Cobbled stones and greyed out walls proved to be the perfect backdrop for the colorful signs that decorated the top of each shop. Every canvas was painted beautifully for the sole purpose of stealing a potential customer's attention by explicitly choosing designs that trumped their competitors. On the other hand, there were those who had forgone using such cheap attractions and decided to place the 'cheap' on their products instead - hanging an everpresent discount sign in place of a decorative banner.
The streets weren't devoid of life either. Vibrant shades and different hues poured forth from every corner as men, women, children and even coaches all came together in perfect union; so much that it seemed like they would eventually meld into each other and create a perfectly harmonious rainbow of colors which brought life to the shopping district of London.
'How utterly sickening,' Mei thought to herself as she watched the parade of people from inside the coach. It wasn't that she was cynical or that she hated vibrant colors, it's just that the number of people was quickly making her nauseous and all she wanted to do was shut herself back at her manor. In other words, the doctor is a recluse whose entire being rejected heavily populated areas.
"Harumi, remind me again why we need to go all the way out here when you could've just called a dressmaker to the manor?"
The doctor massaged her throbbing head. The combination of the coach's constant sway to the rhythm of the road and the loud murmurs from outside were more than enough to drive her up the wall. Her headache was such that her brows couldn't move any closer together even if she had placed any effort in attempting to prove that assumption wrong.
"Because the dressmaker here is the best and I only want the best for Yuzu." Harumi proudly exclaimed as she shifted closer to the blonde and gave her a tight hug.
Mei observed the blonde who seemed oblivious to Harumi's gesture. She had her palms firmly planted on the glass pane of the coach while she gawked at the spectacle outside. The twinkle of excitement in her eyes and her wide grin made it plainly obvious that she was enjoying herself. Mei thought that, by the way she was enraptured by everything, it wouldn't be a stretch to assume that the girl hasn't had much experience in visiting bustling places like the shopping district.
The doctor was nothing short of perplexed, she didn't know how anyone could be so happy with something as simple as seeing a few shops and a crowd. It's completely mystifying to her yet beyond the confusion, there was fascination. She was fond of the way that the blonde was easily excitable and ever so simple, like the melting of snow once summer arrives.
Indeed, it was very refreshing in comparison to the usual people around her. The blonde didn't talk about politics, inheritance or any of those dull conversations though she did talk about fashion, food, and love, topics that the doctor wasn't really interested in but didn't hate as much as the former choices. There was also the fact that the girl had shown interest in the doctor's work, often asking what she was doing and listening intently as Mei explained.
"We're here!" Harumi happily shouted, pulling her companions' attention to her.
Mei looked outside and noticed a dreary old shop with the blinds pulled down. The only tell-tale sign that it was even open for business was an equally somber sign that said 'Come in.' She turned to Harumi with a puzzled expression but the plum-haired girl just smiled at her before exiting the coach and motioning for them to follow her. Mei complied, exiting before the blonde, who was a little too excited that she tripped on her own foot and nearly fell face first into the ground.
Like a gallant gentleman who was born to swoon all the ladies, the doctor reflexively acted and managed to catch the blonde's waist with her forearm, hand clutching at the girl's side in an attempt to keep the clumsy blonde stable.
"Try to be more careful." She said with an indifferent tone accompanied by a sigh.
"Y-yes. I'm sorry and thank you, miss."
The blonde shuffled and used Mei's arm as support as she struggled to straighten herself up. The girl was visibly flustered, clearly hinting her embarrassment at the disgraceful act she had just displayed in front of the doctor. Mei examined the blonde, trying to see if the girl's legs had been injured by the tumble but it seemed as though she was completely fine despite the girl's coy smile and utter avoidance of eye contact.
Nearby, Harumi was already shrieking loudly at the shop and the Mei decided to check on her friend before the girl did something criminal. Coming around the back of the coach, the plum-haired girl came into view and she was nothing short of furious while she tried to open the door, which seemed to be locked.
"Harumi, are they closed?" Mei asked.
"No, the little midget is just refusing to let us in!" She answered, seemingly directing the insult towards the door.
"Leave, we're not open. Stop causing trouble!" A voice sounded from the inside, "In any case, our clothes don't fit old maids so it's pointless to keep knocking." It continued.
"This little..." Harumi popped a vein at the insult.
A few obscenities flew out of Harumi's mouth, it was very unbecoming of a lady and a socialite but Mei wasn't one to comment on such things. It seems as though her friend had bad blood with whoever was running the shop and they weren't getting anywhere even as the minutes passed. The doctor, with her dislike of wasted time, tried to argue that Harumi can just choose another place but the latter was adamant in procuring the goods from this one.
