The one person keeping Aoi and Eve from their promised round of golf side by side is the Lunar Empress, Juha Hamilail, who is a mentally tough and extremely analytical and cerebral player. She even has the kind of Dark Conference Scene common in Gundam series laying out her data-optimized strategy. By the end of the first two days of the British Open, Aoi manages to reach the top of the leaderboard, but Juha takes second over Eve, much to Eve’s chagrin.
On the third day Eve breaks out her Burst, which she’s now trained her body to withstand, at least occasionally. It’s the first time Aoi gets to see it, and she counters by whipping out her 48-inch driver and unveiling the “Shining 48”, which is a match for Eve’s burst, much to Eve’s delight. The ever consistent Juha is jealous of Eve and Aoi’s rivalry, as they propel one another to greater and greater heights.
But Juha won’t take the bait other golfers have and take risks in an effort to catch up or surpass Aoi too early. She’s content to apply pressure from behind. Most spectators are too amazed by Aoi’s performance to see it, but her father Reiya can: Juha is holding her best back. Once she observes Aoi nearly fainting, she predicts her wings will melt like Icarus’ at the eighteenth hole.
Meanwhile, Eve decides she’ll need to polish off two eagles in order to get into the same group as Eve on the final day, and we see the growth of Ichina’s trust in her, and Eve’s trust in Ichina. Ichina finds the best path for Eve’s ball and relays it to her, and Eve fulfills her promise. It will be her and Aoi in the final group. Ichina is so happy she pounces onto Eve, who thanks her by name, making her cry tears of joy.
With a comfortable lead, all Aoi has to do is score a par on her last hole. Eve is done her round, so she’s able to watch Aoi carefully and luxuriate in the only other golf swing in the world that can shoot her straight through the heart. But after Aoi’s last shot, which comes within an inch of going in the cup, Aoi collapses.
An anxious Amane tries to get Aoi to wake up, but it’s Eve who ends up taking Aoi by the shoulders, shaking her, and issuing a tearful appeal to keep her promise that makes Aoi open her eyes and get back on her feet to tap in her ball and then rest until the final round.
As she makes her walk to the hole, the greens turn into a gorgeous mirror of the skies where she’s flown so high the whole time, and she begs God to let her play with Eve tomorrow, even if it’s the last round of golf she ever gets to play. Even so, she collapses again, before being able to tap her ball in.
If she doesn’t recover, this would probably be a forfeit, meaning Eve will play against Juha on the final day. Will fate yet again conspire to keep these two golf lovebirds from doing the one thing they want to do more than anything else in the world?
The preview hints at a “new promise”, so even if Aoi can’t continue, we can’t yet say she and Eve will be denied. As Ruha tells her caddy Karen more than once: There are no absolutes; the unexpected can always happen. And that’s why golf is fun. I’ll be ready with baited breath for the grand finale, and whatever may come, it’s been an honor and a pleasure.
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