Mei happily reveled in the comfort of her study; her delicate body comfortably supported by her favorite upholstered chair, while her mind was cradled by the endless information which she consumed from the numerous books piled neatly beside her. It was truly a glorious day to be alive and that was made even truer by the pleasant scent of apples that wafted from the fireplace.

September had already rolled in and with it came temperatures that lessened as the days passed, fostering the need to put the dry wood to good use. At first, Mei didn't understand why Himeko was so adamant in the use of apple wood for the fireplace. She thought it was rather counterproductive to cut down fruit trees, plus she fancied the smell of burning Yew, however, after getting a whiff of its faint scent reminiscent of the sweet fruit it produced, she couldn't help but allow herself this vain want.

The doctor took a sip of her tea and continued reading the book that lay on her lap. It was a book which contained the flora and fauna of the American land, particularly Florida and Carolina, plus the crown colony, the Bahamas. While there were a lot of fascinating and curious animals to be noted, the doctor was more interested in the plants that grew indigenous to the Bahamas; Gumi eli, Sea grape, Goat's foot, Sea Oxeye, all oddities when taken in by their names, but the doctor's excitement stemmed from the possible medicinal properties of these plants.

For a while, she contemplated on possibly visiting the island and she had gone around planning how she would go about procuring samples of the said plants, but this idea quickly dissipated when she realized that it would be nearly impossible to take the blonde along with her. The trip might aggravate the girl's condition and she thought it would be negligent to leave the girl without knowing what she was afflicted with... moreover, Himeko would never allow it. And so, the Bahamas became a dream to be lost in her endless thoughts.

"What might you be reading, Miss Aihara?" A gentle voice beguiled the doctor to leave the world inside of her books.

"Just a book that details plants and all manner of beasts in foreign lands." She answered while she flipped to the next page and glanced at the text. The doctor sighed inwardly, this has been happening a lot lately, she becomes so preoccupied with reading and experimenting that the time simply escapes her notice. She took a moment to address the change in her behavior and quickly came to the conclusion that it was most likely because no one has been around to bother her.

For the past couple of days, Harumi hadn't visited nor bothered the doctor. Others would probably be bothered by that but not Mei, in fact, she never loved her friend more than she did now. Harumi, as she promised, was fetching the blonde on a daily basis and keeping the girl busy with lessons until late in the afternoon, which meant that the doctor had more time to go about her business without any disturbance.

"That sounds interesting, Miss Aihara." The blonde smiled before slowly lowering herself beside the doctor, much to the latter's annoyance.

"This is a single seater, Yuzu." Mei grunted as the blonde shifted closer to her so they'd fit.

"That's true, Miss Aihara... but-" The girl lifted Mei's arm and wrapped it around her waist, she then lay her head a little closer to the doctor's chest and stretched one of her arms out so that her elbow wouldn't dig into the doctor's side. Taking the book in her hands, the blonde offered one side to the doctor, giving her a pleading look as she did.

Sadly, despite her intellectual capacity, Mei wasn't one to easily pick-up on these gestures. And so with a raised brow and uncertainty in her voice, she decided to verbalize her confusion.

"What do you want me to do?"

"Hold onto this side, Miss Aihara." The blonde offered one side of the book again.

"Why?" The doctor waited for a sufficient answer. She saw no valid reason for them to be entangled in such a way just to read a book, but the blonde was obviously not going to give any answers - not with that pout and the way she childishly kept pushing the book towards Mei's hand. Hence, with a sigh, the doctor obliged and held onto the side which she was offered.

"See? It works if we do it this way." The girl happily stated, "And like this, I can flip the page with my free hand!" The girl merrily turned the page back and forth to prove her point.

Mei frowned as she looked down on the golden crown that pressed on her ever so lightly. The blonde had been getting bolder since the event that took place in the dining room and every day since then, she'd constantly invade the doctor's personal space. It was as if she thought she belonged within such close proximity; like she was one with the air that Mei needed to breathe. Honestly, the doctor thought she'd be more suffocated by this new arrangement but in the cold London evenings, she found her warmth rather... pleasant.

"c-c-co-n"

The doctor looked down on the girl who was visibly having a difficult time reading the word on her book. The blonde, having asked Mei to teach her how to read, had been constantly practicing whenever she could. The doctor thought it was highly impressive that the girl had learned the basics in a few short days but that might partly be because it's her first language. Being able to speak meant she only needed to learn which letters were which and how they were pronounced.

"This word, you can pronounce it in two ways: K-U-N-K, similar to how one would pronounce 'skunk' but without the S. Or you may pronounce it as K-U-N-CH, similar to the first, but with a CH, like Church." Mei made a show to verbalize the word slowly so that the blonde could pick it up. She made sure to teach her the rolls of the tongue and where to express the stresses.

