YGO TEOIC. CHAPTER 4. Street Wise

                                            YUGIOH THE ENDER OF IRONCLAD
                                                      CHAPTER 4
                                                     Street Wise




Yugi winced as the sunlight beamed onto his face. No... Not ready to... Wake up... He thought sleepily.
He wasn't in the mood to wake up and face what ever monsters lay out there.

Monsters... Oh Notch!

Yugi's purple eyes snapped open and his body launched from it's sleeping position, his heart pounded as he looked
around wildly half expecting to find himself in a tree or on the ground surrounded by zombies or some other
manner of horrifying beast. All he saw, however, were streets, houses, people and the bench he had napped on.
Yugi's body sagged in relief. He was in safe in Ironclad's mighty walls. With a sigh, he leaned back against the
bench, wincing as he did so. His back now had an uncomfortable ache due to the position he had fallen asleep in.
Still, he'd take a hard bench over what those woods could offer any day. How long have I been asleep...?
Yugi glanced up at the sky and gulped. The sun was much closer to the west horizon then when he arrived. Judging by
where it was now, he guessed he had been asleep for about two hours. Yugi groaned again. While he still had a few
hours before the sun began to really set, the fact that he had wasted so much time sleeping frustrated him. Ah well,
there was nothing he could really do about it now. With a sigh he got up and instantly regretted it. Sleeping for so
long on the bench had allowed his already sore muscles to lock up, now they refused to correctly. Yugi bit his lip and
forced himself onto his feet, hissing at the pain in his back and legs. I wonder if this is how old people feel in
the morning?... The thought made him chuckle inwardly, after all, the elders in Fernway were always complaining
about how sore they were or how much they hated their still old bones. Now he more or less understood. He stretched,
managing to work some of the kinks out of his muscles before glancing around at his surroundings.

There were fewer people in the square now though that didn't mean much in a city as full as Ironclad. Men in woman
walked from one side to another in fine leather cloths or white robes. Some people, Yugi noticed, wore leather jackets
with symbols emblazoned on their front left pockets. It was hard to tell what was on the frost however, but they all
seemed unique in there own way.

A few citizens glanced at Yugi as they passed before bustling away to do their own business. He suddenly felt VERY
self conscious. He involuntarily looked down at his own cloths and nearly cringed. His leather boots and pants had mud
caked on the bottoms, the tips of his robes were tattered on the very edges, and the sap from the pine tree he had been
in that morning had clung to him and had created dark stains all along his clothing. It had also managed to get on his
skin, creating dark, flaky patches of pine sap and dirt. Good Notch I look like a mess... Like some sort of homeless
hobo... Even explorers don't look like this... Yugi grimaced. He didn't even want to guess what people had thought
of him when seeing him asleep on the bench. Best to just find the Professor and get indoors.

But where to start?

Yugi looked around the square and past the statue of Steve. The mane town center split off into five or six main streets.
Yugi could only guess that those streets broke off into smaller streets, and that those smaller streets broke off
into even smaller ones. He grimaced. He'd just have to pick one and hope he got lucky. He nodded and began walking down
the center northwest one.

It wasn't obvious at first, but eventually the atmosphere seemed to change the farther he walked. Besides that, the first
change he noticed were the buildings. They seemed... Darker? The windows too... Everything seemed darker or duller...
The buildings also looked to have bigger chimneys then the other
houses Yugi had seen thus far. The smells were the next thing he noticed. The pungent smell of sweat and something that
smelled akin to the burning charcoal he remembered smelling back at home, but this seemed to smell... Earthier.
Bigger more muscular men became more common the farther he walked, making Yugi feel deeply uncomfortable, and the sounds
of banging metal against metal served as a near constant background noise. What a strange place... Are all the streets
of Ironclad like this? And where are the libraries and spell shops and farmers?

