Review replies for chapter two will go above here. :)

A big feature of Kyou wa is going to be the interludes. These tell the stories of Marumaro/Primula and Jiro/Kluke/Andropov. Usually the interludes will take place every other chapter or so; sometimes they will be paired together, and other times it will only be Marumaro and Primula or Jiro, Kluke and Andropov. This time we'll be getting one right after the other.

Interlude: Marumaro and Primula ~Part I~

Leaning his elbows on the balcony railing, he lets out a sigh. "Maro…" I wonder if sending Bouquet was the right thing to do, maro… Marumaro lowers his head to rest on his hands. Maybe it would've been better to go myself and wait until we came to Nirvana before I tried pushing Shu in any one direction, maro… There's still Kluke to consider, after all…

To be honest, Marumaro favors Bouquet for Shu. In his honest opinion, things will work out better. He knows that Shu has feelings for her to some degree – Marumaro doesn't know how far those feelings run, but he knows they've developed exponentially since the two first met; Marumaro suspects that he's been absent during most of the key moments between them, since he's noticed that there have been times (during both journeys) where they have become closer practically out of nowhere. But Marumaro's gut instinct is that even if there is sometimes confusion about what exactly it is that he feels, Shu cares for her very deeply. Plus, Bouquet has already determined to marry him; the proposal was one-sided, but it's pretty much close enough. She has a lot of good points – for starters, her breasts are huge (larger than most adult women; they'll probably be enormous once she's finished with puberty, and that's something he finds himself looking forward to), she's gorgeous otherwise (seriously, her eyes are the prettiest he's ever seen, and her figure is excellent), and she has a sweet personality (she's one of the nicest people that Marumaro knows, and he's proud to call her a friend). She would be a fantastic match for Shu.

And then there's Kluke…

Shu and Kluke have known each other a long time. Marumaro suspects that even though they've never stated it explicitly, the two have probably been friends for the majority of their lives. That's a lot of history between them, and that's not something to be ignored. They have the potential to be a good match, though it's hard to say. There's a very good chance that Shu likes Kluke as more than a friend; Marumaro would put money on it, in fact. The mystery, however, is Kluke. That girl is as ambiguous as heck, maro. Perhaps she doesn't even know herself. Who knows? In any case, when it comes to Kluke, Andropov now has to be factored in – his feelings for her are so obvious that it's painful, and he'll definitely present himself as a romantic rival if he feels that his relationship with Kluke is being threatened. Again, the unknown factor is Kluke; Marumaro knows she is close with Andropov, but it's nearly impossible for him to tell just how much she feels for him. It doesn't help that Marumaro hasn't seen them interact very often. Additionally, someone has been reentered into the equation – Jiro. Marumaro wasn't born yesterday, and he's seen the way Jiro smiles at Kluke. Still, that was two, nearly three, years ago; time has passed and affection may have lessened. As with Andropov, he hasn't seen Jiro with her (recently), so that makes it difficult to tell. Like with Shu and Andropov, Kluke may or may not like Jiro that way – it's too hard to tell. In conclusion, pursuing Kluke rather than Bouquet will present the most difficulties for Shu – he'll have one, possibly two, love interests to fight against for the girl, and she may not even feel the same way about him. If there wasn't Bouquet to consider, then Marumaro would be fully supportive of Shu in this course; difficult as it would be, Shu is still his friend, and there is nothing that Marumaro wouldn't do for him. As it is, he can't help but wonder if trying to have a relationship with Kluke would even be worth it for Shu.

He groans, swiping a hand down his face. This is too complicated for a guy like me, maro! He's a simple boy; he doesn't like complicated things. It's difficult figuring something like this out, especially when there's so many feelings involved. But Marumaro must; there is no alternative.

It's taking too long for things to resolve naturally; it's been nearly three years, and things are pretty much at a stalemate right now. If he doesn't figure out a way to solve this, Shu's going to get his heart broken very badly. And Marumaro doesn't know if Shu will be able to recover from that kind of pain. Shu is probably the most powerful Shadow User in the world (and others, if there are any; Noi had to come from somewhere, didn't he?), but when it comes to feelings (of all kinds), he is by far the most vulnerable person that Marumaro knows.

