Episode 1

**Rainbow Bullet** (レインボー・バレット *Reinbō Baretto*) is the first episode of the anime Birdie Wing.

## Plot

Nafrece, a country in Europe. Eve, who lives in the slums, was earning money by betting golf to live with her friends. Eve's specialty is a powerful and gorgeous shot, including the "Direct Attack's Blue Bullet." Because of her skill, he is called "Rainbow Bullet's Eve". She has won all of the games with bullish, aggressive golf because it is only a last-minute victory that can burn. One day, Eve meets Aoi Amawashi, a genius golfer from Japan. When the two meet, fate starts to move.

## Summary

It is the Final Round of the Nafrece Women's Open at the Nafrece National Golf Course, and the cameras are following the action on the Course's famous 464-yard, Par 4 18th Hole, as veteran golfer Chris Christina, is making a push for the lead on the final hole. The golf commentator remarks on Christina's seemingly impossible rise up the leaderboard after starting the round in 38th place carrying a score of 6-under Par on the final hole, three strokes off the leader in the clubhouse, Juha Hamilail. As she approached her ball for her next shot, she ignores her caddy, who is holding a 5-Iron, instead opting for a 7-iron, much to her caddy's surprise. While she lined up her second shot of the hole, the commentator remarks how Christina had missed the cut in the previous 5 Tour events. Her shots lands a meter shy of the pin, sending a roar of approval from the crowd watching along the hole.

As Christina approaches the green, in a jet plane, the game is being watched by amateur caddy Amane Shinjo. She mentions a leg injury that Christina suffered earlier that had threatened her spot in the pro rankings, but thinks she is playing like an entirely different person this round. Beside her, teen golf phenomenon Aoi Amawashi is pouting. Both are heading to Nafrece for the Upcoming World Under15 Women's Golf Championships. Aoi tells her that she is not pleased at Christina's play in the round, saying that she is slacking off in her game. She and Amane continue to watch the rest of the round as the plane continues on.

After her round ended, Christina repeats the instructions she was given to finish no better than 4th, in order to keep her spot in the pro rankings and make sure people remember her face, telling a woman sitting in a chair in the room that she was making too many requests. The woman is, in fact, the Real Chris Christina, whose right calf is bandaged up, confirming the injury she's still suffering from. She tells her double that she paid her enough money to justify her requests. Her double then reaches under her chin and pulls off the full face mask she was wearing, revealing a young blond woman named Eve. Asking why her ranking was so important, Christina tells Eve that since she's not a Tour Pro, she wouldn't understand. Eve agrees and leaves the room to get changed out of the golf attire she wore. As she finishes dressing, her friend and surrogate sister, Lily Lipman, enters the locker room and tells her the money that Christina offered went through. Eve says that they're going to get something special for dinner, and Lily asks if dessert is included, which Eves nods and winks.

As a plane flies over the Capitol City of Nafrece, in the slums of the city, Eve and Lily walk into a seedy bar, where the bartender, Klein Clara, tells them they're closed, but looks up and smiles as she sees the girls with shopping bags in their hands. As Lily says they brought presents, three little girls, Emily, Jessica, and Charlotte, all pop up and guess what they've brought, then gang tackle Lily for the bag of food and toys she's carrying. Klein asks Eve if she's tired from the job and she says no. Klein's phone rings and she gets upset, saying that it's too late for something, but Eve takes the phone from her and asks where the job is, telling the person on the other side she'll be there. Klein tries to talk her out of it, but Eve says that she needs money so that the three girls, who are all orphaned, don't end up out on the street. She gathers up Lily and the two head off into the night.

Eve and Lily slip through a hole in a fance near an oil refinery and dodge an incoming train, wondering where the person they were supposed to meet there was. From the other side of the tracks a man's voice says that they've been here for a while. Eve and Lily turn to see a woman in a porcelain clown mask and red wig standing next to a man named Kevin, who has lost to Eve before. Lily taunts him about going broke the last time he played Eve but he said he wants to get even. He challenges Eve to a one-hole match on a 434-yard, Par 4 hole that the train tracks roll through, for 6,000 Eurus, a local currency, 10 times their normal bet. Despite his taunts about only using three clubs, Eve remains calm and agrees to the bet. He introuduces the woman in the mask, who says her name is CC.

