I Was Stranded on a Deserted Island with a Beautiful Classmate - Chapter 69

The plane shook violently.

It was quite unstable…would it really be okay?

Kitakami, seated next to me, was unusually trembling.

“Hey, Kitakami, are you alright?”

“…”

“Come on, it’s rare to see you looking like that. You were so confident back on the deserted island.”

“A-actually…I’m not very good with planes.”

“Really? I didn’t know that.”

Kitakami, clutching my hand, seemed frail and on the verge of tears. I never imagined seeing her this scared.

Even though I was witnessing this rare sight, I couldn’t help but feel a little uneasy myself.

This private jet…isn’t it a bit rickety?

The sky was blue. There didn’t seem to be any concern of bad weather.

“Could this be turbulence?”

Amane, seated behind us, muttered.

Ah, turbulence is the natural enemy of planes.

If we got caught in turbulence, the plane could become uncontrollable. In the worst case, we could even crash.

But in a place like this?

No, maybe it is possible.

“It might be clear-air turbulence…”

“Wow, Kotobuki, you know a lot.”

“Kind of. But right now, we might be better off just praying.”

Indeed. Besides, the clouds were starting to look suspicious. Could it actually be…a storm?

Today’s forecast was supposed to be ‘clear skies.’

We’d checked the weather reports online, too.

But the direction the plane was heading was now covered by dark clouds…This can’t be real.

I stood up and headed to the cockpit to ask Marcus.

“Marcus, the weather is worsening. What should we do?”

“The plan stays the same, Hayasaka. I’ll get you all there safely.”

He sounded cool, but was it really going to be alright? The plane was shaking quite a bit, and I was starting to lose confidence in him.

“How much longer until we reach the island?”

“We’ve made good time. About fifteen minutes to go.”

So soon. I guess that’s the advantage of a plane.

I went back to my seat and informed everyone.

“We’ll be landing soon.”

“Wow, that was faster than I expected.”

Still, it had been over an hour since we’d taken off, so it wasn’t exactly quick.

As we prepared for landing, the surroundings turned pitch black.

“Wait…is this really okay!?”

Ooi stared nervously out the window.

Outside, a storm had erupted.

Strong rain pounded against the windows.

The plane was swaying severely due to the wind…I was starting to feel sick—this was beyond simple motion sickness.

It felt like a roller coaster.

“…Kitakami, what’s going on? Weren’t we supposed to have good weather?”

“Y-yes, we were. When I checked, it was definitely clear skies. So why is this happening?”

Before long, the plane began to shake violently up and down.

“Whoa!!” “Ahh!!” “…Gah” “W-what!? This can’t be real!” “A-are we going to die!?” “Eep!”

At this rate, we’re going to crash.

Forget the treasure; my life is more important.

I went back to Marcus.

“Marcus! Can’t we turn back!?”

“Sorry, but we’re right in front of the island now. We’ll push through.”

“W-what did you just say!?”

With a terrifying roar, the private jet began to descend. This was too reckless!

“There’s something I forgot to mention.”

“What!? Something important!?”

“There’s no runway on this island…”

“W-what!? Marcus, you mean the jet can’t just land?”

“Exactly. Without a long enough landing path, we can’t stop. This isn’t a helicopter.”

“So, what are we supposed to do!?”

“No choice; we’ll have to go for the forest.”

The forest we often used as a path.

Are you kidding me!?

Isn’t that basically crashing!?

“What about the beach!?”

“The waves are too dangerous. The forest gives us a better chance of survival.”

Why is he so calm about this?

“What should we do?”

“Hayasaka, you all stay seated, fasten your seatbelts…and keep your heads down. Got it?”

“I…I got it, Marcus.”

I relayed Marcus’s instructions to everyone.

Then it happened—the private jet crashed into the forest and broke into pieces.

The impact was so strong that I lost consciousness.

***

One day on my way home, a girl was being stalked.

She was the idol of Winter Daphne…everyone admired her.

I knew about Amane Ai.

I knew, but I pretended not to.

I was aware that she attracted stalkers because of her popularity.

“Hey, you…knock it off.”

“Huh!? Who the hell are you?”

That was the first and last fight I ever had.

With the survival skills I’d honed, I knocked that stalker out. Looking back, it was Kurashima.

How did I forget?

Right, Kurashima was a creep who constantly took secret photos of Amane.

It was probably after that incident that Kurashima lost his mind.

Luckily, I wasn’t killed, but Kurashima later devised a terrifying plan to capsize the ship.

“…Thank you.”

I remember it.

Amane’s voice.

I had met Amane once.

A year before we sat next to each other.

Oh, so that’s why Amane knew me and grew to like me.

I remembered it all.

When I came to, my cheek felt cold. Come to think of it, it was almost winter. It was quite chilly now.

When I opened my eyes, I was surrounded by flames.

The private jet had split in two, looking pitiful.

It’s a miracle I survived.

What about everyone else?

The plane had split and gotten caught between the trees. That’s probably what saved us. We were lucky.

We could’ve easily died on impact.

I saw Amane and Kitakami deeper in the forest.

“Are you two hurt?”

“…Hayasaka…”

“Amane, are you okay?”

“I-I’m fine. I’m alive, somehow.”

“Good.”

Kitakami seemed okay, too.

No sign of the others.

Given the situation, Marcus’s fate…didn’t look promising. But I wouldn’t mourn until I checked on everyone.

I moved Amane and Kitakami to a safe spot and went to look for Ooi, Kotobuki, Kusano, and Marcus.

Damn, why do we always have such bad luck when approaching this island?

Eventually, I found Ooi, Kotobuki, and Kusano—all unharmed. They were just lightly injured.

Our supplies and food were also intact.

The landing was rough, but we made it somehow.

But…now we couldn’t get back.

We’d have to contact Riko and the others on the mainland.