Author's Note:
Hi guys, here is the second installment of Survivor: Ninja Edition! Thank you to those who have read, favorited, followed and reviewed so far. Your encouragement and support means a lot. For those who have been curious - pairings aren't gonna be a huge part of this story. Yes, there is fluff and banter etc etc, but it's Survivor. The only real couple to have gotten together properly because of the game in all 35 seasons is Rob and Amber. Just one. Survivor isn't the best platform to build lasting romances, just fleeting ones. ;)
I'll be revealing the votes of the previous chapter each time before the next one. Enjoy!
Ep 1 Votes:
Voted for Sakura - Sasori, Konan (2)
Voted for Sasori - Sakura, Shikamaru, Itachi, Karin (4)
Survivor: Ninja Edition - Ep 2
Violently Murderous But Likable Charismatic Maniacs
Night 3 - Brain Tribe
Karin let out a huge yawn as she arrived back to camp with her tribe. Well, her tribe minus Sasori, who had just been voted out. It was well into the night, with the only light in camp provided by the embers in the fire pit and the dull shine of the moon from behind the clouds.
"Wow, well played everyone," Konan sighed as she rested her torch against the shelter. "I did not expect that at all."
"Sorry about that, Konan," said Karin, the sole remaining redhead of the tribe.
She truly did feel a little bit sorry; given her choice, Karin would have preferred Sakura to have gone home. However, when the almighty Uchiha Itachi-sama strides up to you and tells you the plan, it is usually in your best interest to acquiesce to him and go along with it. That being said though, the Uzumaki supposed that there was a silver lining to tonight's events. Firstly, she was relieved that her name hadn't even been an option for the vote. Secondly, she was now in a majority alliance of four to one. And most importantly, getting in Itachi's good books could possibly give her a leg up in earning Sasuke's affections later down the road.
"I would've voted with all of you if I was told to," Konan said with a light shrug. Turning to the girl she had just unsuccessfully voted against, she continued, "I hope there are no hard feelings, Sakura-chan."
Sakura shook her head and offered a kind smile, laying down underneath the shelter to turn in for the night. "None at all, Konan-san."
Day 4 - Brawn Tribe
Life on the islands of Uzushiogakure was going surprisingly smoothly for Hanabi. Being the youngest and arguably the least notorious of all the ninja picked to play this game, the young Hyuuga had expected to be ignored and undermined right off the bat. Instead, she was actually having a fantastic time. Her tribe gelled together well, they had won two tarps in the last challenge, and she had a secret advantage up her sleeve that she found onboard the cargo ship.
It was a beautiful, clear day. Watching as Gai refereed a friendly game of Chicken between the rest of her tribe mates, she allowed an amused chuckle to escape her lips as she observed Naruto getting dunked in the water by Temari. Stirring the pot of fish that she was cooking above the fire, she let her mind drift back to the words written on the parchment entitled 'Secret Advantage'.
Congratulations! You have found the Legacy Advantage. This advantage will grant you individual immunity when there are either 11 or 6 people left in the game. One-time use; non-transferable. If you are voted out before using it, you must will it to another player still in the game.
Hiding a satisfied smirk as she lowered her head to add more sticks to the fire, Hanabi started plotting numerous potential scenarios and strategies in her mind. She would go as long as she could without informing anyone of her advantage.
A shrill shriek caused her to snap her eyes towards the water, before she visibly relaxed and gave a small huff. Anko was down on her back in the shallow water, with Kisame following soon after as he lost his balance and ended up toppling on top of the female, reducing the rest of their tribe mates to tears of laughter. Hanabi narrowed her eyes, and quickly returned to her cooking, giving the fish broth a few more stirs.
One didn't need a byakugan to see that there was something brewing between Kisame and Anko. Something that was definitely a step further than platonic, that is. The pair did have a lot of things in common, after all. They both had confident, boisterous personalities and shared surprisingly similar values on how they viewed their role as ninja. Or as Naruto had put it yesterday, they were both "violently murderous but likable charismatic maniacs". That description actually applied to all ninja, but it seemed a particularly apt way to describe the couple in question.
"Lunch is ready!" Hanabi called to her tribe, signalling the end of their Chicken competition as they made their way over to her and received their meal with thanks.
The young Hyuuga kept her expression politely blank as she watched Anko swat Kisame's hand away playfully, foiling his attempt at stealing some of her food.
For now, she would simply observe. But if the need to eliminate a threat were to arise, Hanabi would be the first to pounce.
