A/N: Did the chapter title scare you for a moment? Anyhow, I'm oddly fond of someone here...

And my thanks to Theswanghost01, missmocha77, glitterthorn and supercoconut for all the support. You have made writing this bearable.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

1.00 pm to 1.30 pm: Lesson 9 – Letting go

When all is said and done, hate fades long before love.

/

"Kid, explain this."

"I would like to know as well. Perhaps you could explain instead, seeing as you have been here for much longer than I have, and might actually have encountered this before."

"She was your problem."

"You took this 'problem' off my hands."

"I don't recall doing anything as stupid as that."

We were presently looking in the figurative distance at a faintly familiar silhouette. Although space theoretically did not exist in the border, that figure was reasonably far away. Not that I particularly wanted it to get closer.

Not that I should be calling it an "it" to begin with. I did recognise the characteristic thought patterns belonging to the other soul in the "distance". They were not comforting. The fact that those thoughts could actually spill over to me already said plenty on its own.

"She's unhinged." I stated.

"I can see that. Still your problem, kid," you shot back. "In fact, I think she's here for you."

"You don't know that," I said calmly. "Stop trying to shirk your half of the responsibility."

"It was all yours to begin with," you mutter, but you didn't contest the point again. You flicked a hand in the direction of the unhinged. "You may go first."

I obliged, confident in the assumption that you would not disappear and leave me to fend for myself. I approached the unhinged slowly, which in this border meant that I chose to stay as far as possible until there was no other way to keep away, unless I started going backward.

As I had so assumed, you didn't run.

As I drew closer, the same fuzziness invaded my peripheral awareness. I had encountered unhinged a fair number of times, and yet I never became used to this feeling of discomfort. The same feeling descended every time there was a lack of clarity in thought, which the unhinged brought with them everywhere.

We surrounded the unhinged, who was crouching in an impossible position. Her distended legs were tucked in to her chest, and at the same time they were crossed above the knees. Her disproportionately elongated hands were clamped to the sides of her heads, but through the gaps in the too-thin fingers I could see no trace of ears. For a moment I considered my own ears; once I had ascertained that I had not forgotten about them, I returned my attention to the soul in front of me.

"Get up, girl." Your harsh voice cut through the curtain of hazy thoughts that surrounded the unhinged. It didn't matter that she had no ears. As long as you wanted her to hear you, she would.

She raised her head, and I could see no trace of the beautiful face that she wore on the night she was murdered. Her lips moved, but no sound issued from between them. Instead, I heard it as a thought. Who're you?

I had not quite expected her to forget the people who brought her to the border, but it was not entirely surprising either. After all, she had to be pretty far gone to become unhinged.

Did you die too? She unfurled from her crouch, unsteadily reaching one malformed hand towards you. I noted that her legs were of different lengths, one dipping much further than the other as she dragged herself forward. I'm sorry, I couldn't help you. I'm sorry.

I honestly thought that she should have felt sorrier for herself. Clearly she was unable to tolerate death at this range, and tried to interfere. Like I once did, but you were there to stop me.

Her four-fingered hand clasped your shoulder, and I grudgingly respected you for not pulling away or rejecting her. You patted her hand in a gentle manner, all the while maintaining an unaffected expression.

The unhinged ignored me. Or perhaps she wasn't lucid enough to notice my presence.

I can't do this anymore! She released you and collapsed back into her prior position with all its gymnastic feats that would not have been humanly possible.

"It's time to go," I told her. Her too-large eyes peered up at me. I couldn't find the disapproval I once held so strongly. It seemed to have faded in the face of her current plight. Perhaps she had even subconsciously sought us out, to end her suffering. I will never know. "You've done well."

/

Between the two of us, we escorted her as far along the border as we dared. I appreciated the clarity that descended with her departure. Even though I could not find it within myself to dislike her any further, the presence of the unhinged still felt heavy. And discomforting.

At least she would be able to find peace now. As I made my way back along the border, it did feel like a relief to know that this entire incident found some closure for itself.

"Her hate wasn't enough to keep her from eroding away," I commented without thinking. I hadn't intended to throw it out like this, but it slipped out anyway. In any case, it was just an honest observation.

"Told you it would happen," you said with the same unconcerned expression. "What was it again? 'To err is human, to forgive… inhuman'?"

" 'Divine'," I corrected. " 'To err is human, to forgive, divine.' Who would want to be inhuman?"

"Point being that you shouldn't hold grudges, kid." You pressed on, ignoring my jab. "When it's all over, you find that you'll remember the happy times more than the sad."

That was true. Every time I tried to recall the days from before, I always came back to the same few.

The same few with Sasuke laughing in them.