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yui_miyamotoFandom: New Cutey Honey / 新 キューティーハニー
Title: sutareta. (obsolete).
Pairing: Chokkei + Honey
Rating: PG
Description: (Taking place in the Shin/New Cutey Honey timeline) Chokkei’s crush on Honey continues until he starts to question if she’ll fall into a deep sleep once more…
Disclaimer – Cutey Honey is created by Go Nagai-sensei.
Under the scattered petals, you brushed your hair away from your face. The light couldn’t stand a chance against your sparkling presence. Twisting to the ground in all its prettiness, your eyes glanced at me and I wondered why I felt like the future and the past existed in one instant.
This moment would never come back.
It would replay in my mind like a carousel, within its perfection. I could already lick the bittersweetness on my lips.
Why couldn’t you think of me the way I thought of you? Echoing over and over, I was sure that no matter how many times our planet circled the sun, I’d never forget it:
This vision of love you showed me.
sutareta. (obsolete).
by Miyamoto Yui
“Hahahahaha!”
Sighing inwardly, the laughing burst my fleeting memory.
My parents unsteadily stood up from the raspberry blanket. Dad proudly held up grandpa’s picture above him. There were only so many times he could modify himself and then like that, he was gone.
My parents, as old as they were, still acted like flirty teenagers and that fifteen years hadn’t passed by. In this respect, I envied them. I was twenty-seven years old and things, more or less, stayed the same.
I didn’t know if that was good or bad.
Cosplay City was brighter, but with that very thought, if there was no ‘evil’ to defeat, would Honey return back to her former state?
Why and how was she sealed in the first place?
As long as I’ve lived, Grandfather said to leave the past alone (though he’d waited for her, underwear and all). But with all jokes aside, why did he wait?
She’s spectacular! I understand it from that perspective, but I never asked exactly why he delayed death to stick around.
Jolly as he was, he kept his secrets too.
While we grew older, Honey remained the guardian of this city. Day by day, the battles and her observations encoded into every part of her. She gradually changed though her face wasn’t a day older from the day we’d met.
Won’t you tell me why I can’t give you up?
“Chokkei-kun~?”
“Hmm?” I got up and gripped onto the trash bag in my hand. “Yes, Honey?”
I blinked at her, lost in my thoughts and trying to tie myself to the spot I was standing on.
“Tired?” She came over and brushed my bangs away from face.
I shook my head. “No, not at all.”
“You look so serious right now.” She shifted her eyes away while packing her basket. “It mustn’t be fun at all to hang out with your co-worker after hours.”
“Never!” I replied quickly, looking over my shoulder. “And don’t you dare say you’re old.”
Almost pouting, the tips of my ears tingled from denial.
I wish I could talk to you without chains over my mouth. You mean so much more than I can say.
But like always, nothing dares to come out.
Surprised, she blinked at me as I went to throw some trash away. I heard her giggle behind me.
“Sweet as always, aren’t you?”
That laugh both pinched my heart and killed me.
I’m never going to be more than a kid in your eyes, huh?
When we were done, we said goodbye to my parents and I got us some soda from the vending machine. We sat next to one another on the park bench. Viewing the clouds, it reminded me of that time on the roof when she’d poked me to come clean about why I’d avoided her.
Gah…
Years later, I still suffer the same plight.
“Can I ask you something?” Her head was pointed straight up, observing the changing hues of the cloudy, teal sky above us.
“Sure.”
She held her right hand up and placed it over her heart. “What does this place feel like?”
“Hmm?” I placed my drink down, caught off-guard by the innocent remark and the heaviness of a proper reply. It never crossed my mind that she’d ever ask me this type of question.
“It’s warm, but it’s the place where your mind and body meet.” I pulled her hand to touch my chest. “See?”
She closed her eyes and breathed deeply.
“Is this why you stopped getting closer to me, Chokkei?”
Opening her eyes, I took my hand away before she could feel my heart speeding up.
“I-“
Unexpectedly, it began to sprinkle above us.
We looked up and then at each other. Without another word, we ran hand in hand.
#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#
We’d ended up at her apartment because of the sudden downpour. Well, it was the tsuyu period after all.
But I was too nervous as I stripped my clothes so she could put them in the wash. Taking a quick shower, I tried not to oogle at the fact that I was using her stuff. It took so much will power not to fanboy (or boil over) and I was doing well until I stepped out to see her wearing a cute powder blue shirt with white shorts.