Marumaro bites his lip. The thought of Shu having his heart broken is making him anxious and upset. I have to fix this somehow, maro! Sending Bouquet is alternating between seeming like a good and bad idea. What if he's only rubbed salt in the wound by sending her in his stead? Has she arrived yet, and if so, how has Shu reacted to her presence? He won't take it well, if our last conversation is any indication, maro. I better not tell him it was my idea, or he'll strangle me, maro.

After giving it some thought, he'd wanted to push Bouquet towards Shu by sending her to bring him to Nirvana, and then push Kluke in his direction when he got here. From that, maybe he would be able to tell who Shu was leaning towards, and then Marumaro would be able to encourage further interaction.

But Marumaro has learned only recently that isn't going to work out – because Kluke has decided to leave Nirvana with Andropov and head back to her mountain village to rebuild.

Well, Kluke, it looks like you've thrown a wrench in my plans, maro. The irony of the sentence isn't lost on him. She's leaving tomorrow; it'll be impossible for Shu and Bouquet to make it to Nirvana by then. They'll probably just miss each other, maro.

He gives it some consideration. …All in with Bouquet, then, maro? It's not exactly fair to Kluke (it's not really being fair to any of them, honestly), but Marumaro needs to take some kind of action before Shu gets hurt. So be it, maro. Out loud, he says, "Bouquet it is, maro." There's still no guarantee that Shu will take to Bouquet, but Marumaro can start putting all his efforts into getting them together rather than taking Kluke into consideration. Kluke has Andropov and maybe Jiro, maro. She'll be fine, maro. He feels a little guilty for having to be so dismissive of her, but no one is going to be wounded by this more than Shu; he has to be the priority right now.

"There you are!"

"Maro!" He yelps and flails, unbelievably startled.

As he's catching his breath, a sweet giggle enters his ears. "You always react to everything so strongly."

Marumaro swallows hard. His mouth is suddenly very dry as he detects approaching footsteps. And then, from one to second to the next, she's standing right beside him. She tilts her head to the side, smiling at him slightly.

"S-sorry, maro…" Marumaro rubs the back of his neck.

Primula laughs softly. His heart is beating faster. "You don't have to apologize for that. It's one of the things I like about you."

One of the things she likes about me, maro… His stomach is wobbling. Darn it. It's happening again.

It hadn't been this way at first. Primula had just been Primula. She was his friend, and he hadn't minded the notion of guarding her for a month.

Then, steadily, everything changed. It had come out of nowhere. He had been completely unprepared for it.

Things were fine at first. With the majority of treaties either taken care of or put on hold until the beginning of January, not much really happened (Marumaro honestly doesn't know how she keeps from being bored out of her mind). Wake up and go to sleep, eat three meals a day, find out if anyone in Nirvana is having trouble and swiftly take care of the problem if they are. Not much disturbed that daily routine. There was, and still is, a constant search going on to find out more about Rächer, but it has only been recently that it's yielded results (thus the reason for summoning Shu to Nirvana). Occasionally Marumaro would propose games to give them something to do, and Primula, though horribly inexperienced at playing with other children, would do her best to follow the rules. It brought them closer, for sure. But even if they were getting to know each other more all the time, he had still only thought of her as a friend.

And then, one day, it snowed.

It doesn't always snow in Nirvana. As with several places in the world, weather is unpredictable, and what had been considered "seasonal" in the olden days is not always the case now; it just depends on where you are.

He'd watched her, holding her hands out in wonder as the snow fell around her, and the thought had struck him with a startling and frightening clarity. Beautiful, maro, he had thought. She's beautiful, maro. In the end, that culminated with him asking for his turn guarding Primula to be extended indefinitely. And it's only progressed from there.

Marumaro has thought that girls are beautiful before, of course. Just moments before he'd mentally admired Bouquet. But with Primula… it's different.

