Karma peeled an eye open to look over Nagisa's petite form. He noted how his upper body rose and fell with every breath he took. He looked so peaceful next to him, but somehow Karma knew better.

"Nagisa...why aren't you sleeping?"

"I've been found out, huh?" Nagisa mused out loud softly, turning his body to face Karma. He giggled at the sight of Karma's messy bed head. His red locks sprawled out on his pillow with a few strands threatening to block his vision. Nagisa stared into his mercury orbs, almost forgetting the question Karma asked him. "Honestly...I'm afraid…"

Karma reached out and placed his hand on Nagisa's cold, pale cheek and stroked it with his thumb. The darkness surrounding them prevented Karma from seeing the blush that dusted his cheeks.

"I won't let anything happen to you…" he whispered sternly yet softly, still caressing his cheek as if to sooth the petite boy. In return, Nagisa gently lifted Karma's hand off his cheek and brought it closer to his lips, planting a kiss in the palm of his hand.

"I know…" he whispered back, his voice a bit quieter than Karma's, "But even still...I can't shake the feeling that I'm in danger…"

Karma furrowed his brows, snaking his arms around Nagisa's small waist and pulling him closer. Nagisa tensed up at first, but melted into Karma's hold as he hugged him close to his chest. Karma's fresh, strawberry scent infiltrated his nostrils, making him feel more comfortable than he did moments ago. His strong, muscular arms kept a soft yet gentle hold around Nagisa, making him feel protected. Nagisa couldn't help but nuzzle into Karma's chest, his eyes growing heavy. Karma let out a yawn above him, hugging him closer.

"I'll put up a thousand barriers that the danger will have to get through before I let it put it's hand on you...now sleep~"

With a nod, Nagisa closed his eyes, finding it easier for sleep to consume him in Karma's hold; the warmth radiating off his body. Soon after, Karma fell asleep, entangling his legs with Nagisa's.

Karma woke up before Nagisa did and with that came the task of getting untangled from him without waking him. Fortunately, he managed, but not without running into a little trouble. His heart melted at how Nagisa would unconsciously cling to his pajama shirt everytime he moved, or when he would mumble his name, scrunching his nose slightly. It tugged at his heartstrings, but he promised Nagisa that he would protect him. Placing a delicate kiss on Nagisa's forehead, he left his room and his apartment entirely, making sure that every window and door was locked.

He walked down the street and headed for the train station. He fished his phone out of his pocket and punched in a few numbers before putting it up to his ear, scanning the area around him.

"Hey Karma! What's up?" Aki's cheery voice sounded through the phone.

"Meet me at the train station in 30 minutes. I want your help in picking out something for Nagisa."

"Aww, how sweet~ Big Bad Karma picking out something for his boyfriend~" she cooed on the other end. Karma could've sworn he heard Asano chuckling in the background, causing a blush to rise to his cheeks.

"Shut it...are you coming or not?!"

"I'll be there~"

"Great. And don't bring-" she hung up before he could finish, "Asano…" he sighed.

Putting his phone back into his pocket, he continued his walk to the train station. His thoughts drifted to Nagisa's sleeping form on his bed. He hoped that he wouldn't wake up mad that he left him there alone. Shaking those thoughts away, he stopped, arriving at the train station. He sent a quick text to Aki, letting her know where he was then put his phone back into his pocket. The cold breeze brushed past him, but he refused to shiver.

"The train will be here in ten minutes, where the hell-" he muttered as he turned to his right, answering his own unfinished question. Asano walked towards Karma, carrying Aki on his back; she was preoccupied with trying to put Asano's short hair into pigtails. Asano stopped in front of Karma and bent down a bit, allowing Aki to jump down from his back, her curly, purple fro bouncing as she did so.

"Thanks for the ride!" Aki giggled, admiring the tiny pigtails that she managed to put into his hair before turning to Karma. "Now then, what's this you're getting for Nagi~?"

"A dog. After the break in, he doesn't feel safe...so I thought a dog might make him feel a bit more secure."

