Disclaimer: Characters depicted in the story aren't mine. They belong to Takeshi Konomi. Sadako isn't mine either. Wouldn't even dream of owning her.

Seven Days

Day Five: Wednesday. . .

"I shouldn't have done it! I shouldn't have!" Kunimitsu Tezuka heard Kawamura whine as he entered the tennis court that afternoon. His cold gaze settled on a group of regulars, namely Oishi, Kawamura, and Momoshiro, standing in a cluster by Court A. "I should've thought real long and hard about it! I shouldn't have let my fear get to me!" The panic in the senior's voice was not lost to Tezuka as he watched his teammate run his hand through his dark blond head. Hands in his pockets, Tezuka ignored the group and scanned the area.

The Kantou Tournament was coming up. The team seemed to be ready for it, based on their performance during the practice games. The intra-school ranking tournament, which will decide who the representatives for Kantou are, will be held next week. Even the data collector Inui seemed heated up for the upcoming tournament.

Tezuka touched his left elbow. His joints had healed. But. . .

"That tape is going to kill him! And it's all because of my selfishness!" Tezuka's gaze returned to the group of regulars. Kawamura sounded definitely panicked now. Freaked out even. "I'm going to have nightmares forever."

"B-But you'll die if you don't, Taka-san…" Momoshiro tried to reason out. Tezuka frowned as he caught some of their conversation. What was this nonsense about dying?

"What are you three doing there?" Without moving from his spot, the Seigaku Captain called to them in a clear powerful voice. "Practice started half an hour ago."

Momoshiro flinched when he heard Tezuka behind him. "A-Ah, buchou. . ."

"On to your designated courts for practice."

"H-Hai!" The junior quickly nodded and grabbed his racquet as he ran toward the middle court. He doubled up with Fuji for the practice game against Kikumaru and Echizen. Kawamura scratched his head as he made his way toward Kaidoh. He was his opponent for the afternoon. And Kawamura didn't know if he could play Kaidoh in his best form.

"HORA! HORA! COME ON, MAMUSHI-CHAN!!!" Kawamura goaded his opponent the moment he touched his racquet. Kaidoh hissed as his grip on his racquet tightened.

And the game started.

"Ne, Tezuka," Oishi said as he stood beside the team captain. The talk about the curse was making half of the regulars apprehensive. Momoshiro was anxious about it the most since he had a first hand experience with Sadako. And now, Kawamura's experiencing a major guilt trip. Oishi shook his head. Fear was contagious. Even he was getting affected by it. "Have you heard of the movie The Ring?"

Tezuka's gaze never left the courts when he answered his friend. "No."

Oishi sighed. What did he expect? He should have seen that coming. The serious Tezuka would never waste his time watching such films. "The team's pretty freaked out by that movie."

When Tezuka still didn't say anything, the vice captain proceeded to tell him about the movie and the tape Momoshiro got from the night market. The disturbing apparitions of Sadako were also mentioned. Still, there was no reaction from Tezuka.

Typical.

"Momo and the others believe that they're cursed and will die on Friday," Oishi shook his dark head. "It's robbing them of their concentration." He sighed as he watched the game between Kawamura and Kaidoh. The junior's Snake Shots weren't working. And Kawamura's burning play was far from desirable. Oishi winced.

This was bad. And Tezuka's bearing witness to their performances. This was so bad.

"If this continues," the captain finally answered, "they will not be allowed to compete for the intra-school ranking tournament."

"W-What?"

"Who among the regulars watched the film?"

Albeit surprised from Tezuka's abrupt and cold decision, Oishi answered, "Taka-san and Kaidoh." He nodded toward the players on Court A and then, his gaze settled on the middle court. "Fuji and Momo; Eiji and Echizen." A sinking feeling settled in Oishi's stomach. He knew exactly why the buchou reacted that way.

Tezuka thought of their circumstance unfounded. He simply didn't believe the deadly situation his teammates were in.

Ryuzaki-sensei chose that moment to walk in the court. She signaled for Tezuka, raising some papers for him to fill out. Tezuka nodded. His attention shifted to his responsibility of filling out the four blocks with the participants of the intra-school ranking tournament. Cursed or not, as they firmly believed, the competition must continue.

"This nonsense will end by Friday." Tezuka said before he walked toward their coach. Oishi shook his head yet again as he watched the captain leave. It certainly WILL end by Friday, taking more than half of the regulars with it.

* * *

"Bui, bui, buiii!" Kikumaru cheered and raised two fingers in a V. "Won the game!" He raised his right hand in a high five toward his doubles partner. Echizen grudgingly returned it with his left.

The game between doubles pairs Fuji-Momoshiro and Kikumaru-Echizen ended with a score of 7-5.

Fuji's smile never faltered. "Good game, Eiji, Echizen." He said as they shook hands by the net.

Eiji grinned. "Thanks," he looked at the troubled junior. "Momo's not himself today. Still thinking about your so-called dilemma?"

