Hello, readers! I'm back to writing fanfiction after quite a few years. My writing has improved and it comes more easily to me now too. So I'm planning on writing a couple of Rize/Syaro fanfics because there seriously aren't enough of them.

I stay up to date with the manga so my fanfics will consider whatever has happened in the manga till date. On this day, the most recent manga chapter is Chapter 130, which should be the 9th chapter of Volume 10 when the volume comes out at the end of the year. So if anything in my fic clashes with any manga chapter after that, just know that it's not my fault.

Without further ado, let's get on with the story!

Disclaimer: I do not own GochiUsa. It belongs to Koi.

Graduation Woes

For what must have been at least the tenth time that day, a sigh escaped Rize's lips. Her features pulled into a frown as she poured some freshly brewed coffee into the mug awaiting it. She was at work now. She needed to concentrate.

But a certain someone simply refused to leave her thoughts.

Rize bit her lip. She was a college student now. She was supposed to be mature. And yet she was feeling more restless than she had ever felt before.

"Rize-chan? Are you okay?"

Rize glanced up to find Cocoa staring at her, the look on her face one of pure concern. Rize winced. Cocoa's usual cheerful demeanor suited her the most. Rize didn't want to make her worry.

Rize forced a smile. "Yeah, I'm okay. I'm sorry for sighing so much."

Cocoa let out a nervous laugh. "The sighing isn't exactly what I'm worried about."

Rize raised an eyebrow. "It's not? Then what's bothering you?"

Cocoa didn't say anything. She simply stared at something with a strange look on her face. Rize followed Cocoa's line of sight to find around a dozen steaming mugs of coffee sitting on the counter before her.

Rize's eyes widened. "Huh? Where'd all these come from?"

"It was you."

"What do you mean?"

"You made all that coffee, Rize-chan."

"What?!" Rize blinked in confusion. Seriously? When?

Chino quietly walked up to the counter and eyed the coffee. "It's all Kilimanjaro."

"Really?" Cocoa inspected the coffee. "So that means that Rize-chan is thinking about Syaro-chan."

Rize felt her cheeks heat up in an instant. "Why would you just assume that?"

"So you're not thinking about Syaro-chan?"

Rize averted her eyes. Cocoa was becoming more and more perceptive as the years rolled by. Rize wasn't exactly sure she liked it.

Cocoa giggled. "So you're worried about Syaro-chan. What's wrong?"

Rize pursed her lips. Should she tell Cocoa and Chino? Or should she just keep it a secret? But if she told them, they might be able to help her out...

"Rize-san."

Rize turned her head to find Chino staring at her with an uncomfortable look on her face. "Yes, Chino?"

"Did you get into a fight with Syaro-san?"

Rize blinked. "Huh? Why would you think th-"

Cocoa slammed both her hands on the counter. "What?! You and Syaro-chan are fighting?"

Rize shook her head. "Cocoa, calm down.'

"Calm down? How am I supposed to calm down?" Cocoa shivered. "You're fighting with your favorite kouhai? How is that even possible? There's no way you two could ever get into a fight."

"What's that supposed to mean? As if Syaro couldn't possibly get mad at me." Rize narrowed her eyes at Cocoa. "And what do you mean my 'favorite kouhai'?"

"So Syaro-chan is mad at you? What on earth did you do?"

Rize shook her head in frustration. "She's not mad at me. We're not fighting. I'm just saying there's no reason for you to be so surprised even if we were."

"But-"

Chino slapped her hand over Cocoa's mouth. "Please stop talking, Cocoa-san. Let Rize-san speak."

Rize let out a sigh. "Thanks, Chino."

"You're welcome." Chino fired a warning look at Cocoa before removing her hand from her mouth. "So what's wrong then, Rize-san? If you're not fighting then what's bothering you?"

Rize opened her mouth to start talking but closed it a moment later. She bit her lip. Now that she thought about it, saying it out loud was going to be super embarrassing.

"Rize-chan? Why are you blushing all of a sudden?"

Rize pinched the bridge of her nose. Should she just make something up? That might be better than telling the truth.

"Rize-san, you can tell us what's wrong."

"Chino-chan is right. You can tell us anything!"

