Karma Akabane woke to a start when he heard a deafening explosion, soon followed by widespread panic.

"What the…" He dressed himself quickly running outside and seeing a crater in the wall that surrounded his hometown in Shiganshina.

"Well, look what finally happened." Karma said in his usual calm tone; but his demeanor changed quickly after seeing so many people killed from the Titans flooding in.

"Come with me!" A boy with blue hair grabbed Karma by the arm, racing in the direction of the inner wall.

I assumed that someday the wall was bound to break, but what caused it? The Titans can't be getting smarter, can they?

"What's your name?"

Karma's thoughts were interrupted by the boy he was running alongside.

"I could be asking you the same thing." He shouted over the ruckus.

"I'm Nagisa. Nice to meet you, 'I Could be Asking You the Same Thing.'" Karma rolled his eyes.

"I'm Karma. But where are we going, anyway?" Nagisa suddenly stopped running in front of a large crowd, looking at Karma.

"We're supposed to evacuate Shiganshina by boat. Sorry I didn't have the time to explain earlier." He apologized.

"It's no big deal. I'd rather survive than know that sooner." They both pushed their way through the crowd of panicking townspeople, making their way onto a fairly packed boat.

"It's lucky for us being kids. Otherwise I'm not sure if we would have made it in time…" Nagisa sat down leaning against the wall of the boat.

"That's pretty much the only convenience that comes with this age, though." Karma sat beside him.

"Can you tell me your actual name this time?" Nagisa asked, making Karma sigh.

"I wasn't joking; my name's actually Karma. Karma Akabane."

"Sorry... it's-"

"Odd?" Karma finished Nagisa's sentence. "My parents are both dicks so I can't really do anything about it."

Nagisa looked around nervously after hearing him cuss.

"Actually, I was gonna say that your name sounded cool to be honest. Nagisa Shiota is pretty plain..." He admitted.

"I was wondering, where are your parents? Why aren't they with you?" Karma questioned.

"My dad left when I was four, and my mom has a few mental issues..." Nagisa looked down at the brown wooden planks of the floor.

"Oh. I'm sorry for bringing it up." Karma felt a little guilty for prying.

"I-it's not a big deal, you didn't know. Besides, I'm used to getting made fun of." Nagisa smiled in reassurance.

"Everyone get off of the boat. There are still others that need to evacuate!" A Military Police cadet yelled.

"Anyone thirteen and under go that way to the refugee camp." He pointed his finger.

"You heard him. C'mon Nagisa!" Karma grabbed Nagisa's hand, leading him in the direction of the said refugee camp.

The campsite was large and looked very makeshift. It was hardly sheltered; and the only items present were blankets to sleep on, and poor food rations.

"Over here. We should claim a spot before every other kid in Shiganshina gets here." Karma suggested as he grabbed one of the blankets and laid it out on the hard floor.

"But what next? We can't just stay here forever..." Nagisa pointed out, following Karma's lead.

"How old are you, Nagisa?" He asked, sitting down.

"I'm twelve. Why do you ask?"

Karma smiled a little. "Same here, so it'll work out perfectly. If we make it through a couple years, we can enroll into the Training Corps."

Nagisa thought for a moment.

"I guess I don't have any better ideas..." He hesitantly admitted. "I'm just not sure if I'm the right material."

Karma yawned. The day had gone so fast and it was already getting dark. "We'll think on it more tomorrow. It's been more than a rough day." He decided, laying down on his back and putting his hands behind his head.

"Okay... goodnight, I guess..." Nagisa awkwardly laid down on his side.

I'm glad I met Karma... This would be a lot more difficult without someone to back me up.

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Two Years Later...

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"Nagisa!" He woke up feeling Karma kick him in the gut.

"Ow!" He rolled over onto his stomach.

"You're a deep sleeper as usual. I was starting to think that maybe you were dead or something." Karma joked.

"Shut up..." Nagisa groaned, sitting up and rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"Did you have to wake me up? Or were you just bored again..." He sighed.

"See for yourself. I didn't wanna open these without you." Karma threw Nagisa a letter addressed to him from the Training Corps.

"Don't get your hopes up for me, Karma..." Nagisa said, opening the envelope.

"...I got in. Honestly I'm not surprised- Uh, Nagisa...?" Karma started seeing the look on his friend's face.

Silence.

"Nagisa; did you get in or not?" He asked in a more inpatient tone.

"Huh...? Uh- yeah!" Nagisa snapped out of his bewilderment.

"Good. We have three days so prepare yourself. It'd be smart to get your strength up." Karma walked off somewhere; most likely to follow his own advice.

I can't believe I got in... I'll probably get kicked out just as fast. Nagisa thought, folding up the letter.

"Hi!"

"Ah!" A girl with brown hair had approached Nagisa unnoticed.

"Haha, sorry! I didn't mean to scare you. I'm Kaede Kayano."

Nagisa looked at her for a moment. "I'm Nagisa Shiota... Did you need something?" He asked politely.