Suddenly, he bumped heavily into someone while he wasn't looking. "Ouch!"
"OW! Watch where your going you obsidian skulled dolt!" a girl's voice shouted angrily.
"S-sorry!" Yugi replied, looking up at who he had bumped into. It was a girl with long light blonde hair
and green eyes. A pair of glasses adorned her face as well as several freckles. She glared back at her
angrily. She hardly seemed older then 13 or 14. He wasn't able to see much more, for she very quickly grunted
and walked angrily past him, chin tilted up high. "Next time don't daydream while you walk!" She said as she
passed him, before continuing down the street back towards the city center. Yugi watched her go, shocked by
the show of aggression from such a young girl. Things certainly are different here in Ironclad...
He continued
walking, pondering these things. There were many houses, all towering at least two stories high. All of them seemed to
glare down at him. There are so many... Which one is Professor Hawking's? Yugi thought. There was a moment
of silent panic before he remembered something his grandpa had told him. Because there are so many people and so
many homes, certain family's like my friend's Arthur's, have a seal on the door to distinguish them from other houses.

A seal. But what did their seal look like?! It took Yugi a moment to remember...
In a hurried motion, he reached back into his bag and pulled out the scroll he had brought with him. Upon it was the red
wax seal that held it closed. Bingo! The seal had the image of a hawk carrying a scroll in it's talons. This
must be the Hawking's House seal... It can't be anything else can it? So now he had something to help narrow down
his search. Still, searching for a single door with a seal on it in a city as big as Ironclad would still be very difficult.
He groaned. Well, there wasn't much he could do about that, best to just hope for the best.

Yugi continued walking, glancing around at the ever darkening houses and intimidating people when something suddenly snagged
his boot. With a yelp, he fell forward onto the street. "Uuuuhhhhggg..." He grimaced and slowly sat up, glancing over
his shoulder at the same time to see what had tripped him. A small stone in the protruded up form the cobblestone street
by his foot. With a sigh, he pulled himself up and took a look at his bruised, dirty and blackened hands. Wait,
blackened? He looked at his hands closer. A dusty black substance covered his palms. Is this... Yes, it's... Soot!
Yugi looked back down at the ground. In between the stones in the road was dark soot, nestled with the cracks where the wind
and brooms couldn't reach it. This gave the street a dark hue... He looked around more as he brushed his hands of the
dark dusty stuff. Soot. It was everywhere! In the corners of windows, in between the bricks and in any nook and cranny it
could get to. That explains the dark colors here... With this epiphany came another, as he looked down the street
he realized that all the houses and shops seemed to have something to do with blacksmithing or something to do with ore
working. It just goes on and on! Maybe the Professor isn't on this street... This kind of place didn't seem like
the sort of place for a professor. Maybe I should try a different street... Yugi sighed and looked up at the sky.
The sun had sunk a little more towards the west, and he could see the fainted tinges of orange on the horizon. He still had
a few hours by the looks of it, but he'd need to speed up his searching. Even though he wasn't as afraid of the monsters
of the night now that he was safely inside Ironclad, the summer nights still got very cold, and the idea of spending
another night outside didn't really appeal to him.

Yugi walked back the way he came, eventually the houses got lighter and more normal. He soon reemerged back into the town
center and glanced around. There were fewer people walking now, most likely because it was getting later. He glanced around
at the other streets, peaking down each one. Which one looks like one that Mr Hawkings would live on...? Maybe this one?
Yugi looked down another street, this one much more colorful, with signs and seals of many kinds adorning the doors.
Maybe one of them belonged to Hawkings...? Yugi took a breath and walked down it.

This road was definitely different from the one prior. There were flags and laundry hanging from lined form houses on one
side of the street to the other. Signs hung from some buildings with different words and pictures on them. Some had food
whilst others had drinks or potions. These must be the shops grandpa told me about... Yugi found it amazing that
a city could have enough food and materials to be able to sell them in special shops. People bustled in and out of these
shops, some carrying bags, others with children and still others in groups of young teens. There were signs for so many
things too, bars, restaurants, food stores, bakeries, supplies areas, redstone workers and more. Yugi marveled at all these
things. This was nothings like quiet old Fernway! Children raced past him towards home, and couples walked along the
cobblestone street, pointing out the different things hanging in the shop windows. Yugi continues walking down, scanning
the doors for the hawk seal. Besides the shop signs, there were many houses with different insignia on them, however, none of them
were a red hawk. As he continued walking, Yugi began to notice a recurring theme. All the symbols were orange.
They're all orange... Maybe there's a connection... If that's the case, then the professor probably isn't here...
Yugi groaned. At this rate he'd never find the bloody house by nightfall...

