Brando's Bizarre Adventure Part 1: Phantom Blood

Youth with Dio: Part 1

London, 1880. The streets are cold and bitter. Thugs and muggers surround every street corner. Buildings are reduced to shacks in their disrepair, unnoticed by the population of the area. Two young boys walk down the street in long coats and scarves. The gold color of their blonde hair muted by the fog hovering around their ankles and around their faces. One turns to the other, his bright blue eyes pierced through the mist.

"I cannot believe he's really gone... father was not a good man, but I had no idea he had this personal venom inside him..." he said. The other boy scoffed, his orange eyes rolling in annoyance.

"Good riddance, I say! He was a bastard, plain and simple!" The boy replied to his brother, much to his dismay.

"But he was still our father, Dio! Surely, you must have SOME sympathy for what he did to raise us." Dio sighed, closing his eyes.

"Yes Dante, I suppose I have some." Dio replied, lying through his teeth. Dante reached into his pocket and pulled out a crinkled piece of paper given to him by his late father, Dario. Dante looked to his left, remembering what their father told them.

"Boys... I'm dying... the Joestars have adopted you and will raise you in my place... go to their mansion... become rich..." Dario choked out. Dante came back to reality when Dio snapped his fingers in front of his face.

"Our carriage is here." Dio said as the wagon stopped before the boys. They loaded their luggage and boarded the carriage as the driver started off to the Joestar mansion. Dio and Dante sat perpendicular to each other, looking out the window. "Once we arrive, I'll become number one. I'll be the undisputed number one of everything and everyone! If I destroy the Joestar brat and Dante, then my competition will be all but gone..." Dio thought, planning his takeover. Dante, on the other hand, was thinking about his new family and what his new life would be like. The wagon started to slow as Dante looked out the window. The Joestar manor loomed ahead, filling him with excitement and nervousness at the same time. Dio remained as cool and level headed as he always did. The carriage stopped in front of the manor, a young boy with a brown suit and blue hair standing by the fountain. Dio grabbed his luggage and kicked the carriage door open, tossing his briefcase on the ground outside. Dante watched as Dio leapt from the carriage, landing before the boy. He slowly rose up, glaring at the boy by the fountain. Dante exited the carriage, gently placing his briefcase on the ground next to him.

"You must be Dio Brando, right?" The boy asked before turning to Dante. "And you're Dante Brando, right?" Dante nodded in response.

"And you must be Johnathan, heir to the Joestar fortune." Dio said. The boy nodded.

"Yes, but please call me JoJo. It's a pleasure to meet you both." Johnathan replied. Dante shook his hand as the sounds of barking was heard. The three looked to the source of the sound: a dog running towards them. "Danny!" Johnathan exclaimed. "That's Danny, my dog and steadfast companion. Don't worry, he knows better than to nip at strangers." Dio narrowed his eyes as the dog approached, kneeing the poor animal square in the face. Johnathan and Dante gasped in shock. "What was that for!? How dare you!" Johnathan yelled. Dante ran over to console Danny, petting him gently as Dio and Johnathan raised their fists to each other.

"So this is the brat I must usurp? Wears his heart on his sleeve. He's quick to anger. This pampered fool is no match for Dio Brando." Dio thought to himself. Suddenly, the three heard the front doors being opened as a man that looked similar to Johnathan exited with some servants.

"Fighting already, I see? I see what this is about." The man said. Dio dropped his fists, bowing in respect.

"I apologize. The dog was running at me and in my panic, I struck it." Dio said. The man bought Dio's lie and welcomed the two boys into the mansion. Johnathan reached for Dio's bag, but Dio grabbed his wrist, pulling it away. "Watch your hands. No one is allowed to touch my bag without my permission." Dio said coldly.

"I was trying to help!" Johnathan exclaimed before getting elbowed in the chest by Dio. Johnathan stepped back, Dante helping him up. Dio shoved Dante aside, pinching Johnathan's ear.

"Listen to me. I may be a guest in your home, but that doesn't change a thing. In all things I do, I am number one." Dio smiled and walked upstairs. Dante helped Johnathan up again.

"I'm sorry for my brother. Dio isn't the most welcoming person in the world." Dante explained as the two walked to his room. The younger Brando child and Johnathan became good friends in the following hours. Hours became days. Days became weeks. Dio continued to make Johnathan's life a living Hell. Slowly, George Joestar's favor shifted from his own son to Dio, much to Johnathan's dismay. At every instance of the slightest thing wrong, George would scold JoJo and praise Dio and Dante, yet the latter defended his adopted brother. Dio surpassed Johnathan in every aspect, even taking away his title as local boxing champion. Slowly but surely, all of JoJo's friends were gone. His only companions being Danny and Dante.

"Damn that Dio!" Johnathan yelled angrily one day. "It's like he's trying to steal my life or something!" Danny tilted his head in confusion while Dante sighed. Suddenly, Dante turned his head, seeing a young girl in a blue dress leave something in a tree.

"Excuse me madame, you left something behind!" He said, standing up to stop her, but she was already gone. Johnathan followed and investigated, finding a basket of grapes and the hankerchief with his name on it. The girl, Erina Pendleton, had been helped by JoJo the same day the Brando brothers arrived. The two quickly started to fall in love, JoJo even carving their names into a tree. But Dio noticed this and began formulating a plan...