Cross had not been entirely sure what training with Misa was going to be like. In his youth, he had done a substantial amount of self-training regarding his Sight. It had started small, simply rolling a dice on a table with his eyes closed and divining what number the dice had landed on before opening his eyes.

In the beginning, just doing that a few times had left him with sweat pouring down his face and a blistering headache that would last him well into the night.

Then it had been two dice, then three, then an entire handful.

Figuring out the general content of books without opening them.

Watching people from the guild windows and knowing which direction they would head in next.

Day in and day out he had done these simply exercises until he was almost never living in the present, taking any free moment to throw himself a few seconds into the future.

There was something overwhelmingly comforting about knowing what would happen next, even if it meant that he had no choice but to follow the events exactly as he had seen, least the future split off into an entirely new trajectory. But this comfort had quickly evolved into a desire, a need, and addiction.

He needed to know…

He needed to know everything.

He needed to know nothing.

He needed to go further, further, further than he ever had before. Further than his mind, no his body, could handle….

Cross abruptly shook his head, reaching up and rubbing roughly at his temple. Seated across from him, Misa watched him with a blank expression on her face. Not particularly eager to get pulled into thoughts of his own past, Cross cleared his throat.

“So, ah, are we going to begin.”

“Yes.”

“Soon?”

Misa stared at him silently at length before slowly nodding her head.

Despite this, they continued to sit in silence for an extended length of time. Cross’s fingers tapped anxiously against his thigh and he opened and closed his mouth more than once, ready to say something, but finding nothing intelligible in his brain.

A violent crack of thunder echoed through the forest and Cross flinched. At almost the same time Misa produced a small dagger in her hand. Cross eyed it warily before his head tilted to the side. “Hey… isn’t that…”

“Yes.” Misa placed the knife on the floor between them. “This is the knife you brought with you.”

Cross stared down at Lexi’s knife. “Yeah…”

“Take it.”

“Oh… Right, then…” Cross reached out to pick up the knife. His fingers had just brushed the cool metal when he felt a searing pain on the back of his hand. Hissing in pain, he pulled his hand back, eyes flicking to Misa, but she paid him no mind, her eyes focused on the knife between them.

Licking his lips, Cross again reached for the knife, keeping his eyes on Misa. This time, he saw it. One of the vines that wrapped protectively around Misa’s frame had vibrated ever so slightly in preparation. Narrowing his eyes, Cross shot his hand forward, but was again unable to grasp the knife before the vine whipped forward and slapped him across the back of the hand, this time hard enough to draw a small amount of blood. Despite watching the vine without blinking, he still hasn’t actually seen it strike him.

“Well this is a fun game,” Cross grumbled as he rubbed at the back of his hand.

“I see.” Misa reached down and successfully picked up the knife. As she held it in her palm, a vine gently wrapped around the hilt before pulling it under her clothing.

Now Cross definitely wasn’t going to be able to get it.

“I thought you said you didn’t steal.” Cross said lightly, though there was a slight edge to his voice.

“I do not.” Misa returned her gaze to him. “You gave me this weapon. Your inability to remember the event does not diminish its authenticity.”

Cross’s mouth twisted one way, then the other. He had no real way to answer that.

“At this range, my vines can move faster than the average human can process. With your Sight, it should have been relatively simple for you to anticipate when I would strike and avoid it.”

“Changing my approach to counter your attack would change the future. If they move that fast, it still wouldn’t matter.”

“You do not yet understand, but you will,” Misa said, producing a thick thorn in her hand, roughly the length of her arm and just as thick. “Close your eyes.”

Cross’s frown deepened. “Do I have to?”

When Misa’s only response was to stare at him, Cross sighed and nodded his head. Settling into a slightly more comfortable position, he closed his eyes.

“Hold out both of your hands.”

Though he very much wanted to resist the order, Cross did as he was told.

“I am going to strike one of your hands. See which one and move away before I do.”

“When you say strike, do you mean stab?”

“Not yet.”

Cross almost laughed at that. Taking in an unsteady breath he nodded and closed his hands into fists. “Fine.”

Eyes already screwed shut tight, Cross started to let his mind go blank when he heard the hiss of something moving quickly through the air. He started to move his hands back but was far too slow. His eyes shot open in pain as Misa slammed the butt end of the thorn against the back of his fist.

“What the hell!” Cross snapped, pulling his bruised and bleeding hand to his chest. Misa only stared at him coolly,

“Again.”

Cross felt anger welling up in his stomach, but he pushed it down with a small growl. He held out his hands and closed his eyes. He had just sucked in a calming breath when he heard Misa’s voice.

“Too slow.”

His world exploded into pain again as she crushed his other hand, this time with enough force to drive it into the floor. Falling forward, Cross grasped at his hand, watching the blood drip down his split skin and slowly soak into the wooden floor.

