Preface (Please read before suing me)

I would like to apologise in advance for what you're about to read. The man who produced it has zero romantic experience, is abnormally invested in this ship, and most importantly, is probably more skilled at mathematics, psychology and biotechnology than he ever will be at writing. I both anticipate and invite the most blunt of feedback you can muster. It'll hopefully help me improve if I ever decide to create another ASCII monstrosity like this one.

And it should be abundantly clear without me saying so, but just in case: 'Gochuumon wa Usagi Desu ka?' is not my intellectual property. The image which I have used as a cover for this story was produced by the user stick_jitb on pixiv, and is equally not mine. This is a fan work, and one I profit from in absolutely no way whatsoever.

It is exceedingly rare for anyone to have a secret identity, let alone a high school girl. But, it is even rarer for a high school girl to go from acting like a soldier to caring about fashion. This was the basis for Rize creating her alter ego, Rosé, and today was one of many days that she was thankful to have this identity. As fun as it was, she really didn't want to be seen wearing an adorable white dress and getting excited over all the prettiest clothes in the shop displays. At least, not as herself. However, after spending her morning shopping, she'd decided to take a break to do something more like Rize, and get some exercise. Right in the middle of spring, the sun was out and blanketing the town's expansive park in a comfortable warmth that made it perfect for a walk. Had she passed through it jogging or running as she had every morning, she'd never have stopped to take in the opening flowers and the floating petals, the signs of nature waking up and stretching her muscles. She also might not have noticed a familiar kouhai sat on a bench in the shade, looking uncharacteristically distraught.

Sharo worked herself half to death on a regular basis, and Rize knew this very well. She had to work like this just to keep eating, but she would never ask for help, nor show her friends how drained she really felt. That was why the sight of the girl sitting alone, hidden in the shade, quietly sobbing to herself and trying her best to hide her face, made Rize's heart ache so much. Something had to be very wrong to get Sharo as down as she was, and she had a feeling that it was related to the envelope he was clutching tightly to her chest with both her hands, like she was trying to stop it from escaping her. Rize didn't want to keep watching her from a distance like this, leaving her alone in her pain. Her disguise didn't matter; Sharo needed her friend. But at the same time, Rize didn't want to imagine what her kouhai would think if she saw her, of all people, wearing a dress. It might at least cheer her up by giving herself something to laugh at, but pushing the pain aside to distract herself with a bit of fun wasn't what Shrao needed now. Yet that was what the poor girl always felt she had to do around her friends. Considering this, Rize decided to channel her best Aoyama impression and play the kind stranger. Now, Aoyama seemed to simply appear without anyone seeing her coming, but that would definitely startle Sharo. That was something Rize and all her friends could say from experience. But then again, seeing a stranger approach her would do just the same. At least with Aoyama's infamous strategy, the blonde wouldn't get scared off before Rosé had the chance to say anything. "Alright!", Rize thought to herself, "I'm moving in to engage!"

"Ah, excuse me?" Usually, only Rize would describe putting her foot forward as 'taking the first shot', but from the way she nearly jumped off the bench with a little squeal of alarm, it looked as if Sharo had actually confused these three simple words for a gunshot. "Oh I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you!", Rosé hurriedly apologised, already having to think on her feet to save the situation. "I was just going to ask what was the matter. I wondered why you might be sitting in the shade on your own, on a lovely day like this." She could have mentioned the fact that Sharo was crying, but she knew her kouhai well enough to guarantee that this would embarrass her to no end.

"I-I'm alright, there's no need to worry about me." Even if it was for a stranger, Sharo could compose herself in seconds. She had turned to face Rosé with a weak smile, as she tried her best to conceal her pain. Rize knew this mask of hers all too well, but now Rosé needed a way to subtly point it out. One that could hopefully encourage Sharo to show her face, tears and all. That was when another habit of Aoyama's came in useful - the classic 'when I was younger' story. Rosé sat herself down on the bench beside Sharo and breathed a sigh.

"You know, when I was your age, I never told my friends anything. I didn't want to make them, worry, or be the one who ruined the mood when we spent time together. But if a teacher or someone who didn't spend so much time with me was willing to listen, I found that I wasn't so worried about those things. Even the bravest of us can't do everything on their own... So, if it's perhaps a bit easier to talk to me than your friends, then I'm happy to listen."

Sharo opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out. It seemed that she had a response prepared, almost certainly another dismissal, which was replaced by a squeak of surprise as the meaning of Rosé's words reached her. The debate in her mind was practically visible as she stared down at the letter she was holding, but the smile brushing at the corners of her lips and the glint that flickered in her eyes looked like… relief? Rize really hoped she was wrong about that. She was very glad to be able to offer Sharo help in a way that clearly meant a lot to her, yet if it brought her this much relief, then how long must it have been since she felt she could confide in someone like this? Had her poor kouhai felt like she was alone for her whole life...?

Sharo spent a bit of time thinking her options over, while Rosé patiently let her have the space she needed. Eventually, she looked up to Rosé with eyes that almost seemed to plead with her, and she asked: "...Are you sure it's no trouble?"

"None at all." Was the unwavering reply, accompanied by a beam of compassion that was just as unshakeable.

With that, Sharo took a deep breath and let it go. "Well, you're sure if it's okay… There's just someone I know, a friend, who I…" Sharo's cheeks warmed up to a light pink, accompanied, strangely, by an even warmer smile. "I think I like her, you know? I know how hard it would be to say it to her, but it's getting even harder to keep it a secret... That's why my best friend suggested that I write a note to tell her. I thought it was a good idea at the time, because I hadn't thought of anything else, but… I don't know if I can give it to her."

