Introduction (29 October 2022)

Since I received reader feedback that shorter chapters are fine too, if that means having to wait less for new content, I decided to release this one early as well, instead of trying to add more to it.

By the way, it would be nice if the reader who made the comment about chapter length, would create an account on fanfiction dot net (I have to write it like that or the link automatically gets removed) so we can more easily discuss the story. Currently this feedback gets posted under a guest (?) account, in this case "Mango123" and I am sadly unable to send any messages to guest accounts and thus show appreciation to this person for taking the time to give feedback or encourage me to post new content soon. This basically applies to everyone who posts comments as guest, if you register an account on the website, I can personally thank you for giving feedback and supporting this story.

Note: If you want to comment on this story, or any of my other stories, please do leave a review. Even if it's just a few commenting words, it will already be really appreciated. And if you post a comment while being a registered member, I'll usually reply to it asap, as I think interaction between writer and reviewer is important. So, don't be shy, feel free to comment, like, criticize. Your feedback is extremely useful to correct errors, and even can be inspiring. Looking forward to hearing from you!

Chapter Intro:

While our space explorers are still getting closer to Earth's surface, the bad weather conditions have vastly impaired their situational awareness, so they are now more or less going in blind. Will they be safe and could they be possibly touching down soon?

Chapter 21 – Stranded…

"S-Shouldn't we have reached the surface by now, dear!?" Tsukasa shouted, to make herself heard above the noise of the storm outside raging on outside.

"Under normal circumstances, yes…" Nasa replied, "… but the hurricane also causes updrafts, which slows our descent, or may even cause us to gain altitude for short periods," he added, while gazing through the canopy glass into the murky darkness outside.

'Perhaps I should have been better prepared for this mission… initially things mostly went according to plan, but at some point it turned into going from one last-ditch effort to another…' Nasa pondered. He wasn't the type to get overly worried about things, as he knew most things could eventually be solved with a combination of logic and creativity, but still, he started to have second thoughts about his actions…

'Maybe I made that promise too lightly. Back then when I told Tsukasa-chan that I would make her wish come true… Then again, I didn't the slightest doubt when I said this. Even if we weren't married, I would still very much have wanted to do this, to help her find the peace she is looking for!'

Nasa closed his eyes briefly and suddenly it felt as if everything got lighter in his mind. 'Huh? Is this what they mean, when they say things look up when you stay positive…?'

"Dear, the storm is gone!" Tsukasa's words confirmed things had literally gotten brighter.

"You're right!" Nasa cheered; "Now I can visually check our altitude. It seems like we'll be touching down in… uh… NOW!"

With a wild splash, the capsule hit the water, and briefly disappeared below the waterline, before slowly rising up to the surface again!

"Everyone okay!?" Nasa inquired, after having recovered a bit from the unexpected impact.

Tsukasa gave him a thumbs-up, and the Moon princess confirmed she was doing fine, considering the circumstances. Oddly enough, the capsule was barely moving, rather it was floating quite gently.

"Uh… I was expecting there to be quite a bit more waves…" Tsukasa said, with a surprised expression on her face.

"Same here, even if we are clear of the hurricane, an ocean is never fully calm…" Nasa agreed.

"Husband, you didn't accidentally fly us to a different planet, or did you?" Tsukasa asked, while giving him a glaring look, although she secretly intended this to be a teasing remark.

"Well, I can't check our position right now, since the computer is still offline…" Nasa started, "… but I am pretty sure we're on Earth. Anyway, since there are no waves, I could just open the canopy so we can have a better look at what exactly we are dealing with."

"Okay, but if you see an alien, let me do the talking," Tsukasa said jokingly.

After releasing the canopy lock, fresh air entered the cockpit. One of the drop-chutes was partially covering the canopy glass, and with Tsukasa's help, Nasa was able to remove it.

"I think I can see land dear!" Tsukasa shouted, a bit too close to his ear; "It's in that direction!" she elaborated, while pointing to the rear of the craft.

"Is that so?" Nasa reacted, shaking his head to get the ringing gone from his ears.

"Oh, wait… there is land in that direction too!" Tsukasa shouted, perhaps even louder than the first time; "And there! And there also! W-We are surrounded by land!"

"Huh? That's impossible…" Nasa commented, while looking around to assess the situation with his own eyes; "Ah… now I understand…"

"What is this place, dear?" his wife wondered.

"It's actually quite simple, we must have touched down on a small island, which just happened to have a lake. So, we still landed on water, but at the same time we are also on land," he explained.

"I-I see…" Tsukasa said.

Using makeshift paddles, the young couple rowed the rescue capsule to the small lake's shore and disembarked the craft that had safely carried them here.

"It sure is nice to have my feet back on solid ground again," Tsukasa said, as she stretched out her arms, to loosen up the tension in her muscles.

"Yeah, though it's likely this island is inhabited. So, we might be here for a while," Nasa responded.

"You mean… this is a d-desert island?" Tsukasa asked, as the expression on her face changed.

"I am quite positive about it. Most of the small islands in this part of the ocean are. I guess that means we don't have to worry about getting eaten by native tribes," Nasa joked.

Tsukasa remained quiet, though and instead turned away.

