Things were not the same when he returned. How could they be? Relationships change on their own, twisting, mutating, molding to time, emotion, and action. After what he did, there was no way that any of them could just pick up the frayed ends of the bonds he severed and follow along as though that jagged edge didn't exist. It would have helped if the person that had returned was any different from the one who had left. If he was a bit more open, able to smile a little more easily. But no, he had not miraculously changed after he completed his goal; he was still brooding, silent, and sometimes incredibly cruel.
It amazed her to discover that after he had come back, she no longer cared that he was there. She no longer had that burning desire to see him, to please him, to force him to acknowledge her existence. Perhaps when she realized that he was the same as he had been, she finally accepted that he would never change. And that she would never be able to deal with him as he was.
But the thing that amazed her most was that he seemed to want things to go back to the way they were. Of course he never said as much; that would be far too open, too human, to admit. But she could see it in his actions – how he showed up to train with her and Naruto, though he had never been asked to attend, the way he followed them as they walked and chatted, hanging back like he used to. And if Sakura had had the same feelings for him as she had once before, she would have been thrilled at the slight expression of shock on his face the first time he realized that she was ignoring him. But she did not have the same feelings now, and she did not care anymore.
So when he broke into her window late one night, as she had dreamed of him doing countless times in the past, her heart did not pound, her voice did not quiver.
"What?"
He just looked at her, and if she didn't know him any better, she would have said that he was struggling to find his words. He glared, and they were now on more familiar ground.
"I still think you're annoying. I still hate you."
Sakura felt no hurt, and definitely no surprise. So she told him, straightforward in a way that she had never been before he left – "So?"
He didn't respond, but she could she could see his crimson eyes widen and his shoulders tense. "I'll never love you." Lashing out once again, which was apparently the only thing he knew how to do.
Sakura felt only weariness, and she let that feeling drip from her reply. "I don't care, Sasuke. Go home. I'm tired."
He didn't move for a few seconds, then walked back to her window and slowly climbed out, shutting it softly as he left.
Sakura rolled over, and without any effort at all, fell back into untroubled sleep.