The Vault of the Rising Sun Chapter 4

	“Kenji! Kenji what the fuck!?” Hanako screamed at the door. She slammed the door, pounding it her fist angrily. “Hey!” She slammed against the latch repeatedly, to no avail. The door didn’t budge. The steel container must have been locked when he blasted the lock.

	Hanako bent down, and found the lock on her side of the door. She peered into it, but couldn’t make out anything.

	She cussed again, stamping her foot.

	“When I get out of here I’m going to beat the shit out of you!” She screamed.

	She had to go over what had just happened in her head. Kenji had closed the door and blasted the lock. He intended to lock her in here! But why? Why would he…

	‘That mother fucker! He’s going to sell the vault to the Followers! He’s actually trying to kill me! For money!’ If she got out of there, she was going to do much worse than beat the shit out of him…

	That Kenji had meant to kill her was devastating to Hanako, and she felt tears of frustration and exasperation start to fill her eyes. He really had intended to lock her in there with…

	Hanako looked over to the bed, entirely forgetting the rooms other occupant. Unsurprisingly, the corpse hadn’t moved. He was still gripped to the blue and golden dress. The smell of the corpse reentered her senses, but it was less putrid now, as she had started to grow used to it.

	She forced herself to breathe a deep breath, and sighed. “Okay. Okay. Figure it out. You can get out of here.” She said to herself.

	She remembered the stories her father had told her, about how he’d been in tight spots before. She had to get out of here.

	‘But if he wasn’t able to get out…’

	She banished the thought from her mind. Negativity wouldn’t help anyone right now. She took stock of the room and immediately noticed something that no other room had. A computer sat upon a desk, with a chair pulled up to it.

	Hanako walked over to it and clicked the spacebar on it. The screen came to life after a moment, the green HUD showing a tagline.

	“The personal computer of Overseer Nakai.” Beneath it, a blinking _ bade for a password to be entered.

	Hanako let out a breath. She’d seen computers like this before. Her father had taken her to an old schoolhouse that had a computer in it, which held the locations of several libraries. He’d used something he had strapped to his wrist, a pipboy, to run a program that allowed him to hack past the password.

	If only she had one of those… she could…

	Hanako looked over at the bed. Sure enough, the brown haired man had one of the instruments strapped to his wrist. Hanako walked over to him, and hesitated. She reached out and touched the body. The skin was cold and Hanako could feel the skeletons brittleness beneath the skin.

	She reached up and touched the man’s hands. She tried to move the fingers, but they were stiffly gripping the dress. “Ooohh I’m so sorry about this.” She said. She forced the fingers to let go of the dress, hearing a sickening crack that made her nearly vomit as she did so. It only took a moment, but Hanako breathed a sigh of relief when she finally got the dress free. She held it up to the light. The gold patterns sparkled in the light. It really was a beautiful dress.

	‘Okay, after I get out of here, stop at home, give mom her present, tell dad about the vault, and beat Kenji back here and wring his little weasel neck!’ Hanako though murderously.

	But to get out of here, Hanako would need a pipboy. She looked back at the remains of the man, and slowly withdrew her knife that she still had strapped to her leg.

	“I am so sorry.” She repeated.
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	Covered in blood, Hanako held her own hair back as she wretched onto the floor nearby. The putrid smell had redoubled as she had cut the man’s arm off. It was a slow and disgusting process, but she had forced herself to retain her cool. At least until the arm was off. After that, she felt free to vomit twice over the edge of the bed, making the stink of the room that much worse.

	At first, the man had barely bled, which probably had to do something with being dead. But as she cut, she seemed to cut into a pocket of blood that had been gravitating downwards, and the room quickly began to look like the cafeteria had looked.

	She picked herself back up, and out of the crumpled mess. She lifted the pipboy, expecting the arm to slide right out. It didn’t. She tugged, by the pipboy stayed firmly latched to the arm. “You have to got to be fucking kidding me.” Hanako muttered, tugging the arm. It didn’t move, locked firmly in place. “No no no no.” She tugged hard, bits of flesh flailing from the cut muscles, but it still remained. “Fuck!” Hanako lifted the arm, and had to stop herself from throwing it across the room.

	She forced herself to breathe again. Today was simply not her day.

	“Is it possible I could…?” Hanako brought the arm down in front of her, tapping the screen. A picture of a boy showed up, who looked like he was in serious pain. His arm, the one that the man had worn the pipboy on, was labeled ‘Crippled’.

	It worked! She might still be able to run the program. Hanako hesitated though, when she noticed the owner’s name in the top right corner. Hisao Nakai.

	She walked quickly over to the computer, and saw that the last name was shared. Nakai. This Hisao guy must have been the overseer.

	Something seemed wrong about that assumption though… She looked back at the man, remembering the pictures in the artist’s room. The picture of the blue haired figure in the Overseer’s office.

	Hanako looked back down towards the functioning device. She flipped the switch over to the section labeled ‘Data’.

