HKZ-161

Chapter 161

Note: this is not a translation. Only a summary.

Color Page: "It all began that day..."  We see menacing Eve watching young Tarou and Ririsu kiss. That... nah, it can't be.

Tarou's sister (Kazuki) wakes up. She has returned back to her own apartment. It appears she has overslept, as she wakes up at 11AM. She sees that she received a text message from Ibusuki in the middle of the night. She has something very urgent she wants to talk to Kazuki about.

At school, Ebino is sulking. She is being haunted by they mystery of why Ibusuki lied to her, and why she left so suddenly without telling anyone.  Just then, Ibusuki's fan club comes up and asks Ebino if Tarou knows anything about what happened to Ibusuki. Curiously they Say "I wonder... was Ibusuki really a boy?"  Ebino pauses, and just spills the beans. "Ibusuki is a girl."  Everyone feels some measure of relief/closure, as it was becoming pretty obvious.  Ebino insists that she didn't mean to deceive everyone, but rather she has her own set of complicated circumstances.  Ever loyal to Ibusuki, they say that they value her and wouldn't be angry at her had she revealed the truth to them. One girl even cries out that she was her first love, and is distraught how she will never see her first love fulfilled. Yet, she says she'll always remain in her heart.  Ebino hears these words, and reflects on when Ririsu told her that Eve was different, as she had a 'heart' of her own.

Ebino rises quickly and sprints out of the room, which seems to be the trend nowadays in that class, saying "I have to go and see them"

Back in Tarou's room, Eve is still trying to tempt him. She appears to him in the realistic form of Ririsu Ibusuki! She says "There is no need to hide it anymore... now that I have become what you desire."

She leans suggestively in. She says "What do you want to do with me?" However, instead of sounding like Eve... she sounds like the real Ririsu. She even copies her peculiar use of male language.  Tarou is in disbelief at her change, as she continues to tempt him by repeating "Even if you can't touch me, that doesn't mean there aren't lots of ways to still have some fun."

Tarou thinks to himself "Wait, does this mean that Eve has finally realized that Ibusuki is a girl? Does that mean that what I desire is... this?"

Tarou jumps off the bed quickly, appropriately freaked out. He asks "Who the Hell are you?"  She replies: "Right now, I'm Ibusuki! But you can call me whatever you want..."

Tarou interjects: "No! It's not about what to call you... are you really the Eve I know?" He thinks back to how she's been strange since she appeared in that Broken-Heart Zombie form.  She just gives him a cheeky smile back.

Tarou's not satisfied with the response. He tells her "Look, if you are really supposed to be whatever I desire, then you should obediently answer me when I ask you a question. So, answer me, dammit."  She looks him in the eye, and says "I guess you figured it out. I guess I'm not really the 'Eve' you knew." Quotes around "Eve" for emphasis.

Tarou nervously asks her "Then, just who are you? What have you done with Eve? Are you a fake Eve?"

She smiles and replies eagerly "Geez, you sure say some weird stuff, Tarou! The truth is, I've always been a Fake 'Eve!'"  She turns back into the little girl Ririsu Ibusuki he fell in love with as a boy.

He thinks back to playing with her. She says to him "Do you still have trouble remembering what happened the day we parted? I guess that's just how it is." She begins to cry like a little girl. She goes on: "Remember what you said?"

Tarou replies "AI RAIKU YUU EEBU" (I like you Eve, in English. Note that 'Eve' was what he called Ibusuki as a kid)

Young Ririsu, from the past but acted out by current Eve, says: "I love you, too! I will definitely come back. So you won't forget about me, I want one thing... kiss me."

Eve tells Tarou: "It was at that time, you realized that you loved Eve. That was when I was born. I should have disappeared right after had you kissed, as you two had both shared the same feelings of mutual love. However, because you were so shocked to see me you lost your balance and accidentally bumped your head into Eve's."

Tarou thinks to himself, "That's the truth of what happened then..."

Eve continues: "After you lost your chance to fulfill your love and the ability to see me, what do you think I was doing? I was watching. Eve's mother came to take her away after she lost consciousness. Soon after that, you woke up. After our brief meeting, you forgot about having seen me. The teacher told you 'No matter how upset you are about someone leaving, it's wrong to headbutt them.' You started sobbing uncontrollably. Surely what the teacher told you became what you thought really happened. You thought Eve hated you, and now you'll never see her again. When you were 5 years old, you would think about this and become depressed. When this happened, what do you think I was doing?  I think you already know."

"While you were oblivious, I became a Broken Heart Zombie! Over all those grueling years, I was with you. Even as you forgot about me, even as I began to forget about myself. Then one day, I heard your voice cut through the darkness." In the background, we see Tarou's prayer from the very first page of the manga as he thought he was going to die. "Dear God... I will change everything about my attitude, if you would please allow me but once, before I die, to experience First-Love"

Eve continues: "At that time, the feelings of resentment, regrets and sadness about having been heartbroken were expelled from me. I became the form of what the 15 year old you desired in a girl, and I was right before your eyes.

End of Chapter