A/N: Nearly 14 years ago, I started my fanfiction writing career here. With a fic called Silent Night for Revenge of Shinobi. I was a teen then, still in high school.

And it had changed my life.

I honestly never thought I would go so far as a writer, especially here. And since I reached 100 stories here and on AO3, why not celebrate... by posting a rewrite of my very first fic I posted?

Thanks to TheQuestingBunny for beta reading! You're awesome as always, sis!

I don't own anything. Everything belongs to SEGA.

ENJOY!

The stars sparkled in the dark blue sky as the moon shone, illuminating the rocky path Joe Musashi—the last of his slain ninja clan—walked down on. His footsteps crushed dead leaves and kicked away gravel as he continued forward slowly. He wasn't in a rush at all. He didn't want to get to his destination, as it was too painful to deal with. However, it would do the one person he was seeing a disservice if he didn't come.

Joe wasn't sure how long it was night out; he had lost track of time ever since that gruesome, traumatizing fight against Neo Zeed. Neo Zeed was dead, which Joe would have been relieved after everything he had done… but defeating that evil man cost him something—someone dear to him.

He sighed through the red ninja mask as he continued forward. The moon continued its glowing shine on the rocky road ahead of Joe, as if it was beckoning him to keep going. He had to, anyway. He had to meet the one person he failed to save.

Finally… there it was. There she was.

A gravestone stood at the end of the road, the bottom of it buried tightly in the ground. Large words engraved on the stone:

"Here lies Naoko

A loving woman, a caring lover, a true friend"

The date of her birth and death was also written on the gravestone, with her death year being this year. Twenty-two years old. She was too young to be dead. It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair at all.

And it was all Joe's fault that she was gone.

He shook his head as his guilt—an emotion he would never get used to feeling—grew larger from there, as he stared at the grave of his beloved Naoko. It had been a few days since her funeral, where Joe was the only attendant. With his clan, including Naoko's father, dead, he felt like he was grieving all alone, with no one there to help him get through the pain. Although, even if he had someone with him, he felt he didn't deserve such comfort.

He sighed again, before kneeling down to the gravestone's level. He placed a hand on the stone's surface, covering the death date; it was too painful to see that she died such a short time ago.

Joe pulled down his mask before he muttered, "Naoko… I…"

His words caught in his throat. What was he supposed to say? That he was sorry for letting her down? That he felt awful for letting her die? He wasn't sure. Silence reigned in the dark, chilly air for a minute as he wracked his mind on what to say to her.

He gulped, as he tried to speak again. "I… my love, I…"

His words remained in his throat as he nearly choked on his breath. He opened his mouth to speak again, but he couldn't. His free hand balled into a fist as he shut his eyes tightly, his body trembling. The thoughts of that fight—that damned fight—flashed in his mind. He tried to breathe, tried to focus on today, that he shouldn't be thinking about this now.

But his mind had other plans, as it tortured him on how he had failed with every little detail.

The Neo Zeed Marine Stronghold held many strong adversaries, but they were no match for Joe. With his sword, shurikens, and smarts, he managed to kill all enemies save for one. The labyrinth that he had tried to solve was frustrating and confusing to him, with the many walls taking him to where he was already. He didn't have time to wander around to solve it. Neo Zeed was clever to create a difficult puzzle, but Joe would never admit to this.

Joe's grip on one of his shuriken tightened as he approached the beaten man with an intense glare. The man's whimpers echoed as Joe continued his menacing approach, as he tried to scoot away from him as fast as he could. However, Joe was faster as he swiftly snatched the man's shirt, lifting him up from the floor.

Joe's face was up to the fearful man's as he growled, "Where is Neo Zeed? Where is my fiancée?"

Gulping, the man shook his head, tears forming in his eyes as he stuttered, "I-I don't know. I was h-h-hired yesterday—"

Joe gritted his teeth at the flimsy lie, and placing the shuriken on the man's neck, he demanded again, "Where. Are. They?"