	A long list of logs appeared, all of which were apparently kept by the man, Hisao. They were listed with dates and a tagline that Hanako assumed was the subject of the journal.

10/31/2281 Happy Halloween!

11/13/2281 “The overseer has her duties.”

12/07/2281 David fights Goliath

01/05/2282 New Year, New Fights

02/01/2282 I’m Tired Of This

02/02/2282 Ignore That Last Log

04/16/2282 We Fought Again, With An Audience

04/16/2282 Invited To Tea

04/23/2282 :)

04/24/2282 Rant About Parents

04/25/2282 Rant Against Arranged Marriage

04/25/2282 Honestly Feel Suffocated

04/25/2282 That’s Probably Because We’re Underground

04/25/2282 Shutting Up Now

06/17/2282 Wondering About The Sun

07/04/2282 Happy 4th Of July!

07/04/2282 Thankfulness to Americans

07/04/2282 I Wonder If Anyone Will Ever Read This

09/07/2282 Sign Language Sucks

10/31/2282 Why Did I Never Drink Tea Before? Also, Happy Halloween!

11/15/2282 Jealousy Issues

11/16/2282 Family Feuds

12/04/2282 I’ve Always Wanted Kids… But…

12/24/2282 Thoughts On Christ

12/30/2282 Why Is There No Common Room?

12/31/2282 Rebuffed for Asking Questions.

01/01/2283 Celebrated The New Year With Chess!

01/02/2283 Overseer Furious

01/08/2283 Spiteful Bedtime

05/06/2283 Sorry For No Updates

07/07/2283 Developing Feelings

09/10/2283 A Wandering Spirt?

09/12/2283 Never Been Happier

09/15/2283 A Paper Crane

09/23/2283 I Confessed

09/25/2283 A Handheld Log

10/02/2283 Vault Divorce?

10/03/2283 No Longer Sleeping Together

10/05/2283 “The Overseer’s Mission.”

10/07/2283 Abuses Everyone, Answers Nothing

10/10/2283 Civil Unrest

10/13/2283 A Better Leader

10/15/2283 Maybe Elections?

10/20/2283 I Got Into Her Computer

10/20/2283 More Thoughts

10/20/2283 Need to Tell Others. Not Japanese Vault. Disabled.

10/22/2283 My Medication Was Drugged. Door Is Locked.

10/23/2283 Nobody Answering

10/24/2283 Vault Intercom, No Response

10/25/2283 I’m Going To Die In Here

10/26/2283 Goodbye, My Flower

	The date today, according to the pipboy in the upper corner, was 10/30/2016. Hanako bit her lip as she skimmed through the list. Sadness overcame her. Tomorrow was Halloween, a Holiday she had completely forgotten about… and from what it seemed, it was Hisao’s favorite day.

	Something had obviously happened. Hisao couldn’t be the Overseer, as he referred to the Overseer as a her. Hanako wanted to read through the logs, all of them, but she had no time and now was not the time. She clicked onto the one labeled ‘I Got Into Her Computer’, praying it had a password. She was startled when the pipboy suddenly was emitted audio. Her jump made her remember she was holding a man’s severed arm.

	“To anyone who hears this… I’m sorry.” Hisao’s voice came over the speaker. He sounded upset, angry… but also kind. “We’ve been lied to. For generations, we’ve been lied to. We were told that we were here because the American’s wanted to ensure the survival of their allies. That we, the Japanese who had been chosen to live her, should be honored. That we were given holy and mythological artifacts that would ensure the survival of our culture. It’s a lie. It’s always been a lie.” He said, bitter. He paused, before continuing. “I broke into Shizune’s computer. She hasn’t been in our room in weeks, not since I told her I confessed to Lilly. I found a file in her desk, and it had written down a ton of notes, including her password. “To rule is to serve.” What bullshit. She’s never served a fucking day in her life.” The spite filled Hisao’s voice only the way that a spurned lover could. “We were chosen because of our genetics. The Vault-Tec Directive was never to survive. We’ve had countless files on each of us run through her to some sort of Super Computer. I don’t know where all this damn information needs to go, but they’re collecting it. They knew what was likely to happen to each of us, even my arrhythmia was a manufacturing of this plot to study people with disabilities. It’s why there’s no stairs down to maintenance either. They wanted to see what would happen if the elevator didn’t work, how we’d fix it or maintain the Vault. It’s sick. That’s why, when the only Mechanic’s first daughter was born they… they…” Hanako felt chills, looking around the room. The Vault wasn’t a shelter. It was a trap. “They cut off her legs. Told her parents it was a birth defect. That’s why we had issues with the elevator years back. All manufactured, all a Vault-Tec idea. Her father and that bastard doctor knew. From what I can gather, they’re the only ones that did know. I was meant to replace him when he died, but Shizune didn’t trust me. We’ve been able to live in peace for the last few years because of that… I don’t know what to even think now. I need to tell somebody. I need to tell Lilly. She’ll know what to do.”

