As she approached Kakashi's home, Sakura took a deep breath, mentally preparing herself for whatever awaited her. She knocked on the door, and after a moment, Kakashi opened it, his gaze guarded.

"What do you want?" he asked, his tone still laced with bitterness.

"I want to talk, Kakashi," Sakura replied, her voice steady. "Can we please have a conversation without us fighting?" she implored, her arms are covered with a cloth sleeve, hiding her bruises from view.

Kakashi hesitated, eyeing Sakura warily. After a moment, he stepped back, allowing her to enter. The atmosphere in the house remained tense, and Sakura could feel the weight of unspoken words lingering in the air.

Yumi, who had been playing quietly in a corner, looked up with a mix of curiosity and concern as Sakura entered. "Mama, is everything okay? Why were you not here earlier?"

Sakura gave Yumi a reassuring smile, ruffling her silver hair. "Everything will be fine, sweetheart. Mama just needs to talk to Papa." she said. "Why don't you go back to your room, we'll just talk."

Sakura watched her daughter turn and enter her room. As soon as she heard the lock clicked, she turned to Kakashi.

"What is it that you want?" his cold voice cutting through Sakura's indecision.

Sakura took a deep breath, gathering her thoughts before speaking. "I want to understand what's happening, Kakashi. I want to understand why you're pushing everyone away, especially Yumi and me. Naruto told me about the pressure from the Council, but shutting us out won't make things better."

Kakashi crossed his arms, his expression guarded. "I don't need your understanding, Sakura. I don't need anyone's help."

Sakura sighed, frustration creeping into her voice. "But you do need help, Kakashi. You're not the same person I knew. This anger, this hostility—it's not you. The Kakashi I know won't lay a finger on people he cares about. You won't hurt the people important to you. The Kakashi I know won't hurt me. Please let me in. Let me love you."

Kakashi's eyes narrowed, a mix of emotions flickering across his face. He seemed torn between the walls he had built and the woman standing before him, expressing genuine concern.

"Love me?" he scoffed, bitterness in his tone. "Love doesn't fix everything, Sakura. It doesn't erase the years you were gone, the pain of being alone, the weight of decisions made without me."

Sakura took a step closer, her gaze unwavering. "No, it doesn't erase the past, Kakashi. But it can heal. We can work through this together. I know I made mistakes, but I came back because I care about you, about Yumi. I want to help you, to be there for you."

Kakashi turned away, his visible eye focused on a distant point. "You can't fix everything, Sakura. You can't fix me."

Sakura reached out, gently turning him to face her. "I'm not trying to fix you, Kakashi. I just want to be there for you. Let me be there for you; you can lean on me. Please, Kakashi. I love you, I can't take seeing you like this."

But Sakura's plea fell into deaf ears as Kakashi's frustration erupted into anger. He pushed her away, his visible eye ablaze with resentment.

"Love?" he spat out, the bitterness in his tone cutting through the air. "Your love doesn't change the fact that you abandoned me, Sakura. You left me alone, hid my daughter from me and now you want to play the caring wife and mother? You're not my wife, Sakura. You will never be my wife. You're just an entertainment. I don't need you."

Sakura, though hurt by Kakashi's words, refused to back down. She took a deep breath, steadying herself against the verbal and emotional onslaught.

"Kakashi, I understand that I hurt you. I never intended to abandon you. The choices I made were to protect both you and Yumi. I thought it was the best way to keep you safe. I know I can't change the past, but I want to be here for you now. I want to help you face whatever is tormenting you. We can still make things right."

Kakashi's face contorted with anger, and he took a step towards Sakura, his voice rising. "Make things right? You think you can just waltz back into my life and fix everything? You think your apologies and so-called love can undo the pain and loneliness I felt? Do you think it can undo all the humiliation that I received?" he asked. He scoffed, malice reflected in his eyes. "The Great Copy Ninja, Rokudaime Hokage of Konoha Hatake Kakashi, dumped by his 20-year-old girlfriend. Why Kakashi? Can't satisfy your young girlfriend?" he echoed all the jabs that his friends asked him when she left.

Sakura winced at the harsh words, the pain in her heart matching the intensity of Kakashi's anger. She knew that his wounds ran deep, and she felt a profound sense of regret for the hurt she had unintentionally caused.

"Kakashi, I'm sorry for the pain I caused you," she said, her voice sincere. "I never meant to humiliate you or make you feel abandoned. I made decisions out of fear, not malice. I know I can't change the past, but I'm here now because I care about you. I want to understand and support you through whatever you're going through."

