Story: Forever Giving

Disclaimer: Ghost Hunt does not belong to me . . . at least for now. *HandsomeAngel chuckles darkly and Ono Fuyumi shudders*

Author's Note: Those of you who have read my other story will probably notice some of my own characters coming back. Despite this, both stories have nothing to do with each other. I simply brought the characters back because I liked them, but this time they will be more of Sumiko's friends though Mai might know them from past meetings.

Chapter 1

"Ugh, this is so boring!" Mai was stuck doing nothing in the office. She moaned. It had been months since their last case and she was bored out of her mind. Naru turned away every potential client who had appeared in the last few months, saying it was a waste of his time. So now all there was to do was get Naru tea and paperwork. "Though I have to admit," Mai smiled, "things do get a lot more fun when the others come by for a visit."

"Mai, tea."

Mai groaned. Just when she was getting comfortable again, Naru had to call her and ask for tea. "I swear," Mai grumbled as she set the kettle, "he calls for tea when I get relaxed on purpose. That narcissistic tea-addict." She was still grumbling when she went to the office's door. Mai took a deep breath to calm herself even though she would not be calm when she left. She knocked on the door.

"Come in."

Mai walked in and set the tea on the table. She waited for a few moments like she usually did. They both knew what she was waiting for: a 'thank you'. They both also knew she wasn't going to get it. But she still waited. Part of Naru had to admire her perseverance – and the other part just thought she was an idiot. "Well, Naru?" Mai asked impatiently.

"You do realize I don't pay you just to stand around like a moron," he answered, not looking up from his folder.

Mai growled, "I was hoping you learned some manners."

"And I was hoping you learned something," Naru said before sparing a glance to give her a smirk, "other than how to be an idiot."

"YOU TEA-ADDICTED NARCISSITIC JERK!" With that, she stormed out of the office filled with an anger that was not eased by Naru's smirk. "Argh! I swear one of these days, I am going to poison that guy's tea." Then she went to make two more cups of tea. She set one of the cups on the table in front of the couch and went to take Lin-san the other cup. "Lin-san, can I come in?" she knocked on his door.

"Go ahead," Lin-san told the girl over his shoulder as he continued to type on his laptop.

Mai smiled as she entered. The way he treated had become so much warmer than when they first met and she was glad. "I brought you some tea."

Lin-san lifted his gaze to smile at her, "Thank you, Mai."

Mai grinned happily, "No problem. I'm just glad that someone knows his manners." She looked pointedly at Naru's office as she spoke louder than necessary to make sure Naru heard. Mai sighed as Naru did not respond in any manner: probably because he was ignoring her.

Lin-san chuckled at Mai's reaction, "Even Madoka hasn't managed to teach him any manners."

Mai giggled at the memory of Naru's sensei, "Oh well. But is there anything I can get you, Lin-san?"

Lin-san shook his head, "No, that won't be necessary. But thank you, Mai." The girl simply smiled in response before quietly walking out, closing the door behind her.

"Great," Mai moaned silently, "Back to doing nothing. I wish Bou-san or one of the others would come. Or at least a client." Right as she was about to sit down though, her wish was granted.

"Um, hello?" asked a soft voice, "Is anybody here?" Mai would recognize that voice anywhere.

"Sumiko!" Mai almost knocked the girl over as she rushed to hug her.

"Mai," the girl laughed as she returned the hug, "You are as hyper as always."

"What do you expect? It's been years since I last saw you!" Mai hugged her friend even tighter.

"Honestly, are you trying to strangle me to death?" the girl joked.

Mai loosened her hold on her friend just a little, whispering, "I missed you."

"I missed you too. Now," the girl smiled, holding Mai close before pulling away just enough so the two could see each other, "let's see how much you changed, hm."

Mai looked over her old time friend. Sumiko had grown a little taller, but so had Mai, allowing them to see at the same height. Her friend's body had developed over the years that they had not seen each other, losing the childlike figure she used to have. (A/N: Don't go imagining DoubleD's or anything. Just imagine a normal woman. Normal!) Sumiko's pitch-black hair had grown longer, reaching to her mid-back, which she as always kept tied in a ponytail. Mai laughed as she noticed a few more things that had not changed. The girl still had the same twinkle in her eyes as a smile played at her lips. Mai could remember as children, Sumiko always enjoyed teasing her friends. However Mai knew well that there was more to her friend than simple joy and playfulness. Her friend's eyes still had the same wisdom and warmth as before that made sure everyone knew she would be there to help them. "She's still the same as always," Mai smiled.

"Hm," Sumiko looked over her old friend, "It seems you are the same child I knew all those years ago: physically and mentally. It's too bad. I was hoping to see some changes." She sighed dramatically.

"What do you mean I haven't changed?" Mai was outraged, much to her friend's amusement.

"Yup, you haven't changed at all." Sumiko laughed as Mai fumed at the comment.

Mai seemed to notice something at that moment and looked around expectantly, "Hey, where's Kago? Last time I saw, he never left your side."

"Ah," Sumiko let go of her friend, who she had still been hugging and turned around, "He's right behind me."