"When you sense Sadako lurking about you, Eiji-senpai, you CANNOT stop thinking about it," Momoshiro sighed as he rested his racquet on his shoulder.

The two non-believers, Kikumaru and Echizen, looked at each other, skepticism obvious. "Whatever you say, senpai," Echizen mumbled and left the court.

The team was soon dismissed after that. Kawamura was still terribly bothered by what he did to Akutsu. Fuji and Eiji sympathized with him as they walked toward the locker room. Kaidoh remained silent the whole time as he packed his things inside his bag. Momoshiro and Echizen, as per usual, walked home together after the club activity. Both were quiet, deep in their own thoughts, until Momoshiro broke it.

"Have you given your copy to anyone yet?"

Echizen sipped from his drink which they bought from a nearby burger joint. He looked at his senpai and shrugged. "I completely forgot all about it."

Momoshiro sighed. The freshman wasn't taking the curse seriously. And he's tired of convincing everyone that it's real. Fine. If they didn't want to believe them, so be it. "I did my part by making copies for you guys. If you want to die on Friday, it's your choice." Momoshiro said sternly. "Just don't say I didn't warn you."

"Have you given your copy to anyone, senpai?"

"W-Well, no." Momoshiro frowned. That's exactly what's bothering him now. He couldn't make himself do it. He's passing the curse to others and killing them in the process. And he being the one responsible for their deaths will stab at his conscience forever.

Taka-san's mind must've been filled by fear when he gave his copy to Akutsu. That's why he had the guts to pass on the curse to others. His senpai should feel relieved by now. But after thinking rationally about it, the guilt comes, like a devastating blow that will weaken the mind with remorse.

Echizen smirked. "You should worry about yourself first, senpai, before you worry about others."

Momoshiro pondered upon Echizen's comment as they continued to walk home. The freshman would definitely have no qualms about passing the curse on to others. That is, if he believed he was cursed. If only Momoshiro could think the same way. . .

"I'm in the rhythm!" Both turned to look when they heard a familiar voice behind them. And saw Akira Kamio and Shinji Ibu of Fudomine before they disappeared inside the arcade. "I'm definitely going to get that Dead End song of Dance Dance Revolution 7th Mix and win it! I'll be the ultimate 'revolutioner'!"

Echizen sipped his drink as a sweatdrop formed on his head. 'Revolutioner', eh? Was that even a word? He finished his drink and dumped it on a nearby trash bin. As he turned to leave, he felt Momoshiro grab his collar as he hauled him back.

"Itte!" Echizen choked out.

Momoshiro ignored him. "I'm the ultimate 'revolutioner'! No Fudomine underdog is going to beat me!" he raged as his burning resolve returned to him. Momoshiro dragged Echizen inside the arcade while the latter tried to free himself from his senpai's grasp.

Echizen and Ibu were left standing by the dance podium with their friend's bags in their hands. Momoshiro and Kamio, intent on outdoing each another, stepped on their dance pads and whirled in time with the fast beat of Dead End as it reverberated inside the noisy arcade. They were gathering quite a crowd since both were performing quite well. And dancing the Dead End was not something one can ignore.

"Ne." Ibu looked at his companion as the Seigaku regular suddenly spoke to him. Echizen was holding up a tape to him. "This is a horror film Momo- senpai gave us. I'm done with it. You can have it."

"You're watching films during school week?" The purple haired Ibu replied. When Echizen merely shrugged, Ibu continued his mumbling habit. "That's not right. It could ruin your concentration on your studies. And your tennis practices. You should stop doing that. Your parents are paying good money for you to study. They are expecting you to finish school without failing any subjects. Then again, it's your life. If you want to ruin it by watching films during the weekdays. . ."

"Just take the tape," Echizen interrupted Ibu's long monologue and dumped the tape on his free hand. He unzipped Momoshiro's bag and took out his senpai's copy. "This is a copy for your friend. Momo-senpai has enough to give away."

* * *

"Tadaima!" Eiji Kikumaru called cheerily as he opened the front door to his house and stepped inside. He paused by the foyer and removed his shoes. He slipped in to his house slippers (with a cute bear's head decorated on top) and walked toward the dark living room. He looked around.

No one was home. Strange. It was quarter to seven. Someone should be home by now.

"Okaa-san? Nee-chan?" He called again as he walked toward the empty kitchen and turned on the lights. His gaze settled on the ref, a note was posted there. He ripped it off and read it.

"Eiji,

Took your imoutos (younger siblings) out to a movie. Be back by dinner.

Mom"

"Wai, a movie. I'm envious. Should have come home earlier," Kikumaru scratched his red head. "Oh well, there's always next time." He exited the kitchen and went up to his room. Dumping his bag near Daigorou, his big stuffed bear, Kikumaru took out comfortable clothes from his closet and changed. He grabbed his toothbrush and went straight to the bathroom. Only to find that his favorite toothpaste was missing.

