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It was a warm spring afternoon as Ace leaned against his broom and stared over to the female half of his PE class. If there was one perk with PE, it was looking over at the lovely ladies he shared a school with. He felt so lucky, being able to go to NRC. Not only was it the most prestigious magic school out there, but also had some of the prettiest women.
“So, who do you think looks hottest?” Ace asked as he looked over to his first year friends, Epel and Yuu.
“...I mean, that’s a little…” Yuu muttered as he looked over at them. “Kinda douchey, don’t you think?”
“It’s not like I’m saying go over there and flirt with them.” Ace rolled his eyes. “But you gotta admit the gym outfits look cute. Especially with the spring and summer ones.”
“I think he’s just used t’ it.” Epel shrugged. “Ya said ya were an athlete back home, right?”
“Yeah, but sports swimsuits are still different from this.” Yuu motioned to himself.
“And you’re telling me you never had discussions about which girls on the swim team were cute or hot or whatever?” Ace asked.
“No, but like… Those are girls I knew for years and this–” Yuu muttered.
“That should make it easier!” Ace said. “No long term emotional attachment means you can’t feel bad liking someone.”
“Says the guy who ditched his girlfriend to come here.” Yuu muttered.
“I’m startin’ to think she wasn’t real.” Epel teased, only to wince when Ace jabbed him in the ribs with his elbow.
“You guys are no fun.” Ace grumbled.
“Hey, I have an answer.” Epel frowled up as he rubbed his ribs.
“Oh?” Ace looked back at him. “Who are you lookin’ at?”
“Jill Howl.” Epel nodded. “I think she’s beautiful.” Ace’s eyes looked over to the beastwoman, tall and muscular.
“Aren’t beastwomen known for their… You know, strength and aggression and all that?” Yuu asked.
“Yes. And that’s what makes her beautiful…” Epel stared at her dreamily as she talked with some of her Savanaclaw classmates and flexed her muscles, the group playfully comparing their arms as they talked.
“Good on you, man.” Yuu said with a smile. “Liking someone for more than their looks.”
“I’m pretty sure that’s still liking someone for their looks.” Ace said. “Not that you can comment, since you still haven’t said who you think looks good.”
“...Fine.” Yuu rolled his eyes. “I mean… Schoenheit is beautiful, and I like movies so an actor would be nice to be around.”
“That’s a cop out.” Ace said. “She’s an actress. And I said who looks the hottest, and she’s not here.”
“Plus you have garbage taste.” Epel said, his nose briefly crinkling in disgust.
“What!? I just defended you and you’re gonna insult me?” Yuu looked at Epel.
“I’m just bein’ honest…” Epel shrugged. “Not all of us can be, uh… How d’ya say? Cultured?”
“I’m plenty cultured, thank you!” Yuu growled. “And what about Ace? He still hasn’t given an answer.”
“Yeah, who are you checking out?” Epel asked as he looked back at Ace. Ace hummed and looked at the girls side of the field.
“Well, I was thinking–” Ace started, before Vargas shouted over the field.
“Alright, Spade, Viper, you’re up! Trappola and Shroud, you’re on deck!” The coach’s voice rang out, and Ace laughed.
“Gotta go guys! It’s my turn!” He ran ahead, earning glares from his friends. He got in a line behind Deuce, with Idia Shroud right behind him. He glanced back at the woman, the Ignihyde Housewarden keeping her eyes low. Clearly she didn’t want to be there.
Ace’s mind spaced out as he waited for his turn, first watching Jamil do the required laps to show off his flight. He landed, and Deuce followed, her flight a lot more shaky than Jamil’s. He was barely watching… At least until he heard the shouting.
It finally registered that Deuce had lost control, and she was flying right at him. Ace shouted as well and stumbled back to get out of her way.
Unfortunately he felt his feet trip over each other and he twisted and turned to try and catch himself. He remembered feeling his broom slam into something first, then the rest of his body then…
When he opened his eyes, he was on top of Idia Shroud, his broom awkwardly under her arm, and his hand… His hand that he had used to catch himself was by her side, and he had practically pinned her down.
His face heated up and he rolled off of her. “Sorry! Sorry! Sorry!” He planted himself opposite her as he looked at her. Jill Howl ran over and knelt down by Idia’s side.
“Hey, are you okay? That looked like a nasty bump…” She said.She looked concerned over at Ace, but most of her attention seemed to be on Idia.
