…

Day 9

Boom, Tetris for Jonas

Nezuko Tribe

(Chikage, Hinako, Kaho, Kohaku, Kurome, Misty, Sayu, Shirayuki, Tsukasa)

"Wow," Misty says as the players return back to camp.

"Anyone want to talk about what happened tonight?" Kohaku asks.

"Sure, why not?" Tsukasa says.

"Okay, why Little Sister?" Kohaku says. "It would have made much more sense to vote out me. And none of you knew I had an idol."

"We're trying to not just play strategically but also keep our tribe strong," Kurome says. "Little Sister fit that bill. She was useless in challenges but also a strategic target because of her alliance with you. So, we chose to take her out while we could."

"I get that," Sayu says, "but I don't get why the two of you threw votes on me. What did I ever do to you?"

"We needed to cover our butts in case an idol got played on Little Sister," Tsukasa says. "In a revote, the Minakami Sisters would control whether it was you or Kurome to be voted out."

"I think you're all acting foolish," Chikage says. "It was clearly in the cards that Kyon's Sister was to be sent home. My Brother Darling divined it to me."

Misty simply rolls her eyes.

"This is bad," she says. "I still don't have a vote for the next Tribal Council, and now Kohaku has played her idol, leaving us no protection. Had she played the idol on Little Sister last night, then either Sayu or Kurome would have gone home. But as it is, it's going to be one of us two who goes home next. Of course, there was no way of predicting that they'd vote for Little Sister, so I gotta give the Minakami Sisters their props."

That morning, Misty meets Kohaku out in the jungle, where Kohaku is crying into her hands.

"What's the matter?" Misty asks.

"I couldn't save her… I didn't save her," Kohaku replies.

"It's okay," Misty says. "It's part of the game."

"I know, but Little Sister didn't deserve to go home at this point," Kohaku says. "She should have had the chance to get to the Final Three with us two."

"We've got to bring in someone else to take her place, then," Misty says. "I know you feel bad, but we've got to think about this game."

"You're right," Kohaku says, raising her head. "But who?"

"I think it's a pretty simple choice," Misty says. "The only one who voted with us was Sayu. So she should become our third."

"Great!" Kohaku says.

"But there's one problem," Misty says.

"What's that?" Kohaku asks.

"I don't have a vote."

"Votes aren't what's important right now," Kohaku says. "Let's face it: we're hopelessly outmanned by the other alliances. What we need is deception. Find a way for those alliances to turn on each other. Split them up."

"But how?"

"Not sure yet," Kohaku says. "But one thing we've got to do – we've got to find that idol."

"Right."

"We are in deep trouble here," Kohaku says. "All we've got is my vote. My thought is that we need to get Sayu, Tsukasa, and Kurome all against the Minakami Sisters. And even then, we'll only have four votes. This is a tough place to be in."

Alluka Tribe

(Alexia, Karen, Karin, Kirino, Komachi, Mamoru, Rinrin, Ruby, Sakuya, Yotsuba)

Yotsuba is seen snooping around camp that morning, and Karin calls her out on it.

"What the heck are you doing?" Karin asks.

"Checking out everywhere to try to find the idol!" Yotsuba replies.

"That thing has already been found!" Karin shouts. "Alexia and Komachi found it yesterday!"

"Yotsuba is going to check everything out to make sure there isn't another one!" Yotsuba responds.

Karin simply rolls her eyes.

"It stinks so bad that we don't have the numbers, because I'd love to get Yotsuba out of here as soon as possible. She's extremely annoying. I want her out now. We're going to need that idol if we want a chance at doing so."

"Yotsuba is going to do whatever it takes to win!" Yotsuba says. "And if that means checking all over camp, Yotsuba will do it!"

Later, around noon, the two different alliances are talking things over – the Minakami Sisters, and the other four, while Ruby sleeps.

"No matter what, we've got to stick together," Mamoru says.

"Yeah, we can't concede an inch," Rinrin says.

"Karen knows not to let any of those other girls throw her off the plan," Karen says.

