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Day 5
Hot Potato with the Idol
Sister Tribe
(Karen, Kohaku, Kyon's Sister, Misty, Sakuya)
"I choose to forgive."
The other girls gasp, as Misty holds out her hand to Sakuya.
"You heard me, I choose to forgive Sakuya," Misty says. "Let's patch things up and move forward as a tribe."
Sakuya reaches out to Misty, looking sad. "I'm so sorry," she says. "My Dear Brother would want me to patch things up, too."
"We can work through this," Misty says. "I won't say anything more that's bad about your brother."
"Let's hug it out," Kohaku says, and the entire tribe joins in a big group hug. After they break, Misty hugs Sakuya warmly herself.
"I'd say I can't wait to meet your Dear Brother," Misty says, "but I want to stay out here as long as I can."
"I gotcha," Sakuya says. "I will try to make Dear Brother proud by working through our problems."
The two of them shake hands and turn over to Jet.
"I got nothing for you!" Misty tells Jet, who chuckles.
"Very well then," Jet says. "Sakuya will remain in this game, and you guys have an immunity challenge coming up later today. The game continues!"
Jet and production make their way out of the Sister camp.
"It's possible that Misty and Sakuya's little spat may have brought this tribe even further together," Kohaku says. "We have great chemistry, and we're proving it. Now we just need to nail down another immunity victory."
"I think taking the high road is always the right decision," Misty says. "By getting along with Sakuya, I give myself a lot bigger chance at winning this game, whereas holding on to a grudge may have made my game die due to grudgeitis."
"Yeah, getting along with Misty makes a lot more sense than continuing to antagonize her," Sakuya says. "Hopefully she understands what my Dear Brother means to me and why I need him every step of the way!"
Princess Tribe
(Alexia, Komachi, Mamoru, Rinrin, Sasami, Yotsuba)
That morning, Komachi finds herself up early to eat a coconut, with Mamoru standing nearby.
"Different alliances, huh?" Mamoru tells her.
"Yeah, I guess," Komachi says.
Mamoru chuckles. "It doesn't have to be that way," she says. "We can make a voting bloc together."
"Voting bloc?" Komachi asks.
"Yeah, just choose one of yours and one of mine," Mamoru says.
"Oh, I get it!" Komachi says. "I take one player from my alliance and you take one player from your alliance. Then we form a new voting bloc of four!"
"That's right," Mamoru says. "Very simple."
"Hmmmm…" Komachi says. "Well, I have to choose between princesses... I'll go with Alexia. She may be a &%#$* but she's my closest ally out here."
"And I'll take Rinrin with me," Mamoru says. "That's four, that's enough, no need to reveal the other votes."
"Awesome!" Komachi says. "But who do we vote out? Sasami or Yotsuba?"
"Yotsuba has an idol," Mamoru says.
"But if we could flush out said idol…" Komachi says.
"You've caught one quick!" Mamoru says. "Then we split the votes 2-2 in order to get her out. Big Bro would be so proud of our blindside of the detective!"
"As long as she doesn't sniff it out first!" Komachi says.
"Mamoru and I, we've created this kind of voting bloc," Komachi says. "Basically, it's the formation of one alliance using parts of two different alliances. And if we can make it work, we can flush out the idol and maybe snuff out Yotsuba's torch!"
"I only said that to Komachi to impress Big Bro, cause I know he's watching," Mamoru says. "There is no chance in hell that I'd turn on my sisters. But if I can convince her to vote Sasami in a split vote, then we Minakami sisters will find a way to knock out her alliance one by one!"
Imouto Tribe
(Hinako, Kaho, Karin, Kirino, Ruby, Shirayuki)
Ruby talks with Kaho that morning.
"Man, we can't catch a break," she says. "All we got was one little fish. Now we're left to starve again."
"It could be worse," Kaho says. "But Kaho understands what you are saying. Especially with Kaho unable to see Brother…"
She sniffles and begins to cry a tear. Ruby quickly hugs her and pats her on the back.
"You're going to do just fine, I promise!" Ruby tells her. "I'm here for you. I'll be your sister out here."
"You really mean it?" Kaho says.
"Yes, absolutely," Ruby replies.
"Well, Kaho has something to tell you," Kaho says.
She whispers in Ruby's ear.
"Hinako has the idol."
Ruby's eyes grow wide and a star shines out of one of her pupils. "You serious?" she says.
