Chapter Text
This story is an AU set in an Otome game universe and does not follow the canonical timeline or events of the original series. It takes place in a high school named Lugunica.
Told from the perspective of an ordinary female student—an outsider who watches the dazzling student council from afar and falls in love with its charming president, Natsuki Subaru.
Lugunica High School—an elite institution located in the heart of a bustling city—was famed not only for its rigorous curriculum and impressive alumni but also for its student council, widely regarded as the very heart of the school.
It was said that the council members were not only exceptionally capable but also radiated like stars—so brilliant that it was difficult for anyone around them to look away.
Reinhard van Astrea, the gentle sun, whose presence inspired awe and warmth. He was beloved by all, even the sternest teachers in the school.
Julius Juukulius, the model student graceful, intelligent, and composed. His excellence left no room for doubt.
Felix Argyle, or "Ferris-chan," charming and playful, mysterious and impish like a cat who only approached those he liked.
And lastly, Natsuki Subaru.
A seemingly ordinary boy, the only one among the stars who didn't shine quite as brightly. He was the embodiment of normalcy, a figure that stood out in contrast from the illustrious group.
Yes—that person was him.
The one she had fallen in love with when spring first arrived.
From the perspective of a plain girl standing just a few steps away, it felt like there was a whole world separating her from them. She watched the student council from afar with a complex blend of admiration and aching longing.
Reinhard and Julius seemed like unattainable dreams marble statues meant to be admired, not approached. Ferris, too, was like a proud wildcat, always smiling but impossible to read. Trying to get close to him was like trying to catch the wind.
But Subaru... he was different. He was the kind of person who could laugh through his tears while falling face-first into the dirt. That vibrant humanity was what made her unable to look away from him in a world filled with dazzling stars.
They had been classmates since middle school, and by some stroke of luck, ended up in the same class again in high school.
From the very first time they met, she sensed something captivating about him his messily swept black hair, his sharp, intimidating eyes that paradoxically laid bare all his emotions without fear of judgment.
Back then, he wasn’t especially noticeable, yet she could already see the brightness that radiated from within him. So when he eventually became the student council president—the center of attention—she wasn’t surprised in the slightest.
For someone as shy as her, who couldn’t cross the boundary of just being classmates, simply watching him quietly from afar, seeing his smile each day—that alone was enough to warm her heart.
And yet, that wasn’t the only reason she had to constantly remind herself to let go.
There was another, more tangible reason—a wall that stood tall like a fortress around him.
A wall that had a simple name: the Student Council President’s closest friends.
They were always by his side, filling every space around his lively figure. There was never an opening for anyone to slip in.
So much so that it was rare to see him alone. In class, in the hallways, in the cafeteria—even when he stood on the breezy balcony after school, someone would always be beside him. And that someone was always far beyond what she could ever hope to compare to.
That day, she was eating in her usual corner of the cafeteria—the perfect vantage point to observe the entire room. The buzz of conversation, the smell of food, the occasional laughter—it all faded at a particular spot where the rhythm of the world seemed to shift.
The student council always stood out, no matter where they went. Even unintentionally, students would make way for them as if it were a scene from a movie.
And once again, Subaru stood at the center, waiting in line for food, chatting animatedly like always as he turned to Ferris.
“Are we going to eat at Julius’s house today, nya~?” Ferris asked, swaying playfully.
The question made the once-smiling president freeze instantly.
“Are you sure that’s okay? I’m trying a new recipe today, and if it explodes, I can’t afford to pay for repairs in that fancy kitchen of his!”
“Wah~ The future looks bleak already, nya!” Ferris giggled, clearly amused.
“There’s no need to worry,” said the homeowner calmly, pushing up his glasses with elegance and offering a composed smile.
“My house has fire insurance and an automatic sprinkler system. Just make sure you’re safe.”
“As expected of the rich... you really do live in a different world than me!”
“If you’re still worried, I’ll assist you as your sous-chef, Subaru,” offered the vice-president, raising a hand. Even from a distance, she could sense the genuine warmth in his gaze.
“Why do you guys always plan for my failure so thoroughly!? Can’t you at least assume I’ll succeed on my first try?”
“Because it’s you, Subaru.” “Because it’s Subaru-kun.” “I’m looking forward to it, Subaru.”
Their ordinary yet heartwarming banter and the close knit bond between them made her remind herself once again—it was time to let go.
