A/N: Thanks very much for the reviews! I very much appreciate them. ^____^
Disclaimer: Characters depicted in the story aren't mine. They belong to Takeshi Konomi. Sadako isn't mine either. Wouldn't want her to be anyway. I'm sticking to the Japanese version of The Ring by the way.
Seven Days
Day Three: Monday. . .
"I'M BURNING!!!" Takashi Kawamura roared as he returned a simple shot with a fiery double-handed swing. The ball wheezed past his stunned opponent and landed near the baseline, denting the court in the process. "HORA! HORA! COME ON!!!"
"K-Kawamura-senpai!" his opponent, a second year student, choked out in fear. Fully realizing that his senpai's powerful return shot could have very well killed him, the junior weakly took a step back. He clumsily tripped over his own feet and landed on his bottom, stuttering. "I-It was just a simple down-the-line shot, senpai! B-Be easy on me!"
"What are you whining about over there?" Kawamura called to the junior, resting his yellow Dunlop racquet on his shoulder. A wide grin pasted on his face. "Stand up and let's continue! Be a man!"
The poor junior whimpered.
The Tennis Club had once again gathered for practice late that afternoon. The air was a little cold and damp from the storm that raged the night before. The weather condition affected the game play itself for the balls would be heavier and slower. But the Seigaku Regulars, experienced players that they were, recognized these effects and had learned to play with them and not against them.
And Kawamura had proven that since he's playing in his best form.
While watching the game near the court fence, a conversation started among Oishi, Fuji, and Momoshiro. "So, how was the movie you watched last Friday? Was it any good?" the vice captain of the team asked.
"It was strange," Fuji tore his gaze off the court and looked at Oishi, a thoughtful expression settled on his smiling poker face. Kaidoh, who sat not far behind them while warming up, heard Fuji's comment and waited for his senpai to continue. Had he realized it too? Did something weird happen to the tensai during the weekend as well?
"I found it strange," Fuji continued, "that a videotape would only cost 300 yen. It's usually more expensive, you know? Momo got himself a good bargain." He finished with a nod.
Kaidoh sweatdropped.
"It wasn't a good deal at all," Momoshiro muttered, still bemoaning over the fact that he paid good money for the tape but didn't get fine entertainment in return. "Shouldn't have believed that pale, freaky-looking kid in the night market."
Kaidoh hissed. That kid was probably cursed by the tape as well. And that he wanted them to watch it so that he could get off the curse before his time ran out. What a fine mess that baka powerhouse got them into.
"Still, a videotape for only 300 yen?" Fuji rubbed a hand on his smooth chin, a smile playing on his lips. "You should have bought a lot of tapes instead of only one."
"Maybe they're pirated," Kikumaru piped in, straightening up as he finished his squats. He walked toward the three. "Besides, why a videotape, Momo, with all the DVDs around?" he looked at the dark-haired junior, his blue eyes lit with unabashed amusement. "And I thought tapes are obsolete," the red head laughed. "You're awfully low tech."
Kaidoh resisted to hiss in exasperation. Of all the things his teammates could think of---
"So the movie was that bad, huh?" Oishi gave Momoshiro a sympathetic look.
"Hai," the junior grudgingly admitted, "a waste of time and money."
"And senseless, too," Fuji added.
"The flick was taken from the movie The Ring. Of course, it's weird. Nice shot, Taka-san! Show us a good game!" Kikumaru cheered as Kawamura returned another simple shot with a burning crosscourt. Oishi, Fuji, and Momoshiro looked at him, a confused expression on their faces. Kaidoh looked up. Commend Kikumaru-senpai for recognizing it!
"The Ring?" Fuji asked, looking at Oishi and Momoshiro. The two shrugged in return.
"Ara? Where's our Ochibi? Is he skipping practice again? Ochibi? Ochibiii?"
"Ano, Eiji-senpai. . ."
"Ah, there he is. Do you think Tezuka will make ochibi run laps for being late?"
"Eiji. . ."
"Or maybe Inui's vegetable juice will do the trick."
"EIJI!!!"
"Eh?" Kikumaru looked back at the three, his brows raised in question, a smile playing on his lips. Then he remembered what they were talking about. "Ah, hai, hai! The Ring. Never seen it before?"
"Is that the one with the goblin's daughter named Sadako, Eiji-senpai?"
"Sou! That's the one." Kikumaru grinned. "Very scary, that movie," the acrobatics player concluded with a nod, "I wasn't able to look straight at a television for days!"
"Really? Why is that?"
"Guess you haven't heard of it, Fuji-senpai?" Momoshiro looked at the poker faced senior. "It's all about a cursed videotape. After watching it, you'll receive a phone call that will warn you of your impending death. In a week, to be exact!"
