with his mutt? What about the people who harass him for no reason other than to pick on him?

It gave Dio headaches just thinking about it. He punched the tree again.

He called out Jonathan's name a few more times before deciding there was no point. He wouldn't feel calm here unless Jonathan was with him so why would he bother with hanging around.

He tightened the scarf around his neck before he stomped down the path, back to wherever he was going to sleep that night.

This entire visit was useless. A fucking waste of goddamn time.

--✦--

Next night Dio came again just to see if Jonathan would be there or if he would ditch him once again. If Jonathan was going to show up, Dio needed to hear his explanation because he was sick of just putting up with Jonathan's quietness and he hated being patient. He needed to know not only why Jonathan was acting the way he was but also what the hell was he doing last night because he had a hunch the two things were connected.

Fortunately, Jonathan was at the tree this night. As it should be.

"Where were you last night? Tell me, Jojo." Dio commanded. He was not going to put up with any sort of nonsense tonight.

"Dio, I'm sorry." Jonathan apologized. "Something came up and I couldn't ignore it. I'm sorry I didn't tell you, it was very sudden."

"That doesn't explain where you were. Tell me. This has something to do with what you've been hiding from me for the past few weeks, isn't it? Don't pretend you don't know what I'm talking about. There is a reason you've been acting distant, quiet and exhausted. Don't try to hide it."

Jonathan paused, and that same distant look came over his face which Dio had seen far too many times recently whenever he asked questions about anything. Yet this expression only stayed on his face for a few seconds before he blinked and swallowed, gathering his thoughts.

"I guess I can't hide it from you forever, can I...." Jonathan murmured.

"Yes. You can't." Dio said firmly.

Jonathan swallowed. "I don't know how you would react to this though. There's… there’s a reason I've been avoiding the subject all this time."

"You can't avoid it any longer." Dio said, crossing his arms.

"I guess not, but just know this. If what I'm about to tell you bothers you.... I would understand completely if you no longer want to see me anymore. I really do enjoy the time we spend here and it has been fun but, just know you don't have to come back if I make you uncomfortable."

Dio narrowed his eyes. "Just spit it out."

"My father, he... hunts."

Dio furrowed his eyebrows. "Hunts?"

Jonathan nodded. "Well, I'm sure you've noticed there have been an increase in murders in the nearby towns and villages. Several of my dad's associates, some of them I even know, have been found dead."

Dio tensed up slightly. He knew exactly what Jonathan was talking about here, they must have been his murders. The people Dio fed upon before these meet ups every single night. He found that not many vampires hunt in this general area so it was easy for him to just rely on the homes of places near the tree for food. The towns must be panicking, they must not be used to dealing with tragedy.

"What does this have to do with 'hunting'?" Dio kept his gaze steady and his voice calm. He would not let Jonathan find out it was him who was killing all the innocent and naive humans whom Jonathan spent the daylight interacting with.

"Well, you shouldn't share this information with anyone, but my father has connections within the police force. He knows what killed those people."

Dio's grip tightened on the sleeves of his coat.

"What did kill them?"

Jonathan paused for a few moments, gathering his thoughts before he finally forced out one, sort, single word.

"Vampires."

It felt like the temperature dropped ten degrees just by the sound of the word.

Dio flinched. How much did Jonathan know? Human police officers were useless; none were actually able to track any sort of monster down, much less kill them. It was surprising that they were even able to identify his murders as being one of a vampire's. Never had it even crossed his mind they would ever be any kind of problem.

How did Jonathan know? How did anyone know? How much did they know? How much did Jonathan's father know? What were they doing and how was it going to affect Dio?

It took most of Dio's strength to keep himself from shaking.

"What's this about 'vampires'?" Dio interrogated, as steadily as he could manage.

Jonathan sighed. "My father he, well the reason there haven't been many vampire attacks in the last twenty years or so is because of him."

"What exactly is it that he does?" Dio asked slowly.

"He hunts vampires."

The corner of Dio's eyes twitched.

No wonder there had been little to no competition when it came to killing in the surrounding areas. Vampires never wanted to deal with humans who dedicated their lives to tracking them down. Sure, the police were stupid, but those who considered themselves to be vampire hunters were nowhere near as naive. They actually recognized the existence of vampires, and many knew their weak spots and exactly how to kill them.

It was a pain.

But more importantly, this meant that Jonathan wasn't as ignorant and innocent as Dio had thought. If he had a father who was one of these people it meant he surely had knowledge of what vampires were and how to fight back. Maybe, looking back, not killing Jonathan when he first saw him hadn't been that huge of a mistake. Jonathan might have known how to fight back and that would be not only be annoying, but if things went bad Dio could have been in serious trouble.

Plus, Jonathan's huge and buff body had seemed merely attractive at first but now it was also dangerous. As if he were trained to fight, as if he were trained to throw powerful punches in the exact places which could lead to Dio's downfall.

Suddenly this friendship was a thousand times more sickening than it already was.

It was no longer a companionship between a vampire and a human. It was now a far worse relationship; a vampire and a vampire hunter. In a way, it was no longer a predator and prey, but now the other way around as well. Jonathan had just as much reason to kill Dio as Dio had to kill him, if not more.

If Jonathan knew what Dio was... there would no longer be peaceful nights sitting side by side underneath a tree in the middle of the night. Their friendship would turn into one where both parties would be holding knives at the other's throats, both giving it their all to kill the other.

After all, that was the natural order of things. Perhaps it was just fate that the one and only human Dio ever actually formed any kind of relationship with was one working to end his life. Wouldn't that be ironic? Wouldn't that be tragically beautiful? If there was a God toying with the strings of fate Dio knew he must be laughing at him; laughing at this cruel destiny and cruel world he created for him, Dio Brando.

Dio bit his lip bitterly. He wasn't going to let himself die anytime soon. If God really did find him hilarious then maybe it was time for Dio to kill Jonathan before any of that happened. After all, wasn't it a blessing that he was the only one here who was aware of how the two of them were dancing with life and death, simply by being near one another? Dio was aware, electrically aware, of how they were both set up to be the other's natural predator, yet Jonathan was ignorant of this fact. Jonathan was blind - he still believed they were just another pair of humans with an ordinary, human friendship.

Dio really, really should take advantage of how he was the only one who knew anything. Dio really should kill Jonathan.

However....

"Dio, are you okay?" Jonathan said worriedly. Dio realized he hadn't spoken for a few minutes. "Like I said, if you no longer want to be my friend I would understand."

Dio didn't say anything.

"Dio? I'm sorry but there wasn't much I could do. My mother died by the hands of a vampire not long after I was born. My father is a calm and levelheaded person, but he just came to the conclusion that vampires were a serious issue so he dedicated the rest of his life to tracking them down...."

Dio didn't reply.

"Why aren't you saying anything? Dio?"

Dio let out a deep breath. "So you believe vampires really do exist, then?" He decided that playing stupid was his best option.

Maybe he was going to go through with his plans to kill Jonathan soon, but now wasn't the time. He had to plan out that kind of thing perfectly now that he knew Jonathan wasn't as inexperienced with vampires as Dio thought. He would have to strike when Jonathan least expected it; when his guard was down. After all, he did trust Dio.

However, he could afford to wait some time before he carried out this plan. He wasn't eager to end Jonathan's life quite yet - he could wait a few days. Yes, he had time. After all, the entire situation with Jonathan and his father wasn't exactly a pressing issue yet. All they knew so far was that there was a vampire on the loose, but did they know it was Dio?

No. They didn't. He had time.

Jonathan nodded. "I know they exist. My father has all kinds of souvenirs from vampire killings locked up in this one room of our mansion. I've also seen a few up close when Father took me out on hunts when I was younger, to show me how to defend myself. I know all kinds of things about them from what he's taught me, plus, it would be kind of pointless for me to be taught so many things about them if they weren't real."

"Tch, so this is what you've been doing as of late? Tracking down this so called vampire with your father?"

"Not until yesterday. Before then I was just stressed out by... the deaths of some people I knew... and I'm sorry that I didn't want to talk about it. The reason my dad has only gotten to work on this case only a week or so ago is because he was on a trip to some foreign country to help some town kill a gang of vampires which have been committing genocide there. However, he's back now and he wants my help on the case. Sorry if I won't be able to come here as often."

Dio didn't say anything.

Jonathan didn't have much left to say either.

All that was left was dead silence. Strange how in the past there never was any problem with the two being quiet and neither of them saying anything. It was never awkward before, they were just comfortable with each other and the environment around them.

Tonight was different. The air was tense, the opposite of the calm it usually was. It was even a little hard to breathe, the silence was simply unbearable. It had been a while since Dio was this on edge - he'd never felt how it was like to feel fear ever since he became a vampire. Though he wouldn't exactly call what he was feeling now "fear", "anxiety" was a better word for it. The atmosphere was tense and despite how Jonathan was a human Dio knew he felt it as well.

After many long hard minutes of sitting together in silence, staring at nothing, the quiet was finally broken by Jonathan’s voice.

"Dio, I am sorry if anything I said upset you.” He stood up. “You don't have to come again if you don't want to.”

Dio turned to look away from the other man and didn't say anything. Jonathan must have expected as much and turned away, said his goodbyes and began his walk back the mansion which houses him and his vampire killing father.

However, before Jonathan was quite out of earshot Dio spoke up.

"I will be back,” he declared, loud enough for Jonathan to hear despite their distance. "I will always come back."

--✦--

Jonathan seemed relieved when he saw Dio arrive once again the very next night. He tried to start conversation again, but Dio had a slight headache so he didn't pay attention to most of what Jonathan was saying.

Oddly, however he was glad Jonathan was acting more like himself now. He knew he shouldn't be concerned with what was going on with some human's mental health, but he’d spent so long sitting here with Jonathan acting strange that it was refreshing to hear him go on and on like a chatter box once again. Plus, it was good that they weren't sitting in tense silence again. That was unbearable.

Things went on like this for the next few nights. Most of the brown leaves had already fallen off of the tree Jonathan sat on. Despite how they were both grown adults and there was no point of cleaning up the leaves in the middle of a meadow, Jonathan still thought it would be a fun idea to gather them up and create a leaf pile. Dio humored him by helping him gather the leaves not because he found it fun or anything, he was just feeling bored since stargazing lost its appeal a while ago. It didn't help that the sky was cloudy for the last week or so anyways.

Dio did plan on killing Jonathan, he thought about it a lot, but he kept finding himself make excuses not to do it or simply put it off to a later date. Jonathan's father hadn't gotten any leads on Dio's whereabouts yet so there wouldn't be any point to killing Jonathan just yet. The neighborhood towns were still clueless on how Dio was the one killing their friends and family; in fact people were used to seeing him around that they would even wave at him and try to start conversation occasionally. Dio never gave them much of his time - he’d always held them in contempt, and now he was even more preoccupied with finding his next victim and ending their life quick so he had as much free time as possible to hang out with Jonathan. He supposed the villages must just see him as some introvert traveler or something along those lines. None of them were a threat yet and he hadn't even seen any evidence yet that there were vampire hunters tracking him down.