"Completely," Kaho says. "Now Kaho wants to make sure that Hina can save it as long as possible."
"Nothing to worry about," Ruby says. "I'll get Shirayuki with us and that'll make four. We then don't even need to split the votes, because we know who has the idol!"
"Thanks, Sister," Kaho says.
"Oh, I love that you call me that!" Ruby says, squeezing Kaho tight again.
"Hinako apparently has the idol," Ruby says. "Which could really help me or really hurt me. I wonder what Aqua would say if he knew what was up. Would he keep it a secret, or would he tell everyone? Eh, doesn't matter what he thinks. I'm gonna use this to my advantage!"
Karin and Kirino, meanwhile, are off looking for the idol.
"Why can't we find this blasted thing?" Karin wonders.
"Probably because someone else already has it," Kirino says. "That's the only explanation."
"Kirino, do you really think any of those four airheads could find the idol?"
"No, I don't, but I don't know why we can't find the idol if it's still out here."
"We just gotta look harder."
"Whatevs."
"Karin and I spent all morning looking for that stupid idol," Kirino says. "And neither of us could find it. It sucks, it really does. One of those nincompoops found it and now we're desperately looking for something we can't even find. I don't know how they did it, but they got it. And now Karin and I are in serious trouble. We were already on the outs, but now we've lost our only recourse."
Shirayuki stirs up some of the remaining meat on the fish the tribe won on the reward.
"Here you go, Hinako," Shirayuki says, handing the tiny bit of meat to Hinako. "You're a growing girl, you should eat this."
"Yum yum!" Hinako says, eating the meat.
"If Ruby is sold on our alliance, then Hime is in a good position," Shirayuki says. "Hime is connected to Hina and Kaho. If Hime can keep that alliance, then Kirino and Karin are the next two to go. But in which order?"
"Bro-Bro would be so proud of Hina for eating all that meat!" Hinako says. "Hina hopes to win more food in the next challenge for her tribe!"
Hime Tribe
(Chikage, Kurome, Sayu, Tsukasa, Ui)
Kurome looks pretty glum that morning as a rain shower comes through.
"The conditions getting to you?" Tsukasa asks.
"Yeah," Kurome says. "We haven't eaten, we're cold, we're wet from the rain. I almost want to quit."
"Same here," Sayu says. "This isn't what I bargained for."
Chikage throws down a card.
"According to my cards, this rain shower will not last long," she says.
"Great," Tsukasa says. "That means it'll be here all day."
Ui laughs. "Oh, come on, let's keep a sense of optimism here!"
"These girls are ready to give up because it's been so hard out here," Ui says. "But that's just part of the NEW ERA. Things are going to be tough. We can't avoid it. We've just got to push through."
As the girls snuggle into their makeshift shelter, Ui brings up a point.
"Has anyone looked for the idol?"
Tsukasa and Kurome look at each other, with their eyes meeting in such a way that both of them knew to lie. "Yeah, we did, but we couldn't find it," Tsukasa says.
"We looked everywhere in that jungle, but maybe it's out at sea somewhere," Kurome says. "There was a buoy out there, I think."
"A buoy? I didn't see it," Ui says.
"Well, maybe it was my imagination," Kurome says.
"Tell you what," Tsukasa says. "After it stops raining, we'll all go out and look."
"Sounds like a plan!" Sayu says.
"By having everyone out there looking for the idol together, it'll completely throw them off my scent that I hold the idol," Tsukasa says. "Sure, it's deceitful. But let's face it, sometimes the goal is deceit. I've got to make them think I don't have the idol, so that then I can hold on to it longer as this game goes along."
So, after it stops raining, all five girls go out into the jungle to look for the idol.
"Hey, what's this?" Sayu says.
Tsukasa's heart starts racing, until she sees that Sayu has just found a crab hiding in a tree.
"Yuk!" Sayu exclaims, throwing the crab on the ground. "Get that thing away from me!"
"Hey, we might be able to eat that thing," Kurome says.
"No way!" Sayu shouts.
"All right, all right, just let it go," Tsukasa says.
The girls are out there for an hour looking (or pretending to look, in Tsukasa and Kurome's case) for the idol, but no one finds anything. Eventually they all agree to give up and go back to shelter.
"Man, how come we couldn't find that idol?" Sayu says. "It's got to be out there somewhere!"
"I know!" Ui says. "The only thing I can think of is that one of us has it and they're lying that they don't have it."
