- Nanooooo !!!

A smiling Kemono ran up to the cold looking Kemono and jumped on her to hug her, but she took a step to the left and he slipped to the ground. He pouted and didn't move from there. Na blinked as he looked at him, having been surprised at his arrival from nowhere... Nano watched the Kemono wondering if he would quickly get up, but as she expected—

- ... Kin...

- ... I need you to help me up, aaaaah, I can't do it alone!!!

The Kemono spoke like a child and complained that he couldn't stand up. Na didn't know if he was serious or not, but his little finger told him that he was acting... Nano sighed and gave him her hand to get up, but when he was about to take it, she withdrew it and turned to Na.

- This is Kin," she said.

- HEY, WHY DID YOU TAKE YOUR HAND AWAY !!!!

Kin stood up on his own and pouted as he looked straight at Nano. She turned to him and gave him a black look.

- You see, you can stand up by yourself, you idiot.

- K-Kha!

He stepped back and stood on his knees to apologize repeatedly. Na watched him act without understanding why he was acting like that... He suspected that it was all just a joke, but it was... special? Na had never seen anyone act like this since he arrived at the Federation. So it was Kin, the Kemono that Nano had mentioned before... He, too, was part of the Protection Team.

- H-Hello…” Na shyly said.

Kin turned to him and greeted him with a big smile. His blonde hair with black streaks looked very good on his and his face was rather soft. Like Nano, he had cute fox ears above his head and a fluffy tail on his back. He was wearing some sort of gray armor and around his pelvis was a sort of... straw? A slightly faded yellow one, which was part of the armor too, looked like straw attached to his pelvis. Na really liked the long shoes he was wearing, but he wondered if he really needed to tie every lace he saw... If he did, he wondered why it existed. He assumed he only needed to do the ones on top. Kin was a young and handsome Kemono, with beautiful eyes. He gave Na a very friendly look and the man was sure he was funny. That was the kind of Kemono Kin was; Na was sure of it.

- You're the human who was taken in by Maslow, I guess!" said Kin with a big smile.

- That's right.

- I see, nice to meet you, I'm Kin! Nano's best friend and number 1 when it comes to messing around!

He proudly showed up, as if he had just confessed that he was a king from another country; but it’s nothing like that. Kin had a silly look on his face, but that was what made him so cute.

- Have you visited much yet?" he asked, looking at Nano.

- Much would be a big word, but he's already seen... quite a bit, I'd say.

- I see, do you like it all?

Kin looked at Na as he asked this question. He nodded.

- I didn't expect the Federation to be so... huge," he admitted.

- It looks huge from the outside, but when you see it inside, it's... wow!

He gestured with both arms, as if he were showing a child an attraction. However, it was this kind of enthusiasm that could easily reach Na's heart and he smiled.

- It’s true!

His shyness could not be overcome with words alone, but it was this kind of behavior that helped him open up a little more to others. Nano looked at the young man with her pink eyes and remained silent, arms crossed. Kin turned to his friend again.

- Also, I got confirmation that the A3 engine room is still running smoothly," he said.

Nano was strangely surprised.

- Yet—

- Yes, the energy is no longer being received in the left wing, which makes no sense.

Kin looked more serious and Nano touched her lips with her right index finger. It didn't make any sense... If the energy was no longer being received, then the machines should not be working, so the reverse was also true. There was no reason for the Kemonos working there to do this on purpose or to lie, so there had to be another explanation... but what?

- Could the storm have anything to do with it?

Kin shook his head.

- It's calming down gradually and hasn't done any damage to the main building," he answered. The only damage we know of is to the outside structures, but nothing too serious.

- I see... So something blocks the energy of the machines?

Na listened to them without really understanding what they were talking about, but it interested him anyway. He stood next to them, looking at the Kemono who was speaking every time.

- I asked what they thought, but all I saw was surprise on their faces... They said they'd probably reboot them and that should fix the problem; if not, we'll have to call the Mechanical team to see if they can find anything," said Kin.

Nano wasn't the most knowledgeable or experienced on Federation issues, since she spent most of her time training and protecting Mrs. Maslow, but she knew this wasn't normal. She touched her glasses and told Kin that she would go check if needed, but the Kemono shook his head, which surprised her.