Nonetheless he wasn’t going to act naive about the entire situation. After all if what Jonathan said was true, he had to be more cautious about how he went about his business. He started wearing longer coats, taller hats and choose scarves that could cover the majority of his face if he pushed them up high enough. It was annoying to wear but it was necessary if he wanted to make sure he wouldn’t be recognized if anyone saw him in the middle of feeding. Still, it wasn't like this was much of a problem anyways. If anyone ever caught him he had no problem with killing them as well, in fact he’d done it multiple times before. He was more productive that way; two kills, one night. That means he didn't have to kill the next night and join Jonathan at an earlier time. That was always a nice bonus.

All in all, Dio didn’t change much of his own daily routine after finding out about the more secretive part of Jonathan’s life. He was more cautious and careful about his actions, but as usual he still did his murders every night before sitting by the tree like always. If he really thought about it, it would make more sense for him to just wait until their nightly meetups were over before he did his killings. That way he could arrive at an earlier time and not spend the rest of the night wandering aimlessly, plotting out how exactly his feeding schedule was going to work out for the next week or so. However if he did do his killings afterwards then he would feel as if he would no longer have a strong excuse to not kill Jonathan; if he was thirsty for blood why wouldn't he just drink the blood which was sitting right next to him, being served on a silver platter? Things are simpler when he could just say he just wasn't hungry because he had already ate before arriving.

Jonathan’s mental health was getting better everyday. Coming out to Dio as some kind of vampire slayer had visibly taken some weight off his shoulders - but there was more to it than that.

Jonathan had fallen in love.

Dio only learned about it a day or so after Jonathan and this young woman started dating. He came to the tree only to find Jonathan rambling about how cute, adorable and amazing some girl named Erina Pendleton was. He would talk about her lovingly, chatter on and on about how they met, how much they loved each other and all the wonderful and fun things they had done together.

Dio definitely didn't think much about it. Jonathan was a young man, surely he would fall in love like any other person who was his age. It wasn't surprising how he would have a lover anyways, given how attractive he was and how much of a gentleman he was as well. Erina should consider themselves a lucky person.

Dio was absolutely and most definitely fine with hearing Jonathan talk on and on about someone who made him happy. No, there definitely wasn’t a knot forming in the pits of his stomach every time Jonathan mentioned her name. No, Dio was not bothered by how quickly Erina got into Jonathan’s heart despite Dio knowing him for a longer period of time. No, Dio was not a jealous person. No, he did not want Jonathan just for himself.

Dio absolutely positively did not care at all about whoever Pendleton was. In fact, maybe he should be happy that Jonathan was happy, but no. Dio found it difficult to be happy about the situation. Yes, sure he enjoyed watching how Jonathan’s eyes lit up or how his smile brighten up the entire meadow. However, what angered Dio was the fact that it wasn’t him who was making Jonathan this happy - it was someone else.

Dio didn't consider himself to be an envious person but it just got under his nerves how they spent all these nights together, yet in the end Jonathan did not fall for him, but instead for someone else. He never tried to go out of his way to make Jonathan happy, or really anyone happy, but suddenly he desired to make Jonathan fall in love with him the way he did with Erina.

She didn't deserve Jonathan; Jonathan was beautiful, strong, intelligent and a thousand other things which made him the only human worthy of Dio's attention. Dio had changed his entire life to center around him; made sure to plan out his day perfectly to allow himself enjoy time with Jonathan every single night. Did Erina ever do anything like this for Jonathan? Did Erina sacrifice time and effort for Jonathan? Did Erina ever kill for Jonathan?

Dio had. Multiple times. He did it every night, put all this effort and dedication into Jonathan but all he got was friendship in return. "Friendship." Before he would have mocked the word and claim they were nothing of the sort. Things were different now. Now that someone else was taking over the spot Dio thought he had in Jonathan's life he felt desires for Jonathan he never felt before.

He would often look at Jonathan and wonder. How many times had those hands held Erina's? How many times had those arms embraced Erina? How many times had those lips kissed Erina's?

Dio was sickened. Nowadays, he often found his mind to be occupied with fantasies about the Joestar. He would imagine how it would be like to kiss Jonathan, make out with him and feel him up and down his body. He might have had sexual desires for Jonathan when they had only just met but oddly those feelings had left while they were forming their friendship. Now, they had resurfaced. He wanted nothing more than to shove his dick in Jonathan's perfect and round ass. Or maybe, if Jonathan so wished, he wouldn't mind being the one to have the dick be shoved in. Dio never really was one to bottom but if Jonathan were the one to fuck him perhaps Dio wouldn't mind. He was sure Jonathan's cock was just as gorgeous and large as the rest of his body was. He really did want to see it.

His fantasies weren't always occupied with sexual things. He used to believe there wasn't much point to romance, in fact he still found it to be an annoying concept, but maybe it wouldn't be a bad thing to experience with Jonathan. He wanted to know how it would feel like to press his own lips against Jonathan's. He wanted to know how soft Jonathan's dark, black hair would feel if he were to run his fingers through it. He wanted to know how firmly Jonathan would hold his hand; whether it would be a gentle and loose grip like his personality would suggest or would it be strong and firm like his muscles told him it would be. Maybe it would be nice if they would be able to hug and lay on top of one another once in a while. Maybe.

Whether Dio had fallen in love with Jonathan was debatable, but it was an unquestionable fact that Dio wanted Jonathan to fall for him more than anything. He needed Jonathan to love him and not Erina. He needed this more than anything in the world. He was going to make Jonathan Joestar his.

Dio was losing interest in what was and was not acceptable for a vampire to be doing. Hadn't he wasted enough time hating the two of them together simply because one was a vampire and the other was a human? Maybe it was about time he let himself go, do whatever he pleased because it was irritating to always hold himself back. If he desired Jonathan, then so be it. He just didn't care anymore whether this was wrong or disgusting or anything.

After all, he was a monster. Monsters can do whatever they pleased. No one can tell a monster what they can or cannot do. They followed their own rules.

It was about time for Dio to create his own rules for himself, or rewrite them to fit his desires. It would even be a good idea to rip and tear apart any rules he created and live without any rules or guidelines. After all, if he did have any he ignored them anyway. The mere fact that he was able to form this friendship with Jonathan was proof of that.

The nightly visits with Jonathan were growing more and more irritating for Dio. He looked forward to them because he was always thinking of Jonathan; always yearning to see that gorgeous face and listen to his beautiful voice again. He liked Jonathan's company; he was the only person in the world Dio can stand and he wanted nothing more than to be with him forever.

On the contrary, they were irritating because Jonathan wouldn't shut up about Erina. Everything was Erina this or Erina that. Erina wore a new dress today. Erina and me went to the carnival. Erina and me went swimming together. Erina laughed at my unfunny joke. Erina's eyes are bright and blue. Erina's hair is soft. Erina has the most beautiful smile I have ever seen.

Erina. Erina. Erina. Erina. Erina. Erina. Erina. Erina. Erina. Erina. Erina. Erina. Erina. Erina. Erina. Erina. Erina. Erina. Erina. Erina. Erina. Erina. Erina. Erina. Erina. Erina. Erina. Erina. Erina. Erina. Erina. Erina. Erina. Erina. Erina. Erina. Erina. Erina. Erina. Erina. Erina. Erina. Erina. Erina. Erina. Erina. Erina. Erina. Erina. Erina. Erina. Erina. Erina. Erina. Erina. Erina. Erina. Erina. Erina. Erina. Erina. Erina. Erina. Erina. Erina. Erina. Erina. Erina. Erina. Erina. Erina. Erina. Erina. Erina. Erina. Erina. Erina. Erina. Erina. Erina.

Dio boiled with rage every moment he heard her name. Yet Jonathan smiled when he spoke of her, smiled his beautiful smile which was full of youth and enthusiasm....

Dio could never stop thinking about that smile. He remembered seeing it before; back before Jonathan had even gone through his phase of depression and silence. Back when the two of them were first getting to know one another. Jonathan would smile seeing Dio learn a new constellation or his face would brighten when Dio showed the slightest interest in the Archaeology Jonathan was studying. It was a smile which he didn't realize he missed until he finally saw it again.

But it was no longer being caused by something Dio did. It was because of Erina. Jonathan used to smile because Dio befriended the lonely young man who sat alone, gazing at the stars every night. He should have been the one Jonathan fell in love with. Not Erina. Whoever she was.

Despite how he hadn't even met her yet, Dio found himself despising Erina more than anyone in the world. He thought about how much he would just love to kill her, feel her blood between his fingers and slash up that "beautiful face" Jonathan talked about. Destroy that "beautiful face". Tear it apart so it was bloody and beaten beyond recognition.

Then Jonathan would be all his.

But despite how much he would love to stab Erina's heart out, he couldn't do that. If he did, Jonathan would fall back into his previous state of depression and maybe this time it would be much worse. He didn't want to go back to that. He preferred to see Jonathan smile, even if it wasn't caused by him. Even if it were because of someone else who made his blood boil simply by existing.

God he hated her.

One night Jonathan even offered the idea of Dio meeting Erina. It was an overwhelmingly ironic conversation. Jonathan talked about how he thought Dio and Erina would "get along well" and it would be great if his girlfriend and his best friend can be "friends" with one another. If he ever met her they would be far from "friends", that was a fact.

"Best friend?" Dio asked, maybe it was a little funny how that was what Jonathan considered him to be despite how Dio always had plans to kill him. Did "best friends" do that to one another? Who knows.

"Well, I thought that was an accurate title for you. I told Erina a lot about you… am I your best friend too?"

Dio didn't want to admit Jonathan was his only friend.

However, he did like the idea that Jonathan was talking about how great and amazing of a friend he was. He hoped Erina would realize how his and Jonathan's friendship was stronger than any petty "romance" she has with him.

The days turned to weeks as time marched forward. Dio's fixation with Jonathan only kept accelerating with time, becoming an addiction which took over his entire life.

It was amazing how Dio would obsess over Jonathan for every second of his life. He found himself falling into the habit of kissing the corpses he killed, pretending they were Jonathan. He wondered how similar their lips tasted compared to Jonathan's. Sure they were the lips of corpses but they still felt warm and soft, given how they had only died moments before Dio started making out with them. How did their lips compare to Jonathan's? How did their bodies compare to Jonathan's? How did their blood compare to Jonathan's?

He knew Jonathan must be a thousand times better than all of them combined, but it was fun to pretend.

