I never wanted any of you.
Syllables pooled in Sakura's ears and simply refused to make any sense.
I did not want Kakashi's pity, I did not want Naruto's friendship, and I most certainly did not want your love.
His contemptuous voice rang in her head and created bedlam wherever they touched. Inner Sakura had become about ten entities that were all exhibiting different reactions. One was raging against her skull demanding his blood for retribution, another sobbing in a corner of her mind wishing for a quick death. Part of her had expected this all the time and felt sorry that he was still so blind while yet another piece of her was shocked into silence. (And somewhere deep, deep within the dark places of her mind, a voice whispered smugly 'Told you he was gay'.)
Really, why do you even try anymore? I decided long ago that I did not need your little 'team'. A failure, an outcast, and a hopeless, weak kunoichi. It would take more than that to bring me back to a village that killed my entire clan.
Sakura decided that the side of her filled with bloodlust had chosen the wisest path, so she rushed toward the taunting and swung her fist as hard as she possibly could. He infuriatingly twisted out of the way and she nearly fell but recovered before any face was lost. His cold eyes glared into her own like he was trying to burn them out, but she held the stare. Her typically warm eyes poured her anger and grief and pain into the air between them.
"Sasuke, I'm not going back empty-handed. Stop being a child and come home," she hissed, not showing any sign of the tears she had long since shed for the empty excuse of a boy in front of her.
His sneer held enough malice to provoke her into swinging at him again, and this time, she caught his jaw. The almighty Uchiha heir actually winced as the blow landed and Sakura felt both triumph and guilt for hurting him (though she was sure the triumph won out). Too much chakra had been in the hit, but she knew that shattered knuckles had never felt so good. She pulled back and watched him as he wiped a bit of blood from the corner of his mouth and continued to attempt murder with his blazing stare. Really, though, it was not so intimidating since she had long since mastered The Look herself.
"Itachi is dead, and he won't be coming back! None of them are here, but we are!" she yelled in his face, advancing until they were almost nose-to-nose (if it were not for the approximate foot of height difference).
He had stopped reacting physically, so she raised a hand to touch his face. Instantly, he countered her motions by grabbing that wrist and holding it so tightly she was sure it would break. She reached to undo his grasp, but his other hand caught her rescuing wrist and trapped it as well.
"We cannot help you if you won't let us. We can be your family. We can-" she began, but he cut her off by slamming her back into the stone wall behind her.
"Stop. I told you that I did not want you. You cannot be my family; I lost them already. You are nothing but an annoyance. Why can't you see that? I do not want to be comforted," he whispered, and she almost saw anguish in his livid gaze. "Why do you persist in creating fanciful illusions for yourself? Your home is not mine. I wasted too much of all of our lives to fit back in."
"You've wasted too much of our lives not to pay us back those years," she retorted.
"I never asked you to follow me, you did that on your own," he replied calmly.
His cool manner of brushing off their past incensed her beyond all else, so she pulled her head back and slammed her conveniently wide forehead into his pretty, straight nose. Sick satisfaction settled in her stomach as he sneezed away the blood and blinked around the tears forming in his eyes.
"Sasuke," she began, spitting his name like a curse, "you are so conceited I could strangle you! I wish you could just feel something for once. You are such a bastard."
"Why do you call me that?" the question was posed after the briefest of pauses.
"Well, I was under the impression that it was your name," she replied sarcastically.
"No, no. But it's not right. You promised…" At this point, Sakura considered worrying. He had gone through quite a bit of drama since Itachi's death and the revelation of his resounding innocence. The speeches and emotions he had displayed with were obviously taking a toll on him because he was starting to look very fatigued.
Oh, sweet lord, he's going to have a breakdown. God, help me...
His grip on her wrists suddenly loosened and he fell to his knees. She realized with horror that he was seemed to be silently crying. What had happened to the raging madman that she was sure would have slaughtered her by now? She mourned the lost opportunity to beat him into unconsciousness.
Sasuke seized handfuls of her vest and pushed his face into her stomach while violent sobs shook his body.
"But you loved me…you love me, you must, why else would you come? I want to hate you," he murmured between ragged breaths.
She knelt down and grabbed his face to force him to look into her face. This time, she did not see rage or hate, just fear and pain, clear through the charcoal depths of his eyes. That sarcastic voice in her head even managed to soften enough to consent to her comforting actions.
"Sasuke-kun, why are you crying?" she asked, frightened by the sudden mood change.
He relaxed a bit and the sobs quieted.
"My name…" he muttered, seeming almost ashamed.
For a moment, she silently watched his expression, and then she began to giggle.
"You really are insane," she said, "Really, I thought you had broken already, but a suffix brings you crashing down. If I had known that all it would take…" she broke off and shook her head.
"You can come home. You and Naruto and Sai can fight it out however much you want, and I will criticize your idiocy while I fix you. Kakashi can kick our asses when we don't train hard enough. We can be the team we should have been. Please, try it, Sasuke-kun. It would mean so much to Naruto." She watched his eyes and hoped for a positive reaction.
He surprised her by raising his hand to trail his fingers down her neck.
"And to you?" he asked softly.
"It might make me a little happy, too," she admitted as she closed her eyes to enjoy the feel of his touch. "But if you go insane on me again, I'm feeding you to what is left of your fan club and proposing to Lee."