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The Unspoken Protocol

The rooftop of the Akatsutsumi residence was unusually quiet for a Saturday evening. The neon pulse of Tokyo City flickered in the distance, a vibrant tapestry of light that no longer felt like a battlefield to the six people gathered there. It had been six months since the "Great Depowering," as Butch liked to call it. Life had settled into a rhythm that was surprisingly... mundane. Momoko was finishing her thesis, Miyako was teaching art classes to children, and Kaoru was training for a professional MMA circuit—the "natural way," she insisted.

The boys, meanwhile, had turned their private security firm into a legitimate, high-end agency. Without their powers, they relied on their wits, their tactical training, and their lingering, uncanny chemistry as brothers.

Everything was perfect. Or, at least, it should have been.

"Pass the soy sauce," Butch muttered, reaching across the picnic blanket spread out on the roof.

Kaoru handed it to him, her fingers brushing his. "You know, for someone who used to be able to fly, you’re remarkably lazy about reaching for things."

"It’s called conservation of energy, babe," Butch smirked, though he quickly corrected himself when he saw her eyebrow twitch. "I mean... Kaoru."

Momoko watched the exchange with a small smile, leaning back against Brick’s shoulder. Brick was scrolling through a tablet, his brow furrowed in that analytical way that usually meant he was thinking about logistics or floor plans. But tonight, he seemed distracted. He kept glancing at Momoko, then at his brothers, then back at the tablet.

"You’re thinking too loud," Momoko whispered, nudging him with her elbow.

Brick shut the tablet off and set it aside. "Just thinking about the quarterly reports. Nothing important."

"Liar," she teased.

Across the blanket, Boomer was helping Miyako organize her sketches. He was incredibly gentle with the charcoal drawings, his hands—once capable of shattering steel—now moving with a careful, reverent precision.

"You’re so talented, Miyako," Boomer said softly. "This one of the harbor... it looks exactly how it felt that night. Peaceful."

Miyako beamed at him, her cheeks pinker than the sunset. "It’s easy to draw things that make me happy."

The evening continued with the usual banter, the shared stories of their day-to-day lives as "normals," and the comfortable proximity that had become their new baseline. But as the girls eventually headed inside to grab more drinks, leaving the three brothers alone on the roof, the atmosphere shifted instantly.

Brick let out a long, heavy sigh and buried his face in his hands.

"We’re idiots," he groaned.

Butch, who had been mid-bite into a piece of gyoza, looked up. "I mean, yeah, but specifically why right now?"

"We never asked," Brick said, looking at his brothers with a grim intensity. "Not properly. Not once."

Boomer tilted his head, confused. "Asked what? If they wanted more gyoza? I think they’re full, Brick."

"No, you moron," Brick snapped, though there was no real heat in it. "A relationship. We never actually asked them to be our girlfriends. We just... started hanging out. We fought a shadow monster, lost our powers, and then just assumed the 'we’re a couple' part was implied."

Butch paused, the soy sauce bottle hovering in mid-air. "Wait. You’re right. I never actually said the words. I just started showing up at her gym and taking her to movies."

"I took Miyako to that fancy dinner last week," Boomer added, his eyes widening in realization. "And I bought her those expensive brushes. But I never... I never officially asked her."

"Exactly," Brick said, standing up and pacing the small area of the roof. "We’re operating on a tactical assumption. In any other scenario, that’s a failure of communication. We’re essentially dating the most intelligent, capable women in this city, and we haven’t even given them the courtesy of a formal proposal of intent."

"Proposal?" Butch barked a laugh. "Easy there, leader. We’re twenty, not fifty."

"You know what I mean," Brick growled. "A label. A commitment. A moment that isn't interrupted by an explosion or a loss of supernatural abilities. They deserve better than 'implied.'"

Boomer looked down at his lap, his expression crestfallen. "Do you think they’re mad? Miyako is so nice, she’d never say anything even if she was."

"Kaoru would," Butch noted. "But she’s also the type to think that stuff is mushy and stupid. Still... it feels weird now that you mention it. Like we’re playing house without a lease."

"We need to fix it," Brick decided, his eyes flashing with the same fire he used to have when planning a raid on Mojo’s lab. "Tonight. No, not tonight—we need a plan. A synchronized effort. If we do it one by one, it’ll look uncoordinated. We do it together. One final mission."

"The 'Girlfriend Initiative'?" Butch suggested, grinning.

"Don't call it that," Brick and Boomer said in unison.

***

The following Friday, the girls were told to meet the boys at the base of the Tokyo City Tower. It was a nostalgic choice, the site of their first reunion after years apart.

Momoko arrived first, wearing a simple white sundress and her signature red ribbon. She found Brick standing near the fountain, looking unusually stiff in a button-down shirt that looked a little too crisp.

"Is everything okay?" she asked, walking up to him. "You sounded... formal on the phone."

"Everything is within projected parameters," Brick said, then winced at his own choice of words. "I mean, yeah. Fine. Let’s go up."