Days passed uneventfully. The panic Dio felt when he first learned about Jonathan and his vampire hunting family seemed pathetic and unreasonable. It felt like he overreacted, there was nothing for him to fear. Jonathan didn't seem like he could ever kill Dio, it felt like he trusted him more than anyone in actuality. Would he have said Dio is his best friend if he didn't trust him? Of course not. Jonathan wasn't any kind of threat.

Jonathan's father wasn't much of anything either. Now that Dio knew there were people who were searching for him he killed with more caution, choosing his victims more at random and never in the same place. Maybe this was what helped Jonathan relax, the fact that most of Dio's victims were no longer concentrated in the same place where people who were important in Jonathan's life lived. Either way, his father wasn't anything to worry about. He was worthless and would never catch Dio, the anxiety he felt when he first learned about him was unreasonable. He had nothing to worry about.

He slaughtered and danced with corpses to his hearts content, thinking only about Jonathan Joestar.

--✦--

Finally, sometime in mid-November something changed. The air seemed colder than usual and almost all the leaves have fallen off their little tree. Despite how many have fallen, two or three still hung on. They too shall fall, given time. The wind was chilly and Dio was finding himself having to wear scarves and gloves in order to stand sitting outside in the cold and chilly night.

Jonathan had talked about how he and Erina expected it to snow some time soon and once that happened they planned to go ice skating. Or at least, once the near by lake freezes over. Dio said they were foolish, the lake wouldn't just freeze the moment the snow fell. Jonathan replied saying that was true but it wasn't going to stop him from looking forward to the first snowfall of the year.

What was strange about this night was how it was the second night Dio came to the tree to find no one sitting there, waiting to greet him.

Not again.

What could be the problem this time?

A hundred possibilities ran through Dio's head but the only one which made any sense was the one which involved Jonathan and his father going on a hunt finally. Did Dio screw up? Did something happen to cause Jonathan to not come now out of every single night since the night when Jonathan first told him about his little secret? He said he wouldn't be showing up at the tree as much then but that turned out to not be true, he still showed up every night as if nothing happened. Dio fooled himself into believing maybe it was all just a lie and in reality Jonathan would always come back. Always.

Then, suddenly he heard footsteps.

Jonathan Joestar. So he came after all. Dio sighed in relief, but he was still anxious. It was good that Jonathan was here, but why wasn't he sitting here waiting for him to arrive like usual? He was late and Dio was suspicious.

He turned around swiftly, planning on demanding answers but something stopped him in his tracks.

Jonathan had the same depressed look in his eyes which Dio knew all too well. His face was also pink and puffy, as if he were crying.

Oh God no.

"Jojo?" Dio made sure he was loud and clear enough so Jonathan would notice him despite whatever sadness he was feeling.

"Dio...." Jonathan replied, softly and quietly, as if it hurt just to talk.

"What happened, Jojo?" Did this have anything to do with his dad? Why exactly was he crying?

“Erina.... She’s....”

“She’s what?”

“She…. She’s dead.” Jonathan choked out.

Dio didn't know how, but somehow he already knew this would be the answer.

“When did this happen… How did this happen?” Dio asked, steadily and softly enough as to not break Jonathan in his fragile state.

"She..." He turned his head away and swallowed. "She was found dead last night. I... I only found out sometime this afternoon." He sounded as if he were trying his hardest not to cry in front of Dio. "She, she was found bloody and beaten not far from her home."

Jonathan couldn't contain himself for long and tears started forming in his eyes.

"They-they wouldn't tell me... They won't tell me what caused her death, but... They didn't want me near her corpse but I- I had to see... I had to... and she...."

He couldn't finish his sentence.

Dio didn't know what to do. He's never dealt with people who were grieving before, or at least never people who he actually cared about grieving. Of course this wasn't surprising given how Jonathan was the only person Dio ever cared about but it was still inconvenient how little he knew when it came to dealing with the situation.

He just stood there, watching Jonathan try his hardest to keep himself together. He didn't say anything. He only watched Jonathan try his best to control his breathing and wipe his tears away.

They stood like that for a minute or so, but it felt longer. They might as well have been staring at each other for an entire decade, saying nothing and neither thinking clearly.

Suddenly Dio remembered something. He might have never comforted anyone in his life before but that didn't mean he hadn't seen other's do it. How many times had he seen a human crying pathetically over some loved one they'd lost to Dio, and being comforted by a loved one of theirs who were still alive? More than a few times, Dio was sure. Sometimes he only saw people grieving over his murders from a distance but there were moments when people walked in on a scene they should not have. He would always have to kill them too which, was productive, but annoying nonetheless.

He remembered what they did to comfort each other. They would hug and cry into each other’s shoulders and often one would pat the other on the back.

Perhaps it was Dio’s turn to do the same.

He moved over to Jonathan, moved swiftly and abruptly towards the sorrowful man and wrapped his arms around him. Jonathan flinched; as if he didn't expect Dio to do something like this and it scared him, but he gave in and melted into Dio's embrace. Jonathan's arms hugged Dio right back and laid his head on Dio's shoulder.

This might be one of the most twisted moments Dio had with Jonathan yet. He was sure he must have been responsible for Erina’s death without even realizing it. He never cared about who he killed; how was he to know how Erina looked like to know she was the one he was murdering?

He might not have known it at the time but now that he thought about it, it should have been obvious who he was killing when the deed was being done. She did look exactly how Jonathan had described her: blue eyes, blonde hair, perfect porcelain skin and beautiful in every way. Maybe that was why he decided to kill her, she resembled the woman he hated so much perfectly. Turns out it really was her. Figures. Maybe he would have slashed her up more if he had known, but no matter. The deed had been done and the bitch was dead.

He didn't know how he felt about the entire thing, if he was perfectly honest with himself. Sure he was glad Erina was dead, but there was a reason why he wouldn't have killed her if he knew who she was. Jonathan being despondent in anyway was a pain and things worked out better for everyone if he remained carefree and blissfully ignorant of everything Dio had been doing. A dispirited Jonathan was horrible to deal with.

However, it was nice to hold Jonathan like this. He smelled wonderful, his hair was soft and his embrace was warm. This was what Dio had been wanting for so long, wasn't it? To hold Jonathan Joestar in his arms, to be able to touch his skin and feel his soft breathes. Sure he was crying, sure he was weeping, but at least Dio was holding him, embracing him, as he had dreamed for so long.

Yes, maybe this wasn't so bad. Erina was dead so she was taken out of the way. Sure Jonathan was depressed but that could be fixed given time, hopefully. He would put all his time and effort into fixing Jonathan if he had to. Maybe he could show him just how much he cared for and loved him, maybe more hugs would help? Maybe kisses? Maybe more? It depended on how things would go. Maybe he could even steal some pretty things from places he passed by and give them to Jonathan as gifts. He would do whatever was necessary.

This entire situation was ironic, now that he thought about it. He killed the woman who loved the person he loved. Now, he was comforting the very person who had lost their loved one to him. He, Dio, had killed Erina who was Jonathan's lover and now Dio was the one to comfort Jonathan over his murder. Yet Jonathan wasn't aware of any of this. As far as Jonathan knew Dio was just some friend who just wanted to help him feel better. He had no idea of how in love, how obsessed, Dio was with him. He didn't know Dio was the one to kill Erina either. He didn't know much of anything about any of that, really. He didn't even have any clue that Dio wasn't human.

It was ironic but ideal. The ideal situation - he was so glad Jonathan didn't know anything. This way, Dio could be the one to comfort and care for Jonathan until he was full again. He might have been the one to break and destroy his spirit by accident but he would also be the one to pick up those pieces and put him back together again. Maybe Jonathan would fall in love with him then; fall in love with the one who made him feel alive again after he lost his girlfriend.

Dio would love that. It would be perfect, Jonathan would love him and Erina would no longer be an issue. It was perfect.

He gripped the back of Jonathan more tightly, as if he would never let go. He loved how warm Jonathan's body was against his cold and vampiric one. He could feel the blood pumping through Jonathan's veins. It would be tasty, wouldn't it? His mouth was only mere inches away from his neck too. He could bite him now. He could tear him apart. If anytime was the time to suck the life force out of the Joestar this was the moment.

But he didn't. Of course he didn't. He was far beyond this kind of action with Jonathan anyways. He was far too in love with him to do anything like that now.

His feelings were peculiar, he supposed; he felt strangely mixed when it came to his emotions. He did feel happy about how he had everything figured out and knew that he could fix things. However, there was a strange emptiness he felt. The wind was chilling and Jonathan was crying on his shoulder, weeping softly and murmuring things about blaming himself; blaming himself for Erina's death. Mumbling softly that how he should have been there, between his tears.

Dio could only grip Jonathan; keep his arms wrapped around him and say nothing. He just let Jonathan cry, it was good for him to let it out. Dio would just have to deal with whatever was left of him once he had no more tears left to shed.

Suddenly he noticed something. The sky was open and vast tonight. It was clear and a million stars shone down on the two of them. Some would think it would be more fitting if it were raining to fit the tragic mood but Dio thought that seeing stars at this moment was just perfect. He didn't have much to say before, but now he had words in his mind he simply had to let out.

"Jojo, do you notice the stars tonight?"

"Dio...?" Jonathan sniffed, lifting his head off Dio's shoulder.

"Jojo, look at the stars. They are very bright tonight and the sky is clear."

"Why are you pointing this out...? I don't feel like stargazing tonight, I can't...."

Dio sighed. "Don't you remember that one myth you once told me long ago? About dead people turning into stars when they died?"

"Yes...?" Jonathan asked softly.

"Erina is somewhere up there."

Jonathan stiffened in Dio's arms. "Do you think so?"

"Of course she's up there. She can be any one of those stars up there. She can be watching us right now, watching you cry over her." Of course he didn't really believe in such things, but this was what Jonathan needed to hear.

Jonathan pulled away from Dio's embrace and stared up at the sky. "Thank you Dio. Thank you for helping me."

Before Dio can say anything along the lines of "you're welcome" Jonathan put his hands together in a position which looked like someone praying.

"Erina, if you are listening, I want you to know I'm so sorry. I'm sorry I didn't get rid of which ever vampire which murdered you when I had the chance. I should have made more of an effort towards hunting vampires, since the very beginning. This–this should have never happened. I wasn't there to protect you and I–I'm so sorry. So sorry...." Tears had formed in his eyes again and he was shaking.

He then pulled his hands apart and looked Dio in the eyes again. "Thank you for helping me, Dio. You have done allot to help me and I'm so grateful. I believe I'm going to need some time for myself now, so I'm going to take my leave now. I'll see you again at a later time. Good bye, Dio."

Dio nodded and Jonathan turned around swiftly and walked back to his home like usual.

What was with the strange emptiness Dio was feeling?

--✦--

Dio expected he would be in for another night of nursing Jonathan's feelings. That was his plan, take the broken pieces of Jonathan Joestar and put them back together, one step at a time. It might take time but Dio was prepared for that. He was going to be patient and make Jonathan feel alive again; given the proper amount of time.

