A/N: Yes, I am a horrible person for starting so many projects and taking ages to finish them (and they will get finished, don't you worry)… but the ideas keep coming… so I'll just keep writing.

I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Unidentified Blue Lightning

Probe One: Stranger

There are some people in the world that are just doomed to live an uneventful life. This, Mai Taniyama was wholly convinced of, and she found herself to be one of these unfortunate people.

Unlike most college students, she was not on her way to some amazing party where there would most likely be hot boys and close quarter dancing—oh no. She was going home to take a long, hot shower and fall straight into her bed for some much needed rest, despite the fact that it was only seven o'clock at night.

It wasn't her ideal choice, but having just ended a six hour shift at her part-time job, she still had to worry about school work—which she planned to do in the morning—and, of course, about the next day—where she started the routine of school and work all over again.

And as wonderful as all of that sounded, Mai missed her high school days. She remembered having much more time on her hands back then. Now she had responsibilities that needed to be attended to. Of course, as an orphan, she was used to having to support herself, but she had always had help. Now she was pretty much on her own.

She had become so busy with this, that she had neglected the strong relationship she had once had with her high school friends. She may have saw them often around town and spoke to them occasionally, but she didn't have much time to hang out with them anymore and they had grown distant from her.

Mai didn't really like the way that her life was now. It was too bland and scheduled. Every day seemed to be the same and she didn't want that. She wanted something spontaneous to happen to her.—Something unexpected.

She wasn't asking for a metro to strike her down and give her amazing superpowers or anything,—though it was a cool thought—she just wanted it to be, something that could change her life, even in a small way.

Holding her breath, she looked to the stars as if the answer to all her problems would be there up among the infinite. She found herself waiting, almost believing that there was a possibility it could happen. Nothing did though and she sighed, feeling a bit silly for expecting it to. She had always been a bit childish.

It was then, however, that someone bumped shoulders with her, not bothering to apologize or give her a passing glance. Her brow twitched in irritation at this, her current state of mind putting her slightly in a sour mood. Turning, she prepared to shoot him a glare, but instead became perplexed at what she saw.

It wasn't his handsome features that stunned her—though his tall physique and impeccable bone structure were defiantly a sight. It was his drenched appearance. He was soaked from head to toe, leaking water from just about everywhere. The strangest part was that he did not seem to mind it, he held his head high and paid no attention to the stares he got from passerbys. It was so peculiar a sight that Mai couldn't help but stare and wonder.

She felt a bit sorry for him. There was an autumn chill in the air as the months came closer to winter and she was sure he was probably freezing. Just looking at him made her feel a bit chilly herself, enough to wrap her jacket tighter around her torso.

Watching him, a bud of curiosity blossomed in her and, before she registered her actions, she was following him.

Something told her that though he held his head high, the man wasn't that way on the inside. He walked, as if distracted with a deep thought. It was no wonder he had bumped into her.

She didn't really have a reason for her sudden interest, but his situation intrigued her, as silly as that sounded. Mai was interested in knowing what put him in such a state.

It was stupid of her to follow a stranger, anything could happen—she knew that. However, she couldn't just let him go walking around the way he was. He seemed foreign, in some way she couldn't describe, and if he stayed outside as wet as he was he was sure come down with quite the fever. She couldn't possibly let him go until she knew he would be alright. She was the kind of person that didn't mind helping out a total stranger.

This thought empowered her and before she knew it she had already followed him down a few blocks more than she had meant to. It had taken a bit of time to catch up to him. He wasn't rushing, but his legs were much longer than her own and she had to practically rush to close the distance between them. She was only a good few feet away now and didn't really know what to do about it.

It wasn't her intention to follow him around, but she couldn't find the nerve to call him out and had hoped that maybe he would have noticed her following him. He hadn't of course, or at least decided not to give her any sign that he had. Whatever the case, she wasn't really sure how she would explain herself. She had replayed the scenario in her head multiple times but couldn't find one she liked. There was only one thing she could agree on: she had already gone too far to change her mind now.

This was the resolution she made as she followed his turn around the corner with the new determination to confront him. But as fate would have it, whatever courage she had fled as she found herself pushed against the wall of a brick building, arms pinned above her head by a strong hand, while the other wrapped around her throat, leaving just enough room to breathe.

Frightened, she stared with wide brown eyes into narrowed blue ones. The stranger glared so hard that she could have sworn his eyes sparked lightning and he stood so close that the water from his dark hair splashed down on her, dampening her clothes and wetting her face.

Neither talked for the first few moments. Mai was too shocked at her predicament and the man seemed to be scanning her over, deciding if she was some kind of threat.

He was the one who broke the silence first.