"Hey, this is easy," Sakuya says. "Just keep voting together and we have nothing to fear."

"And then when we reach the merge, we get together with the other Minakami Sisters!" Rinrin says.

"Sounds great to Yotsuba!" Yotsuba says.

"We Minakami Sisters have to stick together," Rinrin says. "Whether that means going along with Ruby into the merge, or cutting her loose early, we'll do what we have to do. But we're going to stick together for Bro's sake!"

A bit later, Alexia is musing with Komachi on the beach.

"I'm bored," she says. "And one of us is going home next."

"Hey, at least you've got an idol!" Komachi says. "You play it on yourself. They won't vote for me, I'm too far under the radar. We'll get through two votes and then merge."

"No, it's not going to be that simple," Alexia says. "I would love to have everyone vote for me and then, boom, Tetris for Jonas. I pull out the idol, and those annoying sisters will all cry boo-hoo."

"That's a noise that I simply must hear!" Komachi responds.

"It's not gonna happen," Alexia snaps. "Because these sisters are cunning and cutthroat. They will do anything and everything to help out their Brother Dearest or whatever they call him. Besides, the game is rigged against us so we can't win."

Komachi chuckles. "What do you mean by that?"

"I mean, look, that Wataru co-host guy's face is everywhere. He's there at every Tribal Council, he's there to snuff out every torch, his face is on the voting urn, there's a golden head of his hanging from the tribe flag, and he probably works behind the scenes to fix the votes so that his Sisters don't go home."

Komachi laughs. "You are crazy," she says. "But in a good way. You and I could go a long way if we found a way of getting to the merge."

"I doubt either of us get there," Alexia says. "I'm playing my idol no matter what next Tribal Council. And then you'll probably go home. Sorry, but you will. These Sisters know all and see all, because their Brother Dearest is pulling all the strings."

Now unable to control her laughter, Komachi causes enough of a scene that Karin and Kirino come jogging down to the beach to see what the commotion is about.

"What the hell is going on out here?" Kirino asks.

"Yeah, what's so funny?" Karin asks.

Komachi points at Alexia. "She says this game is rigged against us!" she laughs. "It's funny is all. She makes me laugh."

"What's so hilarious about that?" Karin asks. "I think she's right."

"Me too," Kirino says. "The princess has a point. There's a reason why there were twelve Minakami Sisters. They're there to dominate the game and make it to the end so Wataru has something to be proud about."

"Yeah, I guarantee there's going to be at least one of them at the Final Three, and the winner will definitely be one of them," Karin says.

"Oh, come on," Komachi says. "If this game was rigged, three of them wouldn't have gone home already."

"That's just them trying to throw us off the scent," Kirino says.

"You really think this game is rigged?" Komachi asks. "Come on. If that were the case, people would be suing the show."

"I'm just saying…" Alexia says.

"Alexia has become like half the people in America, believing conspiracy theories that hold no water," Komachi says. "Like believing that the 2020 election was rigged, or that JFK was killed by a second shooter, or that Epstein didn't kill himself. Soon enough, she'll tell me that the moon landing was fake. But she is my alliance mate, and I'm going to stay loyal to her as long as I can."

Nezuko Tribe

(Chikage, Hinako, Kaho, Kohaku, Kurome, Misty, Sayu, Shirayuki, Tsukasa)

With no choice but to go along with the Minakami Sisters, Misty and Kohaku join them and the whole tribe as they talk about their brother.

"Hina's Bro-Bro is super cool!" Hinako says. "He can do things on the calculator and send e-mails to Hina!"

"Kaho cheer for my Brother anytime Kaho can!" Kaho says. "And even when Kaho falls down, he picks Kaho up!"

"Hime loves making food for her Elder Brother," Shirayuki says. "And Elder Brother always loves Hime's food."

"My Brother Darling and I share a divine connection," Chikage says. "We can communicate through my tarot cards."

Misty and Kohaku simply roll their eyes.

