A New Masterpiece (COTE x OC)

Chapter 37 - Collapse

Walking away from Kei, Chiaki, and Maya's, very serious conversation.

I set my sight on one of my classmates, who currently; seemed to be silently ostracized from our class.

Sudo sat on his own near the edge of our class's tent.

No one wanted to interact with him. He was a man comprised of pent-up aggression. And no one knew when this ticking time bomb would be set off and by who.

I understand his competitive nature and desire to win, which makes him a lot like me in that aspect, but unlike me, he can't control his emotions as well.

They leak out, and he has no control over them. Causing him to lash out at anything. It was one of Sudo's more serious flaws. But if he could correct this, he would be invaluable for Class D's journey to reaching Class A.

I also understand my other classmate's fear of him. He was far stronger than most. With his strength and an enormous amount of rage behind it, he seemed like a bomb in their eyes.

But silently pushing a classmate, even a friend, away during a time of need was not the right call. And the only one who could try to improve the situation would be me.

As I made my way to Sudo, I noticed his leg twitching rather sporadically, which was odd. And his eyes, which had a killing intent behind them, stared daggers toward the Class C tent.

"Hey, Sudo, what's up? You alright?"

"Piss off, Fukumoto. I'm done losing this stupid festival. And those Class C bastards! Especially that Ryuuen guy! I'll show them who they're messing with!"

Who wouldn't be frustrated, especially suffering that mental loss in tug-of-war and the loss in the calvary battle too? And at the root of our problems is Class C. Their underhanded tactics clearly violated many rules, but since we had no proof or feasible evidence to show the teachers, we would have to endure it. But if Sudo did something rash and with Horikita's current struggles, it could cause a catastrophe.

I placed my hand on Sudo's shoulder. "You know there's no point in confronting them. If you do, only something worse will happen. You have no evidence, so it will only be classified as false claims."

"I don't care about your stupid logic!" Sudo fumed. "I'll at least show em I shouldn't be messed with!"

By now, the class had turned their attention to the rising situation between Sudo and me.

Even Hirata jumped in between us to try and deter the situation.

"Sudo-kun, I think you should listen to Fukumoto-kun's words. We can't prove anything. You have to look past this."

"You two, shut up. I'm the leader of this festival. So what I say goes."

Sudo started his march toward Class C's tent to confront Ryuuen.

But before he could make it any further, I grabbed him to stop him.

"Sudo. It was my decision to make you the leader for this festival. And I should respect your decisions. But look around you; is this the best way to deal with this problem right now."

Sudo took a glance at our classmates.

There was a mixed amount of emotions, but none of them were good.

Fear, distrust, anxiety, and anger. You could feel them in the air. Our classmates were keeping their distance from Sudo, even his close friends.

"Who here recognizes you as a true leader... Sudo," I asked.

Sudo didn't say anything; he just continued to look around at all the faces of our classmates.

"No one sees you as a leader," Yukimura spoke up. "It's true, I may not be the most athletic, but I bring my value to the class through my academics. While you waste your athletic gifts because of your rash attitude. You're a brute. Incapable of controlling your emotions. To be a leader, you need to have a rational thought process that will give us the strongest chances of success. That's something Fukumoto can do. But you're incompetent and will never be able to do that."