Final Fantasy Unlimited (c) SQUARE TV Tokyo Dentsu FF U Production Committee

Subtle Hints

01.

It had always been in Lisa's nature to be helpful. She would hardly ignore anybody asking for her assistance—especially if they were friends. So when Cid, the Comodin's resident mechanic slash quirky- inventor- turned- cook- for- the-day, asked her if she could get some of the ingredients he needed from the stockroom, she, without even thinking twice, said okay.

A surprise immediately greeted Lisa as she entered the submarine's storage area. Quietly seated on top one of the many wooden crates was the man known to them as Kaze–someone whom she didn't expect she would have an encounter with at that moment. She knew that he was somewhere on the submarine, somewhere faraway from the crew but it never crossed her mind that he would be in the stockroom. Thinking about that, however, she found it perfectly logical that he chose the said place to be his hangout area. It was rarely visited by anyone, after all.

The raven-haired woman slightly smiled despite the fact that she was certain her friendly gesture would just be ignored. "Hello," she greeted him as she stepped inside the dimly lit room. As usual, no traces of emotion could be found the man's features as he turned to the doorway upon noticing her presence.

"I just came to get some supplies for Cid," she informed him—as if he even cared about that. True enough, Kaze quickly averted his eyes from her and acted as if she didn't exist at all. A typical response from the stoic, brown-haired man, Lisa noted.

Dropping any more attempts to hold a conversation with Kaze (which was impossible, in the first place), Lisa walked towards the tall shelf at the far end of the room, her mind thinking about nothing else except the items which Cid asked her to get. A pair of vigilant blue eyes once again returned its attention to her but the Kigenjuu master was oblivious to it.

Upon reaching the shelf, she checked the items displayed on it one by one. "Hmmm…let's see…he said he needs a bag flour and a box of cornstarch." Getting the first of the two items mentioned had been a piece of cake for Lisa for it was easily accessible on the second row .The box of cornstarch, however…

Mou! Why does it have to be on the topmost shelf! She inwardly groaned as she stared at the boxes several feet above her. She then looked to her left; and then to her right, searching for anything that could help her reach the box. Like a ladder, for instance. Well, it must be Lisa's lucky day for she spotted one lying on the floor on the western part of the room.

Now while Lisa was heading to get the tool, Kaze, still seated on top a crate, continued to observe her silently, a tiny flicker of interest showing in his usually expressionless cerulean eyes. He watched her every moment intently—from the time when she started dragging the ladder towards the shelf,to the point when she slowly climbed her way up and reach for the box of cornstarch and until that instance when her little accident occurred…

"Kyaa!"

Lisa Pacifist normally didn't think of herself as a clumsy person, nor did she ever act like one. But this didn't mean that she was exempted from being involved in accidents once in a while. While she was on her way down, she had, unfortunately missed a step, causing her to fall out of balance. Her grip on the ladder loosened and in a blink of an eye, she found herself on her way to meet the cold, hard floor of the storage room. She tightly closed her eyes, anticipating the impact that was too late for her to prevent. But…

What? Lisa mused wonderingly when she felt her legs hit something hard and cold. It wasn't the floor, she was sure. She snapped an eye open —and was surprised when she found herself face to face with…

Kaze?

Lisa blinked. She was not imagining things, was she? She blinked again. Yep, this was for real. Her legs were indeed resting on top the Magan—and she was being held closely by Kaze.

Too closely, in fact.

A tinge of red appeared on both Lisa's cheeks upon realizing how truly intimate their position was. For some reason, she felt her chest pounding so hard it was almost difficult for her to breathe. And it didn't help at all that Kaze was boring his eyes intently into hers. Why did he have to look at her that way?

The Kigenjuu user laughed nervously, attempting to hide the strange emotions bothering her behind a happy face. "Haha. That was so clumsy of me. Thanks for breaking my fall, Kaze."

As usual there was no response from Kaze. Instead, he continued to look at Lisa in a manner that was making her uncomfortable. It was as if he was trying to read her mind. Gods, she hoped that he didn't have the ability to see through people's heads. She would be embarrassed to death if he ever knew what she was thinking right then. A long moment of silence passed between them and it was during this time that Lisa realized something.

Kaze had not let her go.

In spite of her heart's furious beatings and the darker shade of red staining her cheeks, Lisa was still able to say, "Umm…you can put me down now."

Upon hearing her words, the Demon Gun wielder released her, albeit hesitantly, it seemed. He picked up the box of cornstarch that she had unintentionally thrown away earlier and handed it to her.

"Thanks," she said as she received the said item. She then went to pick up the bag of flour while Kaze continued to be motionless in his place. Afterwards, she headed towards the room's exit but before stepping out, she gave the brown-haired man one last glance. Nodding her head, she smiled slightly. And then without another word, she left.

Meanwhile, inside the storage room, Kuroki Kaze remained unmoved as the vision of the raven-haired woman disappeared before his eyes. Shortly, he looked down at his hands; and then focused them back at the doorway. And underneath the thick black, cloak that was covering half of his face, a very rare smile formed on the normally stoic man's lips.

Fin.

Author's Note:Well, this my very first FF:U story (in which Kaze didn't get even one line X D) . I noticed the lack of Kaze x Lisa fics so I decided to write my own to contribute something to this small fandom.

As what I've said in the summary, this will feature only drabbles/ ficlets. As much as I want to write more than PWPs, I can't. Maybe after I finished my TeniPuri WIPs , I can write something more than just drabbles. But for now, short fics are all I can give.

Thank you for reading.:)