"I'll breathe life into your lips."

The emerging industrialization burst forth from every corner of England. It was a time of steam locomotives, concrete, and electromagnets for the inventor; Queen Victoria, the abolishment of slavery and social reforms for the political; Oliver Twist, The Raft of Medusa, The Haywain and so much more for the artistic and the cultured... Finally, there was also the advancement in all faculties of Medicine, which delighted a particular raven-haired girl.

Aihara Mei is a doctor known far and wide for her obsessive pursuit of medical knowledge. The mysteries of bacteria, viruses, and all these unknown diseases and afflictions intrigued her more than any conversation on gossip, art or drama. The doctor might keep one or two in her company whenever she was in the public's eye but in truth, the world outside of her practice meant very little to her.

Of course, that didn't deter any potential suitor from trying to wing their way into a conversation with the academic. Men gawked at her and spouted boring topics of who did what and where, what their families had or just outright ask for her hand as if she was a trophy wife to be won. On all these occasions, Mei's stern amethyst eyes would coldly stare back at them like the unwanted pests that they were and the men would quickly scurry away as if her gaze was enough of a 'no.'

"Mei, when are you ever going to think about marrying?" Said a girl with long plum-colored hair who casually sipped from her cup of Earl Grey.

"I have no interest in marrying such boorish people. I already told you a hundred times, Harumi." Mei answered with a tone of indifference. It was the truth, she had never once found a man worth talking to as they mostly only wanted physical intimacy and the mighty scholars who delved in the same interests as she did all looked down on her simply because she's a woman.

"Do you plan on locking yourself up and treating patients at the hospital forever?"

"I don't see how that's a bad idea." Mei answered simply, causing Harumi to give up on the conversation.

"Well, whatever." Harumi sighed at her friend's total indifference to any social concept, "That's not what I asked you to come for anyway."

"And what did you call me out here for?" Mei elegantly returned her cup to its saucer before giving Harumi a questioning look.

"It's almost your birthday, right?" The plum-haired girl could barely contain her excitement and Mei immediately picked up on the dangerous vibes that were emanating from the plum-haired girl.

"Yes." Mei cautiously answered with one eyebrow raised in alarm, "What abomination did you think of this time, Harumi?"

"Oh, you'll love this but Himeko won't so don't tell her." A sly grin appeared on Harumi's lips as she placed her index finger in front of her lips; motioning for Mei to keep it a secret.

"I'll politely refuse your gift, Harumi. The last few years you gave me nothing but disasters and I still haven't recovered from the last one." Unbelievably, Harumi thought that throwing Mei an all-male birthday party would alleviate her aloof and uninterested approach to men. Mei, having no idea about the party in question, attended in full confidence of her friend. It was a disaster, to say the least.

"Come on, Mei. I promise it won't be anything like that. You can take a look and refuse if it doesn't interest you." The girl argued, "I really did consider your interests this time!" She added as she whined about the raven-haired girl's refusal to accept her gift.

Knowing they weren't going to get anywhere and wanting to quickly return to her research, Mei decided that her best course of action would be to simply agree to Harumi's proposal then leave as soon as they see this 'gift' and return home. "Fine." Mei agreed to Harumi's request knowing she would most likely regret it later.

Harumi lit up when Mei agreed, quickly dragging the doctor from her chair and throwing her inside the carriage before the girl could change her mind as she often did. The plum-haired girl's sudden eruption of energy already made Mei second-guess her decision in agreeing. The few minutes inside the carriage was nothing but pure torture for the raven-haired girl. Harumi kept going on and on about gentlemen, the new fashion and a bunch of other common 'lady' talk as Mei liked to call it.

The entire conversation was such living agony that she couldn't help but be thankful when the ride was finally over and the coachman opened the door to let them out. Mei realized for the first time that Harumi had taken her to a rundown hospital in a shady part of London and she eyed her friend nervously at the choice of location.

"So..." Mei trailed off, checking to see if she had her friend's attention, "What are we doing at this filthy excuse for a hospital?" Her face contorting in annoyance despite the flat way in which she spoke.

"Don't worry! I didn't buy you the hospital, I swear." Harumi pounded on her chest proudly in an unladylike manner, "Come on, don't dally. I want you to tell me what you think as soon as see what I got you." The plum-haired girl walked in front of Mei, carefully lifting her dress as she made her way up the staircase and inside the building.

The hospital was as filthy inside as it was outside. Mei, while curious about the sickness of each patient, didn't see any disease worth her time to investigate. It was all the usual and mostly children sick with something easily curable. It was incomprehensible to her why Harumi would bring her all the way out here just to see something they could easily find at the hospital which she practiced at.

Coming up a flight of stairs, Harumi urged her to continue walking and since it was too late to back out now, she obliged. The second floor was a little more sanitary than the previous one. In fact, it was mostly empty and while Mei felt the need to inquire, she decided to just let Harumi take the lead and wait to see what the fuss was about.

"Ah, here it is." The plum-haired girl finally spoke after the uncharacteristically quiet stroll through the hospital, "Are you ready, Mei?" she asked to the Doctor's annoyance.

"Just get it over with."

Harumi slowly opened the door, causing the old thing to creak loudly. Inside the room was a serene and personal space. Like someone had stayed in it for far longer than they should have, "Hello, I'm here again." Harumi greeted someone inside the room and Mei looked on curiously at the exchange, trying to spot the person her friend was talking to through the tiny crack of the door.

