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

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

A Wish Upon A Shooting Star

Chapter 4

Rize looked at Syaro warily. Was Syaro going to tell Chiya that she was so scared that she started crying barely ten minutes after she entered the house? Or would she simply ask Chiya to take her to her house instead?

Rize rubbed her arm as she looked away. She didn't know why but she didn't want Syaro to leave. And for some reason she didn't want Chiya to think that she couldn't take care of Syaro.

"I'm enjoying myself a lot, Chiya. Rize-san is a lot of fun."

Rize's head snapped in Syaro's direction, a small smile making its way to her face. So she thinks I'm fun, huh?

Syaro pointed at the bed. "She even made me a cat!"

Chiya furrowed her eyebrows. "A cat?"

Rize grabbed the stuffed animal and walked over to Chiya. "She means this."

Cocoa jumped forward and snatched the cat from Rize's hands, clearly far too excited. "Good job, Rize-chan." Cocoa grinned. "This is perfect for Syaro-chan. It even has some melonpan. That's adorable."

"Well, I wanted to make something Syaro would like and we all know how much she loves melonpan."

Cocoa laughed. "Yes, we do."

Chiya carefully set Syaro down on the floor. She took the stuffed cat from Cocoa and bent down to hand it over to Syaro. "Here you go, Syaro-chan."

Syaro took the cat and hugged it, a wide smile spreading across her face. Rize felt a strange sense of pride welling up inside her at the sight.

Rize cleared her throat. "So what are you all doing here? Did you come to visit Syaro?"

Chiya nodded. "Yes. But there's something more important that we came to do."

Rize blinked. "What are you talking about?"

Chiya gestured toward Chino. With a nod, Chino held up the bag she was holding. "We brought some clothes for Syaro-san."

"Ohhh. She needs clothes her size." Rize shook her head. "Why didn't I think of that?"

Cocoa smirked. "We thought you wouldn't. So we all went shopping together." Cocoa bent down and smiled at Syaro. "Want to take a look at your new clothes, Syaro-chan?"

Syaro's eyes sparkled as she nodded enthusiastically. Rize chuckled. Who wouldn't like new clothes?

Cocoa lifted Syaro off the floor, walked over to the couch and sat her down on it. Chino handed Syaro the bag and she proceeded to pull everything out one by one.

"Whoa." Rize walked over to them. "You guys bought a lot of stuff."

"And they're all so pretty, Rize-san." Syaro beamed at Rize. "Can I wear these pyjamas tonight?"

Rize stared at the pyjamas Syaro was holding. They were light yellow with small brown teddy bears printed all over them. Syaro would definitely look super cute in them.

"Sure, Syaro. Whatever you want."

A smug expression formed on Cocoa's face. She wiggled her eyebrows at Rize.

Rize frowned. "Now what? I don't like the face you're making, Cocoa."

"Fu, fu, fu." Cocoa smirked. "It looks like the familiar senpai-kouhai relationship is back."

Rize pursed her lips. "Nothing about this situation is familiar."

"But Syaro-chan is treating you like a respectable and reliable senpai again. That's nice to see."

Rize sweatdropped. "You're exaggerating."

Syaro stared up at Cocoa. "What are you talking about? Is Rize-san my senpai?"

"Yes, she is." Sitting on the couch, Cocoa hugged Syaro with one arm and pointed at Rize with her other hand. "She's your senpai. Or rather, she used to be until a few months ago. She graduated from school and is in university now. But you still call her 'senpai' so... Yes, she's your senpai."

Syaro blinked a few times before turning her head to look at Rize. Rize gulped. How was Syaro going to react to this new piece of information? Was she going to be excited that she was staying with her senpai? Would she want to know why she was friends with her senpai in the first place? Or would she think that Rize wasn't exactly worthy of being called a senpai at all?

Okay... Maybe that last one was a bit unrealistic. There was no way that was going to happen.

Hopefully.

The look on Syaro's face slowly turned into one of fear as she started trembling. "You're my senpai?"

Rize frowned. Now that was a reaction she wasn't expecting. "Yes, I am. But why do you look so scared?"

Syaro's eyes watered. "A-Am I being r-rude to you?"

