Come, give granny a hug

It was time. It was time that Norma met the daughter of her Kaimu. She was the hooded vice captain of squad ten. Norma wanted to see the rumored beauty of this girl. If she looked anything like her father, then the rumors would be true.

Norma hadn't been to squad ten in many years, so finding her way around was a bit fuzzy. The squad members kept directing her to their captain's office between bows, but she wasn't here for the book worm. She was here for the little church mouse.

"Where is your Vice Captain?"

A young man looked over his shoulder to see who was speaking to him. When he saw who it was, he nervously bowed.

"I am sorry for the rudeness Captain Higgins. Vice Captain Mia should be in the library."

Norma nodded and made her way to the library. When she found the building that said it was the library, she made her way in, and in a sing song voice said.

"Miiiiiiaaaaaa!"

The large and extremely old library was large. Just calling someone's name would be next to impossible to find them, especially someone with access to all the restricted areas such as Mia. However Norma was in luck in that the members had sent for her. They had been trying to direct her to the office of the Captain, which was now Mia's office which was inside the Library itself but the old Captain had seemed to think she knew better.

So to save an embarrassing situation, they had scrambled to find their Vice Captain.

Soon after that name was called, a small squeak sounded and a hooded figure peaked around a bookcase. She shook lightly...this was the person Papa spoke most strongly about. She was like a grandma to him, from what Mia could tell from his tone and he care about her a lot.

She was also the terrifying old Captain of the Kido Division, who was rumored to be rather mean and had a sharp tongue. Papa had said she was nice... but it was hard to see that when all she could picture was the evil lady that most of the Seireitei spoke of.

So here Mia was, shaking slightly and trying to speak under her cloak as a gloved hand came out and gave a tiny wave to the larger woman.

Aha! There she was. If nothing else, Norma had to give it to her. That was a well crafted cloak. At lease from what she could see.

Norma walked over to the girl, leaning on her cane. She looked Mia up and down, taking in the clothes she was wearing. Nice gloves too. At least she had good taste, or had her rumored affair with the Shirakawa boy paid off?

"Hello Mia, do you know who I am? I am Norma Higgins, or Norma-tan as your father calls me."

Norma extended her hand for the young vice captain to shake, fully expecting her not to. She had heard that the girl was painfully shy, and often avoided contact from others.

Mia watched from inside her hood, nothing of her face visible for the moment. Norma was examining her... More nervous than ever, she shook even more. Run, she wanted to run... but it would do no good. She was supposed to be getting better at this! Dealing with people! But Norma's reputation made this so damned hard.

Nodding in response to the question, the hand that was waved slowly moved forward. Very slowly, it shook the whole way. But she made it to Norma's hand, the nickname her Papa gave the woman allowing her some courage. Instead of shaking it though, which was too much... she set her hand on top of Norma's. It was the best she could do...

Seeing that Mia was really trying to make an effort, Norma place her other hand on top of Mia's and stroked it with her thumb.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Mia. Let's sit down somewhere. I'm old."


Norma looked at Mia again. She needed to see this girl's face. She just had to. She couldn't come all his way and not.

"You should pull down your hood. It's rude to not let your elders see your face when speaking to you."

She couldn't help flinching as Norma's hand was placed on top of hers. T-Too much! But the woman seemed nice enough... Mia's shaking slowed down a bit as she nodded again, pulling her hand away so she could lead the woman to a small study room nearby.

Stopping dead before she could, Mia turned her head around as her shaking started back up. Nodding slowly, Mia gave a quickly look around and a small sigh could be heard from inside the hood.

Gulping, two gloved hands reached up and slowly lowered the hood. She couldn't look at Norma and instead stared at the floor. It would have been...too rude for Papa's grandma to not...be able to see her face...

As Mia guided Norma to a what appeared to be a room meant for people to study, the girl lowered her hood and Norma finally got a good look at her. Holy shitballs batmat, this girl was beautiful!

"Why Mia, you are quite stunning. Why do you hide such a beautiful face?"

"E-Eh?!" Mia hopped in place at Norma's words, jolting her into action. Rushing towards the study door, she opened it and hurried inside. She took a seat on a comfortable chair, this being one of the more reading oriented study rooms, and shook slightly as she waited for Norma to get inside.

S-Stunning?! Her head shook from side to side.

"Heh she's made of chicken shit."

Norma muttered to herself, but the old woman didn't care if anyone heard or not. She wouldn't say anything behind someone's back that she wasn't also willing to say to their face, which was both a blessing and a curse. Norma chuckled as she watched Mia scoot off into the little room. She could most certainly tell she'd have fun with this one. Kaimu might not appreciate it, and Mia certainly wouldn't; but when did trivial little matters like that ever stop her?

