Hello, everyone! Here's the next chapter of this fic. Enjoy the read!

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

A Wish Upon A Shooting Star

Chapter 8

"...ze-san. Rize-san. Wake up."

Rize cracked her eyes open. Whose voice was that? And why did her stomach feel so heavy?

Rize blinked a few times, trying to get her eyes adjusted to the light. Her vision was blurry but she could make out some blonde hair. Rize blinked again. Was that Syaro? Sitting on her stomach?

As Rize's eyes finally adjusted to the sunlight, she chuckled. Syaro really was sitting on her stomach and trying to shake her awake. How did she manage to forget? Syaro was a kid now. And they were currently living together.

Syaro beamed. "Good morning, Rize-san!"

"Good morning, Syaro." A yawn escaped Rize's lips. "Did you sleep well?"

Syaro gave her an enthusiastic nod. "Your bed is so comfy." Syaro giggled. "And so are you!"

Rize furrowed her eyebrows. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Syaro let herself drop onto Rize. She wrapped her arms around Rize and snuggled her head against Rize's chest. "You're nice and soft, Rize-san."

Rize stiffened, all of her drowsiness vanishing in an instant. Her heartbeat quickened and her whole face became hot. She was glad the covers were separating her from Syaro. She'd probably have a heart attack otherwise.

Syaro raised her head with a frown. "Rize-san, why is your heart beating so fast?"

"Wh-What? How do you know that?"

"I can feel it."

Rize's throat went dry. Oh. So Syaro could feel her heartbeat. Because she was lying on top of her. Right.

"Sy-Sy-Syaro. Co-Could you please get off of m-me? I'd l-like to get up."

With a smile, Syaro rolled off of Rize and onto the bed. Rize let out a sigh of relief. There was no way this much excitement first thing in the morning was good for her heart.

Rize pushed herself up and took a look at Syaro. Syaro looked up at her with a bright smile. Rize chuckled. It looked like Syaro was in a good mood today.

As Rize made her way out of bed, Syaro quickly crawled over to the edge of the mattress. Rize turned around to find Syaro with an expectant look on her face and her hands up in the air.

Rize blinked. "You want me to carry you?"

Syaro nodded. "I can't get down from here myself."

Rize bent down, slid her hands under Syaro's arms and picked her up. As Rize stood back up, she winced. "Ow..."

"What's wrong?" Syaro frowned. "Am I heavy?"

Rize stared at Syaro for a moment, wondering how a frown could possibly look so cute. She shook her head to clear her thoughts. "No, Syaro. You're not heavy. You're as light as a feather. Seriously."

Rize turned around and made her way toward the bathroom. Ugh. Every movement was painful.

Syaro eyed Rize carefully. "Are you hurt?"

"Not really. I'm just stiff."

Syaro tilted her head. "Why?"

"Don't worry about it, Syaro." Rize ruffled Syaro's hair with her free hand. "That happens in the morning sometimes. It's normal."

"Okay..."

Rize tried her best to ignore the pain. It would go away eventually. After all, it was just stiffness...

Stiffness because she couldn't move all night. Because Syaro was wrapped around her arm. Because she was afraid that if she moved then she'd accidentally roll onto Syaro and crush her.

Rize cringed at the mere thought. Her job was to protect Syaro. Not hurt her. She'd have to be extra careful at night from now on.

Entering the bathroom, Rize stood Syaro on the chair. They brushed their teeth and after freshening up, they both headed downstairs to get breakfast.

Rize didn't have to feed Syaro today since their breakfast was jam and toast. As Rize had her breakfast, she glanced at Syaro who was sitting in the chair next to her. Rize's lips quirked upward as Syaro nibbled on her toast. It was nice to have Syaro by her side in the morning.

Once they both finished their food, Rize picked Syaro up and went back upstairs. Rize smirked as she realized that her heart was beating only a little faster than normal. It looked like she was getting used to carrying Syaro around everywhere.

Rize opened the door to her room and walked in. She sat Syaro on the couch and knelt before her. "So, Syaro. What do you want to do today?"

Syaro grinned. "Let's look for those puzzles we couldn't find yesterday."

"Oh, right. We were supposed to play with puzzles, weren't we?"

Syaro gave an enthusiastic nod. Rize smiled. When Syaro was happy, so was she. But as Rize remembered what happened last night, her smile slowly faded.

"Is something wrong, Rize-san?"

"Uh, well..." Rize averted her eyes. "That room is dangerous for you. So why don't you stay here while I look for the puzzles?"

"Eeeeeh? No way!"

Rize raised an eyebrow. "Why not?"

"Because I don't want to stay here alone."

"It's only for a while. You can play with your stuffed cat while you wait for me."

Syaro looked away with a pout. "I don't want the cat. I want you."

"Eh?" Rize felt her cheeks flare up in an instant. Syaro was surprisingly... bold today. She coughed. "Well... Um... I'll be back soon so why don't you make do with the cat for a while? I'm all yours after that."

Syaro didn't turn her head to look at Rize. "Fine," she muttered.

With a nod, Rize stood up, turned on her heel and made her way out of the room. I'm all yours after that. She had barely managed to go an hour without saying something that made her want to hide in embarrassment. Ugh...

Rize managed to take all of four steps outside her room when she felt a gust of air blow past her legs. As she looked down in confusion, she saw a blur of blonde hair rush past her.

Rize's eyes widened. "Syaro?!"

Oh, no. Syaro was running toward that room, wasn't she? But didn't she say that she'd stay in Rize's room and wait?

