"Uh, Kiri you missed the entrance." Naegi pointed out.
"I know, we'll need to grab something you left." Kyoko approached their hanging laundry.
"Already dry? If the sun here is this effective we could've just bathed clothed and get the water patched during our walk." He assumed and began putting their clothes on him as his friend slowly moved along the washing line.
"Unconventional but practical. We can try it next time we crash on a desert." Kirigiri said jokingly and headed over to her room.
"It was my first time playing a drunk lie-abed." Makoto chuckled as the Ultimate Detective put him on her couch. "Did anyone suspect us?"
"Everyone was staring at you, but it seems that our disguise has worked out." She replied after emptying her suitcase. "Put the grenades here."
"Got it." Naegi moved their pile of clothes away and gently placed the stolen explosives where his former classmate ordered him to. "So, what are the adjustments that you mentioned?"
"First of all we'll need to be armed. Wear your vest under your suit and shirt." Kyoko commanded.
"The entire point of the plan is to prevent bloodshed like you said. Bringing military stuff with us will only make things worse." He argued.
"We need to be ready for any turn of events. Even if they find your gun they won't do anything, you're still valuable to them." Kirigiri assumed.
"Well I hope so but what if they find you?" Makoto questioned.
"If their approach is aggressive then we'll have to improvise. Otherwise they'll just capture me as well. But don't concern yourself, I won't get caught easily." She assured.
"No doubt with that." Naegi smiled.
"There's still one problem we need to cover. The runways we found. The patrol may come from the air, not necessarily from the ground." Kyoko pointed out.
"You're right, it'll be way harder to blow up the plane and stay undetected in the open..." He brought his right hand up to his chin and pondered for a moment. "Let's take care of the ground option first, then we'll figure out a plan for handling the potential aerial vehicles. What do you say?"
"Let's get to it, we have no time to waste, they can arrive anytime. Just get yourself armed first." Kirigiri stood up and grabbed her vest.
"Right, meet you at the reception." Makoto went to his room and got changed. Just when he was about to hide his gun, he hesitated and glanced over at it. "Listen.. I don't want to use you today or any other time. Those people are still human, just waiting to be cured. But if she gets into a life threatening situation, I won't hesitate... I can't hesitate... I mustn't hesitate..." Naegi promised himself that he'll protect his friend and put his pistol in his pants behind his back. Kyoko was already waiting for him at the hotel reception.
"So, how do I look?.." Makoto asked rubbing his head.
"A bit inflated but they shouldn't notice. What concerns me is how will we survive this heat while wearing three layers." She inhaled deeply.
"It makes us look suspicious, at least during the day.. Let's hope that they arrive after sunset." Naegi came out of the hotel along his former classmate.
"Do you overuse the word "hope" on purpose?" Kirigiri questioned.
"Ah, n-no not at all, it just comes to my mind naturally.. Is that bad?" He asked a bit worried.
"Not necessarily, but if you don't want your students to see you as a "hope god" then using that word too much won't help." Kyoko replied.
"That's a good point." Makoto let out a chuckle. "But don't call them my students, they're ours, you're the vise principal after all."
"It's just a title. They look up to you, not to me." She pointed out.
"You certainly can't say that about Shuichi, he obviously admires you." Naegi stated.
"Wouldn't say so. Detectives are rather a community, there's no idolizing." Kirigiri replied.
"Oh but come on, if only our scholars knew you better then they would instantly change their minds! I'm boring as heck in comparison to your detective adventures." He said with a grin.
"Thanks for flattering me but I don't like being the center of attention as a detective, or as a retired one.." Kyoko looked away.
"You don't have to abandon your profession for good. After things get back to normal new cases will emerge right?" Makoto tried to cheer his friend up.
"He and his optimism." She thought to herself and smiled. "Even if world gets back on track I wouldn't want to have two jobs at once."
"You could work part time for both. I'm your boss after all so I set the rules." Naegi winked.
"That would leave you with my tasks. No way I would agree." Kirigiri refused.
"We would hire more people as the paperwork increased. Besides it's s a waste of your intelligence to handle the documents anyway." He complimented and made his former classmate blush slightly.
"Thanks but I don't feel like changing things, at least for now." Kyoko replied.
"I'm glad Kiri." Makoto looked at her with his cheerful smile. "Although I'm kind of surprised too. I mean, you were always so dedicated to your job but now you don't seem to be despondent about the break you're having. I was worried that it may eventually get you depressed so what you said to me now is a relief." Naegi told happily.
