Samurai Joe

"Where did it all go wrong?" Joe asked as he pinched his nose before he stuck his head inside a dumpster.

In a dark and secluded alleyway, Joe looked for thrown away food to kill the pain his stomach was causing him out of hunger. He throws bags out to clear them out of the way, making the alleyway even more messy than it already was. Nothing seemed to bother him, not even the smell, as he didn't notice that he stopped pinching his nose. That all changed once he heard the yells of someone who sounded pissed off; Joe, using his head, lifted the lid and took a peek in the pitch black alleyway.

"You again, I thought I told you to leave!!"

A single light lit up the back entrance of a restaurant as a cook came out holding a bucket. Joe climbed out of the dumpster, trying to get a better look at what was inside the bucket, but it was close to impossible as the cook walked out of the range of the light.

"Hey, when do you guys throw your food out?" Joe said before being cut off.

He was greeted with water; he felt it soaking his whole body, moving along to his legs and feet. Some happened to land inside his mouth; a flow of water came out of Joe's mouth, like a statue shooting out water.

"Thanks, it's been a while since I last showered!"

"Get the hell out of here, and don't come back. If I see you here again, I'll throw leftover ramen broth at you!!" said the cook as he threw the bucket to the ground, breaking it in the process, before stomping his feet back into the restaurant.

Joe gazed at the cook as he stormed into the restaurant, and back at the mess of trash he had made. He quickly looked the other way and started heading toward the glowing light coming from the end of the alleyway. As he started walking, he looked up at the glowing full moon. He admired its beauty, but he couldn't shake off the eerie feeling he had.

"To an honorable swordsman, to a bum who looks in the trash for food." he said as he slowly lowered his head, looking at the pitch black ground. "This is my life now, ever since she died."

Once he reached the light, he quickly squinted his eyes, holding his arm over them. He rubbed his eyes, trying to get rid of the irritation that they were causing him. When the irritation stopped, he looked around the glowing village and the many people who came out to see the yearly fair. Joe proceeded to walk away from the fair, as he felt like an outcast among the people. His body started to shiver the more he kept moving; he tried hiding his hands in his pockets, but all he did was dampen them.

"Not a day goes by where I don't regret what I did; now her spirit haunts my every breathing second."

Without even noticing, Joe bumped arms with someone next to him.

"I guess, this is the life I deserve."

"Hey!!" yelled the man as he stuck out his finger, aiming it at Joe.

Joe moved his head to the left to catch a quick peek; he saw a man who seemed to be around six feet tall and was muscular and wide; he was marching towards Joe.

"How dare you bump into me and not apologize, don't you know who I am!?"

People started to form a circle as they heard the commotion; Joe moved his body to face the man.

"Who the hell are you?"

"I am Jiro Bando, son of Rokuro Bando!!"

"Ah, you're Rokuro's little brat. I've fought your father before; his swordsmanship was lousy!!" said Joe as he laughed.

"I'll show you, lousy!!" said Jiro as he slid his katana.

Jiro gripped his sword with both hands as he locked eyes with Joe. Then a "whoosh" noise was heard; it was so quick that many people missed what happened, but Joe didn't. He leaned back, making Jiro miss his neck.