- We have divided tasks and roles, if you do that, it means you are doubting me now.

He was not offended, but Na could see that something was bothering him. Nano squinted, but she didn't say anything back: she let out a tiny sigh, that was all.

- Okay, I guess it'll be fixed soon.

- I guess so!" smiled Kin.

Na blinked, still having trouble understanding their conversation. The two Kemonos turned to him again and Nano cleared his throat.

- Anyway, did you come just to tell me that?" she asked Kin.

The Kemono shook his head.

- It was for that on the one hand, on the other, it was to see the human and finally...

He glanced at Nano, as if he was flirting with her.

- It was to see you—

She hit him on the head and he held it, eyes closed, making noises with his mouth that proved it had hurt. He rubbed his head and sighed heavily.

- Always doing the shy in front of others..”. he let go.

- ...

Nano didn't reply, once again, and preferred to turn to Na to talk to him.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

- We have about three hours before I have to leave you for today, but I—

She was about to tell him her schedule for the rest of the day, but was cut off by a female voice.

- N-Nano!

Another person called her by her first name, but this time it wasn't Kin. All three of them turned to her and recognized her; except Na.

- Nano, this is important! Very important!

A cap on her head, she was very small in size, but so cute that one would want to hurt her; however, it was visible that she was of a certain age.

- Salida, what do you want?" asked Nano, surprised by her behavior.

She seemed... stressed. She wasn't the calmest of the Kemonos, but to see her look like that... Nano was not reassured. Salida looked at the people in front of her and did not recognize the man...

- Is it... the human? she asked, looking at Na.

As expected, she knew of his existence within the Federation walls. Like more or less every Kemono here, Salida knew that a human had been taken in. It had also boosted the popularity of the Sheerah Faction. He nodded, scratching his hair in embarrassment.

- I-It's me…” he admitted.

It was clear that in Salida's eyes sparks of curiosity appeared, but she shook her head: this was not the time to know more about him. She had an important matter to discuss with Nano, "leader" of the Protection Team.

- We... We have a problem, if I may say so...

Salida's voice was not strong and she looked away. As always, she was having trouble asserting herself and talking about "it" didn't feel like being full of energy... She didn't know if she should detail what she knew or just say what was going on without beating around the bush. She looked straight into Nano's eyes, but quickly evaded her gaze again, which tested the patience of the Kemono with fox-like attributes.

- Is this a secret?" asked Nano. Do you want to talk in private?

Salida didn't seem to want to talk about it in Na's presence, so asking that question seemed logical. However, Salida shook her head.

- Nothing secret... At least not for long.

This remark made Nano's eyes crinkle. Kin approached her and asked her to be clear and quick. She apologized and cleared her throat before turning to Nano.

- A horde of Longers is coming from the oceans.

She was clear and precise, without beating around the bush and hiding anything. Salida didn't like to say such a thing, not because she was embarrassed, but because she was actually afraid. It wasn't the first time that the Justice desert was going to see a lot of Longers settling there, but there—

- From the oceans...? repeated Na.

She nodded.

- The ocean moves a lot, but I've been sent a message that a horde of Longers are being observed moving... in the ocean.

Salida tried to use words that would be understood and get to the point. Kin scratched his hair.

- A horde of Longers... in the ocean?

- I don't think I was lied to... Salida admitted. Besides, I'd seen some amazing and disturbing numbers before, so I wouldn't be surprised if that was really the case.

- No, but wait...

Kin waved his hand in front of him and lowered his head, eyes closed. All this was confusing him.

- So many Longers are moving in the ocean, heading, I suppose, towards us, that the ocean itself is behaving strangely?

He didn't know much about ocean calculations and observations, so he tried to understand as best he could. Salida held his cap on his head and nodded, looking down.

- Are you planning an attack on the Federation?

- ... In three days, 9:21a.m.. If they keep going like this, thinking they're a little faster than expected, we should all be ready for an attack by 8:00 a.m., Salida admitted.

- Accurate estimate, as expected from our Salida!!! smiled Kin as he touched her horns.

She screamed in surprise and pushed Kin who rolled on the ground several times before stopping and getting up sulking, but no one listened to her complain: what Salida said was much more important.

