Cross angled his head to the side and the vine whipped past his cheek, so close to his face that he actually felt it strike through his hair. Grimacing, he hopped back a step, tilting his head back slightly to check his footing. He hadn’t had much room to retreat originally, and now it was basically nothing.

Sighing, he reached up and ran a hand across his rain-soaked face. He didn’t know why he kept doing that, as almost immediately more rain pounded against his face, matting his hair down and driving out what little warmth was left in his bones.

He was standing on a small wooden platform of sorts. Supported by a series of vines, it hung suspended between a trio of massive trees. On any other day it could have possibly been considered a relaxing place to be, somewhere to lay back and stare at the gently moving foliage of the forest, perhaps pointing out the birds that hopped from branch to branch, illuminated by the thin rays of sunlight that crept through the branches.

However, there was no sunlight now. No birds and no gentle breeze. There was only the never-ending, maddingly loud torrential rain, and the raging waters that bubbled on a few meters below.

Cross stared at the water, watching as a rather large log bobbed up and down, disappearing beneath the frothing water before breaching the surface with a spray of muddied water. He idly wondered how long he would last if he fell into the water.

Probably not long.

That thought brought him back to the present, his eyes traveling over to the far end of the platform where Misa stood, impassive as ever. In her right hand was a long length of wood, though Cross was not overly worried about that. While Misa used it as she would a spear, the tip had been left blunt, so it was unlikely it would be able to do much more than leave a nasty bruise if she caught him with it. Unless, of course, she knocked him into the water.

Still, he was relatively confident he could avoid that. While he wasn’t entirely sure how long they had been out here, Misa had only managed to land the most superficial of attacks on him. Of course, he had not been able to launch anything resembling a counter attack, but considering he was unarmed he didn’t consider that to be too much of an issue.

He may not be able to win, but he could at least keep from losing.

Something about this warped way of thinking must have shown on his face as Misa slowly tilted her head. She tossed the staff away and into the waters below. Before it had even broken the surface, a new spear appeared in her hand, this one with a decidedly sharp tip. With deliberate movements she aimed the tip towards his chest.

“Prepare yourself.”

“Doesn’t really seem fair,” Cross muttered softly as Misa launched herself at him.

Her bare feet slapped loudly against the platform as she approached. Cross’s mind went blank and the world fell away as his eyes closed for only a moment before he was sliding to the side, avoiding Misa’s opening thrust.

Misa attacked again, this time sweeping low. Cross smartly hopped over the attack, or thought he did, only to suddenly find himself rushing towards the platform as his feet were knocked out from under him and he slammed face first into the floor.

Rolling back into his feet with a groan, Cross glanced over at Misa. She spun the spear around once before letting it rest on her shoulder.

“You’ve grown adept at reading the first move.” The spear dropped back into position, the tip pointing at his chest. “But you’re still too slow reacting to change.”

“Fair,” Cross replied through grit teeth. It had only taken him a few days with Misa to realize the futility of arguing with the elf. ­He could speak until he was blue in the face, but she would simply stare at him with that same blank expression.

It really just wasn’t worth the effort.

“Again.” Misa led with another thrust. Again, Cross was able to dodge it cleanly, the entire attack flashing through his mind before Misa even began to move.

Without missing a beat Misa swept low. This time, Cross was able to See it and he moved back an extra step, avoiding the rising strike that she had caught his legs with the first time. However, he was unable to fully react to her suddenly springing forward and catching him with a flying kick to the chest. As he stumbled back a step, he fought to regain control of both his footing and his Sight, but it was too late. The tip of Misa’s spear struck him just under the arm, drawing a thin line of blood, before she reversed the spear and caught his leg.

For the second time Cross found himself on the platform, this time with considerably more pain. His hands balled into fists at his side, but he made no move to rise up.

“Still too slow.” Misa stared down at him. “There is improvement, but it is not enough.”

Cross didn’t answer staring up at the violently shaking foliage above, occasionally blinking away a raindrop. He felt too hot. The rain was cold, but his blood was on fire, the pain only serving as fuel. He sucked in a deep breath, but it did little to alleviate his rapidly rising temper.

“The future is only the future until it isn’t,” he said softly before pushing himself back up to his feet. He gave Misa a grim look. She returned it with nothing more than a slight nod.

“Again.”

“Right, then,” Cross raised up his arms and gave her a curt nod.

Misa opened with a flurry of thrusts that Cross batted away with his left arm, careful not to overcommit to any one move. With his bracer taking the majority of the attacks, he was able to weather Misa’s opening and she slid back a pace, circling him. Cross moved with her, using the reprieve to slowly move himself back towards the center of the platform.

