Introduction (7 November 2022)
After a time where new chapters for this fanfiction got released less often, lately writing seems to come more natural again, resulting in frequent story updates, which I am happy about. Anyway, I hope you will enjoy this chapter, and maybe it can be somewhat of an appetizer for the upcoming new anime (OVA) episode, that will be released later this month.
Note: If you want to comment on this story, or any of my other stories, please do leave a review. This also applies if you have a question for me, or something else. Even just a few commenting words will already be really appreciated. 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:
Being stranded on an unknown island for now, the Yuzaki couple and their unusual traveling companion now faced the challenge of making the most of this new situation…
Chapter 22 – "Robinson Yuzaki"
Nasa took a moment to take in their surroundings. The sky had cleared up even further, so he could see for miles. Beyond the small lake, when looking straight ahead, there was a large rock formation. 'I assume those must be some cliffs, with the ocean on the other side.' Nasa quickly concluded.
The rest of the lake was surrounded by various kinds of vegetation. He noticed a few palm trees a stone's throw away. 'The hurricane must have just skimmed this place since the trees still have most of their foliage. Yeah, it seems these even still have some coconuts hanging up high. We're lucky this place got spared, otherwise we would have landed in more of a wasteland.'
For a moment Nasa started fantasizing about being on a holiday trip here, with his cute wife. 'I bet Tsukasa-chan would be able to make some nice cocktails from that coconut juice…' He briefly licked his lips at the thought of them sharing drinks on the beach. 'Tsukasa-chan, wait… I think there is something on your cheek. Let me clean that up for…'
"H-Husband?" a familiar voice woke Nasa up from his romantic daydreaming.
"Wa-ah!?" was his very startled reaction.
"Your face looked weird, dear, like you were eating something…" Tsukasa commented; "Were you really busy trying to find a way out of here?" she added, her voice revealing she felt he was acting somewhat suspiciously.
"More or less…" Nasa replied, reasoning that what he had been thinking about could also count as planning an escape, even though it wasn't exactly what Tsukasa had asked him to do; "So, did you find something to eat yet?"
"Husband, are you perhaps trying to change the subject?" Tsukasa wondered, with an inquisitive look on her face.
"Yes… no! Wait… eehh…" Nasa stammered.
"That's one thing I like about you, Nasa-kun, your cute honesty…" Tsukasa said, with a smile; "… and whatever you were dreaming of, it must have been something nice."
"It… it was…" Nasa admitted, as he blushed a little.
"Anyway, while you were spacing out, I found these," Tsukasa continued, as she presented a handful of reddish juicy looking berries. "Open up wide…" she added, while holding a piece of fruit in front of Nasa's mouth.
"Eh…" Nasa hesitated for a few seconds, feeling a bit embarrassed by getting fed in public, but then quickly obeyed his wife's orders.
"These are really good, very sweet, but with a slightly tangy aftertaste," he commented.
"Wait dear, there's something near your…" Tsukasa said, as she bent forward and removed a small bit of fruit that was close to his mouth, with her lips.
'Eeeh!? My daydream is coming true, but with the roles reversed?' Nasa realized, as he felt his cheeks flush red again.
"Your face is just about as red as those berries now, dear…" Tsukasa chuckled.
"Y-y-yes…" was all the flustered youngster could say.
Still, this little intermezzo had made Nasa feel refreshed and his mind was now clear again. 'We got access to food and water, so that part is covered for now. We could try building a shelter, but we also still have the rescue capsule, which can keep us dry if there is rain. So, what else do we really need to survive here?' Nasa pondered.
He ran back to the rescue pod, and after having found a screwdriver and a wrench, he started taking off a panel from the outer hull, right between the part where the crew section was located and the rocket engines. 'Sure, the electronics might be totally fried, but perhaps this can still be of good use to us!' he thought, while digging deeper into the craft, ending up taking out a cylinder shaped element.
"What suddenly got into you?" Tsukasa wondered, as she had joined him, after initially being baffled by him suddenly running off.
"Well, if we are to be stuck in this place for a while, at some point we would need some source of heat, right?" Nasa suggested.
"Definitely…" Tsukasa agreed, "… that's one of the first things they do in these survival TV-shows."
"This is one of the craft's batteries," Nasa said, as he presented the item he had just removed; "It's one of the smaller ones, the main batteries are much harder and more dangerous to remove, but if this small cell still has some power left, we could use it to create sparks and make a fire, if needed."
"Maybe I should call you Robinson instead of Nasa-kun, dear…" Tsukasa commented, while smiling.
