Hello, everyone! Here's the next chapter of the story.

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

A Wish Upon A Shooting Star

Chapter 2

Rize's eyes widened in realization. Chiya was right. Someone had to take care of Syaro now that she was so small. Rize set down the plate she was wiping and walked from behind the counter to stand beside Cocoa.

Chiya put Syaro down and sighed. "Today is Sunday but I need to go to school tomorrow. Syaro-chan is afraid of my grandma so she won't be able to stay at my house. She'll be terrified if I leave her alone with my grandma while I'm at school."

"Oh, right." Cocoa scratched her chin. "We have school tomorrow. I guess Syaro-chan could stay with Takahiro-san until Chino-chan and I come back home."

Chino nodded. "That could work."

Cocoa crouched so that she was at Syaro's eye level. "Do you want to stay here, Syaro-chan? I promise you it'll be a lot of fun."

Syaro looked down at the floor and shook her head.

Cocoa creased her eyebrows. "Huh? Why not?"

Syaro pointed at Rize without lifting her eyes from the floor. "I want to stay with her."

Rize blinked. Seriously? Syaro wanted to stay with her?

Cocoa covered her mouth with her hand and giggled. "Oh. So that's it." She turned to look at Rize. "Can she stay at your place, Rize-chan?"

Rize stared blankly at Cocoa for a while before clearing her throat. "Y-Yeah. My summer vacation has already started so she can stay with me. But... Why?"

Cocoa stood up. "What do you mean by 'why'?"

Rize furrowed her eyebrows. "Why did she pick me? I mean, she doesn't even remember me so..."

Chiya chuckled. "Syaro-chan may have forgotten who you are but it looks like she hasn't exactly forgotten how she feels."

Rize raised an eyebrow. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Chino sighed. "You're really smart, Rize-san. But I'm beginning to think that this is something you'll never understand."

"Uh..." Rize wasn't sure how to respond to that.

Rize shook her head. It didn't matter what everyone was saying. What mattered was that Syaro picked her.

Rize could barely contain the smile tugging at her lips. She didn't know why but she felt strangely happy that Syaro wanted to stay with her. That Syaro had chosen her over everyone else.

But Syaro was still staring at the floor so maybe she shouldn't be so happy after all.

Cocoa smiled brightly. "Syaro-chan, you can look up now."

Syaro did as told and stared at Cocoa, a nervous look on her face.

"You don't remember me, right? So let me introduce myself. I'm Cocoa-oneechan." Cocoa snapped her fingers and a rose appeared in her hand. "Here you go. Do you like it?"

Syaro's eyes sparkled as she took the rose from Cocoa. She admired it for a while, clearly impressed. "Thank you, Cocoa-oneechan."

Rize bit her lip. Syaro was calling Cocoa 'oneechan' now? Oh, dear.

Chino frowned. "You shouldn't make her call you 'oneechan'."

"Why not?" Cocoa pointed at Syaro. "She's so small, Chino-chan. Of course she should call me 'oneechan'."

Syaro turned to look up at Chino. "So you're Chino-oneechan?"

Chino's eyes widened. "No, no. That's not right." She flailed her arms in front of her. "I'm actually younger than you so you can't call me 'oneechan'."

Syaro tilted her head. "I can't?"

Rize bit her lip. Why did Syaro have to be so cute? Maybe letting Syaro stay at her place wasn't the best idea, after all. Rize wasn't sure she could handle this much cuteness. It couldn't be good for her heart.

Syaro twiddled her thumbs. "Then I'll call you Chino-san."

Chino seemed to be at a loss for words. Eventually, she nodded. "Okay."

Cocoa nodded in approval. "It's great that you're getting to know everyone, Syaro-chan. But there's still one person left."

With a small nod, Syaro slowly walked over to Rize and looked up at her. Rize gulped. Syaro was always shorter than her but this was a bit much. She was so tiny that it was ridiculous.

Syaro bit her lip. "You're... Rize-san. Right?"

Rize's chest felt tight again. Hearing Syaro call her anything other than 'senpai' bothered her for some reason. But Syaro didn't remember her so of course she wouldn't address her as 'senpai'.

