Hello, everybody! Here's the next chapter of this fic. I hope you all enjoy it.

There's one thing I'd like to say before you start reading. I mentioned Noir in this chapter. If you don't know who that is, he's a cat who lived at the hotel the gang stayed at during their trip to the city in Volume 8. Syaro was quite fond of him. And… That's really all you need to know for this chapter.

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

A Wish Upon A Shooting Star

Chapter 3

Rize stayed on the couch as she watched Syaro explore her room. Syaro seemed a lot happier now, curiosity evident on her face. Rize smiled. She was glad the tears were finally gone.

Syaro walked around the room, carefully observing everything she laid her eyes on. Eventually, her eyes fell on the stuffed rabbit on the couch.

Syaro took tentative steps as she approached the purple rabbit, almost as if she was worried that the stuffed animal would jump at her. She stopped to stare at it, a frown forming on her face.

Rize raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong?"

Syaro pointed at the rabbit as she turned to look at Rize. "Did you buy this? Or did someone give it to you?"

"Neither."

Syaro tilted her head. "Then why is it here?"

So cute... Rize shook her head. She shouldn't get distracted so easily.

Rize forced a smile. "It's handmade. I made it."

Syaro's eyes widened. "You made it yourself?" She took a look at the rabbit before turning to face Rize again. "That's amazing!"

A nervous laugh escaped Rize's lips as she felt her cheeks heat up. Why was she getting embarrassed over this? She should be used to people admiring her stuffed rabbits by now.

"So does he have a name?"

"Huh?" Rize blinked. "Oh. You mean the rabbit?"

Syaro nodded. Rize bit her lip. Syaro was looking up at her with such hopeful eyes. Would she be disappointed if she didn't like the name?

"Uh... His name is Wild Geese."

Syaro blinked. "Wild... Geej?"

Rize giggled. "Geese. Not Geej." Rize grabbed the rabbit and dropped it onto her lap. "Do you like the name?"

"It's kind of weird."

Rize's face fell. Weird. She hadn't heard that word in a while. And coming from Syaro, it hurt even more.

Rize shook her head. She was getting upset for nothing. It wasn't like Syaro had called her weird. Just her naming sense.

Syaro scratched her head. "But I think I like it."

"Eh?" Rize stared at Syaro. "Seriously?"

As Syaro gave her a nod, Rize couldn't stop the smile that formed on her face. Why was she so happy about this? She sincerely had no idea.

"But why is the rabbit wearing an eye patch? Is it because of your papa?"

Rize let out a sheepish laugh. "You caught on quick. You're pretty smart, aren't you? I guess that's to be expected."

Syaro broke into a toothy smile at the compliment. Rize smiled softly at her. If only Syaro would smile more often. She was always so stressed out over her financial condition that it was kind of rare to see her smiling so freely.

Syaro's smile faded as she creased her eyebrows. "Wild Geese... I think I heard that name somewhere before."

Rize lifted an eyebrow. "Seriously?"

"Yes." Syaro tilted her head. "I think."

Rize put on a thoughtful look. "Well, maybe it sounds familiar because the name of your pet rabbit is Wild Geese."

"My what?"

"Your pet rabbit."

"My pet stuffed rabbit?"

"No. Your pet real rabbit."

Syaro visibly paled. "M-M-My what?"

Rize frowned as Syaro started trembling. "Oi, oi. Calm down."

"I can't calm down!" Syaro screeched.

Rize flinched at the sudden outburst. "You're surprisingly loud for someone your size."

"Why do I have a pet rabbit? Rabbits are scary. So scary." Syaro wrapped her arms around herself. "Why would I want to live with a rabbit? Why?!"

Rize sweatdropped. "Syaro, I know you're afraid of rabbits but Wild Geese likes you a lot, you know? He's a good rabbit."

Syaro looked up at Rize, a skeptical look on her face. "Impossible. A rabbit can't be good."