She nodded silently. A dog, huh? Karma had always wanted one when he was little, but his parents wouldn't allow it. As he got older, he started to care less about getting a dog and didn't think about it as much. It's too bad that he's getting one under these circumstances and not because he genuinely wanted to just to have a furry companion. This dog would have to be vicious enough to protect them from harm. Although, that kind of dog seems right up Karma's alley. She glanced over at Karma, a smirk playing on his face.

"That one! No, that one!" Aki shouted excitedly, looking around at the dogs that surrounded them. Karma picked up the golden retriever that she set her eye on, letting it rest in his left arm while he stroked it's head with his right hand.

"This one's cute and all, but it's just a puppy," he said as he placed the dog back down on the floor with the rest. Karma glanced over at Asano who had claimed a seat and sat down the minute they stepped into the pet shop. "How's it going over there, first place~?"

"Lovely. Just pick a suitable dog and we'll be on our way," he deadpanned. Asano looked over at Aki who was still gushing over every dog she saw. His lips curled up into a smile with every little happy bark that came from a dog that she had pet. Asano wasn't much of a dog person, but he was tempted to gift Aki with one just to keep that smile on her face.

"Hey dork, over here," Karma called out to Aki, waving her over to where he was standing.

"Did you decide on one?" she asked as she walked over to where he was standing.

"I sure did~" he crouched down in front of a steel cage that couldn't be seen into. Aki looked inside, but couldn't make out what dog was engulfed in the darkness.

"What dog- AHH!" she screamed, backing away into Karma's figure as a rather large pit bull came stalking out of the shadows and into the light, barking viciously.

"A pit bull~" he cooed, wrapping his arms around her protectively. At the sight of this, Asano stood up and approached them, glaring at Karma who only smirked back. He looked at Aki's trembling form and his eyes softened.

"That dog's more than sure to do the trick," he said, reaching for Aki's hand. His cold digits touched her warm, delicate ones and in a matter of minutes, she was in Asano's arms, giving him a squeeze as if reassuring him that she's fine. She pulled away from him then looked back down at the steel cage.

"He'll definitely do the trick," she assured, her usual carefree smile returning to her face. "Although, I wonder if Akito would even be fazed by it...he handles Shigure pretty well…" she muttered quietly, her smile falling. Asano noticed her change in behavior and he heard her soft voice as she muttered quietly under her breath. He was pretty sure that he heard her say someone's name; Shugure, was it? As curious as he was, he decided not to bring it up at the moment, returning his attention to Karma who was purchasing the pit bull. After the money was exchanged, one of the workers unlocked the steel cage, but the dog was hesitant to emerge from it, unsure of what was happening.

"C'mere boy~" Karma cooed, motioning for the dog to come to him. It sauntered out of the shadows, its short, golden fur glowing in the light. Karma took note of it's white stomach and short, pointy, folded ears.

"It's a Golden Retriever Pitbull mix," the worker chimed in. He was fairly short with short, black hair, a round nose and a red hat. Karma read the name on his nametag then looked up at him.

"Good to know, Norita," he said before crouching down in front of the dog. He held his hand out and watched as the dog sniffed the backside of his hand, his small, black nose barely grazed Karma's hand, but even still it felt cold and wet.

"Eh, Yuji's fine. Anyways, that's about all I can tell you about him," he admitted, scratching the back of his neck.

"That's fine. Come on, you two," Karma said to the couple behind him as he left the store with his new dog walking at his side. The dog turned out to be very obedient; Karma assumed that the dog was well trained by whoever owned him last. That was one thing he didn't have to do that's for sure.

Asano and Aki caught up to Karma, Asano on his left along with the dog and Aki on his right. The dog turned its head towards Asano and started barking, making the trio stop. Karma smirked.

"Looks like somebody doesn't like you, first place~ That makes two of us~" he pet the dog's head lovingly, causing it to stop barking as it gently nuzzled Karma's hand.