Rize forced herself to smile. "Y-Yes. I'm Rize."

Syaro gave a small smile before turning her attention to the floor. Rize wasn't sure what to make of the situation. Syaro was too shy to look at her for too long but somehow Syaro managed to gather the courage to say that she wanted to stay with her. It was kind of strange.

Cocoa eyed the two for a while before walking over to Syaro and picking her up from behind. Cocoa shoved Syaro toward Rize who instinctively wrapped her arms around the child.

Syaro's eyes widened as she looked around frantically. Rize frowned. "Cocoa, what did you do that for?"

"Don't get mad, Rize-chan. This is for your own good." Cocoa put her hands on her hips. "If you two are going to live together then you two need to stop acting like strangers."

"Wha-?" Rize shook her head. "We're not acting like strangers."

"Yes, you are. Just look at how stiff you are."

Rize bit her lip. Cocoa was right.

Rize slowly relaxed and she let her shoulders droop. "It's not my fault. Syaro doesn't remember me. So it's all a bit... awkward."

Cocoa shook her head. "She might not remember you but you remember her, don't you? So there's nothing awkward about it."

Rize snorted. "That's easy for you to say."

"Rize-chan." Cocoa's expression became serious. "That girl you're carrying right now is Syaro-chan. Do you understand? She's Syaro-chan. So don't treat her like some random kid."

Rize stared at Cocoa for a while as what she just said sank in. Rize turned her head to look at Syaro. The blonde seemed quite uncomfortable in her arms. That was to be expected. But it was Rize's duty to make her feel safe.

Rize smiled softly. "Hey, Syaro. Let's go to my house. I promise you it'll be fun."

Syaro stared at Rize for a while before giving a short nod. Her fingers gripped Rize's shoulders a little tighter than before.

Rize grinned. "That's my girl."

After changing out of her uniform, Rize walked out of Rabbit House with Syaro in her arms. Rize headed toward her house, wondering what she was going to say to her father. He'd obviously be surprised to see her walking into the house with a four-year-old.

Rize eyed the girl she was carrying. Syaro seemed to be a lot less uncomfortable with her now considering how snugly she had her head buried in the crook of Rize's neck.

Rize tightened her grip around Syaro. For some reason, Rize felt an overwhelming need to protect her. Was it because she was so tiny and vulnerable now?

Maybe. But to be fair, Rize always protected Syaro from rabbits. That was even how they first met. So wanting to protect Syaro was kind of natural for her now.

But today Rize felt even more restless than usual. Normally, she knew in the back of her mind that Syaro could take care of herself even without her help. But what about now? There were a million ways that Syaro could end up getting hurt and the mere thought made Rize's heart clench painfully.

As a car passed by them, Rize moved onto the sidewalk and as far away from the road as possible. She knew the car couldn't actually hurt Syaro but... Still.

Rize held Syaro just a little bit tighter. Syaro didn't react. That was good, Rize supposed. It meant that Syaro felt safe with her.

But Rize seriously wished she could get her heart to stop racing. Syaro might be a kid right now but she was still Syaro. Holding her so close was making Rize feel kind of...

Well, actually, Rize had no idea what she felt. But her pulse rate was soaring and she didn't exactly like it.

Rize quickened her pace. She needed to get back home as soon as possible so that she wouldn't have to feel Syaro's breath on her neck anymore. It was making it hard for her to think straight.

It was weird, really. Rize had no problems hugging Cocoa and Chino. And yet when it came to Syaro...

Recently, Rize had noticed herself feeling quite uncomfortable whenever Syaro came close. Her heart rate quickened and her stomach did weird flip-flops whenever Syaro was near her. She had no clue why.

But if she had problems whenever Syaro was near her, naturally she'd be in trouble if she had to hold Syaro like she was holding her now. It didn't matter that Syaro was a kid now.

She was still Syaro.

Rize soon reached her house. She was grateful that the guards didn't ask her anything as she slipped through the gates. But she'd have to talk to her father.

