October 23, 2077 - [City Redacted], Japan, 10 PM

"Hey, dearie. Shouldn't you be going to bed soon? You don't want to stay up too late. It's a school night, after all," Makoto's mother told him, drinking water out of a glass. Makoto was currently sitting right next to Komaru at the dining room table, reading a manga issue to get his mind off of the stress of school and recent events. Things aren't looking so good for us… tensions between Japan and China haven't been improving, and now that the Soviets might be getting involved, who knows what could happen. I just pray I get to live long enough before anything drastic happens.

"Ugh, don't w-worry, I won't stay up too late, Mom," he drearily said, a hint of fatigue in his voice. "Just… just give me a moment, please." I can't even read my freaking manga without these thoughts getting to me.

Komaru stopped eating her ramen noodles and took a look at her brother's state. His eyes were red, giving off a dull stare. She was only about a year younger than him. Her short, dark brown hair, with a tint of green in it, often made her look about as plain looking as Makoto.

"Big bro, what's wrong? You're looking kind of frazzled. Your eyes don't look so good. Do you have pinkeye?"

"No, no, Komaru, my eyes aren't feeling itchy. It's just that… that…" Makoto struggled to find the right words. I'm scared that the world will tear itself apart. That our country will go to war with China. That I'll be forced to join as an army conscript. That I'll never get a chance to meet my Hope's Peak classmates, or have a bright future. Yeah, there's a lot going on.

"Makoto, what's wrong? Did someone say something to you at school today?" His mother asked him, placing her hand on his shoulder. Makoto couldn't help but haggle when seeing her concern.

"N-No, Mom, nobody said anything. I'm just frustrated, that's all." At least, no one's said anything out of the usual. No one really has it out for me, but like, they don't think too fondly of me, either.

"Well, I don't blame you, boy," he heard his father call out from the living room. "There's a lot to be scared of right now. But promise me that we'll stick together no matter what happens, as a family. Can you do that for me?"

"Y-Yeah, Dad, I can do that." I'll try at least. "Say, what are you watching?"

"Oh, the news, same as usual," his dad replied. "There's something about a domestic act of terrorism going on down near Vietnam, from what I'm hearing."

Makoto tried not to converse much with his family that evening. Things had already been stressful enough, and he barely had any clue how to manage it. He felt a nudge against his shoulder when he saw Komaru trying to get his attention.

"Makoto, you're awfully quiet today. This isn't like you. Are you sure you're okay? I-I'm always here for you if you need anything."

"Thanks, Komaru, but I'm fine," he said with a nervous chuckle.

"Guys?! You should come and see this!" The unexpecting shouting from his father surprised Makoto, dropping his manga to the floor. Komaru was unsettled by it as well. What's happening? What does he need us for? The siblings got up from the table to the living room to get some answers.

"W-What? What are you talking about, Dad?"

"Did something happen?", Komaru hesitantly asked.

Their father didn't reply, and at this point, there was no reason to. Makoto anxiously watched the black-and-white television screen before him, seeing the words "State Of National Emergency" appear on the news report. A few seconds later, a broadcast from a news anchor was being played.

"This is Arasaka News, reporting live: the government of Japan has issued a national state of emergency. This is not a drill, I repeat, this is NOT a drill! Our sources have received word that… Jesus Christ… t-that s-s-sseveral nuclear attacks have been confirmed across the globe… New York City, Beijing, Paris, Dubai… my God, Tokyo is inbound?! Hey, get me out of this fucking place! I'm not dying here-"

The feed cut to a screen showing a nuclear symbol, and directions advising what to do to survive the incoming nuclear attack. Makoto couldn't feel anything at that moment. Nothing but the horrifying realization that his worst fears were about to come true. He quickly glanced over at Komaru, her face pale as snow, immobilized by fear. She stuttered something incoherent until she dropped to the floor unconscious.

"Komaru!" Makoto instantly reacted and knelt down to check his sister's condition. Oh God, oh God… okay, her pulse is still beating, that's good. But we don't have time for this! We need to get the hell out of here and now! "I think she's out cold!"

