Episode 20

**The Rainbow That Tells of Victory** (勝利を告げる虹 *Shōri o tsugeru niji*) is the twentieth episode of the anime Birdie Wing.

## Plot

The Japan Women's Open Golf Tournament comes to a climactic conclusion with Aoi reigning victorious and becoming a pro golfer. Meanwhile, Eve encounters Leo after a long time, where she will go up against his new student in the European Women's Open Golf Tournament: Aisha Khambatta.

## Summary

At the Amawashi Family's private practice range, approximately 5-7 years ago, a young Amane Shinjo is watching Aoi Amawashi hit shot after shot, in awe of the young girl's talent. She asks Aoi if she ever has doubts about playing golf. Aoi doesn't understand and Amane says that she's being forced to play golf. Aoi responds that she's forced to play a game she loves, which Amane doesn't understand. Aoi explains that to her golf is a fun game where you hit the ball and get it into the cup. She then asks Amane to try to play herself. The scene moves to the present, As Aoi launches her Shining Shot towards the pin. The words of the younger Aoi echo in Amane's head as she watches the ball reach the green and stop just short of the cup. In her head, she tells Aoi that it is fun to watch her knock down every obstacle with her smile. The crowd's roar echoes back to the tee box, where Reika is watching as she awaits her chance to tee off. She comments that Aoi really is a monster on the course.

At the headquarters of Shibachi TV, Japanese Professional Golfer Naohiro Sekito is hosting a watch party at the station's lounge as Aoi finishes up the third day of the Tournament on the 356-yard, Par 4 18th hole, putting her in second place, four strokes behind the leader, Reika Shikishima, with a cumulative score of 11 under Par (-11). An attendee asks him if he thinks Aoi can win it all on the last day, but he hesitates to answer. At Nadan Girls' Academy, Kaede Oikawa is still skeptical of Aoi's chances but she admits that it's not an impossible goal. Her partner, Mizuho Himekawa agrees, pointing out that Reika's score has been consistent every day of the tournament so far, finishing each round at 5 Under Par (-5). She also points out that both golfers have managed to land birdies on the same holes. Kaede says that Reika is playing like a finely tuned machine, which Mizuho points out that if she stays consistent, she'll finish the last round with a final score of 20 Under (-20).

At Shizuoka Girls' High School, Kaoruko Iijima points out that Aoi would need to go at least Nine Under (-9) on the last day to tie it up with Reika. Her partner, Kuyou Iseshiba, remembers that Aoi and Eve both scored 11 Under (-11) on their Qualifying Round in the Girls' High School Doubles Tournament just a few short months ago. Coach Akihiro Date tells her not to be naïve, unlike the course in the Qualifiers, the course she's on is much more difficult. Kaoruko also reminds her that it was a miracle she recovered from her disastrous first round with a second round score of eight Under (-8).

The next morning, at the Tokyo headquarters of Athens Golf, Seira Amawashi is getting a briefing on Rieka's familiarity with the course at Maihama. She's won three times on the course and will not make any mistakes. Seira knows that her daughter needs to finish at least Nine Under in order to have a chance. At the Maihama Country Club's dining hall, Amane reminds Aoi to have her rain gear handy in her bag as the potential for rain looms over the course. She tells her that they will use the rain to their advantage. Aoi recalls her conversation with Coach Reiya Amuro on the second day. He told her that although he "fled the hospital to get here," he would be watching the last two rounds from the hospital. She promises to win for him, but he tells her not to put that kind of pressure on herself, that she should have fun as this is her chance to play a top pro like Reika. The two silently contemplate his words. At the tee Box, she greets Reika, apologizing for being late and hopes to have fun out on the course, smiling as she says this, which gives Reika a bit of a scare.

The two are tied at One Under (-1) after three holes, with landing a birdie by the time they reach the 125-Yard, Par 3 4th hole. Reika's tee shot lands just past the hole but backspins to within a couple of meters. Amane is amazed at Reika's performance so far, pointing out to Aoi that all of her shots have been on target so far. Aoi thinks to herself that Reika is as good, if not better than Eve as she looks at Reika after her shot. Aoi lines up for her attempt at a birdie, but although the ball is lined, it lips around the edge and fails to drop, while Reika easily sinks her birdie putt to increase her lead to five strokes. As Reika tees off one the 5th hole, she says to herself that Aoi will win a tournament and become a pro, but it won't be one she's playing in, as she launches her tee shot.

Meanwhile, Eve, Ichina and Allen Harvey are sitting on a plane together. Eve is annoyed as usual and asks Allen why he's with them. He tells her that he's there to insure she can concentrate on her game to the fullest and offers to handle her errands as needed. Eve tells him she doesn't like abusing old men. Ichina reminds her that Aoi's last round is about to start. Eve says that if it was her who was down by four strokes, that she'd win easily. Ichina hopes that she is right.