Rize stared at the two of them for a few seconds before clutching her head in her hands. "Ah! I give up. I can't come up with any excuse!"

"Huh? Rize-chan, what are you-"

"I haven't seen Syaro in forever and I can't stop thinking about her. There, I said it!"

Silence.

Rize slowly looked up. Cocoa and Chino were staring at her with wide eyes. Huh. She'd actually managed to render them speechless.

Cocoa was the first to say something. "Well, that's quite... bold of you, Rize-chan."

Rize looked away. "It's not bold. It's the truth."

"Right."

Rize eyed the two carefully. Were they really going to be able to help her? Or would Cocoa come up with something crazy that would make her regret saying anything at all?

Chino's face morphed into one of confusion. "You say you didn't see Syaro-san in forever but didn't we all meet up at Amu Usa last week?"

Cocoa nodded. "That's right. And we all went to Fleur a few days after that. So it's been around five days that we haven't met up." Cocoa tilted her head. "Five days is forever for you?"

Rize knew she was blushing hard right then but there wasn't much she could do about it. "Of course it sounds weird when you put it like that."

Cocoa furrowed her eyebrows. "Then how should I put it? We really did see Syaro-chan five days ago."

"I know that. It's just..."

"It's just what?"

Rize let out yet another sigh. "It's just that we weren't alone."

Cocoa and Chino's eyes widened. Rize chewed her lip. Okay. Maybe she should have worded that sentence differently.

A smirk pulled Cocoa's lips upward, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Oh, now I get it. Someone wants some alone time with their favorite kouhai."

Rize buried her face in her hands. "Stop calling her my favorite kouhai."

"Well, she is, isn't she?"

Rize lowered her hands and glared at Cocoa. Cocoa simply laughed. Ugh. This conversation was becoming way too embarrassing.

Chino still looked confused. "But why do you suddenly want to spend time with Syaro-san alone? Did something happen recently? Am I missing something here?"

A wistful smile made its way to Rize's lips. "I graduated from high school. That's what happened."

A look of realization washed over Chino's face. "Oh, now I understand. You used to be able to meet with Syaro-san alone at school. But now you can't."

Rize stared at the mugs of coffee before her. "Yeah. It was fun before. Being able to spend time with Syaro at school, even though we never had that much time together. What with being in different classes and all. But now... Now even that is gone." Once again, a long sigh escaped her lips. "I know that we all met up a few days ago but that's different. I know I should get over it because I'm in college now and I should be more mature. But I can't help but wish I was back in school again."

A few moments passed in silence. Then Cocoa took Rize's hands in her own and squeezed them with a reassuring smile. "Rize-chan, you can't go back to school. But that doesn't mean you have to give up on spending time with Syaro-chan."

Rize felt her heart clench painfully. She wanted to believe what Cocoa was saying but...

Cocoa's smile became brighter. "If you want to spend time with Syaro-chan, the solution is simple."

Rize was almost afraid to ask what exactly that solution was. For some reason, she felt like she wasn't going to like whatever solution Cocoa was going to suggest. "...And what might that be?"

Cocoa gave Rize a huge grin. "All you have to do is ask Syaro-chan out on a date!"

Rize jumped back in shock. "What?! A d-d-date? Wh-What are you talking about?"

"A date," Cocoa said matter-of-factly. "Then you can spend all the time you want with Syaro-chan."

Rize stared at Cocoa, an incredulous look washing over her face. "Are you kidding me?"

"Of course not." Cocoa seemed absolutely unfazed.

Rize pursed her lips. "I knew it. I knew you'd say something crazy. Why? I have a serious problem. Why can't you come up with a serious solution?"

Chino shook her head and shot a weary look at Cocoa. "Why would you say something like that, Cocoa-san?"

"You two are freaking out for nothing. I meant a friendly date."

"Huh?" Rize blinked. "A friendly date?"

Cocoa nodded. "Go out somewhere. Anywhere. Just the two of you. I'm sure Syaro-chan would like that too."

Rize chewed her lip. Would Syaro really like that? Or would Rize be bothering her? Syaro was super busy. Asking Syaro to spend the day with her might be a bit much.

"Though, Rize-chan..."