But that wasn't exactly what happened.

Dio walked up the tree the very next night, earlier than usual because he didn't feel like bothering with killing someone today and was far more interested in checking up on how Jonathan was feeling.

It wasn't at all like what he was expecting.

Instead of being depressed and melancholy like Dio thought he would he looked determined. Jonathan's posture was firm and purposeful; there was fire in his eyes.

"Dio, I've been thinking over what happened last night and I've made a decision."

"What kind?" Dio asked, surprised by Jonathan's mood.

"I will defeat the vampire. I will put an end to the nightmare which has been haunting so many people here. I have been ignoring the issue, spending time with Erina and you, I should have been spending that time tracking down the vampire. I regret not doing this so much and I owe it to Erina, and everyone who has ever lost their lives to this monster to bring this all to an end. Whoever this vampire is has been allowed to roam freely for far too long and too many lives have been lost. I won't be able to live with myself if I don't end this soon. I cannot let anyone else feel the pain I did when Erina died." Jonathan declared, his voice filled with emotion and a burning determination unlike no other.

Jonathan had his mind set on killing the vampire.

He was in for a huge surprise when he found out who really had been sucking the life away from his little towns and villages.

It appeared that Jonathan must have been tired of being depressed. He must have felt like he was useless sitting around and sulking. He must have felt guilty for Erina's death and felt that he had to make amends; that he had to fix things the best he could. He must feel like the one responsible for Erina's death had to be brought to justice and he was the only one who can do just that.

Jonathan couldn’t do much if he was sitting around crying, now can he?

Dio bit his lip. He should have expected something like this would happen, he’d completely forgot the fact that Jonathan was a vampire hunter when he’d made up his mind about comforting Jonathan every night to make the man fall for him. These were some complications he hadn't expected. He thought Jonathan would end up a mess and would be broken for weeks, months or possibly years if he were that attached to the girl.

He hadn't expected to see burning determination in his eyes.

"I hope you understand, Dio. I will start my search tonight. I will be leaving in a bit and wouldn't be able to sit here with you tonight, or any night really; I'm sorry about this but I thought you had the right to know where I would be. I may not be here for a few days to focus on catching them but once I have found them and put an end to this all we can celebrate together, if you'd like. I'd really enjoy that...."

Jonathan stared into Dio's eyes with those same blue eyes Dio first saw long ago. Deep blue ones, filled with hope and burning passion. There was hurt in those eyes, a pain which Jonathan was going to learn from to never allow to happen again. It was a pain which was understanding, he could look at others and sympathize with them easily because he would know what they had been through and know that they could overcome it. Those eyes were intense and had an inner strength to them. It was laughable that Dio had thought eyes like those could be broken so easily. They could overcome anything.

He might look strong and determined but the innocence Dio always saw in him still remained. He had no idea that Dio was the very vampire he was looking for. He truly believed Dio was a good person. He truly believed Dio was a human. He truly believed Dio was a twenty year old human who was studying law, had an interest in astrology and enjoyed taking long walks in the middle of the night. Jonathan had no idea, did he? He was too blissfully ignorant and too trusting. It would lead to his downfall, Dio knew it.

Why did these eyes have to look so beautiful? They were so deep and pure Dio couldn't help but love them. Love them and every other part of Jonathan which made him who he was. He desired them more than anything in the world. They were much more breathtaking when he looked alive. So breathtaking and beautiful... Dio adored them.

"Sure, that’s fine with me." Dio said, saying exactly what he knew Jonathan wanted to hear. "I don't mind at all. Do what needs to be done. We can always meet back here again when it is finally all over." He was lying through his teeth, but it was fine. Jonathan couldn't tell the difference between Dio's lies and the truth anyways.

"I'm so glad you understand. Thank you Dio." Jonathan smiled sadly, as if he were saying goodbye to an old friend. He then pulled Dio into a hug, wrapping his arms around him and held him tight in his embrace. "Thank you so much for befriending me. Thank you for being there for me when I had no one else to turn to. Thank you for keeping me company. Thank you so much for everything, I'll miss you while I'm gone and on my search. I'll be looking forward to when we can sit by this tree again; I've always looking forward to seeing you again. Ever since we first met if I'm perfectly honest. Thank you for everything."

Jonathan said all of this while firmly hugging Dio, similarly to the way they had hugged just the night before. Only now Jonathan was firm and strong as he held Dio, but he was still warm and lovely to embrace. Dio let his arms wrap around him and held him there as they stood together, feeling each other's breathes in the cold, wintry air.

Dio felt like they could have held each other there for an eternity.

Eventually, however, Jonathan did let go. He let Dio go and stepped back, said a few more farewells, asked Dio to wish him luck and eventually began walking away. He walked away down the same dirt path the two of them always walked, every night, for the past few months.

Dio watched him slowly disappear down the road. This was different from what he thought would happen. Whatever, there was nothing he could do about it. He would just have to adjust to these new developments. Maybe time was finally catching up to them. They couldn't just stay here pretending they were the same species for the rest of their lives. Yes, he was a fool thinking things could go smoothly and perfectly for them forever. The truth was Dio was a vampire who needs blood and Jonathan was a human vampire hunter who was grieving the loss of his fellow humans, who died by Dio's hands. Something had to snap eventually.

Dio opened his mouth and placed a single finger on his right fang. Yes, it's still sharp as usual. Still blood stained as well, he was positive. Out of all this time Jonathan never noticed. Never noticed his unusually sharp teeth, or even how unnatural his skin was, being far too pale to be healthy. Jonathan never noticed anything. Never questioned Dio about anything. Never considered the idea that Dio might not be the kind human which he appeared to be. None of this ever crossed his mind.

Dio swallowed, lowering his hand from his mouth. So this was it, was it? Jonathan couldn't be left in the dark forever. The truth had to come out, eventually. They were walking on thin ice all along, befriending one another. None of this was supposed to happen. Yet it did. Now they had to pay the price. One of them had to kill the other, there was no way around it. One of them would fall, it was just a matter of time. It was always a matter of time. Since the very beginning it had always been like that, and Dio was only acknowledging this now.

Maybe he always knew. It was likely that was the case. He just never accepted it, thinking the two of them could dance with death forever. That would only be able to happen in a perfect world. This world wasn't that perfect. It wouldn't ever allow two people like them to be happy together. It just wouldn't happen.

He ran his hands over the tree's trunk. So this was the tree which started everything, right? The one place they used to meet up every night. This was the spot which was the center of their entire relationship; if this tree didn't exist nothing Jonathan and Dio did together would have ever happened. Perhaps if Dio never bothered to stop by this tree and got interested in Jonathan's stargazing Jonathan wouldn't be alive now. He would have just been another unnamed victim of Dio's vampiric cruelty.

That's strange to think about; to think of a world where he did just kill Jonathan on sight, like he was supposed to. He'd grown so attached to Jonathan the idea of him not being a part of his life was hard to imagine. He wondered if he would be able to handle Jonathan no longer being alive.... He used to think he would be able to handle any kind of loss due to him never getting attached to people before. However, now that his secret was truly being threatened to be revealed he was no longer so sure. Would he really be able to kill Jonathan? It was weird that he was even considering it being impossible; he'd killed hundreds of times in the past. He should be able to kill one young man like he would any other.

It was hurting his head thinking about this. What was he to do now? Jonathan wouldn't be showing up at the tree until the vampire was dead, meaning there was no point in returning to this place again anytime soon. Funny how Jonathan promised to meet Dio again here, he didn't know Dio was the one he was hunting for. They would never have another peaceful night here, never again.

Since he could no longer come to the tree, then what was Dio to do now? The answer was simple; Jonathan was going to learn the truth. There was nothing left for Dio to do and it would be against his nature to just run away from town and never see Jonathan again. No, Jonathan was going to learn who Dio truly was. He was going to find out eventually and it appeared that there would be no more putting it off for any longer.

Jonathan was going to find his vampire, that was for certain. He was in for quite the surprise, but it would be interesting nonetheless.

Dio wondered how he would react. He was actually looking quite forward to it, now that he thought about it. He loved Jonathan and uncovered his secrets and loved him for who he truly was. Now it was time for Jonathan to do the same for Dio.

He walked back down the path, there was no point in sticking around much longer. It was time to reveal himself to Jonathan, if indirectly. He thought about all the little strategies he had to make sure he was never caught and decided to throw them out the window. He would kill more than he usually did. He would no longer have his murders be so scattered and unpredictable. He would make patterns to lure Jonathan in, make it easy for him to find him. Kill dozens hoping Jonathan would find him. He would follow the hints and clues Dio would leave until he found him, covered in blood and corpses, as the same Dio he had always known.

That was the plan, and he did exactly that. He ransacked houses, tore out the throats and guts of his victims and if he wasn’t thirsty enough to drink their blood he would leave many to rot and die, but would always make sure they had the signature vampire holes in their necks before moving on. Blood stained his clothing and people screamed, loud into the night. Ah, wouldn’t this catch Jonathan’s attention? Surely Jonathan would notice their ear-splitting screams. He often caught the attention of several terrified civilians, but if they weren’t Jonathan he didn’t care and would slaughter them all.

Where was Jonathan? Where could he be? Where did he think starting his search would be best? How long would it be until he found Dio…. He was getting bored just going around senselessly murdering people; waiting until Jonathan found him at last. Any appeal or thrill in killing had had left long ago. During the last few years he had killed because he was thirsty. Now, he was just getting anxious. With every murder he committed he wondered if this would be the one Jonathan would run in on and do his best to stop, to make petty attempts to save the life of whoever Dio was sucking the life force out of. It would be quite attractive to see Jonathan playing hero like that.

Ah, only a few days had gone by of him murdering senselessly and he was already getting impatient.

When would Jonathan finally find him with crimson liquid flowing between his teeth?

--✦--

It took a grand total of three days before Jonathan finally found Dio. Three days filled with murder sprees and showing off his fangs, making sure his attacks looked just like the ones a vampire would commit. Honestly, he was beginning to think Jonathan would never find him despite how obvious he made it. Could he possibly left any more hints of where his attacks would be? Who knew - it wasn’t like he is accustomed to killing so clumsily anyways. Perhaps he was just too good at murdering without ever being found out.

Either way, it was no matter. Jonathan eventually did find him, given time. The sun had only gone down an hour or so ago; it hadn't been that long since Dio first got up. He walked to the place he had been planning to choose his next victim at, a place which would be easy for Jonathan to find if he had been paying attention to the patterns and hints Dio was leaving for him.

He choose a normal house belonging to a normal family in a normal village not far from Joestar manor. It was a house of three, Dio could tell from seeing it a few times before. A house which contained a man, a daughter, and a young son. Though perhaps calling it a house was an overstatement; it was more of a cabin if anything.

