Curse Carrier Book 1 Of The Curse Carriers Series

Chapter 32: Unrest

Shin POV

On the day Utau was to make the announcement Shin had all the G1 Curse Carriers file into the rec room during free time. There was some grumbling about not being able to hang out today but Shin assured them the assembly shouldn't last long.

As everyone was filing in Kami bounces up beside Shin and stands there watching. "So she really went through with it." He states. He smiles, "Can't wait to see who she picked."

"Go inside. We are not waiting for you." Shin snaps at him. He's still feeling peeved from there last interaction where he kicked the living daylights out of another kid. Kami shrugs and walks into the room. Everyone else is already seated near the rolly stage where Utau will be making the announcement. Kami wanders off to the back of the room and leans against the wall.

Shin walks to the side of the stage and stands against the wall just in case Utau needs support. Utau steps up on the stage and the room falls silent. All eyes are fixed on her. She has her face set in a calm expression but Shin can see she's hidden her shaking hands behind her back.

"Starting next week selected individuals will begin participating in fights to the death." She says loudly and clearly so there's no chance no one didn't hear her. A wave of whispering explodes as everyone starts talking to each other. "Settle down!" Utau shouts over them and everyone falls silent again. For the first time her calm mask slips and her hidden frustration shows through. "I'm not any happier about this than the rest of you. Truthfully it makes me so angry I could throw up. But I did my best to make sure every match if fair and equal." She lies. "The point of these matches is for the victor to take the Curse of the defeated." She explains what Curse had already told him and Kami about how to take each others powers.

"Why make us fight each other?" Someone yells angrily. One of the older Curse Carriers by the sounds of it.

"For two reasons that I've been told." Utau replies, "One, to improve our capability as soldiers. And two, to make more space for the arrival of the third generation in two years." She sounds angry. Her calm façade has completely collapsed to show her anger underneath.

"Third generation?" Shin can hear people whispering. "How many generations are there going to be?"

Utau calls for silence again and the room quiets down. "The pairs for the matches has already been decided. In the future pairs will be decided by either volunteers or lottery. Penalties for refusing or not cooperating have also already been decided. Now if I call your name please come to the front." She announces. "Byōki, Hakai, Konchu, Kumo, Mirai, Sunpo, Wakaritta, Zentai, Shinimasu and San."

Shin walks up to join the others whose names got called. He had decided Utau would be given less trouble if it didn't seem like she was playing favorites. It was decided he would go up against San the acid Curse Carrier. Their abilities are equally destructive but San's ability was growing unstable. San is fifteen and was the oldest Curse Carrier to survive the conversion process.

Hakai the destruction Curse Carrier will be fighting Byōki the plague Curse Carrier. Hakai is terrified of his power that destroys everything he comes in contact with. Being afraid of his ability has made it so it's beyond his control and is putting heavy mental strain on him.

Kumo the spider Curse Carrier will be going up against Konchu the insect Curse Carrier. Kumo's ability is practically useless because he's terrified of spiders. The problem lies with the heavy amount of bullying he's received from instructors and some classmates because of it. He's one of the people that's currently being watched for Curse Rejection.

Mirai the foresight Curse Carrier will be fighting Zentai the regeneration Curse Carrier. Mirai has a different problem from the others. She's been using her curse to hurt the other Curse Carriers. She's the leader of the bullies that backed Kumo into a corner. She has several other victims as well. Utau had made her stance on bullying very clear. She wouldn't be letting it slide.