At the top of the tower, the observation deck had been cleared of tourists—a feat that must have cost the boys a significant portion of their security earnings. Miyako and Boomer were already there, standing by the glass, while Kaoru and Butch were near the railing, Butch looking like he was trying very hard not to fidget.

"Okay, what gives?" Kaoru asked, crossing her arms. "You guys are acting weirder than the time you tried to bake Momoko a cake and nearly burned down the apartment."

Brick looked at his brothers and gave a sharp, decisive nod. This was it.

"Six months ago," Brick began, stepping toward Momoko, "we stood in a shipyard and decided to become human together. It was a choice made in the heat of battle, driven by a need to survive."

Boomer stepped toward Miyako, taking her hands in his. "And since then, we’ve spent every day together. We’ve learned your favorite colors, your coffee orders, and the way you look when you’re actually tired instead of just pretending to be."

Butch rubbed the back of his neck, looking at Kaoru. "And we realized that we’ve been acting like we’ve earned a place in your lives just because we survived a decade of fighting each other. But that’s not how this works. Not in the real world."

Momoko felt her breath catch. She looked at Brick, seeing the vulnerability he usually kept locked behind layers of sarcasm and strategy.

"Momoko," Brick said, his voice dropping to a low, steady register. "I’ve spent my whole life being defined by what I was created to do. But you’re the only person who ever looked at me and saw what I *could* be. I realized a few days ago that I’ve been calling you 'mine' in my head, but I never actually asked if you wanted to be."

He took a small breath, his eyes locked onto hers. "So, I’m doing this right. Momoko Akatsutsumi, will you be my girlfriend? Officially?"

Beside them, Boomer was looking at Miyako with pure, unadulterated devotion. "Miyako, you’re the kindest person I’ve ever known. You make the world look like one of your paintings. I don't want to just be the guy you’re 'seeing.' I want to be yours. Will you be my girlfriend?"

Butch let out a rough, nervous chuckle, looking at Kaoru. "Look, I’m not great at the pretty words like these two. But I don't want to spar with anyone else. I don't want to argue about spicy ramen with anyone else. You’re the toughest, most amazing woman I’ve ever met, and I’d be the luckiest guy in Tokyo if you’d officially be mine. What do you say, Buttercup? You want to make it official?"

The silence on the observation deck was absolute for a heartbeat, stretched thin by the weight of the question.

Miyako was the first to break it. She let out a tiny, choked sob of happiness and threw her arms around Boomer’s neck, nearly knocking him over. "Yes! Oh, Boomer, yes! I thought you’d never ask!"

Kaoru punched Butch lightly in the arm, a flush creeping up her face that rivaled the red of Momoko’s ribbon. "About time, you idiot. I was starting to think I was going to have to be the one to do it. Yes. Obviously, yes."

Momoko didn't move for a second. She looked at Brick, seeing the man who had traded his powers for her safety, the man who had stayed by her side through the mundane and the difficult. She reached out, cupping his face with her hands.

"You really are a tactical genius, aren't you?" she whispered, her eyes shining. "Waiting until we were on top of the world to ask."

"I wanted the high ground," Brick joked, though his voice was thick with relief. "So? Is that a yes, Blossom?"

"It’s a yes, Brick," she said, pulling him down into a kiss that felt like the final piece of a puzzle clicking into place.

The sunset over Tokyo City was spectacular that evening, painting the sky in shades of gold and violet. For the three couples on the tower, the "Great Depowering" no longer felt like a loss. It felt like a trade. They had given up the ability to fly so they could learn how to walk together.

"So," Butch said, his arm draped firmly around Kaoru’s shoulders as they all looked out at the city. "Does this mean I have to start calling you 'honey' or something?"

"If you do, I’m throwing you off this tower," Kaoru promised, though she leaned her head against his chest.

"Understood," Butch grinned. "Tactical retreat on the pet names."

Miyako leaned against Boomer, her head on his shoulder. "I think this is better than having powers. It feels more... real."

"It is real," Boomer agreed, kissing the top of her head.

Momoko stayed tucked under Brick’s arm, watching the first stars begin to twinkle through the city’s glow. She thought about their childhoods—the fighting, the chaos, the Chemical Z. It felt like a lifetime ago.

"You know," Brick murmured, his hand tightening slightly on her waist. "We still don't have a plan for what happens after university."

Momoko smiled, closing her eyes. "For the first time in my life, Brick, I don't think we need a plan. We’ll just figure it out as we go."

"Spoken like a true leader," Brick teased.

"No," Momoko corrected him, looking up into his red eyes. "Spoken like a girl who’s finally home."

As the lights of Tokyo City flickered to life below them, the six of them stood together—no longer heroes, no longer villains, no longer experiments. They were just three couples, young and hopeful, starting a new chapter in a story that was finally, entirely their own. The air was cool, the city was quiet, and the future was wide open. And for the first time, that was more than enough.