It would be an understatement if someone said that Mafuyu didn't understand the whole hunter predator situation that all lifeforms, as it wasn't like she didn't understand it. No, Mafuyu literally had no concept of the idea-- she didn't bother trying to understand it. All she knew was that Rocma brought her food, Rocma provided for her, and that everything and everyone got along great. The idea of creatures hunting each other to survive didn't shock her simply because she didn't believe such a thing actually occurred.

     So believing herself to be completely safe, Mafu took to walking at night time, simply because it wasn't warm at night and she could safely paddle her feet in the ocean without the worry of overheating. It didn't seem like there was anybody about, and she was sort of upset at the concept of being alone at night, but as she walked along the shore kicking and splashing, she really found herself having a good time. Of course, she was unaware that her splashing would splash onto the feet of someone else who was for some reason simply standing beside the shore, looking at nothing in particular.

❝Oh... uh, sorry!❞

     While Mafu herself didn't see any problem with a little bit of water, Rocma had told her some people do not appreciate it, especially on their clothes. This person looked "human" too, humans were weird. Yukisada had shown her humans in one of his books and they were kinda funny. No tails, no feathers or fur, nothing like that. Humans were things Mafuyu didn't understand, especially when it came to some disliking water. Did they melt in water?! Did she make this guy melt-- no, he wasn't melting, she was okay. It could have hurt him though, so tilting her head in concern, she spoke again. 

To be excited for a birthday, when was it the last time found himself so eager? For quite a long time, birthdays meant nothing. Another year has passed since he was born, and older the heir would get, as much as age for a vampire didn't matter much. His birthday was just another day, another dull day that held no further meanings whatsoever. Neither of his siblings cared much, if at all, but every single birthday, without a miss, he would be presented with rare steak, the heir's favorite human food.

He knew, of course he knew, that only one person who would cook him that, and only one person in that mansion who would cook at all, was his younger brother. Whether he felt gratitude or not, it was a difficult thing to say. Was it under obligation, under the influence of their father, who so much wanted his sons to get together monthly to enjoy something such as dinner? Or was it of pure free will, simply because he saw a birthday as something that should be celebrated? Even the thought that he was doing that simply because they were siblings, related by blood, had ran through his mind, and yet he knew Reiji better than that.

It was lucky of whoever knocked the door that Shu was awake and ready to go out. And the eldest vampire supposed that it was lucky of himself too that he was the only one in the room it wasn't even his. Because as soon as the door was open, not the sight of a person, but soon the sight of a dinner tray addressed to him caught his blue eyes.

And he knew.

Who was it from and what it was. There were only two other people (because he had yet to see any of the triplets) who knew about his birthday, and yet it was only one of them who would cook him steak every year.

Was it under obligation, because it was years and years of doing the same thing every eighteenth of October, or was it of pure free will?

The answer, although still unknown to him, didn't change that, perhaps, a little bit of gratitude was felt by the eldest sibling. Between ill and guilty feelings, it was only every once in a while that the two of them would put those feelings aside and accept the blood that ran through their veins.

                 { ✘♟✘ }

She hasn't exactly been talking to many people as of late. Might as well start here, with the familiar ones.

Truly an exciting week. Truly... a tiring one. 

A healthy mix of good and bad was what he could call it, and in the end, it had actually turned out rather well. Happy, even -- a happiness he could hardly contain given its intensity. But he was still so very... tired, given recent activities, which helped satiate him and lead him to where he was now -- lounging on the beach. Was it the safest of napping positions? Not exactly, no. But he was more or less a retired fighter on this island, and in his current state that fact was ever more secured. People would rarely act during the light of day, after all. With all of this considered, the usual conventions of danger didn't matter as much today, as things around him were additionally deserted for whatever reason. He suspected Halloween festivities.

And so, he slept, his expression surprisingly peaceful given the circumstances. The warmth of the late evening sun blanketed over him, the sand beneath him as he propped against one of the nearby rocks. Beyond, the sea whispered a lullaby of sorts. It was easy to be relaxed, easy to let himself go. Caesar slept, and he dreamt for the first time in a while... a single figure. The softness of a kiss. Sanguine eyes.

She remembered all and any person she ever talked to. Being God required a good memory, after all -- she couldn't just forget someone. She was a very high and important being. Jokes of course were allowed, and as much as the young Goddess would be quite fond of them, she never really forgot anyone at all. The man before her was no exception; albeit vague, the memory of him was still somewhere in her mind. Hadn't he asked something about bravery some time ago? Not really the best answer she had given him, but her words were the ones she would often tell herself; with such important position, the fear of failing and falling was greater than she could bear.

"Reiji, right?" She really hopes she got his name right; overhearing people talking and joining the trials had given her the ability to associate certain names to faces, but entrusting her memory like that over something that happened quite some time ago was dubious. "Do you like cake? Let's go eat some!" Although nothing but an invitation, the tiny Goddess had her hands in the taller one's back, pushing him as gently as she could towards the restaurant. 

     It was like any other day on murder island. Or was it? Subaru couldn't tell, considering everything was already a whirlwind as it was. Though... even when he tried to ignore it, it was a little hard to.

     Twenty minutes later, he found himself walking towards Room #200, a small card in his hand. Quickly, he shoved in underneath the door and walked away. If you looked closely enough, on his ducked head there a bright flush. Though his scowling and incoherent (yet still intimidating) muttering might have scared people away before they could take a good look.

Reiji,

        Happy Birthday.

        Have a good birthday.

She had stayed awake all night in the Academy's kitchen, surrounded by a plethora of cook books, cake mix, different types of icing, and every cooking instrument Ene believed she needed to make this possible. The cyber girl knew that her friend probably wanted nothing like what she had planned, but today was a day of celebrating his importance and Ene was not going to just let him get out of it! Reiji deserved to have the best birthday ever and Ene knew she couldn't go all out with a party but still be able to do something, even if it seemed small to others.

The smell of the vanilla cake was opulent-- while the design of the cake look like the frosting and the writing done with colorful icing did not. Walking an unusually slow pace, Ene kept from anything that might endanger her first cake. For the reasons that it was Reiji's cake and the first thing she ever baked, her natural response was to cherish and protect it. In her mind the ingénue believed whole heartedly this could be the best cake anyone could ever eat but that was not the truth of it; it was edible but still a work in process if she ever aspired to become a baker.

Finding herself in front of room two hundred she maneuvered herself to where she could safely hold the cake with one hand. Glancing down, she gave it one quick look before knocking. Written in a very girly cursive handwriting, the decorative royal blue icing popped thanks to the plain vanilla icing surrounding the round cake; the words reading "HAPPY BIRTHDAY REIJI! ♡" with three chemistry beakers drawn in the spared room the cake had left. In each beaker a single letter, one an E, the other a C, and the last one an R.