The round has shifted to the 3476-yard, Par 4 14th hole, as Reika lines up for a long putt, landing another birdie and maintaining her five-stroke lead, despite Aoi's efforts to close the gap. Amane, however, has her eyes on the darkening skies above, begging for the clouds to hurry up as it is, in her words, "Their last chance." As Reika poses with her ball, rain begins to fall on the course. Amane is happy and opens an umbrella for Aoi, telling her that it's time to put their plan into practice. She then surprises Aoi by telling her that this is fun and that she now feels like she can truly enjoy golf. Aoi smiles and tells her her heart is racing. Amane says it's because she's having fun with being in danger, which makes Aoi laugh, telling her it's boring when things are going the way you want it. The duo's laughter bothers Reika, not understanding why they're laughing to begin with.

On the next hole, the 518-yard, Par 5 15th Hole, Reika takes out her 3-wood and Amane says she's playing just as they thought, aiming for the fairway rather than taking a risk in the wet rough. Reika's shot lands and stops immediately on the fairway. Amane hands Aoi her driver, telling that she's already run a simulation on how the rain would affect her drive distance, then tells her to "hit it hard." She addresses her beloved Pakkun logo, imploring it to spread its shining wings and fly. The shot outdistances her own shot, going approximately 270 yards, more than Amane was expecting. The move rattles Reika, who was not expecting her young rival to start taking risks in the rain, which forces her to change her own strategy and try for a birdie. Seeing that the ground hasn't become saturated by the rain, Amane hands Aoi her driver and says to go for it. Reika realizes that she's going for the green on her shot, a full-power fade. Kuyou and Kaoruko are impressed as they watch the ball bend perfectly towards the green. At the hospital, Raiou Academy's Golf Club President Kinue Jinguji, who hasn't left the Coach's side since his collapse Is amazed. Coach Amuro says that it was a great shot. At Nadan, even Kaede is impressed, saying she has a perfect chance for an eagle, while Mizuho is surprised that Aoi remained unbothered by the rain, recognizing that this is Aoi's true power. Amane looks over at Reika, asking in her head, wondering how she will respond to the added pressure.

Reika's vision is obscured by the low hanging mist surrounding the green, preventing her from figuring out how far she is from the pin. on her swing, her grip on her club slips, but the ball still manages to land on the green, but further from where Aoi landed. She tries to launch a firm putt to try to save par, but the standing water on the green deadens her putt before it can get closer to the pin. On her putt for par, the ball lips out and rolls off, giving her a bogey. Kinue is so excited for the bogey she shakes Coach Amuro who looks like he's going to be seasick from her excited shaking. Aoi's Putt for eagle lands perfectly, cutting the lead to two strokes, as Amane tells her to keep it up.

On the 400-yard, Par 4 16th hole, Amane's strategy of having Aoi go all out in the rain is paying off. Her second shot from the fairway skies to the green, bounces into the flagstick and drops into the hole for another eagle, shocking Coach Date. Kaede and Mizuho are shocked that she made up the 5-stroke deficit in only two holes. At Athens HQ, Seira is so overjoyed she's got her assistant in a head lock, as does Kinue with Coach Amuro. Reika, however, is pissed. But she plans on waiting out the rain, expecting the course Marshals to postpone the rest of the round until the following day, which will allow her to overcome the trouble she's encountered with the rain. However, to her shock and dismay, the rain stops, as a smug Amane looks on at her Aunt, grateful that she earned a certification in meteorology. Reika is shocked as she realizes that her niece played her as the clouds part and a rainbow appears over the course. Amane watches as Aoi sees the rainbow and smiles, thinking of Eve at that moment.

As the action moves to the 356-yard, Par 4 18th hole, the announcers describe the scene as Chaos as Aoi's comeback has shocked the crowd. As Aoi and Amane line up her putt for a birdie and the victory, the leaderboard is shown. Both Aoi and Reika scored birdies on the third, seventh, and ninth holes on the front nine, before her remarkable surge with her two consecutive eagles and two birdies bookmarking them, giving her the one-stroke lead going into the final hole. All of Aoi's rivals, Kaede and Mizuho, Kuyou, Kaoruko, Coach Date, President Jinguji, Coach Amuro, all wait in anticipation to see if she can pull off the impossible. Amuro looks especially nervous for his daughter, while Seira has a deathgrip on her assistant's tie. Aoi launches the putt and it sinks for the birdie and the victory. Amane runs up and hugs her. All of her rivals, her father, her mother, her Club President are all pleased to see her victory.

