Danganronpa: Fallout

Prologue Part 3 - A Familiar Face

The radiant rectangular shape of the vault's hallway interior was stretched wide, yet Makoto couldn't help but feel slightly claustrophobic. The polished light gray granite floor looked far cleaner than the boy had expected. So did the interiors of the vault. The walls were made of mostly polished concrete, mind the occasional steel air vent seals and posters placed over them. Above him, the ceiling was covered in what appeared to be light birch wood planking, along with an LED ceiling light panel every so often to illuminate the area. Behind him, Makoto could see a glowing green sign above the room he was previously in that read out the words, "Medical Center". In English instead of Japanese. Well, that's strange. I have to say, aside from that, the inside of this vault looks pretty cool, he thought.

"Hey, do you mind telling me why the signs are all in English and not Japanese? I mean, you'd figure Vault-Tec would've at least offered a translation when building these vaults, right?", he asked the robotic butler ahead of him. Pennyworth was around the size of a five-foot tall human, at least, that's what it looked like from his perspective.

"Yes, I've heard that complaint from the dwellers many times before. The short answer, that I know of, is that this vault was constructed on a time-limited constraint, Naegi. There were far more pressing matters to be focused on completing at the time than adding in the proper translations. Insulation, water supply, power generation, those kinds of issues. Even after the war, there were still some rooms that needed more work. Good thing I had plenty of time to finish that, though. It's just something you'll have to get used to down here," the butler told him.

"That's weird, but alright. I can live with that. So, could you perhaps show me where I can find the cafeteria you told me about?", Makoto replied.

"There's no need to say anything, my boy. Just follow my lead."

The lucky student and the Mister Handy unit continued walking down the vault corridors as Makoto took notice of some other things. Across the walls were several posters mentioning Hope's Peak Academy, and one in particular that asked, 'Do you know what makes you S.P.E.C.I.A.L?' To his right, another glowing green sign above a sealed door read out the words, "Storage Department 1".

"Say, what do you guys do on this level of the vault, by the way?", Makoto asked curiously.

"Right now, we're on the third floor. This is where the storage departments are located. It's also where the medical and scientific research stations are. Of course, in terms of science and medicine, we're understaffed at the moment, yet Miss Kimura is a very remarkable pharmacist." Pennyworth seemed to give out a regretful sigh near the end of that statement. "Though I do hope she doesn't overwork herself again."

"Overwork herself?"

"Kimura is, in my professional opinion, one of our vault's most dedicated members. She's spent many a sleepless night creating enough stimpacks, Radaway and vitamin supplements for the other dwellers. Sometimes she stays up so late that she ends up sleeping the night in her lab." The butler stopped speaking as he realized he was rambling. "Hold on, maybe I shouldn't be giving you all those details..."

"She sounds very determined to me." Definitely good to have someone who knows what they're doing and committed to doing it on your staff, the boy thought.

"Indeed. Now then, back to business. The vault's cafeteria is located on the second floor of the vault. It's also where our Nuka-Cola production line and water treatment station are located, among other things. To get there, of course, we're taking the elevator." Right before the two of them, the elevator doors opened up as they stepped inside. The dim green light shining above them felt somewhat odd to Makoto, as he looked at the array of buttons on the side of the wall. This must be the elevator control system, he wondered.