Rize's features pulled into a frown. She didn't like the way Cocoa was smirking. And that mischievous glint was back in her eyes.

Cocoa grinned. "If you want, you can ask Syaro-chan out on another sort of date. That might be nice too, you know?"

Rize felt her cheeks flare. "Why would you even say that?"

"So you don't want to?"

"Absolutely not!"

"Okay." Cocoa pulled out her phone. "I'll tell Syaro-chan you said that."

Rize lunged across the counter and snatched the phone from Cocoa's hands. Rize narrowed her eyes. "Don't. You. Dare."

Cocoa blinked. Looked like she wasn't expecting that.

It didn't take long for her to recover, though. A smug expression formed on Cocoa's face. "I'll take that to mean that even though you don't want to date Syaro-chan, you also don't want to not date her."

Rize furrowed her eyebrows. "That doesn't make any sense."

"Oh, it does. You just don't realize it yet."

Rize blinked in confusion. Then she shook her head. "We're getting sidetracked. So what I need to do is-"

"Ask Syaro-san to spend a day with you." Chino smiled softly at Rize. "Cocoa-san might have been teasing you but she's right. Syaro-san will like it if you ask her. I'm sure of it."

Rize wasn't so sure of it herself but she trusted Chino's judgement. And she knew that no matter what, Cocoa only wanted the best for her.

Rize took a deep breath. "Okay. I'll do as you two say. I'll ask Syaro to spend a day with me."

Rize stared at the closed door in front of her. All she had to do was knock. How hard could that be?

Pretty hard, apparently, considering how she had been standing in front of said door for a full five minutes.

Rize was beginning to consider leaving and coming back tomorrow. She'd have time to prepare that way. Though it also meant she'd have time to get even more anxious.

Rize frowned. Cocoa was adamant that she ask Syaro out today. How would Rize face Cocoa tomorrow if she ran away now? Cocoa would think she was a coward.

Rize took a deep breath and raised her hand. But she froze before she could actually knock on Syaro's front door. Rize gritted her teeth. This, she decided, was the most difficult mission she had ever undertaken in her whole life.

Rize glanced to the side. Ama Usa. If Chiya were to come out right now and see her...

Rize quickly knocked on the door. Why didn't she think about that before? The mere thought of the barrage of questions that would greet her if Chiya saw her made her shiver. The whole mission would fail before she could even start it. She'd be too embarrassed to talk to Syaro if Chiya started teasing her.

And Chiya would tease her. Rize was sure of it.

But why wasn't Syaro opening the door? Was she not home? On second thought, maybe arriving at Syaro's house unannounced wasn't the best idea. Syaro had so many part-time jobs. She was probably still at work.

It was already dark, though. The frown on Rize's face deepened. Was Syaro still working even though it was this late? Did her kouhai ever get any rest at all?

And here she was, planning to ask Syaro to spend the weekend running around town with her. Rize shook her head. She was being selfish. This was a bad idea after all.

Rize was just about to turn around to leave when the door opened. A strange feeling welled up in Rize's chest the moment she saw Syaro.

Syaro was wearing her red tracksuit, her hair tied up in a messy ponytail. Her eyes seemed tired. She seemed tired. And the expression on her face seemed nothing but annoyed.

And yet, Rize couldn't help but smile. She didn't exactly want to but her lips quirked upward on their own.

Just a few months ago, Rize used to be able to see Syaro almost every day. Dressed like an elegant lady and acting like a true ojou-sama. But now, five days truly did feel like forever. And the Syaro before her didn't seem like an ojou-sama at all.

But despite it all, she was still cute. Rize could barely think of anything other than how cute Syaro looked right now.

As Syaro registered who was standing at her doorstep, the annoyance on her face vanished and was replaced by surprise. "Rize-senpai? What are you doing here?"

Rize glanced inside Syaro's house. A bunch of books and notebooks were sprawled across the table. Rize bit her lip. "Uh... I'm sorry, Syaro. You were studying, weren't you? I don't want to disturb you. I'll come some other day."

"Huh?" Syaro shook her head. "No, no, senpai. You're not disturbing me at all. Come inside."

"Are you sure? You looked kind of irritated when you opened the door."