Rize took a step forward. "Of course not. Why are you crying?"

"B-But... I've been calling you by your first name." A tear rolled down Syaro's cheek. "You're my senpai. I shouldn't be saying your first name."

Rize basically ran to the couch. She gathered Syaro in her arms, lifting her off the couch. She heard Chiya gasp but she didn't care. All Rize wanted was for Syaro to stop crying. Seeing her so upset simply broke Rize's heart.

Rize gently stroked Syaro's hair as she looked her straight in the eye. "Don't worry, Syaro. You're not being rude. You usually call me Rize-senpai so it's fine." Rize smiled softly. "I might be your senpai but we're really close, you know? You're supposed to call me by my first name."

Syaro sniffled. "Really? So you're not mad?"

"Of course not. Why would I be mad?"

Syaro rubbed the tears from her eyes. "Thank you."

Rize shook her head. "Don't thank me. Just stop crying, okay?"

Syaro gave a small nod and she buried her head in the crook of Rize's neck. Rize rubbed small circles into her back, hoping it would be enough to comfort her.

As Syaro quieted down, Rize let out a sigh. She didn't like how restless she felt whenever Syaro cried. And she most certainly didn't like how her heart did flip-flops either.

Rize bit her lip as she became acutely aware of all the eyes on her. As she felt her cheeks heat up, she cleared her throat. "What are you all staring at me for?"

Cocoa gave an awkward laugh. "That was just a bit... Unexpected, you know?"

Rize pouted. "What was I supposed to do? Just let her cry?"

Chiya put a hand on Rize's shoulder. "Of course not, Rize-chan. You did a good job."

"Th-Thanks." Rize was sure she was blushing even harder now. In a desperate attempt to change the topic, she gestured at the bag on the couch with her head. "So what else is in there? Wild Geese isn't hiding in there, is he?"

Syaro immediately stiffened. She slowly turned her head to look at the bag, a terrified expression on her face. Rize felt a pang of guilt shoot through her.

"Sorry, Syaro. Don't be afraid. I was just joking."

Syaro frowned. "That's a bad joke."

Rize winced. "I know. I'm sorry."

Syaro looked away with a pout.

Chiya giggled. "Oh, Syaro-chan. Don't be mad."

Syaro directed a sour look at Chiya. With a laugh, Chiya patted Syaro on the head. "You really shouldn't be mad at Rize-chan. She's working so hard to take care of you, after all. And besides..." The smile on Chiya's face widened. "You two are probably going to be living together for a while. So it's best if you two enjoy each other's company, right?"

Rize glanced at the clock and turned to look at her friends. "Hey, it's getting late. Do you all want to have a sleepover tonight?"

Chino's eyes widened as she took a look at the clock herself. "It really is late. But we won't be able to stay over."

"Why not?"

"We have school tomorrow, Rize-san. We'd stay over if we didn't."

"Oh, right." Rize gave Chino an awkward smile. "I forgot. Your holidays haven't started yet."

"I really wish we could stay over." Cocoa smiled. "But it's going to have to be just you and Syaro-chan tonight."

Rize bit her lip. Just her and Syaro... Why did the thought make her so nervous?

"I guess we should leave now." Chiya hugged Syaro who was sitting in her lap. "Bye, Syaro-chan."

"Chiya... You're crushing me..."

"What? Oh, I'm sorry." Chiya loosened her hold on Syaro. "Get along with Rize-chan, okay?"

"I will." Syaro looked up at Chiya. "But can't you stay a bit longer? You just arrived."

"We've been here for over an hour, Syaro-chan."

"It's been an hour?"

Chiya nodded. "But don't worry. I'll come to visit you again."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

With that, everyone said their goodbyes and it was just Rize and Syaro in the room. Syaro walked over to the couch and pulled herself onto it. Rize turned to look at her, wondering why she was so quiet all of a sudden.

Maybe Syaro was upset that Chiya was gone. Or maybe the thought of having to spend the night with her senpai who she didn't remember worried her.

Rize let out a sigh. Syaro was usually so happy to see her. But now...

