Disclaimer: I do not own Eureka seven

After Effect

Ch. 5: Ginta

Days went by slowly- things were slowly falling into place. I had been working with Grandpa on the LFO he had found. It wasn't easy either. First thing we did was run it down with a hose to get all of the dirt and blood off of it, but then we had to go into the cockpit and clean up the rest of the blood and dirt. We couldn't get the blood stains out the seats, so we decided that we would have to replace them sooner or later.

Eureka helped us out as much as possible. In fact she was with us at that moment we started working on it. She didn't have anything to do while the kids were at school except clean. The thing was that there wasn't anything to clean. She would bring things to us and would communicate with the LFO. She said it was angry and sad, because it was used for bad and not good and it was sad because its owner had been brutally killed in the crash landing they took.

I would take her word for it. Sure you could remotely tell what an LFO was thinking or feeling, but we only had the machine for a few weeks. Not just that, but I hadn't seen an LFO exactly like it before. It was bulky and tall- taller and less bulky than a Military KLF.

"It was a model rejected by the military." Grandpa said flipping through a book of military machines and materials- one especially given to Grandpa by Dominic the last time he dropped by. "It was hard to work with because it was hard to walk with, it was too long to take proper turns during grounded combat and the ref board was going to had to be huge to support it- and government funds couldn't make dozens of those boards along with a massive sized LFO such as this one."

"Really?" I asked incredulously. I looked over the LFO again and shrugged. "I understand the government funding, but it looks like it could walk properly."

"It's legs are bulky and long, I wouldn't be surprised if it tripped all over itself." Grandpa deadpanned.

"…What about remodeling it a little? You know, take off the chunky armory and put on some other thin metal." I leaned on the mechanic-tool table and look back over at my Grandpa.

"Suppose so, but it would leave a weak spot. And it was made with think sheets of metal so that it could protect its large mass."

"I guess that makes sense." I turned around to look at Eureka. She was blank faced again and her eyes were locked on the LFO.

"Anyway, we should probably give it an alias." Grandpa sighed. "At least while we're working on it anyway." He looked over at me and then at Eureka. His grey eyes just stared questioningly into me and Eureka.

"I don't know." Leaning up against the wall, I looked over at Eureka who was still looking at the LFO. Her purple eyes glanced around at it and her wings folded back defensively. After a long pause, Eureka simple stated, "Ginta. He wants to be called Ginta."

"Ginta?" Grandpa asked.

"Yes." Eureka verified and looked over at Grandpa. Her wings spread out for a second and then quickly folded back again. She looked innocent like that.

"Alright." Grandpa agreed sternly. He stood up and walked over to the mechanic-tool table and began scribbling on a piece of paper. "Renton, it's two thirty. You need to go pick up the kids."

"Yeah." I smiled. As I was walking out the garage door I kissed Eureka on the forehead and headed towards the direction of the school.

. . .

Everything was quiet for a while. The only noise was Axel's pencil running against the paper. The blue haired girl would look from Ginta to Axel and from Axel to Ginta. Her curiosity was wandering.

The old man put his pencil down and examined the notes he took. "We'll have to order all the needed parts to fix up the cock pit. That machine has unique parts; parts that mechanics usually don't use." Axel huffed, walking over the LFO. "Ginta will need to be repainted and have a few dents popped." He ran his pink fingers over multiple miniature dents.

"He's like that." Eureka whispered and looked over at Axel. "What'll happen to him once we fix him?"

"We'll give him back to the military. He's top secret- a stolen reject. The only reason I had a book on military weaponry is because our family's recent history lies with them."

"…Alright." She didn't want to give Ginta back to the military. He held such hate towards the world and going back to the military to rot would only make things worse. But she couldn't argue with Axel, she knew that. He was just doing what the military told him to do. Even though she was the wife of a hero and she played a large part in saving the world- the military still had their standards and responsibilities.

The hateful LFO would have to go back to the military and there was no stopping it.

…

When I got back home with the kids everything was quiet. I had guessed that Grandpa had given up on the Ginta for a while and Eureka was probably in her room. It was going to be quiet and awkward for a few hours that much I could tell.

It's weird how from the minute you walk into your own house you can tell how the atmosphere will be. But it was a good thing in my case, it meant that I was getting used to living here in this little house and in Bell forest.

"Mama! Mama!" The kids began running wildly through the house. But there wasn't an answer.

"Maybe she's in the garage or in the bathroom." I suggested.

"I'll go check the garage!" Maeter gleefully fled the house and sped to the garage. After a few minutes I figured that she must have found her mama if she wasn't coming back. So the boys and I made our way to the garage. When we got there Maeter was looking up towards the cockpit, cocking her head curiously.

