Episode 18

**Farewell to Lies** (偽りとの決別 *Itsuwari to no Ketsubetsu*) is the eighteenth episode of the anime Birdie Wing.

## Plot

Ichina drops out of Raiho Girls' Academy and traveled to Nafrece to become Eve's caddie once more. However, she soon realizes that Eve's underground golf match will determine her fate.

## Summary

At Raiou Academy, Coach Amuro is meeting with Ichina, who has submitted a letter of request to withdraw from school. Coach asks her why she is doing this, and she tells him that she's leaving to caddy for Eve. He asks her if Eve is worth putting her education aside, and she says she's worth it, and she's willing to put her life on the line to be her caddy. Amuro accepts her request and asks if she can speak any other languages. Ichina tells him that she always assumed that she would end up caddying on the American Tour so she's been taking English lessons for years. She thanks Coach Amuro for everything he's taught her and leaves. Amuro takes the request in his hand, and while quietly addressing Seira, his former lover and the mother of their child, says that this is the least he can do for Eve, giving her Ichina.

Outside His office, Ichina exhales to calm herself down, when Amane and Aoi approach her. Amane asks her if it's true that she's leaving school. Ichina confirms it, then tells Aoi that she has a message for her, from Eve, Eve's message is that it's now a race to see who can turn pro first.

Eve is meeting with her Grandfather, Michael Burton, at the family estate to discuss the terms of her sponsorship, which she earned by defeating Cheris Kay the previous day. He tells her that he will give her one chance to prove her worth, which Eve says is all she needs. He nods to his Brand manager, Charlotte, who introduces herself and tells Eve that she will be entered in the European Women's Open, as an Arios sponsored golfer. She tells her that winning the tournament is an absolute must in order for Eve to achieve her goal of becoming a pro.

Charlotte walks over to a table where a significant amount of Arios-branded equipment, attire and accessories are laid out. She tells Eve that the company will take care of her living and training expenses and that if she does achieve her goal of turning pro she will be expected to golf under their brand banner. Eve agrees to the terms, but her grandfather tells her that there is something she needs to deal with first. He tells her that he is aware of her troubles with Catherine. He tells her that although her family can pressure her to back off, they won't be doing that. He tells her that this is her problem to solve first before anything else can happen, but he has given her a means to solve it. Allen Harvey, the Burton Family, butler, steps forward and tells Eve that the family has reached out to Catherine through private back channels and arranged for a third golf contest pitting Eve against a golfer of Catherine's choosing. If Eve wins, Catherine will drop the contract hit on her, but if she loses, her life is over. Burton asks if she's willing to risk her life on a simple game of golf. Eve chuckles as she tells her grandfather that she's been doing just that her entire life.

That evening, Catherine has a visitor, a brunette-haired woman in a flowing blue dress whom she addresses as Miss Remelda. She has come at Catherine's request to participate in the upcoming golf match, and as she curtseys, Remelda tells her there was no way she could refuse the offer of one million Nafrecean Eurus for a single golf match. She asks her who her opponent could be that caused her to spend so much money on her services. an increasingly agitated Catherine tells her that a young girl who humiliated her is her opponent, and that she'd pay even more to defeat her. Remelda says that she's more than happy to help ease her frustrations.

The next morning, Eve meets with Vipère and her boyfriend, who brings her information on Remelda. Vipère recognizes her and her boyfriend says that she's brought in one hell of an opponent. Eve thinks Remelda is pretty but asks what her background is. Vipère tells her that Remelda is the best player in the American underground golf scene. Her boyfriend says that she's also the top female golfer on the American Pro Tour, so she's double dipping on both the legitimate and underground arenas. Vipère tries to get her to call off the match, but Eve says she can't do that, Vipère also tells her that she's never seen her play before she she can't help her to win this time. the Boyfriend offer to have her watched, but Eve tells them that the match is that evening and that they need to head to the airport to pick up her caddy.