Rize stepped into the house and made her way toward her father's study. Syaro looked around, an expression of pure awe on her face. Rize smirked. It looked like Syaro was going to enjoy her stay here after all.

Rize knocked on the door and waited for her father's response. From inside the room, a gruff voice called out, "Come inside."

Rize did just that. She stepped into the room, closing the door behind her. Her father seemed to perk up when he saw that it was her.

"Rize." He smiled. "Is there anything you need? And... Who's that?"

Syaro froze the moment Rize's father turned to look at her. Her eyes watered and she quickly buried her head in the crook of Rize's neck. As Syaro's small arms tightened around her, Rize felt her pulse rate go up again.

Now wasn't that just perfect?

Rize's father raised an eyebrow. "Rize?"

Rize cleared her throat. "I came here to tell you that this girl will be staying with me for a while. She's my friend's little sister. My friend won't be home for a while so I need to look after her sister until she gets back. Do I have your permission?"

Rize's dad stared at her silently. Rize gulped. Did her dad see through her excuse?

Rize relaxed when her father gave her a short nod. "This friend of yours. Is she a friend from your university?"

"Yes." Rize made sure not to let her voice shake. Her dad was a trained soldier. He'd easily see through her lie if she made even the slightest mistake.

Luckily for her, he didn't seem to suspect a thing. But why was he staring at Syaro so intently?

"Any problem, oyaji?"

"No." He shook his head. "It's just that this girl looks a lot like that one friend of yours. The blond girl in that picture you have in your room."

Rize's throat went dry. He must mean the photo from Cocoa's school festival. To think he'd remember how Syaro looked just from that one photo.

Rize forced a smile. "She does, doesn't she? What a coincidence."

Syaro briefly looked up at Rize's father before hiding her face again. Rize patted her on the head. "I think I should go now, oyaji. She's pretty scared of you."

"Sure. You can go."

With that, Rize spun on her heel and swiftly exited the room. As she made her way toward her room, Syaro decided that it was safe to look up again. She stared at everything around her but the look on her face made it clear to Rize that she wasn't as happy as she was before.

Rize walked a bit faster as her room came into sight. She pushed the door open with her free hand and slipped into her room, closing the door behind her. She walked over to the couch and sat Syaro down on it.

Rize closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Her heart was finally slowing down. Who would have known that holding Syaro could be so dangerous?

Rize let out a sigh. She was stupid for expecting anything else. This was Syaro, after all. This was someone she felt nervous around anyway. Syaro turning into a kid didn't change who she was. Of course Rize would feel uncomfortable holding her.

As Rize opened her eyes, she saw Syaro staring down at the floor with tears in her eyes. Rize frowned. What was wrong?

Rize plopped onto the couch next to Syaro and bent down a little. "Hey, Syaro. What's wrong? You can tell me."

Syaro looked up at Rize, her lips trembling. "This house is scary."

"Huh?" Rize blinked. "What do you mean?"

A tear rolled down Syaro's cheek. "Your papa is scary... I don't want to stay here."

As Syaro let out a whimper, Rize could feel her heart shatter. Rize pulled Syaro onto her lap so that Syaro's legs rested on the couch. She wiped the tears off of Syaro's face and wrapped her arms around the blonde in a strong embrace.

Syaro looked up at her, her eyes still watery. Rize smiled softly at her and gently stroked her hair. "You don't have to be afraid, Syaro. I told you I'd protect you, didn't I? I really meant that when I said it."

Syaro sniffled. "You'll really protect me?"

"Of course I will." Rize chuckled. "Though I won't have to protect you from my father. He might look scary but he's actually pretty soft inside."

Syaro rubbed the tears from her eyes. "Really?"

"Really. Trust me."

Syaro gave a short nod before leaning onto Rize's chest. Rize felt her heart start to beat faster but nonetheless, she tightened her embrace around Syaro.

Maybe she didn't mind her racing heart after all.

With this chapter, we're done with the introductory part. The real story will begin from the next chapter.

Read and review, folks! I'm always open to feedback and constructive criticism.