Kakashi's anger seemed to intensify, and he took another step closer, his visible eye blazing with resentment. "Understand? Support? You think you can just walk back into my life and be the hero? You think I need your pity or your support? I don't need anything from you."

"Kakashi, please." She implored. "I want to help. You can get out of that anger."

Kakashi's laughter was bitter and devoid of any humor. "Help? There's no helping me, Sakura. You can't fix the mess I've become. I don't need your pity, and I definitely don't need your help." He turned away, as if unable to bear the intensity of the conversation.

Sakura, refusing to be deterred, took a step closer, her eyes pleading. "Kakashi, I don't pity you. I love you, and I want to understand. You're not alone in this. Yumi needs her father, and I don't want to see you destroy yourself with this anger."

Kakashi rounded on her, his gaze piercing. "Yumi is none of your concern. You lost that right when you decided to keep her away from me. I'm just taking back what is rightfully mine, Sakura. Yumi is my daughter. Yumi is mine. And I won't let you take away my daughter from me."

Sakura felt a chill run down her spine at Kakashi's vehement words. The intensity of his possessiveness over Yumi raised alarms within her. She took a step back, maintaining a calm exterior despite the storm of emotions inside her.

"Yumi is our daughter, Kakashi," she stated firmly. "I never intended to keep her away from you permanently. I did what I thought was best for both of you at the time. But now, I want us to be a family. Yumi needs both her parents, and I won't let this anger and hostility ruin her chance of having that."

Kakashi's eyes narrowed, and a tense silence settled in the room. The weight of their unresolved issues hung in the air, suffocating any possibility of an amicable resolution. Sakura knew that breaking through Kakashi's walls wouldn't be easy, but she was determined to try.

"I'm not expecting everything to go back to how it was. I just want the chance to support you, to be a part of your life. You're not alone, Kakashi. We can face this together."

Kakashi remained silent, his gaze fixed on Sakura, a myriad of emotions playing across his face. The room seemed to pulse with tension as the weight of their shared history and the current turmoil hung heavily in the air.

"Listed to me, Sakura, and remember" he said, his voice deadly. "you will never see Yumi again. You will never set foot in this house again."

Sakura felt a sinking feeling in her chest as Kakashi's words echoed through the room. The finality of his declaration hung heavily in the air, a stark contrast to the hope she had carried with her.

"Kakashi, please," she pleaded, her voice barely above a whisper. "Don't do this. Yumi needs both of us. We can find a way to work through this, to be a family."

Kakashi's expression remained hardened, unmoved by Sakura's plea. "Yumi is staying with me. And you're not welcome here."

"Kakashi…" she murmured his name. "please let me in. Let me help you. I will do everything for you." She implored.

Kakashi, however, was not ready to accept her offer. His frustration boiled over, and he raised his hand as if to slap the woman in front of him. But before he could act, he saw how she flinched away from him as if trying to protect herself by raising her arms to her face, he saw the unshed tears in Sakura's eyes, and saw a glimpse of purple-tinted skin just below her dress sleeve.

He lowered his hand and grabbed Sakura's hand. He dragged down the cloth that covers her arms, and as if he was awakened from a deep slumber, he saw for the first time the purple bruises that mar her beautiful skin.

Kakashi's eyes widened in shock as he took in the sight of the bruises on Sakura's arms, evidence of the pain she had endured. The anger that had consumed him moments ago began to dissipate, replaced by a sense of guilt and remorse.

"Sakura, what... what happened?" Kakashi's voice was no longer laced with hostility and anger, but rather with genuine concern. He released her hand, his eyes searching hers for an explanation.

Sakura looked at Kakashi, her eyes reflecting a mix of pain and vulnerability. But she chose to keep her mouth shut. As she trained her eyes on the floor, Kakashi raised her head to make her look at him.

"Look at me, Sakura." And the gentleness in his voice is a stark contrast to his anger that it almost gave her a whiplash. "Tell me, what happened to you? Who did this?"

Sakura avoided his eyes and pulled her arm away gently, covering the bruises once again. She met Kakashi's gaze, her expression a mix of sadness, hurt, and disappointment. "Its okay, Kakashi. You didn't mean to." She lowered her gaze as she cannot take the emotions playing in his eyes. "I'm okay." She murmured.

"I… I did that? To you?" He asked, disbelief in his voice. "I… hurt you?"