“I-I don’t know…” Idia said, and she reached down to the bottom of her shirt, “H-How does it look?” She lifted her shirt up, and Ace’s horny teenage brain fired up again. His gaze followed up along her thin stomach to the edge of that navy blue sport bra, and–
He stopped, that lustful part of his gaze blocked by concern at the sight of just how thin her body was. Yes, she was lanky, but seeing her ribs stick out against her skin…
His concerned gaze was blocked as Jill reached out and felt the marked part of Idia’s side, earning a wince from the blue haired housewarden.
“Doesn’t feel like broken ribs.” Jill said. “We’ll hafta check at the infirmary but probably just gonna get a bad bruise.”
“Get her to the infirmary then.” Vargas said as he approached. “Do you think you can carry her, Howl?” He asked. Jill nodded and slowly helped Idia to her feet.
“What about you, Trappola? Are you hurt?” Vargas asked as he turned to Ace.
“What?” Ace asked, then shook his head. “No, only my pride, sir.”
“Good! Now, let’s continue!” Vargas shouted. “You’re still up, Trappola!”
It was the next day that Ace sat in the Heartslabyul Lounge, eyes in the middle distance as he thought about Idia. It was a distraction, but not a perverted one. He just couldn’t help but think about the sight of Idia’s ribs on her thin body. He remembered back to pictures in older health classes before NRC, and discussions of eating disorders…
Why did he care though? Idia was his senior, sure, but they were an Ignihyde student. Not even his house. And they were a housewarden. She could take care of herself.
…But he was still worried about her…
“You’re lucky I found you before Housewarden Rosehearts, Ace.Otherwise you might get called out for not getting your chores done.” A voice suddenly took him out of his thoughts. Ace shot up from his seat and looked over at the speaker.
“Oh, hey Trey…” Ace said. “Don’t worry, I… Uh, I got my stuff done. I don’t need Riddle on my ass again…” He leaned back and stared back at the ceiling again.
“...Are you alright?” Trey asked as he sat down on a nearby chair, diagonal to him around the coffee table between their chairs. “You’re not usually the type to be so… Distracted.”
“Yeah, I’m…” Ace started to say, before he shook his head. “No, I’m not. Something happened and I’m… Really worried about someone.” Ace looked over to Trey and leaned forward.
“Oh?” Trey asked as he leaned back, his arms crossed thoughtfully. “What’s got you worried then?” Ace stared at him… And he wondered how much he should say.
“...Trey, could you teach me to cook?” Ace asked. Trey blinked in surprise.
“Of course. Were you looking for tarts?” Trey asked, but Ace shook his head.
“No, I’m looking more towards real food, not dessert.” He answered.
“The word you’re looking for is entree, not ‘real food,’ but I understand.” Trey said, his smile the slightest tease at the faux pas.
“Thank you. It’s important.” Ace’s face was serious.
“So, are you making a special meal for a special someone? Food can be an aphrodisiac. Makes things romantic.” Trey said. The look on his face still looked teasing, but he was serious. In his mind, Ace was wanting to impress a girl with his food.
“No, I…” Ace shook his head. “There’s someone I worry isn’t eating. And they’re a Third Year so I feel like if I ask someone to check on them… They’re an adult and can make their own decisions.” Trey’s teasing smile fell.
“That’s not something I expected.” Trey said. He folded his hands together and pressed his fingers against his lips in thought. “So, you’re gonna want something that’ll really stick to the ribs. I think I can work with that.”
“So you’ll help me?” Ace asked.
“Of course.” Trey said. “I’m your Vice after all. If I can do anything to help, I will. When would you like to do this?”
“...Tomorrow, maybe?” Ace asked as he looked at his phone. “I’d like to have time to actually do this and deliver it.”
“I’ll tell Riddle then.” Trey said. “I can talk him into giving us permission to avoid chores.”
“Thank you.” Ace said with a smile. “So, what sort of comfort food are we making?”
Ace walked along, plastic food containers under his arm, He muttered to himself as he read the signs along the walls of Ignihyde Dorm, and he glanced at each room number before he finally came across his goal.
“Housewarden Room. There we are.” Ace said as he came to a stop in front of the door. He looked over the door, a little intimidated at the weird tech on it. It was a sliding door, and it had a small keypad next to it. It was more than any of the other dorms had.
Nervously, Ace reached over to the keypad and tapped on a button that had a small bell symbol on it… And nothing happened. He waited a minute before hitting it again… Still nothing.
“Come on, Idia. You’re the shut-in. Why aren’t you answering?” He muttered, one more try, before he finally turned to leave–
“Hi, what are you doing outside big sis’s room!?” The robotic form of Ortho appeared in front of Ace, which caused him to jump back, startled.