Tears fell from the captive's eyes then. First he sputtered, then he sobbed, but he didn't say anything useful.

"Well?!" Joe dug the blade a bit deeper to the point blood trickled down the man's neck—not to kill, but to speed things along.

The man gasped, the sting of the blade being too much for him as he began to sputter out the labyrinth's correct pathway through the walls. Joe mentally formed the path; he was on the right track, but this particular room left him stuck. He just needed to find the correct wall to enter and he would be able to find them.

"P-please!" His captive sobbed, "Let me go now!" He squirmed, drawing more blood from the blade Joe held to his neck.

Joe's glare didn't falter; with one swift movement, he slashed the man's neck, killing him instantly. He dropped the body on the floor with a loud thud, before he quickly went on his way.

As he followed his mental map in the labyrinth, his thoughts and worries swarmed him like angry bees. What was Neo Zeed doing to Naoko? Had he hurt her? Was she safe?

Or was she dead already?

He shook his head at the last thought. No, Naoko shouldn't be dead right now. He was sure that she was still alive. He just needed to hurry. He just needed to focus on the mission at hand.

But if he had harmed her in any way…

He jumped towards the next flippable wall, which took him to his destination. A large, wooden cell stood on his left side, containing…

"Naoko!" Joe gasped, his eyes widened when he spotted the very person he was searching for. Naoko sat on the wooden floor of her makeshift cell, her face stained with tears and cuts. Dirt clung onto her pink dress, as bloody gashes littered her body. When she overheard her beloved's voice, her eyes met his and sobbed.

"Joe!" Naoko wailed, "Help me!"

Joe ran as fast as he could to the cell door, one shuriken in hand. There. A lock was on the door. He just needed to pick it and—

"I knew you would come, Joe Musashi…"

As if it was meant to be, Joe jumped back from a large wad of white hair flying at him like a boomerang. He landed on one knee, his shuriken remained gripped in his hand, and he glared at his attacker when he stood.

"Neo Zeed," Joe growled, tightening his grip on his weapon, his scowl intensifying, "What have you done with Naoko?!"

Neo Zeed floated up from the bottom of the floor, retrieving the white hair he threw at Joe with his head. He peeked through his bangs, a sadistic, toothy grin on his face. "I had a lot of fun with her while we waited for you," Neo Zeed taunted, "she's a pretty thing. I quite enjoy her company. Too bad you didn't come by sooner…"

Joe could only see red then, his teeth gritting at the thought of Neo Zeed harming his fiancée in such a way. With how terrified Naoko was, he couldn't imagine Neo Zeed going this far. How dare he.

He took a step, but Neo Zeed held out a hand with a shake of his head.

"Nuh uh uh!" He chuckled, pulling out a square device with a large, red button in the middle. "We hadn't started the best part yet!"

Joe sprinted with his shuriken up, ignoring Neo Zeed's orders, but before he could land a hit, Neo Zeed floated back. The villain shook his head in disappointment before he pressed the button.

Naoko screamed.

Joe stopped his next attack, turning his head to the cell so fast he swore his neck would break. Naoko's body trembled, more tears spilling down her face as she looked up at the ceiling—

The ceiling!

Joe saw it too. In Naoko's cell, the gray ceiling began to lower slowly, its aim to crush Naoko once it reached the bottom.

Joe's heart raced, his eyes widened in fear—a feeling he never felt before as a ninja. He needed to make this fight quick to save his beloved, or she would surely—

He didn't see the hair boomerang coming. The attack slashed him, knocking him back and he landed on one knee. He held his chest where his injury was, blood seeping down between his fingers. He scowled at Neo Zeed, whose hair returned to him before he began to whip it around again.

Joe stood, his shuriken remaining in his hand. When Neo Zeed threw his hair at Joe once more, the ninja ducked to avoid it before throwing his shuriken at the now-defenseless man. It hit. But Neo Zeed didn't flinch.