She announced that she’d already told my parents I was staying over. Exciting as it all seemed, I was disappointed at the capri-length pants and bunny mid-riff shirt (due to my height).
You obviously still see the me that you saved back in junior high…
Not once will I ever be a man in your eyes.
Even if I’m taller than you now.
To shade my conflicted feelings, I took my towel and started to dry her hair. Even though she took a shower before me, she’d been busy getting everything ready for me to sleep on the couch. Even then, I couldn’t help but smile at her.
“It’s okay, I can-“ she protested, waving her hands.
But I sat down and patted her hair, rubbing the bunch in between my hands. She turned away from me, shyly holding her knees together.
“It’s the least I can do for letting me stay at your house.”
“You are always welcome here.”
Her words felt like a hug in itself.
Quietly, the clock ticked on the wall as heartbeats filled the seconds. The gaps reminded me that no matter how many years it’s been, my feelings never went anywhere.
This reality pummeled my chest.
“This is nice.” She put her chin in between her crossed arms. “I vaguely remember Father doing this for me.”
“How long ago was that?” I managed to ask, though a bit scared to. I didn’t know if I was allowed to touch that subject.
“A very long time ago…”
Honey then gave a melancholic look I’d never seen before.
I wonder how long it’s truly been. Being kind of in a state of ‘immortality’, how many people did you watch pass away? Did you have to reset yourself over and over?
It all seems so lonely.
“Thank you.” She nodded slowly and then circled round to briefly dry my hair with silent, upturned lips. The towel then touched my cheeks as her forehead touched mine.
“I’m so glad you’re here with me, Chokkei.”
I couldn’t do anything but stare as she got up to put the towel in the hamper.
Quickly, I turned off the light and settled on the couch. I thought she was going to say good night, but instead, she sat down on the floor beside me.
So many questions bubbled one after the other in my head and I couldn’t catch any of them. My brain apparently popped. It took every centimeter of me to keep my nose from bleeding.
She gave me a soft smile through the darkness.
Yeah, there goes my heart. Kaput.
“Just between you and me, the bed is a prop. I lie on it with my eyes closed, but I’m in conservation mode. I’m always awake.”
The tone in her voice made me immediately pull her to come up to the couch before I could process what I was actually doing.
“Chokkei-kun?”
“Can I borrow your lap, Honey?”
She slightly bowed her head forward.
Looking down at my face, her palm settled on my forehead. “Oyasumi, Chokkei.”
My cheeks were burning to crisps as I glanced up. “Oyasumi, Honey.”
Seconds later, I felt her fingertips gently scratching my scalp…
Ah, this is heaven.
Her head naturally dropped forward into sleep mode after a long while. I drank her features into my memory and sketched each line into my mind.
How were you made to feel this much for people who created their own forms of destruction?
What could I do for someone who has more humanity than the people around her?
#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/
Two weeks later, I was still thinking of that night.
The way she looked into my eyes as she held the towel over my head bothered me to no end. A glimpse of something else passed between her eyes the more I remembered it.
But there was no way I could ask about it.
As usual, I was heading to the coffee room because we met there around lunch time every day.
We both worked in City Hall, but in different departments. While she was now the secretary to Light’s disciple. I was still trying to build up experience no matter how long I’d been around.
But I had the privilege of seeing her every day so that was comforting.
When I got there, without fail, she already had my mug ready.
“I keep on telling you that you don’t need to do it.” I cupped my hand and whispered, “That means I have to leave here faster.”
“Then go out to lunch with me already.”
I almost spit my coffee. My ears could have bled for all I cared.
“You don’t want to?”
“I thought you were always busy.”
She shook her head. “I make them think that. Otherwise, they’d ask me all the time to go out. If you asked me, I’d always go.”
Laughing, I asked, “Wanna go down the street then?”
“Sure.”
As soon as we left City Hall, we turned at the first corner.
“So…what exactly do you do for lunch?”
“I walk around. But you haven’t eaten-“
“Then, do you mind showing me where to get a good sandwich then?”
“Mm!”
We strolled through business buildings, a patch of green where there was a park with a play area for kids. It was all new. The old ones were vandalized and rusted. In fact, just a few years ago, no one would’ve thought of such things. But I’m glad to see these small patches of light throughout the city.
When we passed some shops, she suddenly stopped at a white building with a young couple serving customers behind the counter. “Sandwich?”