Tsukasa glances over at Kurome. "Well, if you want to fess up, you can," Tsukasa says. "But I don't have it, and quite frankly, I don't want it. It would just paint a target on my back."
"I have no clue," Kurome says. "I couldn't find it earlier, and I couldn't find it now. There's no way I would be hiding it if I had it."
"How about you, Chikage?" Ui asks.
"I must tell the truth, it's in the cards," Chikage says. "And my cards prove that I am not in possession of that item."
Ui looks over at Sayu. "Don't look at me!" Sayu exclaims. "I swear, I don't have it! I wouldn't lie to you! You guys know that!"
Ui gives Sayu a suspicious look, but shakes her head. "I guess we're just going to find out eventually who does and does not have the idol."
"This idol hunt today was crazy," Ui says. "First, we couldn't find it, and then we couldn't figure out who's hiding it. Something in the way Sayu denied it makes me think she has it. But if she does, will she play it? And if she plays it, that's dangerous to all of our games. Any one of us could be headed home if she springs the idol on us. Oh, I'm getting carried away here… maybe she doesn't even have it!"
Immunity Challenge
"Come on in, girls!"
The four tribes march into the immunity challenge area, immediately noticing a warped wall and hanging mazes up on a platform.
"You girls ready to get to today's immunity challenge?"
"Yeah!" Kohaku exclaims.
"First things first, I will take them back."
Sasami hands over the Alluka idol and Kaho hands over the Nezuko idol.
"Kaho wants it back!" Kaho says, as she gives it to Jet.
"We'll see soon about that," Jet says. "Let's get to today's immunity challenge."
"Can't wait!" Ruby shouts.
"For today's challenge, you're gonna race through mud and wood shavings until you reach a cage. Then you'll use a grappling hook to retrieve a large bag containing a ball. You'll then work together to get to the top of a warped wall. Once everyone is up on the platform, two players will work together to get the ball through a table maze. First two tribes to finish, win immunity. Other two tribes, otherwise known as the losers, Tribal Council, where you'll vote someone else out of this game, and as penalty for losing, I will take your flint. Hime, you're playing to get yours for the first time."
"Do you have to remind us?" Kurome says.
Jet chuckles. "Imouto and Princess, you've got one extra member, and you cannot sit out the same players in back-to-back challenges. Karin and Alexia, you sat out last time, so you've got to compete. Who's it gonna be?"
"We choose Hinako," Ruby says. "She's too small to get up that wall."
"Very well then," Jet says. "How about you, Princess?"
"We're sitting out Sasami, for similar reasons," Alexia states.
"Okay, sit-outs take a spot on the bench. I'll give you a minute to strategize, then we'll get it on!"
The players all line up at the starting line.
"For immunity! Survivors ready? Go!"
The four tribes immediately head out to the mud pit, where they get absolutely soaked in mud. Alexia shudders as she feels the mud going all through her hair. Kaho is the first to get through, for the Imouto tribe. Kyon's Sister gets through first for the Sister tribe, while it's Yotsuba getting through for the Princess tribe. Soon all five players are through for Imouto, but Sister begins gaining on them as they head through the wood chipping.
"Sister and Imouto in the lead here! Princess not far behind! Hime's really struggling!"
Chikage has a hard time squeezing through the mud, and Kurome has to pull her out. The Hime tribe is the last out of the mud, and by the time they reach the wood chipping, the final players from Imouto and Sister are getting through.
"Sakuya's through for Sister! You're good! Start on that grappling hook!"
Shirayuki gets through for Imouto, and they go to work on the hook as well.
"Princess tribe is now through! Three tribes now working on that grappling hook!"
While Karin maneuvers the grappling hook from the top, Kirino and Ruby go to work on pushing other items in the cage out of the way. Sister tries the same thing, with Kohaku on the hook, and Misty and Karen pushing the other items in such a way that they can get the bag hooked.
"Good teamwork by both Sister and Imouto here! That's how you do it on Survivor!"
Kohaku hooks the bag and starts pulling it up. Karin also hooks the bag for a second, but it drops off. Alexia reaches her grappling hook down, but the other items in the cage are blocking her way.
"Not very good teamwork by Princess! Get it together!"
Hime finally gets through the wood chipping and goes to work on the grappling hook. Meanwhile, Kohaku gets her bag all the way up, and the Sister tribe rushes to the warped wall.
"You've got to get that bag up there, and then all five people in your tribe!"
