Chapter 9

As Joe walks he remembers a few things other people have said:

"Why have you become so evil?", said Bijou.

"I'm not weak. You're weak for abandoning Bijou!" said Hamtaro .

"Hey mister how come you won't let me say thanks?" said Honeybun.

None of you even know the half of it! As Joe walks on he begins reminiscing about the past.

About several months after Bijou dumped him Joe had been dating a girl ham named Amy. They were very happy together. However her parents didn't like Joe one bit. Amy often had to sneak out to see him.

At Joe's owner's house Joe's parents were discussing something.

"Joe I know you love her but you have to stop dating her." His father said.

"Your father is right son." His mother said. "What if Houji (Amy's father) tries to hurt you."

"It doesn't matter." Joe responded. "I love her so much. I love her more than what's her face."

"You mean Bijou."

"Yeah. Her father cannot stop me from seeing her." Joe left his cage and went outside. His parents lowered their heads. Suddenly they heard someone coming in.

"Joe?" It wasn't Joe. It was Amy's father Houji.

"Mr. Houji what a pleasant surprise!"

"I don't want anything from you. Just tell Joe that if he doesn't stop now something terrible will happen to him I assure you." Houji left. The next day Joe's parents told him about what's going to happen. He didn't listen and continued to date Amy. At sunset Joe saw Amy on a hill crying.

"What's wrong?" Joe asked.

"My father wants to destroy you." Suddenly a bunch of Houji's men came out beat up Joe until he passed out. Amy was taken away. When Joe regained consciousness he decided to go home and tell his parents about what happened. However as soon as he got home he saw that the entire house was on fire.

"MOM! DAD!" They couldn't hear him.

"I warned you." Joe turned around to see Houji. "So you see what you get if you don't follow me?"

"You did this didn't you!"

"So what if I did? What are you going to do about it?" Houji smacked Joe across the face with his gun. He pointed it at Joe.

"Good bye Joe." As Houji pulled the trigger Amy blocked the shot from hitting Joe. However she was killed in his place.

"AMY!" Joe was in shock. His girl ham sacrificed herself to keep him alive.

"Foolish girl. Now its time for you to die J-" However Houji noticed that Joe was gone. "It doesn't matter anyway. The shock of having his owner, parents, and girl ham die will in time make him weak and kill himself." The next day Joe buried his parents and Amy. As he walked in pain many images of Bijou came to mind.

"Bijou?"

"Joe there is no need to feel sorry. I know you feel so bad but I'm still here for you."

"Bijou." Joe tried to run up to her but he realized that it was all a dream.

The next day he went towards a house with a white rose. All I have to do is tell Bijou I'm sorry. She'll forgive me. However when Joe got to her house there was no one in there.

"You're looking Bijou aren't ya Joe?"

"Pierre do you know where she is?" Joe asked.

"Sorry she moved to Japan. And I hear she's fallen in love with another hamster named Hamtaro. I'm sorry but you're too late." Joe dropped his rose. He was in disbelief. He ran away and looked into the alley he first met her and began crying.

A year later Joe lived with his uncle's family according to his parent's will. However his uncle always hated him. When he lived with them they made him do such impossible tasks and if they weren't completed right and on time he was punished. One night his uncle threw him out of the house.

"I told you already you aren't allowed to enter the house until you carry all the barrels of alfalfa bits and sunflower seeds into the shed!" Joe's uncle drank his sake bottle. He then noticed the anger in Joe's eyes.

"Why are you looking at me like that!" His uncle threw the bottle at Joe's head. "You can go and sleep outside as your punishment." The rest of his family came out.

"And don't forget your work in the kitchen!" His aunt yelled.

"And messaging my shoulders." His cousin Mantan said. Joe got up and left to do his chores.

"Damn that stupid brother of mine to leave an even stupider kid to take care of." his uncle said.

"Hey we can always use him as a servant. No one will care anyway." his cousin Yano said.

"Besides he's always angry like that. Its almost as if that weakling thinks he can kill us." replied his cousin Asuka.

"Huh?" his brother Mantan said.