"Conch." The blonde said with a worried look on her face, "D-did I get that right?" She stammered as she shifted in her seat in order to look up at the doctor, seemingly looking for approval.

"Yes, that's lovely." Mei praised the blonde, she was quite taken by the girl's dedication. It reminded her a little of herself when she was younger, minus all the frills and overflowing positivity.

Now that she thought about it, this 'obsessive' drive of hers, as Harumi often called it, began from a very young age. At first, it was simple things like the name of flowers, then the variety of trees, eventually she found herself delving into poetry, literature, music, and finally, medicine. Her grandfather always proudly showed off how intelligent she was for her age, though quite frankly, she believed that intelligence was something more than just book acquired knowledge.

In a manner of speaking, how does one quantify intelligence? By one's educational attainment? How fast one learns? And what of the artists and the composers? Are they not intelligent in their own way despite not knowing the all-encompassing complexity of mathematics? The way the doctor saw it, if one tried hard enough, they would eventually succeed. Intelligence had very little bearing on the matter and no other example could be more appropriate than the blonde who sat beside her - painstakingly reading every word with excitement burning in her eyes.

"What?" Mei asked when she noticed that the girl had abandoned reading in favor of staring at her, giving the doctor a tinge of discomfort. She didn't mind being stared at, in fact, she was used to it but no one has ever looked at her at such close distance.

A wide smile stretched on the girl's lips while the doctor was flushed into inner turmoil. She wasn't sure why the blonde was behaving this way but for some reason, it was really getting on her nerves, like she was being ridiculed or something along those lines.

"Nothing." The blonde answered, grinning as she returned to her reading, "It's just that... you tend to smile at the oddest things, Miss Aihara." She continued as she flipped the book onto the next page. Blissfully unaware of the confusion she painted across the doctor's features.

Just like this, the days passed. The blonde would be off in the morning, leaving the doctor to her own devices until the quiet setting of the sun and once she returned, they'd spend the rest of the evening reading a book together. There were days when Mei would push the girl off of the chair, annoyed that her shoulder would constantly be digging into the doctor's torso, but there were also days, much like this one, where the doctor would simply sigh and allow the girl to do as she pleased.

Reading wasn't always on the itinerary either, sometimes the blonde would simply gaze at the illustrations on a book and ask the doctor to tell her about what animal or plant it was. Often times the doctor narrated everything she knew about the topic at hand, but there were also times when she felt annoyed at the fact that the girl was tiring her out instead of reading for herself.

Come dinner, the doctor watched as the blonde carefully cut into her herb crusted lamb chops and delicately lifted her fork all the way up to her mouth, a bit of sauce drizzling down as she bit into the meat. Surprisingly, the girl took a napkin and wiped her lips clean, a stark difference from how the blonde usually ate like a rabid dog on a wild hunt - food and crumbs strewn about everywhere.

On closer observation, she realized that the blonde had learned enough to safely attend any formal dinner without letting on to her social standing. She looked like a prim and proper lady, save for the still worn-out clothing, which would be remedied soon. Of course, there were still some things here and there, like how she struggled with which cutlery to use for which course.

'The chatterbox is good for something after all," She thought to herself as she dug into her own meal. Clearly, Harumi was a better tutor than she originally thought, and in light of the blonde's spectacular transformation, she couldn't help but gain a newfound appreciation for the plum-haired socialite.

The mornings quickly turned into evenings, and like this, they inched closer to each other. It didn't matter if it was the 'Good morning' that never failed to reach her ears or the short yet meaningful evening conversations that the two shared, every encounter made the doctor feel just a tiny bit more comfortable in the girl's presence.

Indeed, the doctor didn't mind this new arrangement at all. Not just the conversations with the blonde, but also the time she was able to spend on her self and in her interest. Her happiness was such that she didn't even notice how the days flew by and just like that, the day of her birthday swiftly approached.

"Miss Aihara, will you really be leaving this early? It's still three days away, correct?" The blonde asked as she bent down and wrapped her fingers around the handle of a particularly large suitcase. She heaved and pulled as she called upon whatever strength she could muster but the luggage was obviously far too heavy for her scrawny body.

"Yes, I'll need to discuss some matters with my grandfather before the party." The doctor said as she checked on the contents of her other suitcase, flipping from book to book as she did. She would need to stay at her family home for a while longer than planned and she wanted to make sure that she had everything she needed - which meant her ever trusty medical books and a few other things not typically brought on a trip.

A grunt of frustration called Mei's attention to the blonde who was still in a bitter power struggle with her largest suitcase. The doctor sighed as she remembered how utterly stubborn the girl could be with these things. Obviously, she wasn't strong enough to carry the suitcase by herself, but she would probably spend an impressive amount of time trying to prove that fact wrong.

