Author's Notes: Yeah, so about that last story I was working on, 'To Challenge Perfection'... Well, it's sorta dead. No, wait, it's really dead. I'm going to leave it up (because I'm lazy), but if you were following it, don't expect any updates. You see, it didn't really have a plot, so instead I'm going to be working on this here story. It does have a plot.
Disclaimer: Strangely enough, most stories found on will indeed be fanfictions. This, too, is a fanfiction. That means I don't own a heck of a lot.
Iifa: Ancient Tree of Life
Prologue
So, I show up, and I pull off my cloak like I told Baku I was going to, and Dagger gets onto the stage within the minute. And she gives me a hug (and punches me in the process), and everybody starts clapping and cheering and stuff. You probably know all that, though. I mean, nearly everybody in Alexandria was there, right?
So anyway, Baku starts giving me the evil eye, so I bring Dagger off stage, and I grab her pendant-thingy (because she probably doesn't want to lose it after she went to so much trouble to protect it), and take her out of the auditorium. Behind me, Baku is apologizing to the crowd, saying that I just had to be a Drama Queen. I'm a Drama King, I'll have you know! But anyway, I take Dagger out of the view of prying eyes.
"How did you survive?" she asks. I'm a hopeless romantic, so I tell her that it was her song that did it. Then she smiles and hugs me, and all is fine and dandy. So I ask her how she's been.
"I... It's a long story," she answers. Well, ok, I suppose that makes sense. I ask her if she wants to tell me it some time. She says it's all written down; she told it all to a scribe in the library if I'm interested. But then she looks kinda upset. I'm worried about her, so I ask her what's up.
"Nothing..."
"Yeah right!" I tell her. Really, what does she think? I just dragged myself across two continents to get to her! I've thought about this moment for a long time! And this upset-ness is not supposed to happen!
Dagger is pretty determined, which I suppose is good for a queen, but eventually I manage to pry it out of her. It's not big deal, really. She has a boyfriend. Ok. It's been nearly three years, and we were never 'together' to begin with! I mean, yeah, I was a friend, but there's been more than enough time for her to begin moving on. So of course, I told her that I was totally ok with whoever it was, and that her dating people was fine with me. I was sort of dead, right?
But then, I was sort of curious. I mean, it was fine that she was with someone, but only if it were someone I approved of. And Dagger was still looking a tad uncomfortable. So I asked her who it was. And you know what she answered?
"Kuja."