Episode 11

**No Matter How Tall a Weed Grows, It Will Never Reach the Sun** (雑草がどんなに伸びても太陽には届かない *Zassō ga don'nani nobite mo taiyō ni wa todokanai*) is the eleventh episode of the anime Birdie Wing.

## Plot

With Eve now part of the Raiou Academy Golf team, it's up to Team Presdient Jinguuji to get her up to par with the rest of the team, but what will she sacrficie to make a wilcard like Eve understand the stakes ahead??

## Summary

Aoi is on the final hole of a tournament in Kanto, a par-4, 340-yard hole that faces Mt. Fuji. As her opponent in the tournament, Hitomi Sato looks on in astonishment, her caddy is in disbelief that Aoi prepares her tee shot. As Amane analyzes and recommends her shot placement, Aoi reaches for her 48-inch driver, wanting to test it out. Amane objects, saying she's not grown into it yet, but Aoi is insistent. Amane reminds her this match is a preparation for the Doubles Championship, but Aoi has only one thing she wants to do, play with Eve, and the 48-inch driver is a key to her game plan. Amane asks what's more important, the Championship, or her match with Eve. Aoi smiles and says both, then tells Amane of something her mother told her, Selfish Golfers are stronger. As she launches her Pakkun ball on her shot, the sonds of a single person applauding begins, Aoi turns to see her grandfather, Gozo Amawashi, standing there.

Back at his mansion, which sits along the golf course. Gozo is praising her results, a 12-under par for the round, including a birdie on the 18th Hole. Aoi however is not listening, pouting the entire time and looking away, towards a pair of photos, one of her as a child with a child-sized driver in her hand, standing with her mother and father, and one of her Grandfather standing with a light-haired woman in a kimono and a little blond girl, also holding a golf club in her hand. Gozo notices her pouting and asks why she is mad. she says she's not mad, and Amane tells her to behave, that she will have plenty of time to play with Eve.

As she comtinues to pout, a maid enters the room, bringing a special cake fromthe northern Japanese Island of Hokkaido, Aoi's favorite dessert and her one true weakness. Her foul mood is instantly dissipated with the first bite. Gozo tells her to eat up, and Amane sits in frustrtation, telling herself that despite her innate gholf skills, she's still just a child. Later on, as Aoi plays with her grandfather's long-haired golden retriever, Gozo and Amane discuss the rumors of Team Presiudent Kinue Jinguuji being injured. Amane tell him that the epicondylitis, Golfer's Elbow in layman's terms, in her left arm has taken a turn for the worse, ruling her out of the doubles championship. Gozo tells her that the tournament was created by Seira as a showcase to make Aoi famous as a golfer and she cannot lose to anyone else. He asks her if there is anyone who can play at Aoi's level that can make sure she wins. and Amane for the first time, reluctantly admits that there is one girl, with golf skills as sharp and a freshly whetted knife. A girl named Eve, Evangeline F. Kimishima.

Back at the Club, while the rest of the team practices on the driving range, Coach Amuro has Eve and Ichina out at the practice hole, where he tells Eve that she will be training to become accustomed to the way Japanese Golf Courses play. He also presents her with a full set of Athena clubs, telling her that she will need to master how to use all of them. Ichina is giddy as she exounds on the top-of-the-line materials that her new clubs are made from. Amura tells her that she will be spending the next three days at the Golf Course owned by Athena Golf, and to her delight, Ichina will accompany her as her caddy. A car pulls up with Golf Team President Jinguuji in the front passenger seat, telling the two to get in. She will be accompanying them to the course.

As they drive off, Amuro recalls a conversation he had with Kinue about Eve. Despite her injury, she insists on going with her to train her. She tells him that she needs to know what kind of golfer she is and that there are things that she can teach her that she will need if they are to win the championship. As they continue to drive on, Kinue watches the two in the rear-view mirror, Eve sitting quietly as Ichina continues to fawn over a club. Aoi returns to school, only to learnt hat Eve has been excused for the next three days while she is off at a training session with Ichina and Kinue. She cries out in frustration at being denied another opportunity for their match.

Eve and Ichina are on the par 3, 176-yard 5th Hole at Athena GC, Ichina hands her a 5 Iron, telling her that with her strength, it's more than enough to get on the green. As she tees off, Kinue evaluates her form. She can tell that her form and core are strong, but then when she fires one of her bullets, she sees that trajectory that is unique to her. Ichina tells her she's doing great, but Eve says she's still not used to the clubs, even though she is 2-under par after the first few holes. Out of nowhere, Kinue picks up her ball and throws it into the bunker on the left side of the green. Kinue tells her that she heard that Eve had met Kaoruko Ijima and that if she wanted to beat her, she was going to need to be able to overcome a handicap like bunker shots. Eve sees this as a test and gladly accepts the challenge. Kinue tells her to show that she's more than just talk.

Eve fires her Escaping Yellow Bullet, but Kinue catches it in her right hand, throwing it back and telling her that she would have ended up off the green and to do it again. Shcked, Eve tries again, but this time the ball hits the top of the bunker and rolls back down. Kinue suddently appears behind her and steps on the ball, pushing it deeper into the sand. She tells Eve that she's too tense, and that both she and Aoi can easily get the ball out, which she does effortlessly, barely disturbing the sand as the ball rolls near the edge of the cup. Kinue then says the defending Amateur Champion, Mizuho Himekawa, would have sunk that shot easily. She tells Eve that there is a very high wall of Golfers who are going to challenge her, and asks if she is strong enough to scale that wall.

