Miss me? It's been nearly four long years since the last update and I deeply apologize! You guys better read it all again from the beginning. I have made some additions and slight changes to improve the quality.

Chapter 5

"Uchiha-san, how are you?"

"Ah! Sasabe-san! I'm doing well," Mikoto answered cheerfully as she turned her full attention to her friend. Sasuke huffed a quick sigh. They were currently in the village's market district where her mother had dragged her to for some shopping. So far, their shopping bag was still empty despite the half hour they'd spent in the place. As soon as they arrived women approached them one after another to share some gossip with her mother and they'd been standing in front of this fruit and vegetable stall for the last ten minutes or so.

With nothing to do, Sasuke looked around with her eyes and spotted a familiar figure heading towards her direction. He had his shoulders slouched forward slightly and his mouth was open in a large yawn. His dark hair was gathered in a ponytail high up on the back of his head and they stood up in short spikes. A medium-sized straw bag was hanging from his right hand and the fat end of a radish was poking out of one corner. He was probably doing the shopping for his mother.

Without thinking, Sasuke's body moved and when she it finally dawned on her that she was walking forward it was already too late. Shikamaru was already in front of her and had come to a sudden halt as he saw her approach. His expression looked unsure at first, and then confused. She understood immediately that they weren't ones who regularly spoke to each other.

Both their eyes were wide with surprise as they stared at each other for a full minute, without speaking. She knew Shikamaru was waiting for her to begin, but it was without any conscious intention at all that she approached him so she had absolutely nothing to say. But she had to.

"Uh... hi," she began, and scrunched her face at her lameness.

"Uh, yeah... hi." The fifteen year old Nara looked even more confused. "Do you need something, Sasuke?"

"No, I... I just wanted... to say... hi." She said forced out calmly. Her cheeks had gone pink with her embarassment. She mostly avoided people ever since her family had died and rarely had she even greeted people whether they talked to her or not. It felt so strange to be so friendly.

"How's your head? I heard you got hit pretty hard."

"What?" She blinked at him.

"Your head." He raised his eyebrow up at her. "Didn't you fall over and got hurt? Kiba just told me. You went on a mission with him some weeks ago, didn't you?"

A flash of memory came to her suddenly. She had been with a team to escort a group of travellers to the country's south border. There had been an ambush, then a skirmish. Her foot had gotten caught in some roots and she had hit her head on a massive oak.

That explained the headaches.

"That's right." She remembered it all now. That morning two weeks ago she had discovered a hole on her shirt and had to change. And halfway through the mission, Kiba had become so angry at one of the travellers when he fed Akamaru some cat food and later lectured the dog for liking it.

Sasuke suddenly felt better, and felt herself offering a very small smile at her academy classmate. Shikamaru smiled back a little, too, and they soon parted ways.

Looking around, Sasabe-san had gone but Mikoto was chatting with yet another female friend and had barely moved a few steps from the spot she had been on. Sasuke sighed again. It was going to be a very long shopping trip.

But as she watched her mother smiling and laughing and very much alive, she felt her spirits flying. This was her wish. She had gone through eight long years of loneliness. Whether this was real or not, at this moment she did not care.

At this moment, she was very happy to be there.

"You have a good eye, young lady," the weapons merchant told her from behind the counter that was nearly completely covered by a wide variety of weapons.

Sasuke tilted the sword towards the light and gazed down admiringly at the gleaming steel. It was beautiful. The blade was sharp, and the balance was incredible. The weight of it in her hand was perfect, as if it was made just for her to weild.

Gripping it firmly, she swung the long blade once. It gave her an amazing feeling. Both the sword and the sensation were familiar.

"This one is called Kusanagi," said the old man, smiling at her. "It seems to like you."

"Yes..." It made a good sound as it slid back into the black scabbard that matched the hilt. With Kusanagi back with her, she could fight her battles more comfortably. Her skill with the sword was excellent. Orochimaru himself had told her so, as her mentor. The past weeks however had not been fully utilized for training and she knew her movements have dulled.

"I'll take it," she smirked to the man.

She had woken up that morning expecting the day to be bad or just okay. If she had spent the day at home or somewhere else that might have been so. She also might never have gotten the chance to regain her lost weapon.

When Orochimaru had given Kusanagi to her she didn't find it to be anything special. It wasn't as sharp as her mentor's own sword, nor did it have any abilities. The snake sannin's blade was able to extended its length and could cut through almost anything.

That was why Sasuke compensated with her lightning chakra which made the blade sharper, and only then could she cut through almost anything and also able to numb an opponent once pierced by her weapon. Truly, she had enjoyed weilding Kusanagi in training and in battle.

Today was an exceedingly wonderful day.

Indeed, she thought, chuckling as she exited the shop.

I, too, am pleased with myself because of this update. Hope you all are too. I shall now carry on to update another female Sasuke fanfic.