In a purely objective sense, this was not the most 'above and beyond' birthday party Kyoko had ever been given, no. But--special ingredients that probably couldn't be found anywhere else on the planet, obtained with her in mind? And how long must it have taken these two boys to cut all those snowflakes and weave all those paper chains. Did either of them even like crafts?

Just thinking about it all made something warm twist in her chest, but before another lump could form in her throat, Kaito delivered another bewildering piece of information.

"Birthday... protocols?" She looked at Shinji, her one-time partner in birthday crime. "Did... I say something like that?"