Eve dumps a load of golf balls from her pocket into the bunker and proceeds to pound all of them into the sand, She launches another Escaping Yellow Bullet, hitting the rough above the bunker again, but this time, the momentum carries the ball over to the green where it rolls in. Eve turns to Kinue and tells her she won't jump over it, she'll blast through it. And so begins her training.

On another tee shot, Jingujji picks up her shot and throws it into the nearby rough, forcing Ichina to restrain Eve with all her might. After her shot lands on the green, Jingujji drops a ball in the same place and lands her shot closer to the pin, making Eve angrier. On a fairway, Kinue tosses ball after ball to Eve to hit onto the green. Under the lights of a practice green, Eve moves around a circle of balls putting each one into the hole. On another green, Ichina points out the layout of the Hole and Eve argues with her, still not quite trusting her. At the end of the day, Ichina and Eve are in an Onsen pool, relaxing from the workout, however, Eve is exhausted and falls asleep on Ichina. After a long night's sleep, the trio continue their training, even through a passing rainstorm, the training continues, Tee shots, bunker shots, approach shots from the fairway, putting. By the end of the day, Eve and Ichina are on the ground, exhausted. Eve sits up and tells Kinue that she's a sadist, which she responds with a deadpanned "I get that a lot," She tells her that her training will conclude with a one-hole match with her.

Despite her exhaustion, Eve tells her that she'll make her regret those words. Kinue proceeds to tee off, imparting another lesson on transferring one's power through the club and onto the ball. Her tee shot flies 220 yards by Ichina's calculations. As Eve steps up to the tee, Kinue asks if she's just going to swing as hard as she can, and Eve says that's how she plays. On her second shot, Kinue calls her shot by using the hill that cuts across the back of the green, setting up a birdie, but Eve tells her that she gave up a chance for an Eagle. Ichina tells her to aim for the top of the green, and Eve smiles, acknowledging that Ichina is finally understanding her game.

Kinue watches as she tells herself that she didn't spend the last three days training her, that she wanted to see her resolve and her light. She recalls her own desires to be a top-level golfer, training incessantly under Coach Amuro, wanting to be the golfer he wanted her to be, but admitting that she was, in her own owrds, "a weed," that no matter how hard she trained she would never be more than "very good" at golf. She caused her Golfer's Elbow by overtraining herself, causing her dream to slip away.

As Eve sinks her shot, she realizes that she is that chosen golfer who will play with Aoi in the tournament, and recalls the second half of the conversation with Coach Amuro. He asked her not to overdo it. She tells him that she intends to sacrifice her elbow so that Eve can becomethe golfer that he needs to insure a victory at the tournament. She thanks him for spenidng so much effort on, in her words, "a talentless person like me." She tells Coach that there was no guarantee that she wouldn't continue to have relapses of her Golfer's Elbow, and she can't go any further, her dream of victory are now resting with Aoi and Eve. Coach Amuro, struck by her sacrifice for the good of the team, gives her a hug and asks her to stay on as team President, that he still needs her strength to lead the team.

Staring out at the window, Amuro speaks to the memory of Aoi's father, Kazuhiko, calling himself a monster for letting Kinue sacrfiice her future in order to get Eve to her full potential, but admits that it was necessary in order to insure the victory. He calls Aoi's grandfather to tell him that he's decided on the golfer who will team with Aoi for the Tournament, which he agrees is the wise choice. The next day, the golf team is called to a meeting where Coach announces the team that will represent Raiou Academy in the All-Japan High School Doubles Championship. Aoi is announced as the first golfer, but as Haruka raises her hand to ask somethiung, Coach Amuro announces that Aoi was chosen for her golf skill, not because her family is sponsoring the tournament. Just before he announces Aoi's partner, Ichina, Eve, and Kinue arrive, with Eve looking like she's still half-asleep. He then announces that Eve will be Aoi's partner, which comes as something of a surprise to Eve, Kinue smiles and tells her that she's ready to take on Kaoruko and Mizuho and beat them.

Coach then tells the team that because Eve only recently joined and that some of them still doubt her skills, he sends Eve and Aoi to the Practice Hole for a one-hole match to show off their skills. At Last, their heart's desire will be fullfilled, they will play together without anything stopping them. On the tee the two stare st each other, reminding themselves that both of them had disappeared on the other, before laughing at the thought. They decide to shoot together as a driving contest. Pakkun and the Red Wing fly off the tee together as the team, Amane and Ichina, Coach Amuro and Kinue, all watch them fly in tandem. At the green, the two are arguing like an old married couple about their shot placement, while Amane and Ichina look on in mild horror, Amane asking herself, are these two REALLY going to be able to win?

## Characters

* Eve
* Aoi Amawashi
* Ichina Saotome
* Amane Shinjo
* Kinue Jinguji
* Reiya Amuro
* Gozo Amawashi
* Mizuho Himekawa

## Matches

* **Aoi Amawashi** (w/ Amane Shinjo) vs. Hitomi Sato (w/ Unknown Caddy)
* **Eve** (w/ Ichina Saotome) vs. Kinue Jinguji
* Eve vs. Aoi Amawashi

## Trivia

* Eve's Red Wing Logo appears in the opening Credits.
* The Athena Golf Corporation owns a Golf Course and Resort
* The Dessert Gozo had brought in for Aoi appears to be a Caramel Ceam Cake from the famed Saporro Sweeties Bakery in Saporro