"Man, he's gotten huge!" Mai looked at her friend's ever-constant companion. Behind Sumiko was a huge gray wolfdog with darker patches on some part of his body. The canine stood a few inches above the girls' knees, just emanating a powerful aura. "Well, he is part wolf." But the most impressive part of the beast was his eyes. Even though technically his eyes were gray, they always seemed to glow silver whenever the light hit them, making him have a piercing stare. Mai had suspected that there was more to the dog than meets the eyes for a while and meeting him again had just strengthened the idea.

"I know, but he won't grow anymore," Sumiko smiled at her friend's awe.

"Um, Sumiko?" Mai moved closer to her friend, looking at Kago cautiously.

"Yes?" Sumiko raised an eyebrow at Mai's behaviour. Mai had never been afraid of the wolfdog so why did she seem so wary?

"Is it just me or is he glaring at me?" After Mai had finished looking over Kago, she had notice the dog seemed to look up at her in a manner that seemed akin to Naru in some ways. However when it came from a being that weighed as much as she did and was part wolf, it seemed a lot more fearsome.

"Oh," Sumiko smiled apologetically, "He's just taking out his anger at me on you."

"Huh?" Mai looked at Sumiko as she realized what must have happened. Sumiko put herself in danger to protect someone else and got hurt. Again! "Oh, Sumiko! What did you do this time?"

"Well you see," her friend began casually, "I had a feeling that something bad was going to happen and I knew Kago would get hurt, protecting me. So on that day, I asked him to stay with my friends at the orphanage. He was suspicious, but I had recruited the children's help and he wasn't able to leave."

"And?" Mai raised an eyebrow, slightly curious about Sumiko's 'feeling'. She had known about Sumiko's ability to know when something bad was going to happen, especially she always removed her friends from the danger and put herself in its path.

"Well, I was walking down the sidewalk to one of the stores as usual and I saw a boy run out onto the street to get his ball, not noticing that a car was coming right at him," Sumiko sighed at the memory, "That poor boy must have been so scared."

"And let me guess what happened next," Mai supplied sardonically, "You pushed him out of the way and got hit by the car."

Sumiko nodded as though it was the most usual thing, though it probably was to her since she was always helping others, "I ended up in a coma and just woke up last week. Kago was less than happy when he found out I knew that something bad was going to happen and made sure he wasn't in danger while placing myself in it."

"Gee, I wonder why," Mai said sarcastically, "Honestly, you have any idea how worrying it is to see you on a hospital bed, barely breathing?" Mai had seen the sight once in her childhood and she had no desire whatsoever to repeat the incident. It had scared her so much: to see her friend who was always so strong lying there on the brink of death.

Sumiko noticed the change of mood in Mai and pulled her friend close, this time opting to let Mai's forehead rest on her shoulder as Sumiko whispered, "I'm sorry for giving you such a terrible memory, Mai."

Mai just nodded, relieved to have her old friend's comfort. Sumiko had always known what to say to make Mai feel better. Mai smiled slightly at the memory. The two stayed like that for a while before Mai pulled away, completely refreshed with a cheerful smile on her face again. "Alright! Now how about you sit down while I get you some tea?"

Sumiko chuckle at her friend's quick mood change as she watched Mai rush off to the kitchen. "Come on, Kago," Sumiko gestured to the couch as she sat down in it. Kago curled up at Sumiko's feet, resting though never closing his eyes, determined to keep an eye on the girl.

"So why are you here, Sumiko?" Mai asked as she handed her friend a cup of tea, taking one for herself.

Sumiko sighed, her eyes going serious as she turned to her friend, "I have a case for you."

Mai was surprised, "Really? What happened?"

"You remember that I mentioned through our phone calls that I helped out at an orphanage in my spare time, right?" Sumiko waited to see Mai nod before continuing, "Well, that's what I came here for. I got the feeling it wasn't human and I remembered you worked as a 'Ghost Hunter' so I decided to come here. I didn't know if I needed an appointment or not though so I hope you don't mind."

Mai shook her head, "No way. I've bored out of my mind without a case. Let me just go and get Naru." She didn't need to explain her boss's nickname to Sumiko as they had already talked about. Mai walked over to Lin-san and informed him that they had a client before walking over to Naru's office door. She took a deep breath and knocked on the door, walking in as soon as Naru acknowledged her presence.

"What is it, Mai?" Naru asked, not looking up from his notes.

"We have a client."

"I see," Naru sighed. He hoped it wasn't one of those pointless cases that had been coming his way for a while now. Though he didn't show it, he too was anxious to get a new case to work on. "Tell them I'll be out soon. Also prepare some tea for all of us."

Mai nodded and was about to leave when she stopped, turning back to him, "Naru, she's a close friend of mine."

"I won't take the case simply because she's your friend, Mai," Naru told her.

"I wasn't implying that you should," Mai was annoyed at him for not even listening to what she had to say, but she forced herself to calm down, at the very least for her friend's sake. "I just wanted you to be polite to her. And also pay attention to what she says. Though Sumiko seems cheery, there's a lot more to her than that. If she came here saying it was spirits, you can bet that it was spirits. On top of that, I think she has a few psychic powers." With that, Mai walked out the door.

Naru raised an eyebrow. Mai had a lot of confidence in her friend and her thoughts: more than she usually had in people, including him. What kind of person is this 'Sumiko'? Naru got up to find out. However even he didn't realize what an interesting person Sumiko would be.

Yup, this is my next story. Also keep your eye out for interesting yet suspicious notes. There is always more to a person than meet the 'eyes'. See ya next chapter!