His mother and father looked at each other with the same expression of horror to what they witnessed.

"This can't be true, right?"

"Hurry! We have to get to the vault!", his father exclaimed. "Makoto, quick, bring along your Hope's Peak confirmation letter. They may need some identification to let us in. I'll get Komaru in the car! Go! Now!"

"Alright, I'm on it!" Makoto saw his father pick up Komaru and carry her out of the house while he frantically went for his room. I can't believe this is happening, I can't believe this is actually happening! He could feel his heartbeat getting faster and faster, until suddenly-

*gasp*

Makoto awoke from his sleep, heavily panting and out of breath. He frantically looked around the room, only to realize he was in his assigned vault living quarters, lying in bed. The layout appeared rather appealing: the ceiling had LED lighting, the carpeted floor beneath him was red, and the walls were made of furbished steel and smooth concrete. In the far left corner was a desk with a baseball cap, a picture of a man he didn't recognize, and a clock that read out 11:00 AM. On the right was a sink with a dirty mirror.

"O-Oh, just a nightmare. But it all looked so real…"

Or maybe it did happen, and I'm only remembering it now. Kind of weird for that to come to me in my dreams. Some details are still shaky, but... I think it's starting to come back to me, piece by piece. Makoto slowly got out of his comfortable bed and stretched. Hey, at least the beds are comfy. And I've got some decent room in here to work with.

Makoto didn't really do much after finishing the GOAT yesterday. All Celeste told him was that she needed time to analyze his results. Plus, she said she wanted to test out his luck later. He couldn't visit Komaru, because for all he'd been told, she was still asleep in her room. That and Seiko said she needed a moment to adjust herself. So he decided to make himself at home in the vault and stay in his room for the rest of the day, to handle everything he had just found out. It was a good thing that Pennyworth gladly sent meals to his room.

Makoto had no major problems living with the vault members so far. Though the fact he had to accept everyone else he knew who didn't get rescued by the vaults were dead, was difficult to digest. A part of me feels like I'm trying to adapt and move on, though I can't help but be bothered. Everyone I knew before the bombings are either missing or gone. Not counting Sayaka or Komaru. It's not an easy revelation to take in. But I can't lose hope. Not when I can make a difference.

Makoto changed out of his normal clothing into his freshly-washed blue vault jumpsuit Kirumi had given him. It's gonna take some getting used to, but I think it'll do. Now, what to do, what to do… I'm gonna go and see if Komaru is up or not. I haven't gotten to see how she's doing yet. I hope she isn't too traumatized.

The door to his room hissed as it opened, allowing him to leave. Let's see here, which one did Seiko tell me she was in? A4, I think. And that means that my room number is… He looked up to see a glowing green sign above his room door read out "Room A15". A15, perfect. Means it can't be too far from here. Better start looking.

As Makoto searched for the right room sign, he reached the end of the hall corner, and saw a man standing at the other side of the hall. I don't recognize him. Who is he? The man opened his mouth to speak, but what came out was a language Makoto couldn't recognize. "Uh, I'm sorry, what did you say?"

The man began to approach the lucky student curiously. At first glance, he seemed to be slightly older than Makoto, maybe by a year or two. He stood tall at six foot sharp, towering over Makoto. He wore a lengthy white lab coat over a black undershirt with an atomic nucleus symbol on it. His dark brown hair was in a ducktail hairstyle. In front of his grayish-blue eyes were a pair of special stainless steel eyeglasses.

"Sorry. Force habit," the man told him. He had a thick accent and a deep voice that Makoto could instantly tell was not Japanese. Hold on a second. He doesn't look like he's native to Japan. Then again, I don't know if I should really be assuming this based on race and voice, but it's something that caught my attention. Maybe he's that Russian guy Pennyworth mentioned. That would make sense.

"Uh, you wouldn't happen to be Konstantin, would you?"

"How do you know my name?" Konstantin replied, surprised.