"Hm. . . A typical horror movie," Fuji answered with a shrug. "Let me guess. A madman escapes from a nearby asylum and uses the rumors about that videotape as an excuse to kill. With a chainsaw or a sledgehammer, no doubt."
"Iie," Oishi, who apparently had watched the movie as well, shook his dark head. "The way the people died in the movie was horrible and of unexplainable causes. And the murderer was no lunatic. Sadako was the very manifestation of evil itself."
"Yeah," Kikumaru joined in, lowering his voice. "On the exact time you're supposed to die, the television suddenly turns on for no particular reason. There will be static at first," he paused, "then the screen clears up a second later and a scene of an old well will appear. And then, there's Sadako slowly crawling out of it…"
"Sadako, the goblin's daughter as you have mentioned earlier?" Fuji prompted.
Momoshiro nodded. "Imagine a girl on her early twenties in a long dirty white dress, with long, black, unkempt hair covering her face, stalking toward you."
"You mean toward the camera?"
"I mean stalking toward you, the viewer!" Momoshiro pointed at Fuji. "Walking like this." He hung his head and relaxed his shoulders. He lifted his right shoulder as he stepped his right foot forward. He then dropped that shoulder at an almost impossible angle while making bone-breaking sounds. He repeated the process on his left side.
"WAI!!! Momo! You got it!" Kikumaru clapped. "The Sadako Walk!"
Momoshiro grinned at the red head. "She then crawls out of the TV toward you in the creepiest way you could ever imagine," he continued and looked at Fuji. "She suddenly flashes like the television. And you realize she's already standing, towering over you." Momoshiro leaned toward the tensai, widening his left eye with his forefinger and thumb. "And then, she gives you The Look."
"The Look?"
"There is an uncanny resemblance if you make Kaidoh look down while pulling up an eyelid." Kikumaru blurted out with a grin. He turned toward the viper. "Want to try it, Kaidoh?"
"Hssss…"
"Heh heh. I was just kidding," Kikumaru winked as he held up two fingers in a V. But the damage had already been done. Kaidoh looked up and found Oishi, Fuji, and the baka powerhouse peering curiously at him, as if imagining the picture Kikumaru painted for them. The thought obviously amused the three.
"Hssss…" Kaidoh widened his eyes in annoyance.
"Waaah! Kowai, kowai!" Momoshiro exclaimed in mock fear.
"You will be afraid all right," Kaidoh spoke, surprising all of them. He hissed as he stood up, walking to the middle court for his practice game. "She is after us."
* * *
Takeshi Momoshiro whistled while riding his bike on his way home. The practice finished pretty late that day. He turned his bike to the left for a shortcut. He had to get home before he missed his favorite primetime show.
Flanked by tall trees on both sides, the rough empty pathway would take him home half the time his usual route did. The bright full moon, the only source of light, cast eerie shadows on the road ahead of him. No sound could be heard except for the crickets that chirped the night away.
But Momoshiro didn't notice any of this for he was too busy laughing his butt off at the viper.
'She is after us'? What the heck was he talking about? The movie character Sadako? That guy's imagination was working after all! Momoshiro laughed yet again. The viper must have been scared by that prank call in Fuji-senpai's house. They were going to die in a week, huh? Feh! The Mamushi must've been watching too many horror films that---
He suddenly pulled his bike to a halt. He quickly whirled around to look behind him, at the cluster of trees, and frowned. He could have sworn that a figure in white was standing by the road when he sped by. But no one was there now.
What in the world was that? Was he just imagining stuff?
Momoshiro gave a last look behind him and pushed the bike pedals forward. He was suddenly feeling… uneasy. His senses heightened as he continued on his way home. He suddenly became aware of his surroundings, that he was alone on an empty road. That the path ahead of him was saturated with darkness, he could easily imagine someone. . . or something appearing in front of him any minute now.
His heart started to beat faster, a bead of sweat ran down the side of his face. He was an idiot for passing by here. He stole a quick look behind him again just to be sure.
And caught a glimpse of white before it disappeared behind the trees.
Kuso!!! Something really WAS there! Momoshiro increased his speed, totally panicking now. Sadako? The Mamushi was right! She really was after them. The film they saw was the real one. Eiji-senpai and Fuji-senpai were wrong. Sadako was the one who called them that Friday. It was no prank call!
He burned rubber and reached his house in five minutes. A new record.
* * *
The powerhouse climbed the stairs that led to his room after dinner. How he was able to eat properly and act calmly in front of his family despite the fear lodged on his throat, he did not know. Thankfully, his parents and siblings didn't notice a thing.