Rize shook her head. She thought graduating from school meant she'd become more mature. But her insecurities seemed even worse than before now. And Syaro forgetting all about her was just aggravating the situation.

"Syaro?" Rize took a step forward. "Is anything wrong?"

Syaro simply shook her head.

"Then why are you so quiet?"

Syaro looked up at her. "I think I bothered you enough today, Rize-san. You must have more important things to do." Syaro smiled. "You can do what you want to do. I won't say a word. You can act like I'm not here."

Rize frowned. "Why would I act like you're not here? That's just rude." Rize walked over to the couch and sat next to Syaro. "And besides, my holidays just started. I don't have anything important to do. So don't worry. You're not bothering me."

Syaro stared at the floor. "Are you sure? You're not lying, are you?"

Rize shook her head. "I'm telling the truth. I'd never lie to you, Syaro."

Syaro looked up at Rize with a small smile. "You're a really nice person."

Rize ruffled Syaro's hair. "Well, you're really nice too, you know?"

Syaro giggled. "So what should we do now?"

"Hmm." Rize scratched her chin. "What, indeed?"

Rize looked around her room. She had a pack of cards but Syaro was probably too small to play any card games. She had a few board games too but none of them were appropriate for a four-year-old.

Would Syaro want to play a video game? Rize pursed her lips. What was she? A lazy parent? As if making a kid stare at a screen at night was a good idea. That meant watching TV was out of the question as well.

What about showing Syaro her gun collection? Rize glanced at Syaro. Syaro didn't exactly like the eyepatch on her stuffed rabbit, did she? And Syaro was terrified of her father too. An entire room full of guns would probably do nothing but scare her even more.

Rize frowned. What was she supposed to do then? What did four-year-olds like to do, anyway? The stuff she liked when she herself was four were far from normal so Rize seriously had no idea. She was pretty sure Syaro wouldn't enjoy tailing people. Or target practice. Or playing with model guns.

Rize groaned. This was hopeless.

"Rize-san?" Syaro tilted her head. "What's wrong?"

"Sorry, Syaro. I can't come up with anything to do."

"Oh." Syaro's face fell. "So I really am bothering you."

"What?" Rize waved her hand. "No, no. You're not. Trust me. I just... I have no idea what to do so that you can have fun."

Syaro looked around the room. "There's nothing fun in such a big house?"

"There must be something but I can't think of anything." Rize sighed. "I give up. Why don't you think of something? We'll do whatever you want."

"Um..." Syaro scratched her head. "I like jigsaw puzzles. Do you have any puzzles?"

"I don't really play with puzzles anymore but..." Rize pinched the bridge of her nose, thinking back as far as she could. She snapped her fingers. "I remember now. I should have a few puzzles from back when I was a kid."

Syaro beamed at Rize. "Can we play with them now?"

"Sure thing, Syaro." Rize stood up. "But we're going to have to find them first. Want to go on a scavenger hunt?"

Rize held out her hand. Syaro eyed Rize for a moment before hesitantly reaching out and taking her hand. Syaro jumped off the couch and looked up at her with a shy smile. "Let's go."

Rize giggled. Syaro was seriously way too cute. The two of them walked out of the room, hand in hand. Rize led Syaro through the hallway, heading for the room where most of her old stuff was kept.

Rize glanced down at her hand. Syaro's hand in hers felt so... Well, Rize wasn't exactly sure how she felt.

But it was ridiculous how tiny Syaro's hand was right now. It literally fit in her palm. Rize was actually scared to hold Syaro's hand too tight. She felt like she'd break her tiny, vulnerable kouhai if she wasn't careful. And she didn't like the thought one bit.

Rize swallowed thickly. She needed to protect Syaro until she was back to normal. Rize knew for a fact that she would never be able to forgive herself if she let anything happen to Syaro. She'd rather get hurt herself than see Syaro get hurt.

Rize chewed her lip. Why was she being so negative? Nothing was going to happen to Syaro. She would make sure of it.

Rize stopped in front of a closed door and looked down at Syaro with a smile. "We're here, Syaro. Now let's go and look for those puzzles."

It can be really hard to entertain a four-year old. Rize is lucky Syaro seems to be quite mature for her age.

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