A soft voice spoke from inside. 'A woman? What the hell is Harumi playing at?' She questioned her friend's motivation though it didn't take long for the said friend to invite her inside the room. Sparking a debate in her mind, her caution urged her to refuse but the questions in her head told her to go in and find some answers. So in she went, having never refused a command brought on by her ever-present curiosity.

Stepping slowly through the door, Mei braced herself for whatever monstrosity she would find inside but was quickly disappointed when the figure of a rather normal looking girl came into view. The woman had long blonde hair with loose curls at the end and a plain looking light green dress that looked like it had been worn so often that the color had already begun to fade.

"Good morning. Miss Aihara, I presume?" The blonde girl addressed her but Mei was staring so intently at the girl's emerald green eyes that she failed to answer immediately, "Uhm- it's kind of embarrassing if you stare at me that much..."

"Sorry," Mei apologized after regaining her sense, "excuse us for a moment." The raven-haired girl pulled her friend out of the door and gave her a stern, no-nonsense look causing the latter to gulp in fear.

"What's this about?" She asked apprehensively, not in the mood to be led by the nose anymore.

"Well, you're only ever interested in diseases so..."

"She does not look the least bit sick. So, tell me the truth!"

"I am telling the truth! She's sick with something but the doctors don't know what it is!" Harumi tried to defend herself but Mei wasn't having any of it and continued pressuring the plum-haired girl with a deathly glare.

"Miss Taniguchi is telling the truth, Miss Aihara." The blonde spoke out, appearing from the door with a smile on her face.

"This does not concern you. Don't interfere." Mei was extremely displeased that the girl was helping Harumi with whatever she was scheming.

"I heard about you from Miss Taniguchi. The beautiful raven-haired doctor who's only ever interested in discovering the unknown and conquering the incurable." The blonde spoke once more as if challenging Mei's authority in the matter, "Why don't you hear her out before you judge her, Miss Aihara?" the girl quipped.

"Fine," Mei answered, stepping away from Harumi and following the blonde girl back into the room. The plum-haired girl followed closely behind and gave a nod of appreciation towards the blonde who saved her ass from Mei's rage.

"So, explain."

"Wait, don't you want to know her name first? We can't just act like she's not a person, you know?" Harumi debated with Mei, forcing the raven-haired girl's patience to the limit.

"I don't care. Just get on with it." Mei answered while raising her voice.

"Ugh. So strict. Sorry about her attitude, Yuzu. She's like this but she's a good girl inside." Harumi apologized to the blonde who was now sitting on her bed and smiling at the exchange.

'Yuzu?' Mei repeated the name to herself. The girl had blonde hair and large green eyes typical of westerners. She originally assumed that the girl was a pure-blooded English woman but that name was definitely Japanese in nature. So she came to the conclusion that the blonde was probably of mixed heritage like herself.

The conversation that followed was long but Mei found it so interesting that she was even glad she didn't turn down Harumi's invitation. Turns out that this girl called 'Yuzu' has had a special condition from a young age and the symptoms that she showed ranged from headaches to chest pains and even fainting in some cases.

To Mei's knowledge, there are a few diseases with these symptoms and most of them were heart-related but the girl had herself checked multiple times before with no damage or issues found in the organ. It was definitely a puzzle worth investigating even for a short amount of time and Mei contemplated what kind of tests she could run on the girl. The girl's condition, having piqued her interest, was now all she could think about but therein lies a problem...

"So, that look on your face tells me that you like my gift." Harumi disturbed the doctor's thoughts to the latter's annoyance.

"As interesting as it is, how do you intend for me to study her condition this far out and besides, did she even agree to this?" Mei looked at the blonde.

"Of course, I bought her already!" Harumi proudly exclaimed and Mei quickly grabbed her friend's face in anger, "You... have you forgotten that slavery has been abolished?"

"Ouch, ouch. Stop." Harumi continuously slapped Mei's hand as she tried to get the girl to release the grip that was holding her face tightly, "It isn't that type of buying. It hurts... Let go... My make-up..." the plum-haired girl whined.

"Miss Aihara," Yuzu called out to her again, "She didn't really purchase me, per se. It was an arrangement in between us and one that I gladly accepted."

"Explain," Mei said as she released a tearful Harumi.

"I've been in this hospital for a very long time now and of course my debts have accumulated. The people here have been nice enough not to drive me out but I can't stay on their goodwill forever, can I?" Mei carefully examined the blonde's face and noticed that a solemn look had painted over the bubbling smile that she previously had plastered on her angelic face.

"Anyway, Miss Harumi found me here a few weeks ago and offered to pay for my debt in exchange for something. She wanted me to allow you to study my condition and of course, she promised me that no experiments would be done on my body. I take that you would honor that part of the bargain? I'm really scared of painful things, you see." The blonde smiled sheepishly at Mei.

"Bloodletting will be required but I'm a doctor, not a mad scientist. I study to heal not to kill. Why would you even assume that I would cause you unnecessary harm?" Mei felt a little insulted at the girl's comment. She didn't like being compared to those insane doctors that used medicine as an excuse to quietly butcher people. Paving their way to success through blood and murder.

"If that's the case, then I offer this body to you, Miss Aihara. I'll be in your care." Yuzu gave a bow of courtesy before giving the raven-haired girl the widest grin she had ever seen.