DIO stood in an alleyway not far from the funeral of Yukako- whose name he only bothered to learn after her death, even though apparently both Yuya and Hazamada had told it to him- watching the proceedings from under the shadow of his bloodied umbrella. Those in attendance were Jotaro, Okuyasu, Josuke, even Rohan Kishibe was paying his respects. It seemed every stand user in town was there. DIO smirked and listened to the idle chatter.

Koichi walked away from the place as fast as he could, tears freely flowing from his face. The funeral wasn't over yet, but he couldn't bear to spend one more minute inside. He couldn't spend even another second with her parents, who seemed to believe it was the serial killer that had been plaguing the town for years. They didn't know it wasn't Kira, they didn't know Kira was dead, they didn't know that this was a new horror that he had failed to warn her about.

He spotted Jotaro smoking on a bench not far from the building. He walked up to the tall man, who was wearing a black coat and hat instead of his usual white outfit.

Jotaro looked down at him and nodded a greeting, silently offering him a seat next to him. Koichi accepted the seat and wiped some of his tears on his sleeve.

Koichi got right to the point. "Do you know who did it?" He asked, looking Jotaro in the eyes.

Jotaro blew some smoke out of his cigarette. "I have a hunch." He replied, looking off into the distance.

Koichi stood up. "Tell me, please," He said, stepping in front of Jotaro. "I can handle them." He held back tears as he continued, "If this person was willing to… do that to her… who knows what else they've done to others? I have to do something. I have to stop them."

Jotaro sighed and put his cigarette out. "If I'm right…" He looked Koichi in the eyes, "...You wouldn't be able to."

Koichi frowned. "Even after all this time…" He muttered to himself, turning from Jotaro. "You don't believe I'm capable of fending for myself." He started to walk away.

"It's not that." Jotaro reassured, "I would have… HAVE had trouble fighting him."

Koichi paused and then turned to look at the tall man. "If you won't tell me who it is," He said as he continued to walk away, "I'll just figure it out myself."

He walked as fast as he could away from the funeral, tears now freely flowing down his face. Rain began to fall, perfectly complimenting how he was feeling.

Koichi thought about Yukako.

When her body was discovered in front of the high school, Okuyasu and Josuke tried to keep him from looking. But he couldn't help himself and what he saw nearly killed him.

Yukako's head was resting on the steps of the school. He couldn't even hope that her end was quick and peaceful. Her face was clearly contorted in fear- her final moments hadn't been pleasant ones.

He balled his hands into fists. His blood was simultaneously boiling and freezing with rage and fear. He wanted to run away and hide but his heart told him he needed to find whoever had done this and make them pay. His mind swam with thoughts like the gutters were swimming with trash people had left on the sidewalk, while his stomach felt like it was going to explode.

He remembered their last interaction. They were going to warn her, but they had to go to the bathroom first. When they had come out, she was gone. Supposedly, a classmate had seen her chasing after someone.

If they had taken the threat more seriously…

If they had paid more attention…

Yukako would be…

He wasn't paying attention to where he was going and bumped into someone. He fell onto the ground, as their legs were surprisingly sturdy- almost like pillars. He went to look up, but couldn't see because of the tears in his eyes.

"Are you alright?" The man asked, sounding genuinely concerned. Koichi felt a hand pull him up gently. Somehow, he felt safe with this person, yet his stomach still told him to run. Koichi went to reply but his throat was closed because of his crying. He could only manage a sob.

"I saw the funeral, were you close?" The man asked, Koichi nodding in response. "You may be suspicious of me… but I believe I witnessed the murder."

Koichi's eyes widened. "Wh-what?" He managed to choke out.

"I have an ability that allows me to see these sorts of things." The man said as he summoned a stand, which Koichi could only see a vague figure of.

It was yellow and large, its shape reminded him of Josuke's stand…

"Do you know who…" Koichi asked, able to speak a bit more now, but his voice was still hoarse.

"I may not know his name, but I know what he looks like." The man replied, "I can help you find him." The man held out his hand as if he wanted Koichi to take it in a handshake.

Koichi looked at the man's hand, hesitant to take it. "What's your name?" He asked.

"You can call me…Noriaki Kakyoin. Let's be friends." The man replied, Koichi didn't see the malicious smirk on his face.

Koichi took the man's hand in his own, clearing his throat as he did so. "Alright, Kakyoin. My name's Koichi Hirose." He said, blinking his eyes a few times as he had finally stopped crying.

His vision cleared up just in time to see a tendril of some sort launch into his forehead, blinding him once more. It practically knocked him over, only the man's hand held him up. The man released his grip on the hand, allowing Koichi to fall into a puddle. His wallet fell out of his pocket as he landed.

"...We'll be good friends," DIO said, laughing. Yuya and Hazamada stepped into the alleyway. DIO glared at them, motioning for them to pick up Koichi's fallen body. "Looks like you two took your sweet time. Just about left me to carry this."

Yuya and Hazamada bowed in apology and lifted the body. The three walked down the alleyway.

Rain fell on the fallen wallet, which had opened to a picture of Koichi and Yukako.