"Nee-chan!" Kikumaru groaned. She took it again! He stomped toward his sister's room and opened the door. It must be in her bathroom. Well, if she emptied it again, she'd better replace it!

As he was crossing her room toward the bathroom, a thudding sound came from her closet. He paused. What was that? It was as if something bumped itself on the closet door. W-Was. . . something inside nee-chan's closet? Unreasonable fear suddenly crept up to his chest.

From the movie The Ring, the scene where a girl's dead body was found inside the closet flashed in his mind. She was pale; and had a horrified expression on her face. As if she saw the most terrifying thing in her life and died because of it. It was the first scary scene from the movie and he never forgot the expression on the girl's face. Then, could it be that. . ?

Baka! He scolded himself. No one else in his family watched the film. Only he did. He gulped as realization took place. Yeah, only. . . he. . . did. . .

Kikumaru mentally shook himself. It was just a movie. Duh. He didn't believe Momo when he said they were cursed. And there was no reason for him to start believing now. For all he knew, Momo was just pulling their legs.

He slid open his sister's closet. And for the first time in his life, screamed as something fell at his feet.

There she was! Sadako! Sprawling down at his feet. Her long black hair splayed around her, Sadako made no sign of getting up. Was she going to crawl toward him?! Years of playing acrobatic tennis made his feet move even before his mind could tell his body what to do. He dashed out of the room before she could reach out and grab his leg. He raced down the steps, almost falling in the process, and broke out of the house.

She was inside his house! And will soon be coming out to get him!!!

He ran and ran. To where he didn't know. He just wanted to get away from the house. But he knew that escape will be futile. Sadako was after him. Kikumaru risked a look behind him. As expected, she wasn't following him. But he knew she's around somewhere. She could even be right in front of him! Waiting… For him. He ran faster.

And he bumped right into her.

Kikumaru fell backward because of the impact. "GET AWAY FROM ME!!!" He shouted, shutting his eyes to avoid looking at her terrifying face. "TASUKETE!!!"

"Calm down, Eiji," a deep, familiar voice interrupted Kikumaru's screams. The acrobatic player instantly stopped when he recognized the voice. He looked up and found the deadpan face of Sadaharu Inui. "What are you screaming for help for?"

"Inui!" Kikumaru exclaimed with relief. He accepted the hand Inui held out to him as he pulled him up. Kikumaru quickly looked around him, looked for any sign of Sadako. There was none. His fear somehow subsided. Having someone with him, anyone with him for that matter, calmed him a bit. At least he wasn't alone anymore. "She's after me, Inui!"

"Who?"

"Sadako!"

Sadako? From The Ring? Inui didn't answer. Instead, he took out his notebook from his bag and started writing on it. "Eiji Kikumaru is scared of a movie character." He nodded to himself. "Ii data."

"Inui!!!"

"What is this nonsense about Sadako?" Inui asked as he slipped his notebook back in his bag. Eiji quickly told him the story. From the cursed tape that Momo bought to their experiences with Sadako. Inui nodded his understanding and took out his notebook once again. "Good data. Yes. Good data."

"Inui!!!"

"Let's check out your nee-san's room. You could be imagining things again."

"I wasn't!" Kikumaru answered. Then he sighed. Inui's the science freak in the team. He would never believe in supernatural phenomena. And he'd certainly never believe in Sadako. For him, he should see things for himself first before he starts believing. And Kikumaru understood that. "Okay, you check out the room. I'm not going in there again."

Inui nodded and waited for Eiji to lead the way to his house. The front door was, to Kikumaru's surprise, closed. That can't be. He left it hanging open when he ran out of the house. Then who. . .?

The thought of Sadako closing the door when she went out after him was quite hilarious. Kikumaru didn't know if he should laugh at it or cry. Sadako was after him, and she was thoughtful enough to close the door after her. A chuckle broke out of him which quickly turned into a groan. Geez, he was losing it!

He's losing it. Inui thought as he waited for Kikumaru to open the front door. He noticed that his teammates were quite bothered the past few days. He knew they were reacting to a silly movie badly. But he didn't expect that it was this bad.

Kikumaru led him to the second floor and pointed at his sister's door which was, again to his surprise, closed. Really, so thoughtful of her, Kikumaru sighed. "In there." He told Inui. The taller boy reached for the knob and pushed the door open. He went inside. Kikumaru waited for him to finish inspecting the room.

"There's nothing in here, Eiji." Inui called. Kikumaru took a deep breath and peeked inside the room. The closet door was shut, no surprise there. And there was no sign of Sadako anywhere. "It's just your imagination, Eiji."

Kikumaru vehemently shook his head and pointed at something on the floor.

His toothbrush was lying there, the only proof of the experience he had with Sadako.

* * *

A/N: Whew! Didn't expect this to be this long. And I was supposed to include the sixth day. Oh well, there's always the next chapter. Hope you liked this one! ^_^ (Inui's name… Sadaharu… it's like Sadako, isn't it?)