HKZ 163

Chapter 163

Last chapter, we learned that Eve had always been a broken heart zombie (BHZ) since Tarou was young, and that most of the unique characteristics she held were the product of Tarou's own creation rather than a true will of her own.  Upon being challenged to listen to what Eve REALLY wants by Mei Ebino, Tarou is confronted by the cheerful FLZ Eve we all have known up until now. She descends, and cradles Tarou's face in her hands gently as she tells him "Face me... face your 'First Love.'

We continue:

Ebino quickly leaves upon observing Tarou apparently making contact with Eve. She tells him that he needs to listen to what Eve wants, because if he doesn't, nobody will be able to move on with their lives.

Now that it's just the two of them, Eve opens up to Tarou. She tells him, "Tarou, what I want more than anything is to become a normal girl and be able to hold your hand. However, to do that, I would have to consume your spirit. I ate your Dad's FLZs. If I were to consume the energy of other people's FLZs, I probably could make my wish come true. But, I don't want to be like that. Even so, I couldn't let go of my desire to be touched by you. So, I made a request to Ibusuki to help me sleep forever by your side."

Outside, we see Mei moping on the stairs in front of Tarou's room as his sister Kazuki comes up. She curiously asks if Tarou's still alive.  She tells Mei that she received some curious messages from Ibusuki. In these messages, she tells her to tell Taoru's dad that she could no longer help him, and that she had failed completely. From there, she wants Tarou's Dad to know that it's all up to him. Hearing this, Kazuki called her Dad right away, and came to be concerned for Tarou's life. Ebino thinks back to Ibusuki's own words of concern about the cost of failure in their mission to save Tarou.

Back in the room, the scene with Tarou and Eve continues. Eve says "Tarou... I have been divided into two people, make me whole again. I want to be able to face who I really am... so Tarou, please, face the real me..."  Tarou reflects on Mei Ebino's challenge for Tarou to recognize Eve for who she really is.  Tarou appears to take her hands in his. He says "I... I want to face the real you, too. So... put everything back the way it should be."

With these words a bright light emits from Eve. The 'good' side of Eve seems to be siphoned off, leaving a twisted hybrid of both FLZ (good) Eve and the menacing BHZ (bad) Eve. Sparkles and black tendrils envelop her.

She says "Ah, that's right. It seems you finally understand what the real me wants." She has a dangerous aura around her. Tarou calmly calls her by her name, 'Eve..."

She continues: "Tarou, let's go meet Ibusuki, the real Eve. I cursed her 11 years ago... it was a curse that prevented her from forgetting about you. And with that, I made it where she could see First Love Zombies, too."

Tarou is shocked "You mean that wasn't an accident? I'm the one who made it so?"

Eve says "If I were to stop being a First Love Zombie, then the curse would be broken. Since that regrettable misunderstanding happened 11 years ago, the feeling faded into oblivion. That is, until the boy named Ririto Ibusuki showed up. After this, your feelings of 'first love' got thrown into disarray by the feeling of being made you relive the pain of having your heart broken, by the fact that Ibusuki was always a boy, and how you simply couldn't accept it. Even then, I felt it. Whenever you made Ibusuki smile, it made you happy. And that must mean... you know?"

Tarou presses her hand gently on his cheek as he says her name warmly yet one more time.

Eve tells him, curiously, "We'll go see her."  Tarou agrees.

So, Tarou and Eve walk out and find Kazuki and Mei packing a suitcase. He asks what the hell they are doing.

Ebino says "You're going to see Ririsu, right? So, obviously we're packing your luggage." Kazuki hands him a book. "Here's your passport."

Tarou says. "No, I don't think I'll need it. Ibusuki is probably..."

The last panel, we see Ririsu from the back, looking at the ocean.

End of Chapter