But then, that very evening while walking along the second-floor balcony of the old school building, her usual quiet retreat—she saw something that made her heart plummet.
She saw the boy she loved jump off the second-floor balcony without hesitation, just to save a startled kitten perched dangerously on the rusted rail.
His loose uniform shirt fluttered as he plunged into the bushes below, scratched and dirty but holding the kitten tightly to his chest. His night-colored eyes squinted as he caught his breath and then let out a relieved laugh it nearly stopped her heart.
He laughed like it was nothing, gently speaking to the trembling ball of fur in his arms, completely covered in dirt and leaves, one shoe missing.
And just like that, she fell in love with him all over again.
She hesitated, debating whether to go and help him. But before she could gather her courage, someone else arrived a friend of his, running from the opposite wing faster than the school’s top sprinters. He scooped up the disheveled boy with panicked urgency.
With just a glance at that vibrant red hair, she knew instantly it was Reinhard. The ever-composed, perfect young man was now pale, face contorted in panic, lips trembling, sky-blue eyes wide with fear like the world was collapsing before him.
“Subaru... Subaru, you’re not hurt anywhere, are you?!”
His voice shook. He was breathless, running trembling hands over Subaru’s body, then pulled him into a tight embrace, burying his face in Subaru’s shoulder as though trying to shield him from the nightmare.
Subaru forced a dry laugh to calm him, one hand awkwardly patting his friend’s back as if to soothe a frightened child in the middle of a bad dream.
“I’m fine, I’m fine... The kitten’s safe too. See? Nothing to worry about. I’m not that fragile, you know.”
“Please don’t do that again...” The perfect man’s voice dropped to a whisper, eyes shimmering with sadness and something dangerously intense. “If you were gone... I wouldn’t know how to keep living. Please don’t leave me.”
Unaware of the shift in his friend’s tone, Subaru chuckled awkwardly, brushing it off.
“Don’t be dramatic. I’ve told you before your life’s your own. Don’t tie it to someone else like that.”
He smiled, gentle and sincere, as Reinhard wilted like a scolded puppy.
“But still, Reinhard... if something happened to you, I’d be sad too. Sorry for making you worry.”
She stood in the shadow of the building, sunlight fading, and quietly stepped back, knowing she was never part of that scene to begin with.
And in that moment, she resolved that her feelings could no longer be left unanswered no matter the outcome.
Because deep down, she hoped she could walk beside him too.
Natsuki-kun one of the kindest and most considerate people she had ever known would never make her feel awkward afterward. She knew, with unwavering certainty, that he would still smile at her the same way, still talk to her like always, even if her love went unrequited.
And that, precisely, was why she had fallen so helplessly in love with him.
Subaru shone with a kind of ordinary brilliance lively, sincere, unmistakably human. He greeted everyone with a smile, even those he barely knew, always with a cheerful quip to brighten their day.
He was the kind of person who would carry a teacher’s things without being asked, who held the hands of kindergarteners to help them cross busy streets, who sat down beside stray dogs in the park and laughed easily when a soccer ball splashed mud on his uniform.
Even on rainy days, she could still remember it vividly: he was the only one who noticed her standing alone beneath the overhang, without an umbrella. Without a word, he handed her his own and ran off into the downpour.
Of course, he was absent from school the next day—sick from the rain.
So when he returned, she brought homemade sweets to thank him.
He smiled at her then, in a way that etched itself permanently into her memory a warm, bashful smile, cheeks flushed red, eyes sparkling like a child who’d received a precious gift.
And sometimes, just hearing his laughter was enough to soothe her heart after a hard day.
It felt like fate, then, that during gym class, Subaru took a direct hit from a ball to the face and collapsed dramatically in the middle of the field. She happened to be sitting nearest, having been benched early in the game, the only girl from her team already out.
When she saw him fall, her heart skipped several beats. But all she could do was watch as a group of his male classmates rushed to his side, helped him up, and carried him off the field in a flurry of concern and commotion.
Once she saw that those who had taken him to the infirmary had returned to the field, she made her decision.
She would go see him. She would say everything she’d been keeping inside. She would confess how she felt.
It was a once-in-a-lifetime chance one that fate had kindly delivered. And thankfully, none of his close friends were in the same class. That meant she wouldn’t have to face the sharp eyes of Julius, the unreadable smile of Ferris, or the silent, suffocating presence of Reinhard.
Because if even one of them had been there, she knew she wouldn’t have had the courage to get within arm’s reach of the quietly adored student council president.