Karin gets her bag up and out, and the Imouto tribe races to the warped wall. Alexia is still struggling, while Kurome starts making up time.
"Princess tribe starting to really struggle here!"
Alexia drops her bag, and Kurome gets hers up and through.
"You're good, Hime! Go to the wall!"
Karin gets the bag with the ball up for Imouto, while Kohaku does the same for Sister. The two of them then start reaching to try to help others up.
"Kirino gets up the wall for Imouto! Misty is up for Sister!"
The Hime tribe is having a really hard time getting up the warped wall. Alexia, meanwhile, final gets her bag with the ball up, and the Princess tribe races to the warped wall.
"Sakuya is up for Sister! And Ruby is helping Kaho get up to the top!"
Kaho leaps up on Ruby's back and grabs Karin's hand. She pulls her up, and then Shirayuki looks to do the same. Kyon's Sister climbs up on Karen's back, and she uses Kohaku's sure grip to pull her up.
"Great teamwork by Sister and Imouto here!"
Alexia rushes up the warped wall, getting the bag and the ball up with her. Kurome does the same for the Hime tribe. Now it's Chikage and Ui trying to work together to get up, and Komachi working with Mamoru to try to reach the top.
"Karen is up! She got Kyon's Sister up too! Sister, go to work on that table maze!"
Misty and Kohaku get the ball out of the bag, and they begin to maneuver the ball on the table maze. Ruby and Shirayuki both get up, and the Imouto tribe opens up their bag and starts working on the maze.
"It's Kirino and Karin on the maze for Imouto!"
Alexia helps get Komachi up, and Mamoru uses her body as a bridge to get Rinrin and Yotsuba up along with them. Kurome helps pull Tsukasa up, and Ui helps Chikage get up. Sayu is the last person to get up, grabbing Kurome's hand and being pulled above the wall.
"Everyone can go to work on those table mazes!"
It's Komachi and Rinrin working on the table maze for Princess, and Chikage and Kurome working on it for Hime.
"This is neck-and-neck-and-neck-and-neck!"
Each tribe has trouble getting the ball through the maze, having a bunch of drops.
"No progress being made by anyone! Remember, this challenge has a really steep learning curve!"
Kohaku and Misty start to get some progress on their maze, and Rinrin and Komachi are right behind them. But as they go on…
"Princess drops! They've got to start over!"
Kirino and Karin start getting their ball through the maze, while Chikage and Kurome are struggling.
"This is so close right now!"
Finally, one of the teams gets their ball into the center.
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"Kirino and Karin…"
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"Drop! But Kohaku and Misty get theirs in! Sister tribe wins immunity! Looking for one more!"
"Woohoo yes yes yes guys yes!" Misty shouts. "Come on girls!"
All the muddy Sister tribe members join in a big, messy hug.
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"Hime tribe…"
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"Drops!"
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"But the Imouto tribe gets theirs in! And that's it! Imouto tribe wins immunity!"
Karin leaps into Kirino's waiting arms, while Shirayuki and Ruby give each other a double high five. Hinako comes running off the sit-out bench to go congratulate Kaho.
"A muddy celebration!" Jet chuckles
The previously clean Hinako and Kaho begin grabbing mud off their tribemates and tossing it high into the air. Misty walks down the line, giving two high fives to every member of her tribe.
"Congratulations," Jet says. "These are for you."
Jet hands over the Alluka idol to Hinako and the Nezuko idol to Kyon's Sister.
"You are safe from Tribal Council; you cannot be voted out of the game tonight or tomorrow night. But hold on just a second."
Everyone looks stunned at Jet's statement.
"Each tribe needs to pick one person on the tribe to go on a journey, and it cannot be someone who was already on a journey. That means Ruby and Ui and Kyon's Sister and Mamoru cannot go."
The players all look at each other and try to figure out who should go.
"How about we play rock-paper-scissors?" Misty suggests.
"Sounds good to Karen," Karen says.
The tribes all play rock-paper-scissors, with Misty, Komachi, and Shirayuki winning. Meanwhile, the Hime tribe can't get a winner.
"Rock, paper, scissors, shoot! Tie! Go again! Tie! Go again! Tie! Go again!"
Finally, Tsukasa breaks up the game by pushing Kurome over to Jet.
"She's going, I don't care about the rock-paper-scissors," Tsukasa says.
"Any objections?" Jet asks.
None of the Hime tribe members say anything.