"These sisters hold the key to whether we can get anywhere in this game," Misty says. "Yet they are completely over the moon for their big brother. Surely there has to be a way to team up with the other girls who voted against us and pull the trigger on getting one of the Minakami Sisters out."

"Misty and I are thinking the same thing: we've got to team up with Tsukasa, Kurome, and Sayu to vote out a Minakami Sister," Kohaku says. "Trouble is, we're down a vote thanks to Misty's lost vote. So we are in quite a bit of trouble."

But when Misty and Kohaku go to Tsukasa later, she will hear none of it.

"Why should I team up with you guys?" Tsukasa says. "You're not going to help myself or Kurome any. Your goal is simply to oust a Minakami Sister before going after us."

"Trust me, we won't!" Kohaku says.

"And how am I supposed to believe that?" Tsukasa asks.

"I'll give you information," Misty states.

"Oh? And what's that?"

"That I lost my vote."

"I thought you lost it last Tribal Council!"

"I lost it for two."

Tsukasa bites her lip. "All right, I'll talk to Kurome and see what I can do. I'm not going to rocks for you, though!"

"Understandable," Misty replies.

"Misty comes to me and says that she lost her vote," Tsukasa says. "I believe her, but at the same time, I don't trust her. She could easily be lying to me. I want to make sure I'm doing what's best for my mini-alliance with Kurome."

So, Tsukasa talks things over with Kurome.

"If we join up with Misty and Kohaku, we can then grab Sayu," Tsukasa says. "But there's a problem – Misty lost her vote, so that only puts us at four-four vs. the Minakami Sisters."

"Yeah, I like my chances with the Minakami Sisters better," Kurome says. "You know that joining up with Misty and Kohaku, they're going to team up with Sayu and go at us two."

"Exactly," Tsukasa says. "Now, there's a long way until that happens, but I'd prefer to be on the Minakami Sisters' side at this point, because they hold all the power."

"I agree," Kurome says. "We have to pick our poison, and I think the best spot for us is to use the Minakami Sisters to get our way."

"Tsukasa brought up a potential alliance with Misty and Kohaku, but I don't like it," Kurome says. "Misty and Kohaku are very dangerous, like New York… New York is dangerous, although I hear that even a blind man can see that's not so. I'm going to take my chances with the Minakami Sisters, because none of them are smart enough to have a prayer of winning this game."

Alluka Tribe

(Alexia, Karen, Karin, Kirino, Komachi, Mamoru, Rinrin, Ruby, Sakuya, Yotsuba)

Yotsuba is snooping all around camp with her magnifying glass.

"Hey, Yotsuba!" Mamoru shouts.

"What is it, mate?" Yotsuba replies.

"Come over here and help us with the fire!" Mamoru says. "Your glass in the sun could work wonders!"

"Sure thing, Yotsuba will be over in a jiffy!" Yotsuba responds.

Before she goes, she snoops over to the tribe flag.

"Ah, a golden head of Brother Dearest!" Yotsuba says. "Yotsuba will keep it as a good luck charm."

She breaks it off the flag and pockets the Wataru head, then goes over to join Mamoru.

"Quick, put your magnifying glass on top of this wood!" Mamoru says. "Then get some sunlight!"

"Yeah, it's easy!" Rinrin says. "You'll start the fire quickly!"

"Don't we have flint anyway?" Sakuya asks.

"That's too much work!" Mamoru complains.

"Look, she's getting a spark already!" Karen says.

"We Minakami Sisters work well as a team," Karen says. "We will continue to vote together to the end. That way, at the end, Big Brother will award one of us the ultimate prize."

Meanwhile, Alexia, Komachi, Kirino, and Karin are frantically looking for the idol in the woods.

"Where could this stupid thing be?" Kirino asks.

"This is so frustrating," Karin says.

"We've got to find this thing," Alexia says.

"I can't figure out where this thing could be," Komachi says.

"Looking for this idol is killing me," Komachi says. "It's almost as if this thing was hidden in the most obvious of locations, and we just can't find it. I can't figure it out."