Even if she didn’t receive the answer she hoped for, her feelings were simply too much to carry alone anymore.
But things never go quite as planned.
Inside the infirmary, behind the softly drawn white curtain, she saw familiar silhouettes multiple of them and the quiet murmur of conversation drifted into her ears.
“Ferris-chun thinks Subaru-kun needs to do a little exorcism to cleanse his bad luck,” came the teasing voice of a catlike boy, equal parts worried and resigned.
“This time it was just an accident, so I won’t scold you... but seriously, when will you start taking better care of yourself?” the second voice sighed, tired but undeniably gentle.
“Why is it that Subaru always ends up getting hurt...” said the third, the end of his sentence tinged with a quiet bitterness. “How am I supposed to let him out of my sight at this rate?”
She immediately slipped behind the adjacent curtain, holding her breath. Those voices gentle, affectionate, laced with unmistakable concern—made her heart pound uncontrollably.
Why were they here?
Ferris, perhaps, wasn’t too surprising he was a nurse’s aide and often visited the infirmary.
But Julius? The model student who never missed a single class?
And Reinhard, the man so faithful to the rules that even the discipline committee respected him he had skipped class to come here just because Subaru had been hit by a ball?
Questions flooded her mind as she stared at the shadows of their forms on the floor, unmoving and still.
Silence fell, broken only by the soft hum of the air conditioner and the occasional flutter of the curtain. She didn’t dare move a muscle. Her mind had gone blank nothing remained but the echo of their voices in the sterile, antiseptic-scented air.
“Ferris-chun know Subaru-kun means well, doing reckless things for others, but it really ticks me off sometimes, nya,” Ferris grumbled. He valued life every life too deeply to watch his friend get hurt time and again.
“Stupid Subaru-kun. Doesn’t he realize he’s just as important as the people he’s trying to protect?” he murmured, falling silent.
Then came the calm voice of the treasurer.
“He always pushes himself beyond what anyone asks of him whether as a friend, a council member, or just as a person.” The low, even tone held sincere admiration... and pain.
“I respect that about him. I truly do. But as someone who cares about him... I wish he wouldn’t spread his kindness so thin.”
“You’re finally realizing your feelings, huh, Julius~? Congrats, nya~” Ferris teased, but without his usual mischief.
“That’s not something to celebrate,” Julius replied softly, his amber eyes turning down toward the unconscious boy lying in the infirmary bed. His voice dropped into a hush. “It’s a shameful kind of selfishness.”
Hearing his friends speak that way, Reinhard fell silent for a moment, as if weighing something within his heart. Then, with his usual gentle tone yet carrying an unfamiliar edge—he finally spoke.
“I understand Julius. When people look at Subaru like he’s something to be used or expected from... it makes me want to keep them all far, far away from him.”
His crimson lashes lowered, casting shadows over his sky-blue eyes eyes that, for a brief moment, no longer held the kindness the world so often adored.
And then, Reinhard spoke again, softly, as if whispering a warning to anyone foolish enough to tread into a place he had long since claimed.
“It puts me in a very bad mood.”
“Ferris-chan, you really are surrounded by eccentrics, aren’t you?” chuckled the cat-eared boy, his bright, bell-like laughter revealing how much he was enjoying the flurry of reactions from his friends. His wide honey-colored eyes narrowed mischievously, the look in them turning wicked.
“Then again, Ferris-chan is just as petty, nya~ So who are you to judge anyone else?”
Behind the curtain, the girl who had been eavesdropping felt her heart pound so loudly she was afraid the others might hear. She bit her lower lip hard, then slowly leaned forward, peeking through the narrow space between the folds of fabric.
The student council presidentthe one they’d all been talking aboutwas still fast asleep. His features were relaxed, oblivious to the weight of the world being spoken into the space around him. A cold gel pack rested gently on his forehead, and the dark hair usually brushed back now fell softly over his cheeks. His lips parted slightly as he breathed evenlyutterly innocent and unbothered, a picture of peace that seemed out of place amidst the tension in the room.
He wouldn’t know. He might never know.
He would never realize just how much love, concern, and quiet ache was being harbored in the hearts of those sitting silently at his side, each unwilling to utter a single word aloud.
No one spoke after that. Yet all of them kept their eyes fixed on the boy sleeping soundly, as though afraid he might vanish the moment they looked away.
And she, who had stumbled upon this secret by accident, couldn’t even decide how she should feel.