Day 4 - Beauty Tribe
Sasuke chanced a quick look behind his shoulder as he swiftly pushed his way through the jungle foliage, trying to keep as silent as possible. His sharingan-enhanced vision picked up no followers, and he did not sense any nearby chakra signatures. He was alone. Perfect.
Keeping his eyes peeled as he scanned his surroundings, Sasuke was on the lookout for anything that looked slightly out-of-place in the massive sea of green in front of him. Spotting a dead tree stump that appeared as if it had been struck by lighting a while ago, the Uchiha proceeded to methodically search the base of the trunk, as well as every nook and cranny in the bark.
Nothing.
Tugging his hair in frustration, Sasuke began to look for his next target. His immunity idol hunt had been underway since his second day out here, but no matter how hard or frequently he searched, he had turned up empty handed every time. Adding on to his annoyance, his chances of success were slim to none as he was never able to get more than fifteen minutes alone to himself at any point in time, because -
"Sasuke-kun! There you are! I missed you," Ino cooed, snaking her slender arms around his torso as she pressed her chest onto his back.
Ino. He wanted to strangle her so badly. That girl never left him alone. Ever. And wherever Ino went, she was followed in turn by -
"Ino-chan," a masculine voice sounded a few meters behind the poor Uchiha who was currently stuck in place, courtesy of the Yamanaka's vice-like grip.
Yes. The other blondie. Deidara. He was never far behind Ino. Which meant that Sasuke was almost constantly surround by The Annoying Blonde Ponytail Pair. It happened so frequently that Sasuke had even resorted to using the acronym 'TABPP' for his own mental convenience. Being around the two of them for an extended period of time always made his head hurt. All they did was shamelessly flirt and make cringe-worthy lewd passes as each other. It was harmless banter with zero emotional involvement on their behalf, but their vapid displays still irked the Uchiha's soul. He feared that being around them too much would reduce his IQ to a negative denominator.
"Deidara!" Ino, a.k.a Blondie Number One, exclaimed. Her pleasantly surprised smile soon became mischievous, as she let go of a relieved Sasuke to strut towards the man who had addressed her. "Can't get enough of me, eh?"
At Ino's flirtatious comment, Deidara - Blondie Number Two - cocked a smug grin and pulled her to his side by placing his arm around her waist.
Wasting no time at all, Sasuke had shunshin-ed back to camp as soon as Ino had released her death-hold on him, abandoning TABPP in the jungle.
Back at camp, Sasuke found himself in the company of his former sensei, who was lounging in the shelter. Haku and Kurenai were by the shore doing their laundry.
Leveling an exasperated stare at Kakashi, the tormented Uchiha ground out, "Ino. I want her gone."
The copy-nin raised his one visible brow. "Hm?" he said. His voice was leisurely and unhurried. "Are you sure that's the wisest thing to do?"
"Of course it is," Sasuke spat. "She does nothing around camp, she's not even particularly strong, and she follows me around day and night! She drives me crazy!"
"Aah," Kakashi said simply.
Sasuke glared at him.
Sighing as he realized that his former student was demanding an answer, Kakashi continued, "It's obvious she's smitten by you, even if you don't welcome the attention. But why get rid of someone when you know for a fact that they will be completely loyal to you? As a ninja, you should know to take every advantage you can get."
Crossing his arms and facing away from the silver haired man, Sasuke pursed his lips and stayed silent. He understood the logic in keeping Ino around, but he had to weigh up his options. Which was more important - the guaranteed advantage that Ino would provide him in this game to win, or his sanity?
Day 5 - Brain Tribe
Konan knew she was in deep shit. The past day and a half since tribal council had been rather quiet and uneventful on their beach, but the sole female Akatsuki member was no fool. She was clearly on the bottom of the tribe, and the next to be voted off. Eventually, Konan had reached the conclusion that she had two options to save herself. The first was to look for a hidden immunity idol, and the second was to irrevocably throw someone else under the bus to get the target off her own back.
Deciding that she would use the latter option as a Hail Mary if they lost the next immunity challenge, Konan was currently on the quest for the idol. This was the first chance she had gotten to slip away from her tribe to explore the jungle by herself. The four of them had been keeping close watch on her since the Sasori blindside, even if they liked to pretend otherwise.
Extending a small amount of chakra, Konan subtly checked her perimeter for any approaching tribe members. Deciding it was safe to continue, she trekked onward for another few minutes, and eventually arrived at a small cave with a low ceiling. The rock walls of the cave were punctuated with a random assortment of naturally-formed ridges and dents.