Reward Challenge

"Come on in, girls!"

The Alluka Tribe marches in first, followed by the Nezuko Tribe.

"Alluka, getting your first look at the new Nezuko Tribe, Kyon's Sister voted out last Tribal Council."

No one makes much of a reaction to this.

"You girls ready to get to today's reward challenge?"

"Yeah!" Kaho shouts, as the others applaud.

"For today's challenge, you will throw sandbags at a rotating target. Once you've knocked the target off its spring, you will release three balls amidst a bunch of coconuts. You will then bounce those balls off a trampoline into a net. Once you've gotten all three balls there, you will carry the balls in the basket and attempt to land them down a table into three targets. First tribe to finish, wins reward. Wanna know what you're playing for?"

"Of course!" Tsukasa replies.

"The winning tribe will be taken to the Sanctuary, where good things happen," Jet says. "You will enjoy pastries, donuts, danishes, and orange juice and chocolate milk. As for the losers, they will be taken and executed. Worth playing for?"

"I guess so!" Komachi replies.

"Yeah, anything's better than being taken and executed," Karin remarks.

"Except maybe for being forced to stay with Yotsuba for 26 days," Alexia mumbles under her breath.

"Alluka, you've got to sit someone out, and you cannot sit out the same person in back-to-back challenges," Jet states. "That means that whoever sits out this challenge will have to take part in tomorrow's immunity challenge. Who's it gonna be?"

The Alluka Tribe discusses it, then makes their decision.

"We're sitting out Karen," Komachi states.

"Very well then, Karen, take a spot on the bench," Jet says. "I'll give you a minute to strategize, then we'll get it on!"

The players all go and line up at the starting line.

"For reward! Survivors ready? Go!"

Komachi starts out shooting for the Alluka tribe, while Misty shoots for Nezuko.

"Misty with some nice hits on that target! Komachi getting some in as well!"

After hitting them a few times, each of them swaps out due to their arms getting tired. Alexia starts throwing for Alluka, while Kohaku throws for Nezuko.

"Alluka knocks their target off!"

The Alluka Tribe charges after the balls that have fallen, while Kohaku knocks her target off only a few seconds left.

"Nezuko knocks down their target!"

The Nezuko Tribe then goes and gets their balls, and both tribes are throwing balls off the trampoline.

"Remember, each person has to try bouncing it off the trampoline until you can go again!"

Alexia bounces hers and just misses, then Komachi shoots hers and bounces it into the net.

"Komachi gets one for the Alluka Tribe!"

Yotsuba is next to try for Alluka, and her ball barely bounces off the net.

"My nephew can throw it better than that!" Jet shouts.

"You have a nephew?" Karin asks.

Jet chuckles. "No, but if I did, he could throw it harder than she just did!"

Kurome lands a ball off the trampoline into the net for the Nezuko Tribe.

"Kurome gets one for the Nezuko Tribe!"

Sakuya throws one for the Alluka Tribe, and it comes up woefully short of the net.

"Sakuya! Pathetic!"

Sayu misses one for Nezuko, then Kurome lands one for Alluka. Misty follows and lands the second one for Nezuko.

"We are neck and neck!"

Hinako steps up to throw for Nezuko.

"Hinako, think about what you are doing and throw this thing!"

Hinako tosses it, and it barely bounces off the trampoline.

"My daughter could throw it better than that!" Jet yells. "And yes, I do have a daughter!"

"Only in the live action!" Tsukasa yells back at Jet.

Mamoru tosses one that bounces off and in for Alluka.

"Alluka, gather that basket and head to the tables!"

Chikage throws hers, and she gets the third one in for Nezuko.

"Nezuko, grab your basket and go to the tables!"

Both tribes are now at the tables, attempting to roll their balls into the holes. Misty tries first for Nezuko, but her shot misses.

Kirino comes close to landing one for her tribe, but she barely misses. Kurome gives it a go for Nezuko, but she comes up short. Alexia then tries rolling it down for her tribe, and she can't get it to stick.