Click

Joe heard a click behind him, and turned to see Neo Zeed's boomerang hair hitting a switch on the wall. He raised a brow, but prepared himself—this had to be one of Neo Zeed's traps as he ducked from the hair returning to its owner.

But nothing came of it, except for Neo Zeed's cursing.

"Joe!" Naoko cried, catching the ninja's attention, "The ceiling!"

Joe turned to see Naoko, who pointed up. However, just as soon as he saw the ceiling no longer moving, it began its slow descent again.

It dawned on Joe. That switch could be helpful to him to save Naoko. He just needed to use it if needed.

Neo Zeed's hair returned to his head, and he gritted his teeth in anger. "You damned ninja!" He growled, before he began to whip his hair back and forth once more.

Joe rushed him then, his sword raised. When he was close enough, Neo Zeed's hair remained on his head, instead using it to try to stab Joe. He ducked, before slashing at Neo Zeed's knee.

The villain cried out, flying away slightly, giving Joe enough time to throw another shuriken at the switch. It stopped the ceiling momentarily before it continued down towards Naoko.

The hair flew towards Joe once more, and Joe threw another shuriken at Neo Zeed, landing another hit. He barely ducked in time to avoid the attack returning to his enemy. As Neo Zeed prepared a stabbing motion at Joe, he threw a shuriken at the switch.

The fight continued that way for a few minutes—Neo Zeed attempting to boomerang or stab Joe, while Joe threw his shurikens or used his sword, hitting him when he was open, whittling him down slowly but surely. While Neo Zeed attempted to get his bearings together, Joe threw a shuriken at the switch to delay the ceiling.

Neo Zeed's movements grew sluggish, as blood dripped down on all the wounds he had sustained from the battle. However, he remained standing as he began whipping his hair back and forth again. Joe moved his hand to grab another shuriken—

Only to feel nothing there.

His eyes widened, glancing down at his belt. He was out of shurikens.

DAMMIT!

Now he wished that he was more prepared and saved his shurikens for this fight. All he had was his sword, but what good would it do to stop the ceiling momentarily?

"JOE!"

Joe turned to see Naoko, and his eyes grew wider when he saw her sprawled on the floor, the ceiling right above her. More tears fell down Naoko's face, dripping on the wooden floor as intense fear remained on her features.

"NAOKO!" He cried. No. He needed to hurry before it was too late. Even without his shurikens, he would be able to fight Neo Zeed with his sword. He just needed to be quick.

He unsheathed the sword from his back again, and rushed towards Neo Zeed. However, Neo Zeed was faster as he threw his hair at Joe once more. Due to the panic pumping in Joe's system, the hair hit him, and Joe flew further and landed on his back, his sword clattering to his side. Blood dripped down on his white ninja suit, pain shocking him for a moment.

A moment too long.

"JO—"

A sickening crunch and squelch hit Joe's ears, and his heart nearly stopped from the sounds. His stomach turned, not wanting to look at what he was hearing. He knew what that meant. He didn't want to see it. But he looked anyway.

And his life came crashing down when he saw the scene.

The descending ceiling managed to touch the ground, with no Naoko in sight; what remained of her was a pool of blood seeping from the bottom of the ceiling, along with her arm sticking out of the cell. The silver ring that was on her finger shone, the same ring Joe proposed with to her a few months before this.

Joe's eyes grew wider and wider. A wave of emotions hit him. Anger. Grief. Guilt. Rage.

"NAOKO!" Joe screamed, scrambling to his feet to get to Naoko's body. He knelt down beside her arm, taking her hand with both of his. He stared at the ring on her finger, his heart slowly breaking at the sight of his beloved—or what was left of her.

For what felt like years, he could only gape at her hand, the memories of their time together flowing in his mind like a dam being released. Their first meeting as children. Their love for each other growing as they aged. Their adulthood together. The eventual proposal…

Tears began to build up in his eyes, the realization hitting him like a freight train.