They seemed to know her so they talked while I looked at the menu above. I ordered something with cucumbers, avocado, carrots, tomatoes, sprouts, cheese, and chicken in pretzel bread. I couldn’t wait to eat it as we sat at on the hill overlooking the park.
Again, someone recognized her. “Ah, Honey-chan…”
When she stopped talking to charming older lady, I shook my head. “Seems like the whole neighborhood knows you.”
“I take the same route almost every day.”
Taking my first bite, I gasped at how good it was. “Thanks for showing me that place. I’ve got to go there again!”
“I’m sure they’ll be happy to see you.”
The fact that we had somewhere to breathe, a tiny patch in the city where people could walk and children were able to play in peace was a miracle. It was as if anything she touched transformed to gold, the corruption cracking under her radiance.
“All these people are grateful for you, whether or not you know it.”
She shook her head humbly. “I didn’t understand what I was here for until everyone showed me. I actually need them more than they need me.”
Tilting her head, she grinned widely.
“Their good energy. Their love.
That’s what everyone needs but they only pretend they don’t. So they do these awful things because they don’t know how to get or receive it. And when they get what they thought they ‘wanted’, they don’t know what to do with it.
They don’t know where it starts, how to hold it, or where it should go.
It’s too powerful.”
“It sounds so simple when you say it like that.”
“That’s what he used to say.” Her eyes squinted in contemplation.
He?
My whole being froze. It was the same exact look from that night.
“Who?” I slipped, not wanting to. I held onto my half-eaten sandwich tightly.
“Once in a while, I see Seiji within you.”
The one who was originally with you…
My stomach began to tighten and I suddenly lost my appetite.
“Do you miss your old life, Honey?”
When I realized what I’d said, I began fumbling over wrapping my food. She put her hands over mine.
“Sometimes.” She looked in my eyes so earnestly, but I still felt so stupidly jealous and upset.
“Yes, but…” I sighed, unable to look at her nor get this heavy feeling off my chest. After all, it’d been lodged here for some time...
“What’s wrong?”
“I’m always scared of when you’ll forget yourself again. Forget everything from this time…forget about me.” I lifted my chin and looked at her. “I know it’s not a big deal, but…”
How do I tell you how much I’ve admired you? That you taught me to be grateful for all the things I’ve grown up with? But also, I don’t want to be a kid or remind you of anyone else.
Selfishly, I want to be special in your eyes.
You don’t need that though. You’re always looking beyond. At what our city and its citizens need.
All I want is a little of your attention. Your affection. But I can’t ask you for that.
I clam up.
“Oh Chokkei…” Putting her hands over mine, she rubbed her thumbs over my knuckles.
But I could feel her trembling a bit.
“Do you know why your memories were sealed before?”
“As Junpei-sama said before, in times when humanity is in trouble, I’ll be here.”
“Then if everything becomes peaceful once more, will you fall back asleep?”
“You’ve thought of this for quite some time, have you?”
I gulped and she sighed, shaking her head from side to side. Then, she smiled widely.
“When I was first created, I did exactly as I was told. And when time ran out, I’d be quiet again. I don’t know how many times it’s been, to tell you the truth. But…”
Pulling my hand, she placed it over heart. “…I hear their voices here. And it’s funny though.”
Squeezing my hand, tears came to her eyes, “I’m trying so hard to fight falling back ‘asleep’ again because I want to be here.”
When she let go of my hand, I gripped onto hers.
“Chokkei?”
“Until I pass away or do what grandfather did and preserve my brain…won’t you stay here with me?”
“I…ever since you shouted my name and remembered who I was…actually…” The tears ran down her face. “I wanted to be needed by you. I thought you outgrew me already.”
I coughed so much I almost choked as the flood threatened to spill from my eyes.
She patted and rubbed my back while calming me down.
“This time, I wanted to choose that at least I’d be with you until you were gone.”
“Honey…” I took a deep breath and grinned as tears dripped down my cheeks. “You know? All this time, I thought the same thing.”
For a few minutes, we watched beyond the park and to the city ahead.
“There’s something you don’t understand.” There was a tint of agony and anger mixed in her voice.
“What do you mean?” I found myself analyzing her profile.
“You think that I’m kind. That I’m doing this because it’s part of my nature.”
She got up slowly and turned to me with eyes I could never recognize on that face: loathing vengeance. Her wild eyes and her tone didn’t match.
“I’m not exactly sure why or how I was created. I just know him as my father. That much I know from every corner of my being.
