A/N: Sorry it took forever for me to update this fiction. And I know it's getting really weird by the moment, but I do hope you'll stay around for the next few chapters of this story. Your time and reviews are highly and most sincerely appreciated! ^-^

CHAPTER FOUR: THE VIRUS

Nothing special happened on that day. On the next day we followed Sadako to the hospital for her checkup. After that we trailed her on her way to the building where the acting troupe practiced.

"We must continue the play even though Aiko is dead," the director said.

"But who's going to take her place," one actor asked.

"Our apprentice Sadako."

"Why her?" the other people whispered among themselves as they exited the room.

"They'll see that my twin can act much better than that girl!" the little Sadako said with a little too much determination, it scared me!

"Can I ask you a question?" I asked her.

"Hm?" she said simply, turning her hair-draped head to me. I took that as a sign that I could go on and ask her now or lose my chance forever.

"Why did you kill that girl?" I asked, a little cautiously, lest I rile her up.

"To make my twin have the main role. She likes that role, she memorizes all the lines by reading the script every night dreaming that she's the one acting on stage," she answered, her voice exhibiting enough evidence of how happy she was at her own dark deed.

"Now can I ask you a favor?" she asked back, to my utter amusement. I really didn't expect her to ask something in return--then again, I asked her a serious question anyway, and she did answer it honestly. Without any restraint...

"What is it?" I said. I didn't have much of a choice with her anyway.

"Can you make a copy of me?" she asked.

"Yes," I drawled out my reply, a little curious at what she was up to. "But why?"

"I must put my virus on the whole troupe today so that I can easily kill them once they do something wrong to my twin," she said.

"How many?" I asked, afraid to back out now, thinking that Sadako would be safer that way. Hey, that's what I was sent here for after all, right?

"The same number of the troupe," came the reply.

"Okay, but you'll have to sit down," I told her, while leading her to a chair at one corner of the room. Then, after she sat down, I put my left hand on her head and made as many copies of her as she had asked for.

And in the course of that day, while the whole troupe was practicing, the copied Sadakos worked in infecting them with the virus. Y'know... the virus that could kill a person within seven days. I really don't know what kind of virus could have that kind of effect on a person. All I know was that, Sadako sure was making good use of it, putting each and every living being in that studio under her curse so as to make it easy for her to snap them all off the minute they offended her twin. Purely evil, indeed. Maybe that's why Dancho's so drawn to her...

That evening, the actors, actresses and crewmembers were walking into the backstage on their way out of that building. Sadako timidly joined the file and, of course, we followed her. At the backstage, the guy who took care of the sounds for the play was saying "Good night," to every person who stepped out. He was leaning on the wall facing the door and was casually sucking down a stick of cigarette. When he saw Sadako step out, he disposed his cigarette into the trash beside him and approached our lovely charge... Of course, the little Sadako and I waited patiently as the guy carried out a little chitchat with a slightly embarrassed Sadako... Every thing looked okay for a while, until--

"No, it's not me, it's not me, it's not me..." Sadako said while walking backwards, absolute fear imprinted all over her face.

The smaller Sadako and I [still concealed in a cloak of invisibility] both looked at the direction where Sadako's eyes were planted and saw the girl that the smaller Sadako had killed the other day, standing by the door to the stage. Her face was ghastly and her eyes were blank and... lifeless. But there was a kind of eerie hollowness in them that made them look almost taunting... Accusing... And she was even pointing a finger at the utterly frightened Sadako!

"Sadako, what did you see?" the soundman said while shaking Sadako by the shoulders.

Sadako snapped her wide, frightened eyes to him, obviously trying not to crumble like pathetic dirt in his hands. She kept mumbling the words, "Don't... look... back..." while the guy tried to wake some sense out of her by rattling her up. Looking at the girl's glazed eyes, he easily figured out that what was causing this kind of reaction in the girl was something behind him. And despite the taller Sadako's repeated warning, he still dared and looked over his shoulder. Good thing the wraith had already vanished into thin air the moment he did that. He looked back at Sadako and dared not ask anymore question as she was visibly using all efforts to gather her guts and senses back. All he was left to do was to hold her up her feet so she wouldn't keel over.

"There's still one without the virus" Sadako suddenly muttered when the director stepped out of the door.

"How did you know?" I asked.

"I can see who's the one with the virus," Sadako elucidated patiently. "...And who doesn't--" She was gonna go further on, but upon realizing that her twin was already gone, she halted in mid-sentence and instead said, "I have to go." She disappeared right before my very eyes before I could even make head or tail of what she had just been saying.

I stayed for a few while in that corner where I had been left alone, before I came to my senses and realized that I should be going too.

I used "Teleport" and looked for a comfortable place to rest for the night...

tbc