"Leave that, Yuzu. The coachman will fetch it." Mei said before returning to her inspection.

"I can do this." The blonde gave another grunt of frustration as she pulled on the handle, lifting the suitcase an inch off the ground for a second before her arms gave out, "See? I've almost got it." She smiled, ever so determined.

The doctor, having enough of the girl's shenanigans, approached her and gently pulled on the blonde's hands which were still tightly wrapped around the handle of her archnemesis, "That's enough Yuzu. You're going to hurt yourself." She lightly chided in a mellow tone.

"Y-yes!" The girl quickly withdrew her hands as if the doctor's touch electrified her.

It was peculiar, the blonde had no issues sitting beside her or even laying her head on the doctor's shoulders. Curiously, every time Mei returned the favor, even if it's a simple touch of the hand or a gentle pat on the shoulder, the girl would immediately... or instinctively flinch. She would then proceed to stutter, swiftly followed a prompt excuse and an abrupt leave.

To Mei, it was a bittersweet discovery, something that could be absolutely spectacular whenever she needed some privacy. The doctor would even shamelessly admit that she abused this weakness, but it also had its drawbacks, which is equally aggravating. Examining the girl proved to be increasingly difficult as it took so much time just to remove a single article of clothing. In addition, she would often demand that the doctor turn around or keep her eyes closed, despite their previous conversation on that having no point whatsoever.

Furthermore, every time she touched the blonde's bare skin, the girl would immediately yelp and when pressed further on the reason she would answer that there was no pain and she was simply 'startled.' Mei didn't know what was wrong and she was not very fond of the blonde's answer either, her hands weren't even that cold and so there should be no logical explanation for such a reaction.

On the positive side of things, the bruises which she previously found had been healing and most of them were already gone, save for the large ones which were still in the process of healing. Whether that's truly a good thing or not is left up to debate; To think positively, the bruises have healed yet on the other side of that coin, the doctor didn't know what caused them in the first place.

"Mei-Mei, the coachman is here. Where's your luggage?" Himeko asked as she entered into the study in pure confidence, making sure to look at the blonde and shoot a sneer at the girl before smiling at Mei.

"These please." The doctor pointed at two large suitcases standing side-by-side on the floor. She then glanced back at the door as if to wait for someone other than Himeko and the coachman to appear, but none came.

"Is Harumi still not here?" She asked as she furrowed her eyebrows. Not like she had any right to complain considering she's the one who's asking for a favor, but such concepts are lost to the doctor. In her mind, if Harumi had never bothered with inviting the blonde then none of this would've happened - hence she didn't truly owe the girl anything.

"I'm here, I'm here. Himeko simply wouldn't let me enter, she was spouting something about not wanting to add more disturbances in the house or whatnot. I have no idea what she means, if that helps." Harumi quipped. She was well aware that Himeko considered Yuzu to be a 'disturbance.' Well, it's more like she considered anyone except Mei to be as such.

"Good. I thought there would be a need to teach you a lesson in punctuality." Mei deadpanned at her friend who was visibly terrified at whatever was implicated by those words.

The doctor approached the blonde and took notice of the crooked ribbon that sat on the girl's collar. With a quick hand and a gentle tug, the doctor straightened out the loose fabric as she addressed the girl, "Yuzu, behave while I'm away. Don't cause Harumi any unnecessary headache, is that understood?" She gave the girl a stern look as she finished fixing the ribbon.

"Yes, Miss Aihara." The girl gave a wide grin of assurance.

"I'll see you soon." She acknowledged the blonde's answer, then shifted her attention to Harumi who was busy with teasing Himeko over her perfect curls and small stature, "And you, Harumi. Don't get Yuzu into trouble." She said to her friend.

"More like, don't cause trouble for Himeko." The plum-haired girl bit back but her clever remarks fell on deaf ears.

Notes:

Hello, I haven't forgotten about this one. I was just... taking my time and someone (elliehandesu) decided to go fetch me from my other fanfic. Cough. I was not being lazy. Totally not. Nope.

The party will be on the next chapter. Please don't kill me how historically inaccurate mentioned scores on that one will be.

I didn't want to make this a long chapter, mostly because I don't like making scene transitions.

ANYWAY

HAPPY HALLOWEEN! o(^▽^)o

Guest 1 - I assure you, it won't be Moulin Rouge... OR WILL IT?!

Steph - I started this with the intention of eventually rolling out some fluff once the setting is right and I'm not sure how much plot will go into that. By Twice, do you mean the Korean girl group? If yes, then I'm... er, acquainted with them. I say that because I don't know much about them outside of that one archery video and the apology their member gave China (which was weird, but okay).

Guest 2 - Depends on how you'll see me as in regards to those options. I'll lie and choose the one that paints me in a better light. I like pretending that I'm a nice person. ( ╹ਊ╹)