He did the usual. He snuck in through the window and hid in the darkness. A method he was quite fond of was hiding, holding onto the ceiling. His legs were strong enough for that kind of jump and his vampire claws and strength were enough to keep him latched on there for as long as he needed to. It was easy and efficient - no one really looked at their ceilings when they first walk into their rooms, and if they did it was often far too dark for them to ever notice someone like Dio hiding up there. Then, once they did notice him, it was easy for him to just drop down on them and kill them quickly and efficiently. They only had seconds to react before their life was taken from them. It happened almost instantly.

And this was exactly what he did. It seemed like only the girl was home, she must have been somewhere in her teen years. Maybe older. He wouldn't be surprised if she were about nineteen, give or take a few years.

She didn't exactly scream. She seemed too in shock to do so, which had happened with a few others in the past. He'd found that the stronger and braver people were the ones who didn't scream and he had to admire that, at least somewhat.

It didn't take long for her to die at all. His fingernails were long and pointed, as if they were claws. It wasn't hard at all for him to tear her skin using just his bare hands, he was experienced after all. He tore the skin around her neck and ripped her throat out, making sure she was dead. Blood spilled onto the floor and her tense muscles went limp, realizing they would never move on their own again. He then opened his mouth and bore his fangs into her neck. He wasn't trying to be clean at all, the more blood which pooled on the floor and the more blood which covered his face, hands, and clothing the better.

It wasn't like he was trying to look clean to pass as a human to meet Jonathan at the tree again. No, for once in his life the messier he was the better.

Suddenly, he heard sounds coming from outside. It sounded like two people were having a conversation. Well, not exactly what you would call a conversation. It sounded like a little boy was panicking, freaking out about something and a grown man was following him; listening to what he had to say.

It didn't take long for the door to be forced open in the middle of his feeding session.

"Th-There! That's the man who–" The little boy ran in the cabin only to stop in his tracks. "S-SISTER!" He screamed.

Dio turned his head to see whoever had entered the cabin. He expected the girl’s little brother to show up with their father. Instead, he got a pleasant surprise.

His face lit up with joy when he realized who was now standing in front of him.

It was Jonathan Joestar.

Finally.

The man at the door froze up. Yes, it was Jonathan. He finally had finally found him. His hair was still dark and beautiful as usual, his clothing looked like something which would be more comfortable to fight in than his usual suits. He had a gun slung over his shoulder and held a sword in his hand. The boy must have lead him here, he might have seen Dio sneak in or something. Dio wouldn't be surprised - things like that did happen.

Too bad they were too late to save this girl’s life.

Jonathan wore his determined and intense expression for only a second. It wasn't on for long but Dio saw it - saw how Jonathan must have thought that his hunt was finally over. How he must have believed that he had finally found his vampire and he wouldn't allow them to leave here alive. He must have believed that he could go back to his normal life after today; that he would make a brave stand against the vampire, slay them and then celebrate with Dio the very next day. That was his plan.

Dio could see that plan shatter in Jonathan's eyes the instant he recognized who was standing in front of him. He saw just how taken off guard he was. He saw just how shocked he was; how much he wanted to deny what was standing right in front of him. He didn't understand what was right in front of his eyes.

"Jojo...." Dio breathed in the tense silence.

Jonathan was frozen and his mouth was agape. He was going pale and Dio could see his pointed sword quivering as he held it.

"Dio....?" He asked, not trusting his eyes.

"Joestar?" The little boy said softly, wondering why Jonathan wasn't attacking.

Dio took his blood covered finger and raised it to his mouth, licking away the blood and showing Jonathan his fangs for the first time.

"So, Jojo, I believe we've met before." Dio smiled. "I'm sure you remember me, correct?"

Jonathan was paralyzed. He couldn't say a word. He kept his sword in his hand but he couldn't do anything. He couldn't move a single muscle. Dio could hear his heart beating, pulsing blood throughout his entire body.

Well, if Jonathan weren't going to do anything Dio might as well do all the talking.

"You were on a hunt for a vampire, correct? That's why you haven't been at the tree lately. You told me this right to my face, didn't you? How you wouldn't see me again until the monster was dead, am I wrong? Well, I believe thing's didn't go quite according to plan for you. We've met up again yet I'm still alive, aren't I?"

Jonathan couldn't say a word. He was trembling; Dio could see the sweat on his face.

The truth must hurt. Dio couldn't blame him. Humans were naturally weak creatures anyway.

It wouldn't hurt to rub it in a bit more.

"All this time, I was the vampire. I was the monster who killed all those people. I was the one who bathed in their blood every night in between our little meetups. It was me, all along."

He paused. Suddenly an idea came to him which he hadn't thought of before. He was surprised it didn't come to him earlier, it was an excellent idea. Things could work out well for him and Jonathan.

He couldn't help but smile at his revelation.

"Meet me back at the tree, one more time. Jojo. Everything will be settled tomorrow night." Dio said, his voice cutting the air. "Don't worry, I will wait on any additional killings until then."

With that, he left. He left the house the same way he came in. Right out the window, without making much noise at all.

He left Jonathan standing there frozen in his spot. He stood there, left with a corpse and the tears of a child who has just lost his big sister.

As he ran off, he could almost hear someone calling his name. Calling after him, trying to catch up to wherever Dio was going.

But then again, that could have just been part of Dio's imagination.

--✦--

The next day was cold. Still no snow, but frost was forming on the grass and Dio swore he could see his breath in front of his face. It wasn't surprising, December was only a week or so away. Soon November would be gone and the snow would settle in.

Jonathan did mention how he was looking forward to the first snow, if Dio recalled correctly. Back when Erina was alive he told Dio of his plans to ice skate with her once the snow settled in and the lake froze over.

God, Erina wasn't even dead for a week yet, wasn't she? It wasn't that long ago since Erina was still alive, but it felt longer. It felt like a long time for Dio and he was sure Jonathan could say the same. It must have felt longer for Jonathan given how he was the one who loved her in the first place.

Erina didn't matter anymore. Why was Dio even thinking of her anyway? She doesn't matter anymore.

He walked down the path to the tree just like he always did until the last couple of nights broke that pattern. He could see Jonathan's figure as he walked up. So he did show up after all. He listened to what Dio told him to do.

Dio grinned. Good.

Jonathan wasn't sitting on a branch of the tree like he usually did. He was standing up, not far from the tree itself and facing directly towards Dio.

Even from a distance Dio could see the gun he had pointed at him.

Dio wasn't worried. If Jonathan shot him, that was fine. Vampires couldn't even be killed by bullets anyways and knowing the kind of profession the Joestars were in he was sure Jonathan knew that too. Vampire hunters mostly used guns to stun or injure vampires so they can have an advantage when it came to getting close enough to them to use their knives and swords to chop their heads off. From what Dio's heard, a vampire hunters usual plan of action was to focus on chopping off the vampire's head and then leave it out in the sunlight and force it to disintegrate to dust. Was Jonathan really ready to do that kind of thing to Dio? Well, tonight was the night they would both find out the answer to that question.

Dio walked forward, slowly and steadily. He was in no rush. Things could go well here tonight if he played his cards right.

Jonathan certainly came prepared. Dio could see that he had a long hunting rifle pointed directly at him. Now that he was closer he also noticed the knives on his belt and the sword slung over his shoulder. Did he have that many knives hanging on his belt when he was hunting last night? Maybe, Dio didn't remember. At least he remembered the kind of outfit he wore then, which was the same thing he was wearing now.

Once Dio was within a good distance he stopped in his tracks. He observed Jonathan, his expression was hard to describe. It seemed like he had almost lost the will to fight but still hung on to the kind of determination he had only a day or so ago. He hung on to whatever remained of it because he knew that was the right thing to do. The only problem was it wasn't what he wanted to do. Now that he had a face to apply to the monster he was hunting suddenly he didn't want to kill it anymore. But he had to, Dio could see it in his eyes that he was forcing himself.

He looked confused and lost. He was barely hanging on and desperately attempting to revive the firey determination he had not long ago.

"Jojo," Dio said, "So you did show up after all." He didn't even need to say this; he knew Jonathan would come. There wasn't even a slight possibility that he wouldn't.

"Dio." Jonathan scrunched his thick eyebrows. Despite his obvious emotional turmoil, he looked furious. "D-don't say another word!" He positioned his gun better, getting into a better position which would help him aim it right. However, his attempts to aim were futile because he was shaking. The entire gun was trembling with his body, making it difficult for him to shoot properly. He kept his finger on the trigger and Dio could see the conflict his mind was going through. Dio was a monster who needed to be disposed of and Jonathan knew that. Despite this, Dio was his friend, his only friend, his best friend and Jonathan couldn't bear losing him too.

Dio saw the angry tears in his eyes; the feelings of betrayal he's been going through ever since yesterday's disclosure. Why couldn't he kill the man who killed Erina?

He couldn't kill him. Dio could see it. Jonathan couldn't kill Dio no more than Dio could kill Jonathan.

Eventually, Jonathan gave up. He lowered his gun and wiped the sweat from his face. He was still trembling but he attempted to calm himself enough to say a few words he had been meaning to ask.

"Answer this for me... please... why did you befriend me?" He asked, cutting through the tense air and his voice sounding hoarse. "What have you been doing here all this time? Why did you spend time with me? Was all of this some trick to torture me slowly? Was our entire friendship a lie? Why did you put so much time and effort into me? Why did you even allow me to live even when you found out I was a hunter? Why did you allow me to live in the first place? Why did you spend so much time with me, who is just some human? WHY ME?" Jonathan was shouting his questions by this point. "WHY HAVEN'T YOU KILLED ME YET? AFTER ALL THIS TIME WHY AM I STILL ALIVE?"

After Jonathan let out all his frustration with his rapid fire questioning he stood there breathing heavily. He tried to take a deep breath but instead ended up coughing. Letting so much cold air into his lungs after yelling so much did nothing good to his health and he gagged on his own throat for a minute or two before he swallowed, trying to put himself back together.

Dio didn't say anything for a few minutes, allowing Jonathan to have his cough attack and then allowed him a few moments of silence to gather his thoughts again.

He knew exactly what he wanted to say.

"You asked me why I did everything, correct?" Dio said, his voice seeping into the air like poison. "The answer is simple. It's because I'm in love with you."

Jonathan flinched. Dio stepped closer to him.

"I did everything for you. Didn't you realize there was a correlation between the time I began meeting you here and the time the vampire murders began? I've been in love with you for a long time, killing people in the surrounding areas of this tree just to quench my thirst so you wouldn't have to be my next victim. I changed my entire life so I could see you every night, I never missed a night did I? I love you Jojo, I killed all those people for you. It was all done so I could be with you. I did it for you."