But the voice who called me back and the other android that greeted me? He was a replica.
I’ve had lapses of memories of his Honey embedded into me, this creation that is now known as ‘Honey’. I want to eliminate all of Panther Claw.
I need to. I don’t want them to hurt anyone else like they did to me.
That’s why I am here.
But when I do, does that mean I’ll finally disappear?
So even if you think I’m doing this cleanly, I’m always looking for clues that get me closer to why they killed my father.
Maybe then, I’ll know the real reason why he made me in place of his daughter.
So I have to think that I’m ‘real’ Chokkei. And the reason I’m attached to you is because for once in this century since I’ve awakened, I forgot that anger for a few seconds and let someone else into my heart again.
‘Get up, Honey! Don’t you dare listen to anything they want to brainwash you with!’ Weren’t you the one who shouted that at the top of your lungs? Many people watched and still did nothing, thinking I’m the only one who can fight.
But your whole family never thinks that way.
The reason I keep getting up even if my OS may be running slower than it should or if I have to get repairs a little more than I used to…
You.
Only you, Chokkei.
While you and your family live here, I’ll keep myself from getting scrapped.”
She points to her heart. “And while I’m alive, my father is too. Danbei-sama, Seiji…everyone somehow lives in here too. Even if it’s in tiny fragments and I have no words to explain them anymore, I know these memories are true.”
Overwhelmed, I suddenly wrapped my arms around her.
“I will do everything I can do to stay alive so please keep watching over this city as you always have.”
I don’t feel worthy of saying it, but my whole being is screaming: “Whomever’s listening to me, give me the strength to keep this person’s heart alive!”
Some questions may have subsided, but more frustrations arose…
“I guess I gotta do what grandpa did so that I’ll be here…hm…at least a hundred more years with you? And then I need to learn more about engineering. I kept Grandpa’s journals, but I didn’t have the heart to read them yet…”
She then pulled my cheeks and laughed, giving me the most beautiful grin.
With her whole heart, it was only for me.
It overshadowed the vision she gave me years ago…
“I don’t know how, but Honey…” I took her pinky and locked it with mine. “I promise to stay with you until we both become obsolete.”
At that moment, we heard sirens followed by shouting.
She pulled away and we both shrugged our shoulders. The situation couldn’t be helped.
I nodded my head. “Let’s go!”
Until then, the future still needs us.
Owari. / The End.
--
Author’s note: Last year, I was able to do one of my bucket list cosplays, Cutey Honey. Of all the incarnations of Honey-chan, I’ve always loved the Shin Cutey Honey version. The music/soundtrack was excellent, the cel animation, and voice acting were superb. Though it was cut short, until now, I listen to the music whenever I need inspiration or strength.
There are so many moments I loved that made me a Cutey Honey fan for life. I’ve seen everything except Cutey Honey Universe and even love the live actions (tv and movies).
But I liked Honey and Chokkei’s relationship because she’s between machine and human and Chokkei tries to understand her and himself through her perspective and his crush on her. However, I felt his character would complement hers even after he grew up so that’s why we’re here. I just wanted a conclusion or happy ending for them. Or at least, some kind of resolution.
I had this thought/idea since I first saw the anime, but I didn’t think it’d ever come to fruition decades later. I’m glad it did.
I hope you enjoyed it! I never knew I had so many questions about this title, and there were times that made me think as I wrote this.
Love always,
Yui
06/23/2025 10:04:50 PM – Los Angeles
06/24/2025 02:04:50 PM – Tokyo
Title: sutareta. (obsolete).
Pairing: Chokkei + Honey
Rating: PG
Description: (Taking place in the Shin/New Cutey Honey timeline) Chokkei’s crush on Honey continues until he starts to question if she’ll fall into a deep sleep once more…
Disclaimer – Cutey Honey is created by Go Nagai-sensei.
In the breeze,
when I feel you,
I know your scent and shine
calling out to me.
Submerged,
my soul is failing,
cracking into the darkness
that I never knew existed,
but I know that you’re
searching for me even
when it’s painful.
I still hear your voice
echoing inside of me.
Please don’t give up
in the future
with this gleaming light
I know that its beams
will reach you somehow.
I deceived myself
thinking I could make it alone.
What a delusion it was.
That that what’s called strength.
But your bond is what kept me searching
and here I am, holding out my hand
won’t you take it?
Singing in the trees
You…
You sent the waves
to keep me from disbelieving
that I could never make it.
