Somehow... the ruler feature don't work...

DISCLAIMER: I don't wok Murakami's work.

Hey guys! Whats up? Well, to be honest, I came back from California awhile ago... I was just too lazy to post/say anything. The bad news is SCHOOL has STARTED. Oh joy!

9/12/06 - I am taking some extra time to revise/edit some parts of the beginging chapter/all the chapters before this. If you ever noticed, the first chapter has been... somewhat editited to my liking. Not a huge change, but you can re-read it if you want to (it probably won't make anymore sense then it did last time...). The chapters that get edited will have a note by me saying that they were edited.

Besides all of this news, thank you soo much my reviewers! You make me feel very special!

Now lets start the story!

---------- ----------

Chapter 8:

How am I supposed to tell him that I still want him, need him back in my life somehow. It doesn't matter anymore. I'll start from scratch, and build up my relationship with him again.

That'll take forever. He still hates me, probably.

I tug away from Yumi's grip. She doesn't let go, but I don't stop trying. I'm starting to feel Yumi doesn't like Sakuma-san. I hear all her compliments towards him, yet her words are too clear, and crisp. Like a speech recited, over and over again. It feels almost...

Dead. I want to get away from this creepy lady, right now.

"Well, I'll be going now." I watch, almost terrified, as he steps away from us. He silently makes his way to his car, not even turning around to say goodbye.

I want to go with him.

"Now Tatsuha, lets go back inside and clean your room." Her hands wrap themselves around my arm and start to drag me back towards my loving room. I protest by trying to loosen her arms around me.

I can hear the engine roaring, and the driver opening the door smoothly. I'm screaming in my head trying to plead with Yumi, but she just doesn't get it, she won't let go until she sees that he's gone.

I understand who she is now. A vile woman born just to rid my life of him. His precious life which I cannot seem to live without.

She drags me further into the house. I can see the driver pulling out of the parking space.

I guess I have no choice.

My hand flung towards Yumi, palm connecting with her body. Forcefully, I push her off and watch as she tumbles down, her crimson hair falling in front of her face. She looks up at me with her pleading eyes which I don't take, instead I stare her down, hard.

Her body reacts quickly to my cold stare. Eyes retreating, body shrinking back down. After I watched her form crinkle down, my feet twirled my body around, allowing me to race down the hallway towards the front entrance.

I can hear her voice trembling behind me, "Tatsuha, come back!"

The gravel underneath the car moves, the wheels rotating as the driver steps onto the gas. I step outside, not caring that I didn't have my shoes on. The rocks poke at my bare feet, as I take steps closer towards the car. My hands can almost touch the smooth surface of the slowly moving vehicle.

Sweating palms reached out sticking themselves onto the glass window, streaking them slightly. My reflection was casted upon the window, allowing me to see my begging face. I moved along with the turtle slow car, banging my fist against the smoked window.

Somehow, I could almost feel the agony that was bottled up inside seeping through the cracks of the door. Was there always this much feeling kept locked inside? My heart thumped, and I stopped moving with the car. It sped on a little ways before slowing down to halt.

'The car stopped?' I watched as the car reversed itself closer to me. It stopped again, only this time a couple feet away from me. Swallowing the lump in my throat, the door to the car opened slightly, showing a brown mass of hair poking outside.

He spoke, "Get in the car," and I rushed over to his side.

His body scooted over towards the other side as I stepped in. Leather seats were cold to the touch, making me shiver.

Ryuichi's head was turned away from mine, looking outside at the scenery which passed by quickly. We both sat in silence. I took a glimpse at his body and watched him move uncomfortably around in his seat, then I looked at his face, which I shouldn't have done. When I looked up, his eyes connected with mine.

I don't know what it was, but I couldn't pry my eyes off. My face started to feel as if it was burning, like it was being laser beamed off by his eyes. They weren't the kind of, bouncy, happy eyes he always used, no, his eyes looked like they were going to overflow with his tears, glimmering themselves in pure rejected glory.

Like crystal it was, but as beautiful as they were, they struck me with recognition. I felt myself in his position, and he, himself, was in mine. I could just scream at him, ask him to forgive me, but how? I let myself slowly creep up towards Ryuichi, hand moving closer to his.

I watched as he shifted away.

My hand pulled itself back, and I lost contact with his eyes, and not too soon later, he spoke.

"Did you and Yumi get in some fight?" Did he think this was some quarrel of lovers between me an Yumi? He still doesn't understand, not even one bit of it does he understand.

I stay silent, parting my lips slightly as if I were going to say something, but Ryuichi beat me to it.

"It's alright Tatsuha, couples fight all the time." I listen to it ring through my head. In someways I just wanted to strangle him.

In response to his question, I shook my head. He looked at me strangely then turned his head facing the seat in front of him. We drove over a speed bump, my body flinging forwards.

Forgot to buckle.

I clipped in the seatbelt quickly, ensuring my safety during the trip to who knows where. After that whole NG shoot out, I have to be more careful.

My fingers interlocked themselves, discouraging me to touch the beauty which sat next to me. My thumbs twiddled around, confused as to what to do. There was no way that I could speak to Ryuichi...

Until I spotted something on the vehicle floor, next to my feet.

"Is there something you want to tell me then? That is why your here... right?" He shot another look at me. I didn't dare look back, instead I reached down onto the floor and picked up the object, or rather, objects.

A green half used crayon sat delicately in my right clammy hand, while a fresh, paint white piece of paper was held in the other. I placed the sheet in-between Ryuichi and myself, then I let the crayon flow along with my hand, curves and straight edges beginning to take shape.

He didn't even peep a word when we looked at what I wrote, what I drew. All he did was pick up an extra waxy crayon from the ground and doodled along with me, a smile caressing his mouth.

Instead of listening to repeated, recited words, we didn't utter a single word.

We didn't want to listen to sappy speeches, or a simple "I love you". A green marking here and there was enough for me. Enough to make it--

"Absolutely shiny."

But the sheet of paper still sat quietly between, separating us miles apart.

---------- ----------

FYI : This ain't the last chapter!

Thankies for reading chapter 8! Please leave a review!