Disclaimer: Don't own the characters... though I do own a pair of official Ban Mido sunglasses. They're really cool.

Notes: Inspired by that flashback of insanely dorky kid!Ban, and by walking around with the above glasses on while I was cosplaying Ban at Anime Central 2003. Unfortunately, the merchandise version does not have prescription lenses, and I don't have contacts to wear with them - but it certainly caused me to notice a few things...

Clear Vision

The glasses he always wears aren't just ordinary transparent purple glass. Most people who see them assume they're a whim, worn for vanity or amusement, but they're prescription lenses.

Not that his eyes are that bad. His vision is good enough without them to keep him from stumbling into things, or to let him hold his own in a fight, or to read anything within a few feet, even if written small, or to identify someone he knows from across a crowded room. The only time he really needs them is when driving, to read the signs that let him know where he's going - and even then, he could probably get by on instinct until he gets close enough. Often enough, he does.

When he was younger, and what he wore was picked out by others, his glasses covered half his face, so there was no danger of him missing anything at all. When he got old enough to choose his own accessories, other, less obvious options became available. Despite the large number of people who have looked at his eyes and thought that such a vibrant blue can't possibly be natural, he doesn't wear contact lenses, much less colored ones. The color is a gift from the European part of his ancestry, just as the other unusual aspects of his eyes are.

And by the time he'd gotten old enough to choose for himself, he'd learned that his vision didn't need to be perfect all the time. Even blindfolded, he had developed talents and skills that would compensate for the lack, and therefore just a little blurriness didn't hinder him at all. In fact, when first he chose the small, round lenses that have since become his signature, casual enough to be mistaken for something entirely casual, often he let the frames slide down, so that he might look over them at the faded colors and shapes rather than the sharpness he saw through them. It's been his habit since.

The small frames, which take more effort to look through than look over, were never intended to mask their true intention or to make this minor weakness of his less obvious. It's just that he's learned he would rather not see the world so clearly, and he's found more uses for his eyes than seeing.

Ginji had never realized that there was any problem whatsoever with Ban's eyes, until one day when they were sitting together on an overpass and looking out at the city. In a fit of silliness, he playfully took Ban's glasses to try them on himself, and realized that they made him dizzy when he looked out at the purple-tinted streets and skyscrapers.

Ban just smirked at the surprised look on Ginji's face, and snatched them off his nose. "What's that look for?"

"Oh, I... I just didn't realize they were..." Ginji started awkwardly, but didn't know how to finish. "Gomen..."

Ban shook his head, slipping the glasses on again. "It's nothing to be sorry about, Ginji. I'm not blind or anything - so my eyes aren't perfect. So what?"

Ginji still didn't seem to know what to say. "...I just never knew. You don't wear them sometimes..."

"Yeah, well, my eyes aren't so bad that I really need them most of the time." They were already low - he'd put them on that way - and he peered out over the glass at the fuzzy lines of light and shadow that were the skyline he was most familiar with. "Sometimes I just don't want the extra detail. It's distracting."

Ginji hadn't been long outside the Infinite Castle at that time, only a few months, and he turned to stare at Ban in astonishment. "But... the world is so beautiful. Why wouldn't you want to see every last bit of it?"

Ban chuckled vaguely. "Ginji... I've already seen a lot of it." He wanted to say more, that the world wasn't so great as Ginji seemed to think it was when you looked at it on a regular basis - when you really looked at it - with your vision clear, but he couldn't bring himself to tell Ginji that. If Ginji really believed the world was a beautiful place - and Ban knew he did, because Ginji was always so earnest - Ban didn't want to ruin it for him. Sure he was clueless and naive and needed to face facts someday, but... not today.

And not by his hand. It would be kind of like kicking a puppy. Although to be fair, he kicked Ginji all the time - it wasn't damage that would last, unlike giving him a more cynical view of life. That could really hurt the poor guy.

Ginji saw none of the introspection or the holding back, as he'd turned back to look out at the view. "I guess... I guess you have seen more than me, Ban-chan. But I can't imagine ever being tired of looking at the world. Out here, it seems like everything shines like a jewel..."

It was the haze of exhaust hanging over the city that was turning the glare of the afternoon sun bright white, and Ban stifled a laugh. When Ginji turned back to him, hearing the strange chuckle, Ban pushed his glasses up and smiled at his friend, who looked pinker than usual, but crystal clear.

Most of the world's visuals don't hold much interest for Ban - they're worth a glance, a once-over to make certain nothing hostile is lurking nearby. Looking closer exposes the flaws, or simply becomes redundant. But there are still some sights that he'll take the effort to look at. There's one in particular he'd always nudge his glasses a bit higher for, because even though he knows the flaws are there, he doesn't seem to mind them, as cynical as he pretends to be.

However, he doesn't need to nudge his glasses any higher after all, because Ginji is always right there beside him, close enough for him to see clearly.