How could you love me
when I didn’t deserve it?
Even if the world would end
with all its faults,
there’s still the chance that
we’ll meet
and I want to keep returning
over and over
until the light fades,
but I found out,
transferring from one person
to another,
we’re connected.
Your voice is the kiss
reverberating
in the song of the trees
to bring my anger
from unease
to forever.
when I feel you,
I know your scent and shine
calling out to me.
Submerged,
my soul is failing,
cracking into the darkness
that I never knew existed,
but I know that you’re
searching for me even
when it’s painful.
I still hear your voice
echoing inside of me.
Please don’t give up
in the future
with this gleaming light
I know that its beams
will reach you somehow.
I deceived myself
thinking I could make it alone.
What a delusion it was.
That that what’s called strength.
But your bond is what kept me searching
and here I am, holding out my hand
won’t you take it?
Singing in the trees
You…
You sent the waves
to keep me from disbelieving
that I could never make it.
How could you love me
when I didn’t deserve it?
Even if the world would end
with all its faults,
there’s still the chance that
we’ll meet
and I want to keep returning
over and over
until the light fades,
but I found out,
transferring from one person
to another,
we’re connected.
Your voice is the kiss
reverberating
in the song of the trees
to bring my anger
from unease
to forever.
Under the scattered petals, you brushed your hair away from your face. The light couldn’t stand a chance against your sparkling presence. Twisting to the ground in all its prettiness, your eyes glanced at me and I wondered why I felt like the future and the past existed in one instant.
This moment would never come back.
It would replay in my mind like a carousel, within its perfection. I could already lick the bittersweetness on my lips.
Why couldn’t you think of me the way I thought of you? Echoing over and over, I was sure that no matter how many times our planet circled the sun, I’d never forget it:
This vision of love you showed me.
sutareta. (obsolete).
by Miyamoto Yui
“Hahahahaha!”
Sighing inwardly, the laughing burst my fleeting memory.
My parents unsteadily stood up from the raspberry blanket. Dad proudly held up grandpa’s picture above him. There were only so many times he could modify himself and then like that, he was gone.
My parents, as old as they were, still acted like flirty teenagers and that fifteen years hadn’t passed by. In this respect, I envied them. I was twenty-seven years old and things, more or less, stayed the same.
I didn’t know if that was good or bad.
Cosplay City was brighter, but with that very thought, if there was no ‘evil’ to defeat, would Honey return back to her former state?
Why and how was she sealed in the first place?
As long as I’ve lived, Grandfather said to leave the past alone (though he’d waited for her, underwear and all). But with all jokes aside, why did he wait?
She’s spectacular! I understand it from that perspective, but I never asked exactly why he delayed death to stick around.
Jolly as he was, he kept his secrets too.
While we grew older, Honey remained the guardian of this city. Day by day, the battles and her observations encoded into every part of her. She gradually changed though her face wasn’t a day older from the day we’d met.
Won’t you tell me why I can’t give you up?
“Chokkei-kun~?”
“Hmm?” I got up and gripped onto the trash bag in my hand. “Yes, Honey?”
I blinked at her, lost in my thoughts and trying to tie myself to the spot I was standing on.
“Tired?” She came over and brushed my bangs away from face.
I shook my head. “No, not at all.”
“You look so serious right now.” She shifted her eyes away while packing her basket. “It mustn’t be fun at all to hang out with your co-worker after hours.”
“Never!” I replied quickly, looking over my shoulder. “And don’t you dare say you’re old.”
Almost pouting, the tips of my ears tingled from denial.
I wish I could talk to you without chains over my mouth. You mean so much more than I can say.
But like always, nothing dares to come out.
Surprised, she blinked at me as I went to throw some trash away. I heard her giggle behind me.
“Sweet as always, aren’t you?”
That laugh both pinched my heart and killed me.
I’m never going to be more than a kid in your eyes, huh?
When we were done, we said goodbye to my parents and I got us some soda from the vending machine. We sat next to one another on the park bench. Viewing the clouds, it reminded me of that time on the roof when she’d poked me to come clean about why I’d avoided her.
Gah…
Years later, I still suffer the same plight.
“Can I ask you something?” Her head was pointed straight up, observing the changing hues of the cloudy, teal sky above us.
“Sure.”
She held her right hand up and placed it over her heart. “What does this place feel like?”