Norma walked into the study room, and grabbed the chair next to Mia. The senior captain turned at an angle so she could face the young woman.

"So Miiiiiiiaaaaaa~! Let's chew the fat. Other than hiding under that cloak and sulking around this dusty old library, what do you enjoy doing?"

Mia watched as Norma took a seat, resisting the urge to raise her hood again. Norma was intimidating... Looking towards her but unable to make eye contact, Mia nodded slightly before frowning.

She was Papa's grandma... she had to be polite... But...sulking? Was she sulking?

Norma was so rude...

"R-Reading..." If Norma was going to be rude she didn't have to speak to her...and her eyes glanced down. She didn't like rude people... but...Norma was special to Papa and so she would give her a chance. "...Wh-What do you do?"

"Reading? I enjoy a good book myself."

Ok maybe she was bearing down too hard on Mia. She really was interested in getting to know the girl. She didn't want to break the poor girl's resolve for a cheap laugh.

"Well every morning I take a walk. I love the fresh morning air. I like to sew and knit, I like to cook, and I drink tea every afternoon at three."

Mia perked up noticeably as Norma seemed nicer and spoke of reading too. Blinking, she looked up shyly and smiled. "Really? Wh-What kinds?"

Books were something she loved... Video games and their ilk were new loves, but she would always always adore books. She could talk about books...

Hearing more of Norma's likes, Mia pushed back a few hairs and nodded. "I-I like to walk at night when its c-clear out... I like...stargazing... S-Sewing too! A-And cooking! D-Do you have...E-English styled tea, w-with the crumpet and such?"

Mia seemed interested in afternoon tea... Tea parties...sounded...fun...

"I love a good murder mystery. They have always been my favorites. Although I'm not above the occasional romance novel."

Norma was very pleased to see that Mia was starting to perk up. It seemed as if they had more in common than Norma would have previously thought. That was very good to know. Perhapse they could bond over their hobbies.

"When I was younger I liked to stargaze, but I live too far from Seireitei to stay out anymore. I'm working on making your father a suit of clothes at the moment. I made a jacket and I am almost finished with his pants. I cooked dinner for he and I the other night. Maybe one evening you and I can work together to make him something."

Norma paused for a second before talked about the tea. She wondered if Mia thought she was English? Irish accents weren't common here, and to someone not from the region it'd be easy to confuse it for an English accent.

"I drink a really dark Irish tea, and I usually serve it with a pastry or cookie of some kind. I do enjoy crumpets though."

"I like both of those too... I-I read a lot of different types of things though..." Mia nodded, definitely opening up more now that she had something to talk about she liked and was being treated nicely. She was too shy to really like being teased right away and it made her clam up...

"You are making Papa clothes? I-I am making him some nice yukatas for him to wear... Th-They aren't done yet, I need to use Masa as a tester t-to see if I got his sizes close... I-Its a surprise." Mia was smiling warmly now, pleased that Norma was willing to help Kaimu like this too. "I'd like that I think... To come over... I like all teas! J-Just I've...never had a tea...party with someone... s-so that could be nice too?"

Real interest shined in her eyes and a bit of excitement. A real tea party where they could sew together? Mia was bonding to Norma, her smile still shy but very happy now.

"I have boxes full of books in my office. You're more than welcome to read them if you like. I've yet to find a bookcase I like for them."

Some of them were textbook, But some of them were novels. She'd have no problem letting Mia borrow them. That's what books were for. They needed to be read. She was really enjoying this talk with Mia. She really was an interesting girl.

"Yes, I'm making him a suit. Yukatas? I've never made those before. I've not made much traditional Japanese garb. I've done a lot of alterations though. That's really sweet of you to make this for him. I know he'll treasure it."

Norma smiled warmly at Mia. She would enjoy having tea with her too. Now that Jurobei was dead, and Maki was busy with head captain duties, Norma rarely had tea with anyone. It'd be nice to do that with Mia.

"I'd really enjoy that Mia. You could meet my cat Puss puss. I think we'd have a nice time."

"Th-Thank you." Mia would love to have new books to read! She liked reading all sorts really, mystery, romance, science fiction... Poems, even reference and nonfiction books, plus textbooks and scholarly papers. She used to devour them when she was younger, though now she also had more hobbies to add to the time taken up. That and a boyfriend...

"Oh, he needs nice clothes, thank you Norma... Though...won't a suit stand out in the Rukon?" Tilting her head a bit, she was worried what Papa could do with those clothes if he was given them. It could be dangerous... though...maybe it was for the future, in case he got pardoned? "A-Ah, its what I learned...how to make first. I-I know a lot more now, but I wanted him to have something...better than what he had to wear. D-Durable so he didn't have to worry as much about...things like buying clothing... Th-Thank you. I hope he likes them..."

