Edonil: Yeah, about the lateness... I was busy. I went to a party and stuff. So the update is today, not yesterday. On an unrelated note, I was looking at my outline, and this thing is almost done! Chapter thirteen is the final chapter, and this is chapter eleven... Crazy... Review, people! I love reviews!

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Nada. Zip. Etc.

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Iifa: Ancient Tree of Life

Chapter Eleven

All was most certainly not well in the world! First, those lousy civilians had continued to beat Kuja. Now, that wasn't much of a problem, what with Kuja being invincible and all, but it made him feel rather... unwelcome. Then there were the knights of Pluto, and their Captain in particular, who was... less than pleased to learn of Kuja's continued existence. And finally, the one person, Dagger, the woman who should have been comforting him, was frequently busy running her kingdom.

In his saddened state, Kuja had no choice but to find another means of comfort. First, he tried talking to others in Alexandria Castle. Regrettably, the only one who didn't hate Kuja was Doctor Tot, and Doctor Tot could be rather annoying when he started discussing these wretched blood thingies. So Kuja went outside, seeking solace in whatever he could, which eventually turned out to be fermented liquids.

In short, Kuja was depressed and trying to get drunk out of his mind.

Most people who turn to alcohol for support find sooner or later that there's nothing at the bottom of a bottle except a polished bit of glass or metal (depending on the substance from which the bottle is made). Kuja, however, was not quite so lucky, which was less because he was slow and more because the kujhemolets were preventing Kuja from getting properly intoxicated. Therefore, Kuja was draining the Alexandria Treasury rather nicely (having been given full access to it some time before), but was not doing the world a whole lot of good.

At the moment, Kuja was sitting glumly in the tavern in Alexandria City, staring broodily at the bottle in front of him.

Is that the fourth... It can't be the fifth! I've only been here... Wait... Never mind, it's the fifth. It isn't the sixth, is it? Dang, I'm losing track of time...

Who cares? Nobody! I should just rot away here, do the world a favour... Would vodka work? Yeah, maybe if I ordered a few pints and downed them very quickly... No, wait, I don't think one can order that much vodka. Drat. Ah, well, another bottle of whatever this is can't hurt...

"Kuja?" Kuja looked up blearily. Regrettably, he recognized the person coming into the tavern.

Dang it, I really need to get properly drunk...

"Yes?" he asked Dagger as she hurried forward.

"There you are! I was so worried! Beatrix said that you having been spending a lot of time here recently... Oh, Kuja, you shouldn't drink! How much have you drunk today?" Kuja shrugged.

"Doesn't matter..."

"But... Oh, let's get you out of here." Dagger swiftly inquired as to the price of Kuja's indulgence, paid, and dragged Kuja out.

"What do you want?" Kuja asked. I should at least have a headache!

"What are you doing! Getting drunk? What is the matter? Kuja, you've been acting strangely; I'm worried about you." Kuja shrugged.

"Don't be. I'm fine."

"Fine? Kuja, you are not fine! What is the matter? Is it something I did? If it is, I'm so sorry, but you could have-"

"It's... It's not you," Kuja interrupted. "It's just... Nobody likes me! They all hate me, because..."

"I don't hate you," Dagger said softly.

"But you should! I'm a freak! Look at me? Do I look normal to you? Do I?" Dagger didn't say anything. "See? I'm a freak! I'm some weird experiment by a wanna-be god that went horribly wrong because of some freak blood clots, and now I can't even get drunk, which I really want to, because everybody hates me, and rightly so, I mean, I tried to destroy the damn world and you with it and... and..." Dagger continued to watch him silently. "Say something!"

"I... I think maybe we should go talk to Doctor Tot..." she began, drawing near him. He pushed her away.

"There, you see? You think I'm crazy! Absolutely stark raving mad! And I am! I'm a lunatic, a good-for-nothing wanna-be drunk who tried to unleash the uncreator upon humanity and destroy life itself..."

"Kuja..." Kuja pushed her away again.

"Go away!" he yelled, running off.

Holy Eidolons... I tried to destroy the world... I killed my brother... I've ended my relationship with the only one who cares... I sicken myself.

I don't deserve to live...