Hedging her bets, Konan ran her hands all around the walls, covering as much of the surface as she could in as little time as possible. After half a minute of exploration, her left hand passed over a dip in the wall. Instead of the rough sensation she was expecting, she felt a flimsy material.
Pausing for a second as her eyes widened, Konan reached into the small crevice and pulled out a piece of parchment that was rolled up and secured with a string. Unable to keep a triumphant smile from gracing her features, she deftly untied the string and unraveled the scroll. Her eyes promptly found the words printed on the clue.
Congratulations! You have found a map to the hidden immunity idol.
Sure enough, there was a map of their camp with an 'X' on it to mark the location of the idol. It was close to the water well, buried underground in a patch of dirt a few paces away from the frequented spot. She knew immediately where she had to dig, given that she had passed by that particular spot on the ground numerous times by now. It wasn't too hard to miss as most parts of the jungle were covered in some form of vegetation, whereas the spot in question was devoid of any plant life.
Without wasting another minute, Konan hastily made her way back to the water well, fully aware that she had been gone for a significant amount of time. She dearly hoped that no one had noticed her absence. She had just bounded into the clearing containing the well - and the idol - when she was forced to come to a surprise halt.
"Konan," Itachi tipped his head in greeting as he held her gaze evenly. He was just about to refill his water canteen when she had made her entrance.
Giving Itachi a nod in return, Konan tore her eyes away from his and forced herself to smile. "How was the fishing trip? Catch anything good?" she asked with feigned cheerfulness, walking up to him casually.
Inwardly, however, Konan was a nervous wreck. 'Just act normal!' she told herself. 'Distract and redirect him. Don't think about the idol buried just a few steps away from you. Hide the clue, stay calm, and don't do anything to rouse his suspicion!'
Despite her best efforts, Itachi seemed to sense her unease as he offered her a smirk in response. "Yes. The trip turned out very favorably."
"G-great!" she forced out, mentally cussing at herself for stuttering. "I'll head back to camp to help prepare the fish then."
Uncomfortably conscious of his amused stare that was still trained on her, Konan all but scurried back to camp. Digging up the idol would have to wait for now.
She was so shaken that she did not even register that Itachi's sharingan had been activated the entire time.
Day 6 - Immunity Challenge
"Come on in, guys!" Jiraiya's voiced echoed, signalling the entrance of the Brawn and Beauty tribes. When the twelve were settled on their respective tribe mats, he called out a second time, "Brain Tribe, come on in!"
As the five ninja on the Brain Tribe commenced their walk of shame, Jiraiya announced, "Brawn and Beauty tribes, get your first look at the new Brain Tribe. Sasori was the first to be voted out of this game."
The news was met with different degrees of surprise. Most of the ninja did not have much of a reaction, as they didn't particularly care. Deidara, however, was unable to conceal his shock.
Singling out the ex-Iwa nin, Jiraiya asked, "Deidara, why the big reaction?"
"Just thought that Sasori no danna was tougher than that, yeah," the blonde said, recovering quickly from his surprise. He did assume that either Sakura or Shikamaru would've gone first, as the numbers were not in their favor. However, the vote revealed that there were obviously many more layers to the Brain's dynamics, but Deidara chose to keep his thoughts unvoiced.
Jiraiya nodded. "Right," he said, clapping his hands. "We've been out here for six days. How has surviving outdoors been so far, given that everyone here is a skilled shinobi? Temari, give us your thoughts."
The Suna kunoichi answered without missing a beat. "It's not too bad at all. I mean, we're all used to sleeping outdoors and getting our own food on missions. Although I must say that most missions don't normally require you to spend six consecutive days out."
"Good point," Jiraiya agreed, satisfied with her answer. "Being out in the wild for so long, what are some of the things that everyone misses? Give us a shout."
"RAMEN!" came Naruto's instant response, earning him a few amused chuckles.
"Hot showers," Ino groaned.
"Icha Icha," Kakashi said simply.
"Ah!" Jiraiya interjected. "Funny that you should mention that, Kakashi. Because it has something to do with today's challenge."
Sensing quite a few death glares from the female contestants, the proud pervert had to quickly clarify his previous statement. "Nothing perverted!" he said hastily, before a disappointed expression graced his features for a split second. Shaking his head to focus, he continued his explanation. "The winning tribe of today's challenge gets to pick between two choices, while the second tribe to finish gets the remaining option. The first choice is comfort," he said, gesturing to a large pile of blankets, pillows, fold-up chairs and a hammock. "The other choice is your comfort items from home."