Naoko. His fiancée. She was dead. And it was all his fault.

"Such a shame."

Joe heard Neo Zeed's voice from above. He glared up at him, tears threatening to fall.

"You came all this way to save your sweet fiancée, and you managed to let her die," Neo Zeed chuckled, shaking his head in mock disappointment. "I thought you were better than that, Musashi."

Joe's hands balled into fists, pulling out another sword from his back as he muttered a small but quivering, "Shut up…"

"First you let your entire clan die, now you let her die too?" Neo Zeed mocked, "You should be ashamed."

Joe stood up, his teeth gritting as Neo Zeed continued to taunt him, "What are you going to do now? You have nothing! No clan to return to. No lover. You're the only person left in your sad, pitiful life."

Joe stuck his sword point first on the wooden floor, before kneeling down.

"You're a pathetic ninja," Neo Zeed continued with a laugh, "you might as well give up here now that you have nothing left!"

Joe gritted his teeth so hard he could feel pain, but once Neo Zeed whipped his hair again, aiming to end Joe's life, that was when Joe struck.

"JUTSU OF MIJIN!"

With all his might, he shoved the sword further in the ground, his mental concentration at its maximum capacity. Everything around him turned dark. Within seconds, his entire body burst, the vibrations of the earth hitting Neo Zeed. Hard.

Neo Zeed tumbled back, the attack so powerful he himself burst into an explosion. His screams of pain, along with cursing at Joe, were suddenly cut short. His hair fell on the ground once the explosion dissipated, with nothing else resembling Neo Zeed left.

The Jutsu ended, and Joe returned to his normal form. However, he remained kneeled on the floor, his sword still stuck there. His body trembled, as the tears then began to fall.

"Naoko…" Joe quivered. He didn't bother to glance at Naoko's body—he knew that he lost despite defeating Neo Zeed.

"Naoko…" he repeated, his heart breaking into more pieces as the realization hit him like a ton of bricks.

Naoko… Naoko was gone. Forever. He failed her. He failed his clan. He failed his mission.

He threw his head up, his sobbing scream piercing the air:

"NAOKO!"

Joe sighed, shaking his head as a stray tear managed to escape his eye. However, he didn't bother to wipe it away as he stared longingly at Naoko's grave.

Even with Neo Zeed's defeat, he lost everything that day. His clan. His fiancée. His future.

What would have been if he was successful? He could see it. They would be together again, rebuilding the clan with her and helping the clan live on. They would eventually have a child, who would let the Musashi name continue for many generations to come. Their child would be happy and healthy, strong like their father and kind like their mother. They would all live happily.

But that would never happen. He failed them all. And it was all his doing.

"...Naoko…" Joe said, before pulling out a red camellia; it was a favorite flower of Naoko's, and she loved to collect them when she was a child. From what she had told him, it represented love. Their love for each other.

He placed the red camellia on the grave; it was the only thing that was there, as there was no one else to grieve over her.

"...Forgive me, Naoko," was all Joe said. He stood and turned, leaving the grave as he pulled his mask back up. During his walk back to his now-ravaged village, he glanced up at the night sky. There. He could see a brief glimpse of Naoko's face, smiling down at him and laughing happily. A smile he would never see again, and a loving laugh he would never hear again.

Happiness hit him that moment he saw her beautiful face, but he shook his head, another tear leaving his eye. He looked down at his feet. He needed to rest if he was seeing things. But he knew it would be yet another restless night.

As he continued forward, the night grew silent. And it would be silent for Joe for the rest of his life, filled with regrets, what-ifs, should haves, and lost love.

A/N: And with that, ends my career on this site. Yep, after so many years, I'm retiring this account for good! I thought it's a good full circle; starting off with a fic, ending with a rewrite of that fic.

If you want more of my writing, I have permanently moved to AO3! I'm WriterOfWorlds there, so see you all there!

And as always, constructive criticism is welcomed!