He looked up at the sky again, a shudder running through his body. The horizon was now flaring with more color, and the
sun was now even lower. He'd probably only have enough time to check one more street, but there were so many others to
choose from, and that wasn't counting the streets the broke off from the main ones! With a downhearted sigh, Yugi turned
and made his way back to the main square...

"Hey!"

Maybe I'll have to sleep on that bench again...

"HEY!"

Do they even allow that in Ironclad?...

"HEY GET OUTTA THE WAY!"

"What?-"

Yugi turned around, only to have another body suddenly crash into him so hard, that it sent them both tumbling into a pile
of tangled, writhing limbs on the cobblestone street. Yugi wriggled around for a few moments, trying to piece together what
just happened, his muscles protesting loudly against this new development. "Oooowwww..." He carefully got to his feet and
brushed himself off. "what happened?..." He then turned and looked down at the person who had run into him. It was a young
man about 17 years of age like himself, with rich blond hair, a dark leather jacket, dark red leather pants and a belt
covered with various items of almost every sort. "S-sorry!" Yugi apologized quietly, holding out a hand to help the stranger
up, but the blonde waved him off. "Nah, that was my bad. Ran right on into you didn't I?" He said with a laugh before pulling
himself to his feet. Standing up, he was a good two feet taller then Yugi. "Sorry" He said, finally making full eye contact
with Yugi, revealing his bright hazel eyes. "So what's a kid like you doing out here by yourself?" Yugi stiffened indignantly.
"H-hey! I may not look like it, but I'm 16 almost 17 years old!" He said, surprised by just how loud it came out. "Whoa sorry!
It's just you a bit... Y'know... small?" Yugi was about to reply hotly again. but decided against it. "Y-yeah..."
That's actually a common mistake..." The other teen grinned. "Heh, well, sorry for crashing into you." He said, scratching
the back on his head. Yugi smiled. "That's okay, I've had worse done to me..." A thought suddenly occurred to him. "Say,
why were you running anyway?..." The other teen opened his mouth to reply when suddenly, a large amount of barking interrupted
them. Both the boys turned to look down the street, where a pack of angry dogs came rushing out of an alleyway, looking around
wildly and causing panic in the surrounding bystanders. One of the dogs suddenly locked eyes with Yugi and the strange teen
beside him, it then barked, alerting the others to their presence.

"That. That's why I was running." The blonde teen said.

The dogs suddenly began barking savagely, and started running at full speed towards him and Yugi.

"START RUNNING!" The stranger said, grabbing Yugi's hand tightly and began running at full tilt down a smaller street.
"Wha-WAIT WHAT!?" But it was too late for him to do anything about it. The two were now rocketing down the street, the
dogs barking at their heels. He suddenly felt like he had been transported back to his dream of running through the woods,
but now he was racing through the colorful streets of Ironclad, being led by this strange, flamboyant teenager!
"What did you do to make them so mad!?" Yugi yelled over to his captor. "Turns out dogs don't like it when you accidentally
fall on their dog house! Go figure!" He shouted back, a massive smile plastered on his face. "Quick! Turn here!" Yugi hardly
had a moment to blink before he was suddenly tugged onto another street. The two continued running, dodging through groups
of bystanders, all the while the sound of the barking dogs slowly got farther behind them. But it was still there, and it
was still a very angry sound. "This is fun! Ain't it!?" He other teen yelled, whooping with wild enthusiasm. Yugi stared at
him as though he were crazy, but evidently his energy was contagious and soon Yugi felt himself smiling too. Soon the
two were leaping down the street as quick as their feet could carry them, each in step with the other. Faster and faster
they want, the thrill beginning to build up in his sore body. However, each had their limits, and soon both the stranger and
Yugi were beginning to slow down, gasping for breath, whilst the dog barking got louder. "Wh-what do... We... Do...?" The
blonde said, trying his best to keep up pace. Immediately, Yugi's eyes fell on a shop door. Without warning, Yugi snatched
the other teen's hand and pulled him towards the door. "This way! Quick!" Both ducked inside as quick as they could and
closed the door with a loud SLAM, just as the barking outside passed the door and went down the street...