"Alexia misses again!"

In frustration, Alexia grabs one of the balls and throws it at the target. She then has to run after it and get it.

"Alexia just wasted a ball! She wasn't paying attention! Dropped right into the-"

"Oh, please, Jet."

"What was that?"

"I said… oh, come on, Jet, don't repeat the same joke!"

Meanwhile, Kohaku rolls the first ball into place for Nezuko.

"Nezuko has their first ball in!"

Yotsuba takes a shot and badly misses. Chikage tries one for Nezuko… and it goes in the hole.

"Nezuko with a big lead here!"

"Not letting it get away!" Mamoru shouts as she rolls a ball down into a hole.

"Alluka gets their first ball in! They need two more; Nezuko needs just one more! Can they get it right here?"

Rinrin shoots one for Alluka while Shirayuki rolls one for Nezuko.

"Alluka… misses! And Nezuko misses!"

Tsukasa rolls the next one for Nezuko while Sakuya rolls for Alluka.

"Sakuya… scores! But so does Tsukasa! And that's it! Nezuko… wins reward!"

Misty jumps in the air into Kohaku's arms, while Tsukasa slaps a high five with Kurome. Shirayuki, Kaho, and Sayu jump up and down, while Hinako hugs Chikage. Alexia, meanwhile, grabs one of the balls and throws it away in disgust.

"Congratulations, Nezuko, you have won this reward," Jet says. "You will be taken to the Sanctuary, where good things happen. Enjoy your victory, and the food that you're going to get. Good luck, you're gonna need it! Head on out."

The Nezuko Tribe heads out in celebration, while the Alluka Tribe looks downcast.

"As for you, Alluka, you will be taken and executed," Jet states. "Head on out, I'll see you with the firing squad."

Karin gives Jet the double bird, and the host doubles over in laughter.

"I got nothing for you," he says. "I'll see you tomorrow for the next immunity challenge."

Kirino shakes her head, as the Alluka Tribe walks on out.

"An embarrassing loss today," Kirino says. "Not just for us as a tribe, but also for us personally. We should have mopped the floor with the other tribe, and now they're getting food in their bellies while we starve. We stunk up the joint today, and because of that, we're going to be miserable for a while."

Nezuko Tribe

(Chikage, Hinako, Kaho, Kohaku, Kurome, Misty, Sayu, Shirayuki, Tsukasa)

The Nezuko Tribe arrives at the Sanctuary and immediately goes after the food.

"This is awesome!" Kaho says, stuffing a cherry-filled donut in her mouth.

"Hina loves donuts!" Hinako says, eating a chocolate donut.

"We are ready for action," Tsukasa says. "We are going to make a comeback in this game. Yes, we lost the first immunity challenge with only two tribes, but we're going to win the next one. Book it!"

"Let's enjoy this, guys," Sayu says. "This game is tough, so we need to enjoy every bit of relief we get."

"Oh no, she said the word 'guys!'" Tsukasa says, drawing laughs from everyone.

"This is a very close-knit group, believe it or not," Misty says. "We get along well, whether we are Minakami Sisters or not. We are going to work towards beating the other tribe by getting stronger with this meal."

"So, any ideas what the other tribe is plotting?" Kohaku says.

"I have seen their thoughts," Chikage says. "And they are not positive towards us."

"Well, there's the surprise of the century," Kurome says, rolling her eyes.

"I'm not chummy with the rest of this tribe like everyone else is," Kurome says. "And I think that there are others who feel the same way as me but aren't letting you know. As in you, the viewer, the reader, the audience. Yeah, I'm talking to you!"

As Misty bites into a danish, she finds her teeth sticking into a piece of paper. She quickly pulls it out of her mouth and stuffs it in her pocket.

"Hey, Shirayuki!" Tsukasa calls.

"Yes?"

"Your name means Snow White, right?"

"Yes."

"Then why did your movie bomb so badly at the box office?"

Shirayuki sighs. "Hime does not know."