She only knew one thing for certain now: she was no longer the only one hopelessly in love with Natsuki Subaru.
Time drifted by slowly, thick with unspoken sentiment. Finally, Reinhard let out a quiet sigh. His voice, when it came, was soft—carrying a rare weariness uncharacteristic of someone who always seemed capable of handling everything with poise.
“Subaru’s charm… it’s terrifying, really,” he murmured, his eyes distant as they lingered on the sleeping boy.
“I can understand why people fall for him so easily. Truly, I do. But even if I understand… I still can’t allow it to happen.”
“Ahh That explains it,” Ferris chimed in with a singsong tone. “So that’s why Reinhard comes to school before sunrise every day.”
The vice president, often praised for his unmatched punctuality and diligence, smiled sheepishly like a child caught red-handed sneaking sweets.
“My house just happens to be close to school, that’s all,” he said with a light laugh. “It’s not like I’m up to anything suspicious. As a member of the student council, it’s only right to arrive before the rest of the students to make sure everything’s in order… right?”
“Sure, sure” Ferris sighed dramatically, waving his hand as though too tired to argue. “And those sweet little love letters that used to show up in Subaru-kun’s locker letters he never even got to open well, I do wonder where they all disappeared to~”
He didn’t have to wonder long. The treasurer, seated calmly in the center of the room, provided the answer in his usual composed tone.
“The recycling bin behind the school. I soaked them all in water first before disposing of them myself. If anyone’s to be blamed for that, let it be me,”
Julius said, adjusting his glasses with a nonchalance that made it sound as though he were discussing the weather. But in the depths of his amethyst gaze, there was a faint chill—cold and deliberate. “There’s no reason Subaru should have to be bothered by confessions of love he doesn’t reciprocate.”
“I was complicit too,” Reinhard added quietly, a hint of guilt softening his voice. “I won’t let you take the blame alone.”
“Ahh, that’s so very you, Julius,” Ferris sighed, flopping his hands lazily. “Sorting letters as meticulously as you sort trash. If it were me, Ferris-chan would’ve just set them all on fire and watched the ashes fly away, nya~”
The soft rustling of fabric broke the silence as one of the student council members rose to his feet and turned casually toward the infirmary bed, as though it were nothing at all. But then, in a tone as light as a breeze—yet laced with deliberate implication he spoke into the stillness.
“You know... Lately, Ferris-chan’s been noticing some strange people loitering around Subaru-kun, nya~”
His voice purred with feline mischief, honeyed and teasing, as his eyes flicked downward landing pointedly on the edge of the curtain drawn around the dark-haired boy’s bed.
“Like someone conveniently passing by the council room hallway over and over again during lunch break... or sitting near the soccer field where Subaru-kun likes to play during his free time…”
He twisted a strand of his hair idly, then let out a soft, almost innocent giggle.
“Maybe it won’t be long now before we get a confession~ Don’t you think?”
The moment those words left his lips, it was as if the temperature in the room plummeted.
A suffocating silence fell like a heavy curtain thick, unmoving, and unmistakably heavy.
And behind the very curtain she was hiding behind, she realized with a jolt: he was talking about her.
Her heart pounded so hard it hurt. Her breath caught in her throat. The air around her turned cold and sharp, slicing at her nerves like glass.
She felt it—the weight of a gaze.
She couldn’t tell whose it was—perhaps one of them, perhaps all three. But without a doubt, at that very moment, someone or all of them was staring directly at the space behind the curtain where she stood frozen in place.
Even though she couldn’t see it, the sudden shift in atmosphere crept toward her from every angle, a silent, suffocating pressure that gripped her body and refused to let go.
“What should we do, nya~?” came the whisper from the cat-eared secretary. This time, not a trace of playfulness remained in his voice—it echoed like a quiet threat.
She stood paralyzed, unable to move, her limbs icy cold. Her chest felt tight, heart hammering so hard it drowned out everything else. And still, beneath it all, she could hear it—Subaru’s gentle breathing, steady and untroubled as he slept amid the looming storm of silence.
Then, the soft scrape of a chair being pushed back shattered the stillness.
Footsteps firm, deliberate approached.
She held her breath, every part of her trembling.
The curtain was pulled open with delicate grace.
The white fabric swayed like water disturbed in a glass, and then—
Golden eyes, sharp and glinting beneath polished glasses, locked with hers.
No words.
No sound.
Just that gaze—elegant, unreadable, piercing.