"There is no way he's going to inherit our business. All of it is going to "my" kids!" said his aunt. Joe carried all fifty barrels into the store room. After that was done he went to the well to dampen the wound on his eye. Suddenly he heard a scream. He traced it to a police ham trying to kill a hamster. The hamster was black with red stripes and the fur was spiky in the back. The hamster killed the police ham easily along with several others. Joe was going to leave until he stepped on a branch grabbing the hamster's attention.

"You saw me!" The hamster walked up to Joe. "You have seen me. Now you shall die." Normally the hamster would see eyes full of fear however he saw that Joe had eyes full of anger, yet it was the calm kind of anger. "Do you really want to die so badly?"

"Well you see." Joe begin to cry. The hamster lowers his sword and clutches one of his wounds.

"Kid. Get me food and bandages. If you do I'll let you live." Later the hamster had a few bandages on his wounds but the rest of his body was still visible. "Ah that feels a little better." He takes a bit of food from the barrels.

"Um mister?" The hamster looks at Joe but Joe begins to hide.

"I have a name you know and its not mister. The name is Shade." As Shade eats a bit more Joe asks him another question.

"Uh Shade."

"Yeah."

"You've killed so many people. Does this mean you're evil?"

"Its my brother Kenshin that's evil. Leaving me out to die like that."

"So that means you're a good guy."

"No kid I'm truly evil." Joe panics and begins to run for cover. "Hey I told you I wouldn't kill you. I really like it here. Maybe I'll stay here for a while." Shade falls asleep. Joe comes out of hiding and looks and looks at Shade. That ham is really evil. But… But he's a really strong ham.

Three days later many people including Joe's uncle start looking for a murderer.

"You've heard about it haven't you? A mystery ham murdered so many police." As Joe was carrying another barrel Mantan came up to him and said:

"Joe you've been sleeping outside lately." He picks up Joe by the fur. "If anything is going on tell me okay?" He puts him down. "This looks like a perfect time to show my skills. That murderer won't stand a chance." Mantan slices the barrel with a sword and the sunflower seeds spill out.

"Come on brother. What will all the people think when they see you swinging that thing." Yano looked at Joe and the barrel which gave him an idea.

"Hey pops! Joe spilled another barrel." Joe was shocked. His uncle came out very angrily.

"Another one. Joe don't you know how much all this is worth." Yano smiled as Joe's uncle beat up Joe.

Later that night Joe told Shade what happened.

"So those people beat you up a lot? They're pretty evil themselves. But why do you always have that angry face?" Shade asked.

"Heke? Well you're right. It is strange, but it wasn't always like this. My parents died because of a fire and now I have to work for these hamsters. They make me do so many chores and punish me daily. However even if I cry they just call me a noisy brat and continue to beat me up even more. So if I'm angry and try to bear they get tired. I know I'm their relative but I wasn't born into this family so-"

"You're wrong!" Joe was surprised. Shade continued. "It has nothing to do with where you're born. It's because you're weak. In the end it will always be survival of the fittest. 'If you're strong you live. If you're weak you die.'" Joe thought about it. If you're strong you live. If you're weak you die. Shade took out a different sword with a glove on his paw. It was starting to glow. "The tetsusaiga is reacting now. You must be its owner. Here. A gift for letting me stay here."

The next day Joe did his chores again. As he walked he thought about what Shade said. If you're strong you live. If you're weak you die.

Later that evening Shade felt his hair standing on its ends.

"My hair is standing on its ends. There's gonna be a storm."

At Joe's uncle's house his family were discussing about recent events.

"Hey has any of you seen the bandages? I know the missing food is Joe sneaking food out but why the bandages?" his aunt asked.

"We beat him up a lot. He must be using them."

"But even the spares are gone. Why would he use so many?" Mantan got an idea.

"Hey pops. About that murderer they said he had several wounds on his body right?"

"Yeah but-" Joe's uncle put it all together. He was very pissed. "Damn that bastard Joe!"

At the shed Joe was trying to warm himself with a torn up blanket. He hid tetsusaiga under the shed.

"Being slain by a sword. It must really hurt. Much more than being hit." Joe held his cheek where is relatives him. "I might as well return the tetsusaiga to Shade. After all I don't like killing. It doesn't matter if I'm weak." Joe heard his family calling him. "What do they want now?"

When Joe went to his relatives they were pissed.