"Very well then. Kurome, Misty, Komachi, and Shirayuki, here's a map to the journey you're going to take."
He tosses the map over to Misty.
"Kurome and Komachi, you will return to your tribes before Tribal Council. Head on out."
The four players follow Misty's map to go on their journey.
"Sister, Imouto tribes, congratulations on winning," Jet states. "Head on out, have a nice night."
The Imouto and Sister tribes triumphantly carry their idols out of the immunity challenge area.
"As for you, Princess and Hime, I got nothing for you except a date with me for Tribal Council. Princess, I'll see you tonight for Tribal, where someone will be the fifth player eliminated from this game, and then I'll see Hime tomorrow to snuff out someone else's torch."
"Why do we have to go first?" Alexia asks.
"Because you were further from winning than Hime was," Jet says. "And for penalty for losing, I will take your flint."
Alexia reluctantly hands over the flint to Jet.
"Sorry for you," Jet says. "Head on out."
The Princess and Hime tribes trudge on out of the immunity challenge area.
"This really sucks," Alexia says. "We just lost our first immunity challenge. Now we are likely going to rocks, and we know that no one's safe. I'm just hoping that someone in the Minakami alliance is dumb enough to choose to play their Shot-in-the-Dark."
Imouto Tribe
(Hinako, Kaho, Karin, Kirino, Ruby)
"We won!" Ruby exclaims, as the girls wash themselves off in the ocean.
"Yeah, yeah," Karin says. "I guess I'm stuck with you guys a little longer."
"So, I got to throw it out there," Kirino says. "Has anyone found the idol yet?"
Hinako freezes up a little, but she steels herself. "Hina is not sure. Have you, Kaho?"
"No way!" Kaho exclaims. "Kaho has not seen the idol."
"And you, cooking girl?" Kirino says, turning to Shirayuki.
"Hime doesn't know," Shirayuki says, putting out her hands in an "I don't know" position.
"Really? Really. I don't believe it," Karin says.
"Hey, why don't we just all go search for the idol together?" Ruby suggests. "That way, everyone will know who has it!"
"Sounds great!" Kaho says, looking over at Hinako.
"Yay! Let's go looking for the idol!" Hinako exclaims.
"Hina has the idol, but Hina doesn't want anyone besides Kaho and Hime to know she has the idol," Hinako says. "So, Hina is going to go pretend to look for the idol! And when it isn't found, no one will suspect that Hina has it!"
So, the six tribe members head out into the jungle, with everyone either looking for the idol or fake-looking for the idol.
"Where could this thing be?" Karin wonders.
"Jet must have stepped up his idol-hiding skills," Kirino comments.
Kaho makes sure to look under every rock she can find, fully knowing that she is not going to find the idol.
"Kaho knows that Hina has the idol," Kaho says. "But Kaho is going to keep that a secret. And that means pretending like Kaho can find the idol under all these rocks. Hopefully it can stay a mystery!"
After about three hours of idol hunting, Kirino and Karin are absolutely exasperated.
"There's no way this thing is still out here," Kirino says. "Someone has to have it."
"I agree," Karin says. "I don't know how we've been out here for hours and have no idea where it possibly could be."
Standing nearby, Kaho remains silent.
"Kaho is keeping Hina's secret!" Kaho says. "Kaho won't let anyone know that Hina has actually already found the idol. That means that Karin and Kirino are going to look for days for the idol and never find anything. Not telling, though!"
Journey
(Kurome, Misty, Komachi, Shirayuki)
The four players out on the journey meet each other and begin a conversation.
"Welcome, welcome!" Komachi says. "I'm Komachi! And I'd love to start an alliance with all of you that can last through the merge."
"Sounds good!" Misty says. "I can tell you that my tribe is split right down the middle. It's myself, Kohaku, and Little Sister against Karen and Sakuya. But here's the secret."
She pulls everyone in and whispers.
"Little Sister lost her vote."
"Wow," Kurome says.
"So, you guys are in some trouble," Komachi says.
"Exactly," Misty says.
"Well, Hime thinks you may be able to get an advantage once we go on this journey!" Shirayuki says.
"But what kind of advantage?" Komachi says. "That's what we've got to find out."
"Hey, can I count on you guys at the merge?" Misty asks.
"Sure thing!" Komachi says. "I'm all-in for a multi-tribe alliance."
"Hime is happy with that!" Shirayuki says.