Syaro gave a dismissive wave of her hand. "Oh, I thought Chiya was at the door. She came by a while back to force me to drink milk so..."

"Milk?"

Syaro blushed. "It's nothing, Rize-senpai. Don't worry about it."

"Sure..."

"But it's already dark outside. Is something wrong, senpai? Do you need help with anything?"

"Um..." Rize gave a nervous laugh. "I don't exactly need help. I came here to..."

Syaro looked up at Rize with curious eyes. "Came here to what?"

"Well, I..." Rize rubbed the back of her head. "I came here to talk to you about something."

"Oh." Syaro furrowed her eyebrows. She was clearly confused but she stepped to the side with a warm smile. "Please come in, Rize-senpai."

Rize smiled back. "Thanks."

As Rize stepped inside, she was glad she didn't need to worry about Chiya seeing her anymore. She was nervous enough as it was. The last thing she needed was an audience.

"It's pretty late, senpai. Was it extra busy at Rabbit House today?"

Rize forced a smile. "Yeah. Something like that."

Rize didn't want to lie to Syaro but she couldn't tell the truth either. She arrived at Syaro's house so late because Cocoa had spent well over an hour 'training' Rize about what she should say to Syaro and how. Also, once Rize was finally out of Rabbit House, she ended up taking an extra long route to Syaro's house because she wanted time to mentally prepare herself.

Could she tell Syaro any of that? Of course not.

Syaro smiled at Rize. "Have a seat, senpai. I'll go and make some tea."

Syaro turned around to head to the kitchen. In that moment, Rize's body moved on its own and she instinctively took a step forward, reached out and grabbed Syaro's hand.

"Eh?" Syaro turned her head to look at Rize. As her eyes dropped to their hands, her cheeks reddened.

Rize felt her own cheeks heat up as well. She wasn't sure why she just did that.

Despite herself, Rize squeezed Syaro's hand. "Don't go." Rize averted her eyes, embarrassment making it impossible to maintain eye contact. "Stay."

"Huh? Oh, s-sure, Rize-senpai. Wh-Whatever you say."

Rize bit her lip. Syaro's voice was considerably softer. She was surprised, wasn't she? And now the mood was plain awkward.

Rize let go of Syaro's hand and lowered herself onto the floor in front of the table. She already missed the warm and soft feeling of Syaro's hand in her own.

...What? Rize shook her head. She was going crazy, wasn't she? Since when did she want to hold Syaro's hand so badly? It looked like the loneliness was driving her nuts.

Why was she so lonely, anyway? It wasn't like she didn't see her friends. She even got to see Syaro once in a while. Just not every day.

"Um... Senpai?"

Rize snapped out of her thoughts. She turned her head to find Syaro sitting at the table too, right next to her. Syaro was staring at her, confusion written all over her face.

Rize coughed in an attempt to hide her embarrassment. "Sorry. I was thinking about some stuff."

"Oh." Syaro's face set into a frown. "Are you by any chance worried about something, senpai? Are you okay?"

"I'll probably be okay." Rize looked away. "Depending on how this conversation goes..."

"Huh?"

Rize mentally scolded herself. What was wrong with her? Now the mood was even more awkward than it was before.

Rize forced a smile as she turned to look at Syaro. "Are you really sure you can talk right now?" Rize gestured at the books on the table. "I mean, you were obviously studying."

"Don't worry about that. I needed a break anyway." Syaro let out a nervous laugh. "Being a high school senior is hard."

"You're right about that." Rize's eyes softened. "But I'm sure you'll do great. You're hardworking and capable. You can win at anything if you put your mind to it. I know you can."

Syaro's face turned as red as a tomato. "Th-Thank you, Rize-senpai. That... That means a lot to me."

Syaro's lips curved upward, a genuine smile forming on her face. Not a fake one like she often had. Rize could tell the two apart in an instant.

Syaro stared at her lap. "So what did you want to talk about?"

Rize chewed her lip. The mood was better now. She had to tell Syaro the truth now. No excuses. No beating around the bush.

Rize cleared her throat. "Um... Are you free this Saturday?"

Syaro looked up at Rize, her eyebrows creased. She clearly wasn't expecting that question. "Well, I have work in the evening. But I'm free in the morning. Why?"

