The Vault of the Rising Sun Chapter 3

	As they passed the elevator, Kenji said, “You know, I’ve never seen a working elevator. I guess I still haven’t.”

	Hanako couldn’t remember ever seeing one either. Maybe they had them in Vault City, or in one of the central hubs, but she’d never left her home village. Her and her mom spent most days together just happy to be alive. They were living off of the money that the NCR provided because of her father, so they just enjoyed spending time together. Her mom had taught her how to read, and has begun putting together a library of books that weren’t damaged beyond repair by the War. Hanako was grateful to her, and to her father, that’s why she was here. She didn’t really have many friends. Well, she had Kenji, but she wasn’t sure he was exactly a friend. Most situations ended up with her having to rescue his hide from a bad situation, but he’d paid her back and then some over the course of their lives. Even if it was by accident, like tripping and saving her life. She laughed at the thought of how lucky the guy seemed to be.

	“What?” he asked as they walked up the steps.

	“Oh, just grateful that I met you.” She said, and she smiled. Kenji looked kinda odd to her, and his eyes went to the ground.

	‘Maybe I embarrassed him…’ Hanako thought to herself. “Come on,” she said aloud. “First stop, second floor.”
Once they reached the floor, a hallway to the left led them to an office area. “This must be that Overseer’s office.” Hanako muttered, looking at the heavy looking door. She tried the handle, but it didn’t work. Kenji tried after her, but the door still didn’t budge.

	“I guess it’s locked…” he said. “You don’t have any picks, do you?”

	Hanako shook her head. “I do, but I’ve never tried a vault door. I might end up just snapping the few I have. Let’s look around first.”

	They walked down the other stretch of hall, leading to a hallways of rooms. They searched the living quarters, and found some pretty odd things. Each side of the hall held 5 rooms, which were almost completely barren. However, what remained were some sorts of things built into the walls. A chair that moved next to the bed, a leftover cane or a crutch. She found a pair of books in one room that she bagged to bring home, but she was looking for something more… she didn’t know. Japanese? The rooms were odd, and some smelled of bleach. Many beds were missing their blankets or pillows, and the dressers and closets were empty.

	“Whoever was here left in a hurry…” Kenji said.

	“No,” Hanako replied, slowly shaking her head. “If they left in a hurry, there’d be more stuff. We’re only finding scraps. They took almost everything with them… Come on, let’s go to the third floor.”

	Up on the third floor, much was the same. Ten rooms in total, almost completely barren. Hanako was giving up hope that they’d find anything when Kenji called to her from the room furthest to the back right.

	She entered into the room and was immediately thrown off by the different, warmer color of the room. She looked up to see that the white lights had been painted orange, basking the room in a warmer and friendlier color. There were paint marks scattered everywhere in the room, with some drawings on the walls themselves. Hanako was a bit disturbed, but fascinated at the same time. She looked at the wall paintings, some of which were more abstract than others. On the far wall was an odd portrait of a man, blue and red and blacks mixing, and next to it scrawled in small writing were the words ‘We’re not meant to be here.’

	Hanako didn’t spend long on that image, seeing others that obviously took care to make. One was an image of the room that they had entered in earlier, what Hanako had guessed was the Overseer’s window looking down on the arrivals. In it stood a blue haired figure, but they were far too small to tell any amount of detail. Next to her stood another person, who looked as if they had neon hair pink like something raiders wore.

	Another picture depicted a girl jumping from table to table down in the dining room, with some really weird devices on her legs.

	Yet another one depicted a brown haired girl and a white haired woman sitting in chairs that had sporadically been scattered throughout the rooms, whilst both read from books.

	One thing that Hanako could definitely tell from the images was that each of the people was Japanese.

	“What kind of weirdo does this to their room?” Kenji asked. He bumped the dresser, which slid due to its empty weight. It exposed a bit of black and yellow paint.

	“Here, Kenji, help me move this.”

	They tugged the dresser out, and looked upon the hidden image. It was that of a brown haired man and a blonde woman, cuddling. The woman wore a brilliant blue and gold dress, something Hanako remembered her mother talking about as a Kimono. The man had his hands wrapped around her middle as they both stood smiling.

	“Why did the painter hide this?” Hanako asked

	“Maybe it’s the guy, fantasizing about being with the girl?” Kenji replied. Hanako stroked her chin… It didn’t seem right.

	“Well, honestly, who cares?” Kenji said. “It’s none of our business, and it’s not like we can sell the pictures.”

	Hanako nodded slowly. He was right, after all. It did them no good to worry about people who weren’t even around. “Yea… Come on. Let’s keep looking.”

	The fourth floor also held some mysterious things. For one, one of the rooms was bathed in a bright pink light. It seemed that the painter had given someone else an idea, and had done the same to their light. Hanako stuck her tounge out at the room. To her, it looked repulsive. Too pink, too brilliantly in your face. It made her think about how well it contrasted with the wasteland, where everything was brown and murkey.