"I know my name has some quirks, but I always thought you really liked it?" Nasa wondered, feeling puzzled by his wife's remark.
"Have you ever read any other books besides math and science?" was Tsukasa's reaction.
"Yes, I back in middle school I would often read up on the latest computer programming techniques before going to bed!" Nasa boasted, resulting in Tsukasa doing a facepalm move.
"I'll just go gather some small sticks and other easily inflammable things that can be used as fire starter…" she sighed.
After Tsukasa had returned, Nasa was able to make a small fire. He also dug up a few small drinking cups from his backpack, along with some tea and soon they were sitting down, enjoying their hot beverages. They offered some to princess Kaguya, but she respectfully declined, suggesting they should use their limited supply sparingly, since she didn't need any earthly food or drink anyway.
Feeling refreshed, the Yuzaki couple rinsed their drinking cups in the clear water of the lake, so these could be put away again for future use.
"Dear, I wonder if the princess is really doing okay…" Tsukasa whispered, while they were walking back to the small campfire.
"Why? Did something happen?" Nasa wondered.
"No, not really, but don't you also think she's even quieter than she was earlier during our voyage back home?" Tsukasa asked; "I mean, while we were drinking tea, she was often staring into the distance as if we weren't even there."
"Maybe she just needs more time to get adjusted to this situation…" Nasa suggested; "… after all it has been literally ages since she was on Earth."
"Perhaps you are right, maybe I am just imagining things..." Tsukasa agreed, although she wasn't fully sure of those words.
They sat down, and for a while watched the sun slowly getting closer to the horizon, as Tsukasa was letting her head rest on Nasa's shoulder.
"Dear, it's not like I couldn't sit here with you for a little longer, but shouldn't you get to work on making a shelter for us?" Tsukasa inquired.
"Eeh… I thought we could just use the rescue capsule. It's watertight, and the seats are actually quite comfortable, right?" Nasa casually suggested.
Almost as if stung by a bee, Tsukasa unexpectedly lifted up her head and quickly stood up, turning her back towards Nasa. 'Wait… did I say something stupid or? Why is Tsukasa-chan suddenly acting like this?' Nasa tortured his brain trying to find the answer.
"Ts-Tsukasa-chan…? I-I was thinking back about the time when we went on that bus trip, to meet my parents for the first time…" Nasa started, "… back then you said that even a bus seat was more than comfortable enough, so uh… I thought you really wouldn't mind sleeping in the capsule's cockpit."
"Oh, I would be able to sleep there, but it's more like…" Tsukasa replied, as she slowly turned her face towards him again, "… I m-might get very lonely, if I can't sleep right next to you…"
These words combined with the cute pose she was making, hit Nasa as if struck by lightning.
"I… I see…" he said, while blushing; "I'll get right to work, to make a shelter for us, eeeh, I mean everyone!" he added, as he veered off to put his words into actions.
After toiling away for roughly an hour, Nasa had built two small tipi shaped shelters, one for Tsukasa and him, and one for the Moon Princess. He proudly presented the fruit of his labour to the others.
"That looks amazing, dear, I am proud of you!" Tsukasa said, with a beaming face, while the princess gracefully nodded in agreement.
"Shall I show you the interior, Tsukasa-chan?" Nasa suggested, as he wiped some sweat drops from his forehead.
"Husband, that's a big no-no!" Tsukasa instantly replied, much to his surprise.
"You mean it's not big enough? I thought that would make you feel closer to me, as you once said back then when we were still living in my small apartment," Nasa commented; "But I can make it bigger if you like."
"That's not it, dear…" Tsukasa started explaining, "… it looks perfectly cozy to me. But with the way you smell after all that hard work, you need to take a bath before you can enter, don't you agree?"
These words made Nasa rather painfully aware that he was indeed not smelling particularly well at the moment…
"Y-You're absolutely r-right…" Nasa stuttered, "… but we don't really have a bath around here, I'm afraid…"
"The water in the lake looks clean enough, doesn't it?" Tsukasa suggested.
"Well, yes… b-b-but… I don't have any swimming gear with me…" Nasa objected, "… so that would be pretty embarrassing, if I went in there, you know…" he added, blushing.
"W-we will watch the other d-direction while you are t-taking your bath…" Tsukasa said, as she was blushing too.
