Makoto opened his room. "Oh, already up? I forgot that you're an early bird." He sat next to her. "You're also quite a coffee addict, aren't you?"
"Maybe." Kirigiri replied while not losing her attention to Byakuya's docs and holding a cup.
"I'm not sure if we can do this I mean, two tons of gold for one device is crazy, the production costs are way below that."
He pointed out.
"Do they have a choice? Every country can afford to buy some, he'll lower the price later eventually. The problem is how will he use the gold. We don't have any control over that because we left the foundation." Kyoko mentioned.
"I'm sure that he will use it wisely, he's grumpy but very smart after all... Hey, by the way, this new suit, suits you heh." Naegi complimented.
"Same does yours to you." She slightly smiled and looked away. "Unfortunately we'll have to mostly cover them with level IV bulletproof vests."
"Huh? I don't think that's necessary-" Makoto didn't finish his sentence when she put the vest on him.
"Okay, that's pretty heavy.." He complained and began to tighten it so it matches his shape.
"Mhm.." After Kirigiri wore her vest she came over to a cabin window and placed her hand on her lips from shock.
"Huh? Can you finally see something?" Her friend approached her.
"No!-" She stopped him and pulled the window shade down. "It's better that we don't break your positive attitude right?" She insisted and ran to the opposite window to close it.
"But what did you see there??" Naegi questioned with pressure.
"What I can say is that they have their own flag." Kyoko said to calm down his curiosity.
"Their own what?!" He couldn't believe it.
"It's half white and half black, and it has monokuma eyes." Kirigiri described.
"But, how did they, wait, d-did they create a nation or, a religion??"
Makoto speculated.
"It doesn't matter, what does is project Phoenix, we need to start selling it fast before the "despairs" will completely ruin the countries. Then there will be no way to save the people, neither the gold." She foretold.
"What else did you see? Y-you always keep your reactions to yourself so it had to be something stunning!" Naegi shouted.
"We need to focus on the mission. We'll be landing soon so be prepared." Kyoko advised when her friend sat down with his head supported by his both hands.
"It's really bad isn't it?.." He asked.
"It may not be good here, but Americans have or at least had very accessible technology including devices with screens. In less developed countries there should be a smaller number of despair victims than here." Kirigiri deduced.
"It seems like it." Makoto agreed.
"Dear passengers, we'll be landing in a few minutes so please sit down and fasten your seatbelts!.. Wait, did I forget to say it at the take-off?.. I- I don't remember uh, n-never mind." The pilot announced through the speaker.
"Well then." She sat down along with her friend at the two airline seats.
"Geez, these seat belts are god damn tight." Naegi complained.
"That may be because we are wearing those vests." Kyoko stooped over his knees to loosen his seatbelt after she loosened hers.
"Here you go." She straightened up.
"Thanks... Hey by the way, if I remember, weapons are legal here right? That would mean that most citizens have a gun. Both the normal people and the victims." Makoto deduced.
"That's why we're wearing vests. For the good part, the civil war here should be less brutal, mostly limited to shootouts." Kirigiri foretold.
"Let's just hope that-" He cut his sentence off when the plane strongly tilted down. "WhOA!"
"We want to have an awesome entry don't we?" The pilot said through speakers.
"I said NO SHOWING OFF." She spoke out loudly even though their captain couldn't hear them.
Suddenly they tilted back to normal and bounced on the plane's chassis as they hit the runway. After a brief moment, they stopped and the aircraft's aviator got out of the cockpit. "I'll sleep on the couch if you don't mind. Oh and, I hope that it all goes well, good luck!" The airman opened the airship's door, then jumped on the settee and covered his face with his bomber hat.
"Thanks." Naegi replied, looked at Kyoko, and brought his finger up to his lips for her not to complain about the crazy landing. They both got out and were greeted by a soldier. "Welcome to Louisville. We will now escort you to the government's shelter." He said and opened the back doors of an armored truck.
The Ultimate Detective was staring at the huge military base they were in. It was composed of many zones and showed very high troops and worker's activity.
"..Kiri, come on." Makoto was already in the truck offering his hand to help her get in.
"Coming..." After it seemed like she analyzed everything she could see, she grabbed his hand and sat on the chair opposite to his.
The soldier closed the door and the truck started driving.
"I know that our pilot may seem like a little troublemaker but Byakuya must have chosen him for a reason, he's probably the best out there." He assured.
"If he can't listen to orders then he shouldn't be our pilot. He is unpredictable, and with unpredictable behavior comes peril." Kirigiri pointed out.
"Well yeah but, I'm certain that our safety is his top priority, so you shouldn't worry." Naegi kept on defending their flyer when suddenly the vehicle stopped and its doors opened.
"We have reached our destination." The driver informed.
They got out of the truck and walked over to a big solid building made of tons of concrete combined with other tough-to-break materials.
Two soldiers opened the heavy metal door using two access keycards. Kyoko and her friend walked into the bunker and saw a big open spaced room. Ahead of them, a few tables with boxes and a metal detecting gate were placed.
"You will need to leave your stuff here." The soldier announced.
