Curse Carrier Book 1 Of The Curse Carriers Series

Chapter 39: Glass

Utau POV

Every morning for the next three months the men in white coats came into the cafeteria every morning to get Kami before classes started. Little by little she noticed he was getting quieter and harder to read. Sometimes Kiri would lead him in for supper. Kami would seem to be in a daze and would hardly interact with anything.

Three months in Kami wasn't speaking at all anymore and his eyes had taken on a permanent glassy expression. The rare times he wasn't in testing and he seemed interactive he would look around confused like he didn't know where he was. Even Shin seemed to be having a hard time talking to him.

"It is like speaking to a brick wall. He will not even look at me." Shin tells Utau.

"Do you think he's ignoring you?" Utau asks.

"I cannot tell to be honest." Shin says looking brooding.

They're in combat training class. Utau is being Shin's spotter as he lifts weights. When he's done they will switch as Utau does her workout routine.

"I wish I knew what they were doing to him. He doesn't look okay." Utau says. She looks up when she hears a few people muttering. The door has opened and one of the guards had walked in with Kami. The instructor calls her up and she helps Shin put the weight up before she jogs up.

"Yes sir?" Utau asks snapping to attention. She tries to look only in his eyes and not let them wonder over to Kami.

"Get Kami caught up on lessons." He snaps at her.

"Yes sir." Utau nods and turns to Kami. She feels her stomach twists in knots as she gets the first good look at him in months. He looks like he's lost weight. He looks far smaller and younger than he did before. His bright eyes a d witty mouth have gone blank. He's staring dead ahead but not focusing on anything in particular. "Come with me." She tells him and he follows her wordlessly.

When she gets back Shin looks Kami up and down as well. "Have they even been feeding you?" He asks. Kami doesn't look at Shin or say anything in response.

"Do you have your daggers?" Utau asks picking hers up. "We're going to do a little review before getting into the new material you've missed."

Without a word Kami twists his arms and two long twin daggers drop down into his hands. "Okay," Utau says slowly surprised by ho prepared he is. "We'll start with a basic sparring match." Utau tells him and takes her position. Shin positions himself to be the referee. "Alright, on the count of three. One two three!" Utau declares. The words barely die on her lips before Kami lunges forward and takes a wide swing at her face with his right dagger. She barely dodges his attack and blocks the next wide swing with the other dagger.

She feels taken back by his speed and aggression. He certainly wasn't this fast before. She holds up one of her own twin daggers to block his next strike and the force of the impact tears the dagger out of her hand and sends it flying. Her left wrist stabs in pain as the dagger skids off and hits the wall. She barely has time to examine her now throbbing wrist when Kami goes to make another wide swing aiming for her neck.

He's not going to go easy on me. I guess I'll have to fight seriously and show him how much I've improved. She thinks with satisfaction. He must be better off than she thought if he's still going this hard on her. She grabs a smaller hidden dagger from her boot and goes at Kami with everything she has. There's no point in trying not to hurt him if he's not doing the same. She uses the smaller knife and cuts a deep gash into his dominant right arm but he doesn't even flinch and keeps attacking ruthlessly.

She keeps attacking full force for the better part of twenty minutes before her limbs begin to ache with exertion. She's out of breath and with Kami giving her no breathing room she can't catch a break. She's covered in small nicks and cuts but Kami is the one covered in deep wounds. His clothes are stained with blood and it beginning to smear across the floor every time he moves.