At the post-match press conference, Aoi gives the credit to her victory to Amane, saying that her support since elementary school made her victory possible. She then gets up and walks over to where Amane is standing off to the side of the dais, as the cameras start shooting the two together. She credits her for the plan for playing in the rain, then calls her the best partner she could have, sharing the victory with her. In her post-match press conference, Reika says the rain threw her off her game and Aoi's aggressiveness is what ultimately beat her, calling it "the boldness of youth." She then holds up an autograph from the two of them, calling herself her "first fan," and grinning like a fan girl. She then asks her to turn pro and go on the American Tour, as she is ruining her chance to make money in Japan.

That night in the hotel, Aoi is exhausted from all of the interviews she had to do after her win. She's literally laying on the side of the bed as Amane reviews all of the media outlets their spoke to. She's also upset that she was suddenly thrust into the spotlight and had to answer questions herself. Aoi dispels her objections by showing her the comments on social media that described her as "cute." Aoi tells her to let her have it as this would be their last time together. Seira told her about Amane's contract that would end once she turned pro, which surprises her that Aoi knew. Aoi remembers the day they first met, as Amane introduced herself formally, only to have the most innocent of the Amawashi family make it her goal to get the little girl who would become her best friend to like golf.

She thanks her for everything, for being the one who made golf fun all those years growing up. She was the first friend she had who was her own age, and not a grown up. She apologizes to Amane for keeping her all those years, saying that if she had said she didn't need a caddie that she could have been free a lot earlier than now. But Amane tells her that because of her, her mother's financial burdens after her father's death were lessened, and she was able to go to school and earn those certifications that ultimately helped her guide Aoi to the pros. She tells her that she's leaving school to turn pro, to play in Europe and America, so that she can play against other golfers like Reika, and that meeting Eve only strengthened that desire.

Amane tells her that if it hadn't rained, she would have lost, which surprises Aoi. She then asks when she got so cocky since she was going to show her how much fun golf was, only to ditch her when things started to get fun. She then recalls that first meeting again, where Aoi said she would make her see how much fun golf is, then says to her "If you think you ruined my life, then take responsibility for all of it, okay?" She tells her to hire her as her personal caddy, for 30% of her winnings. Aoi is shocked at the amount, but Amane tells her that was teh offer Shikishima offered her and if she takes it, she won't hold back. Aoi agrees to the deal but then is upset that Amane will have to leave school as well. Amane tells her that she's smarter than her and can test right into college if she wanted. Amane tells her that they have a long day tomorrow with more interviews, the report to her mother, the contract needs with Athens, plus talking with Coach comes first, telling her that she knows everything she's thinking since she's her personal caddy. Aoi hugs her and tells her she loves her, which flusters Amane.

Its a foggy morning at the GGC Scotland Luminous Course, where the EUropean Women's Open will be held. Eve is standing on the fairway of one of the holes contemplating the road ahead so she can battle Aoi again as Ichina comes running up with news on Aoi's results from the last day of the Open. Eve is disappointed that she's lost that round to her, but Ichina tells her that it's her turn to win and turn pro. As Ichina tells her she has a plan for the course, a ball comes flying out of the fog between them, sending Ichina diving for cover. Eve instantly recognizes that it was a Blue Bullet. she turns in the direction where it came from, demanding to know who's there. Out of the fog comes Leo Millafoden, who says that he's pleased that she's regained her memories so that he can finally battle the daughter of the only man to ever defeat him. She asks if he plans on entering the Open, which he says yes, or rather, his student will be entering on his behalf. Behind him, his latest protégé, Aisha Khambatta, steps forward. Eve calls Ichina by her name, telling her that the girl is dangerous, and the one obstacle that stands in her way from turning pro is now before her.

## Matches

### Athens Japan Women's Open, Maihama Country Club, Chiba Prefecture

* **Aoi Amawashi** (w/ Amane Shinjo) (-21) vs. Reika Shikishima (w/ Unknown Caddy) (-19)

## Characters

* Eve
* Aoi Amawashi
* Amane Shinjo
* Ichina Saotome
* Reika Shikishima
* Reiya Amuro
* Kinue Jinguji
* Seira Amawashi
* Mizuho Himekawa
* Kaede Oikawa
* Kaoruko Iijima
* Kuyou Iseshiba
* Akihiro Date
* Naohiro Sekito (Cameo)
* Alan Harvey
* Leo Millafoden
* Aisha Khambatta

## Trivia

* The Golf Ball Logo featured in the Opening Credits is Aisha's "Demon Skull" logo.
* Japanese Professional Golfer Naohiro Sekito makes a cameo during the episode. He is the second Professional golfer to make a cameo in the series. Momoko Osato was featured in Episode 17, in a scene with Reika Shikishima.