"PHEW! Wow! Nice moves there shorty!" The blonde teen said, slapping Yugi on the back. "Your not that bad for an outsider!"
Yugi looked up at him, surprised. "You know I'm not from Ironclad?" "Well yeah. Sorry pal, but it's kinda obvious..."
"Oh..." He scratched the back of his try colored hair. "Hey no worries." The blonde said, leaning against the wall. "I won't ask
you where your from or why." Yugi smiled thankfully.

"By the way, what's your name?"

"Oh, my name's Yugi... What's yours?"

"Name's Joey. Joey Wheeler."

"It's very nice to meet you Joey."

The two teens glanced around at the store they were in, now with the formalities out of the way. It seemed to be some sort
of bar or cafe. The inside was dark and cozy, with glowstone lanterns hanging from the ceiling rafters, providing a nice
soft glow the made the entire inside feel warm. "Hey I know this place... They serve some really good rabbit stew here!"
Joey said, making his way towards the counter. "Wanna try some? You have to try it at least once, my treat!" Yugi was about
to say yes, when he noticed the deep shades of orange and purple streaking the sky through the window. "U-uhm, actually, I
need to get somewhere..." Joey stopped and turned back towards him. "Really? Where?" "Well..." Yugi fiddled with the strap
of his bag. "I'm not sure... I'm looking for a Professor Hawkings... All I have to find him though is a seal on one of
his messages." Joey rubbed his chin. "Hmmm... You got the seal?"

"Uhm, yes?"

"Can I see it?"

"Oh, sure!"

Yugi rummaged inside his bag for a moment before pulling out the scroll and handing it to Joey. He inspected it carefully,
narrowing his eyes at the seal. "Hrm... Oh I know where this is!" Yugi jumped, his spirits rising. "You do? You know where
he lives!?" "Well," Joey replied. "I don't know where he lives EXACTLY, but I know the street he's on."
He sighed in relief. FINALLY some progress! "Can you point me which to go?"
Joey suddenly laughed. "Point? Nah, I'll show ya!" Yugi blinked, stunned by the offer. "Y-you'd show me the way?..."
"Sure why not? Your new here, the city's to big to explore in one night, and you DID help me get away from those dogs.
In my mind, I owe ya a favor." Yugi smiled brightly. "Th-thank you Joey..." "Ah, think nothing of it. Now come on, before
it gets to dark!"



Yugi and Joey walked until they made it to the town center, the giant statue of Steve shown a bright shade of reflective
gold in the rays of the setting sun. Yugi shuddered. If he had been out much longer, he would have really had to have
considered sleeping on a bench... "Aye Yugi." Yugi turned to Joey and walked over. "Yes? What's up?"

"I wanna show you something real quick okay? Since your new and all, it might help you navigate around."

"Oh, okay! What is it?"