At the International Airport, Ichina has arrived and is sore from sitting for 12 hours on her flight from Japan. Eve calls her over, and Ichina runs towards her, happy to see her and screaming how she's given up everything to be with her and is wanting to hug her. Eve stops her with her hand to her face, telling her that they have a match that evening. They walk outside where she meets Vipère and her boyfriend, and Vipère thinks Ichina is in elementary school by the way she's dressed, in a pair of coveralls with her "Baby Golf Rabbit" backpack. Eve teases both sides by forgetting Ichina's name and introducing Vipère as "the Snake woman and her boyfriend," which of course sets her off. Ichina realizes that Eve is being Eve. Eve asks her to give them a ride to Catherine's, but Vipère reminds her that she wants her dead as well. Eve tells her that will go away when she wins, but Vipère says she's only going to take them part of the way to avoid any potential danger. After dropping them off by the tower, she and her boyfriend drive off to a remote overlook outside the city. Her boyfriend wonders why she isn't leaving town immediately, considering the price on her head, but she tells him that she'll wait two hours to see if Eve can pull it off. He then asks her if she thinks Eve can win against Remelda. She tell him that even though Eve is an insolent, arrogant fool, who only ever thinks about herself, she had the presence of mind to summon her caddy all the way from Japan for this match. She thinks that Eve may just have a shot at winning.

Eve and Ichina enter the garage of Catherine's building and head for the elevator to the bunker. She asks Eve where the course is, and Eve says that it's underground. As they ride down the elevator, Ichina asks if she's played the course before, which she tells her twice already. Eve also confirms to her that this isn't an ordinary game of golf they're about to get into. Ichina is scared and wants to go back to Japan, but Eve calms her down by telling her that if she wins, she gets a shot at becoming a pro, so she wants to win this more than anything. Ichina asks what she's put up for this match, and she tell her that her life is on the line for this match.

The doors open and Ichina gets a first look at the technological marvel that Catherine has built deep under the City streets. Catheriine stands up and glares at Eve, calling her a little bitch. Eve retorts that her anger will result in more wrinkles, then calls her old lady. This sets Catherine off who pulls a gun and threatens to kill her on the spot. Ichina throws her hands up screaming for help, but Eve remains unperturbed. She tellls Eve that anyone who makes a fool of her and the Nafrecean Mafia will pay for it, like Rose did. Eve realizes that Rose is dead, remembering her warning about getting in too deep with the Mafia that she couldn't get out. Eve defiantly responds by saying that anyone who picks a fight with her will pay for it as well, then calls her an Old Lady once more. However, before she can pull the trigger, Allen Harvey puts his hand on the gun and gently pushes it down, reminding her that this would violate the terms of the deal the Burtons brokered. He tells Eve that he's there to represent the family and that he brought her clubs, which she thanks him for doing that. He wishes her luck in her match, but Eve reassures him that her skill win prevail.

As Eve assures Allen of her intent to win, the elevator doors open and Remelda makes her entrance. Eve introduces herself to Remelda, who tells her that she has nothing personal against Eve, that this is just Business. Eve points her finger at her ling a gun, telling her she has nothing against her either but she intends to shoot her through with her Rainbow Bullets. The phrase makes Remelda pause as Eve tells her that she was a pupil of Leo Millafoden for three years, then asks Catherine to double her fee to play, saying that Eve should not be underestimated. she tells Eve that for the amount she's getting, she can use her "secret weapon on the course, which makes Eve ask about it. Remelda just says that she'll see it on the course in due time. Allen tells them that the contest is a one-hole match play contest, and in the event of a tie, they go to sudden death holes. Eve requests to use Ichina as her caddy, and although Catherine tries to refuse the request, Remelda agrees to it, telling her that she will win either way. Eve puts her hand on Ichina's shoulder and tell her that she needs her to play with her. She promises that if she loses, Ichina's life will be spared, but Ichina puts her hand on Eve's and promises that she's going to be her caddy for not just her golf game, but her life as well, pledging herself to her golfer.

The course begins its transformation into a par-3, 162 yard short hole. Ichina takes note of the sand traps surrounding the green as Remelda wins the coin toss for who has Honors. Remelda wins and tees off first, but lands her shot in a bunker, angering Catherine. However, Allen is concerned as Catherine is not familiar with Remelda's manner of play, which worries him. Ichina thinks it's a lucky break for them but Eve is suspicious as Remelda hams up her botched shot. Eve is sure the shot was deliberate but she's not sure why. she fires a Red Bullet, intent on hitting the flag and having the ball drop in, but the shot misses and goes wide.

Remelda addresses the ball in the sand as she visualizes her shot as her on stage playing the role of a damsel in distress, when in fact she's really the villain as she explodes her shot, sending sand spilling out over the green as he ball sinks in for a Birdie, making Catherine gleefully scary. Eve and Ichina see the Sand scattered all over their line, but before Eve can ask about sweeping the sand, Ichina tells her that it's a trap. She thinks she saw Remelda sprinkling something on the sand, possibly soapstone granules, which would completely destroy Eve's putting line. Ichina figures out that she played her shot deliberately in order to set this trap for Eve. Eve says it's a pretty cheap trick for someone who supposed to be the best golfer in America. Eve asks Ichina what the plan for the shot is, and she hands her the sand wedge, telling her to chip in into the hole directly and forget about putting.