Rize smiled in relief. "That's good. I need you in the morning."

"You need me? For what?"

"A new café opened recently. I heard their desserts are really good. I was wondering whether you'd like to go there together."

Syaro giggled. "You came here just to ask that? I thought you wanted to talk about something more serious."

Rize wasn't sure how to react. She wasn't expecting Syaro to take the matter so lightly. "Um... So is that a yes?"

"Sure. Why not? It sounds like fun."

"Right..."

"So are Maya-chan and Megu-chan coming with us too? Or is it just going to be us five?"

"Eh?"

"Huh?" Syaro furrowed her eyebrows. "Did I say something wrong, senpai?"

Rize stared at Syaro for a while before shaking her head. Now she understood why Syaro was acting so casually. "You misunderstood. I'm not inviting you to a group outing. When I said 'together', I meant just the two of us."

Syaro gave Rize a blank stare. "...What?"

"What I mean is..." Rize let out a sigh. "I want to go to the café with you. Only you."

Syaro's eyebrows shot up. "You... Café... Me... Huh?"

A nervous smile crept onto Rize's face. "Yes. I'd really like that. But if you don't want to then-"

"I want to!"

Rize started, shocked at the sudden outburst. "You... You do?"

Syaro's eyes dropped to her lap as her cheeks reddened. "I'm sorry for shouting all of a sudden. I want to go with you. But..."

"But what?"

"But why?"

Rize knitted her eyebrows. "What do mean by why?"

Syaro didn't look up. "Why do you want to go there with only me?"

Oh. That. Rize glanced at Syaro, wondering how she could explain what she was feeling without creeping Syaro out. Cocoa had given her a lot of suggestions but for some reason, Rize didn't want to use borrowed words. This was important and she owed it to herself, and to Syaro as well, to express her own feelings in her own way.

And at this point, there was only one thing that Rize wanted to say with all of her heart.

"Because I miss you."

Syaro's head snapped up and she stared at Rize, eyes wide and mouth agape. Rize felt her face flush. Was that too blunt? Probably. But she had to say it. There was no other way.

And now she wasn't going to back down. So she stared back at Syaro, looking into her eyes. No matter how hard her heart pounded. No matter how long her stomach continued to do flip-flops. No matter how terrified she was that Syaro would get creeped out and walk out of her life.

Okay... That last one wouldn't happen.

...Right?

Syaro opened and closed her mouth a few times but no sound came out. Eventually, she took in a deep breath, let it out and squeaked, "You miss me? How... How is that even possible?"

Rize's eyes softened, a wistful smile on her lips. "We used to be able to spend some time together when I was in school. Just the two of us. But ever since I graduated, I don't see you that often anymore. And in all honesty..." Rize looked away. "It's been driving me nuts."

Silence.

Rize squeezed her eyes shut. Syaro thought she was crazy, didn't she? And maybe she was. But Rize couldn't change how she felt.

Slowly, Rize opened her eyes and looked up. What she saw was something she wasn't expecting.

Tears. Streaming down Syaro's cheeks. Why did Syaro look so upset? And why did the sight of Syaro crying make Rize's own heart shatter into pieces?

"Sy-Syaro? Did I say something wrong?"

Syaro shook her head. "I'm sorry, senpai. It's just..." Syaro wiped the tears away and let out a laugh. "I can't believe you'd say something like that. Because..." She looked up at Rize and smiled through her tears. "I really miss you too."

Rize felt a wave of relief flood through her being. She had been worried for nothing. Syaro felt the same way she did. Syaro missed her too. Syaro missed her too.

As fresh tears rolled down Syaro's cheeks, she stood up and turned on her heel. "I'll make you some tea, senpai. So..." Her voice cracked. "Please wait for a while."

Rize pushed herself off the ground. No. She wasn't going to let Syaro cry alone in the kitchen.

Syaro could barely take two steps forward before Rize grabbed her hand and pulled her into her arms. Syaro let out a surprised yelp but Rize didn't let that stop her. If Syaro truly missed her, then she could afford to be a bit bold.

Rize wrapped her arms around Syaro and pulled her close. It felt nice and warm for some reason, holding Syaro like that.

"Se-Senpai?"