“Hmm?” I placed my drink down, caught off-guard by the innocent remark and the heaviness of a proper reply. It never crossed my mind that she’d ever ask me this type of question.
“It’s warm, but it’s the place where your mind and body meet.” I pulled her hand to touch my chest. “See?”
She closed her eyes and breathed deeply.
“Is this why you stopped getting closer to me, Chokkei?”
Opening her eyes, I took my hand away before she could feel my heart speeding up.
“I-“
Unexpectedly, it began to sprinkle above us.
We looked up and then at each other. Without another word, we ran hand in hand.
#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#
We’d ended up at her apartment because of the sudden downpour. Well, it was the tsuyu period after all.
But I was too nervous as I stripped my clothes so she could put them in the wash. Taking a quick shower, I tried not to oogle at the fact that I was using her stuff. It took so much will power not to fanboy (or boil over) and I was doing well until I stepped out to see her wearing a cute powder blue shirt with white shorts.
She announced that she’d already told my parents I was staying over. Exciting as it all seemed, I was disappointed at the capri-length pants and bunny mid-riff shirt (due to my height).
You obviously still see the me that you saved back in junior high…
Not once will I ever be a man in your eyes.
Even if I’m taller than you now.
To shade my conflicted feelings, I took my towel and started to dry her hair. Even though she took a shower before me, she’d been busy getting everything ready for me to sleep on the couch. Even then, I couldn’t help but smile at her.
“It’s okay, I can-“ she protested, waving her hands.
But I sat down and patted her hair, rubbing the bunch in between my hands. She turned away from me, shyly holding her knees together.
“It’s the least I can do for letting me stay at your house.”
“You are always welcome here.”
Her words felt like a hug in itself.
Quietly, the clock ticked on the wall as heartbeats filled the seconds. The gaps reminded me that no matter how many years it’s been, my feelings never went anywhere.
This reality pummeled my chest.
“This is nice.” She put her chin in between her crossed arms. “I vaguely remember Father doing this for me.”
“How long ago was that?” I managed to ask, though a bit scared to. I didn’t know if I was allowed to touch that subject.
“A very long time ago…”
Honey then gave a melancholic look I’d never seen before.
I wonder how long it’s truly been. Being kind of in a state of ‘immortality’, how many people did you watch pass away? Did you have to reset yourself over and over?
It all seems so lonely.
“Thank you.” She nodded slowly and then circled round to briefly dry my hair with silent, upturned lips. The towel then touched my cheeks as her forehead touched mine.
“I’m so glad you’re here with me, Chokkei.”
I couldn’t do anything but stare as she got up to put the towel in the hamper.
Quickly, I turned off the light and settled on the couch. I thought she was going to say good night, but instead, she sat down on the floor beside me.
So many questions bubbled one after the other in my head and I couldn’t catch any of them. My brain apparently popped. It took every centimeter of me to keep my nose from bleeding.
She gave me a soft smile through the darkness.
Yeah, there goes my heart. Kaput.
“Just between you and me, the bed is a prop. I lie on it with my eyes closed, but I’m in conservation mode. I’m always awake.”
The tone in her voice made me immediately pull her to come up to the couch before I could process what I was actually doing.
“Chokkei-kun?”
“Can I borrow your lap, Honey?”
She slightly bowed her head forward.
Looking down at my face, her palm settled on my forehead. “Oyasumi, Chokkei.”
My cheeks were burning to crisps as I glanced up. “Oyasumi, Honey.”
Seconds later, I felt her fingertips gently scratching my scalp…
Ah, this is heaven.
Her head naturally dropped forward into sleep mode after a long while. I drank her features into my memory and sketched each line into my mind.
How were you made to feel this much for people who created their own forms of destruction?
What could I do for someone who has more humanity than the people around her?
#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/#/
Two weeks later, I was still thinking of that night.
The way she looked into my eyes as she held the towel over my head bothered me to no end. A glimpse of something else passed between her eyes the more I remembered it.
But there was no way I could ask about it.
As usual, I was heading to the coffee room because we met there around lunch time every day.
We both worked in City Hall, but in different departments. While she was now the secretary to Light’s disciple. I was still trying to build up experience no matter how long I’d been around.
But I had the privilege of seeing her every day so that was comforting.
When I got there, without fail, she already had my mug ready.
“I keep on telling you that you don’t need to do it.” I cupped my hand and whispered, “That means I have to leave here faster.”
“Then go out to lunch with me already.”