Joey nodded to the streets branching off from the town center. "Look at the street entrances. See how there are flags
hanging from the first two lantern's there?"
Yugi blinked and looked at the streets. Indeed, there were flags hanging from the now lit glowstone lanterns. "Yeah?"
"Well, those flags show what kind of stuff is on that street. See the one we just came out of?" He said nodding at the
street in question. Yugi nodded. "Well, the flag for that one is orange. That means that there's a bunch of stores, bars
ins and other store fronts down that way." "Really?" "Yup!" Yugi blinked and scanned the streets till he found the one
he had gone down first that day. From it's entrance hung a black flag. "What's that flag mean?" Joey tilted his head.
"Oh, that means that street is mostly dedicated for blacksmithing, smelting, ore production and other stuff like it.
It has an official name, but everyone just calls it Soot Street cause of how much of the stuff is there!" Both Yugi and
Joey laughed. "That makes sense." Yugi finally replied. Joey nodded. "Ahah... Yeah... Anyways, the street we're heading
down is this one." He said, pointing to a street with a red flag. It was in the opposite direction of where he had been
searching... Oh of course it's in the complete opposite direction... "How do you know this is the right street?"
Yugi asked. "Well the seal on your scroll was red right?" "Right..." "The seals from Ironclad are color coordinated.
If the seal on your note had been black, then you know it would have come from Soot Street. It it had been orange, then
you know it would have come from the shopping district. So if the seal is red..." Yugi's eyes widened. "...Then it would
have come from the street with the red flag!" He said, finishing Joey's sentence. "BINGO! Your note came from Ironclad's
Philosopher's Street." Joey crowed. "It's home to lots of brainiacs, librarian and doctors. The smarts of Ironclad basically."
Yugi nodded, finally understanding. "That makes sense... But why have this system set up?" "Well," Joey smirked and started
heading towards the street. "Even we citizens of Ironclad get lost. It's a big city, so we kind of need reminders to help
us get around. People here will deny that though." He said with a wink. Yugi nodded again. There were so many things he
had to learn...


Philosopher's Street, as Joey had called it, definitely held a very refined air about it. The houses were all lined up
neat, and many red insignia were carved out on the doors. Some of the higher most windows had stained glass, whilst others
has potted plants hanging from the windows. It wasn't quite as lively as the Shopping District had been, but that was
probably because this place held fewer stores. There were some library signs and pen and ink stores, but besides that it was
mostly just houses and living quarters. "So," Joey said, breaking the silence between them. "What's this Hawking's guy's
seal look like again?" "It's a hawk carrying a scroll in it's talons..." Yugi replied, mumbling. He was currently busy
scanning the doors in the ever fading light, it was getting harder to see as the sky grew ever darker...
"Huh... You mean like that one?" Joey said. Immediately, Yugi stopped and spun to look at the blonde. "What? Where!?"
"Right there." Joey said again, nodding down the street a ways. Yugi looked where he had motioned and squinted his eyes.
Up ahead, to the left was a big house, with two stories and a smaller third story that looked a tad bit like a tower. It's
walls were of light oak and it's roof had deep red shingles on it. On the door was a seal with a hawk and scroll. "That's
gotta be it!" He yelled, racing towards the door, with Joey hot on his heels. Sure enough, they were right. The seal
was the correct follow and pattern. This can't possibly be anyone else's house...

"Joey, I wanna tha- Hey where are you going?" Yugi had turned around to thank him for guiding him here, but instead found
him beginning to walk away. "I'm heading home." Joey replied, turning half way to talk. "My parent's will be worried about
me." Yugi blinked, though he had only known him for an hour or two, he had really grown fond of him. But he had his own
life and business. "Hey, maybe you and I could meet up sometime in the future!" Joey shouted to him. Yugi nodded, "Y-yeah!
That sounds like a great idea. I'd like that a lot..." "Awright then. I'll have to introduce you to my other friends sometime
too." Yugi smiled and nodded vigorously. "I'd like that too!" "Awright then!" Joey said, beginning to walk away, hands in
his pockets. "See ya later then pal."

Pal... The term hung in Yugi's head for a moment as he watched him go. Not even a day into arriving, and I've
already made a new friend... The feeling gave Yugi a renewed sense of hope. Back in Fernway, the only real friend he
had had been Tea. Maybe I can survive here... He sighed and turned back to the door. The moment of truth.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK.

"... Hold on one second please!" Someone called form inside. From what Yugi could tell, it was an older man's voice, but
with a slight upper class accent. He waited patiently. He suddenly heard the sound of a lock being undone, and the door opened.

"look we don't care how you put it, we're still-" Yugi stared at who answered the door. A blonde haired girl stared back
at him. She seemed... Familiar...