- Do we need to tell everyone?" asked Nano.

- In any case, if my calculations are correct, it's not just a hundred Longers... We're probably talking in the thousands here.

- Thousands...

Nano didn't know how to react to such information. Even if they could repel such an attack, one had to see their levels and their real numbers... Thousands of Longers, that was anything but good. She frowned and turned to Kin, who had stopped his comedy.

- Kin, we have to warn the others,” she said directly.

- ...

- Even if it's in three days, we need everyone to be ready.

- I understand. I'll tell Nivea and the others," he said.

- I'll take care of the Factions.

Kin ran up and waved goodbye to them. Salida touched her hands, still embarrassed, watching the Kemono leave. Nano turned to her.

- Salida, can you tell your team and the right wing?

- Why not make an official announcement to everyone at once?

- No need to alert those who are not going to fight. Besides, I don't know if it's necessary to put ALL KEMONOS on the case.

She crossed her arms in front of her stomach.

- If possible, I wouldn't want it to be heard by everyone…” Nano admitted.

- Hide it from the others, basically?

- I wouldn't say "hide", I would say that I don't see the point of warning and alerting everyone. Even if a horde of thousands of Longers is something scary, I don't think we can lose.

Nano was speaking when she noticed that the man next to her was shaking. She turned her gaze to him and Salida did the same. Na forced herself to keep her mouth closed as her eyes showed fear, her body shaking with the same emotion. Nano touched his shoulder and asked if everything was okay; he swallowed and turned his gaze to her.

- So many... So many Longers...?" he asked.

He couldn't forget the sight of the monster he had seen at the Great Sanctuary. Bibi had beaten it, but he had thought it would never make it...

So, thousands? It was the end of the world, the end for all of them. They were going to... all die.

- I don't think they are high-level Longers,” Salida admitted.

He blinked and looked at the horned Kemono.

- High-level...?

- Don't worry, Na.

It was Nano who spoke this time.

- There must be a lot of level 2's or even level 3's in these Longers. Nothing that can defeat us... After that, I'm more afraid of levels 5 or 6... Do you think there will be higher levels?

Nano turned to Salida while asking this question. Not wanting to lie or be unnecessarily optimistic, the horned Kemono shrugged.

- I don't think so, but I don't know,” she admitted.

- I'll check with some Kemonos to see if they can prepare for the worst... It should be fine.

She nodded blankly and looked up at Salida.

- Thanks for the warning. Why me, though?

- Maslow isn't at the Federation, is she?

- W-Wa...?

Nano was surprised that Salida knew such a thing. She was the leader of her team and they were important to the Federation, so she knew Maslow personally, but to know that she had gone for a walk...

- I asked to talk to her, but no answer," Salida admitted. I guess she's not here anymore, since you're everywhere in the Federation...

It was a logical reasoning on her part, so Nano said nothing. Salida scratched her cheek.

- S-Some people have a lot of questions about your behavior, ahah…” she said.

Nano had already noticed the looks she was getting, so she wasn't surprised at all. She shrugged her shoulders, as if it wasn't important. Salida thanked her and started running from where she came from, joining her team first. Nano looked at Na, who was still not reassured.

- ... Everything will be fine,” she said.

No matter what she said, Na couldn't get the fear out of his heart. The Longer he had seen had been so terrifying, so huge and powerful... The fight Bibi had put up had been so incredible, but if there were now so many... He couldn't see how they could win this. Nano grabbed her hand and told her to follow her to warn the others. Na didn't reply and followed her closely.

The wind blew calmly across the desert, but nothing could be described as "calm" there. The sounds of battle raged, the blood of Longers and Kemonos spilling into the desert. She walked one step at a time, a friend in her arms...

No, her BEST friend. Yes. Him.

- ......

She breathed calmly: she wasn't hurt. She could still fight again and again, but why would she? Why would she fight against the hundreds and thousands of Longers that had arrived? She didn't have to, since it wasn't her job. She might be powerful, but she had to stay alive... to protect the one who mattered more than the others. She let out a small smile on her face and held the unconscious body of the Kemono a little tighter. She sighed and said to him—

— Dumbass. You dumbass, Kin.

Salida's estimates had been wrong.

The Longers had arrived earlier than expected.