"T-Tsukasa-chan? I know my jokes aren't a-always the best, b-but…" Nasa stammered, as he rubbed one hand over the back of his head.

He didn't get any response, however. 'Is she… crying? What did I do wrong?' Nasa wondered, before he took a few steps forward, to get closer to his wife.

"It's not your fault…" Tsukasa whispered softly, as she noticed him approaching her; "I-It's a story from long ago…"

"If it's bothering you, I want to hear it. So, please, tell me!" Nasa insisted, as he grabbed her hand.

"O-Okay…" Tsukasa took a deep breath, before she continued talking: "it was back when I went on a boat trip, on a mission for prince Shotoku. The journey had been going fairly well, until we got hit by a massive storm. The wind was so strong, that sails got ripped apart and big waves washed over the deck. Then I noticed a young sailor, he was basically still a kid, nearly getting swept overboard!"

"Oh, sounds pretty intense…" Nasa commented, "… by the way, it does seem like you and that prince were quite close…"

"Hmmm, starting to get a bit jealous again, dear?" Tsukasa teased him, as a faint smile formed on her face; "Well, he was quite handsome, you know…"

"I am not jealous!" Nasa objected, as he flailed his arms wildly.

"I can see you're totally composed about it," Tsukasa chuckled; "But I can assure you I told you the truth that it was my first time doing romance stuff, when you and I started dating."

"I-I believe you, n-naturally…" Nasa replied. Then after clearing his throat; "So, what happened when you saw that kid in trouble?"

"Well, at one point he was hanging on the side of the ship, holding onto the wooden railing for his dear life! So, I quickly dashed forward to try reaching the kid and using all my strength, I was able to pull him back in…" Tsukasa paused briefly, "… and then a wave caused me to lose my foothold and I got swept overboard instead…" she added on a much softer tone.

'That is just so typically her, always putting the needs of others first and then ending up getting hurt herself,' Nasa thought, as he let Tsukasa's story sink in. 'Even though she can easily recover from any injury, it's still her own choice to reach out and help those in need, no one has instructed her to do so.'

"Naturally, the ship couldn't just turn around to pick me up, they had to maintain their heading, to have the best chance fighting the waves, and I eventually ended up washed ashore on a small island in the area," Tsukasa continued her story; "I quickly realized the chances of anyone coming this way to pick me up were very small, as we had avoided using the commonly known shipping routes, since we didn't want to get detected. Aso, at that moment I wasn't even sure if our ship had survived the storm. So, I eventually started to get visions of having to spend the rest of eternity alone, on that small desert island…"

"I-I can see that must have been hard to be in that situation…" Nasa said on a comforting tone; "But this is nothing like that. For starters, you're not alone here, so even if we don't get rescued anytime soon, we still have each other, right?"

"Right!" Tsukasa agreed, feeling totally perked up again.

"So, if it's not too hard for you to talk about, h-how long did you end up spending on that desert island?" Nasa carefully inquired.

"Oh, just three days; it turned out that the shipping route we had chosen, was also often favored by smugglers," Tsukasa explained; "So, they took me to the nearest port, and our ship happened to be moored there as well, to repair the damage sustained during the storm. So in the end I didn't have to try catching some sea turtles," she added, while smiling.

"Sea turtles?" Nasa wondered, with a puzzled look upon his face.

"Husband, when we get back home, you're so seriously going to catch up on some movies…" Tsukasa stated, "… and this time you're actually going to watch what is happening on the screen, instead of trying to smooch your way out of it…" she added, while giving him a stern look.

"I don't d-do that…" Nasa faintly objected, as he started to blush.

"It's not that I don't like having your 'personal attention', dear… but… eh well… it would be nice to share some other experiences with you as well," Tsukasa elaborated, as she shyly looked away.

"U-Understood!" Nasa replied.

"But first, you'll have to use that brilliant mind of yours to find a way to get us from this island," the young women suggested; "Meanwhile I'll make sure the Princess is comfortable, and maybe then I'll go look around if I can find us something to eat. In case we'll have to stay in this place for a bit longer than expected."

Nasa silently nodded, while putting his mind to work to consider their best options: 'The storm must have thrown us off course, since it wasn't planned to be even near any island when touching down. And with all that atmospheric disturbance, it's likely that the girls were unable to track the final part of our descent, so they must be just as much in the dark about our exact location as we are…' he went on pondering about their current situation. 'This is going to be another real challenge…'

(To be continued…)

Chapter Afterthoughts (6 November 2022)

So, our friends have landed, or rather, gotten stranded now. Will they get picked up by the rescue vessel soon, or have to endure for a little longer on this seemingly desert island? You decide!

Oh wait, that's something from a different series, something with rap battles on Youtube. I guess in this case I will be the one to decide. Anyway, stay tuned for the next update in this story…

P.S. I wonder if everyone noticed the PotC reference…

Disclaimer

Please let me know what you think of this chapter and leave some feedback in the form of a review. If you have/create an account on this fanfiction website, and post a review when logged in, I can even reply to your comments. It would be nice to be able to interact with the people who read my stories!

Btw, since I am not a native speaker, there might be some silly mistakes in this story, like for instance in grammar and/or in punctuation. I hope you can bear with me and see through that. Naturally any helpful tips and suggestions are welcome.

Stay safe, and maybe until soon!