Pointing to a large shelf behind him, the seventeen contestants could see an assortment of their most treasured personal items, each labelled with their name. Sure enough, Kakashi's item of choice was his well-read copy of Icha Icha, proudly autographed by Jiraiya himself.
"I know it's worth playing for," Jiraiya said smugly as he observed the longing expressions on the ninja's faces. "In addition, you're also playing for immunity. That means the losing tribe will have to vote someone out, on top of missing out on these wonderful rewards."
Seeing the look of resolve that had set in on most faces (especially Kakashi's), the toad Sannin proceeded to outline the challenge. Extending his arms wide, he said, "As you have probably noticed by now, we are in a particularly wide valley of Uzushiokagure."
True to his words, the group of ninja were surrounded by numerous steep and incredibly high hills. They were standing in a large valley covered in grass.
"For this challenge, four tribe members will be blindfolded. You will be divided into two pairs of two. The fifth member will act as the caller, directing their blindfolded tribe mates to find a total of four bags of puzzle pieces that are scattered around this valley that is filled with obstacles. Your bags correspond to your tribe color. Once you have retrieved all four bags, the caller will instruct one tribe member who will solve the puzzle while still blindfolded."
Noticing a few of the players smirking, Jiraiya added casually, "Oh! One more thing. Everyone will be wearing chakra-suppressing bracelets. You'll be doing this challenge without any access to your chakra. That means no byakugan or sharingan."
...
"Alright!" Jiraiya announced, "We have our teams. For the Brain Tribe, we have Karin as the caller, directing Shikamaru and Sakura, as well as Itachi and Konan. The Brawn Tribe has chosen Gai to be the caller, leading Kisame and Anko, together with Naruto and Hanabi. For the Beauty Tribe it is Ino who will be calling the shots, guiding Sasuke and Haku, as well as Kakashi and Kurenai. Temari and Deidara are sitting out of this challenge."
All the participants in the challenge were wearing chakra-suppressing bracelets on both their wrists, effectively sealing their reserves. The pairs were wearing black blindfolds around their eyes, and the callers were standing on top of a platform that lifted them three meters off the ground.
Noting that everyone was ready and awaiting his cue, Jiraiya shouted, "Survivors ready! And... GO!"
The blindfolded ninja started jogging at a brisk, but cautious pace. The three callers began barking out instructions to their tribe, trying to out-yell the other two. It resulted in a cacophony of echoing voices, courtesy of the valley that they were situated in.
Kisame and Anko were off to an early lead, moving quickly in tandem with each other. Gai's booming voice was easily heard by them. "Kisame! Anko!" he yelled. "There is a bag ninety degrees to your right! Turn and keep going towards it, but beware there is a log a few steps away from you!"
Assured that the pair were now on the right track, Gai turned his attention to Naruto and Hanabi. "Naruto and Hanabi!" he bellowed. "There is a bag quite a bit further in front of you! Your path is clear - channel your power of youth and sprint forward!"
Looking at his first pair of tribe mates, Konoha's Green Beast called, "Kisame, STOP! Very good, now Anko, the bag is right by your left foot. Pick it up and follow my majestic voice back!"
A loud, distinct yell sounded out far away. Naruto had tripped over the bag that his pair had been running towards, sending him tumbling to the ground with Hanabi not far behind him. "Ah, Naruto, Hanabi!" Gai shouted. "You found it! Ehehehe! Grab it and follow my voice back as well!"
The Beauty Tribe was also progressing smoothly. Ino projected her voice loudly and clearly over the arena, dishing out orders with authority. "Sasuke-kun, stop! You've gone too far, take seven steps back! Kurenai-sensei, you need to travel diagonally forwards to your left, then make a sharp right to avoid the obstacle!"
The challenge was going well for the Brain Tribe as well. Karin's shrill voice was able to cut clearly across the valley to her team mates. Used to working together, the pairs of Shikamaru and Sakura, as well as Itachi and Konan, easily picked up her directions while maneuvering the obstacles in the valley efficiently.
At first, all three tribes were progressing rather evenly, with no one tribe taking the lead significantly. However, that soon changed when Kakashi and Kurenai picked up a blue colored bag instead of their tribe's yellow colored one. Mistaking Karin's voice for Ino's, the pair had followed the wrong kunoichi's instructions, leading them to the wrong bag. In the mean time, Sakura and Shikamaru were making circles in one spot, attempting to feel for the bag that had already been taken.