"You have been following me," he said, his voice deep and intelligent, his Japanese almost perfect. The comment sounded more like an observation than a question, but from the look in his eyes she could tell the 'why' was implied.

Mai gulped against the pressure on her neck. The stranger seemed to realize she needed her throat to speak, and removed his hand from it.

Taking in a sharp breath, the young woman shifted uncomfortably and let out a long, winded, "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to seem suspicious or anything! I swear! It's just that you're soaked and I was going to make sure you were ok, is all. I mean I was kind of curious too. Its cold out and all that water must make you, like, super cold… right? I know it's kind of stupid of me.—Gosh that was stupid! Haha. Believe it or not, it isn't the first time I've made idiotic decisions. But anyways, I—"

The man clamped a hand firmly over her lips, successfully cutting off her chain of rambling nonsense. "You are strange," he decided and upon releasing her mouth added a skeptical, "Why should one care about another person's affairs?"

She huffed, offended at his chosen adjective for her, "Why not? If someone needs my help, I'm not just going to stand around and watch."

"I see…" With eyebrows furrowed he released her wrists, the concept seeming new to him.

Happy to be free, Mai took a moment to adjust her now crumpled clothing and shivered slightly against the chill she felt through the now dampened fabric. Turning her attention to the stranger, she found him staring at their surroundings and, though his face gave nothing away to what he was thinking, his eyes darted from street to street as if he were looking for something.

"So," Mai began, bring his attention back to her for a moment, "why are you drenched like that?"

"That is none of your concern," was his immediate answer.

"Ok," she frowned and decided to try something else, "Well, aren't you cold?"

"That is irrelevant."

Mai snorted, deciding to ignore his rudeness, "You're drenched to the bone in almost-winter weather. I'd be freezing if I was you."

"I feel no such thing," he stated simply and turned his attention back to the streets.

It was then that she realized that it was not the streets he was interested in, but the street signs. "Are you lost or something?" she questioned, tilting her head.

He tensed a bit in the shoulders at the word and closed his eyes, "…No."

"Oh?" Feeling she must have got it right she grinned, leaning forward slightly, "Liar. You are lost aren't you?"

He opened his eyes and glared at her, "It is impossible to be lost when one does not technically have a specific destination in mind."

"You're not from around here, are you?" She asked, ignoring him again. She already had it in her mind that he had no clue where he was going.

"Correct."

"Are you visiting someone?"

He didn't answer, ignoring her this time as he chose a seemly random direction and walked in it.

Huffing, she ran after him, "It's not polite to walk away when someone's talking to you."

His jaw tightened, "Do you intend to follow me around all night?"

"Why don't you just admit you need some help?" Mai countered, stuffing her hands into her pockets.

"Because I do not need it," he stated firmly, pausing to peer down at her, "and why would it matter to you if I did?"

She faltered at this, unsure of what to say. "…Because… it just does. That's just how I am," she scoffed awkwardly, face turning an embarrassed pink, "Anyway, you brought this upon yourself when you bumped into me. I wouldn't wave noticed you otherwise."

He could not seemed to recall the event. "What are you going on about?"

"See? You don't even remember something that only happened a few minutes ago," she tisked as if it proved something and pointed an accusatory finger at him. "What had you so dazed?"

"It does not pertain to you."

"Well, fine then. Don't tell me. Sorry for actually trying to help," she frowned, stubbornly crossing her arms under her chest.

He sparred her a glance, "Why are you getting so upset?"

"I'm not," she grumbled, refusing to look at him.

The man frowned, confused by her behavior.

A few minutes went by like this as they walked in silence before it was interrupted by a sneeze.

Mai blinked, anger dissolving as she turned to the man beside her, who tried to play it off as if he hadn't been the one to make the sound. She sighed, finally having enough. "My god, come on."

Before the stranger could ask what she meant, the brunette forcefully grabbed his hand and pulled him in the previous direction she had been heading. To her surprise he didn't resist, but instead followed silently, fingers limp in her own. Suddenly self-conscious of her own actions she flushed at her own boldness and refused to turn around to see his expression.

xXx

"Here."

A pink, fluffy towel was thrown a little too forcefully in the stranger's direction who caught it with ease. He gave it a quizzical stare.

"Well?" Mai huffed, hands on her hips, "Dry yourself off and remove your shoes before you step onto the carpet." With that she disappeared behind the corner only to pop her head back out again to add, "Oh, socks too—they're probably soaked, right? There should be guest slippers somewhere over there." She indicated vaguely with a wave of her hand and left his sight again.

