06-08-2007, 05:42 PM
Just as a sword smith chooses a blank stock of steel, so to did Yamu enter Dante?s Abyss. Shapeless and without a single use they both have a purpose, a goal to which they will achieve. For the block of steel and Yamu it was the same goal?to be a weapon of unparalleled merit.
As the steel is thrust into the flames to make it malleable so to did Yamu undergo a crucible placed around him by Burter. The flames heated the metal just as surely emotions boiled Yamu?s blood. The hairless human questioned himself and his goals just as the steel pondered his fate in the oven. Does the metal know it will one day be a sword? That the heat, as painful as it is in that moment, will help it reach the greater good, to make it useful? Could Yamu possibly understand that by loosing his friends and by shedding other blood, that in the end, it prepared him for what he must do? The burn of the kiln was equal to the pain Yamu knew he would feel at having to kill a friend. The veiny behemoth had mentally entered that Big Blue kiln and fought through the temptation to quit, to let his emotions beat him before an opponent could. To not face his friends to the death. As the steel fights the heat and overcomes, Yamu too survived, but the heat of his emotions was nothing without shaping. Both sword and Yamu had much more to undergo before they were useful.
Out of the coals they both go, but only to another more painful tribulation! The hammers smash the heated slug of steel, shaping and molding a worthless hunk of ore into a graceful and deadly form. Jeice had been Yamu?s hammer. The gloved fists of the white haired fighter struck like a mallet, hammering out the impurities and giving Yamu his deadly curve. A katana! Beauty and danger mixed into a single edged blade. The red skinned fighter had molded Yamu just as a sword master shapes the delicate curve just so. The process was never pretty or easy, having to face down a friend or feeling the sting of an apprentice?s strike. The steel survived, Yamu survived, and both were better for it.
But the katana is now brittle! Hot! The form is there! The shape is perfect! Yamu was just like that weapon, just as hard and fragile. Raditzu had been Yamu?s quenching bath! The glowing steel is doused in oil, removing some hardness in exchange for flexibility. A small price! With brittleness removed the gains are astounding! The katana can withstand and endure now. Forces the steel alone could never face the katana can resists, bend to the pressure and return the blow. The flowing haired Saiya-Jin had done the same to Yamu, tempered his heat to make him more deadly. The veiny juggernaut had been too impatient, to bloodthirsty, Rad had changed that, the Saiya-Jin had given Yamu the intelligence to plan his battles, to resist, to withstand the pressure and strike back when he choose.
As the katana glows by the heat of the fire under its master?s eyes, Yamu too now shone in the morning sun. Both products, near finished, that was a work of art as sure as a weapon of war. One step remains for the pair who parallel so much. A sword must be sharpened?honed to a razor edge before it fights. The veiny human needed sharpening as well?the Finals were close and the weapon was not yet complete.
One more obstacle to finish him, one more trial to pass, and Yamu would be complete.
He would be a living weapon.
Yamu had already cleaned up his meager camp site from the night before. The island was surprisingly riddled with caves and he had heated up the cans of food and took several cat naps, never sleeping for long. He awoke every few minutes to check for any opponents and keep his gun trained on the opening.
The red sun of dawn reflected across his ki sand covered arm, dancing red ghosts across the black surface that gave him mobility in his left arm. He drank a half a shot of the liquor he had found on the Farm, ?To Day Five.? It did not bother the ebony eyed Earthling as much as he though that there was no one there to toast with him?it seemed almost appropriate that the last leg had to be taken alone. He saved the rest?he still hoped to drink to two more days.
Only thirteen were left on his map?disappointingly Raditzu was one of them. No matter?anyone who could have survived what Yamu had done to him deserved to live. There was eleven other targets?eleven other obstacles. He just hoped he did not run into one of them until the time was right.
As the steel is thrust into the flames to make it malleable so to did Yamu undergo a crucible placed around him by Burter. The flames heated the metal just as surely emotions boiled Yamu?s blood. The hairless human questioned himself and his goals just as the steel pondered his fate in the oven. Does the metal know it will one day be a sword? That the heat, as painful as it is in that moment, will help it reach the greater good, to make it useful? Could Yamu possibly understand that by loosing his friends and by shedding other blood, that in the end, it prepared him for what he must do? The burn of the kiln was equal to the pain Yamu knew he would feel at having to kill a friend. The veiny behemoth had mentally entered that Big Blue kiln and fought through the temptation to quit, to let his emotions beat him before an opponent could. To not face his friends to the death. As the steel fights the heat and overcomes, Yamu too survived, but the heat of his emotions was nothing without shaping. Both sword and Yamu had much more to undergo before they were useful.
Out of the coals they both go, but only to another more painful tribulation! The hammers smash the heated slug of steel, shaping and molding a worthless hunk of ore into a graceful and deadly form. Jeice had been Yamu?s hammer. The gloved fists of the white haired fighter struck like a mallet, hammering out the impurities and giving Yamu his deadly curve. A katana! Beauty and danger mixed into a single edged blade. The red skinned fighter had molded Yamu just as a sword master shapes the delicate curve just so. The process was never pretty or easy, having to face down a friend or feeling the sting of an apprentice?s strike. The steel survived, Yamu survived, and both were better for it.
But the katana is now brittle! Hot! The form is there! The shape is perfect! Yamu was just like that weapon, just as hard and fragile. Raditzu had been Yamu?s quenching bath! The glowing steel is doused in oil, removing some hardness in exchange for flexibility. A small price! With brittleness removed the gains are astounding! The katana can withstand and endure now. Forces the steel alone could never face the katana can resists, bend to the pressure and return the blow. The flowing haired Saiya-Jin had done the same to Yamu, tempered his heat to make him more deadly. The veiny juggernaut had been too impatient, to bloodthirsty, Rad had changed that, the Saiya-Jin had given Yamu the intelligence to plan his battles, to resist, to withstand the pressure and strike back when he choose.
As the katana glows by the heat of the fire under its master?s eyes, Yamu too now shone in the morning sun. Both products, near finished, that was a work of art as sure as a weapon of war. One step remains for the pair who parallel so much. A sword must be sharpened?honed to a razor edge before it fights. The veiny human needed sharpening as well?the Finals were close and the weapon was not yet complete.
One more obstacle to finish him, one more trial to pass, and Yamu would be complete.
He would be a living weapon.
Yamu had already cleaned up his meager camp site from the night before. The island was surprisingly riddled with caves and he had heated up the cans of food and took several cat naps, never sleeping for long. He awoke every few minutes to check for any opponents and keep his gun trained on the opening.
The red sun of dawn reflected across his ki sand covered arm, dancing red ghosts across the black surface that gave him mobility in his left arm. He drank a half a shot of the liquor he had found on the Farm, ?To Day Five.? It did not bother the ebony eyed Earthling as much as he though that there was no one there to toast with him?it seemed almost appropriate that the last leg had to be taken alone. He saved the rest?he still hoped to drink to two more days.
Only thirteen were left on his map?disappointingly Raditzu was one of them. No matter?anyone who could have survived what Yamu had done to him deserved to live. There was eleven other targets?eleven other obstacles. He just hoped he did not run into one of them until the time was right.
![[Image: Yamusig3copy.jpg]](http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e227/Wyled/Yamusig3copy.jpg)
Dante's Abyss 2007 Runner-Up