Kurome says nothing, but reaches her hand out with the other three players in a circle.
"Now, off to see the wizard!" Komachi exclaims. "Or, rather, to find out what advantage we can get!"
Kurome says nothing as she walks off in one direction, with the other three also taking their own paths.
"I can't count on this so-called 'multi-tribe alliance,'" Kurome says. "I don't trust these people as far as I can throw them. I'm not going to go together with them at the merge. I just feel like they're trying to play me, and I don't want to get played."
So, the players go on their way, and each of them comes up to a box with a note attached to it.
"Let's see what this says," Misty says. "You have a chance to gain power in this game. There are three pieces of parchment inside this box. One says 'gain a vote' and the other two say 'lose a vote.' If you pick the 'gain a vote' you get an extra vote that you may use at any upcoming Tribal Council."
Komachi also reads the note.
"There's more," she says. "If you pick the 'lose a vote,' you lose your vote at the next Tribal Council. However, you may pick again and try to get the 'gain a vote.' If you get the 'gain a vote' on your second try, you do not lose your vote, and you still get an extra vote. But if you pick the other 'lose a vote,' you lose your vote at the next two Tribal Councils."
"Interesting," Kurome says, finishing reading the note. "If you want to protect your vote, then walk away from the box and you will keep your vote."
She bites her lip. "I know better than to take any gambles. I'm leaving this thing the way it is. I'm not gambling anything."
Kurome walks away, while the other three try to figure out what to do.
"I've got to get an extra vote to make up for the one Little Sister lost," Misty says. She reaches in and pulls out…
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"Lose a vote. Crap! Well, I've got to go for it now."
She reaches back in and pulls out…
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"Lose a vote. Man mechanic! Now my alliance is really screwed."
Misty reaches in and pulls out the third piece of parchment, seeing it read "gain a vote."
"Obviously this doesn't mean anything now," Misty says. "But there are no rules saying I can't take this with me. I'm going to have some fun with this!"
Komachi also reaches in, going for the extra vote.
"Lose a vote," she reads. "Well, I'm going for broke."
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"Gain a vote," she reads. "Yes! I've hit the jackpot with this one, baby. Alexia and Sasami are going to be so pleased with me! Let's go!"
Finally, Shirayuki decides not to play.
"Hime doesn't want to take a chance," Shirayuki says.
She walks away from the box. Each of the four players, totally separated from each other, goes on a different boat back to their camp.
Princess Tribe
(Alexia, Komachi, Mamoru, Rinrin, Sasami, Yotsuba)
Komachi arrives triumphantly back at her camp, where Sasami happily greets her with a hug, while the other players stay up at camp.
"How'd it go?" Sasami asks.
"Ooh… really, really well," Komachi says.
She then whispers in Sasami's ear.
"I got an extra vote."
Sasami jumps in celebration. "Shhhhh!" Komachi says.
"Gaining this vote changes the whole game," Komachi says. "Now we've got four votes up against their three. The only thing that could trip us up is Yotsuba's idol. We've got to make sure we know who she's playing it on, but my guess is that it'd be on herself."
Komachi comes back to camp, and she motions Alexia to come into the jungle with her and Sasami. She then breaks Alexia the good news.
"Lookie what I got!" she exclaims, holding out the piece of parchment.
"Shut up!" Alexia exclaims. "That's amazing!"
"So, now we just have to figure out who we want out," Sasami says. "I am fearful about voting for Yotsuba."
"But that's who I want out," Alexia says. "We should definitely vote for her."
"But if she plays her idol, this-" – she holds out the piece of parchment – "goes to waste."
"I guess you're right," Alexia says. "How about we figure out at Tribal Council who we want to vote for."
"Makes sense," Sasami says.
"Yeah, we can use their answers to Jet's banal questions as a way of tipping off who they're voting for," Komachi says.
"Komachi came back with the most amazing advantage – an extra vote," Alexia says. "It was just what the doctor ordered. We needed an extra vote in order to have the numbers. Now we've got it. I would be happy placing all our votes on Yotsuba, because I don't think our little detective is smart enough to play her idol on herself. Nevertheless, sometimes discretion is the better part of valor."
Meanwhile, the three Minakami sisters discuss their plans for the night's Tribal Council.
"Who should we vote for?" Rinrin asks.
"I say we vote out Alexia," Mamoru says. "I don't trust her as far as I can throw her."