It took Kakashi and Kurenai another minute of ignorant progression before they were able to make out what Ino was frantically yelling about. Upon realizing their mistake, Kakashi haphazardly flung the blue bag far away from his person in the opposite direction from where Ino's voice was coming from. Without missing a beat, the pair quickly picked up on Ino's new orders and made haste to retrieve their forth and final bag.
In the mean time, the Brawn Tribe had just made it back to Gai with all four bags of puzzle pieces. Hanabi, the chosen puzzle solver for the challenge, began untying the bags and emptying their contents. It was a fairly simple puzzle with only twenty pieces, considering that the person solving it would have to do it without their sight.
Out on the obstacle course, Kurenai and Kakashi had managed to locate their correct yellow colored bag and were making their way back to Ino at a hurried pace. Shikamaru and Sakura were a lot less lucky; they were still making their way to their final bag as instructed by Karin. It appeared that Kakashi's toss of their bag had put a significant distance between the pair and their goal.
By the time Shikamaru and Sakura finally picked up their last bag of puzzle pieces, Kurenai had just started untying her bags for her tribe and Hanabi was already making decent progress with Gai's help. Running quickly back to the direction of Karin's voice, the pair were further hindered as the rope connecting them got caught on a pole, jerking the two Konoha ninja forward from the force, then forcing them backwards to meet the ground.
When they made it back to their tribe, Shikamaru took on the position of puzzle solver, doing his utmost best to catch up to the other teams.
However, it was too late. Once again, it seemed as if the Survivor Kami decided to do another shit right on top of the Brain Tribe.
"And by a very close call, the Brawn Tribe takes first place in the challenge, followed by the Beauty Tribe!" Jiraiya's jovial annoucnement sounded more like a death sentence to Konan, who knew she was in very real danger of being voted out. "Coming in dead last, the Brain Tribe is walking away with nothing but a second date with me at tribal council."
Watching as the Brawn Tribe walked away with their haul of cushions and blankets, and the Beauty Tribe with their personal items (Kakashi already had his nose buried in that blasted orange colored book), Konan knew that she would have to do whatever it took to keep herself in the game.
It was time to dig up that idol.
Day 6 - Brain Tribe
As soon as they hit the beach, Konan offered to take a walk to the water well to refill everyone's water canteens. Not seeing a problem with getting a few minutes of strategy time with their majority alliance, the four others passed their water canteens to her and proceeded to the sea to wash up after the challenge.
"So," Sakura began, dipping her head back in the water to wet her pink locks of hair, "Konan, right? Easy vote?"
"Definitely," Karin replied without hesitation. "No need to stress ourselves out when there's an easy option."
Seeing Itachi give a small nod of agreement, Shikamaru shrugged. "Konan it is, then." Looks like tonight would not be so troublesome, which suited him just fine.
After submerging his face in the water and returning to the surface, Itachi pointed out, "We probably should spend the rest of today keeping an eye on Konan. She knows she's the next to go and might try to sabotage our plans."
"Yeah," Sakura sighed, noticing that Itachi had directed his comment towards her. "I'll go check on her. Make sure she's not trying anything funny or looking for an idol."
...
Konan found the idol.
That was the sole thought running through Sakura's mind as she came into the water well clearing and was greeted by the sight of Konan clutching a freshly unearthed hidden immunity idol.
Well, fuck. Maybe she really was starting to take after her mentor's abysmal gambling luck.
Before Sakura could compose herself and hide, she stumbled over a large twig on the jungle floor, causing Konan's head to snap over to her. Both kunoichi's eyes widened and they froze in unison, feeling very much like deer caught in the headlights.
After a couple of tense moments, the caw of a crow somewhere in the nearby foliage - they didn't care where, given the current predicament - brought the females back to their senses and the spell was broken. They laughed awkwardly and averted their eyes. Sakura played with her hair and Konan fiddled with the idol necklace in her hands.
"I, uh," Konan began, hesitantly holding up the idol for Sakura to peruse. "I found the idol."
It was a pretty looking thing. A large, smooth spiral shell hung from a long circle of rope, with several other smaller pieces of white shell adorning the remaining parts of the necklace. Sakura noted that Konan was also holding onto a piece of paper whose title read 'Congratulations! You've found the Hidden Immunity Idol'. This was an unlucky turn of events indeed.