Rize couldn't help but be intrigued as to who Sharo could be talking about it. She at least knew without question that the best friend she mentioned was Chiya; this idea had her written all over it. Nonetheless, who Sharo had feelings for wasn't any of Rosé's business, so she tried her best to push that curiosity to the back of her mind.

"I think your friend's idea was quite a good one. One could say it's quite romantic. Why should you not give it to her?"

"I'm even nervous about doing just that… I can't hand it to her, because that's just as bad as saying it outright! And I don't think I even wrote it that well. Could she even read my writing? I was so nervous when I wrote it; I must have been shaking or something."

"I'm sure you did a fine job writing it. The same could be said for your handwriting. As long as your heart went into what you wrote, then she'll understand what you want her to."

"But even if she understands… is it really good enough? Is everything I put into what I wrote really enough for her? Do I actually deserve her? Especially if I don't even have the courage to do anything but write a letter! She wouldn't date me just because of this silly little thing."

Sharo waved the letter she was holding in the air as if she were throwing it away, briefly revealing the name written on the front.

Rize.

That really was the very last thing that the recipient herself could have ever expected to see. Of course, she thought she'd once or twice seen signs of her kouhai having a crush on her before. Maybe a lot of times, if she was being honest. But she was quite sure that Sharo wouldn't ever be interested in her, of all people. Not that she had been speculating whether or not Sharo liked her! She hadn't been speculating at all; as a matter of fact, she'd not even thought up what she would say if Sharo had actually confessed to her. Naturally, that was most definitely not a scenario she often imagined! Alas, she was now getting carried away thinking about it, and needed to focus up again. If she didn't convince Sharo to go ahead with her confession, she'd never get her chance! And in any case, her kouhai needed someone to help her pick herself back up.

As her friend today, maybe something more tomorrow, Rize was ready to be that someone.

"Hey, Miss, are you alright? You uh… you seem to be blushing?"

"O-Oh my, I'm sorry!" Rize didn't want to think how long she'd just been staring into space like a lovestruck idiot, not hearing whatever Sharo had been saying, but thankfully it wasn't long enough for her to get suspicious. "I'm fine, what you were telling me made me think of someone I know, that's all." That was a lucky escape, as long as Sharo didn't ask any-

"Why's that?", Sharo asked.

"Ah, well, uh... it's because you remind me of my friend from high school! She always seemed so mature and ladylike, even though she was younger than me. She was quite cute as well," Rize added with a blush, "and she was such a hard worker. She had so many part time jobs, and she did well enough at school to earn a scholarship, but she never let anyone see the toll life took on her. I know it must have really tired her out, the way she pushed herself, yet she wouldn't ever show it. I really looked up to her for that. But, you see, for all her strengths, she struggled to find confidence in herself. While I admired her modesty, I wished she could love herself as much as I loved her. Because just like you, Sharo-chan, if she believed that she deserved love as much as all her friends knew she did, I know she'd find it where she thought she couldn't."

Sharo seemed, once again, at a loss for words. The glow in her cheeks and the tears in her eyes made her feelings clearer for anyone looking than they were to her, which was apparent as she kept trying to begin different sentences, struggling to decide which of the emotions coursing through her to let out first.

"T-Thank you…" was what she ended up deciding on, as she wiped away the little tears that she'd just noticed. "Thank you so much, Ri... what was your name again?"

Suddenly, her azure eyes narrowed. "Come to think of it, I don't think I told you my name either, did I? How do you know so much about me?" Her head cocked to the side while she turned to look at Rosé. "I'm really sorry, I would have thought I'd remember you if so, but… have we met before?"

Now that, Rize thought, was stupid. She got so carried away that she had blown her cover by using Sharo's name, when Rosé quite clearly couldn't have known it! Any excuse for knowing that she could've made up would just sound too weird. Or so she told herself. In any case, both she and her crush had already waited so long for this. She was done with pretending.

Rize reached behind herself and gathered her hair up into two loose pigtails. "I think we've met once or twice," she chuckled. Sharo's jaw dropped.

"Wha- You were- How did you-" Her face turned a deep shade of red as her mind scrambled to work out what was going on.

"I'm sorry, I didn't tell you it was me because I thought… I know how you don't like making people worry about you, so I thought it'd be best to act like I was just a nice stranger. I'm sorry for confusing you, Sharo-chan."

"It's okay… You did make me feel better…" Sharo mumbled, struggling to look at Rize.

Rize took both her crush's hands in hers and gave her an encouraging beam. "Go on, I'll let you be the first one to say it. You're the one who was brave enough to write it out."

"Hmph!" Sharo huffed, puffing out her cheeks and turning her head away. "You owe me that, forcing me to change up my plan... This'll be so much more embarrassing now..."

"Then, is it easier if I go first?"

Sharo nodded shyly, turning back towards Rize, though looking down at their hands.

"Sharo-chan, I..."

"I-I love you, Rize-senpai!"

The words caught Rize off guard, sending a strange warmth radiating through her. It really began to sink in at that moment - she finally had what a part of her had always been yearning for. But what filled her heart with more joy was that Sharo had said it first after all. She couldn't have been more proud of her girlfriend's newfound bravery.

"I love you too, Sharo-chan."

Ending Note

I'd like to say thank you very much to everyone involved with me, this story (that includes my poor victi- I mean readers), and the GochiUsa intellectual property. With the notable exception of the people who are responsible for this ship never sailing, despite THREE SEASONS of Sharo crushing on- Let's not have that rant here. Goodbye!