"It's fine, Kakashi." Sakura consoled him. "Its okay. Its not painful anymore." She lied through her teeth. But it doesn't matter she is starting to break through his walls. "It's not your fault, Kakashi."

Kakashi's eyes reflected a whirlwind of emotions—shock, guilt, and a hint of realization. The weight of his actions settled heavily on his shoulders as he processed the sight of the bruises he had unknowingly inflicted on Sakura.

"No, Sakura, it's not okay," Kakashi replied, his voice tinged with regret. He took a step back, his visible eye filled with self-reproach. "I never meant... I didn't realize..."

Sakura reached out, placing a gentle hand on Kakashi's arm. "Kakashi, I know this isn't you. There's something happening, something that's affecting you. We need to face it together. Let me help you, please."

But it was as if there was a switch that had been flicked. As soon as the words left her mouth, Kakashi was angry at her again.

Kakashi scoffed, turning away. "Help? You left, Sakura. You left me alone to deal with all of this. Now you waltz back in, thinking you can fix everything. It's too late for that."

Sakura took a step closer, her gaze unwavering. "It's never too late, Kakashi. We were a team once, facing challenges together. I care about you, and I care about Yumi. We can't just stand by and watch you crumble under the pressure."

Kakashi's eyes flickered with a mix of emotions—anger, pain, and something else that Sakura couldn't quite pinpoint. "You should have thought about that before keeping my own daughter away from me."

Sakura sighed, her shoulders slumping. "I've explained my reasons, Kakashi. I didn't want Yumi to be caught in the crossfire of political turmoil. I thought I was protecting both of you."

Kakashi turned back to face her, his expression unyielding. "Protecting? Or hiding? You made decisions for me without even asking. Don't pretend like you did it all for my sake."

Sakura took a deep breath, trying to maintain her composure. "I didn't want you to get hurt, Kakashi. I thought I was doing what was best for you and for Yumi. But now, I see that you're hurting, and I want to help. Let me be a part of your life again."

He grabbed her arm roughly, and she can feel another bruise forming. He is really different, the Kakashi she knows won't hurt her.

"I let you in once, and you left. I won't let you have so much power over me again."

Sakura winced at the pain in her arm, but her gaze remained steady. "Kakashi, hurting me won't change the past. I can't undo what happened, but I want to be here for you now. We can face this together, like we used to."

Kakashi's grip tightened, his eyes narrowing. "You think a few kind words and promises will make everything right? It's not that simple, Sakura. You can't just come back and expect everything to go back to the way it was."

Sakura took a deep breath, summoning her strength. "I don't expect it to be easy, Kakashi. I know I have a lot to work through. That I have to prove to you that I'm not leaving you again. I can work on that, but we can't ignore the fact that something is seriously wrong. I want to help you, but you need to let me in."

"I can't," he muttered, his voice barely audible. "I won't let you in, Sakura. I will never ever trust you again."

She ignored the painful words he is throwing at her and his fingers digging in her skin hiding her wince, she reached up to him. "Let me in."

Kakashi's gaze wavered, the intensity of the moment hanging in the air. For a moment, it seemed as if he might resist, but then something shifted in his eyes. The grip on Sakura's arm loosened, and he released her.

Sakura rubbed her arm, the pain subsiding. She met Kakashi's eyes, searching for any sign of the man she had once known—the man who had been her teammate, her friend, and something more.

Kakashi looked away, his shoulders tense. "I don't need you, Sakura. I just want my daughter."

Sakura, undeterred by Kakashi's resistance, took a step closer. "You can have her, Kakashi. Yumi deserves to have both of us in her life. But she also deserves to have a father who is not consumed by anger and pain."

Kakashi remained silent, his eyes fixed on a distant point. The room felt heavy with unresolved tension, the echoes of their tumultuous history reverberating in the air.

"I don't need you, Sakura. I want you to leave. Leave and never come back."

Sakura's heart sank at Kakashi's words, the weight of rejection settling upon her. However, she refused to back down, determined to break through the walls he had erected.

"I'm not leaving, Kakashi. Not without knowing that you'll be okay," she asserted, her voice unwavering.

Kakashi's jaw tightened, his emotions hidden behind a stoic facade. "You can't fix me, Sakura. I don't need your help."

Sakura took a deep breath, steadying herself. "Maybe I can't fix everything, but I can be there for you. We were a team, Kakashi. We faced challenges together, and this should be no different. Yumi needs both of us, and I won't turn my back on her or you."

"Maybe you should have thought about that before you left." Kakashi dragged her out. "I don't need you."