Even after coming to the conclusion that she's pretty, he has had no desire to grope her or lift her skirt or any of his other regular activities. And it has had nothing to do with the fact that Tarkovsky or Szabo or any of the White Brigade soldiers would harm (hopefully not kill) him for it. Marumaro simply doesn't want to.

This has only happened with one other female. The thought that it had occurred with her, and that it's now occurring with Primula… Marumaro can't even tell how he feels about it. Maybe that it makes him confused… Perhaps a little sad as well.

He's with her all the time, and so he thinks about it all the time. The slightest things affect him – her gentle smiles, the feel of her hand in his, the way the wind blows her hair about… The thing that confuses him the most is that when he talks to her, it makes him happy the same way that chasing girls makes him happy. For all of his life, nothing else has been as important or fun as that – until now. And he can't figure out why.

…No. No, that's not right. Marumaro knows why, knows what this is. He just can't believe that it's happening to him. And he can't figure out what to do about it.

Sudden movement from Primula snaps him out of it. He's always acutely aware of her now. Glancing to the side, he sees her looking behind her and from side to side. After a brief pause, she reaches up and plucks the crown from her head.

Marumaro can't help it – he laughs. "Again, maro?"

Primula tucks some hair behind her hair, cheeks becoming pink. "It feels strange on my head…"

"It's only been a few months, maro." He tries to be reassuring. "You'll get used to it, maro."

"I suppose so…" Her eyes are on him again. "So, what were you doing out here?"

"Just thinking, maro…" Marumaro debates sharing his concerns about Shu. As far as he knows, he's the only one who is this aware of the other boy's inner conflict. For whatever reason, no one else even seems to realize it. However, he decides to discard the idea quickly. It seems too private to share with anyone else, and in addition, he isn't exactly comfortable talking to Primula about anyone's relationships. Instead, he chooses something he knows will be a safe bet (and, in a way, is kind of true). "I was just wondering if Bouquet made it to Talta yet, maro."

"If she hasn't already, Bouquet will get there soon." She grins wide. "She'll want to see Shu as soon as possible."

"That's true, maro." Marumaro stretches. Listening to Primula talk about it so casually, he considers if maybe he's been overthinking this a bit. Bouquet's love for Shu is strong; maybe that will be enough to carry them through. I guess we'll have to wait and see, maro. "Anyway, we shouldn't stay out here too long, maro. It's still cold out, and we're too visible on the balcony, maro. I think the garden would be better, maro." He reaches out with his hand, hoping that she'll take it.

"You worry too much, Marumaro." But she says it with a smile, and joins hands with him.

As he pulls her towards the inside, a sudden protectiveness takes hold of him. Primula… She's come to mean so much to him. He still isn't one hundred percent sure who they are, but he can't let those Rächer goons come near her again.

Marumaro's fingers tighten around hers slightly. If anybody tries to hurt her, they're gonna have to go through me, maro.

Can I just point out how much I love Marumaro's wise and sagely side? (I swear, I had no idea I inadvertently channeled it in Troubles on White Day. None at all. I had watched Tenkai's Episode 8 at the time but had no idea what Marumaro was saying.) Also, the way he always seems to be looking out for Shu (particularly when it comes to Kluke and Bouquet). I tried to illustrate that here; hopefully I did a fair job of it. Marumaro and Shu's relationship isn't something that is always given notice, but through watching some key scenes of Tenkai and writing this, I've really come to adore that facet of Marumaro's friendship with Shu; that severe protectiveness that meshes surprisingly well with Marumaro's typical silly and simplistic method of solving problems.

While writing this and plotting out the storyline for these two, I've realized that for me, Marumaro x Primula has become the anime spiritual successor for Game Marumaro x Zola. Maybe not everyone shares that view, but even if they don't right now – or never do – I hope that by the end of this story, you'll see this pairing in a brand new light. :)

12/29/2012 - Minor addition made. The only thing that's been changed is that a "maro" has been added where it was previously (and accidentally) missing.