"Should Yotsuba play her idol?" Yotsuba asks. "Yotsuba is afraid of going home!"
"Not sure," Mamoru says. "But we've got to be smart with this idol. If Komachi gained an advantage like I did on the journey, we could be in trouble."
"That's why we've got to confuse them as to who has the idol!" Rinrin exclaims. "Listen to me, I've got a plan."
She whispers to the other two. "Let's play a game of Hot Potato with the immunity idol."
"Huh?" Yotsuba says.
"We keep passing the idol between the three of us all night long, to throw them off," Rinrin says. "Then, at the last minute, we play it on whoever we think is getting their votes."
"Sounds like a plan," Mamoru says.
"We're going to play Hot Potato with the immunity idol tonight," Rinrin says. "Anything to throw off the other alliance. There's no chance at this point any of them switch their votes, as Alexia has them wrapped around her finger so tightly. But we can fool them into voting for the wrong person, and that's our plan."
Tribal Council
(Princess)
The six members of the Princess tribe walk into the Tribal Council area for the first time, seeing Jet. The Minakami sisters immediately recognize Wataru and go crazy over him.
"It's Big Bro!" Mamoru shouts.
"Bro's here! This is awesome!" Rinrin exclaims.
"Brother Dearest, you must be impressed!" Yotsuba says.
"All right," Jet says. "Behind each of you is a torch. Put it into the flame and get fire. This is part of the ritual of Tribal Council. In this game, fire represents life. Once it is gone, so are you, and that will be the case for one of you tonight."
"Why is Brother Dearest here, though?" Yotsuba asks. "Brother Dearest isn't voting us out, is he?"
"You'll find out soon enough," Jet says.
The players grab their torches and get fire, then set them back where they belong.
"All right," Jet says, sitting on his stool. "This had been a very successful tribe, winning something in every challenge up until this one. What went wrong, Alexia?"
"That's Princess Alexia to you," Alexia responds. "We have some dead weight in this tribe, and that's why we lost. We've got to get rid of that dead weight, pronto."
"And who would that dead weight be?" Jet asks.
"I'd say that Yotsuba definitely hasn't been carrying her weight around here," Alexia says.
"Yotsuba, Princess Alexia just called you out," Jet states.
Yotsuba pulls out her idol with a smile. "Yotsuba is well prepared," she responds.
"Interesting," Jet says. "Yotsuba's got something there…"
But before Jet can finish his sentence, Yotsuba hands the idol over to Rinrin.
"Well," Jet says. "This means that…"
Before he can finish the next sentence, Rinrin hands the idol over to Mamoru. Alexia looks over at Komachi in bewilderment, while Sasami looks worried.
"Big reaction there," Jet says.
"Yeah, this is not something we planned on," Komachi says, as Mamoru hands the idol over to Alexia.
"This makes things very hard on us," Sasami says. "We were preparing as if Yotsuba would use the idol on herself. Now we aren't sure."
"We're so confused," Komachi says, as Mamoru, Rinrin, and Yotsuba keep passing the idol between each other.
"What does this do to voting strategy?" Jet asks.
"I really have no clue," Alexia says. "This feels like a case of Survivor Russian Roulette. We've just got to pick one and pay the consequences if we're wrong."
"It's not an easy situation to be in," Sasami says. "I know it's been a long time since I played, so there are lots of new twists that I could never have dreamed about. But here we are."
Mamoru grabs the idol for a second, then quickly hands it over to Yotsuba.
"Mamoru, you've got more to worry about than just an idol," Jet states. "Because you've got to figure out who you're gonna vote for."
"Who says I'm even voting?" Mamoru replies.
Alexia looks panicked, and she pulls aside Komachi and whispers something in her ear. Komachi then walks over to Sasami and whispers in her ear.
"So, this is getting crazier by the minute," Jet says. "Mamoru is threatening not to vote, whatever that means. I can't tell you, even though I am the all-knowing host."
Yotsuba hands the idol over to Rinrin, who quickly gives it to Mamoru.
"Hot Potato with the idol," Jet says. "Can't say I've ever seen this."
Mamoru then fakes a handoff to Rinrin, before handing it over to Yotsuba.
"This is like a pile-up on a fumble in an American football game," Mamoru says. "The ball changes hands three or four times down there at the bottom of the pile. You'll never know who's playing the idol or who we're voting for."
"And with that, it is… time to vote. Princess Alexia, you're up first."
Alexia goes to vote.