"Pennyworth told me a little about you. Say, how well can you speak Japanese?"

Konstantin shrugged lightly. "Only so much. I try to you talk best."

Yeah, he's got some spots to polish out. It's good to see him try, though. "That's fine. I can understand what you're saying, so you're getting somewhere. That's good. My name's Makoto. Makoto Naegi. I'm the Ultimate Lucky Student. Class of 78. Nice to meet you." He reached out his hand and shook with Konstantin, noticing the Russian student's firm grip. He's also not showing much emotion, now that I notice.

"Konstantin Obolensky, Ultimate Nuclear Physicist. Class 76."

"Yeah, I've heard. You help keep the nuclear reactor functional, right?"

"Mostly. Also study subatomic particles and how harvest energy from nuclear sources. Busy job. Need suit to work. Too dangerous to go in without suit."

"That sounds like an interesting talent. You must play a pretty important role for the vault. That's cool."

Konstantin gave a slight smirk. "Thanks. What lucky student do? Haven't seen you around. Are you vault survivor Pennyworth mentioned?"

"Oh, me? Well, it's not really much of a talent. I-I was chosen out of pure luck. I'm not even really sure how my luck works. A-And yes, I'm a vault survivor. That and my sister Komaru. I was actually on my way to visit her, but I'd be fine with talking to you a little more."

"Thanks." Konstanin pondered on what to say momentarily. "What do you want to know?"

I suppose I could ask a few questions about the vault itself. Who knows? He may know something interesting. "How long have you guys been awake down here for? Is there any indication how long we've been in cryostasis?"

Konstantin took a moment to recall his life in the vault. "I've lived in vault about year long. I one of first to wake up. No one knows how long passed, but I think several decades. It safer to walk outside, meaning radiation must have worn off. That would take several years."

I mean, that possibility isn't off the table. In freeze sleep, there's no real way to tell how long you've been out for. But for decades? I'm surprised I haven't aged a bit, if that's the case. "So we've spent decades of our lives trapped inside of stasis while the rest of the world dealt with nuclear hell? Yikes… do you have an approximate guess as to how many years?"

"No. Pennyworth not tell us."

Pennyworth? "He knows how long it's been?" Then why wouldn't he say anything?

Konstantin shrugged. "We not sure. Ruruka think so. She don't trust metal squid. Think he hide something."

"Really?" He seems like a friendly guy to me. Sure, he takes his job seriously, but I don't see anything suspicious about him. "He doesn't seem bad to me. He's a pretty nice fellow."

"Pennyworth robot, not fellow. Other questions?"

"Has Pennyworth been teaching you Japanese? Or have the others been doing that?"

"Yes. And no. When I to Hope's Peak early went, I trouble speaking to other students. Had learn little by little. Got better after while, but still not perfect. After wake up from freeze sleep, robot taught me to speak better. Much different from Russian."

"I can't imagine how hard that must've been." Having to adapt to an entirely new language just to go to a school in another country. But why Hope's Peak specifically? "How come you went to Hope's Peak, though? I figured there would be some kind of elite academy institution somewhere up in Russia or China."

Konstantin seemed to get defensive all of a sudden. "I won't say. All I wanted was good education. Was told I could be greater nuclear physicist at Hope's Peak. Don't want to talk more about it."

Makoto chose not to pry deeper into that topic. "I see…" Maybe he was trying to get away from his country? I don't know much about the state of the USSR, but I heard they were allies of China before… the whole world went kaboom. Though I wonder how he got scouted out by Hope's Peak.

Konstantin smiled. "But Hope's Peak friendly place. Mostly. Made some friends before nuclear war. Seiko is real nice comrade. Ruruka, too. Most of vault is pretty nice, to be frank. Despite background, if you get meaning."

"I-I'm sure they wouldn't suspect you were a communist spy just for being Russian, right?"