Jonathan's eyes widened and he looked like he was going to vomit. His expression warped into one of pure horror along side with another crushing emotion; guilt. The weight of what Dio was telling him was too much for him to bear. The idea that dozens of people were killed all because of him was too much for him to handle. People died because of their nightly visits. The visits he eagerly looked forward to every night were slaughtering his friends and neighbors; people died to allow them to have peaceful nights together with the company of each other.

Jonathan looked like he wanted to say something but he couldn't form his words. His mouth hung open and tears formed in his eyes. He couldn't say a word.

Dio decided to continue.

"You are an incredibly beautiful and attractive young man." Dio said, walking up right in front of Jonathan. "That's what first appealed to me about you. How handsome your appearance is and just how gorgeous your body is, your hair is and especially your eyes are. I admit it, originally I did plan on killing you. This soon changed once I began talking to you. You say exceptionally intriguing things about the sky and the stars above us. The way you talk about whatever's on your mind captivated me. I never felt like that with anyone before in my entire life. You are so intelligent, so insightful, so imaginative and so adorable in every way that I couldn't help but find myself loving you. You enjoyed seeing me and being with me and I never experienced anything like that in my life. Killing all those people was worth it. It was worth it to hear your voice, be in your company, feel loved. Don't worry, they didn't die for nothing. It was all for a good cause."

Dio touched Jonathan's face. He ran his cold fingers over Jonathan's cheeks and placed the tips of his fingers there as he continued, staring into his eyes. "We can't be happy the way we are, can we? Think about it, you are a human who was born to a father who raised you to hunt vampires. Meanwhile, I am a vampire who thirsts for human blood but was somehow able to fall for you. There are only two people in your life who you love and care for who also feel the same way for you too: Erina and I. Sadly, Erina is dead now. That leaves only me, correct? You did once say that I was your 'best friend', if I'm not mistaken. I love you, I accepted you for being a vampire hunter. Can't you return the favor? Can you accept me for being a vampire?"

Jonathan tensed up when Dio touched him and tried to move his head away from Dio. That was fine, Dio easily moved his hand to adjust to Jonathan's sudden movements. He grasped Jonathan's chin and moved it back towards him, making it so their eyes were only inches apart from each other. Why must Jonathan be so beautiful and breathtaking, even now when he was at his breaking point?

"Like I said before, we can't be happy together the way we are.... It isn't hard to see. We have every reason to kill one another the way we are. Yet neither of us can do it. I spent all these nights telling myself this night would be the one. This night would be the one where I kill you. I was never able to do it. Meanwhile, you can't pull the trigger, can you?" Dio said, moving his other hand to grip the wrist of the arm which Jonathan still held the gun in, which now was dangling limply and pointing towards the ground.

"Do you love me too? Is that why you can't shoot? I'm the only one you have left now. The only problem we have is that we are different species. You are a human and I am a monster. I can change this though. It doesn't have to be this way. Sure, I can't become human but don't forget. Every vampire was once a human."

Jonathan's breath caught in his throat.

Dio smiled lovingly. "That's right, we don't have to be separate species. Wouldn't it be nice if we were both vampires? Think about it, you aren't really accepted in this town. You are lonely and feel isolated because people reject you out of jealousy of your wealth. Your father hasn't been the best parent for you growing up and your mother has been dead ever since you were a child. Your girlfriend is dead and so are dozens of the neighbors you grew up living around. You don't have anyone left, don't you? You only have me, your very best friend. You can't bear losing the last person you have left who makes you feel loved and appreciated. I can fix this."

Dio could hear just how rapidly Jonathan's heart was beating. He didn't say anything and was a good listener. That was good because Dio had more to say.

"Wouldn't it be nice if you could just run away from all the people who cause you harm? You could run away with me. We could leave this town, run far away. I would never hurt anyone here again. We would have moved on. No one I kill would be anyone you know anymore. Don't worry about the whole vampire thing anyways. You wouldn't have to hurt anyone, I'll do it all for you. Drinking blood isn't that bad anyways. We could live together for eternity. I'll do anything for you."

Jonathan's face was still horribly sad. He had lost any kind of determination he had earlier. He just looked anxious and disconsolate. He hadn't stopped shaking yet and his breathing was uneven. He still looked terrified. He was still completely paralyzed.

"Why so sad?" Dio continued, "Don't you have anything to say? Don't you realize that I love you?"

With that, Dio finally did what he'd wanted to do for a long time.

He grabbed Jonathan's head and pulled his lips closer to his, and kissed him.

Jonathan's eyes widened but he didn't fight or thrash or anything. There were tears streaming down his face but he was still kissing Dio. Dio wrapped his arms around Jonathan's back in a manner which was incredibly similar to the time they hugged when Erina died. Jonathan was still shaking but he held on to Dio's waist, not fighting him at all and allowed Dio's tongue to enter his mouth.

The two stood there kissing and holding each other. Dio was enjoying it so much; Jonathan's mouth was everything he ever imagined it to be and more. It truly was better than any corpse he kissed. His lips were soft and he could move his tongue inside his mouth forever if he could.

Jonathan was still tense. Dio knew why. He could feel Jonathan's tongue licking the tips of Dio's fangs. He could tell he was finally tasting the blood.

That was when Jonathan fought. He pulled his head away from Dio and forced Dio's hands off of him.

Oddly, Jonathan seemed to have stopped shaking. A part of him seemed to have finally accepted the kind of person Dio was. He was no longer paralyzed or frozen. He was finally getting over his shock. He pulled away as if his hopes and dreams were shattered and he accepted it. He was no longer in denial of what was before him. He now knew exactly the kind of person Dio was. He wasn't going to pretend it wasn't true, it was time for the truth to settle in. His eyes were sad and desolate like they once have been, many months ago. He was broken but he was strong enough to face the reality of the situation.

Jonathan sighed.

"You aren't the person I believed you were." He said it slowly and despondently. "I don't have any plans of ending any lives myself. I won't become a vampire. I will live on as a human. You are right. I cannot kill you. Since you cannot kill me either our only choice is to live on without each other. I'm letting you live because maybe you are right... maybe I love you too in some uncanny way. If you loved me you would let me go as well. Remember long ago, when we first talked about the myth with the sky? You asked me how would I feel if a ghost wanted me dead.... I replied that I wouldn't mind because I sympathize with them. I guess I sympathize with you too. We will go our separate paths, still, I ask of one thing of you."

Jonathan looked straight into Dio's eyes. Dio saw how intense they were despite how lifeless Dio knew he was inside. They were eyes which had lost the innocence Dio had known them to possess. He looked heartbroken to a certain extent but still managed to gather the strength to transform his thoughts into words.

"My only wish is for you to never touch this town or any of the surrounding villages again. Never see me again. Never come to the tree again. This, would be our final meeting. After this we will never meet again. I'm sorry Dio, its been fun, but this is the end. That’s simply how it has to be."

Jonathan gave Dio one last sad smile before he turned around and proceeded on his walk home, as if it were any other day.

He disappeared along the dirt path the same way as he always had in the past.

--✦--

The next few days went by uneventfully. Dio left the tree not long after Jonathan had and decided to go to bed earlier than usual. He was emotionally exhausted from everything which had happened. He wanted to be angry at Jonathan for not taking his offer at eternal life with Dio but he couldn't blame him. Jonathan was a human after all who believed in human morals. Of course a vampire hunter would rather die than become a vampire themselves. He should have expected as much, but he had to try regardless.

He spent the next few days doing nothing. He didn't kill anyone predominantly because he felt unmotivated to do so due to what Jonathan told him. He felt drained and the world felt bleak. What was the point in anything if he wasn't able to spend time with Jonathan?

Who knew. Did it matter? No, nothing mattered. He found himself wandering aimlessly in the night. He listened to what Jonathan told him and traveled away from the tree and the towns surrounding Joestar manor. He walked aimlessly through towns, not bothering with much of anything. He drank. He hated drinking because it reminded him of unpleasant memories of his childhood but he did it anyways. He drank and got angry and irritated over the littlest things. He didn't pick fights because he didn't feel in the mood of killing. That was that.

He felt thirsty for blood but he didn't care. His stomach throbbed but he didn't care. His head throbbed but he didn't care. His mind was a mess but he didn't care. He didn't care. He was just barely getting through the night.

Maybe things would be better if he never met Jonathan. Then he wouldn't be feeling any kind of pain like he was feeling now. He hated feeling so broken down. He hated having to feel things at all. He walked through towns like a drunken ghost. He didn't care where he went or where he ended up. Nothing really mattered in the end.

Eventually, something did happen.

About a day or so before the beginning of December Dio overheard something in a bar.

He only came inside for a drink. The bartender welcomed him, recognizing that he too wore the same broken expressions most men who drank themselves to death did. He expected that he would get drunk again tonight but instead he ended up eavesdropping on a near by conversation.

"There was a fire last night? Ya' sure? In that area?"

"Yep. Some rich guy's house burned down. Everyone's been talking about it. Just some noble who's been given too much money than they know what to do with."

"A noble?" Dio's curiosity was peaked at the sound of that word. Jonathan was the son of a noble. That word held special meaning.

"Wha’ do ya care?" slurred the drunken customer.

Dio ignored him and turned to the bartender he was talking to instead. "Tell me all you know about this noble."

The bartender cleaned the inside of some glass and licked his lips. "What is it that you'd like to know?"

"Tell me all of what you know about what happened with this noble." Dio spat.

The bartender put the glass away and placed his hands on the counter-top. "Now, this might just be all just rumors but people have been talking. They say that not far from London a mansion belonging to an extremely wealthy family was burned down."

Dio glared at him intensely. He didn't want it to be the noble which he was thinking of so he tried to be careful with his questions. "Do you know why it was burned down?"

The drunken customer decided to speak up at this question. "Ha! I heard they were dealing with a serial killer over there. I was talkin' to some folks who live there and they were sayin' that it had to be attacks by something nonhuman. They said it was a vampire but who are they kiddin'. No one believes in such tales except those crazy bastards."

Dio's eyebrows twitched at the sound of the word 'vampire'. The chances of them not talking about the Joestars were growing slimmer and slimmer by the second. "So what about these attacks?"

The bartender sighed. "Alright, the story goes like this. Apparently the town and some surrounding villages or whatever are convinced that whatever's been killing their friends and family was a vampire. This noble family which is just covered with money promised everyone they would take care of the situation. It's funny that you don't know about this, tell me have you been living under a rock?"

"Just get to the point!" Dio snapped.

"Yeah yeah, anyways the town apparently got fed up when that family never found any 'vampire' that was killing their loved ones." The bartender continued.

The drunken man next to Dio snickered. "Serves them right. Of course they wouldn't find anything, vampires aren't real after all."

"Shut up." Dio wished he could say more to the scum he was sitting next to about how much he hated his guts. Sadly learning about what might have happened to this town while he was gone was more important.