"He...thinks I am making them for Masa though, so its a secret." Holding her finger up to her lips softly, she gave a smile and hoped Norma could keep this a secret.

Excitement though was obvious now from the shine of her eyes and her smile. "You have a cat? Puss Puss... I-I think it would be really nice too."

"Think nothing of it."

Norma said with a smile. She was happy this pleased Mia. It made her feel good to make the young woman happy. Mia was very polite, very much like Kaimu. It was actually very charming. Norma remembered when she was polite. Fuck that shit.

"Well, it isn't for everyday wear. I made it for him for special occasions. He didn't have any dress clothes, so I figured I'd make him some."

She hoped he'd at least get a chance to wear it out with Lakshmi. She didn't care what the bastard said. She knew there was more than sex brewing between those two. It was sweet that Mia was so concerned for Kaimu, and appreciative on his behalf. She was a charming girl.

"You're welcome dear. If I remember right, the first thing I learned how to sew were these really thick wool diapers for my younger siblings."

Norma chuckled a little at that thought things were pretty rough back in those days. Mia was pretty clever using someone else as a body double, and a scapegoat, but who was Masa?

"Who is this Masa fellow?"

Norma nodded at the mention of Puss puss.

"He's a big fluffy brown pain in the neck."

"Oh..." That did make sense, formal wear for when he needed it... If he needed it. Mia smiled at such a thoughtful idea, and really really hoped Papa would get to wear it one day.

Listening to Norma, she nodded and looked rather interested. "You had siblings? How many?"

Mia loved to hear about families and was very intrigued as she moved just a bit closer... Before startling and turning slightly red at the question. She looked down and to the side a bit, playing with her hair. "M-Masaru...Shirakawa...H-He's...my...boyfriend..."

The mention of a brown fluffy pain in the next didn't help her flusteredness at having to admit dating Masaru but... Norma was papa's grandma so she should know!

"Oh yes. I was the oldest of seven children. We had a large family."

Norma hadn't seen her siblings in a very long time. She didn't even know if they were still alive. She knew her parents had to be dead. There was no chance they were still alive. She was in deep thought when Mia said something so outrageous, that she nearly fell out of her seat. Norma place a hand over her mouth and closed her eyes, trying desperatly not to laugh. She was enjoying Mia's company and she didn't want to offend her.

"You're....dating........Masaru Shirakawa.....well. *clears throat* Good for you dear."

"Wow..." Mia wanted a large family... she wished she had had more siblings growing up and wanted a bunch of kids for herself... So Norma's words made her smile before that smile slipped away.

Looking embarrassed, she reached up and played with her hair a bit. "I-Is...it really...that outrageous? I-I know...he's...r-really special..."

She seemed flustered but also really worried, Norma's words effecting her less than her actions previously had. Just... she was trying not to laugh... Was Masaru that out of her league?!

"I'm sorry dear."

Norma said with a bit of a chuckle. She had to explain herself. She never felt a need to explain her actions, but she felt she needed to to Mia.

"I just find it amusing, because I would have never imagined Masaru would have gotten a girlfriend. It has nothing to do with you. It's just I never thought he'd come out of his shell and open up enough. No my dear, it must be you who are the special one."

"N-No! I'm sorry..." She felt bad for Norma apologizing, Mia waving her hands as the woman did so. She didn't need to! Mia had been the one misunderstanding!

Hearing Norma's explanation though made her flustered and red again, her hand bringing her hair up to her mouth as her eyes and head turned away. "H-He...w-we had...help..."

It...had taken a strong...push for them both... She wasn't special at all. Not at all!

"Well I'm happy you have each other. Everyone deserves happiness."

Norma smiled at Mia. She no longer felt a need to laugh. She genuinely was happy for her. Everyone deserved to find their soulmate. She'd give anything to have her husband back. She loved love. It was a beautiful thing. For some it was short, and for some it lasted a lifetime. She hoped Mia, even if it wasn't Masaru, found a love for her lifetime.

"Thank you..." Mia shifted her body, her legs and arms fidgeting in her shy state. She was blushing up a storm, glad Norma seemed happy at least with this. Thinking about Masa left her all flustered though and her face heated up more as she shook her head.

She...was spending time with Papa's grandma! She...was not...thinking of him...

"So.."

Norma had to feed her curiosity. So screw politness, she had to ask how Mia got tied up with Masaru. How could two such mousey people end up dating?

"So what's the story between you and Masaru? How'd you two get together?"