Konstantin's expression got more serious. "You'd be surprised. Japan and Russia not exactly have best history. Way before Soviet Union. Russia-Japan war, 1905. Then later something happen in second world war. Plus countries other than US have anti-communist sentiment. Been treated by some as 'Red Menace'. But not in vault. Vault dwellers caring people. Hope we become comrades."

Oh yeah. It must have been hard for him to adapt to his new life. I know Japan wasn't nearly as paranoid as the US when it came to communism, but it was still an issue. It was also leaning in favor towards the US in the years before the war broke out, from what I remember. "I'm glad you were able to make some friends, Konstantin. I hope we'll be able to get along in the future. See ya."

Konstantin waved goodbye and left him alone.

Meanwhile…

The constant sputtering of the car's God-knows-how-long-old engine annoyed Rantaro. It was one thing that the car could only go at about twenty five miles per hour, sometimes slightly more, but the engine was so irritatingly loud that it got on his nerves. It's a damn miracle this thing still works after all this shit happened. I'm frankly surprised we managed to get the parts to fix it.

Rantaro didn't use the faded blue Pre-War Viosan car very often. For one, it was near impossible to polish the unsightly rust out of it, and two, their vault only had so many spare nuclear batteries they could use. Three, most of the Wasteland's environments were too rocky and too rough for a car to properly traverse it, along with the majority of what was left of major roadways they discovered. Luckily, this dirt pathway led right nearby a densely populated forest of tall pine trees, the greenish needles and the patches of grass showing signs of life perhaps regrowing after such a horrific tragedy. And the trail was perfect for the car's worn-out yet still functional tires.

Rantaro managed to repair this car over the course of the past few months. Of course, it was about a near-hour walk to get from the vault exit to where the car was parked, but it would save a lot of time walking in the long run. He recalled finding it in an empty household in an abandoned village up northeast to the vault, somehow standing despite heavy damage, the car still parked in its garage. Not a sign of a single living inhabitant. He counted at least five different skeletons inside the house, three of them far smaller than the others. I can't imagine what that poor family's final moments must have been like. Did they learn about the bombings too late? Or did it catch them by surprise? I honestly don't want to know.

Of course, to no one's surprise, the car didn't work at first. Rantaro figured it was going to take more than changing a battery to fix a car that hasn't been driven in countless years. It took several weeks to repair the car's miniature nuclear reactor and engine, not to mention the steering wheel and brake/gas pedal functions. It was a good thing that the Mechanic Robo-Kun robot could produce the necessary parts. Otherwise this thing would've been useless.

I need answers. I don't know who those men were. Nor do I know much about 262. Maybe I can try talking to the settlers again. Perhaps they can give me some more information this time around. Rantaro knew where he was going. Early on during his first few Wasteland expeditions, he came across an independent settlement not too far away from his vault: Nabetsu. He only went there twice before because, well, they didn't really offer much in terms of knowledge of the world. The folks at Nabetsu didn't even know what year it was (aside from how long since their settlement was founded), or how long it had been since the war. They cared more about survival than what was going on in the world. And in this grim environment, it wasn't hard to see why. That being said, they did at least offer some minor info to the situation. Nothing ground-breaking, but it was a start.

Rantaro made sure to bring his hunting rifle with him, along with his cowboy hat and a leather coat and jeans. This dirt trail was one of the safer routes to take while exploring. The bigger threats often hung out deep within the forest territory, and smaller threats like Rad Beetles and Vampire Squirrels were the pests you'd have to occasionally deal with around here. And maybe a wild hound. He'd been driving around for a while already. That settlement's gotta be close by now.

After some more patience, he could see the edges of the fence-gate surrounding the crudely-built settlement. Nabetsu needed something to keep external threats out, and building a barbed-wire fence was the most cost-efficient method they had to solve the problem. Rantaro eased off the gas pedal and gently parked his car to the side before exiting. With his rifle strapped to his back, he approached the entrance to the village, where he saw two heavily armed guards near it. Hey… I don't remember seeing these guys before. One of the two looked cautiously at him.