"Excuse me," Mei knocked on the door, finally sick of having to listen to Harumi's ceaseless profanity. "Would you service us if we aren't here for Harumi's clothing?" She asked.
"Who are you?" The voice questioned back.
"I'm Mei Aihara, a friend of Harumi's but we're here to purchase a dress for someone else."
"Who?"
"Yuzu-"
Mei paused, her tongue didn't know what to say and it just occurred to her that she never caught the blonde's surname. She intended to ask but the door suddenly swung open, revealing a girl with pale strawberry blonde, nearly pinkish hair. Her azure eyes examined the two upper-class women before finally landing on the blonde behind them.
"Yuzu!" The girl shouted joyously, before pouncing on the girl.
"Matsuri? My, you've grown. How long has it been?" The blonde welcomed the hug.
Apparently, the two had been previously acquainted. Matsuri, the granddaughter of the dressmaker, had lived near the hospital where the blonde formerly lodged and the two became fast friends due to the close gap in their age. Sadly, Matsuri's parents perished and with her grandmother being her only living relative, the girl was left with little choice but to move away.
By the interaction alone, Mei could tell that the two had missed each other greatly. She wondered if she would feel the same should such distance ever be placed between her and Himeko or Harumi and the answer was obvious, she wouldn't. It's not like the other person was impossible to reach, they're not dead and as long as they aren't dead then there's always a chance to meet again - or so Mei would like to believe.
"Make yourselves comfortable while I go call granny." The girl said as she welcomed them into the shop, "Except you. I still don't like you." She sneered at Harumi before disappearing through the back door.
"That little brat..." Harumi's eyebrow twitched in annoyance as she entered.
The shop looked completely different on the inside; the walls were painted white and accompanied by a pale shade of wooden flooring, something akin to Birchwood. At the center of the shop was a raised platform where three mannequins stood, completely clothed in fine ball gowns. The same thing was true for the entirety of the right wall, except it displayed a mixture of day dresses and a few others which were made of silk and satin, more suited for the evening rather than a social occasion.
On the left side was a spot where the eyes and the body could rest; that side hosted the accessories such as gloves, hats, scarves, and bonnets, plus a lone couch which was presumably placed there so that a gentleman could rest his legs whilst waiting for his lady. At the moment, however, no gentlemen were present and the doctor quickly took the opportunity to sit down.
"Why exactly does that girl hate you so much?" Mei asked.
"I commented on a ball gown once and pointed out that it was sloppily made compared to the usual ones. Miss Mizusawa told me that her granddaughter was the one who made it and it seems as though I've been hated me ever since."
Mei lost her focus on Harumi when she felt a soft pressure coming down on the cushion. The blonde had made herself comfortable beside the doctor and clutched tightly at the couch while her gaze focused on the floor. Mei immediately recognized the nervous demeanor, having seen it one too many times. The girl was simply a worrywart and she didn't care enough to hide it.
"Yuzu, what's wrong?" Mei asked.
"I-is it really okay for me to buy a dress?" The blonde answered with a question, her voice taut.
"I don't see why not?"
"It's just that... they're expensive and I-"
"If you're worried about money, then I suggest you ease your mind of it. Don't underestimate the Aihara and Taniguchi name, Yuzu." Harumi intervened, having heard the conversation.
What followed was a lengthy conversation in between the plum-haired girl and the blonde, one arguing on not wanting to be a burden while the other tried to convince the other of the fact that this amount of money meant very little to both herself and the doctor. Mei decided to stay out of the argument, she felt no need to voice her opinion as she trusted that Harumi was more than capable of handling the issue.
Disappointingly, it wasn't until Matsuri returned that the whole ordeal was finally resolved, "If you two are going to argue for all eternity, then how about you let the quiet woman over there decide on which ones to get?" she offered to Mei's surprise. The entire thing just got more troublesome for her but the blonde seemed to be more comfortable with this arrangement so the doctor agreed.
Getting up from her comfortable spot, she called the blonde to come and follow her around the shop so they could discuss which ones were to the girl's liking and which ones weren't. The blonde complied and they started looking at the wide variety of designs and fabrics that were available. Having looked at the displays, Mei immediately understood why Harumi insisted on this shop despite the rude behavior of the owner's granddaughter; everything from the hem of a skirt to the details placed on the accessories was immaculate. Even the doctor, with her perfectionistic tendencies and love for all things organized, couldn't find a single thing out of order. If there was ever anything she would complain about, it was that the dresses were too colorful though that was a matter of preference.