Eve says that she has a pretty demanding caddy, and Ichina tells her that not only can a pro make the shot, but Aoi can as well, using the magic words that Eve cannot resist. Eve tells jokingly that she'll regret that remark and Ichina fires back by asking how she can say that when she didn't even tell her that they would be in a literal death match. Ichina tells her that she'll tell her the angle and power she needs for the shot.

Remelda watches this and wonders who the girls really are, because they don't act like typical teenagers. Her mind then recalls the words of Leo as she recalls her last use of the sand trick, which resulted in a loss to his most recent protégé, Aisha, at a course that appears to be in the Grand Canyon or possibly Monument Valley. He berates for her wasting his time and money on a ticket to come play her, telling her that she game is nowhere close to Aisha's, who is standing nearby munching on some cheese puffs before the two of them walk off the course. His final words echo in her head as Ichina rattles off an angle of 48 degrees and a lower level of three for the shot. Eve executes the shot perfectly, and the ball lands in the cup, halving the hole and forcing them to play the next hole.

Catherine orders her subordinates to reconfigure the course for the second hole, a 404-yard Par 4 with a large lake hazard bisecting the fairway. Remelda again tees off first, putting her tee shot just shy of the water's edge. Ichina says that she got the best position for her second shot, but Eve says that there's a better position. She tells her to watch as she prepares to reveal the final color in her arsenal of shots. as she prepares, she tells Ichina to watch carefully as her golf game is further ahead than what she's seen before. She says to herself that she can't play golf in a place filled with money and greed, she wants to play where she can put everything she has on the line, where her mind will be blown by the kind of golf being played. Aoi appears in her mind as she says that she will help her achieve that. She says that Catherine's golf course has nothing she wants, looking at Ichina for confirmation. Ichina, now completely in sync with her golfer, agrees, saying that the course is boring but if she becomes a pro golfer, she can have that golf game any time she wants, the kind that will make her shiver and blow her mind. Eve draws back and launches the Water Dragon's Indigo Bullet.

The ball speeds straight at the water, making Catherine laugh as she thinks the ball will end up in the hazard, however, Allen realizes that the angle the ball was hit at will not cause it the sink, but instead, skips like a flat stone tossed across the surface of the water. The Ball bounces off the surface and lands on the opposite shore. Eve turns and points her club at Remelda, telling her that she won't lose this game to someone who won't play for real.

Remelda addresses the ball for her second shot, putting everything into it to last on the green a few feet from the pin. Ichina says that if she had played this way from the start the game would have been more enjoyable. Eve smiles and says it's time to use *That* shot, and asks Ichina to read the line for her to set it up. She tells her to aim fie meters past the pin and three cups to the left as Remelda is crossing the bridge over the lake hazard toward her ball. She stops to watch Eve's shot, gloating to herself that Eve's in trouble now with her ball blocking the path to the pin. Eve addresses the ball, but inside her head she says that she won't play "fake golf" anymore, as she draws back her club and fires her Rainbow Bullet right at the spot Ichina told her, the ball lands and backspins its way to the cup and an eagle, winning the match and ending Catherine's grip on her. Remelda's confidence is shattered as Leo's words echo in her head once more. Eve then turns and fires another golf ball directly at Catherine, fracturing a glass pane in the observation tower, symbolically shattering Catherine as well, as she screams to let her play Real Golf.

## Matches

* **Eve** (w/ Ichina Saotome) vs. Remelda

## Characters

* Eve
* Aoi Amawashi
* Amane Shinjo
* Ichina Saotome
* Reiya Amuro
* Vipère
* Alan Harvey
* Michael Burton
* Charlotte (Arios)
* Catherine
* Remelda
* Leo Millafoden (flashback)
* Aisha Khambatta (flashback)
* Rose Aleon (flashback)

## Trivia

* The golf ball logo featured in the opening credits is Remelda's "Theater Mask" logo.
* Remelda's Theatrical Mask logo is based on the iconic symbol of the Masks of Comedy and Tragedy, which have represented the theater since Ancient Greece. However, Remelda's Mask portrays neither the Comedy nor the Tragedy masks, but instead sports a neutral expression, symbolizing her dichotomy as both a legitimate and underground golfer.
* There is a shot of Aisha's ball logo, a skull with devil horns at the temples during Remelda's flashback of her loss at a course in the American Southwest