Rize let out a nervous laugh. How was she even supposed to respond to that?

"And why is his name the same as your stuffed rabbit anyway?" Syaro scrunched up her nose. "Does my rabbit have an eyepatch too?"

Rize laughed. "No, he doesn't have an eyepatch. He does have a scar across his eye, though. I thought it made him look like a soldier. So I named him Wild Geese."

Syaro blinked. "You're the one who named him?"

"Yep."

"I let you name my rabbit?" Syaro took a step forward and looked up at Rize with curious eyes. "Why?"

"Uh..." Rize didn't know what to say. The thought had never once crossed her mind before. Why did Syaro let her name Wild Geese? Shouldn't Syaro have been the one to name her own pet?

"Rize-san?"

Rize's head snapped up in Syaro's direction. "I... I don't know."

"You don't?"

Rize shook her head before looking away. She pursed her lips. Hearing Syaro address her with 'san' was ridiculously upsetting. It felt so distant.

Rize squeezed her eyes shut, her chest beginning to feel uncomfortably tight again. Did she miss the usual Syaro already? It surely seemed that way.

Rize turned to look at Syaro with a strained smile. "Hey. Let's talk about something else. Or do you want to play something?"

Syaro looked at the ground and twiddled her thumbs. "I want a stuffed animal for myself."

"What?"

Syaro didn't look up. "I want you to make me one. If it's not too much trouble..."

Rize's eyes widened in realization. "Oh. So that's what you meant." Rize scratched her head. "Well, I already made you a stuffed rabbit before. I guess I could make another one for you if you want."

Syaro looked up at her, excitement written all over her face. "Really? You'll do that for me?"

Rize gulped. "Su-Sure. Why not?"

"Yay!" Syaro ran to Rize and wrapped her arms around Rize's legs in a hug. "Thank you so much! I love you, Rize-san."

Rize froze, a strange feeling welling up in her chest. She gave a few hesitant pats on Syaro's head. "Ye-Yeah. I... I love you too."

Rize spread out everything she needed on her bed. She put her hands on her hips and nodded in approval. "Yep. That's everything. I can start making you your stuffed animal now."

Rize turned to look at Syaro and stifled a laugh. Syaro was barely as tall as the bed and she was struggling to see everything laid out on it. The look on her face was one of pure determination, though. She really was stubborn, wasn't she?

"Hey, Syaro. Why don't you get on the bed?"

Syaro looked up at Rize. "Can I?"

Rize smiled. "Of course you can."

Syaro grabbed the edge of the mattress and tried to haul herself onto the bed. It didn't work. She then tried to jump onto the bed but that didn't work either. With a steely look in her eyes, Syaro walked away from the bed.

Rize raised an eyebrow. What was Syaro trying to do?

Syaro turned around, now a few feet away from the bed. She ran toward the bed and made a running jump. She managed to latch onto the mattress and she gritted her teeth as she tried to pull herself up.

Despite her best efforts, Syaro slowly slid down. Eventually, she gave up and dropped onto the ground with a thump. Syaro pouted, clearly upset.

Rize giggled. Syaro looked up at her with a frown. "Don't laugh at me. I tried my hardest."

Rize walked over to Syaro and bent down. "That's not why I'm laughing." She slid her hands under Syaro's arms and picked her up from behind. "It's just funny how stubborn you are even when you're so small."

As Rize gently put Syaro on the bed, Syaro turned around to look up at her. Rize smiled and ruffled her hair. "You should ask for help when you need it."

Syaro averted her eyes. "I'll ask for help from now on."

Rize smirked. "Good." She climbed onto the bed and sat across from Syaro. "Let's get to work now, shall we?"

Syaro nodded. "What do I have to do?"

"All you need to do is help me design your stuffed rabbit. I'll do the rest."

Syaro shook her head vigorously. "No way."

Rize creased her eyebrows. "What? You don't want to help me?"