"Do you have a color that you prefer?" She asked the blonde after preferences came to mind.
"Yellow or Blue?" The girl looked up as if trying to remember something, "They remind me of a sunny day." She continued.
"That's a very-" childish, the doctor thought internally but decided to keep it to herself "interesting way of putting it."
Darting her eyes around the room, Mei tried to look for any yellow or blue dresses which would suit the blonde perfectly. According to her own taste, she would prefer a blue dress which would accentuate the girl's blonde hair instead of a yellow one which was more likely to drown it, however, the dress that caught her eyes was something else entirely.
"We'll take this one." Mei said, not bothering to ask the blonde for her opinion this time.
The dress in question wasn't something made to be worn on formal occasions but the moment Mei laid her eyes on it, she knew that it was the one she wanted to get for the girl. The entirety of it was light pink except for some parts like silken high-collar which wrapped around the neck, delicately bunched up in a loose way, the belt which helped to show a lady's figure and the chiffon sleeves that started from the elbow down and finished with semi-circular embroideries at the end - all of which were white. The dress also came with a capelet which, much like the rest of it, was mostly pink save for the bottom lining which also had the same embroidery as the sleeves.
"Oh? You've got a good eye, miss." The dressmaker's granddaughter commented before taking the dress down and giving it to her grandmother.
A few more moments were spent discussing over what else to get the blonde, which mostly comprised of Harumi picking everything she liked regardless of everyone else's opinion. Once everything was said and done, they totaled a staggering number of fourteen dresses for everyday wear, four ball gowns, and five evening gowns - courtesy of Harumi's persistence and Mei's funds. It would be a few days before the dresses could be altered to fit the blonde but time wasn't of the essence and they could afford to wait.
Once their business at the shop was done, the three decided to head for the outdoor bazaar on Harumi's suggestion. Mei was absolutely against it at first. She didn't even like riding through that large crowd, much less mingle with it, but the talk of foreign books and instruments were enough to pique the doctor's eccentric nature and she followed Harumi through the streets like a child looking for buried treasure.
The trio went from stall to stall, mostly for items which Harumi and the blonde were intrigued by. Mei, having no interest in the mundane, simply stood by the sidelines and watched the two... well, mostly the blonde who she couldn't help but stare at because the girl was constantly fixing her long blonde hair every time she bent down to look at something; her long blonde locks curtaining in front of her face in the process.
The doctor looked around in an attempt to find something that would be of use to her and she found it a few stalls away from where her companions stayed. Approaching the stall, she was immediately greeted by the young girl who she assumed was the shopkeeper's daughter - seemingly a too young to be the actual one. She spoke to a girl, took her recommendation and aptly paid for her purchase.
"Thief!" She heard a man shout, prompting her to look towards the source.
"Ah... he's at it again." The girl said and noticing the doctor's questioning look, she expanded on her comment, "There's a guy a few stalls away from here. He's always accusin' girls of stealin' from his stall whenever he fancies 'em and they look incapable of payin'... well, I guess you'd understand what comes after that."
"I'm quite sure that I don't." Mei raised her brow in confusion.
"Ah! I should've guessed yer from the upper-class, miss. To put it simply, they pay with the only currency they have... their body. Disgusting, ain't it? The man, I mean. Best stay away, miss."
That advice sounded plausible and Mei had the right mind to follow it since she didn't want to be involved in something so inconvenient, however, Harumi's voice tearing through the crowd made her double back and pace towards the growing number of bystanders. The doctor pushed her way across the sea of people, making sure to say the usual 'excuse me' and 'pardon me' along the way until she finally got to the source of the commotion.
There, at the center of the crowd, stood a man who was shouting vulgar obscenities at the blonde who sat helplessly on the floor and Harumi who was beside the girl shouting back at him. Mei assessed the situation and from what she heard, she was sure that the man was accusing the blonde of shoplifting while Harumi defended the girl against his accusations.
"What did she even take from you?" Harumi screamed.
"A brooch made of silver! Cost a pretty penny that one does! And this wench pocketed it from right under me' nose!" He screamed back.
"I didn't take anything! I don't even have a place to hide it!" The blonde defended herself
Mei watched the scene unfold, unsure if she should step in or not. She gauged what she could do to help the situation and if would only make things worse but the girl's comment about how the man asked women to pay with their bodies, coupled with the licentious way that he had been gazing up and down the blonde, spurred the doctor to abandon her thoughts and take action.