Gritting his teeth, he looked up at Misa. “If you don’t let me use my Sight, I can’t get any better at it.”

“If you cannot utilize your Sight before I hit you, it is worthless. Again.”

Cross slowly pushed himself back into a sitting position. Though his hands trembled, he did as he was told, lilting them up to Misa.

“Close your eyes.”

Cross stared at Misa for a long time before finally complying, never looking away from the elf as his eyelids slid shut.

“I am going to strike you again. It will be your right hand.”

Even though he couldn’t see, Cross still angled his head towards his right hand. He could already feel the pain and it sent his mind racing.

No.

No.

Don’t think about the pain. He couldn’t think about anything. He needed to remove all unnecessary thought and think only about the future. Only about the next few seconds.

He could do that.

It wasn’t hard.

He had seen so much further than this. It was only a few seconds. Barely a thought. He just had to let it all fade away. The pain, his anger, everything.

The air hissed and Cross let out a gasp. Eyes screwing even tighter, he all but forced everything out of his mind.

Arcing down…. aiming further back….

Eye’s flicking open, Cross threw his right arm out to the side. It was the correct decision as Misa’s spear came arcing down, aimed a few inches back. Had he pulled his hand back towards his chest, it would have been a direct hit.

Even so, he was still a fraction of a second too slow and the spear slipped his thumb, splitting open the skin and sending a small shower of blood through the air.

Despite the pain, Cross felt a grim smile slide onto his face as he looked up at Misa. “I’m counting it.”

Misa merely blinked. “Again.

Cross did as he was told, successfully avoiding her next strike, and the next, and the next. Though he felt a growing pressure beginning to build behind his temple and his heart was hammering in his chest, a true smile lit up Cross’s face as he continued to avoid Misa’s attacks with growing confidence… Until she abruptly slapped the spear down onto his left hand and sent him groaning to the floor.

“Better.” Misa said as Cross cradled his broken hands. “Not by much, but it is an improvement.” She walked over to one of the many plants that lined the walls and pulled a purple flower free. Returning to Cross, she took his hands in hers, crushed the purple flower and rubbed the juices along his injuries.

“It will speed your healing,” Misa said in answer to Cross’s questioning look.

“Is it supposed to burn?”

“Yes.”

“Are there ones that don’t burn?”

“Yes.”

Though her expression did not change, Cross could have sworn she was laughing at him.

“Are we going to do more?”

“No.”

“Oh.” Cross looked down at his hands as Misa continued to massage the burning liquid into his skin, completely unconcerned as his blood strained her pale skin. “This wasn’t really what I expected when you said you were going to train me.”

“What did you expect.”

“I’m not really… sure…” Cross grimaced as Misa slowly worked over his injured hand. “Something more… refined, I guess? When I think of an Elf I don’t really think of violent girl with a big stick.” He winced again as Misa pressed harder into one of the deeper lacerations. I think more of like… poetry and singing songs by a meadow. Maybe longer ears. Though I guess the living in a tree thing is what I expected.”

“I see.” Misa took his right hand and wiped it clean with a strangely fluffy leaf. She inspected the cuts on his flesh for a while before nodding curtly and beginning to slowly curl and uncurl each of his fingers. “You are thinking of the High-Elves. They were the most commonly associated with humans. Even among the elves they are well known for their beauty and their grace.”

“There are different kinds of Elves?” Cross couldn’t keep the surprise from his voice.

Misa’s eyes flicked to his. “Are there not different kinds of humans? Or do you all simply look exactly the same?”

“Oh, well… Yeah, I guess. We’re all still human but… .”

“It is similar with elves. The Elves of the mountain are different than the elves of the sea, both above and below. The differences may not always be so apparent, but they are still there.”

“Such as?”

“The Elves of the mountain almost all have white eyes, it allows them to see better in the dark, but it makes it difficult for them to deal with the light of the surface. High-Elves have longer ears. It is said it is because of this they are able to hear the voice of nature so clearly.”

“Ah…” Cross didn’t exactly know how to respond to that so he remained silent, at least until another question popped into his head. “Would it be considered offensive, what I did, then? Thinking you were a High-Elf?

Misa worked over his left hand for a long time before answering. “It would be, were I not a High-Elf.”

Without thinking Cross reached up and pushed Misa’s hair away from her ear, his fingers gently brushing the pointed tips in the process. “Your ears aren’t that long.”

An undecipherable expression crossed Misa’s face for a moment before she released Cross’s left hand and moved to the stairway. “My ears will lengthen as I mature. I am still considered a child by Elven customs. Now come, you need to eat.”

As Misa’s figure retreated up the stairs, Cross almost asked how old she was, but for some reason the question caught in his throat. He thought about it for a moment before deciding it might be best not to ask that particular question and simply followed after the young elf.