"JOE! ARE YOU TRYING TO RUIN MY BUSINESS!" His uncle smacked him across the face with a bamboo stick. He and Mantan beat him up while he was on the ground. "COME ON TELL ME WHERE THAT FRIGGIN' MURDERER IS."

"I can't take anymore of this! I'LL THIS KID NOW!" Joe was shocked that they were going to kill him.

Asuka then asked, "Isn't that going to look ugly?"

Yano reassured her. "Oh don't worry about it. There's a dangerous criminal here. If we kill him we can just tell them that he was siding with the murder."

"That's right. We can probably get a reward for this. They won't care about some kid."

"I WON'T LET YOU RUIN MY BUSINESS!" Joe's uncle exclaimed.

"To think the favor we did by raising you and this is the thanks we get!" (Oh sure you raised him to be slave. Now that is good sarcastically) his aunt yelled.

"So do him in brother."

"Right!" All their words played over again in Joe's mind as well as what Shade has told him. If you're strong you live. If you're weak… Thunder struck.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Joe ran as fast as he could.

"Don't let that brat get away!" They chased after him.

"SOMEONE HELP ME! ANYONE! PLEASE! SOMEONE PLEASE HELP ME!"

Later his uncle and the rest got to the shed looking for him. Yano noticed a few foot prints under the shed. Joe was hiding holding on to the tetsusaiga.

"Please help me Shade."

"Oh there you are. I never expected you to side with a murderer." Joe held up his sword. "Oh that looks like a nice sword where did you get? Did you steal it?" When Yano touched the sword he was electrocuted. "Damn you now I'll you right here!" He took out his gun. As he took out his gun Joe thought of Shade's words. If you're strong you live. If you're weak…

Out of the shed his uncle and his family was waiting for Yano. They heard a scream.

"That didn't sound very pretty." Asuka said.

"Oh I'm sure that's just Joe. Alright here he comes." However the body that rolled out wasn't Joe. It was Yano. They were all horrified. Joe came out covered in blood. The blood seemed to blend in with his fur which was now blood red and his eyes were fiery with the tetsusaiga in his hands.

"In the end the world will always live by survival of the fittest. 'If you're strong you live…"

"YOU BASTARD YOU'RE GONNA PAY!"

"…If you're weak…" Joe killed both his uncle and Mantan with one slash.

In the other shed Shade was eating while he heard the screams of the women being killed. He went outside to see a bunch of dead bodies while Joe was standing looking into the sky.

"Are you crying?" Shade asked. Joe paused for awhile then responded with his angry face.

"What're you talking about!" Joe said in an angry tone. Shade couldn't do anything but smile. He was happy that he found a new student.

"C'mon Joe you're coming with me." As they were walking in the rain Joe decided to ask another question.

"Hey Shade, do you think I'll ever become strong?"

"Hmmm. That sword you're holding is the legendary tetsusaiga. It feeds off your anger. So as long as you rely on your hatred and the words I taught you, you can become strong. Maybe even stronger than me." During their training Shade taught Joe the Wattoujitsu, a very powerful style. Shade had limited knowledge of the style but Joe was so good at learning it he even surpassed Shade. A year later they met the devil ham and started working for him. That year the devil ham pitted Joe against Shade to see who was stronger. In the end Joe won. Shade couldn't explain it right but he said that Joe is definitely stronger than him.

Back in the present Joe was continuing on his way to the battle room. It doesn't matter anymore. I'll just kill Hamtaro and end it all.

As Hamtaro ran he became tired. He had been running in circles for an hour.

"I can't give up! I have to save Bijou no matter what happens!" Suddenly the ryusaiga began to glow. "That's funny. How come wasn't able to use it before?"

"Hamtaro."

"That voice." He looked around and saw. "OREO!" Oreo flew though other rooms. "Hey Oreo wait up!" Badda Badda Badda Badda. When she stopped Oreo pointed to an exit.

"You want me to go in there?" She nodded and disappeared. "Wait!" He looked at the door. "I know that the person in here Joe. I don't know if I can beat. No. Stop doubting yourself. I have to save Bijou no matter what happens. Even if it means fighting Chaos, Shade, Joe, and Devil ham all together. Alright Bijou here I come!" He entered the room and saw Joe.

"You've finally come Hamtaro."