"Pardon me," she directed at the man, "however, do you have proof of your claims?"
"'course I do! I know me' stocks, miss! I know when some thievin' whore takes from me'!"
"And how much does the brooch cost?" The doctor asked, her voice becoming a little tense as her temper rose.
"'Round 20 quid, ma'am. I can't let it go, ye' see?" He scratched his head and turned away in an attempt to hide the wry smile on his face.
"I see, you wouldn't mind if I called the bobbies, would you?" She answered him.
"What?! Ye' want yer friend jailed or somethin'?!"
"No. I just prefer to deal with this in a lawful manner."
The man felt pressured by the doctor's words. She became increasingly confident in the blonde's innocence as the time passed without any smart comments from the accuser.
"Tsk. Whatever. Just leave, I'll let it slide." He finally answered, turning his back and trying to leave with his dignity intact but the doctor couldn't let that happen after the insults he threw around.
"Hold on," she called him and as soon as he turned, she threw exactly 20 quid on the ground, "I imagine you must be in desperate need of money if you're accusing innocent people of thievery. So, here, take it and grovel on the floor like the pathetic beast that you are." She told him with cold and condescending eyes.
The crowd watched in silence at the spectacle she had put on. In hindsight, it may have been better to have just let it go but she couldn't. Mei never once thought of her fortune as leverage against others but she gladly made the exemption this time. Whatever she did to the man, he deserved it and the doctor didn't have a single shred of guilt towards that fact.
"Are you two all right?" She extended her hand towards the blonde, helping her up.
"Y-yes, Miss Aihara. I'm sorry for causing trouble." The blonde sounded glum.
"WHAT?! What are you apologizing for? You didn't do anything wrong! We should sue that man!" Harumi screamed furiously while dusting herself.
"Let it go, Harumi. I think he learned his lesson." Mei looked sternly at the blonde, "And you, I've told you time and time again that you should try to be a bit more careful." She lectured the blonde without a shred of sympathy and the girl hung her head low.
The ride home was quiet. It seemed like the blonde was quite shocked by the incident and wasn't feeling up to par on joking around with Harumi, who herself was also silent. Mei couldn't have been happier at this moment as she finally had her much deserved peace, though she wished that the precursory event wasn't something so traumatizing.
Upon their return to the manor, Mei returned to her study while the blonde retired to her quarters. It would still be some time before dinner was served and Mei could definitely catch up on some research she had been doing in relation to the girl's condition. So far no other symptoms had presented itself and she didn't even see a few of the ones that were explicitly stated in the blonde's file.
She had considered the idea of hemophilia, however, that was quickly debunked when she made a small cut on the blonde's finger and it quickly clotted like it would on a regular person. There were a few others that she considered but the symptoms the girl had didn't match up and she reached the end of her current limit. The doctor remembered that there was someone in Germany who had been religiously studying cell biology. Sadly, his study was far from proven or complete.
The doctor was forced to pause when a tingling sensation settled on her face. She removed her glasses in an attempt to rid herself of the discomfort; no matter how long she used the instrument, she could never get used to it and after a while, it would always disturb her concentration. She tried going back to work but her focus had already scattered and she could no longer continue.
Gazing up at the clock, she realized that it had been several hours since they returned to the manor. She didn't even notice the time pass by since the blonde was nowhere in sight and didn't come to bother her during the few hours she had been in the study. Mei wondered if she had been too hard on the girl or if she didn't get her point across when she scolded her. It seemed like all the doctor knew how to do was to scare the girl and she wasn't very proud of that.
With a sigh of defeat, Mei eyed the small package which contained the item she had bought from the bazaar. She meant to give it to the girl earlier but circumstances kept her from doing that and she completely forgot about it afterward. It definitely hasn't been a good day for anyone.
Nothing changed through the majority of dinner. The blonde kept her eyes low, she didn't speak and she barely touched her food; choosing to simply swirl her mutton soup around instead of consuming it. Himeko looked extremely displeased at the fact that the girl had the audacity to act like her cooking wasn't good enough but Mei knew that the reason was probably because of what had transpired that afternoon.
Having decided to take it upon herself to resolve the issue, Mei whispered to Himeko and asked her to give them some privacy so she could speak to the blonde about her attitude. Of course, Himeko eagerly complied. Her assumption must've been that the doctor was going to give the blonde a stern scolding.
"Yuzu, is something the matter?" Mei asked as she cut into her portion of roasted lamb.