Should he tell them?
No way. What's happening to him was truly unbelievable. They'll think him crazy if he told them that Sadako was after him. He found it stupid himself. But it was real. Sadako was real. And she's going to kill him.
The Mamushi knew about it. Maybe something happened to him too.
Momoshiro shook his head. 'This can't be happening,' he thought as he opened the door to his room. Before he could turn on the lights, his gaze flew to the window before him. The Venetian blinds were rolled up, the street lamp casting a soft white glow to his bedroom. The sliding window was open.
And there he saw a pair of dirty pale hands grabbing hold on his windowsill.
His violet eyes grew wide. He quickly turned toward the door to switch on the lights. Even though light already bathed the room, he stood frozen by the doorway. The hands weren't there anymore. He gulped. She was the one standing on the side of the road before. Waiting… Watching him. Sadako had followed him home.
His hands grew clammy as he broke in a cold sweat. He slowly backed out of his room. There's no way he could sleep there tonight. Or sleep at all for that matter! He went straight to the door across his and opened it; he's going to spend the night in his ototo's bedroom.
The room was dark and quiet… and cold. He frowned. His younger brother usually played with his Playstation 2 around this time. Then why so gloomy inside? He entered the room and found both of his younger siblings sitting in front of the television, watching the tape he bought from the night market.
"Don't!!!" He practically shouted as he hurried toward them. But the flick has already ended. Both of his imoutos sat, still gazing at the screen. Damn it! It's too late! He ran a hand through his dark head as he ejected the tape from the VCR and slammed it on the floor. He knelt in front of them. "Why did you watch that?!" he demanded, grabbing a shoulder on each hand. "You shouldn't have!!!"
"We just saw it in your room." His ototo answered, confusion marring his brows. "What's the matter?"
"Why is oni-chan angry at us?" His little sister asked innocently.
"That tape…" Momoshiro began weakly, releasing his siblings from his tight grasp. He dropped himself on the floor and cursed himself silently. This was getting out of hand. He had to do something. Even his siblings got involved in this mess. Kuso! He looked at the tape. "We have to counteract the curse," he said more to himself than to them.
"Huh?"
Momoshiro didn't answer. He quickly stood up and left his brother's room. Before his imoutos could follow him outside, he returned, carrying the VCR player from his own room. He started connecting the AV cables from one VCR to another.
"I need tapes," he muttered. Momoshiro stood up and grabbed the cursed videotape. He couldn't risk leaving the house without taking the tape with him. Somebody else in his household might accidentally get involved in it. "Don't touch anything." He warned his imoutos. "Just go to sleep or something. I'm going out for a while."
Momoshiro grabbed his bike and sped down the road, toward the nearest video store. He was going to buy eight blank tapes and make a copy of the flick for Fuji-senpai, Taka-san, Eiji-senpai, the mamushi, Echizen, his siblings and for himself. According to the movie, they should make other people see the flick before their week's up. That way, the curse would be lifted.
He hoped.
* * *
Day Four: Tuesday. . .
"What's this for, Momo-senpai?" Echizen's gaze settled on the tape his senpai handed him. Momoshiro found him in the Tennis locker room as he was putting on his blue and white jersey. The junior quickly took Echizen's copy from his bag and gave it to him. The freshman looked at his senpai suspiciously. "This isn't porn, is it?"
"Baka." Momoshiro replied. He was in no mood for jokes, which was a first. He's tired, overwrought, and… scared. "Make someone watch that. It'll break the curse."
"Curse?"
Before the junior could answer, the door opened. Fuji and Kawamura stepped inside the room. Perfect timing! Momoshiro was already standing in front of them, their copies in hand, before his senpais could even drop their bags on the bench. Both seniors looked at each other first before their gazes settled on the tapes. They took it from the junior.
"What's this, Momo?" Fuji asked with light curiosity. He smiled as he handed the tape back to Momoshiro. "If this is porn. . ."
"Porn?!" Kawamura exclaimed in disgust, giving the tape back to the junior as well. "My father will kill me if he---"
"It isn't porn!" Momoshiro cried in exasperation. What was the matter with these people? "You have to make someone watch that for you. And the curse lifts."
"What curse?" Kawamura asked as he placed his bag inside his shelf and prepared to change for practice. Echizen sat on the bench and proceeded to tie his shoes. Fuji put his copy in his bag and took out his jersey and training clothes. He looked at the junior. Momoshiro was obviously tense about something. There were dark circles under his eyes. And his hair was quite messy, as if he ran his hand through it for a hundred times that day. What's going on?