I almost spit my coffee. My ears could have bled for all I cared.
“You don’t want to?”
“I thought you were always busy.”
She shook her head. “I make them think that. Otherwise, they’d ask me all the time to go out. If you asked me, I’d always go.”
Laughing, I asked, “Wanna go down the street then?”
“Sure.”
As soon as we left City Hall, we turned at the first corner.
“So…what exactly do you do for lunch?”
“I walk around. But you haven’t eaten-“
“Then, do you mind showing me where to get a good sandwich then?”
“Mm!”
We strolled through business buildings, a patch of green where there was a park with a play area for kids. It was all new. The old ones were vandalized and rusted. In fact, just a few years ago, no one would’ve thought of such things. But I’m glad to see these small patches of light throughout the city.
When we passed some shops, she suddenly stopped at a white building with a young couple serving customers behind the counter. “Sandwich?”
They seemed to know her so they talked while I looked at the menu above. I ordered something with cucumbers, avocado, carrots, tomatoes, sprouts, cheese, and chicken in pretzel bread. I couldn’t wait to eat it as we sat at on the hill overlooking the park.
Again, someone recognized her. “Ah, Honey-chan…”
When she stopped talking to charming older lady, I shook my head. “Seems like the whole neighborhood knows you.”
“I take the same route almost every day.”
Taking my first bite, I gasped at how good it was. “Thanks for showing me that place. I’ve got to go there again!”
“I’m sure they’ll be happy to see you.”
The fact that we had somewhere to breathe, a tiny patch in the city where people could walk and children were able to play in peace was a miracle. It was as if anything she touched transformed to gold, the corruption cracking under her radiance.
“All these people are grateful for you, whether or not you know it.”
She shook her head humbly. “I didn’t understand what I was here for until everyone showed me. I actually need them more than they need me.”
Tilting her head, she grinned widely.
“Their good energy. Their love.
That’s what everyone needs but they only pretend they don’t. So they do these awful things because they don’t know how to get or receive it. And when they get what they thought they ‘wanted’, they don’t know what to do with it.
They don’t know where it starts, how to hold it, or where it should go.
It’s too powerful.”
“It sounds so simple when you say it like that.”
“That’s what he used to say.” Her eyes squinted in contemplation.
He?
My whole being froze. It was the same exact look from that night.
“Who?” I slipped, not wanting to. I held onto my half-eaten sandwich tightly.
“Once in a while, I see Seiji within you.”
The one who was originally with you…
My stomach began to tighten and I suddenly lost my appetite.
“Do you miss your old life, Honey?”
When I realized what I’d said, I began fumbling over wrapping my food. She put her hands over mine.
“Sometimes.” She looked in my eyes so earnestly, but I still felt so stupidly jealous and upset.
“Yes, but…” I sighed, unable to look at her nor get this heavy feeling off my chest. After all, it’d been lodged here for some time...
“What’s wrong?”
“I’m always scared of when you’ll forget yourself again. Forget everything from this time…forget about me.” I lifted my chin and looked at her. “I know it’s not a big deal, but…”
How do I tell you how much I’ve admired you? That you taught me to be grateful for all the things I’ve grown up with? But also, I don’t want to be a kid or remind you of anyone else.
Selfishly, I want to be special in your eyes.
You don’t need that though. You’re always looking beyond. At what our city and its citizens need.
All I want is a little of your attention. Your affection. But I can’t ask you for that.
I clam up.
“Oh Chokkei…” Putting her hands over mine, she rubbed her thumbs over my knuckles.
But I could feel her trembling a bit.
“Do you know why your memories were sealed before?”
“As Junpei-sama said before, in times when humanity is in trouble, I’ll be here.”
“Then if everything becomes peaceful once more, will you fall back asleep?”
“You’ve thought of this for quite some time, have you?”
I gulped and she sighed, shaking her head from side to side. Then, she smiled widely.
“When I was first created, I did exactly as I was told. And when time ran out, I’d be quiet again. I don’t know how many times it’s been, to tell you the truth. But…”
Pulling my hand, she placed it over heart. “…I hear their voices here. And it’s funny though.”
Squeezing my hand, tears came to her eyes, “I’m trying so hard to fight falling back ‘asleep’ again because I want to be here.”
When she let go of my hand, I gripped onto hers.
“Chokkei?”
“Until I pass away or do what grandfather did and preserve my brain…won’t you stay here with me?”