"Well," The bartender tried to reach for a wine bottle to fill for the next customer but Dio grabbed his wrist before he could do so.

"Well what?" He hissed.

"What can I say? The town got together and got sick and tired of waiting for them to figure out who murdered their loved ones and put an end to it all. I'm sure a dozen or so of them marched right up to their mansion and burned it right to the ground. I couldn't blame them; I'd be angry too. Anyways what kind of drink–"

Dio interrupted him by grabbing him by the collar of his clothing, leaning right over the bar's table. "Tell me the names of the nobles. Now." There was a small one in a million chance that they weren’t talking about Jonathan but it was a chance nonetheless and Dio had to be one hundred percent sure.

"Joestar, alright? The Joestars died yesterday. Now about the drink–"

Dio's grip on the the collar of the man's clothing tightened and he yanked him over the counter-top. Several witnesses who were only trying to have a drink stood up to see what the commotion was. Dio pressed his fingers into the man’s throat and put all of the strength he had into the act. The man’s face was in utter disbelief. Anyone can see how he simply didn’t understand how he was breathing one moment and then couldn't the next.

His face turned blue as he suffocated. Good. He better have been lying to Dio. If not, only God knows what Dio would do next.

Several people from the bar began yelling, pushing at Dio and attempting to pull him off the bartender as he died. Their screams of “you are killing him!” soon turned to “you killed him!” and Dio couldn’t care less. They were insects and the man he just killed just told him that Jonathan Joestar was dead.

Killing just the bartender wasn't enough. He soon turned around and bashed a few more people's skulls in. That's when they began panicking realizing just how truly dangerous Dio was. They screamed and ran, calling for help.

Dio would have loved to wreak more havoc on this bar but he had other things he had to do. He had to see with his own eyes what had really happened to Jonathan.

He couldn't afford to lose anymore time. He rushed to the door and left the moment he had the chance.

--✦--

Dio refused to believe Jonathan was dead. He couldn't be; there was no way Dio would accept that. Jonathan was strong, athletic and intelligent. There was no way a simple fire could kill someone so powerful and perfect. Jonathan would have escaped somehow; he had promised Dio he would live. He’d told Dio how both of them would live; away from one another.

Jonathan would live here and Dio was to run away and never return. That was the plan. That was what they’d agreed on. Everyone got to live.

So what exactly had happened to Jonathan?

It had to be all rumors. Dio would not let it be true. He refused to believe it.

He ran all the way to Joestar manor. He had to see it for his own eyes.

He ran and ran. Sweat formed on his forehead and his lungs screamed for air. He didn't stop to catch his breath; other things were more important.

He never actually visited it before but he had walked past it or seen it in the distance dozens of times before. He knew exactly where it was. He knew how it looked like. He ran straight towards it, running up the path. He even ran past the tree on his way there, which did not have anyone near it.

Jonathan may have asked him to stay away but he didn't care. He needed reassurance that Jonathan was okay.

When he finally got there he found Joestar manor truly wasn't there anymore.

Where it once was there was nothing left but a pile of ashes. A few rotting pieces of blackened wood was all that remained of the once large house's structure.

There was nothing left.

"You curious of what happened here?" A man spoke up suddenly.

Dio turned around.

He hadn't even noticed the man walk up to him through the shock of what laid before his eyes.

The man wore a long, dark grey coat. His eyes looked tired and his hair was grey; he must have been somewhere in his sixties. His dark coat was worn and shown signs that it must have been several years old. Perhaps he worked in a nearby factory, he seemed exactly like any other hardworking man who was only trying to get through the day.

"Tell me, were there any survivors?" Dio asked, but he already had a feeling he knew exactly the answer the man would give him.

"No, no not at all. I don't live far from here. There were good men who lived here. A father and a son, fine wealthy people. Never let their money go to their head at all. Shame they had to go this way, George was a good friend of mine." He said gruffly, adjusting a few of the buttons on his coat.

Dio stood in silence. He stared at the ruins, barely listening to the words of the man with the long, raggy, dark coat.

"Tell me, did you know the Joestars yourself?" The old man asked.

"Yes," Dio replied. "Jonathan was a good friend of mine."

"Ah, Jojo right? I never saw you around here but your friend was an eccentric young man. He told everyone how he would save them all. He promised us that he would save us. He had some amazing kind of inner strength, that young man. He was strong enough to look at all we had lost and tell us he would put an end to it all and find the monster who was responsible for us. Now, whether it truly was a vampire who did this all is debatable but Jojo sure was brave. He was braver than us all."

"Who is responsible?" Dio asked.

"Hm?"

"I said, tell me who did this. Who burned this mansion to the ground?"

"A couple of boys I believe. A couple dozen I'm sure. They were impatient, and when Jonathan lost his will to fight and locked himself up in his room - well, they got angry and felt that Jonathan spoke empty words when he told them he would find the monster who was responsible. They had lost their loved ones - and since they couldn't take out their revenge on the one who did it, they took out their anger on the one who promised them justice and failed to give it to them. It's all such a tragedy, I never thought things would come to this."

So the town killed Jonathan. They were the ones who took his life. Even though in the end Jonathan did succeed in freeing this town of Dio, it wasn't enough for them. It never was enough. Jonathan had promised Dio that they would go their separate ways and live the rest of their lives without each other, but that wasn't enough. In the end Jonathan had died in his own house yesterday.

They killed him.

The entire town killed the one he loved.

He felt burning rage rise within him and a dark claw of hatred gripped his heart. His stomach churned with disgust, his throat closed up and his heart beat rapidly. His breathing was uneven and his entire body shook.

He shut his eyes and swallowed. Something had to be done and he was the only one who could do anything.

He turned away from the ruins; he would have his revenge. He walked straight to the town and villages without saying another word to the old man.

He did not look back.

--✦--

He knew exactly what he had to do. It was the only thing he could do. He wasn't going to just sit there when the people who murdered Jonathan roamed free.

He didn't care whether Jonathan wanted him to touch the town or not. Jonathan was dead now and he had lost his life to the very place he tried so hard to protect. His word might have meant something if he were alive but now he was dead. What he cared for stabbed him in the back in the end and Dio couldn't just sit there and let it happen.

Dio felt rage boil within him. It burned his heart and soul. He could barely see straight and he would not be calm until someone or something payed for what happened to Jonathan.

He had no sympathy for that town. He had no sympathy for anyone human or anyone nonhuman either. Jonathan was the only one who mattered. Jonathan was the only one who deserved to live on this entire damn rotten planet and humans themselves took that from him.

How funny all of this was. They called Dio a monster? They should look at themselves. He wasn't going to deny that he was twisted and fucked up beyond belief, but they weren't so innocent themselves. Anyone who could end the life of the one person who promised to help them was just as much of a monster as Dio himself was.

These people were scum. They didn't deserve to be around someone so pure and perfect like Jonathan. It was no wonder Jonathan didn't survive. He didn't belong here. He deserved better than to walk among such poisonous people.

Dio hated humans. Jonathan was the only good one. It was cruel but perhaps inevitable. The world couldn't handle having someone so pure and good to be a part of it. Everyone Dio had ever met was filthy, scummy - utter trash. Jonathan was the only one who was different; Dio was sure.

That is what drove Dio to commit the crimes he committed that night. He didn't want to think, he just knew what he had to do.

He grabbed a torch. The nearest sticks he could find, he set them on fire in no time.

Soon, a lot more would be on fire than just these sticks.

Vampires couldn't die from just some fire. No, the only way to kill a vampire was to expose them to the sun. A vampire could be set aflame but would they die from it? No, they wouldn't; it took more to kill a vampire than just a simple flame, even if it were encompassing their entire body. It would hurt though. It certainly would hurt like hell. But it wouldn't kill them. Any wounds made by a fire could always be healed given enough time and blood.

Dio carried the torch with him. People he walked past looked at him funny. Why was this man carrying a fire around with him? Why didn't he just get a lantern? Where was he going, caring a burning fire on a piece of wood?

Dio didn't pay them any mind. They were all going to die soon. They would all feel his wrath.

The ones who had ended Jonathan’s life would feel Dio’s rage. They had killed Jonathan so Dio was going to kill them. Kill them all along with anything they have ever known.

That was exactly what he did. It was strange how calm people were before everything was set ablaze. They were only peacefully going about their night. Some were out on a midnight walk while most laid quiet in their beds. So peaceful and quiet, it wasn't like that for long.

How unlucky all these people were that they choose to build their homes out of wood. It certainly was convenient for Dio though. He swung his torch at the first building and it didn't take long for it to spread. The house was up in flames in almost no time at all.

People stared in confusion. He heard their screams. A few realized what Dio was doing and tried to stop him. How pathetic. How dare worms like themselves even think about touching Dio.

Anyone who dared come near him he sat on fire individually and immediately.

He set one house on fire, then another and then another.

Flames licked the air.

Smoke blanketed the sky.

Everything blurred around him.

He could barely see straight.

He felt the sensation of running.

Everywhere he went red filled his vision and screams drowned out all of his thoughts.

He was so accustomed to causing death and destruction he didn't even have to think anymore. It was as if he were put on automatic.

Images were placed in his head he could barely process. Countless faces ran all around him. Some were confused. Some were crying. Some were in agony. Some were screaming with fear. Some were panicked and some were too shocked to move.

They screamed. They ran. They cried. They burned.

They all met the same fate Jonathan had met.

One house after another burned. One street at a time and soon the fire spread throughout every home Dio terrorized for the past few months. The inferno spread far and wide and encompassed everything. How many survivors there were? Not many, from what Dio knew. Then again, what did he know anyway. His mind was too foggy with anger and hate to understand anything.

Everything Jonathan had ever wanted to protect was destroyed that night.

This wasn't what Jonathan wanted.

But that was okay. All that mattered was that Jonathan’s murderers died that day. That was what counted.

That was the only thing which mattered.

--✦--

The flames burned on long into the night. Dio wanted to stay and watch it burn to feel the satisfaction from it all but sadly it wouldn't be long until dawn would come. He would have to find somewhere to hide from the sunlight when that happened so sadly he couldn't sit and watch.

However, he did have some time. There was one more thing he wanted to do….

He hadn't planned on doing it at first. He planned on leaving and going back to nowhere to spend the daylight hours until the sun went back down. In spite of that, something did catch his eye which convinced him to make a little change in plan.

Out of the corner of his eye he spotted something in the ashes of one of the first few buildings he burnt.

It was an axe. How did it not get destroyed in the inferno? Dio didn't have any idea. This sort of thing shouldn't be possible. The axe’s handle was made of wood after all. It should have been reduced to ashes. How did this little axe survive the flames? It must have been fate. There wasn't any other explanation. Maybe God really did exist and was still toying with the strings of Dio’s destiny.

The night wasn't over yet. He still had a few hours until sunlight.