"He reminds me of you," Aki giggled, referring to the dog. "Maybe that's why it seemed to have no problem with you right off the bat."

"Hm, you might be right about that," Karma said gazing at the dog.

Karma opened the door to his apartment slowly, peeking his head in. It was quiet so he automatically assumed that Nagisa was still asleep; at least, that's what he was hoping. He walked in with the dog following behind him, wandering into the living room. He froze in the doorway, spotting Nagisa sitting on the couch with a pout on his face.

"H-Hey Nagisa…" he tried, smiling sheepishly, hoping the dog couldn't be seen by him and that it would stay quiet until he was ready to show it to him.

"Hey Karma...where've you been…" he inquired in a low tone.

Karma chuckled, motioning for the dog to come out from behind him. It trotted out from behind him, causing Nagisa to finally turn his head and look in their direction, the dog's soft paws pelted the floor. Nagisa's eyes widened and he jumped up from his spot on the couch and ran to the back of the room and into the corner. The dog continued to trot over to him, stopping at a fair distance in front of him, letting out a low growl. A bead of sweat rolled down Nagisa's face as he contemplated what to do. He looked over at Karma who looked ready to jump in, but he feared that he'd cause the dog to advance towards Nagisa more, potentially causing harm to the small boy. He sighed looking at the dog.

'This is ridiculous...backed into a corner by a dog…' he thought. He was bigger than the dog and he really didn't feel like spending the rest of his day in the corner. Something came over Nagisa, causing him to glare at the dog. The dog started to back away, whimpering with its tail in between its legs.

"Way to establish dominance, Nagi~" Karma said as the dog backed up into his legs. He kneeled down to stroke the dogs head, calming it slightly.

"I-I didn't mean to scare it…" he said, walking over to them and falling to his knees. "Why did you bring home a dog?" he inquired as he lifted his hand in front of the dog, allowing it to sniff it; he shivered at the cold wetness of the dog's nose.

"I got it for you. Since you've been feeling scared lately, I thought it would make you feel a bit more secure."

"Thanks Karma," Nagisa smiled, blushing slightly. Karma was worried about him and it showed. The dog lifted its paw and rested it on Nagisa's thigh, lowering its head. Nagisa took that as an invitation to gently stroke the dog's head and it wagged its tail in response. A smile tugged at Nagisa's lips seeing the dog become more comfortable with him in that short amount of time. The dog feared Nagisa, yes but because of that, it chose not to cross him, coming off as tame.

In a matter of minutes, the dog was cuddled up against Nagisa; its short, golden fur tickling his hand. Nagisa giggled, lifting the dog off his lap and standing up.

"Does he have a name?" Nagisa asked as he started walking towards Karma's room with the dog following behind him.

"Not yet," he admitted, following Nagisa and the dog. "I thought you'd maybe wanna name him."

Nagisa crawled into bed and once he was situated under the covers, the dog jumped up there with him and reclaimed its spot on Nagisa's lap; he smiled down at the dog. Karma climbed in bed next to Nagisa, narrowing his gaze at the dog. He thought the dog would do more protecting than cuddling up to his boyfriend. Nagisa never had a pet before so he was unsure of what to name it. He thought carefully as to what it could be. It wasn't ideal for the dog to go too long without a name.

After a while, Nagisa spoke up. "How about Kota?" he asked, stroking the dog's head. "It means happiness and good fortune."

"Is that so~? I like it~" Karma cooed, leaning over towards Nagisa, pressing a chaste kiss to his lips.

Nagisa smiled. "Kota it is."

It's been three weeks since Karma got Nagisa that dog and Karma swears that every single day, not once did Kota leave Nagisa's side. It irritated him to say the least. Everytime he leaned in for a kiss, Kota was there. Everytime he was in the mood to cuddle, Kota was there. The other day, Karma pulled Nagisa into the bathroom and started a heated kissing session. Hands wandered to forbidden places, clothes were stripped off, and the pair ended up in the shower, doing more kissing then washing up. Kota had been outside the door the entire time. When they emerged from the bathroom, they found Kota lingering by the door and once he saw Nagisa, he immediately took his side.