And it was enough to make her knees buckle.
Standing before her was Julius Juukulius, a star that shone too brilliantly to approach his every gesture refined, his very presence like cold moonlight on bare skin.
“I didn’t expect we’d have an uninvited guest hiding back here,” he said calmly, his tone as composed as a routine greeting. But beneath that politeness was a chill so biting it nearly stopped her blood in its tracks.
She staggered back, caught the edge of the bed, and fell to the floor with a loud thud. The sound echoed harshly in the too-quiet room, and Julius’s perfectly shaped brows knit together in faint irritation for she had disturbed Subaru’s rest.
Her lips trembled, pressed tightly shut as fear overtook her, and she could feel the cold tile against her palms as if it were seeping through to her bones.
The gaze of the young man with a face sculpted like marble remained fixed on her, unwavering piercing, as though intent on reading her every move, every flicker of breath.
Those golden eyes, once calm and composed, were now devoid of warmth. Cold. Detached. So utterly at odds with the reputation he had for grace and unshakable propriety.
“How very rude, nya~ Hiding behind the curtains like that,” Ferris sighed softly, voice still lilting—but without the usual hint of mischief. His eyes, too, had turned unreadable.
“Or… maybe you weren’t trying to eavesdrop at all,” he continued, his honeyed voice curling like smoke in the air, “but came to say something instead~?”
It was a casual remark but it dropped into the silence like a stone into still water, sending ripples of unease through her. The pressure in the air thickened. She didn’t dare lift her gaze, her breath frozen in her throat.
Because in that moment, she finally understood.
Their world their closeness had never been open to outsiders.
It wasn’t about whether she was good enough. It wasn’t about their unwillingness to share.
It was because, at the very heart of their world, stood someone irreplaceable. Someone who was everything to them.
And no one—not anyone—was allowed to even think of touching that.
“...You don’t need to be so afraid,” said the refined knight with a smile far too gentle for the storm it disguised. He crouched gracefully to her level, every movement composed, every gesture precise. “Just… keep this a secret for us, alright? Subaru prefers to keep things simple and free from drama.”
His tone was soft too soft. And paired with the smile on his elegant lips, it should have sounded like a request.
But instead, it sent shivers down her spine.
There was something flickering in his amber eyes like a predator dozing beneath the surface, waiting only for a reason to strike.
She looked past him—just briefly—and saw it reflected in the other two sets of eyes watching her from across the room.
They were the same.
They were eyes that would destroy anything threatening what they cherished.
She grasped his outstretched hand with trembling fingers, stood shakily to her feet like a newborn deer, and fled—without looking back. Her footsteps echoed through the empty hallway, chasing the promise she whispered to herself like a prayer—
She would never again try to reach for the star named Natsuki Subaru.
Extra
“What the heck? Did I die or something? Is this my funeral?” Subaru groaned as he sat up, rubbing the growing lump on his forehead from the earlier gym accident. His eyes scanned the room, taking in the solemn faces of his friends gathered around his infirmary bed like a summoning circle.
“If you’re still this mouthy, then clearly my concern was wasted,” Julius said dryly, though the deep sigh that followed could’ve reached the next building.
“If this is your final moment, don’t forget to bequeath your gaming console to Ferris-chan, okay~?” Ferris added, grinning mischievously.
Meanwhile, Reinhard looked at him with a worry so intense it was nearly glowing. He knelt beside the bed and clasped Subaru’s hand with unwavering sincerity.
“I’m so glad you’re alright. Starting today, you’ll be transferring into our class. I’ve already submitted the paperwork and received the principal’s approval. From now on, I’ll be there to watch over and protect you.”
Subaru blinked, utterly baffled. He glanced at Julius and Ferris, expecting one of them to step in and object, as they usually would. But they just stood there silent, complicit.
He turned his face toward the ceiling and muttered like a man still unsure whether he was awake or hallucinating.
“I must’ve actually died. Or maybe I hit my head too hard and I’m dreaming all this. There’s no way Reinhard the paragon of perfect just went full yandere in real life.”
“Come live with us,” Reinhard said with a smile. “Forever.”
“Someone stop this guy!! Julius! Ferris!”
“Wow, suddenly Ferris-chan can’t hear a thing~ Must be time for my annual ear checkup.”
“Reinhard, what do we do about seating? I want Subaru in the middle.”
“That would make it even. Balanced. Good idea.”
“LISTEN TO ME!!”
end.......