The first guard was dressed in a dark green military uniform, armed with a submachine gun, equipped with a military hat with a red badge containing a yellow star on it. The man looked to be young, perhaps his early twenties, with long thick black hair and blue eyes.

The other guard wore a white mask that covered his face entirely, equipped with a pair of eye goggles, wearing a similar suit to the first, and armed with an assault rifle. I don't remember Nabetsu having this kind of firepower at its dispersal… Rantaro knew that Nabetsu was a peaceful farming colony trying their best to survive out here. He knew they weren't defenseless, but he certainly didn't recall any of them capable of bearing weapons like these two had.

"Damn, you got your own working car?", the non-masked guard asked, in a far gentler tone than Rantaro expected. "That's a miracle. I've barely seen anyone in these parts with a Pre-War vehicle like that."

"Well, I wouldn't call it a miracle," Rantaro replied. Better keep things chill between these guys. Definitely wouldn't want to piss them off. "The busted thing can only travel so fast, and most of the Wasteland terrain is too rough to drive on. But it still helps if you don't want to walk too much. I'd call it a mixed blessing."

"Fair point. Anyways, welcome to Nabetsu, stranger." The non-masked guard noticed the weapon Rantaro was carrying. "I'm going to ask you only once to keep that weapon of yours holstered during your visit. Understood?"

"So don't try anything stupid, because we got more than enough firepower to tear you to shreds, Guacamole," the masked-guard said, firmly gripping his weapon. His voice was deeper and more intimidating than the other. Geez, what a ray of sunshine.

"I-I'm sorry, that reminds me of something," Rantaro asked. "I didn't see you two last time I dropped by here."

"I could say the same damn thing about you," the masked guard answered. "We've been stationed here for the past month, greenie. This place hasn't exactly had the nicest visitors in recent days. We had to protect it from a raider attack three weeks ago, and we barely managed to drive off a demon duo just five nights ago."

A demon? Do they mean Onis? Or are they talking about something else? "What's a demon-"

"I'm sorry about my friend Saburo here," the non-masked guard interrupted. "He takes his job solemnly. Oh, my name's Li, by the way. Li Kamado." He reached out his hand and shook it with Rantaro. "So, what's your business here?"

"I-I'm Rantaro. I'm here to ask some questions and get some information."

"Questions? What exactly do you want to know?"

"Just listening to any word about the nearby vaults, or recent events." Rantaro eyed the masked guard's impressive weapon. "Last I checked, Nabetsu was a simple farming town."

"Don't mistake us for brutish enforcers, Rantaro," Li said, taking slight offense. "We were hired to protect this settlement from the ongoing raider attacks. Damn Ravagers have been getting more active in the past few months, and those Rad Beetles have become an absolute nuisance for the farmers to deal with. They eat through every crop if you don't keep them at bay."

Ravagers? I heard that name before. Remembered one of the locals saying something about a group of murderous brutes that steal and pillage from whatever people they can find. Not the most friendly folk out here. But I doubt they're the ones who sacked 262. "Hired? I can see that, but what's with those fancy uniforms? Where'd ya get guns like that from, too? I want one."

"You've never heard of our group? We're members of the Renegade Guild."

I'm sorry, who? Not familiar with it. "The what?"

"The Renegade Guild," Saburo replied. "An organization of trained mercenaries who'll gladly assist any settlements in need of protection, for a fair price. We've helped keep the peace in the more lawless regions of the Wasteland for quite some time."

"Mercenaries? I'd prefer the term 'freelance warriors', Saburo," Li told him. "We're not some low life bounty hunters that'll take any jobs for yen. We've got a code and everything."

"Sure, whatever you say."

"Huh. Never heard of the Renegade. Sounds cool, though," Rantaro told them.

That got Li to chuckle a bit. "Thanks. Look, mister, we'll gladly let you in if you don't have any more questions to ask."

I wonder if these two could help answer some other questions I have later on… maybe, maybe not. "Thank you, gentlemen. Have a good day."

"Same to you, sir."

To be continued...