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Aoi is an Amawashi. She's known all her life what that means, to carry the name of her prize-queen mother. The Amawashi Group has passed from her grandfather's hands to her mother's, and one day it will be in hers, but for now, the only thing in her hands is a golf club. It's all she wants to be holding, really. Not a pen to sign papers, or a microphone to give interviews. She might be an Amawashi, but she has no need for those.
She's an Amuro too, although that, she'd come to know only recently. She'd also known she was a Hodaka, until she hadn't. Knowing makes him no less her father, though. Neither of her fathers gave her their name, but they've both given her their golf and she's made it her own.
Eve's done the same. Evangeline Burton carries the name of her mother, now it's returned to her, but even before the media began dragging it through the mud, it had meant less to her than the golf she'd learned from her mentor and her father. It's not what she calls herself. It's not what she wants Aoi to call her, either.
Eve is unapologetically herself, always. Brash, strong, confident no matter how good her opponent is, and playing against her brings out the best in Aoi too. She can take flight with her Shining Wings and soar, knowing Eve will be right beside her, their rivalry pushing them both to new heights.
But for now, Aoi's wings have been clipped. Her body is failing her. She'll never know if she or Eve would have won the Women's British Open, for surely it would have been one of them. Neither of them would be satisfied with any other outcome.
That's why Aoi offers herself as Eve's caddie for the final day. It doesn't matter that they're rivals. Together they'll defeat Juha Hamilail—it'll be Eve's name on the trophy, but their victory. It won't be the victory Seira Amawashi wants for her daughter, another win for the Amawashi Group's Athena brand. That doesn't matter, either. It's not her choice to make.
It's Aoi's to offer, and Eve's to accept, and that's all they need. Their families do not define them. Eve has chosen her name and offers it freely to those she deems worthy.
And so today, the name Aoi chooses to wear is Eve's.