The Konoha kunoichi nodded and smiled weakly. "Yes - yes you did."
Sensing that she had to do something - anything - to get her out of hot water, Konan blurted out, "I have a proposition."
"Oh?" That perked Sakura up.
"Let's work together," Konan continued. "I have nothing against you. In fact, I think you're a someone I would like to work with. Also, with this idol, I'll be happy to use it for you in the future if the vote is being cast for you."
That last statement caused Sakura's eyebrows to shoot up. "That's very generous of you, Konan-san."
"Take it as a proof of trust," the Akatsuki member replied. "Also, you can drop the honorific, Sakura-chan. Just call me Konan."
Sakura gave her a bright smile and a quick nod. "So, Konan," she said, "What do you want to do for tonight's tribal council?"
The blue haired lady shook her head. "No, Sakura-chan," she laughed. "It's up to you. Name whoever you want out, and we'll make it happen."
...
"Shikamaru!"
The sound of his name being hissed caused the lazy genius to crack open an eye. He was currently resting in the shelter, seeking shade from the hot sun. Itachi and Karin were out in the jungle setting hunting traps, so that meant that it was Sakura who was trying to catch his attention.
His eyes flew completely open as two dainty hands grasped his shirt and hauled his up to a sitting position with remarkable force. It was definitely Sakura. Glancing her way, Shikamaru was bewildered to see the urgency in her gaze. However, when he noticed a certain female Akatsuki member gingerly perched by his comrade's side, he knew it was going to get troublesome.
Casting a quick look around for Itachi or Karin, who were still absent, the Nara heir focused his full attention on the two women in front of him.
"Let me guess," he drawled. "You want to switch the vote to Karin."
The kunoichi shared a brief look of surprise, before grinning. "See?" Sakura said smugly. "Told you he's not a genius for nothing."
Konan agreed, impressed. "So we're all on the same page, then?" She asked hopefully.
"I guess you could say that," Shikamaru said. "May I ask why the switch?"
At Konan's nod, Sakura explained. "Konan found the hidden immunity idol. She's offered to share it."
In response, Shikamaru flashed a 'thumbs up' before laying down on his back again. He vaguely heard Sakura say a few words of encouragement to Konan, and several shuffling sounds that suggested the two were tending to the fire. Shutting his eyes, the master strategist began to collect his thoughts and digest the new bits of information presented to him.
Konan finding the idol definitely threw their plans in for a loop. As the situation now stood, he had two options. The first was to stick to the original plan and vote out Konan with Itachi and Karin. It could work if he blindsided Konan into thinking he was a hundred percent on her side, so that she would be sent packing together with the idol. However, that meant having to either convince Sakura to betray Konan (troublesome) or he would have to blindside Sakura in the process and potentially lose her trust (potentially more troublesome). It would also mean keeping Karin around, who was a very troublesome woman by nature, and would likely flip on him in the future.
His other option was to turn on his initial alliance and vote out Karin together with Sakura and Konan. He didn't trust the redhead one bit, so getting rid of her may not be a terrible idea. At the same time, voting Karin off meant keeping Konan and her idol in the game. Shikamaru wasn't naive; he knew that Konan was only offering to share her idol because she was backed up against a wall. He had no doubt that the blue haired kunoichi would only be pulling out the idol for herself, thus keeping her around may come back to bite him in the ass at a later date.
Shikamaru sighed. He supposed that an easy, no-fuss vote was really too much to ask for.
...
Itachi nodded his approval to Karin, satisfied with the hunting traps they had just set up. Turning around to head back to camp, the pair swung by the water well to get a quick sip of water first, as requested by the redhead.
While waiting for Karin to drink her fill, Itachi allowed his thoughts to wander briefly back to his amusing encounter yesterday at this very spot. After working with him for years in the Akatsuki, the Uchiha was rather disappointed that she had unwittingly fallen into his genjutsu so easily, let alone the fact that she didn't even think twice about meeting his sharingan-filled gaze.
"How was the fishing trip?" Konan asked, her voice unusually high. "Catch anything good?"
Unaware of the genjutsu that had already ensnared her, Konan was voicing her frenzied thoughts out loud to Itachi without even realizing it.
"Just act normal! Distract and redirect him," She muttered. Itachi forced himself to remain impassive. "Don't think about the idol buried just a few steps away from you. Hide the clue, stay calm, and don't do anything to rouse his suspicion!" Her eyes kept darting to one particular patch of dirt on the jungle floor.