CC tees off first, sending her ball 230 yards down the center of the fairway, making Kevin giddy. Eve sets up her tee shot, but then tells Lily to make the tee shot, surprising Kevin. Lily winds up and launches her ball into the air, and lands 70 yards away. Eve tells her that was her best shot ever, which Lily says that she's been practicing. This confuses Kevin immensely. As Eve prepares for the second shot, Kevin is ready to win back all the money he's lost to Eve. Lily tells CC that Eve thrives under pressure. In her head, she hears the voice of her golf mentor reminding her of how to fire her "Rainbow Bullet" as a train begins to pass through the hole. She launches her shot as the train cuts across the fairway, timing the shot enough to make the ball pass between the cars straight towards the hole, then ricochets off the sand rake laying by the bunker, sending the ball arcing onto the green, coming to a stop about a foot from the hole.

CC is impressed by her shot, saying that it was nothing like what she saw that afternoon. Eve turns to her and says that she knows that CC wanted to see if she could challenge her at her full strength and that she had Lily make the tee shot to give CC a Handicap for her injured leg. She flips off her mask, revealing that it was Chris Christina, then tells her that the match isn't over, but Lily tells Kevin that it is over, Eve has not only won, but has "broken" Christina's resolve.

In the morning, at the Nafrece International Airport, Amane and Aoi are walking away from the Baggage Claim area for International Flights. Amane asks if Aoi was tired after the 12-hour flight to Nafrece and suggests that they get a taxi to take them to the Hotel they are staying at, but Aoi says she wants to see the course first. Amane smiles, telling her that she anticipated that, and already reserved a tee time for her. Aoi is pleased and tells Amane she loves, which Amane deadpans that was a love that will never happen. Meanwhile, Lily and Eve are walking back to the Bar, with Lily holding the 6,000 Eurus and happily recounting how Christina quit the match halfway through. Eve is tired and says she expected more out of a pro golfer. As they talk about doing something fun with the money, they see a police car in front of Klein's bar, with the cop running his billy club menacingly over Klein's body. Klein hands over a wad of bills to the cop, who takes it and pushes the club against her chin, not happy at the small amount from her. Eve grabs the money and runs towards them, throwing the 6,000 Eurus at the cop, telling him to take the money and leave, which he does.

Inside the bar, Klein tells her that because they're all undocumented in Nafrece, they have no rights, except what they can scrape together to pay off the cops to look the other way. She takes a shot of tequila as she explains that if it were just herself, Eve, and Lily, they could survive, but because of the orphan girls, who all are asleep on the couch, they are stuck. Eve stops her before she can pour another shot. Later in the day, Eve is in a nearby wodded area, hitting old golf balls into a rusted metal can as a way to calm herself. She spends time walking the streets of Nafrece, sitting and thinking about her life, playing with the girls with Lily, she, Lily, and Klein hanging out. She thinks back to that morning as Klein apologizes for not being able to take care of everyone like she should. The memory makes her take a full power swing on one ball, embedding it into the dead tree where the can was sitting. Lilky walks up and tells her that one of the local mob bosses, Mr. Robert, wants a match and is putting up 2,000 Eurus if she wins. Eve asks what does he get if she loses, and Lily tells her it's a secret.

