As the engine room burned around them, Dio could feel Jonathan's hold around him slacken as the life left his nemesis's body.
Dio pried himself from the grasp of the freshly dead corpse, and began to pull Jonathan's body towards the ornate, gold plated coffin using his vampiric tentacles.
If he was to get out of here alive and enact his revenge, he would have to act quickly. Dio started to chew at Jonathan's neck, like a man dying of hunger.
Jonathan's head fell into the coffin like a bowling ball, as Dio pulled the now headless body into his coffin as well.
The fire was dangerously close now. As Dio sealed himself and Jonathan inside the coffin, the fire reached the engine, and sparked the leaking oil.
The boat exploded with a thunder like "CRACK". The coffin was launched through the air, before landing back into the ocean. The coffin began to sink.
Inside the coffin, Dio stared into Jonathan's flat, blue-grey eyes.
"Jojo, you truly were a worthy foe. If only you would have joined me, instead of dying like a fool. We could have made something great together."
Jonathan did not respond.
The coffin sunk deeper, down into the inky black depths of the Atlantic Ocean.
Time marched onwards.
In Japan, an agency is founded to combat a newly found race of cannibals known as "Ghouls".
When he finds fortune in America, street rat turned to millionaire Robert E.O. Speedwagon founds the Speedwagon Foundation, an organization dedicated to the study of supernatural phenomena.
Within the mud-stained trenches of WW1, a Joestar is killed by a zombie, after he discovers that his commander is the servant of his bloodline's greatest enemy.
In 1939, the newest generation of Joestars and Zeppelis fight against a menace that has reawakened. They are victorious in banishing the threat, and the three Pillar Men are never to be seen again.
For the next 70 years, all is quiet, and there is tense peace.
As Hideyoshi Nagachika, Kaneki Ken's best friend since elementary school lay bleeding out on the dirty pavement, Kaneki's mind was racing.
"Hide was concerned, and reached out to me."
Nishiki stood over Hide, Kagune flicking angrily, ready to turn him into a splatter of gore on the brick wall.
"No…"
Images of all the things Hide and him had done together flashed through Kaneki's mind.
"I don't want Hide.."
Kaneki's eye turned black, while his Rinkaku burst out of his back with a wet, ripping tear.
"TO DIE!"
Kaneki's rinkaku lunged at Nishiki, who leaped into the air as he struck back against Kaneki's kagune with his own bikaku.
"Damn you!" Nishiki hissed.
Kaneki grabbed Nishiki by the sides, and pierced straight through Nishiki's torso with his rinkaku.
Nishiki screamed in pain as viscous, jelly like blood dripped out of him.
"STOP IT! STOP IT, YOU DUMBASS!"
Nishiki continued to flail in pain as Kaneki lifted him into the air and swung him around.
"I'M DYING, DYING, DYING, DYING, DYING, DYING, DYING, DYING, DYING!"
Nishiki's blood was splattering all over the alleyway, as Kaneki continued to whip his target back and forth with his rinkaku. Kaneki flung Nishiki's limp body up into the railing of the highway.
"That was… Rize's… damn it…" Nishiki managed to groan out before his eyes closed shut.
Through the haze of bloodlust, Kaneki could see Hide's broken body. As Kaneki stared down at Hide, he heard a voice.
"Mm, he sure looks tasty."
Kaneki's eyes widened as his head whipped up to look at the speaker. It was that ghoul, Rize. The one who had gotten him into this mess.
"Such a fragrant aroma. I'm getting hungry myself. Here, do you see him?" Crooned the pink haired ghoul.
Kaneki stood in place, paralyzed by the shock of his would-be murderer standing in front of him.
"Take a good look. Isn't he just scrumptious?"
Kaneki stepped forward.
"Stop it! Hide isn't good!" Kaneki exclaimed.
Rize turned and leaned into him. Kaneki could smell blood on her breath.
"Are you sure about that? Take a closer look."
As he stared at Hide's body, he could feel his mouth watering.
"See? You understand, right?" Rize said, pleased by Kaneki's reaction.
"Yeah, I understand."
Viscous saliva began to drip out of Kaneki's mouth as a wild grin spread out across his face.
"He looks really appetizing!"
Kaneki's eyes widened as he realized what he was saying.
"No, stop it! What are you even talking about?!"
Rize appeared behind Kaneki, and wrapped her hands around his waist.
"You want it so much you can't stand it right?"
Kaneki writhed in pain as he tried to escape Rize's grasp.
"There's no need to hold back. You're not doing anything wrong." Explained Rize with a coy smile.
Kaneki broke free of Rize's hold and leaned against one of the blood splattered walls. Rize appeared behind him.
Rize whispered in his ear. "Quickly now. You should let loose with your desires."
"My desires?"
"He's all yours."
Rize began to fade away into thin air.
"All of him?"
"Go on now."
When Kaneki turned around, Rize was nowhere to be seen. As Kaneki turned back to Hide, the grin returned to his face.