The woman then proceeded to hunt through her apartment. There had to have been something the stranger could change into. She didn't want him to catch a cold, if he hadn't already. Stumbling upon her storage closet, she paused, lips pressing into a thin line. "Guess that's the only choice…" she muttered to herself with a sigh and opened the closet door.

Pushing a few objects of clutter out of the way, she pulled out and old worn out medium sized cardboard box labeled 'keepsakes and the like' and proceeded to go through it with a careful quickness. The box was filled with her parent's old things.

The few objects she hadn't managed to sell or give away rested there, mostly stuff like pictures and her mother's locket, but a few of her father's clothes were there too. Her mother had kept them because she had wanted to remember how he'd always smelled like syrup and pine needles. The scent was long gone now, but Mai couldn't bare getting rid of something her mother kept so dear to her. Besides, her father never wore anything like a watch or the like, so his favorite outfit was really the only thing of his that she had.

Holding the neatly folded flannel shirt and worn jeans to her chest, she put the box away and walked back to the stranger who had followed her instructions and was now in the living room, staring at the makeshift shrine she'd made for her parents, and using the towel she'd given him to dry his hair. The pink material looked out of place against his dark attire.

As she entered the room he gave her his full attention and so she immediately presented him with the outfit in her hands. "Sorry it's probably not a snug fit, but it's the only thing I have here at the moment. If you change into this I can wash and dry your clothes for you."

The stranger stared at the clothing for a moment before taking them from her with a nod. She pointed him in the direction of the bathroom and he left to change.

Watching him go she sighed, suddenly extremely aware of the fact she'd let a complete stranger into her apartment. Not that he was dangerous… at least hopefully he wasn't. It was just that the length she was willing to go to help people surprised ever herself at times.

Maybe she really was strange.

Pondering on this thought, Mai headed into her kitchen feeling the effects of her earlier drowsiness come back. She needed something to keep her up.

Tea, she decided, would probably do it.

xXx

"Is there a certain way this should be washed?" Mai called into the living room from her place in the hallway where her washer sat within an alcove in the wall. She eyed the stranger's clothing with interest as she felt the material. Upon closer inspection it wasn't like anything she'd seen before. She wasn't sure what setting the machines should be put on. "I wouldn't want to accidently shrink it or anything…" she added when she didn't get an answer right away.

"No, there is no specification, but a cool wash before air drying it seems to work best," he explained evenly.

"Oh, ok. Air drying takes a while though… and its night. You don't have anywhere to be do you?" She questioned, tossing the articles of clothing into the washer.

"If you are asking if I have a prior engagement with someone, then the answer is no."

"…But your busy?" she questioned, fixing the washer settings.

"It can wait. You were right when you said it was unwise to walk around wet in such temperatures. I am not used to such climates and forget the health risks of such an action."

"Well, you're welcome." Starting the washer, she headed back into the living room area.

"This beverage…" he questioned, examining the cup from his spot on the couch. "What is it?"

"…Tea," she frowned, sitting across from him in an old arm chair and picking up her own cup from off the coffee table. "You've never had it before?"

"No, I cannot say that I have," he confirmed, drinking the liquid in his cup abnormally fast.

Watching him quizzically, she moved to pour him some more tea. "So… How'd you get so drenched? It couldn't have been rain because the weather's been as dry as a bone all week."

Peering at her from over his raised coffee cup he exhaled, "Why do you insist on prying?"

She shrugged. "I'm curious."

"Curiosity terminated the feline," he countered, drinking down half of his tea.

Mai chuckled, "That's one way to say it I guess."

"Is there any other way?"

"Well, most people say 'killed the cat', right?" she explained.

He didn't answer.

It was her turn to exhale. "Come on, tell me. I'll just keep asking until you do."

"Persistence isn't always a good thing," he warned and held out his tea cup for her to fill it again.

She did. "But it usually shows some pretty good results for me."

Shifting in his seat the man turned his gaze to his tea cup. He stared at it for a moment in silence. His face didn't give anything away, but she could tell that he was thinking something over. "I've been searching for something."

Mai leaned forward in interest, "What did you lose it in a river?"

"A lake," he corrected in a way that said the conversation was over.

Nodding absently, she filled his cup for the third time and she processed the small amount of information he'd given her. Loosing something would definitely explain why he had looked almost lost and disoriented when they had met. It must have been important if he went through the trouble of searching through a lake for it. "I… could help you find it if you want," she offered.

He examined her for a moment and took another sip of tea. "Why?"

"Because everyone could use a little help now and then… Besides, you said you weren't from here, right? I don't mind helping you out." Tilting her head, she smiled at him. "By the way. I don't think I ever introduced myself. I'm Mai Taniyama… and you?"

"…Kazuya Shibuya."