Vengeance

NiJyuu-Ichi ~ The bittersweet part of her revenge

21- The bittersweet part of her revenge

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As I mentioned before, it had been nearly two months since the little incident. Yes, it's December. The fourteenth of December, to be exact. Apart from my hatred for Sasuke coming back again, nothing really changed. In fact, it's just like the way things were before Kakashi gave us a thirty-day project, except the fact that Karin and Suigetsu were in our class now.

Yup, Sasuke and I were pretty much enemies again, but this time we didn't compete like we used to. We'd stay out of each other's way most of the time, and whenever we happened to cross paths, we shot each other dirty looks. We haven't even engaged ourselves in a real conversation either.

And honestly, I didn't care.

On to today. It was a Friday. Half of the school day had already passed and we only had seven minutes until we'd be dismissed for our lunch period. Kakashi was done discussing this period's lesson with the class, so we were basically chatting away until the seven minutes were up. Well, we WERE chatting until Lady Tsunade happened to walk into the classroom with a clipboard.

Everyone immediately went back to their assigned seats after she told us that she had an important announcement to make. The noise eventually died down, leaving Lady Tsunade to have her say.

She scans the room before clearing her throat. "I would have announced this through the intercom. Apparently, it's down for maintenance, so I'll have to announce it to you all in person."

"Is it something serious?" Naruto suddenly blurts out.

"I wouldn't necessarily say it's important," she stated. "Mr. Owatari decided that we would be holding a winter dance in Konoha's recently built venue. I'm guessing it's because we have enough of some extra yen to hold one--"

"A dance?!"

"Yes, a dance. Now quit interrupting me!"

Finding out that Konoha High was going to hold a winter dance at the new venue was quite a surprise to me. Lady Tsunade also stated that it will be held next Friday (right before winter break) at around 6 o'clock. The price to attend the event wasn't that high, so my parents would surely let me go to the dance.

If I wanted to go, that is.

I hesitated whether I should go or not. I thought about attending the dance because Sakura and Ino were definitely going and they didn't want me to 'miss out on the fun,' but I thought otherwise because that meant I might see two certain people at the dance. Seeing them would most likely ruin my night instantly. It's really no different to a school day because I still see them being all lovey-dovey.

As Sakura, Ino, and I walked down the hallway leading to the cafeteria, they began rambling on about what they should wear to the dance and how we should epically enter the venue on the night of the dance. To be honest, listening to them basically fan-girling over a simple dance made me want to laugh.

But then, something happened that made them want to fan-girl over something else.

The three of us were approaching the lunchroom when suddenly, a familiar voice calls out my name. We stop and turn to the direction the voice came from, only to find Kiba, Shino, and about a meter away from us. As I watched them approach us, I could have sworn that I felt my heart stop at the sight of Kiba. Was something about to happen?

They soon came to a halt once they were a few feet away from us. As for Kiba, he stood right in front of me. It felt as if we were only centimeters apart, which only made me feel even more awkward about the situation.

That was when I realized that neither of us even bothered to speak up. Having no other option, I spoke first. "H-Hey, Kiba-kun," I mentally slapped myself for stuttering. I spoke to him confidently these past two months. Why was I suddenly nervous about how close we were right now?

"Yuri-chan," he smiled. "So, there's this dance coming up..."

I saw where this was going. So did Ino and Sakura, because right away, they began to act giddily. Either it was because Kiba was showing obvious signs that he was going to ask me to the dance, or it was because Shino and Rock Lee had asked them to the dance as well. But then again, I don't really see why Sakura would squeal over Rock Lee or Shino asking her. The only person she ever liked was Sasuke.

I'll ask them later...

"And I was wondering," He scratches the top of his head with his right hand. Kiba breaks his gaze on me and smiles nervously. "Sayuri, can I have the honor of being your date to the dance?"

Well this was new. All these times, he treated me as a close friend, even though I knew of his feelings for me. And now that he's asking me if he could basically be by my side through the whole event... as more than friends. I think he believes he's ready to give this a try.

It didn't take long for me to respond back. I just stood there, staring at him for a moment until I finally nodded. "Of course."

His eyes lit up instantly. Kiba's arms dropped to his sides as he stared at me in slight bewilderment. "Really?"

I playfully rolled my eyes as a smile crept up on my face. "Yes, really."

Kiba suddenly engulfed me into a hug, catching me off-guard. He went on and on about how thankful he was that I had agreed to be his date to the dance and that I wouldn't regret my decision. I just laughed it off while I hugged him back for a moment before he finally pulled away.

Sakura and Ino were there to witness the whole scene, but Shino and Rock Lee had already left a few minutes ago. The four of us walked in together, and when we reached my usual table with the two girls, Kiba tells us that he had to go to his table with his friends.

"Why so soon?" Ino whined.

"Sorry, Shino's waiting for me," I nod understandingly, turning to take a seat next to Sakura. A hand abruptly stops me for a moment, and that was when I felt a pair of lips on my right cheek. I froze in place for a second. 'Did he just...?'

"See you in class, Yuri-chan." I saw him flash a toothy grin at me before walking off to his table. Grasping my sanity, I shook my head as I sat down next to Sakura before my wobbly legs could give in and make me fall.

Sakura was the first to react to what she witnessed earlier. "Wow! You guys are acting all romantic around each other and you two aren't even dating yet. How is this possible?"

Ino, who sat across from me and Sakura, scoffed as she laid her forearms on the table. "Who cares? At least he's taking it slow unlike that Uchiha. Kiba's more deserving of Sayuri's heart, and that's a fact that you can't argue with."

While Ino kept going on about how Kiba was the right guy for me, I couldn't help but let my eyes scan the cafeteria. I doze off for a moment until I finally met Sasuke's gaze. He was staring at me from his table across the room. As soon as he realized he was caught, he turns his head away and faced Karin, who was basically clinging onto his arm as Naruto spoke to him. I turned my head away from them as well, but with a curious expression on my face.

Was Sasuke watching me this whole time? Did he see Kiba asking me to the dance? Did he see him kiss my cheek?

At that thought, I smiled. If he had been watching us the whole time, chances are he was jealous. The next thing I find out he's in the same amount of pain I was in when he chose Karin over me.

Now you'll know how I felt, Sasuke Uchiha.