After freshening up himself in the lake's clear water, Nasa re-joined his traveling companions and together they enjoyed an improvised dinner of some of the food they had still left from their own rations, along with what they had managed to find on the island. Much to her delight Tsukasa even got Kaguya-hime to take some of the melon bread that she had previously been urging their guest to try. Though the Moon-princess admitted to enjoying the taste, she insisted to take no more than a few bite,s since strictly seen she didn't need the food for her sustenance.
As the sun had now fully sunken below the horizon, and it had been a busy day, the Yuzaki couple decided to turn in early…
"May your resting cycle prove to be wholesome for the both of you," Kaguya-hime said, as she walked towards the shore of the small lake.
"Your highness, maybe you should also get some sleep?" Nasa suggested.
"Thanks for your concern, young man…" the Moon-princess replied, "… but I have already rested for a considerable amount during our journey here. Also, the sky is very clear now, so I should be able to get a good view of the Moon, which will also invigorate me."
"Goodnight then, princess," Nasa replied, as he walked towards the improvised shelter, with Tsukasa following closely behind him.
Before entering their new "home away from home" for the night, Tsukasa briefly looked over her shoulder and watched how Kaguya-hime was sitting down near the small lake, her head slightly tilted upwards and apparently gazing at the starry night sky. 'Was it really okay to take her here along with us?' Tsukasa wondered. 'Sure, the princess agreed upon coming, but that was after Nasa-kun showed her something. What exactly did he show to her? Maybe I'll ask him tomorrow…' she thought, while deciding to let the matter rest for now.
"This bed of palm leaves is actually quite comfortable, dear!" Tsukasa commented, as she laid down on it; "I am amazed by the amount of work you've been able to do in such a short time. And now I also understand why you were so stinky smelling afterwards," she giggled.
"Hey!" Nasa protested, as he noticed his wife was making fun of him, again…
"Though I must admit… you were also very manly, b-being like that…" Tsukasa added, with a blush forming on her cheeks.
"Th-thanks…" was all Nasa could utter in response to that.
"Goodnight, dear!" his wife said, after sharing a short but tender kiss.
"Goodnight, Tsukasa-chan!" Nasa replied enthusiastically.
'This actually feels just like our camping trip,' Nasa thought, after lying awake for a while, tossing and turning. 'The Moon-princess might be sleeping already by now, or meditating. But even if she would still be fully awake, she's also a good distance away, so basically it is just the two of us in here…' he further broke down the situation. 'Why did Tsukasa-chan have to make such a cute face when she said I looked manly? Now that's all I can think of right now, aaargh!'
"Dear?" Nasa suddenly heard his wife whispering.
"What is it, Tsukasa-chan?" he instantly reacted.
"C-Can I come a little closer to y-you?" she asked.
"W-w-why?" Nasa wondered, as he was on full alert now.
"W-well… I am getting a bit ch-chilly here…" was his wife's soft reply.
"That's f-fine by m-me… " Nasa agreed.
Tsukasa carefully nudged a little closer to him till she briefly touched his side. Even though Tsukasa had mentioned she was feeling cold, he could feel her warmth right through their clothing. 'Th-this is too much!' he almost panicked, before quickly making a move.
"H-Hold on... d-dear!?" Tsukasa asked, as she suddenly found herself staring right into his eyes, since Nasa had rolled over onto her, and was now sitting on all fours, bent slightly over his wife. W-What are y-you doing?"
"I-I figured this might be the b-best way… to warm you up a l-little…" Nasa replied, as his breathing got a little more rapid.
"I-I see… b-but… if you g-get any c-closer than th-this, well… there is a chance I m-might start making s-some embarrassing n-noises…" Tsukasa protested faintly.
"Perhaps if I k-kiss you… it would muffle the s-sounds?" Nasa whispered, as he added action to his words and pressed his lips on Tsukasa's mouth.
"I g-guess that c-could work…" she sighed, after Nasa had briefly stopped kissing her.
"Tsukasa-chan, i-it's like you're glowing…" Nasa spoke softly, as he caressed her face.
"I d-do feel w-warmer already, d-dear…" Tsukasa admitted, "… but that g-glow… that's n-not me... it s-seems to be coming from… outside?"
(To be continued…)
Chapter Afterthoughts (19 November 2022)
As I was writing this chapter epilogue I just realised it's a funny coincidence that chapter 22 was ready so close to the release of the new ToniKawa OVA episode, which is scheduled for 22 November 2022.
Anyway, I had fun writing this chapter. Hopefully it shows in the final result. Just a few more days till the new OVA anime episode is released, and then it's back to waiting for anime season 2, right? And maybe meanwhile my story can also help keeping you entertained.
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!