Summary: A young Nanao acquires her first pair of glasses.
Prompt: A piece of clothing, childhood.

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach or any of the characters. This is purely a work of a procrastinating student and her obsession with fanfiction.

Fuzzy Words

Being the youngest member in the division was isolating. Nanao didn't mind most days. She'd walk the barracks undetected; it seemed no one saw her because she was so small unless they were specifically looking for her. It meant she overheard a lot of conversations she shouldn't have been privy to. She'd also found the best nooks and crannies to read her books, but her favourite place was the library. She often fantasized about living there and making it her home.

There were nights she stayed well past closing, when even the staff and librarian had gone home. The doors remained open, allowing people to come and go, but there was a barrier in place for the books. Staff needed to release the books in order for them to pass through, but people could still come in and read. Nanao would wander for hours and get wondrously lost in the maze of shelves. And she had to touch every book. She made it her goal, her personal mission, to read everything. Every piece of knowledge had value and she absorbed it all like a sponge.

Some nights she'd fall asleep, feeling safe and warm between the book stacks. On more than one occasion her lieutenant, Lisa, had detected her spirit energy and followed it to find her sleeping behind books. It shocked Lisa at first. This little girl was the most studious member of their division, working harder than anyone else. Whenever she was finished a mission or before going home after drinking with her friends, she'd go to the library and find her. She developed a game, gambling on what book or page number Nanano-chan's nose would be in.

Nanao didn't snore but she did drool. Thankfully the staff wasn't aware of the water damage done to their books, if they were, they hadn't said anything. Nanao never knew that it was Lisa who brought her home. She assumed it'd been the library staff performing a courtesy. In the morning, she'd wake feeling heartsick because she couldn't ever remember what page she left off on.

A couple months passed before Lisa approached her after a division meeting.

"Na-na-o-chan!" She sing-songed happily, grabbing the girl's attention.

"Fukutaichō?" Nanao's eyes widened in surprise and awe. The lieutenant, a woman she admired so much, was addressing her. Her! She knew her name!

"I noticed you like to read. You know, I like to read, too. Why don't we read together sometime?" She gave a friendly smile, inwardly amused as her wide eyes grew wider. "It'll be just us girl, it'll be fun. Our own private girl's night. I can answer any questions you have about almost everything. And I can tell you about all the juicy-juicy stuff I learn in my books! What do you say to that?"

"Y-yes! I'd be honoured!" Nanao could barely contain her excitement. "What does Lisa- fukutaichō like to read? Right now I'm reading about the political history of Soul Society, but there are some things I don't understand."

"Oh," Lisa brought out the latest steamy-erotic novel she'd been reading from out of her pocket, waving it so Nanao couldn't see the title, and hurriedly put it back. "I'm learning about human emotions and behaviours. It's not as interesting as what you have."

"Maybe not, but it's just as important!" She encouraged the lieutenant.

"Nanao-chan is so smart! I've got to go to spy on – I mean, I've got to go to my next meeting now. Meet me next week on the first. In the courtyard. Just after sunset. I'll have a nice treat for you!"

Nanao blushed, nodding enthusiastically as her superior dashed off, waving back to the young girl. Her heart was dancing and she clutched her book tighter to her chest to still it. She made her first friend in the division!

The next week found Nanao and Lisa together as promised. They met in the courtyard and had gone inside to a quiet room, with soft lighting and traditional pillows to sit on, and enough sweet snacks to get them through the night. The lieutenant was explaining a passage from Nanao's book, but she could tell Nanao was struggling with the concept. Little fingers kept massaging and rubbing at her temple.

"I understand what you're saying, fukutaichō. It's just…"
"What is it?"
"… It hurts."
"You have a headache?"
"It never goes away. Do you get that, too?"

"Maybe, sometimes," Lisa frowned. "Does the pain get better or worse at certain times?"

"It started when I started going to the library lots. The more I read, the more it hurts."

"Can you describe how the letters look to you? Are they crisp and clear?"
"… N-no? The words are fuzzy. Isn't that normal, do you see it that way, too?"

"Only without my glasses," Lisa slipped off her glasses and gently put them on Nanao.

They were too big for her tiny nose, and it looked like her face would be swallowed by them. The girls both smiled. Lisa, because she imagined she was looking at a younger version of herself and quite possibly the future of the eighth division. Nanao, because everything became high definition. Nothing was fuzzy anymore!

"We'll have to take you to the optometrist and you'll have to get your own prescription and frames that fit. But for now it's a solution."

"Y-yes! Let's go now, please! You should take these back, fukutaichō, I don't want to inconvenience you!"

"It's after midnight, Nanao-chan, they won't be open," she laughed. "Hang onto those. I have spares at the office. I only need them when I read. I'm a lot like you – my nose is always in a book. It's a hassle to take them off, put them on, take them off, put them on, off, on, off, on, all the time so I just leave them on. I can see fine, I promise."

Nanao struggled to express herself. How could she maintain a level of polite respectfulness and remain humble when her chest was bursting with gratitude?

"T-THANK YOU!" She gushed rather loudly and excitedly. Blushing, she continued softly, "I'll treasure them. Thank you."

Lisa gave her a quick hug, unable to resist Nanao's adorableness. They continued reading until the sky lightened and the birds began their morning songs.

THE END

Thank you for reading.