"What are you doing here? Stalking me are you?" She said, her nose scrunched up as she glared at him. It suddenly
dawned on him who this was. "Your the girl from Soot Street I bumped into!" "Yup. And thanks to you I now have the sap
from your cloths on my robes now you creep!" She retorted hotly. Yugi winced at the scathing tone of her voice. "I-I
really am sorry, I'm not used to city life, and I promise I'm not stalking you! I'm just looking for-"

"Rebecca, who's at the door?"

Yugi straitened up and the girl turned to look at someone inside. "It's that weirdo from the Smithing District I was telling
you about Grandpa!" She called back. Grandpa? The door suddenly opened wider, and Rebecca stepped to the side,
replaced now by a taller gentleman with a white vest and soft brown pants. He had smooth grey hair and a well kept mustache
that covered most of his upper lip. What struck Yugi the most about this man were his eyes. They were a gentle deep hazel
with intelligence shining in them. "U-uhm hello..." Yugi began, gulping. "I'm are you Professor Arthur Hawkings...?"
But he didn't answer, he stared at him, seemly shocked. Yugi shifted uncomfortably. "U-uhm... I-I'm trying to find him...
He was a friend of a family m-member... My name is yugi-"

"Motou."

Yugi stopped and looked at the elder gentleman. "W-what... How did you know?..."

The man's mustache turned up a little in a soft smile. "You look just like him... Just like Solomon..." Yugi's body jolted
when he heard him use his grandpa's name... "I do?..." He asked weakly. The gentleman nodded. "Yes. You do."

"So your..."

"Yes. I'm Arthur Hawkings."

Yugi felt himself smiling, a warm feeling bubbling up from his tired body. "Thank Notch... I found you..."

"Uhm. Sorry to interrupt but, Grandpa you know this guy?" Rebecca interjected, tired of being left out of the conversation.
"No," Hawkings replied. "But he's the grandson of one of my very best friends. You remember me talking about Solomon Motou
don't you?" He then stepped to the side so Yugi could enter. "You look exhausted. Please, come inside." Yugi smiled weakly
and walked up and into the house. "Th-thank you... So much." Hawkings smiled and nodded, before closing the door behind
them, just as the sun sank behind the horizon, giving way to the night...




"You, go check the Front Wall will you?"

"Alright, alright..."

The guard groaned and stretched as the evening gave way to night, before walking along the top of the front wall. His eyes
naturally strayed to the inner city. In the distance he could hear the laughter of some patrons of a bar, the barking
of a dog, the music from someone's home of business. The glowstone street lights made it seem warm and safe down the streets
of Ironclad. A breeze from the north, however, reminded the guard that currently he was anything but. With a huff he turned
and continued walking on the wall, making his way towards the main gate that served as the only entrance in and out of the
city. He sighed and mindlessly looked out over the field that separated the mountain and the forest from Ironclad.
he could see the reflective red eyes of spiders roaming in the distance, and the silhouettes of zombies and skeletons in the
field below. All fairly normal... His gaze then traveled to the tree line... Suddenly his body froze to sub zero temperatures,
and his eyes snapped to something he thought he had seen. "CAPTAIN!" The guard yelped. Immediately, a man with pure iron
armor walked over. "What's wrong?"

"I... I thought I saw purple eyes..."

"What? Where?"

"At the tree line sir... I could have been mistaken, it was only a glance sir!"

"Hrrrrmmm... Keep your eye peeled, but if you think you see it again, don't make eye contact..."

The guard gulped and nodded. "Y-yes sir..."

"Good..."

The captain then turned and began walking away, glaring into the woods as he went.

The guard gulped again, and looked into the woods. He could have just imagined it. Maybe a trick of the light... But he
could have sworn he saw a pair of purple eyes, watching him from the tree line...


Weather it was real or not, the evening suddenly seemed a bit less friendly...


And the night carried on...




                                                         NEXT TIME ON
                                                    THE ENDER OF IRONCLAD

                                                          CHAPTER 5
                                                    HAWKINGS AND HAWKINGS
                                     
                                             Yugi meets Professor Arthur Hawkings
                                           and his grandaughter Rebecca, and quickly
                                           begins to learn the ways of Ironclad. More
                                          friends will be made and more obstacles will
                                            be discovered in the next installment of

                                                            TEOIC!