"Nope. I just noticed the letter that you were holding, and wanted to ask if you got in, too."

Too...? She must have joined the Training Corps!

"Yeah, I got in. Are you gonna be in this year's Training Corps?" Nagisa asked.

"Mmhm! I'm hoping to join the Survey Corps." Kaede sat down beside him.

"The Survey Corps? That's a bold decision!" Nagisa was intrigued with her confidence.

"Yeah, I guess it is... but I wanna know what's out there!" Kaede had an excited gleam in her gold eyes.

"I wasn't expecting you to form a harem, Nagisa." Karma said.

"Where did you come from!?" Nagisa yelled.

"It's not like that!" Kaede butted in.

"Alright, alright, but who is this chick?" Karma leaned against the wall.

"This is Kaede Kayano. She's gonna be in the Training Corps with us!" Nagisa explained.

"Cool. I'm Karma Akabane." Karma shook hands with her.

"She's right here! She has to be, she's mine! Let me see my daughter!"

"Mam, we need to get proof of that. You're only making your situation worse."

"What is that?" Karma looked over at a woman with blue hair being restrained by a cadet, then back at Nagisa who had a horrified look on his face.

"Do you know her or something?" Karma asked. Nagisa nodded, anxiously walking over.

"Mom, please calm down... I'm right here." He begged. The soldier let the woman go after hearing confirmation that she was indeed his mother.

"Oh, Nagisa! I was so worried!" She held him in a tight hug. "No one happened to hurt my little girl, did they?"

I'm a boy... oh, that's right. It's just another part of her fantasy.

"Nagisa, wanna tell me what's going on, here?" Karma approached him.

"Umm... yeah. This is my mom, Hiromi. Mom, this is my friend Karma Akabane. He's been helping me out this passed year." Nagisa introduced the two of them, but couldn't help feeling scared of what could unfold.

"Thank you, Karma. I'm sorry if she was any trouble. But we won't be needing you anymore now that I'm here." Karma looked at her as if he were saying 'excuse me?'

"My mom has a few mental issues..." Nagisa's words came as a reminder for Karma.

So that's why this lunatic keeps calling him a 'she'.

"Actually, I'd like to keep my eye on him a little longer..." Karma started.

"'Him'? Nagisa's my little girl. And she'll be coming with me regardless. I'm her mother, so I know what's best for her." Hiromi sneered and Nagisa sent Karma a quick warning look.

"No he's not. Misgendering your own son... wow. And if you cared about him as much as you claim to, you would've gotten a hold of him a lot sooner. The more I think about it, the more it seems like he's in an unsafe position being cared for by you." Karma away as if he were thinking really hard, but in a sarcastic and even provoking manner.

Hiromi instantly lost her fragile composure, if there even was one from the start, and slapped Karma in the face.

Karma's eyes filled with anger and he responded with an uppercut, followed by pushing Nagisa out of the way.

"Wait, Karma don't-!"

"You ungrateful BRAT!" Hiromi managed to elbow Karma directly in his face. It took him by surprise that a woman like this could recover so quickly from a blow like that.

"I'll end you." He grabbed hold of her, kneeing her in the stomach repeatedly.

"Karma cut it out!" Nagisa yelled desperately, still not getting through to him.

Karma threw her on the ground before being restrained by the same cadet from earlier.

"Get a hold of yourself, kid. I get self-defense, but this is crossing the line!" He said.

"Let go of me..." Karma growled, trying to break free.

"STOP! Please...!" Nagisa yelled again, successfully getting Karma's attention this time and snapping him out of it. The soldier backed away from him after feeling Karma relax and stop struggling. He looked over at Hiromi who was unconscious. And then back at Nagisa.

"I-it's fine. You were caught up in the moment... I'm... grateful, actually." Nagisa said awkwardly, quickly fleeing the scene. Kaede was nowhere to be found.

I've never seen Karma fight before. For the first time... I was scared of him. If I ever make him mad... is he safe to be around? Look what he did to my mom... Nagisa contemplated, laying down.

No, he was just trying to protect me, right? After all I'm his only friend. And what he's seen of my mom wasn't exactly... pleasant. Nagisa sighed aloud, hearing Karma return from the aftermath of the fight. Nagisa could sense that he had calmed down completely now.

Neither decided to say anything for a few moments, leaving each other alone with their own thoughts.

"I could've taken care of it." Nagisa spoke quietly, being careful not to set Karma off.

"Yeah, but at the time it was unclear what kind of threat she was. Don't think I didn't notice your bruises when we met, Nagisa. Besides, you didn't tell me anything! You practically just waltzed over there!" Karma scoffed.

Nagisa rolled his eyes. "'Waltzed'? Did I look that confident to you?"

"Nagisa, am I gonna have to come over there and knock the self esteem back into you?" Karma began to tease.

"That's not funny."

"Don't be a snowflake~"

"I said it's not funny right now!"

That's odd... Karma thought.

He usually isn't so fragile... Whatever, he'll mellow out after sleeping on it. I should probably get some rest myself...