“Seven! Don’t sneak up on me like that!” Ace gripped at his chest in fear with his free hand, the other gripping tight on the storage containers.
“Sorry! I just saw you ringing the doorbell and I got excited!” Ortho said. The look on his face gave the impression of an excited smile, despite the grill on his face.
“Yeah, uh… Is Idia in?” Ace asked as he calmed down. “I made her some dinner and–”
“Of course! I’ll just let you in!” Ortho said as he moved past Ace and opened the door. “Big sis! You have a guest!” Ace simply followed in behind Ortho, confused, as he looked around the room. It matched the high tech look of the rest of the dorm, but it seemed strangely warm. The shelves had various figurines of anime characters, men and women and robots, in various states of undress and sexiness.
And in the center of the room, curled up in a ball on a gamer chair, was just the woman Ace was looking for.
“W-Why did you let him in…?” Idia asked as she stared at Ace, eyes wide with fear.
“Because he brought gifts!” Ortho said as he went through the motions of plugging his robot body into a strange computer.
“Yeah, I wanted to make up for PE the other day.” Ace said. “So I made you some dinner.”
“I already have dinner plans.” Idia spun back around to her computer, her legs tucked up to her knees.
“Heating up instant ramen isn’t dinner plans.” Ortho said casually, which earned the slightest glare from Idia.
“Hey, if you’re just going to heat up some food, maybe try some real food instead of just noodles.” Ace held out the storage containers. “Better for you than just noodles.”
Nobody spoke for a moment as Idia typed on her computer, Ace held out the containers, and Ortho did… Cyborg robot things. Finally Idia sighed and turned to Ace.
“What… Did you make me?” She asked, sticking out a hand to take the boxes.
“It was a recipe Trey was toying with after the Master Chef stuff. Chicken Curry Tacos.” Ace explained. “I had one myself before I brought these, and they’re pretty good.”
“I’ll judge that myself… The curry at the official cafe for the Lost City of Tora was unbeatable.” Idia said. Ace responded with a confused shrug, but watched as Idia opened up the box and pulled out the taco. She felt it, briefly grabbed a device to heat the meal up slightly, then took the first bite.
Then her eyes went wide.
“Wow… Complements to the chef…” Idia said as she slowly ate.
“Thanks.” Ace said with a smile. “It was a labor of love, I’ll tell ya that much…”
“You didn’t need to...” Idia said. “Not the first time I’ve gotten hurt during PE…”
“…Yeah, but—“ Ace started, but stopped himself from voicing his actual concerns. Idia glanced up at him, the shut in even realizing something was up. She didn’t say anything though and focused on the food. Ace just sat down on her bed and watched her eat, and as she finished he felt it was the chance to actually speak up.
“So… how is it looking? I did bump into you pretty hard.” Ace said. Idia flushed a bit at the comment.
“You… Really want to see?” She asked. Ace nodded.
The redhead then flushed as Idia casually removed her shirt, leaving her in a simple blue and black striped bra. But any perversion he felt was gone yet again at the sight of her skeletal form.
Idia turned to focus on the side where she had been hit, the bruise mostly faded to a sick yellow on her pale skin.
“It’s… It's mostly gone…” Idia said. Ace leaned a little closer, his fingers unconsciously reaching out to touch near the bruise, along the exposed ribs. His warm touch caused Idia to wince and quickly put her top back on.
“S-Sorry, I… I just kind of got lost in the moment…” Ace said. “I’m… Glad you’re better.”
“I’ll be fine…” Idia turned away and looked at her computer. “Thank you for the meal.” She refused to make eye contact as she held the plastic container out to him.
“You’re welcome.” Ace said as he took the container back and looked away. “If you ever want some more food, I can cook some more for you.”
“I’ll think about it. Goodbye, Ace.” Idia said. Ace waited for more, but slowly got up and made his way out.
“Bye Idia. Bye Ortho.” He gave an awkward wave before he stepped through the automatic door.
“… Big sis, are you alright?” Ortho asked as he looked to Idia. “Your vital signs are weird.”
“It’s the social anxiety… You know.” Idia said as she stared at the computer.
“… They’re actually similar to when you listen to that boyfriend ASMR—“ Ortho started.
“Ortho, check for and install updates!” Idia shouted, and suddenly the robot boy paused and stared into space.
The blue haired girl placed her hand on her side, right where Ace had touched. She hated how that touch made her feel… But she was starting to want more.