"That's not it." Syaro scrunched up her nose. "I don't want a rabbit. I don't like rabbits."

Rize burst out laughing. "Sure, sure. I get it. So what do you want me to make?"

"A cat!"

"A cat?" Rize scratched her chin. "I guess that makes sense. You really liked Noir."

"Noir?"

Rize shook her head. "It's nothing. Forget about it." She pointed at all the fabric laid out before her. "These are all the colors I have. Which color do you want?"

Syaro pointed at the yellow fabric. "This one."

"Right." Rize picked up the piece of cloth. "Of course you'd pick this one."

"Yellow is my favorite color. So I want a yellow cat."

"Sure thing."

"Rize-san, is your favorite color purple?"

Rize nodded. "How'd you know?"

"Your rabbit is purple. And so is your hair."

Rize sweatdropped. She asked a stupid question, didn't she? Rize cleared her throat. "So what sort of cat do you want?"

"Do whatever you want." Syaro looked away. "Just don't give it an eyepatch."

Rize bit her lip. The usual Syaro didn't seem to mind her love for all things military but she was beginning to think that this Syaro was a bit scared of it. "Don't worry, Syaro. I won't make your cat wear an eyepatch."

Rize grabbed what she needed and got to work. She silently worked on the stuffed animal, Syaro intently watching her the entire time. A little over an hour later, Rize handed the finished stuffed cat to Syaro.

Syaro's eyes widened and she let out a squeal. "This is so cute! I love it." Syaro beamed at Rize. "Thank you so much, Rize-san."

Rize grinned. She still didn't enjoy being addressed with a 'san' but the smile on Syaro's face simply melted her heart. All that hard work was worth it.

Syaro carefully checked out her new toy. "It even has some melonpan." Syaro giggled. "It's so cute."

Rize smiled. It was nice that Syaro liked the stuffed animal. Rize didn't do anything too fancy this time. She made a simple yellow cat holding some melonpan in one hand and a teacup in the other.

Rize wondered if this Syaro loved teacups as much as the usual Syaro. Maybe I should have asked her before adding the teacup.

"This teacup is so nice too." Syaro's eyes sparkled as she looked up at Rize. "When I grow up, I want to have a huge teacup collection. And now my cat has a teacup too. This is awesome!"

Rize giggled. Apparently, she was worried for nothing. "I'm glad you like it, Syaro."

Syaro hugged her new cat, a bright smile adorning her face. Rize got off the bed and collected everything on it in her arms. As she got to work putting everything away, she couldn't help but wonder if she could ever make the usual Syaro this happy. It was really nice to see her smile so freely.

A knock sounded on the door. "Rize-chan?"

Rize turned around to look at the closed door. "That voice. Chiya?"

The door slowly opened and Chiya peeked in. "Yes, it's me." She walked in, smiling widely like she always did. "I'm not alone though."

The door opened fully and in walked Cocoa and Chino. Cocoa looked around in awe. "I know this isn't my first time here, Rize-chan, but your house is amazing."

Chino shook her head. "Cocoa-san, you're such a child."

Chiya giggled. "So where's the actual child?"

"Chiya!"

Chiya turned to look at the bed. "Oh. There you are, Syaro-chan."

Syaro crawled to the edge of the bed and looked down. She immediately backed away. "Rize-san... This is dangerous. I don't think I should jump."

Rize walked over to the bed. "No, you most certainly shouldn't. I don't want you to get hurt." Rize picked Syaro up and gently set her down on the floor. "There you go."

Syaro uttered a quick thank you before running toward Chiya. Chiya promptly crouched down and Syaro ran right into her arms. With a hug, Chiya lifted Syaro off the ground as she stood back up.

Chiya smiled at Syaro. "So, Syaro-chan. Tell me how you're doing."

I imagine Syaro would really like a stuffed cat with some melonpan and a teacup. Even the teenage version. What do you think?

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