Misa came to an abrupt stop and Cross lifted up his left arm, ready to defend, but she did not move. His fingers opening and closing in anticipation, Cross winced as he felt a sharp pain in his temple. He shook the pain away and forced his mind blank, his eyes screwing shut.

Through the black he saw flashes of movement. Every attack Misa could throw at him, folding one over the next as she prepared to strike.

The future was not set in stone. Any one of the possibilities could come to fruition, but only one would.

There was a never-ending amount of futures, but there was only one present.

He had to wait. He had to see the final version. The undeniable truth.

Then he would attack.

But not yet. No. Not yet.

His entire body trembled, tense, as he fought not to react to the multitude of futures he saw.

Not yet.

A vine whipping towards him.

No.

Not yet.

A thrust towards his legs.

No.

Not yet.

A spear thrown at his chest.

No.

Not yet.

Not yet.

Now!

Cross’s eyes flicked open just as Misa lunged forward. Meeting her head on he watched as the spear in her hand traveled on a direct line towards his chest. She took another step forward, extending her reach and pushing past his extended left arm.

Too far to pull back in time.

This was it.

Baring his teeth, Cross thrust his right arm forward and fired off a flashbang. Misa’s eyes widened in surprise as the ball of light screamed towards her face. Too close to avoid, she could do nothing more than close her eyes against the brilliant light as it hissed through the air, sending up small puffs of steam as it impacted with countless raindrops on its short journey.

Blinded for the briefest of moments, Misa was unable to see as Cross twisted his body to the side, narrowly avoiding the spear and sliding in front of her. His fingers clamped down on hers, his hand easily engulfing hers, and locking the spear into place for the moment. Her eyes widened ever so slightly as he gripped her tighter, her head coming around to look up at him with unseeing eyes.

“You’re not the only one who can change the future.”

Bloodlust sang in his veins as he brought his fist back, ready to finally land a return blow on the elf that had caused him so much pain and annoyance…

And he faltered.

His hand remained in place, cocked back and ready to strike, unmoving, even as Misa broke free from his loosening grip. He did not react as the spear came around, hooking him behind the knee and sending him to the ground yet again. On his back, he simply stayed as he was as she spun the spear around and pressed it to his throat. The tip, sharp as a razor, dug into his skin as she pressed hard enough to draw blood.

“Ah…” Slowly Cross lifted up his hands, holding his palms open towards Misa. With blank eyes he stared off into the distance. “You win.”

Misa said nothing as she pulled the spear free from his throat. She only held it for a moment longer before tossing it to the side, returning it to the forest. Cross tilted his head and watched it float away, staring after it long after it had gone from his view.

Vaguely he felt Misa sit down beside him. She was staring at him, but he couldn’t find it in himself to look back at her. A silence fell between them that was only broken by the constant patter of the ever-present rain.

It took a long time, but as always, the silence eventually came to an end as Misa spoke.

“You had the advantage.”

“Yeah.”

“Yet you did not attack.”

“Seems that way.”

“Why?”

“Does it matter?”

“I would not ask if it did not matter.”

Cross laughed. It was a bitter sound. “Yeah, I guess that is true.”

Misa did not respond again, silently waiting for his answer. It mattered very little to her if he did not want to answer it, or was not ready. She was an elf, and she had more than enough time to wait.

She did not mind the silence.

The same could not be said for Cross.

“The first time I hurt someone, really hurt someone, I was angry. I was so angry that I didn’t care what was going to happen next. Then it did. It did and I hated it so much. But still, I did it, and I did it so easily.” Cross reached up and placed his hand over his eyes. “It’s all so easy. It’s too easy. It doesn’t feel right, but it doesn’t feel wrong either. It’s just… there. Every time I do it, every time I hurt someone… it’s just a little bit easier. It’s just an emptiness, and part of me craves it. It craves that nothingness.”

“It frightens you."

“It terrifies me.” Cross laughed again and the noise rang hollow. His chest grew tight and for a moment he wasn’t sure if he could even breath, but still he continued to speak. “I can’t get angry and do something so stupid again. I can’t make that mistake. I don’t know how far I can go before I just… I just won’t come back. I never want to stop being me. I know there is something wrong with me. I know I don’t feel the way I should, but I can’t even remember how I should feel. So, I have to hold on to what is left. I can’t let it go. I can’t lose it.”

Misa’s hand was suddenlyon his, her slim fingers wrapping around his hand and pulling it away from his eyes. Her grip was firm and Cross couldn’t help but suck in a shaky breath of relief at her touch. With difficultly, he met her eye.

In her, he saw no judgement, or fear. No compassion or Pity. Only a grim understanding of his words.

“Come. We have done enough for today.”