Back in Shinjuku, Japan, at the Headquarters of the Amawashi Company, CEO Seira Amawashi is on the phone with Amane, asking about Aoi's status. Amane, who is at the Nafrece National Golf Course, on the practice range with Aoi, tells her that Aoi is physically fine, with no Jet Lag from the flight. Seira asks her if she can win, and Amane tells her that she has all the data on her opponents and if she plays as she normally dows, she will have no trouble winning. Seira thanks her for her work, and asks her to keep her informed. Lily and Eve are also at the course, where they're meeting Mr. Robert, and Lily is awestruck by the beauty of the course. Mr. Robert arrives and tells the girls that he's far to old to challenge Eve, so he's brought his niece to play on his behalf, and Eve and Lily meet Helene Robert, Nafrece's current Amateur Champion who's just turned 15 and is entered in the upcoming Tournament. Amane tells Aoi that her practice time is done and Aoi asks what her mother wanted on the phone. Amane tells her that she's worried, after all, this is going to be Aoi's debut on the World Golf stage. Aoi asks about her competition and Amane looks up her information on Helene.

Mr. Robert tells Lily that Helene wil play her in a three-hole match, and reminds her of what happens if Eve loses. Helene is surprised at Eve only having three clubs, to which Eve tells her that she apologizes before the match, telling her that she was in a bad mood. The start on the first hole of the match, a 383-yard, Par 4 hole. As Eve prepares to tee off, Helene is dismissive of her but does admire her stance, thinking that she won't be able to handle the hole. Helene figures out her strategy, fading her shot to the left to avoid the large pine in the middle of the fairway, but Eve launches a Blue Bullet straight through the tree, which snaps a branch as it sails through to the fairway on the other side, shocking Helene. She can only stand and watch as her shots land perfectly and she sinks her putt for a birdie. As she picks up her ball, Helene asks Eve who she is, she doesn't remember seeing her at any other event or any of the school matches, and asks if she's a pro golfer. Eve walks off, telling Helene that she's not a pro or a golfer, all she does is "hit a ball with a stick to make money,"

On the second hole of the match, Eve fires another Blue Bullet, and Helene has seen enough, and forfeits the match. She apologizes to her uncle but says she has a championship that is more important and that if she continues to play Eve, she will not be able to compete with the other girls who are competing. Eve asks if she's cutting anf running, and Helene tells her that she has something more important than playing her and walks off. She cannot believe that everything she's worked for all her life comes so easily to this girl. She tells herself as she walks away that God is unfair to let some nobody with no talent ahve everything she'd worked and strived to achieve for 11 years. Lily gets the money from Mr. Robert and Eve tells her she was glad she didn't lose her chastity. Lily tells her that she didn't bet that, she put up a rare Gundam RX-78 model for the bet. Eve is surprised at what she bet, and Lily tells her that Mr. Robert is a collector like her.

Eve tries to decide what to do since she already teed off as another voice asks if she wants to play with her. Eve turns to see Aoi walking up to the tee box. She introduces herself and Lily is excited that she's from Japan, that she can buy all the Gundam models she wants, which Aoi stares blankly, not familiar with the series or the models. Eve saks how much she wanted to bet, and Aoi tells her that she never bets, that golf is sacred to her. She pulls out a 48-inch driver and tells her that this will get her attention. She sets up her Pakkun ball and launches it into the sky, landing just past Eve's ball. Eve agrees to play but tells her this is a match between them, and that she doesn't play golf for fun. Aoi tells her she's always serious when she plays, Eve tells her she will pierce her through with her bullet, firing another tee shot.

## Characters

* Eve
* Lily Lipman
* Aoi Amawashi
* Amane Shinjo
* Chris Christina
* Klein Clara
* Helene Robert

## Matches

*Winner in* **bold.** *Caddies in parenthesis.*

* **Eve** (w/ Lily Lipman) vs. CC (Chris Christina) (w/ Kevin)
* **Eve** (w/ Lily Lipman) vs. Helene Robert (w/ Mr. Robert)

## Trivia

* This is the only episode without an opening, while the Opening Theme, "Venus Line" is heard during the closing credits
* During the Credits, Scenes from future episodes that feature Rose, Anri, Ichina, Mizuho, Haruka, and the girls from Raiou Academy can be seen
* The song played during Eve's montage is entitled "Honey Days (Gone Too Soon)," Written by Chris Mosdell and sung by the Artist Luiza