"Remember the film we watched last Friday? The one taken from the movie The Ring?" When all three answered yes, Momoshiro continued. "Well, Sadako really is after us! The Mamushi was right. We are going to die in seven days." He paused and counted. "Well, we only have three now."
The three stopped whatever they were doing and stared at Momoshiro.
"I know it sounds crazy. But there were signs," the spiky-haired junior said, "just like in the movie!" He persisted when none of them spoke. He looked from one regular to another. Taka-san had an incredulous expression pasted on his face. Fuji-senpai, being pokerfaced that he was, still displayed mild curiosity, but the smile was gone. Echizen was smirking at him. Ho, he thought this was funny, eh?
"What were these signs in the movie?" Momoshiro returned his gaze to the tensai, remembering that he hadn't watched The Ring.
"Remember the phone call that came after the film in your Rec Room, Fuji-senpai?" When the brown haired tensai nodded, the junior continued. "That's the first sign, the first warning. It wasn't a prank call as you and Eiji-senpai told us earlier. That was really Sadako on the other line!"
Fuji fell silent. Maybe Momoshiro was right. That phone call was rather… weird. The tensai looked back at Momoshiro, his blue sharp eyes held the junior's violet gaze. "Tell us more about these signs."
"Last night, something creepy happened," the dark haired powerhouse told them his experiences the night before. That Sadako followed him through the shortcut he took and that she was hanging outside his bedroom window. "I really saw her! I couldn't even sleep a wink last night!"
The tensai frowned, rubbing a hand on his chin. "Tell me, Momo, is having dreams about her a sign as well?" Fuji didn't want to admit it, but he WAS having dreams about a long haired girl in white lately. He never thought that these dreams meant anything.
Until now.
"I-I think so," Momoshiro shrugged, a worried frown on his face. "She somehow wants to tell you that she's coming. Through dreams or eerie apparitions. As if she wants you to know that she's just there, waiting for the right moment," he paused, "then she goes for the kill."
"Hey, senpais…" Echizen called from the bench.
Fuji nodded. "So if we make someone who hasn't seen the flick watch this tape, we're free from Sadako?"
"Yeah. Hopefully."
"Senpais…" The freshman mumbled.
"Hopefully?" the tensai asked, "why?"
"We have to make sure those people really watch it. If not---"
Echizen stood up and walked toward Momoshiro and Fuji. He waved his red racquet between them as he passed by. "Kawamura-senpai fainted." He said before he shut the door behind him.
* * *
Takashi Kawamura walked down the street toward their sushi restaurant after their afternoon practice. Those talks about Sadako and The Ring made his head hurt. As expected, Eiji merely laughed when Momo told him about the curse. But Eiji took the tape nonetheless, so that the worried junior could stop bugging him about it. Kaidoh took the tape from Momo without a word.
Truth be told, Kawamura knew something was wrong the moment they watched the movie. But just like everybody else, he didn't dwell on it too much. Until Momo told them what happened to him last night. After so much coercion from his teammates, Kaidoh, albeit grudgingly, finally told them of his own experiences.
Silence fell afterward. Even the skeptic Eiji didn't speak. Some of them still had his doubts, others simply believed. Only Echizen, he noticed, showed detached curiosity. Kawamura sighed. Truth or fiction, he has to make someone watch the copy. But who?
A familiar white haired teen walked pass by him, the smoke from his cigarette blew on his face. Kawamura coughed and looked behind him. Was that Jin Akutsu he just saw?
"Hey, Akutsu." Kawamura called and followed his friend, if he could call him that. The tall delinquent student looked behind him and recognized Sushi Boy. Still, he continued walking. Kawamura finally caught up to him. "I heard you left Yamabuki."
Akutsu grunted.
Kawamura scratched his head, ashamed that he asked such a thing. Okay, Akutsu didn't want to talk so…
"Ano, Akutsu, I need a favor." Kawamura started.
The white haired guy scoffed. Yeah right. Like he's going to help sushi boy here.
Kawamura took the tape out of his bag and handed it to Akutsu. "You have to watch this tape for me. It's a horror flick." He explained as they continued to stroll down the busy sidewalk. "But you have to make a copy of it after watching it. And make other people see it. Or else---"
Without a word, Akutsu grabbed the tape. To make him shut up, Kawamura supposed. Akutsu stalked off without looking back. Kawamura watched his friend until he disappeared from his view. See? Jin Akutsu wasn't that bad. He was just misunderstood by everyone. Kawamura smiled. Well, that takes care of the curse. He thought and continued on his way home.
Akutsu looked at the tape Sushi Boy gave him. And without any second thoughts, he deposited it in the nearest trash bin.