"Sure thing." Makoto took off his vest and put his pistol along with magazines, his watch, and his belt on the table. Same did his friend. After that, they walked through the metal detector and passed the test.
"Come with me." The soldier led them over to another metal door. It opened and revealed a big elevator.
"Um, e-excuse me but, we have a trauma with elev-" He got interrupted by Kyoko. "We are fine, let's go." They slowly entered along with four armed soldiers. The lift was about the size of the one they had to get in during their killing game.
Kirigiri glanced over at her friend with a comforting look as the elevator started going down. Makoto immediately closed his eyes tight after he started to see flashbacks from the sealed-off Hope's Peak because of the lift's familiar motion. His legs began to tremble with fear and his hands started to shake.
"Hey hey hey hey hey-" She slowly brought her friend down and sat with him. "I'm here with you. Makoto, look at me."
"Is he alright?" One of the soldiers asked and saw Kyoko nodding in response.
"AAh-" Naegi moaned in horror but quieted down after he felt her friend's warm naked hands holding his.
"Look at me." She insisted.
Ultimate Hope opened his watery eyes and began to stammer. "I- I saw them all and, t-their bodies, S-Sayaka- a-all dead-" He stopped stuttering as Kirigiri moved his head over to the direction of hers with her hand on his cheek. "K-Kiri?.." He slowly began to lose himself in her eyes when suddenly the elevator stopped moving and the doors opened.
"It's over, we are all safe now." She whispered, wore her gloves, and helped him to get out.
"I- I'm sorry it's just, the movement, and it was s-so similar-" He mumbled but got interrupted.
"Makoto it's alright, there's nothing to be sorry about. I just feel bad for getting you into this lift, I didn't think that it would work so bad on you." Kyoko apologized.
"The president is waiting behind the door with an eagle on them." One of the soldiers pointed at the entrance at the end of the hall.
Naegi took a deep breath. "I'm ready." He wiped his wet eyes with his hands and they walked over to the doors.
"We got this." Kirigiri showed the soldiers a sign with her hand for them to open the door which they did.
"Welcome to the United States of America." The head of the country smiled as they entered his office, got up from his chair, and shook their hands. A photographer's camera flash lightened up the room a few times and afterward, the doors were closed.
"It's an honor to meet you, Mr. President." Naegi greeted.
"Likewise, your story is dramatic but truly inspiring.. Let's sit down shall we?" He got back on his chair. The ultimates sat down as well.
"As you know the internet got "turned off" for the safety of everyone." The president touched his hands with each other. "So I'll tell you about what's going on here. The brainwashed people are wreaking havoc every day, connected under the despair movement, they even have their flag, it looks like that bear from the killing games. Junko's monuments are being built and cities are being captured as we speak. Fortunately we already secured all nuclear warheads which we hopefully won't need to use thanks to your newest invention, is that right? Time is crucial in this situation so I care a lot about establishing deliveries as soon as possible." He laid back on his chair.
"We are sorry about your country falling. Happily our factories are working with performance better than expected so we truly believe in our efficient cooperation to save as many of your citizens as possible. First batches of the devices are already waiting in our warehouses." Makoto assured.
"Perfect. Before we get to negotiating I would like to hear more about the product. How does it work, and most importantly is it safe? What side effects does it have?" The president asked multiple questions.
"Project Phoenix works on high voltage electricity. In just thirty seconds it can reverse the brain damage done by Junko's hypnosis on any shaved head by using advanced nerve cells stimulation, both electrical and visual. Possible side effects include short-term memory loss, epilepsy, muscle spasms, and temporal disorientation. We will send you a detailed list in the documents. Also, every unit is covered by a yearly warranty." She informed.
"If it doesn't have any permanent side effects then that sounds perfect to me. I am ready to hear your offer." He replied.
"We can start deliveries tomorrow with a not available for negotiation price tag of two tons of gold per unit." Naegi declared.
"Excuse me, two tons of gold per unit, did I hear that right?.. The price you offered is just, ridiculous. We cannot accept it."
"I am afraid that you do not have a choice, Mr. President." Makoto stated.
"..And I'm afraid that you're right. Even though, we are looking forward to getting discounts on massive orders, as your regular customer, and military partner." Mr. President stood up and offered his hand.
"We can work on it soon." He shook his hand.
"Well then. Thanks to the incredible focus of our army in that area, we have freshly taken back control over New York. I think that it's a perfect occasion for your special heartwarming speech Mr. Makoto." The head of state proposed.
"I couldn't agree more Mr. President. We'll be heading there now." Naegi concurred.
"Just out of curiosity, why Louisville Mr. President?" Kirigiri questioned.
"It's close to Fort Knox. Most of our gold reserves are kept there." He answered.
"Makes sense..." She thought.
They came back to the elevator.
"Thanks, it's better now." Ultimate Hope said while letting her hand go.
"I'm glad to hear that." Kyoko slightly smiled.
"It went so smoothly Kiri, Byakuya will be proud of us." Makoto smiled as well.
"Oh, he better be god damn happy." She crossed her hands without losing her smirk.