	‘Now purple…’ she thought to herself.

	Again, though, the room carried nothing.

	“I wonder what happened if somebody got pregnant or something. Like where would they put a crib?” Kenji asked. Obviously the room made him think of children. Hanako shrugged, not knowing the answer herself.

	They moved on, entering the next room. Scuff marks on the vault floor told of somebody playfully messing around in here, but this room was as barren as the others had been. “Ugh, I’m getting sick of this!” Kenji said. He pushed at the empty dresser. “There has to be som-” he broke off, stairing.

	“What?” Hanako asked.

	Kenji’s face turned furiously red.

	“What!?” Hanako asked again.

	In response, Kenji ducked down, and picked up a piece of fabric off of the floor. It was a pair of blue panties that must have fallen behind the dresser, and printed on them was the face of a smiling bear. “I don’t think your mom would want these.” He said, shaking as he held back laughter.

	Hanako shot him a furious glare. “No, I don’t think so either. Why don’t you keep them, asshole? Then I can know what you’re wearing next time you run away from another Mole Rat.”

	Kenji scowled at her, but she noticed he pocketed the underwear anyways. She rolled her eyes, thinking of him as a pig, but then again she wasn’t all that surprised by it either so she dropped it and moved on.

	The last room that they entered seemed a bit… Hanako couldn’t place her finger on it. There were scraps of paper lying about the room, covered only in dots. Hanako picked one up and ran her finger over them, not understanding. She found a stack of books as well, all pre-war and all covered just in dots. There was also a tea cup sitting on top of the bookshelf, looking lonely and dejected. ‘If only there was the whole set…’ Hanako thought to herself as she looked it over.

	Kenji walked into the room. “Woah, what the hell happened here?” He asked. Hanako was pocketing the last book, one that had an actual title as well as the dots. ‘How to speak Braille.’ It was a dull title, but her Mom liked all books…

	“No idea.” Hanako replied to him. “This was definitely packed in a hurry. Maybe this person hadn’t gotten the pack-up order though or something?”

	Kenji just looked around. Out of habit, he moved the dresser. “H-hey! I think I found something!”

	Hanako moved alongside him as he bent over, picking up a small metal box. He handed it to Hanako. Inside the box was a cushioned surface, and a small indent where something might go. Something like a ring. The inscription on the box was in the dots that had marked the books, and Hanako ran her finger over it.

	“Oh… Hope whoever this belonged to isn’t the owner of that ring out front.” Kenji said.

	Hanako winced, remembering the silver band out at the entrance. It was one thing when it was just a piece of metal… Now she may very well be rooting through that person’s belongings.

	“Come on.” She said. She snapped the lid shut and pocketed the small box, intent on finding what it said later.

	Up to the final floor they went. Again, they were met with a branching hallway. They tried the other way again, and were met with another door. This one, however, opened, and they were met with a surprise.

	Before the man could turn around, Hanako found the shotgun in her hands and pointed directly at him. He didn’t look like a raider, but he certainly wasn’t from the vault. He stood over a young woman, with pale white skin and hair. She was hooked up to a machine that beeped steadily as it monitored her.

	“Don’t shoot. Please.” The man said. “I’m a doctor.” He said before Hanako could ask. It was then that she noticed the glowing collar around his neck wasn’t a part of his wastelander outfit. It was a Slave collar.

	“Who are you?” Hanako demanded.

	“My name is Avery. I work with the Followers of the Apocalypse. Or, I did, until Scorch took me. I’m assuming all that noise was you folks? Are you from here as well?”

	“Who is the girl?” Hanako asked, ignoring the questions.

	“S-she’s just some girl. Our group found her not 2 days ago, and she led us here, gave us the password… Then Scorch chopped off her arm. This vault, it housed many people with disabilities, at least that’s what the girl said. They’re fully stocked here, look around.” He said, gesturing to the medical office. “It’s almost like they knew this would happen. The occupants took everything that wasn’t nailed down with them.”

	“Where did they go?” Hanako asked.

	“East, east, that’s all I know I swear. Please lower your gun.”

	Slowly, Hanako lowered her gun. Kenji behind her lowered his pistol as well. Avery let out a sigh of relief.

	“Thank you. I’ve been doing my best to keep her alive… Honestly hoping that somebody from her vault would come and find her. I figured they wouldn’t kill me if I saved their friend. Do you think you could get this collar off? You must have killed Scorch to get this far.”

	“This guy talks was too fast.” Kenji muttered to Hanako.

	“Oh… Sorry.” Avery said.

	“It’s fine. No, we’re not from here. We’re citizens of the NCR. We live nearby, and had just found this place about a week ago.”

	“That’s when they all left.” Avery said. “Rika here told us that their overseer, the woman in charge, ordered everyone to pack up and that they were leaving out of nowhere.”