"No, Miss Aihara." The blonde answered, her voice obviously devoid of life.
Mei observed the blonde, her luscious locks of golden hair almost touching the soup as she continued to swirl it around. The doctor couldn't help but sigh at the sight before her, all the cheerfulness had gone from the girl. Even Harumi was easier to handle than this, she thought to herself as she got up from her seat and stood behind the blonde.
"I meant to give you this at the bazaar but... unsavory events happened." Mei gently caressed the girl's hair, making sure to capture every strand that hung loosely in front of her face. The blonde seemed to have jumped at suddenly having the doctor touch her but Mei didn't trouble herself with it and resumed gathering the girl's hair then tying them all up at the back. She made sure to only tie the upper portion which created a half-up, half-down style.
"I saw a few women style their hair this way and I thought it might suit you and at the same time prevent your hair from constantly falling down your face." She continued while she tightened the bow on the blonde's hair, "It's not much but I hope it's to your liking. Also, about what I said at the bazaar. I know it wasn't your fault. I simply wanted to remind you to be more careful."
The blonde didn't answer but when Mei was about to retract her hand from the girl, the latter caught it and held tightly onto her which somewhat startled the doctor but she didn't pull away. Instead, she decided to wait for whatever the girl was planning on doing.
"Miss Aihara, I'm sorry." The girl spoke, "I heard from Miss Harumi... about you, the type of person you are and how you mean well despite the crude and unrefined manner in which you deliver your thoughts."
Hearing the words 'crude' and 'unrefined' made Mei's patience crumble like a piece of biscuit that was crushed by a mallet. She wasn't sure if the blonde was sincerely apologizing about something or if she was just making fun of her. The doctor was partly tempted to return the favor and throw a few insults right back at the blonde but she decided not to act in such a childish manner.
"However, I didn't believe that. I kept taking your words at face value, constantly being hurt by them without understanding their meaning and every single time you apologized despite being faultless."
Mei was extremely glad that she didn't have an outburst and allowed the girl to continue speaking; she would've made an utter fool of herself is she had. Though that short-lived victory was soon destroyed by the fact that she didn't really know how to react to someone who was pouring their heart out to her. The blonde's grip grew tighter as she started to visually shake. Profanities Mei could handle with no problem at all but this was completely uncharted waters.
"I've become afraid of disappointing you in fear that you'd grow tired of me, Miss Aihara. Comedic, isn't it? I was purchased by Miss Harumi for the sole purpose of being studied by you and yet the lab rat, despite knowing her circumstances, grew attached to her owner's kindness and became terrified of being abandoned."
The blonde gave a sarcastic laugh which masked the faint sobs that emanated from the girl. Mei's heart pounded in her chest, causing her a great discomfort. She still didn't know what to say or what to do and once again she became aware of the things that came naturally to others but escaped her grasp. She thought to herself if she would throw the blonde away once she was done with her and truthfully, she didn't know the answer to that. She was fond of the girl's refreshing personality but was that enough to make her keep the blonde around? She didn't know.
"Yuzu," She called out to the sobbing girl, "I wouldn't abandon you just because you disappoint me and I can't comprehend you." She returned the gesture and gripped tightly at the blonde's hand in an attempt to reinforce her words.
Mei closed her eyes and clenched her jaw; she just told her first lie, though it wasn't really one per se. It wasn't even a white lie because the circumstances around her words were vague. She didn't think she would ever abandon someone for the reasons she gave but she didn't say that she wouldn't abandon her for a different reason and so she didn't really lie.
"Thank you, Miss Aihara. You truly are very kind." The blonde continued sobbing.
The doctor tried to reason and convince herself that her words weren't a lie but it still left a bitter taste in her mouth, one that she wouldn't be able to wash off.
Notes:
Screw the word count. I've been religiously keeping my chapters short but I didn't want to cut this chapter in half so... here we are with a wall of text.
Well, it's not as long as other people's chapters but come ooooooon. How do you guys proofread so many words? I spent the entire day trying to proofread this and all I ended up doing was procrastinating and looking at memes with a ratio of 2 hours:3 minutes and I admit openly that the larger time was spent on memes not the proofreading.
Sorry if I haven't been updating this one. The other one's technicalities have been preoccupying my memory since I don't make notes and I have to scour my brain for the information I previously thought of. Having to think of plot A and plot B really makes me lose track of everything and basically, I'm that lazy and disorganized classmate who always says 'I don't need to write it down, I'll remember it.' but never does.