Komachi goes to vote.
"I had planned on using my extra vote tonight, but circumstances have changed, and I'm only playing my usual vote tonight," Komachi says. "Hopefully it all works out well."
Mamoru goes to vote.
Rinrin goes to vote.
Sasami goes to vote.
"I really hope this works out," Sasami says. "Because I'm not sure what's going on here."
Yotsuba goes to vote.
"Not even the great detective Sherlock Holmes could figure out what Yotsuba's gonna do tonight!" Yotsuba says.
"I'll go tally the votes," Jet says.
Jet goes over to the voting booth, mixes up the votes, and grabs the urn, carrying it back to his podium.
"If anyone has an advantage or an idol, and you would like to play it, now would be the time to do so."
Everyone looks frantically at each other, before Mamoru makes a move.
"You know what, Jet, I'm going to gamble tonight," Mamoru says. "Here's my Shot in the Dark."
She hands over a scroll of paper to Jet.
"Very well then," Jet states. "Mamoru has decided to forfeit her vote in order to use the Shot in the Dark. And with that-"
Jet is interrupted by Rinrin.
"I'm gambling too," Rinrin says, handing over a scroll of paper to Jet. "I might as well try out this Shot in the Dark thing."
"Okay, then," Jet says. "Now we've got two people who have given up their votes for Shots in the Dark. Anything else?"
No one budges at first, before Yotsuba bounces up to her feet.
"Yotsuba's not taking any chances," she says, handing over the idol to Jet.
"You want this played for yourself?" Jet asks.
Yotsuba puts her finger on her chin and thinks about it for a moment. "Yeah, sure."
"Very well then," Jet says. "This is a hidden immunity idol. All votes cast against Yotsuba will not count. Now, time to reveal the scrolls."
He opens up Rinrin's scroll first. "Rinrin… you are…"
…
…
…
…
…
"NOT Safe."
Rinrin nods, with Mamoru grabbing her arm to try to reassure her.
"As for you, Mamoru, you are…"
…
…
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…
…
"Safe."
"Yes!" Mamoru exclaims. "Did you see that, Big Bro?"
"All votes cast against Mamoru will not count. Anything else?"
Alexia shakes her head, while Komachi and Sasami look on nervously.
"Once the votes are read, the decision is final, and the person voted out will be asked to leave the Tribal Council area immediately. I'll read the votes."
Jet pulls out the first vote.
"Yotsuba. Does not count."
Komachi covers her face with her hands, while a tearful Sasami holds on tight to Alexia's arm. Meanwhile, Yotsuba punches the air, and Mamoru and Rinrin smile.
"Yotsuba. Does not count."
…
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…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
"Mamoru. Does not count. Still, no votes for anyone."
Mamoru fist-pumps in celebration, then receives cheerful shoving from Rinrin.
Jet pulls out the final vote.
"Third sister voted out of Survivor: Promised Island…"
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
"Princess…"
…
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…
…
…
"Sasami Jurai."
Tears roll down Sasami's cheeks as she goes over to Komachi, who gives her a big hug. Alexia pats her on the shoulder, as Sasami continues to cry.
"You need to bring Wataru your torch," Jet states.
Sasami sadly goes over and grabs her torch, then brings it out in front of Wataru Minakami.
"It can't be true!" Wataru says, snuffing our Sasami's torch. "The tribe has spoken; it's time for you to go."
Sasami waves to Alexia and Komachi before heading out of Tribal Council, still crying.
"I don't even know where to begin about that crazy Tribal Council," Jet says. "All I'm going to say then, is, grab your torches, head back to camp, good night."
The five players head on out, with Mamoru, Rinrin, and Yotsuba especially happy after that crazy Tribal Council.
"I feel as if I was tricked," Sasami says. "I was tricked into changing my vote at the last second. Alexia and Komachi wanted me to vote for Mamoru, and I did. But if I would have voted the way I wanted to, I would have gone for Rinrin. I guess it doesn't matter anymore. I finished top five the first time I played; now I finish bottom five."
Who voted for whom:
Alexia – Yotsuba
Komachi – Yotsuba
Mamoru – No vote
Rinrin – No vote
Sasami – Mamoru
Yotsuba – Sasami
Scenes from our next episode:
The Hime tribe falls to pieces as they have to vote out yet another player… the Princess tribe is completely fractured beyond repair… and Misty tries to explain away her lost votes to Kohaku and Kyon's Sister.