"..I used to think that I was ready to give my life for finding the truth, but recently I changed my mind." She confessed with her hand placed on her chin.
"Oh.. Why is that so?.." Makoto was left without a response as his friend started examining a residential building built next to the end of the side road that connected the village with the highway.
"Could you lend me a hand?" Kirigiri requested looking up.
"Um, sure you got it." He leaned against the wall and put his hands together so his friend could step on them.
With his help Kyoko reached a high window and pulled herself up onto the roof from there.
"All of these rooftops have short walls, and the houses are connected. This means I can move to wherever they park to drop the grenades." She thought to herself after briefly analyzing the structure of the hamlet.
"...Sooo, how are the views?" Naegi asked after a moment.
"I didn't get up here to admire the landscape." Kirigiri stepped back on the window and landed next to her former classmate. "I'll stay up there during our operation. Almost all the roofs are connected so I will be both mobile and hidden."
"Sounds perfect!" He cheered but suddenly lost his smile.
Kyoko knew what that could mean and turned away to see a big white truck driving towards them in the far away.
"I'll go get the grenades!" Makoto was about to run away.
"Wait!-... It's just one vehicle, and we don't know what's inside the semi-trailer." She stopped him. "Go behind the house on the other side of the road. If it's just two soldiers, we will disarm them. Just don't panic and follow my lead."
"W-what if there's more??" He questioned nervously.
"Then we follow our plan." Kirigiri pulled out her pistol.
"Alright yeah, a-alright.." Naegi nodded hesitantly and took his position.
For the next two minutes the Ultimates were couched, waiting in tension until the awaited vehicle drove past them and stopped a couple of meters away from them.
Kyoko leaned out and took a peek to see one of the villagers greet the driver. "False alarm..." She thought and hid her gun but didn't get up when she heard the newcomer shouting in foreign language at the dweller. After receiving the driver's message he started walking and repeating his words loudly.
"What's going on?" Makoto whispered to himself and peeked as well. He saw the newcomer opening the semi-trailer which revealed it's contents - mostly food and hygiene products. "Phew.."
Kirigiri stood up and joined her friend.
"It looks like their regular resource delivery."
"Yeah, fortunately." Naegi exhaled in relief.
"Our plan doesn't change then. We need to establish what do we do in case of the Despairs using their second potential mode of transport." She reminded.
"Right, let's take a look at the runways." Makoto said as they walked.
"..You didn't seem calm when the truck arrived."
Kyoko pointed out.
"Well I'm not used to life threatening situations. I mean, that's normal isn't it? Your staying cool skill is extraordinary." He replied.
"My point is that handling stress is crucial in operations like this. If your hands shake, you'll almost certainly miss." Kirigiri explained.
"I know, I thought that I would handle it better but, I- I couldn't control it. The tension was just, overwhelming.." Naegi said looking down in disappointment of his behavior.
"I can teach you how to handle it." She offered glancing at him.
"That would be awesome." His face illuminated with a smile. "I'm not sure if we'll have enough time though." Makoto glanced back at her with a questioning look.
"We will find ou-" Her eyes suddenly diverted away from him.
They saw a family leaving their house with many bags and heading towards the hangars.
"...They already know, the driver told them." He deduced after seeing more fleeing natives. "They're saved Kiri!" Naegi cheered. "..Kiri?"
"..I hate to tell it to you but there's no reason to celebrate. The Algerian National Army has lost so despair forces are coming to take over this village. That would explains why we didn't see any soldiers at the warehouses." She assumed.
"..This means that there'll more troops than we expected, right?" Makoto asked after a few seconds of thinking.
"Indeed. We basically stand no chance against their army, and neither does the Ultimate Special Unit. If we leave the hamlet with it's villagers he'll not know that we left. This would lead to risking his life for nothing... Are you listening?" Kyoko questioned after she noticed her friend staring blankly.
"So, we'll have to surrender?.." He looked at her after connecting the dots in his head.
"I know how it sounds but it's the most reasonable option." Kirigiri stated.
"I- I need to sit down and think, we'll figure something out, like we always do." Naegi said trying to sound confident.
"What about I give you the lesson on how to handle stress first? It seems like you could find it really useful now." She offered, thinking that they wouldn't be able to come up with a new plan anyway.
"What? N-not now Kiri there's no time." Makoto refused without a doubt.
"It'll do you good." Kyoko insisted and crossed her hands.
"Alright, j-just make it quick." He succumbed to her proposal after looking away from her serious look.
After establishing their agreement they headed over to the hotel which did not have a single living soul left.