Rize shook her head. She couldn't afford to waste time thinking. Rize burst into a sprint and raced after Syaro. She was just a kid. Rize would be able to catch her with ease.

...Right?

"Syaro! Wait!"

Rize frowned as Syaro ignored her. So Syaro wasn't going to listen to her, was she? Fine. She didn't have to listen.

Rize increased her speed. I'll simply catch you, Syaro. Just you wait.

Within seconds, Rize caught up to Syaro. Surprisingly, Syaro remained unfazed as she continued sprinting down the hallway. Rize lunged forward in an attempt to grab Syaro's arm.

Syaro jumped to the side and Rize found herself grasping at air. Rize made another attempt at catching Syaro but Syaro deftly moved out of the way at the last moment.

Rize creased her eyebrows in frustration. Why couldn't she catch a four-year-old? Was she that incompetent?

Rize shot out her arm but Syaro spun on her heel and ran in the opposite direction. Rize turned around in confusion only to find that Syaro had circled around her and was running toward the room again.

Rize twisted her body and stretched her arm out in a desperate attempt to grab Syaro. But Syaro slipped away and Rize crashed to the ground.

From the floor, Rize looked up at Syaro's receding form in awe. Whoa. Syaro was like a pro. She was super fast and those reflexes were amazing.

Rize shook her head in frustration. Now wasn't the time to be praising Syaro. Catching her was the mission. Rize pushed herself off the ground and ran as fast as she could.

As Rize finally neared the room, she slowed down. The door was closed and Syaro was sitting on the floor facing it. Rize panted as she stood next to Syaro.

Syaro was safe. That was all that mattered.

"So, Syaro..."

Syaro didn't look up. "What?"

"Why are you sitting here? Because you can't reach high enough to open the door?"

Syaro shook her head. "That's not it."

Rize dropped onto the floor and sat facing Syaro. "Then why?"

Syaro turned her head to look at Rize. "I'm sitting here because you're so worried I'll get hurt if I go in. I don't want to worry you, Rize-san." Syaro looked away. "But I want to be with you so I'll stay out here while you look for the puzzles."

Rize's eyes widened. Seriously? So that was the issue?

Rize let out a sigh. "You could've told me that before, Syaro."

Syaro pouted. "I'm sorry."

Rize patted Syaro on the head. "It's okay... I guess. But you really scared me so don't do something like that ever again, got it?"

Syaro gave her a short nod. "I won't do it again. Also... I'm sorry I made you fall down."

Rize chuckled. "Don't worry. I didn't get hurt."

Syaro's features pulled into a frown. She didn't seem convinced. With a smirk, Rize reached out and roughly tousled Syaro's hair. As Syaro let out a squeal, Rize burst out laughing.

Rize jumped off of the floor and opened the door. "Promise me you're not going to move an inch."

Syaro nodded. "I promise."

With that, Rize entered the room and began searching for the puzzles. She'd managed to look through almost half of the room last night so now was time for the other half.

As she searched through the tall shelves, Rize glanced at Syaro. As promised, Syaro was still sitting in the same spot. She was also staring intently at Rize, apparently observing her every move.

Rize returned her attention to the shelf in front of her. Less than a day ago, Syaro was shy and kind of scared of her. But now, Syaro was refusing to leave her side. Why was Syaro so fond of her all of a sudden?

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

A smirk crept onto Rize's face. She was beginning to understand what Chiya meant yesterday. Syaro might not remember her but somewhere deep down, she probably remembered that Rize was her friend. Her very good friend. Her close friend who only wanted the best for her.

Rize snapped out of her thoughts as her fingers landed on a cardboard box. She pulled out the box and grinned. She finally found it!

Syaro jumped up from her place on the floor as Rize walked toward the door. Rize proudly showed her the box. "Here you go, Syaro. I found it."

Syaro scrunched up her nose as soon as she took a look at the box. "It's a rabbit puzzle."

"Huh?" Rize glanced at the box. There was a picture of a fluffy brown rabbit on it. "Uh... Sorry, Syaro. You want me to look for another puzzle?"

"No..." Syaro took the box from Rize's hands. "It's okay. You don't have to look anymore."

Rize smiled softly at Syaro. "Are you sure? I can look some more if you want."

Syaro shook her head. "You've already done a lot for me. So it's okay." Syaro looked up at Rize with a smile. "Now let's go and play with this together."

"Sure thing."

The two of them went back to Rize's room and sat on the floor. After a short struggle, Syaro managed to open the box. She flipped over the box and dropped all the puzzle pieces onto the floor.

Rize giggled at the look on Syaro's face. Her eyes were sparkling with excitement. As Syaro started working on the puzzle, a fond smile tugged at Rize's lips.

Was it wrong that she didn't want Syaro to go back to normal just yet?

A few minutes later, Syaro had assembled one corner of the puzzle. She looked up at Rize and tilted her head. "Aren't you going to play with me, Rize-san?"

"Why don't you try the puzzle out yourself first? Let's see how smart you are."

Syaro sat up straight. "Okay. I'll prove to you how smart I am."

Rize smirked. "Sure thing."

Rize spent the next fifteen minutes watching Syaro carefully analyze each piece of the puzzle and place them in their correct spot one by one. Rize never doubted how smart Syaro was but she was still impressed.

Rize smirked. As if Syaro could ever stop impressing her. Everything she did only made Rize admire her even more.

Rize smiled warmly at Syaro. For some reason, Rize felt like she could sit and watch Syaro all day.

Why? If only she had a clue.

Rize, you might not know why you're having fun spending time with Syaro but we all know the reason. If only you weren't so clueless.

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