Unfortunately, it was too little too late for Konan. Itachi couldn't conceal the smirk that came to his lips. This was pure gold. "Yes," he chose to say. "The trip turned out very favorably."
He was barely aware of her stuttered reply as she all but fled back to camp. After ensuring that she was long gone, Itachi immediately sprang into action, digging at the spot he was certain the idol was buried at.
After a minute of quick digging, Itachi's efforts were rewarded as he pulled out a bundle wrapped up in a piece of parchment. Unwrapping his prize, he first took a few seconds to read the words on the parchment, ensuring him that this was indeed the immunity idol that could be played after the votes have been cast, but before they were read. Finally, he turned his attention to the idol itself. It was plain and made of rope; its only feature was a large, blue Uzumaki spiral that adorned the center of the necklace.
Looking up into the jungle, Itachi executed a series rapid of hand signs. A few black crows formed on the branches of the trees surrounding the water well. They would do well to provide him with intel on his tribe mates' future movements.
With an uncharacteristic grin lighting up his entire face, Itachi pocketed the idol. He would tell no one about his find. He had already started planning to fashion a fake replacement for Konan to find. Hopefully everyone would believe that she possessed the idol, making her into an effective shield for him.
After all, a Uchiha Itachi with a hidden immunity idol would be viewed as too huge a threat to keep around.
"Okay, all done! Shall we head back?" Karin's voice jarred him out of his musings. Giving her a soft affirmative response, the pair began their short trek back to camp.
Glancing up to a tree, Itachi was pleased to see one of his crows perched on a branch. Eyeing Karin as she walked in front of him on the path, Itachi supposed he did not really care if Sakura and Shikamaru decided to take her out. In fact, he would prefer it as he would like Konan to hold on to the fake idol for as long as possible, as her doing so would ensure his secret was kept for a little bit longer.
Also, it had nothing to do with the fact that his fake idol was a work of art. Nothing at all, he told himself. After all, it only took several fishing trips, deep dives for shells, and an elite-level stealth to accomplish. Oh, and an eye for creative jewelry crafting that made the false idol look more legitimate than the real one. No big deal.
However, Itachi was painfully aware that he was not the one in control of tonight's vote. He still had to pretend that he only knew of the plan to make Konan the easy vote, and that he was in the dark about her (fake) idol. The one who held the power for this vote was Shikamaru.
Night 6 - Tribal Council
"Welcome back to tribal council," Jiraiya greeted the Brain Tribe as they took their seats in the stands opposite him. "I must say, losing twice in a row - does that worry you?"
"Of course it does," Sakura stated. "No one wants to have to vote off another tribe member. After tonight, we'll be down two members and the other tribes still have all six."
The pervy sage nodded. "Very astute," he agreed. "Going along those lines, what is the criteria for tonight's vote? I mean, you're gonna need to really start winning challenges. And to do it with only four tribe members, you need to make sure you're keeping the right people in. What is your vote based on tonight, Karin?"
"My vote tonight is about keeping my alliance tight," the redhead declared, pushing up her glasses with her right hand. "You need to move forward with people you can trust in this game."
Her statement had Konan rolling her eyes. "Konan," Jiraiya singled her out. "You had a big reaction to that." He raised his eyebrows in question.
"Well, yes." The female Akatsuki member said, giving a humorless chuckle. "Let's be honest - I mean, we all know it already. Karin is talking about me," she said, pointing at herself. "I was the only one out of the five of us here who voted the wrong way last time."
"Oh?" Jiraiya's eye sparkled with curiosity. "Itachi, is what she said accurate?"
"Yes."
"Alright then," Jiraiya said, refocusing back to Konan. "The heat is on. How does that make you feel?"
"It makes me feel terrible, of course!" Konan admitted. "No one ever wants to be on the bottom. However, if tonight's vote is about keeping the people that you can trust, why am I the target?" She turned towards Sakura, addressing the pinkette. "Sakura, did you know that in the Sasori vote, Karin actually wanted to turn on you and vote you out, citing your feelings for Sasuke as the reason?"
"What?" Sakura exclaimed. This was news to her. She looked at Karin, demanding answers.
The redhead scoffed. "Please," she said. "Actions speak louder than words. I voted Sasori off, whereas Konan here wrote your name down. She did it once, she can do it again."