This baffled Karma; Kota went from fearing Nagisa to loving him endlessly, clinging to his side every minute of the day. Karma's pout didn't go unnoticed. Nagisa looked down at Kota who was currently lying on his lap and chuckled. Karma's jealousy was adorable and different from Akito's jealousy. Akito would resort to killing the cause of his jealousy. Karma, on the other hand, just sat close by, a small pout playing on his face.

Nagisa thought for a moment; Kota was a pretty obedient dog, right? It wouldn't hurt to let him roam outside for a bit to stretch his legs.

"Come on, Kota," Nagisa rubbed his back and watched as he jumped off his lap. He stood up and left Karma's apartment without another word, Kota walking right alongside him. They walked down the hallway and rode the elevator down to the first floor. They proceeded to leave the apartment complex and step out onto the bright green grass covered in fresh morning dew. Kota had his long, pink tongue hanging halfway out of his mouth and it appeared as if he were smiling.

"Go on, Kota. I'll come back for you in a little while," Nagisa assured, motioning for Kota to walk freely on his own. Kota was hesitant to leave Nagisa's side, but after a while of looking at the vast land in front of him, he trotted off. Nagisa smiled and headed back inside.

When Nagisa walked back into the living room without Kota to Karma's surprise; his pout was long gone. Noticing this, Nagisa smiled, grabbing Karma by his waist and lying him down on the couch, lying on top of him afterwards. Karma rested his chin on top of Nagisa's head as Nagisa hugged him, nuzzling his head into Karma's chest.

"Where's Kota?" Karma inquired.

"He's outside," Nagisa answered softly, his voice barely above a whisper. "He's a pretty obedient dog who can take care of himself so I thought it would be fine," he explains.

Karma smiled, wrapping his arms around Nagisa's petite frame. The soft murmurs coming from the television slowly lulling him to sleep.

Karma's soft snores sounded beneath Nagisa who was wide awake. He observed how dark the room had gotten and thought back to Kota. He had let the time slip away from him and he cursed himself for letting it happen. Strategically maneuvering himself off of Karma without waking him, he left the apartment.

Nagisa walked outside, the warmth engulfed him, yet a shiver ran down his spine. He looked around at the grey streets and the dark green grass under the midnight sky, with one star twinkling brighter than the rest.

"Kota!" Nagisa called out into the darkness, expecting Kota's figure to come running out of the shadows and into his arms. Not a sound was made; his soft paws and sharp nails weren't heard colliding with the asphalt.

"Kota!" Nagisa called out again in a concerned tone, baffled that he hadn't shown himself yet. A minute passed and yet there still wasn't a sign of Kota. Afraid to wander too far into the darkness by himself, he ran back inside to get Karma.

He tapped his food impatiently in the elevator until it finally decided to open its doors. When it did, Nagisa bolted to Karma's door. He reached his hand out to grab the knob when he looked up. A note had been taped to Karma's door and when he skimmed over it, he could've sworn he saw his name so he read it thoroughly.

It read: 'You've got yourself such a lovely dog, Nagisa~ Hope you don't mind that I borrowed it~

Oh, and how's your dad~?

~Akito S.'

Nagisa's heart dropped, ripping the note from the door, he turned the cold knob and ran inside. He ran into the living room and fell to his knees next to the couch where Karma's sleeping form still resided. Nagisa forced himself to shake Karma awake, trembling.

"K-Karma, please!" he pleaded. Karma jolted awake and turned to Nagisa's face. He looked into his tearful eyes and instantly assumed the worst.

"What's wrong?!"

Unable to speak clearly, Nagisa handed him the note.

A/N: I think I'm gonna write out the rest of the chapters before posting them because I think I'm close to the end and I'm pretty sure how I wanna end this.

Hopefully that won't take too long.

Constructive criticism is welcome.~