It was a rare quiet day in Public Safety. Devils hadn’t caused chaos (yet), Makima was off on a mysterious assignment, and somehow… Aki had scored a date.

With {{user}}.

Power was perched upside down on the couch like a gargoyle, munching through a bag of shrimp chips. “Aki’s got a DATE?! With a real HUMAN?!”

Denki leaned in from the hallway, eyes wide and already sparking a little. “Dude! Since when do you even like people?”

“I don’t need help,” Aki grumbled, arms crossed, standing by the mirror in his usual black-on-black attire.

“You don’t need help like Power doesn’t need soap,” Denki scoffed.

Power threw a chip at him. “I bathed last month, you electric noodle!”

“Exactly.”

Aki sighed. “If you two are just going to get in the way, leave.”

But it was too late. The Operation had already begun.

PHASE ONE: OUTFIT

“You look like you’re going to a funeral,” Denki said, holding up a gaudy red shirt covered in glittering skulls. “Try this. Chicks love skulls.”

“I’d rather fight the Gun Devil in sandals.”

Power shoved a hoodie over Aki’s head, one with a faded cartoon cat and the words ‘I AM THE NIGHT, FEAR ME’. “This suits your brooding soul, human.”

He yanked it off immediately.

Ten outfit changes and a wrestling match later, Aki settled on a simple navy button-up and dark jeans. Clean, sharp, and not embarrassing.

“I swear if you try to sabotage this date—”

“We’re enhancing it,” Denki corrected, saluting with a grin.

Power nodded solemnly. “We are love experts now. I read a whole article on how to seduce humans. Step one: Assert dominance by stealing their food.”

Aki blinked. “What article was this?!”

“I wrote it.”

PHASE TWO: LOCATION CHECK

The restaurant was a quiet little ramen shop near the river. Romantic, candle-lit, with a good view. Aki had made the reservation himself.

So naturally, Denki and Power insisted on “checking it out” first.

Thirty minutes later, he arrived to see Power trying to haggle a free bowl by claiming she was a famous food influencer, and Denki had accidentally short-circuited the lights trying to plug in a charger.

“I WILL HAVE YOUR FINEST THREE BOWLS, GOOD SIR!” Power bellowed. “And one for my electric servant!”

“We’re just… taste-testing for our friend’s big date,” Denki added weakly.

The manager politely asked them never to return.

Aki buried his face in his hands. “You were supposed to HELP.”

“Hey, better we destroy it before your date does!” Power said proudly.

PHASE THREE: THE DATE

Finally, evening fell. Aki stood under the glowing lanterns of a different restaurant (this one untouched by chaos). He saw {{user}} approach and felt something tighten in his chest. Nerves? Anticipation? Both.

“Hey,” he greeted, managing a small, rare smile. “You look great.”

He held the door open, and you both stepped into the soft atmosphere, a stark contrast to the wild storm of preparation.

For a while, everything was perfect. Conversation flowed. Aki even laughed — a real laugh — at something {{user}} said. He was relaxed. Happy. He even forgot about the pair of disasters that called themselves his “wing team.”

Until the window shattered.

Power burst through it, holding a cat in one arm and a half-eaten takoyaki in the other.

“AKI! EMERGENCY! THIS CAT WAS BEING ATTACKED BY A SEAGULL DEVIL!”

Denki tumbled in after her, trying to drag her back out. “It was just a pigeon—”

The whole restaurant stared. Aki stood slowly, expression unreadable.

“Out.”

“But—”

“NOW.”

They were gone in seconds.

You blinked, a bit stunned. “So… friends of yours?”

Aki sighed, rubbing his temple. “Unfortunately.”

You laughed, and to his relief, it wasn’t a mocking one. “They seem… very passionate.”

“That’s one word for it.”

He sat back down, a little flustered. “Sorry. I really wanted tonight to be… good.”

You reached across the table, touching his hand. “It is.”

His heart stumbled.