Binary Star

Chapter Six: Visitor

Chapter Six: Visitor

Jinnai and I took a rest at Rintarou's dorm, to cool down after all the chaos and to catch up with Berenice. We even spent the night there. I hadn't seen or even heard from her in over two weeks, so there was no way I wasn't going to stay with her, at least as long as I could. Unlike me, it seemed that Berenice had been busy, as the windowsill was cluttered with small glass capsules of plant, soil, and water samples. "This is all going to be sent back to the S.S. Lillium?" I asked.

"That's right," Berenice replied. "One of the drones will come down to pick them up at the end of the month, along with my new tablet. It really is embarrassing that I lost my most important piece of equipment after barely an hour of being on Earth, but I suppose that's just the way it is. Now, sit still, Spica. Your burns need to be treated."

Admittedly, my body did still feel like it had been set aflame. My Scout uniform shielded my torso from much of the boiling water to an extent, but my arms and legs took the brunt of it, as my skin was a light red. Berenice dripped a healing elixir onto my limbs, and I winced at its coldness. As she treated me, Rintarou approached and placed my rifle and my headband down in front of me. "I got your stuff back. And I don't think you'll have to worry about that Tsukiyami bothering you anymore. I think he learned his lesson well enough. He actually got suspended for trespassing into the basement lab. Students aren't supposed to go there."

"T-thank you," I stammered, taking my gear back. "I am forever grateful." Rintarou shrugged. "Ehh, it was nothing. How about you, Jinnai? You okay?"

"I'm fine," Jinnai grumbled, taking a sip of tea. "I'm glad you helped me save Spica and all, but you probably think I'm a pathetic wimp now, don't you?" Rintarou gave a little chuckle.

"Wimp? Yeah, maybe. Pathetic? Definitely not. You can't do everything on your own. Asking someone for help doesn't make you pathetic. Actually, I'm glad you came to me. If not, Berenice here would have never reunited with her sister. She tells me about her all the time."

"That's not the point," Jinnai said. "Spica's my responsibility, I'm supposed to protect her, but I fell for that bastard's trick, and I couldn't do anything..."

Rintarou sighed. "Well, that's beside the point. Don't know what you were thinking leaving her alone for even five seconds with that psycho. But we got Spica back safe, everything's okay now, and that's all that matters. Believe me, it'd been a lot worse if you didn't do anything to help her, and Ayato dragged her off to Akihabara. I don't think you'd be seeing her again if that happened." Jinnai gazed down into his tea. "Yeah, I guess you're right. I'm never taking my eyes off Spica again, not even for a second."

I looked away from Jinnai. He seemed so sad. I knew he felt ashamed of himself for not being able to protect me, but it wasn't his fault. "Are you feeling better now?" Berenice asked. "Your burns, I mean." I glanced down at my legs and arms. The redness was gone, and the pain had faded entirely. "Yes, I am. Thank you, Berenice. I'm so happy you're here...I thought I would never see you again. Especially after I couldn't get in touch with you, I thought something horrible had happened to you."

Berenice huffed, but in a cheerful, confident fashion. "Now, don't underestimate your big sister. I wouldn't die to the likes of anything on this planet. In fact, I was more worried about you. You've always been more of the frightened type, but it's good to see you've survived this far. So, how's Chi doing? I'd imagine she's missing us, right?" I smiled. "Chi's just fine. She does miss us, of course, but she'll be alright. Plus, I'm sure we'll get an opportunity to go back to the S.S. Lillium and visit her later on. We won't be staying here forever, after all."

As I said that, I glanced back to Jinnai with a feeling of bittersweet longing. Jinnai was my best friend. Even in just a little over two weeks, we had grown so close, I couldn't imagine not being with him. I knew it was foolish of me to grow an attachment to an Earthian, of all things, but I couldn't help it. Hopefully I could at least bury those feelings by the time I left this place.