	The message ended with a click. Through the message, Hanako tried to picture what he had looked like in real life. She pictured a man about her age, strong but not overwhelming. A soft smile. She wished she could have met him. He seemed noble. If this Shizune had known about Hisao’s confession though, she would have to know about Lilly. Hanako found herself hoping she was okay.

	She was probably already dead.

	Hanako placed the arm back onto the bed and moved to the computer. She entered in the password and was greeted by the computer. ‘Welcome, Overseer Shizune Nakai.’ Typed across the screen. A list of functions appeared.

Reports of vault activity

Analyses of occupants

Uplink

Door control

!Vault Intercom!

	Before Hanako realized what she was doing, she scrolled down to Vault Intercom, clicking it. A loud feedback noise came in over a speaker over the bed that she hadn’t realized was there.

	“Kenji, I swear to God, when I find you, you will pay for this.” She threatened.

	The boy was probably long gone with all of her weapons and gear, but Hanako felt a little better shouting that.

	She highlighted Door Control and clicked that next. Another list appeared.

Living Quarter doors

Overseer Office door

Newcomer Supplies door

	Hanako found herself opening all of them. The bedroom door whooshed up, sliding into place. Hanako ran to the bed and grabbed her knife. With one last look at Hisao, she snatched up the dress, and bolted from the room.

	She ran down the corridor, her feet echoing in the empty vault loudly. She sprinted towards the Clinique, hoping to grab a weapon from Scorch’s pile. She smacked the hatch, and the door sprang upwards, revealing the headless corpse of Avery lying against the opposite wall.

	Hanako yelped in shock, the blood from his head had scattered throughout the Clinique and coated many instruments with a fine red spray. A hole in his chest showed that it might not have been the cause of death, as Hanako inspected the familiar shape of the shotgun blast. His collar must have sensed his rapidly dropping pulse, which was a recent addition to the triggers because the slaves were sedating themselves before having the collars cut off.

	But why would he have killed Avery? He was going to sell the vault to the Followers… wasn’t he?

	Hanako also noticed that the girl, Rika, was gone. Kenji must have taken her with him. On the other side of the room as the pile of weapons, now molten slag. Kenji had evidentially used the Flamer to torch them. He knew she’d be coming for him.

	Hanako rushed down the stairs, skipping past the Overseer’s office, and sprinted for the entrance. The vault door still stood open, and Hanako was about to sprint out after Kenji when she noticed the Supply door open. Curiosity won her over, hoping there was some sort of weapon, and she entered the room.

	It, like most of the other rooms, was clean beyond fault. Boxes stood in multiple different piles. ‘Canned Foods’, ‘Bottled Water’, and one thing that caught Hanako’s attention more than anything else in the room. ‘Pipboy 3000s’. She quickly opened up the box, which held more than a dozen of the devices. She tapped it’s screen. It flickered to life with the familiar green. ‘Ready to pair.’

	Hanako slid the Pipboy onto her arm, and felt it adjust, then tighten over her skin. A small pin prick of pain sparked around her arm, but it was quickly cooled.

	‘Enter name’ the pipboy blinked.

	“Hanako Ikezawa” she spoke.

	Her speech translated to text, and the pipboy flashed. ‘Confirm?’

	“Yes.”

	‘Welcome, Hanako Ikezawa, to the Pipboy 3000. Vault-Tec welcomes you, and wishes you luck with your uncertain future.’

	She flipped the dials, which were amazing accurate. The Stats page measured her blood pressure, heart rate, breathing, and even estimated how much health and adrenaline she had. A little woman in a vault-suit was giving her a thumbs up. There was an items page as well, that listed the clothing that she wore as well as the knife she carried with her. Even the dress she carried was on there, labeled with question marks. The data page included a satellite map of the local area, as well as a map of the general location of California/Nevada that she was nearby. She’d have to mark places herself, of course, but still. The little thing would be such a wonderful asset to her. Then, she saw the log page, and a specific command made her hesitate in giving chase to the bastard that had locked her away.

	‘Download?’

	Hanako looked towards the exit, bit her lip, and looked back into the vault.

	She sprinted through the inner workings of the vault again, all the way up to Hisao’s room. She copied the logs over from his pipboy onto hers, making a mini folder for the contents labeled ‘Hisao’s Journal.’

	She also rushed to the Overseers room, which was empty except for a central terminal sitting at a rounded desk. She accessed the terminal with the same password as her room, and saw the functions appear, although Vault Intercom was replaced with Turret Control. She wasn’t exactly about to take her chances with that. She downloaded the files from the computer, the Vault Reports as well as the Occupant Analyses. She also copied the identity of the Upload function. Maybe someone more skilled than her could make sense of that one.

	She hurried from the room, and from the vault. At the control panel outside, she smacked a red button, which began the process of sealing Vault 18 behind her.

	If anyone else were going to make use of it before she came back, they’d better be able to speak Japanese.