"You're right. This is my special treat, isn't it?"
Kaneki stumbled towards Hide.
"I… I have to eat him…"
Kaneki leaned over Hide.
"Hide is my… friend! That's right! Hide is my friend, so I have to eat him!"
Kaneki opened his jaw so wide that it looked like he had unhinged it. Kaneki leaned down to bite into Hide's soft, juicy flesh.
Touka stood in front of the drooling half-ghoul as he continued to stare at her. The way he was panting was almost pathetic.
"Your heads completely given way to your stomach, right?" Asked Touka.
"Out of the way!" Replied Kaneki.
"Not even your friends life has value to you."
Kaneki didn't reply, only continuing to slobber and growl.
"Wanna know something? Gobble this guy up and you'll regret it later while drowning in a sea of blood and entrails."
Kaneki stared into the pavement while gritting his teeth.
"Such is a ghoul's hunger and destiny."
Kaneki stood up and unleashed his rinkaku.
Touka looked down and adjusted her tie.
"You really are a hassle to deal with."
Touka quickly looked up, her eyes a gleaming black and crimson red.
"I'll play nicely with you just this once, so make sure you go down nice and easy."
Kaneki jolted up. He was sitting on a couch, covered with blankets in a darkened room.
The nearby door opened, and a man walked through the doorway.
"Touka-Chan brought you back here." Said the man.
"Where's Hide!?" Exclaimed Kaneki.
"Come with me." Replied the man, giving no other response.
The man led Kaneki to a room across the hall, where Hide was laying bandaged and sleeping.
"Hide!" Exclaimed Kaneki.
Hide, giving no indication of hearing Kaneki, rolled over on his side.
"I've been… consumed by my hunger this entire time."
Kaneki lifted his shirt to examine the bloodstain where his kagune had emerged.
"At that moment especially, I was so hungry I thought I might die. I wasn't even aware of what I was doing."
Kaneki gnawed on his pointer finger.
"And then, I went after Hide… But right now, that's completely gone. That blood that was in my mouth… Please, give me an honest answer. What did you do to me while I was asleep?"
"There is only one way to satisfy a ghoul's hunger."
The elderly man opened his eye, revealing a black and red eye.
"You know what that is, right?"
Kaneki has a look of shock on his face.
"If you had starved for any longer, you would have pounced on your friend there."
Kaneki looked down at the floor and began to cry, while the old man put his hand on Kaneki's shoulder.
"You have to accept what you are."
"I don't want to hurt my friend. That's why I can't be around Hide anymore."
Kaneki leaned his head against the doorway, and the tears continued to stream down his cheeks.
"But I can't enter the world of ghouls, either. As someone who's neither ghoul nor human, I am… all alone."
Kaneki covered his eyes with his right hand.
"There's nowhere I can call home now!"
A sudden flash of light appeared in the corner of Kaneki's vision, and he looked up. The old man had pulled up the blinds, exposing the setting sun.
"You're wrong."
The man had a stern, but serene look on his face.
"You are both human and ghoul."
Kaneki looked up at the man.
"You are the one and only person who holds a place in both of these worlds. Come over to Anteiku. I'm certain that it'll lead you to a path where you can hold your own."
A butterfly flew through the open window, and landed on Touka's finger.
"I also want you to understand us better."
Touka brought her finger level with her eyes, and looked at the insect.
"To see whether or not we're just ravenous monsters."
The butterfly flew out of the window, and Touka's vision followed it, looking out the window with a satisfied look.
"How about it?" Asked the man.
The man began to walk down to the end of the hallway.
"Why don't we start by learning how to brew a delicious cup of coffee?"
"Do you have faith in me?" Asked Kaneki.
As Kaneki left the room, Hide had a happy smile on his sleeping face, like he was dreaming of sunshine.
As the sun begins to set for the day and the crew of the Sun-Circle wait for their final catch of the day, the hydraulic net catches on something.
Thinking that they just caught a large amount of fish, the crew prepares to pull the netting to the surface.
"Vrrrrrrreeeee"
The hydraulics struggle under the weight of something that is obviously not a catch of fish.
"Wow, sounds like we really hit the motherload!" Exclaimed First Mate Noya Hiroki.
The netting pulls the object into the air, dropping it onto the port side.
What lies before the crew of the Sun-Circle is an ornate, gold plated chest. Barnacles cover the chest from what looks like years of submersion under the waves.
"Looks like we'll need the blowtorch for something like this." Said Second Mate Toyaharo
As the Second Mate went to grab his toolkit, the First Mate noticed a nameplate on the front of the chest.
"Hey, this thing has its owners nameplate on it."
The First Mate bent down to get a closer look.
"Looks like it says…"
ゴゴゴゴゴ ゴゴゴゴゴ
DIO
Within the coffin, a creature, long since sealed away from the world, let out a growl.
ドドドドド ドドドドド
"Wrryyyy…"