"But you think it could be because-"

"All right, all right, enough," Misty says. "The last thing we need is for Survivor to get cancelled because someone says something stupid. Good night, everybody!"

Shirayuki simply shakes her head.

"Hime does not understand the jocularity of the rest of her tribe," Shirayuki says. "Hime just wants to do what she can do to please her Elder Brother."

Alluka Tribe

(Alexia, Karen, Karin, Kirino, Komachi, Mamoru, Rinrin, Ruby, Sakuya, Yotsuba)

"Man, losing sucks," Kirino says as the players come back to camp.

"Tell me about it," Karin says.

"You know, we may have won if we had a better strategy," Komachi says. "I think we just needed to use everyone to the best of their ability."

"Well, let's not make the same mistakes twice," Alexia says. "Yotsuba, you're sitting out next challenge?"

"Yotsuba is?" Yotsuba responds. "But why Yotsuba?"

"Because you are like Survivor: Gabon's Kenny, virtually useless in this challenge or any other challenge," Alexia states. "If I didn't know better, I'd think you had a javelin up your butt."

"Don't anger Yotsuba!" Yotsuba replies angrily. "You'll never know when the great villain Clover will make her appearance!"

"Yotsuba cannot believe the arrogance of Alexia," Yotsuba says. "But Yotsuba knows how to solve a mystery. And that mystery may involve voting her out!"

Ruby talks with the Minakami Sisters around the fire that evening.

"Hey, guys, I'm with you all the way!" she says.

"We like you too!" Mamoru says.

"Yeah, you can be an honorary Minakami Sister!" Rinrin says.

"Just don't say anything bad about my Dear Brother," Sakuya states.

"Oh, I won't!" Ruby replies. "But who should we vote out first?"

"Maybe Karin…" Karen says.

"Why her?" Mamoru asks.

"Because her name is too close to Karen's," Karen says. "Karen doesn't want to get accidentally voted out."

"No, it should be Alexia!" Yotsuba exclaims. "Alexia doesn't like Yotsuba, and that is making the great villain Clover very angry!"

"We'll come up with a name," Rinrin says. "For now, let's try to make sure those other people don't know what they're doing."

"Karen is scared that when someone votes for Karin, they accidentally vote for Karen," Karen says. "Karen doesn't want to go home early because of that."

"My Bro would be proud of my strategery," Rinrin says. "I know what I'm doing out here. I'm going to get as many Minakami Sisters to the end, then fight it out from there."

Nezuko Tribe

(Chikage, Hinako, Kaho, Kohaku, Kurome, Misty, Sayu, Shirayuki, Tsukasa)

That night, after everyone is fast asleep from having overeaten, Misty pulls aside Kohaku.

"What is it?" Kohaku whispers.

"I found this at the Sanctuary today," Misty says. "There's enough moonlight that we can read it."

"Let's see what it says then," Kohaku says.

The two rush down to the beach to make sure no one hears them. Misty then unveils the note.

"The object of immunity is forged in solid gold

To find it requires you to be so very bold

If you want to make sure that your game isn't dead

Then look around for that secret shrunken head."

"Okay, so there's an immunity idol that's both golden and a head," Misty says. "But that doesn't tell us where to look for it."

"It's too dark tonight to look for it," Kohaku says. "We've got to look for it tomorrow."

"I wonder whose head it is that is golden," Misty says. "Could it be Nezuko's?"

"It's possible," Kohaku says. "One thing's for sure: we need that idol in the worst way."

"Absolutely," Misty says. "At dawn we go searching for this thing."

"The only thing that is going to keep us around is an immunity idol," Kohaku says. "Luckily, Misty found the clue to a hidden immunity idol, and now we know what to look for. But we can't let someone else find it first, because if we don't, we're toast."

"This clue might be the only thing keeping Kohaku and I in this game," Misty says. "We need to find that immunity idol no matter what. And if one of the Minakami Sisters finds it before us, then we are going to get picked off one by one. Tomorrow morning, we find it, or die trying."