"Is she up there?" Linck asked as she approached his sister.

"Uh-huh." She muttered. After a short paused a soft voice shouted, "I'll be down in a minute!"

A few seconds later, she stood up from the cockpit and stared down at us. I could have sworn I was staring at an angel; an angel covered in oil stains and still glowed under the sunlight that leaked through the Thurston Garage windows. She looked proud and bold standing the way she was, smiling and her eyes glimmering with some sort of excitement, hair down as if it was too bold to be pinned back at that moment. I hadn't seen her like that in a long time.

She ran down the stairs as quickly and carefully as she could. And when she reached the floor the kids came flocking to her like birds. They hugged her quickly and began telling her about their day. She smiled and nodded at them.

I could only stare. Maybe we were both starting to recover from that feeling inside that weighed us down.

. . .

The night was quiet by ten o'clock, all except for the crickets outside. The lights were all off and the only thing illuminated into our house was the glow of the moon. The kids were tucked in bed, fast asleep. I was about to turn in myself, but when I went to tell Eureka goodnight I couldn't find her anywhere in the house.

Padding gently through the small house in the dark, I looked toward the front door with the little light that leaked through the window. I had been trying to be quiet, but I failed when I accidentally stubbed my toe on the leg of the sofa. "Ow!" I gasped. I paused and listened attentively. There were no noises from the kid's room, so I was in the clear.

I was relieved when I opened the front door. Not only could I see again but Eureka was sitting on the edge of the porch staring out at the flat landscape. She looked over at my and smiled, "Oh, Renton it's you."

"Yeah, what are you doing out here?" I asked, sitting down next to her.

"I'm just sitting here admiring the night." There was a serene feeling about her tonight; I always felt serene around her. But tonight was a joyful feeling. It was like she had been chained up recently and all of a sudden she had broken free…Yeah, I guess that's the best way to put it.

"It is a pretty night, isn't it?" She nodded and smiled even more.

My eyes were held captive by Eureka's eyes. The moonlight put its reflection inside them- just like it did that night that I first met her. It had me utterly engrossed. But the engrossment quickly ended when I remember Eureka working hard on the Ginta earlier. Sure, I knew she liked to work on LFO's too, but she usually liked to work on them with Grandpa and me- usually not by herself. And she seemed so determined and happy compared to the Eureka I saw before I left. "Eureka, why were you working so hard on the Ginta when the kids and I got back?"

"What do you mean?" her eyes fell into mine.

"Well, I mean you seemed kind of sad before I left and when I got back you were happy and you worked on the Ginta by yourself?" Not that there was anything wrong with that- I was happy for her. I probably should have told her that but she cut me off with a soft strong smile and an explanation.

"Axel told me that Ginta would have to be sent back to the military as soon as we fixed it. And at first that made me sad… But then I realized that while the Ginta is here we should try and treat it with respect and care. That way he'll realize not all the people in the world aren't bad and he'll be happier. So when he goes back to the military he'll be happier. Even if the military never uses him, then at least he has peace of mind."

That made all the sense in the world to me. And if it made her happy then it would make me happy. I would stand by her and my Grandpa in this project. We would save the Ginta and make sure it knows that it can trust again. Most people would think that LFO's were merely machinery with no feelings, then again they never had the chance to ride in the Nirvash like Eureka and I did.

The Nirvash…there wasn't a day that went by that I didn't think about her and how much I miss piloting her with Eureka by my side. And with those memories in mind, then maybe we could learn how to treat the Ginta just as the Nirvash liked to be treated.

"Sounds like a plan." I smiled.

Eureka nodded in reply, "I think it'll be fun."

"Yeah, but right now we should be going to bed." I said. The both of us stood up and stared back out into the yard. Crickets continued to play their fiddles and violins and the moon continued to pore into Eureka's eyes. Almost simultaneously we looked at each other. My breath was caught in my throat when our eyes locked. But despite the fact that I was about to suffocate I gently grabbed her hands in mine. Fervid by the moment and the girl in front of me, I closed my eyes and leaned in. She must have done the same, because the trip to her was cut short by her lips.

Moments like these, I thought never existed. But somehow the world seems to prove me wrong every time I think something like that. And I'm thankful for these moments and glad that I get to share them with Eureka.

We walked back into the house, hand in hand- ready to face whatever tomorrow brought for us.

Thanks so much for reading this chapter. I'm happy about it and I'm glad it's come out this well. Please review. I would really appreciate it. :p