“I…ever since you shouted my name and remembered who I was…actually…” The tears ran down her face. “I wanted to be needed by you. I thought you outgrew me already.”
I coughed so much I almost choked as the flood threatened to spill from my eyes.
She patted and rubbed my back while calming me down.
“This time, I wanted to choose that at least I’d be with you until you were gone.”
“Honey…” I took a deep breath and grinned as tears dripped down my cheeks. “You know? All this time, I thought the same thing.”
For a few minutes, we watched beyond the park and to the city ahead.
“There’s something you don’t understand.” There was a tint of agony and anger mixed in her voice.
“What do you mean?” I found myself analyzing her profile.
“You think that I’m kind. That I’m doing this because it’s part of my nature.”
She got up slowly and turned to me with eyes I could never recognize on that face: loathing vengeance. Her wild eyes and her tone didn’t match.
“I’m not exactly sure why or how I was created. I just know him as my father. That much I know from every corner of my being.
But the voice who called me back and the other android that greeted me? He was a replica.
I’ve had lapses of memories of his Honey embedded into me, this creation that is now known as ‘Honey’. I want to eliminate all of Panther Claw.
I need to. I don’t want them to hurt anyone else like they did to me.
That’s why I am here.
But when I do, does that mean I’ll finally disappear?
So even if you think I’m doing this cleanly, I’m always looking for clues that get me closer to why they killed my father.
Maybe then, I’ll know the real reason why he made me in place of his daughter.
So I have to think that I’m ‘real’ Chokkei. And the reason I’m attached to you is because for once in this century since I’ve awakened, I forgot that anger for a few seconds and let someone else into my heart again.
‘Get up, Honey! Don’t you dare listen to anything they want to brainwash you with!’ Weren’t you the one who shouted that at the top of your lungs? Many people watched and still did nothing, thinking I’m the only one who can fight.
But your whole family never thinks that way.
The reason I keep getting up even if my OS may be running slower than it should or if I have to get repairs a little more than I used to…
You.
Only you, Chokkei.
While you and your family live here, I’ll keep myself from getting scrapped.”
She points to her heart. “And while I’m alive, my father is too. Danbei-sama, Seiji…everyone somehow lives in here too. Even if it’s in tiny fragments and I have no words to explain them anymore, I know these memories are true.”
Overwhelmed, I suddenly wrapped my arms around her.
“I will do everything I can do to stay alive so please keep watching over this city as you always have.”
I don’t feel worthy of saying it, but my whole being is screaming: “Whomever’s listening to me, give me the strength to keep this person’s heart alive!”
Some questions may have subsided, but more frustrations arose…
“I guess I gotta do what grandpa did so that I’ll be here…hm…at least a hundred more years with you? And then I need to learn more about engineering. I kept Grandpa’s journals, but I didn’t have the heart to read them yet…”
She then pulled my cheeks and laughed, giving me the most beautiful grin.
With her whole heart, it was only for me.
It overshadowed the vision she gave me years ago…
“I don’t know how, but Honey…” I took her pinky and locked it with mine. “I promise to stay with you until we both become obsolete.”
At that moment, we heard sirens followed by shouting.
She pulled away and we both shrugged our shoulders. The situation couldn’t be helped.
I nodded my head. “Let’s go!”
Until then, the future still needs us.
Owari. / The End.
--
Author’s note: Last year, I was able to do one of my bucket list cosplays, Cutey Honey. Of all the incarnations of Honey-chan, I’ve always loved the Shin Cutey Honey version. The music/soundtrack was excellent, the cel animation, and voice acting were superb. Though it was cut short, until now, I listen to the music whenever I need inspiration or strength.
There are so many moments I loved that made me a Cutey Honey fan for life. I’ve seen everything except Cutey Honey Universe and even love the live actions (tv and movies).
But I liked Honey and Chokkei’s relationship because she’s between machine and human and Chokkei tries to understand her and himself through her perspective and his crush on her. However, I felt his character would complement hers even after he grew up so that’s why we’re here. I just wanted a conclusion or happy ending for them. Or at least, some kind of resolution.
I had this thought/idea since I first saw the anime, but I didn’t think it’d ever come to fruition decades later. I’m glad it did.
I hope you enjoyed it! I never knew I had so many questions about this title, and there were times that made me think as I wrote this.
Love always,
Yui
06/23/2025 10:04:50 PM – Los Angeles
06/24/2025 02:04:50 PM – Tokyo