	Kenji scrunched his eyes. “That’s when I found the place…”

	“It matters not. Many of the devices that they left would do wonders for the Followers, if you can get me back to them, I’m sure they would pay you handsomely for these things. And Rika, she’s recovering, she might be able to lead us to her friends, who might have even more. If it’s money you want, the followers will pay you handsomely for this. Please, you have to help me.”

	Hanako slowly nodded. “We’ll help you, but this technology is going to go to the NCR. The Followers can only help so much, and the NCR could benefit much more.”

	She looked around the room, and saw the curtains were pulled shut on one of the clinics beds. Opening them, there was a haul of weapons surrounding another Flamer. She scowled at the weapon that had nearly incinerated her.

	“The NCR won’t pay you a dime for this stuff. The Followers are unbiased and will put it to better usage.” Said Avery.

	“No.” Hanako replied. “The Followers are only so big. I don’t care about payment. The NCR is the ones who will get the technology.”
Avery hesitated, but eventually nodded. “I guess I don’t really have a say in this. Fine, I will abide, if you can help me.”

	“Neither of us are that experienced in explosives. We’re going to look around here, then we’ll see if we can find any sort of key to remove that collar. Maybe Scorch had something on him.”

	She neglected to mention that Scorch was in pieces around the dining room floor, but why bring up what might only scare the doctor.

	“Yea… okay. I’ll keep an eye on Rika. She might be waking up soon.”

	“Sure. We’ll be back.” Hanako said. Her and Kenji slunk from the room and began walking to the opposing corridor to the rooms.
Once again, they found a whole lot of nothing. The first few rooms didn’t even have mattresses for the beds, but the rest were just empty. Kenji moved the dressers in each, but found nothing at all. “I wonder how much the Followers would give for this place…” Kenji wondered aloud.

	“It doesn’t matter. I’m telling my dad about it first thing when we get back. He told me The Followers of the Apocalypse were trying to motion for New Vegas to be independent of the NCR, as if a square kilometer of a city was more important than countless people and facilities in the NCR receiving power from Hoover Dam.” They talked as they searched the rooms, eventually approaching the last two rooms.

	Hanako pushed at the latch of the door, expecting it to give, and walked into it as it didn’t. “Oof.” She exclaimed as she pushed up against it fruitlessly. “Hey Kenji, this door is locked too, just like the front office and the Overseer’s office.”

	“That’s weird. Here, let me try.” He pushed against the door, but it remained motionless. “It’s not like the other doors… This one actually has a normal lock. Think you could pick this one?” he asked.

	“I can try… Here, hold my bag.” Hanako said, swinging it off of her shoulder again. She handed it to Kenji, who held it as she scrounged through it. From it, she withdrew a few picks, as well as a screwdriver. So as to better work, she unslung her rifle and shotgun as well. She needed to be able to feel in her arms when the tumblers gave. Sighing with relief at being weight free, she crouched down to examine the lock.

	She inserted the lockpick into the lock and felt the familiar feel of the door’s tumblers. She’d worked on locks like these a bunch, off adventuring old ruins. She felt the pick tighten as she moved the pick up and down. Using the screwdriver, she turned the lock to the side in an attempt to open it, but the pick snapped in her hand. Sighing, she switched picks, and tilted the position. She tensed the pick, and poked slightly with the screwdriver. It turned easier this time, giving a bit of sway. To her relief, the lock slid into place, and she hit the latch on the door, which swung upwards.

	She was about to turn and smile at Kenji when she was hit by a horrifying smell. Decay came forth from the room, spreading forth through the air like the flames had earlier, engulfing the pair. Hanako wretched, having to hold back from throwing up as she covered her nose with her shirt. Kenji covered his with his hands, swearing to himself.

	Inside the room, laying on the bed, was a corpse. Hanako could see that it was scrawny, maybe a few days dead, but the reek of the body was powerful enough that she was amazed that she didn’t smell it through the door. Then she realized that the doors must be air tight, with the ventilation filtering it.

	Hanako stepped into the room.

	“It’s the man.” She said, recognizing the corpse. The brown haired man from the portrait with the blonde woman lay on the otherwise bare bed. He wore a vault jumpsuit with the number 18 stamped on the back, and in his arms he grasped a dress of blue and gold. The dress looked beautiful, and Hanako assumed it was one of the Kimonos that her mother had mentioned. He was emaciated, dead from starvation or dehydration. Hanako had seen it before, but it was just as shocking now as the first time she’d seen it.

	“What happened to you?” Hanako asked the corpse.

	The sound of the sliding door startled her, and she turned just in time to see the door sliding shut past Kenji.

	“Kenji?” She asked.

	A blast from the other side of the door made Hanako made her jump as she recognized that Kenji loosened a shell from the shotgun.

	“KENJI!?” She ran to the door and pounded on it. A voice, a mutter, and he was gone. No reply, no answer… Nothing.

	Kenji had just locked her in a room with a corpse.