A Torn Journal - Noriaki Kakyoin - Status: Alive

     I still remember that day. A fateful battle against Dio would mean my end that day.

     As I shot my final message to the others, an Emerald Splash aimed at the clock tower to signify Dio's ability to stop time, I could already feel myself fading away. I didn't feel any pain. No sorrow or regrets. And suddenly, I knew it was over.
     Everything seemed to stop. My friends' battle continued, but all I could hear was silence. I stood up, looking down to see the body that I used to inhabit. It was cold, but peaceful. I smiled a little. So this is what it feels like, I thought to myself.
     Suddenly, there was a light tap on my shoulder. A gentle voice came.
     "Kakyoin," it started, echoing slightly through the silence. "We've been waiting for you."
     I turned to see an unfamiliar face smiling at me. He was dressed in a dapper suit, with a patterned top hat. He was young, but I couldn't decide what age he could be. He had a faint glow around him. At first he scared me, but then I realized that there's really nothing to be afraid of if you've already been killed. What else could the world do to you? I shook his hand politely.
     "Good to meet you," I told him. "I'm Noriaki Kakyoin, but I suppose you already knew that." He nodded.
     "Follow me, we shouldn't stay here too long."
     I followed him without question, walking through the air as if there were solid ground underneath our feet. I didn't know exactly where we were going, but the further we walked, the more everything around us faded to white. Soon enough, we were surrounded by white. I couldn't tell whether or not we were actually going anywhere anymore, but we treaded on. After a few minutes, we stopped.
     "As I told you before," my guide said, turning to me, "we've been waiting for you."
     "We?" I echoed, turning my head to see only the emptiness around me. "I don't see anyone other than you."
     "Do you hear anything?"
     Until then, I hadn't even noticed the faint voice calling my name. It sounded like someone far off was running towards me. The voice grew louder, but I still didn't see anything except for the man standing next to me. I was about to ask him about it, but before I could say anything he gently grabbed my shoulders and turned me around.
     At first there was nothing there, but as I looked harder, some of the white started to shift, and I could make out the shape of a human.
     "Kakyoin!" It said again as it drew closer, and I finally recognized the voice.
     "Avdol?" At first I couldn't believe it. Avdol was dead. So am I, I remembered. I had completely forgotten about the fight I had been in just minutes before.
     As the figure came closer to me, the white that shrouded around him dispersed, and Avdol became completely clear. He didn't have the two long scars coming down his face anymore, and I assumed that the gunshot wound on his head was also gone. I ran my hand across the skin below my eyes, where a thin scar should be on both sides, to feel that there was nothing there.
     Iggy appeared a few seconds later, panting and wagging his tail with happiness. Just like me and Avdol, all his wounds had vanished, and the foreleg he had lost during the journey was healed. His fur was sleek and shiny, as if there had never been a tangle in it before. His eyes shone as brightly as the sun.
     "Avdol!" I said again, smiling. "Iggy! I thought it would be a long time before I saw you two again."
     "You can catch up for a moment," the man beside us began. "I'll be back. There's someone I would like you three to meet." At this, he turned and walked away, fading into the white of our surroundings. I looked at Avdol, who only shrugged. I wondered about it for a moment before I heard Avdol's voice again.
     "Did you notice something strange?" I didn't know how to answer that. Everything I'd seen since I'd been there was strange.
     "I noticed plenty of strange things," I remarked playfully. "Which one were you talking about?"
     "That we can summon our Stands here," he responded. I hadn't even thought about Hierophant. Can we, really? I wondered. Sure enough, when I sent for Hierophant Green, he appeared right by my side. Avdol and Iggy summoned Magician's Red and The Fool, their Stands. "I find it strange that our vital energy follows us even in death."
     "There's a reason for that," another voice came.
     I turned to see another young man. This one was much burlier than the other, but still looked around the same age, maybe nineteen or twenty. He looked familiar and had a calm, but serious expression. Although I couldn't tell where I'd seen the face before.
     "What would that be?" Avdol asked, breaking into my thoughts.
     "My name is Jonathan," the man introduced. "And I know that this is supposed to be your time for rest, so I am deeply sorry for having to ask for your help."
     I looked at Avdol and Iggy surprisedly. We had the same thoughts in mind. I knew why he looked familiar now. Jonathan, my mind echoed. Jonathan Joestar. The first Hamon user in the Joestar family. The adoptive brother and first nemesis to Dio. The first one to fight Dio, the only one to know him personally, and the most honored man in the bloodline. The beginning of the legacy. This was him.
     "There is a Stand user that can defy the forces of life and death, and he's raising an army," Jonathan continued, not waiting for our response. "It's no longer safe here."