Rize closed her eyes and gently stroked Syaro's hair. "It's okay. You don't have to run away. I'm here for you."

Syaro sniffled. Slowly, her hands came up to rest on Rize's back. As her body started shaking, Rize pulled her even closer and Syaro buried her head in the crook of Rize's neck.

Rize rubbed small circles into Syaro's back as she cried. As her tears ran down Rize's neck, Rize wondered how long Syaro had been holding herself back. How many days? How many months?

Rize wished she had come to talk with Syaro earlier. It would have been better for both of them.

As Rize continued to stroke Syaro's hair, Syaro eventually calmed down. Rize smiled softly. "You okay, now?"

Syaro slowly pulled away and nodded. But she didn't look up at Rize. Was she embarrassed? She didn't need to be. Rize wasn't judging.

Syaro's eyes widened and she took a step back. "I'm so sorry, senpai."

Rize lifted an eyebrow. "Why are you apologizing?"

"Your top..."

Rize looked down to find that her top was wet. Syaro had cried quite a bit, huh? Rize let out a chuckle as a warm smile spread across her face. "Don't worry about that, Syaro."

"But-"

"I'm serious. If it's for my favorite kouhai, I don't mind."

Syaro's eyebrows shot up, clearly not expecting a declaration like that. Rize simply laughed. She was glad she didn't have to bottle up how she felt anymore. And so relieved.

Rize ended up staying with Syaro for a few more hours. Drinking tea and chatting about school and university. Rize hadn't felt so relaxed in such a long time that she completely forgot about the time.

So when her father called her and demanded that she come back home immediately, she thought he was joking. Of course, he wasn't and as Rize realized just how late it was, she decided that running back home would probably be her best option.

But that didn't mean she wouldn't give Syaro a proper goodbye.

As Rize stood outside Syaro's front door, she grinned. "I had a lot of fun today. I hope Saturday will be just as fun."

Syaro smiled back. "I'll be looking forward to it."

Rize nodded. She wondered if she should just turn around and leave now. It would be the normal thing to do.

But today was anything but normal.

So Rize stepped forward and pulled Syaro into a tight embrace. Syaro stiffened at the sudden move but after a moment, she relaxed and returned the hug.

Rize leaned close to Syaro's ear and whispered, "Don't cry anymore, okay? I'm going to make sure my graduation doesn't affect our relationship anymore."

Syaro nodded into Rize's chest. "Th-Thank you, Rize-senpai."

With a grin she could barely contain, Rize pulled away. "Bye, Syaro."

"Bye, se-senpai."

With that, Rize took off running down the street. The grin on her face grew even wider. Nothing turned out like she expected it to but to her, today was absolutely perfect.

Rize felt her heart pounding hard in her chest. Was it because she was running? That probably wasn't the only reason. Because her heart had begun racing before she started running. It started right when she hugged Syaro goodbye.

And she kind of liked how nervous she managed to make Syaro a little while ago. How she made her stutter. Simply because it meant they weren't drifting apart. She still had an effect on Syaro. It proved that Syaro still cared about her.

And that was the best thing in the world. Because Rize knew that she would always care for Syaro. No matter how many years passed by.

Syaro was, after all, her favorite kouhai.

So, what did you think of the fic? I tried my best to keep everyone in character but if you think otherwise, feel free to let me know. I'm open to constructive criticism.

I'd like to mention a few things from the manga which I considered while writing the fic. In Volume 5 Chapter 10, which is the chapter where Chimame-tai goes to the ojou-sama school, at the end, Rize and Syaro hear Cocoa and Chiya's voices. This was changed a bit in the anime but in the manga, Rize immediately covers her ears. I think this means that Rize likes the idea of her school being a place for only her and Syaro, no matter how much she loves her other friends. Also, in Volume 9 Chapter 9, Syaro gets drunk and starts crying. She complains about how lonely she's been since Rize graduated. So I feel like it makes sense for her to start crying in my fic the way she did.

Well then, that's all folks! Remember to read and review. Even a one line review is great motivation for any author to keep on writing.

Also, is anyone interested in reading about what happens during Rize and Syaro's 'date'? If you all are interested, I could try to write a sequel to this fic.