Fu didn't know what he did to make her mad.
The way she looked at him, talked to him, basically any way she interacted with showed absolutely no emotion. When he gave her a hug, her arms would remain in a stiff position by her side. When he gave her a gift, she would accept it silently without looking at it and walk off.
He had never felt so abandoned.
Fu tried to explain this to Baatar, but always got the response that Kuvira was just stressed about the upcoming town they were to arrive at in three days. Baatar guaranteed to Fu that after they had passed the town, Kuvira would be back to normal old Kuvira.
Fu, however, knew better. It was definitely NOT stress that was causing Kuvira's cold shoulder towards him. It had something to do with a certain piece of paper.
Every time Kuvira was seated at her desk with Fu in the room with her, she would always hold the same piece of paper in one hand and stare intently at him when she thought he wasn't watching. She never spoke, never looked away, and never stopped holding the paper.
At first, Fu became slightly uncomfortable at this. He could always feel her gaze boring into his back. Under better circumstances, he would've enjoyed the attention from her. But this stare was never affectionate or filled with gentleness like it was once. Instead it was more of examination, as if she was determining his fate. Whenever he tried to catch her eyes, she would immediately look away and open a cabinet to her right and place the paper back in it.
So Fu concocted a plan.
He would take the paper, hide it, and see what happened. The plan guaranteed that Kuvira show some type of emotion, whether it be anger, or happiness. The outcome of anger would be risky, but Fu was willing to take the risk of anger and face her wrath.
Opening the door to the closet he was sitting in, Fu quietly slipped out and headed towards Kuvira's office.
Fu had discovered this closet when he was being chased by one of the guards after he stole their helmet. Since it was next to a bathroom, the closet was mostly used for storing sanitizing related things.
More or less, the closet was ignored by people walking by. He used the closet for mostly hiding, but sometimes when he needed a quiet place to think, this was the place to go.
The closet is the safe house if anything goes wrong…
Finally reaching the office, Fu gently placed his ear to the door trying to find any source of movement that signaled the office was occupied.
Hearing approaching footsteps coming towards the door, Fu quickly put his back to the wall next to the door praying that whoever was in the office wouldn't look left.
The door opened and Kuvira walked out, making a sharp right. Her mind was so absorbed in the book she was reading that she failed to notice the small boy to her left.
As she walked away, Fu let out a breath of relief and waited until her footsteps were completely out of range.
Looking left to right in the now deserted hallway, Fu quietly opened the door to the office and slipped in, closing it behind behind him. Cautiously looking around, he made his way to Kuvira's desk. Making sure not to move anything that could give away his cover, Fu went behind Kuvira's desk and observed around.
The desk was fairly organized, with a few crumpled up papers and scattered pens around that signified the desk actually being used. Spotting the cabinet, Fu grinned sinisterly.
Bingo.
Leaning towards it, he reached out a hand ready to open it.
Just as Fu had touched the handle to the cabinet, he detected the sound of approaching voices and spotted the door handle turn. Panic rising in his throat, he quickly ducked and scampered under the desk. With his grin gone, he could only think of one word to describe his situation.
Ohhh crap.
In came Kuvira and Baatar, both shouting angrily at each other.
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOUR GIVING HIM AWAY?!" Baatar nearly shrieked.
"You heard what I said Baatar, don't make me repeat myself," Kuvira responded angrily. "I'm sending him to the orphanage once we get to the town."
It took Fu a moment to realize that they were talking about him. He suppressed a strangled cry, still managing to listen intenty at the heated conversation.
He however filed to suppress the tears now running along his cheeks.
Baatar looked at Kuvira's firm face and sighed. Pinching the bridge of his nose and sighing, he looked at her stressfully.
"You can't."
"Excuse me?" Kuvira replied in a deadly tone.
"Listen to me Kuvira" he said while grabbing her shoulders. Kuvira glanced at his hands and gave him a murderous look, signaling that his hands needed to be removed immediately.
"Calm down, you need to hear this," but not before removing his hands as quickly as possible. Kuvira only raised an eyebrow and gave a small nod, allowing him to continue.
"Look," he said softly, "You need the boy. I've seen the way your face brightens when you spot his smiling face. I've seen the way your emotions shift from frazzled to relaxed. He's your happiness, and you're his role model." Adding a bit more harshly, "Fu looks up to you Kuvira, and the way you've been acting to him these past couple of days has hurt him badly."
Kuvira's eyes were closed and her body was motionless. Baatar hoped to see a smile, or hear a 'Thank you for telling me this Baatar!' in a happy tone. But instead, Baatar received nothing but a pair of cold green eyes in return.
"No Baatar," she replied coldly. "If what you're trying to get out of my behavior is that I show affection for that boy, then you are wrong."
Staring straight into his eyes, Kuvira continued in a more firm voice.
"The boy means nothing to me. He is nothing but a mere distraction that needs to be removed. His personality is a hindrance to my work and a distraction to my goals. Fu would only serve as an obstacle for our dreams of a united Earth Empire."
Hearing this, Baatar's face cringed in anger. Looking ready to slap her, Baatar quickly turned and stormed out of the office slamming the door behind him. Even with the door closed, she could hear him shouting words not appropriate for kids to hear.
Sighing, Kuvira made her way to her desk and sat down in her seat. Not bothering to push her chair in, she opened her drawer, pulling out the picture Fu had drawn for her. It was a drawing of him, herself, and Baatar all holding hands and smiling. A little cliché but cute, smiling lightly as she thought this. She was so concentrated into the picture at trying to make it a reality that for the second time in the day, failed to notice the small boy near her presence.
Fu still sat there, his arms wrapped around his knees sobbing quietly into them. His whole body shaking in grief and betrayal.
He heard her walk over to the desk and sit in the chair in front of him. Watching through teary eyes, Fu saw her reach a hand to the cabinet and open it, taking out that cursed paper again.
Unable to suppress it any further, Fu accidently let out a small sob.
The effect took place almost immediately. Kuvira jumped out her seat, still clutching the drawing, and got into fighting stance.
Finally comprehending where the sound had come from, Kuvira walked over to her desk and peered under.
When she saw Fu, her face twisted into an expression of horror.
Spirits…he heard the WHOLE DAMN conversation.
There was an awkward tension between the two until Kuvira finally spoke up.
"Fu, liste-,"
"NO!" Fu shouted. Crawling out from under the desk, he stood tall, wiping the tears from his eyes. "No. You're just like the others." And with that, Fu turned his back to her and walked away.
"Fu," she said hurrying over to him. "Just...hold on a second!"
Without warning, Fu whirled around and faced her, face red and eyes streaming with tears.
"NO! I DON'T WANT TO HEAR ANYTHING FROM YOU! YOU'RE ABANDONING ME! JUST LIKE MY ROTTEN PARENTS. I WON'T EVEN BE SURPRISED IF YOU STARTED HITTING ME LIKE THEY DID!" Huffing with anger, he quickly added, "I HATE YOU!" and turned away running out of the door.
Kuvira stood there, mouth agape in shock.
What…what have I done?
"FU!" she yelled throughout the halls. "FU!"
Her pleading shouts echoed throughout the hallway. Stopping, she knew it was over. There would be no more hugs filled with warmth. No more smiles filled with joy. Even though it pained her to stop returning them to him, it didn't mean she stopped enjoying them. Still clutching the drawing, she looked down at it.
Damn Baatar. He was right…
:D