"You only voted Sasori out because that's what Itachi wanted you to do," Konan countered immediately. "By your logic, if you intended to betray Sakura once, you will do it again." Now directing her finger on Karin, Konan spoke with conviction, "Her loyalty is only to Sasuke. She's a fan girl. She only changed her vote last time to try and get an in with Itachi to get to Sasuke. If she gets the chance to be with Sasuke, she'll flip on all of us for him."
Before Karin could retort, Jiraiya cut in. "So Konan, it sounds like you're telling the tribe to keep you and vote Karin out. Why should they keep you?"
"I am loyal," the blue haired kunoichi answered immediately. Turning to appeal to her tribe, she continued, "If you all save me tonight, I will be one hundred percent with you. You three are all I have in this game. So go with me, who you know will never turn on you, as opposed to Karin who will ditch you for Sasuke just like that," she snapped her fingers to emphasize her point.
"Good argument," Jiraiya nodded. "What about you, Karin? What is your case to your tribe?"
"The four need to stay strong," the redhead declared. "I know Konoha places high value on camaraderie and loyalty. If you guys flip on me after just one vote, that is going to hurt your future game because it'll lose you respect. Perception is everything in this game. If you all stay strong with me, I promise that I will return your loyalty, with or without Sasuke."
"Another good point," Jiraiya agreed. "Shikamaru, tell us. What are you basing your vote on tonight?"
"Both women have made convincing cases," the Nara heir said, keeping his face void of emotions. "It's a tough choice, but my vote tonight will be about moving on in this game with a loyal four."
"With that," said Jiraiya, clapping his hands, "it is time to vote."
...
Konan felt as if she was sweating buckets as Jiraiya returned with the voting urn. She felt like she could maybe trust Sakura and Shikamaru, but a part of her was tempted to just play her idol to be certain.
Itachi stole a quick glance at his former Akatsuki comrade out of the corner of his eyes. He sincerely hoped that she would not play her idol. It would be too soon for that chaos. He turned his head to observe the other kunoichi on the chopping block for tonight.
Karin was very nervous. She had expected Konan to try to save herself by throwing someone else's name out, but she hadn't thought that it would be hers. She thought for sure that Konan would've attempted to shift the vote onto Sakura. However, the most she could do at this point was pray that her alliance would stay true and stick to their plan.
Opening the lid of the urn, Jiraiya stated, "If anyone has a hidden immunity idol and they would like to play it, now would be the time to do so."
Konan's fingers unconsciously twitched towards her pocket, where her idol was kept. She was torn. Could she truly trust Sakura and Shikamaru, or would she be walking out of the game looking like a complete fool?
Shikamaru's gaze was firmly fixed on Jiraiya, his expression guarded. Sakura, however, gave her a discreet smile. It was soft and reassuring. Konan's fingers stilled, and she folded her hands on her lap.
"Okay then, I'll read the votes." Jiraiya said, as he pulled out the first piece of parchment. "First vote: Konan."
Konan's heart sank, and it plummeted even lower as she registered Jiraiya announcing the second vote with her name also written down. She knew that she would receive two votes from Itachi and Karin, but did it really have to be such a goddamn nerve-wrecking experience?
"Third vote: Karin," Jiraiya read. "That's one vote Karin, and two votes Konan."
Karin scoffed. Konan could try all she want, but it would ultimately prove futile.
"Next vote: Karin," the redhead in question widened her eyes in surprise. Jiraiya was holding up the vote, which indeed had her name on it for the second time. "We're tied. One vote left."
Pulling out the fifth and final vote of the night, Jiraiya announced, "Second person voted out of Survivor: Ninja Edition - Karin."
Letting out a shriek of anger, Karin stood abruptly, snatched her torch, and marched up to the toad sage. After Jiraiya had snuffed her torch - "The tribe has spoken" - the infuriated female addressed her tribe.
"Go rot in hell," she spat at Sakura and Shikamaru. And solely to the pinkette, "Sasuke will never be yours, you fat ugly fuck."
As she turned sharply on her heel and strutted out of the hut, Jiraiya let out a low whistle and said, "Sounds like you guys made the right decision for the tribe. Hopefully, you can now get some momentum back. You need it. Grab your torches and head back to camp. Good night."
Author's Note:
Thank you all for reading the second episode of Survivor: Ninja Edition! Every reader, reviewer, follower and favoriter really and truly makes my day. Please leave a review! I'd love to hear all your thoughts, questions, suggestions, ideas, theories etc etc about where this game will go. Again, this game is wide open. I haven't decided on a winner - I only go episode by episode. So you guys have a chance to inject your ideas into me ;)