He picked up the axe from the soot; he was going to make good use of it.

--✦--

It didn't take long for him to reach the tree. It wasn't far from the towns and villages anyways. In fact, it was like a center point of it all. It swayed in the dead middle of all the fire and chaos yet didn’t get affected at all. Its meadows were still quiet, the creek still flowed and the weather was still calm. It was almost as if Jonathan had never died. It was almost as if Jonathan had never found out about Dio being a vampire. It was almost as if Erina never died. It was almost as if all of the townspeople and countless civilians were still alive. It was almost as if Jonathan was still sitting on that tree, gazing up at the sky. Almost as if Dio never touched any of them and they still lived their lives free of the terrors Dio naturally brought upon anyone who stumbled upon him.

Dio sighed. His breath showed up in front of his face in small clouds of vapor. That’s right, tonight was freezing cold wasn't it. All the fire and smoke made him almost forget this.

His body was freezing. Vampires were always cold in the first place, given how they were technically undead, but Dio felt especially cold tonight. His body ached - he still hadn't had any blood in a week, had he? His body didn't like that at all, and nagged him about it. His skin felt horrible too; he’d exposed himself to too much fire. It must look all red and burnt - it definitely hurt like hell. His lungs were sore from all the smoke as well. He wasn't even wearing a coat, as it was too much to carry around in the fire. The little clothing he had on was ragged and burnt, filled with holes and covered in soot. It was so unbearably freezing for him.

He didn't care. The only thing which mattered now was to accomplish what he came back here for.

His muscles were sore but he managed. He’d carried the axe all the way here for a reason.

One he got close enough to the tree he raised the axe over his shoulder, got in position, and prepared to swing.

He was going to chop down the tree. He was going to get rid of the last thing which attached him to this place.

The moment the axe made contact with the trunk splinters flew everywhere. His muscles screamed in pain at the movement but Dio tried to ignore it. He had to focus.

He raised the axe over his head once again and swung once more. The sound echoed throughout the entire meadow, interrupting the perfect silence which Dio loved about this place. It was a painful sound to hear.

How long had it been since the first time Dio met Jonathan? He had only been on a stroll, hadn't he? Why did he even come here in the first place?

He swung again.

How had he befriended Jonathan again? He kept coming because they kept looking at the stars together, correct?

He gripped the axe tighter. His knuckles were sore.

Jonathan had been an amazing friend. He’d cared about Dio, he was the only person who ever had. The only person who’d ever given Dio any thought. He’d asked him about his life and what hopes and dreams he had. He cared about how Dio felt, didn't he?

Dio gritted his teeth together. He swung at the tree once more, and the thunderous noise it made was agonizing. It reverberated in his head, crushing it from the inside out.

Where was Jonathan now? Why wasn't he here anymore? He must still be here wasn't he? What had happened again? Why did any of this happen? Why was the world so cruel? Why was God so cruel?

He directed all his emotions into his axe. He gripped it and swung over and over again, wishing he couldn't feel anything. His muscles burned and his head throbbed but he pressed on.

The tree collapsed to the ground. It made a tremendous, deafening sound as it finally cracked and its splinters flew through the air. The branches whooshed as the wooded plant made its descent towards the Earth. It fell towards the dirt path Dio and Jonathan always walked, as if cutting it right in half and blocking the way to the other side. The twigs twisted and snapped as it landed on its side, making it so that no one could make it to the other side of the path without walking around it.

Why was Dio so cruel?

He couldn't stand on his feet any longer. He’d used up the strength he had left and his muscles were sore and weak. He collapsed to his knees.

Why was his face wet? He raised a finger to his cheek. It was damp. He pressed the rest of his hand to it. Yes, it really was wet....

Were vampires even able to cry? He didn't think it was possible for a monster to cry. He’d never cried before, not even as a human as far as he remembered, but now - His chest was heaving up and down. His breathing wasn't right. He was making strange noises too.

So this must be how it was like to cry. Now that Dio had let out all his anger and frustration on the town he felt like there wasn't much other emotion left for him to feel. He didn't want to feel. He usually didn't.

He told himself he wanted to forget any of this ever happened, but he couldn't just keep telling himself things he knew he didn't mean. That was his first mistake with Jonathan, wasn't it? Telling himself he could kill Jonathan at any moment when he knew deep inside he couldn't. He must have known since the beginning he couldn't kill him.

He must have known from the beginning that their destinies were intertwined. Both of them had every reason to kill the other but neither could do it. Both of them had their fingers on the trigger but could never do it. Dio had known this for a longer time, he was the first to accept it, but Jonathan eventually had come to terms with it as well. He had learned and accepted it as much as Dio had. Neither of them could deny it.

When Dio was enraged over Jonathan’s death he blamed other people. He’d blamed the town itself. But now that his mind was clearer and no longer so clogged with rage and hatred he can see the truth. The town wasn't so different from him, was it? They acted out of anger for losing their loved ones and didn't have anyone to blame other than Jonathan. Dio had done the same to them. He killed them because there was no one else to blame. He did the same thing to them as they had done to Jonathan.

He choked on the icy air and gagged. Yes, it was all his fault. He was the one who’d killed Jonathan in the end. He was the one who caused chaos and destruction in a small peaceful area in England where nothing bad happened - until Dio came and ruined it. If he hadn't ruined that world then Jonathan would still be alive.

Dio had killed Jonathan. Perhaps indirectly, but it happened because of his actions nonetheless.

He had killed the only human who ever mattered. The only one he would ever care for. The only one he had ever loved. They’d been a pair of lonely people - Jonathan felt rejected by friends who turned their backs and left him with nothing more than the stars to keep him company. Meanwhile, Dio had started with no one yet somehow ended up with Jonathan. He’d never realized, nor even cared, that he was lonely until he knew what it was like to have a friend. What it was like to have someone who cared for you. What it was like to have someone you could talk to about anything in the world and they wouldn't mind. That was a friend.

He missed Jonathan. Where was he now?

He knew. Jonathan had told him long ago that he believed no one truly died. He’d said that he believed everyone who died turned into a star and watched the world from above.

What did Jonathan think of him now? Had he seen him burn down his home town or chop down their tree? Was he a star in the sky watching him weep pathetically now? Did he still sympathize with him even after witnessing all that he had done?

He lifted his head towards the sky, and was reminded of when he’d comforted Jonathan when Erina died and reminded him to look to the stars. He’d reminded Jonathan of his own myth and in the end it had helped him. He’d prayed and asked for forgiveness and felt as though Erina truly was listening to his wishes.

Dio couldn't help but feel that he had to do the same, but instead he was met with a surprise.

He couldn't see the stars.

He always was able to see the stars from here; always. It rarely rained. Clouds all the way out here never seemed to show up. He and Jonathan could almost always sit out here and feel as though they were promised with an open sky perfect for stargazing once again.

So why now out of all times was the sky filled with snow? Clouds covered the night sky and snowflakes twirled and danced in the air, as if they were mocking him and his inability to see the last thing he might have left of Jonathan. The snow fell all around him, softly and silently. It fell on his head, it fell on his bare skin and fell on the now chopped down tree. It fell on his nose and his cheeks which happened to be still wet from his tears. The wintry snow spiraled in the air and blocked out any traces of stars with their specs of white.

Jonathan did mention how he was looking forward to the first snow, didn't he? He said that he wanted to see the first snowflakes of the year and looked forward to going ice skating. He never did get to see the snow he so looked forward to see. He never saw the lake freeze over either. Jonathan didn't get to appreciate the snow.

It was so comical how the snow was falling now of all times. It hadn't fallen when Jonathan was alive to appreciate it. It hadn't fallen when Jonathan could enjoy seeing it dance in the wind. It hadn't fallen when Jonathan wanted it to. Instead, it fell when it was the last thing Dio wanted to see. The irony made his head throb and his heart ache.

He wanted to see stars, not snow. He wanted to see a vast, dark void above him sprinkled with dots of shining light. He didn't want the world to be covered in snow clouds now of all times.

Where were the stars when Dio wanted to see them the most?

Where was Jonathan when Dio wanted to see him the most?

Jonathan would have loved to see the snow; he would have enjoyed it far more than Dio would.

It was all so cruel. The world was so cruel, this world the two of them shared.

Morning would come soon. It would not be long now until the sun rose and bathed the world in the rays that were deadly to Dio. He needed to leave, he knew this for a fact. He needed to leave before he would disintegrate in the sun's rays like any other vampire would.

But he couldn't move - his muscles refused to operate correctly. His skin felt as if it were already disintegrating from to the injuries he’d sustained in the fire. The axe lay not far from his arm and the fallen tree was only a few more feet away.

Looking over it, he noticed something.

There was something sticking out from the branches of the tree, tucked away and kept safe from the falling snow.

Dio gathered what little strength he had left to crawl towards it and see what it was.

The moment his hand made contact with the object he knew exactly what it was.

The astrology book.

His breath caught in his throat.

Chills ran up and down his spine. Time seemed to slow as he forced his muscles to pull it closer to him.

He studied the cover. It was freezing from laying in the cold for so long. Frost had formed on its bindings but he could still flip the pages with ease.

Had it always been here? Did Jonathan always leave this book laying in the branches of the tree?

Dio should burn it. He should burn it like everything else he destroyed - but despite how painful it was to look at, he knew he wouldn't.

Jonathan must have left it here. Had he left it for Dio to one day find or just left it out here for no reason at all? He didn't know but he was glad it hadn't burn with Jonathan.

He held it tight to his body. His skin was freezing and the book was no different but the gesture felt nice, even noble, regardless. It was somewhat comforting; he didn't have Jonathan here to embrace now so instead he would hold this book close. He clutched it to him it and tried not to think. Thinking was painful.

He lay there for a long time, losing track of the passage of time - motionless, not letting himself feel anything. He was lost; beyond the point of return.

Eventually, in the East a gold tint suffused the sky, and the first morning rays swept over the land.

--✦--

In the morning, a few men walked along the dirt path. They had heard of the fire. They had heard of the genocide. They knew what had happened only one night before.

They wore dark clothing so it would fit the death and gloom which covered the land. It might have fit the general atmosphere of the ruins which were once lively towns and villages but it did not fit the light the sun shined over the bright meadow.

The men walked along the path. They walked on and came across a tree.

A tree which had fallen over, blocking the way to the other side of the dirt path.

They examined the tree, pondering if it had anything to do with the people who had lost their lives the night before.

They conversed among themselves. Spoke in hushed whispers about what might have occurred here. They were solemn in their investigation, looking over the clues as they attempted to solve the mystery behind the events of the night before.

All they found was an axe, an astronomy book, and a pile of burnt clothes.

Nothing else was here. Nothing else lay bathing in the sun.

There was nothing to ever tell these men, or anyone else after them, of the tale of what occurred between the two who were made from stars and snow.