Hello, readers! I present to you the ninth chapter of this fic.

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

A Wish Upon A Shooting Star

Chapter 9

The puzzle was more or less assembled. Syaro had managed to complete all the corners and sides. There were only a couple of pieces in the middle that Syaro was struggling with.

Syaro frowned as she tried to fit a particular piece in one of the empty spots and failed. She tried another piece but that wasn't the right piece either. The frown on her face deepened.

Rize patted her on the head. "You did a great job, Syaro. Now let me help you with the rest of the puzzle."

Syaro shook her head. "No. I can do it myself."

"But, Syaro-"

"I don't need any help, Rize-san."

"I'll just help you out a little."

Syaro shook her head vigorously and threw herself forward, guarding the puzzle with her body. "I'll do it myself. I'm not stupid. I can do it. I'll show you."

Rize raised an eyebrow. Syaro was being surprisingly stubborn. Though it probably wasn't that surprising, was it? The Syaro she knew was always stubborn whenever it came to getting work done.

Rize held her hands up in surrender. "Okay, okay. Calm down, Syaro. I won't touch your puzzle."

Syaro narrowed her eyes at Rize. She didn't seem particularly convinced.

Rize sweatdropped. "I seriously won't touch anything."

"Promise?"

"Yes. I promise."

Syaro slowly sat up straight and began working on her puzzle again. The frown returned soon enough as she struggled with the remaining pieces.

Rize wished she could help but Syaro wanted to prove herself. Rize had no choice but to wait.

Syaro suddenly broke into a huge smile. Rize looked at the puzzle to find that Syaro had finally managed to fit one of the pieces. Rize smirked. Nice.

Syaro quickly assembled the rest of the puzzle. It looked like she had had a breakthrough and now understood how to figure out which piece went where.

Syaro looked up at Rize, excitement evident in her eyes. "Rize-san, Rize-san!"

Rize's lips quirked upward. "Yes?"

Syaro pointed at the finished puzzle. "I did it. Did you see?"

Rize nodded with a smile. "Yes, I did."

The smile on Syaro's face widened. Rize let out a chuckle at the look on Syaro's face. How cute.

But why was Syaro still staring at her? It seemed like she wanted to be... Praised? Rize blinked. Seriously?

Rize cleared her throat. "Uh... Syaro, you really are smart."

Syaro's eyes widened. "Really? You think I'm smart?"

"Of course I do."

"You're not lying?"

"No, Syaro. I'm telling the truth."

Syaro giggled, a light blush dusting her cheeks. "I'm so happy!"

Rize raised an eyebrow. Did Syaro work so hard on the puzzle because she wanted to impress her or something? Rize bit her lip. Was Syaro treating her like a senpai again? Or was it because of something else?

Syaro twiddled her thumbs, the blush on her cheeks deepening. Rize creased her eyebrows. What was Syaro thinking about?

"Um... Rize-san?"

"Y-Yes?"

Syaro looked up at Rize, a shy look on her face. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Uh... Could you tell me about how things were when I was a teenager?"

Rize blinked. "When you were a teenager?"

Syaro nodded.

"Oh. Well... What exactly do you want to know?"

"How my life is, what my school is like, what our other friends are like. Cocoa-oneechan seems nice so I want to know more about her."

Rize tried her best to keep a straight face. To think that Syaro would become Cocoa's new little sister. Quite unexpected.

Syaro looked away, her face becoming even redder than before. "Also..."

Rize gulped. She didn't like how furiously Syaro was blushing right now. "Al-Also?"

"I want to know about what our relationship is like. And why I'm so close with my senpai."

Rize felt her cheeks heat up in an instant. What exactly was she supposed to tell Syaro? How was she supposed to explain everything?

Rize cleared her throat. "Well... I guess I'll start from how we met."

As Rize started talking, Syaro listened to her without a word. Rize told her about how they met for the first time. About the time when Syaro first met Cocoa and Chino. How they all slowly became good friends.

All of their sleepovers. The times they worked together at Rabbit House. Their Christmas parties. Their trip together to the city.

Rize talked about how the two of them helped out all the clubs at school. How they danced together at their school's New Year's ball. How Rize gave Syaro her button on her graduation day.

And then Rize told Syaro about all of her part-time jobs. About how she had to dress up as Phantom Thief Lapin for work. About how hard she worked all the time. About how smart she was that she even managed to get a scholarship for their school.

Syaro stared at Rize, an awe-struck look plastered on her face. "Wow, Rize-san. My life sounds like so much fun!"

Rize chuckled. "Yeah. We have a lot of fun all the time."

Syaro tilted her head. "But I also seem super busy."

Rize's eyes softened. "You are. You work a lot of part-time jobs, after all. But you're very efficient and you handle all of your jobs with grace."

"Really?"

"Absolutely." Rize giggled. "You're always like a perfect ojou-sama, you know?"

Syaro's eyes widened. "An ojou-sama? Me?"

Rize nodded. As Syaro's expression morphed into one of utter disbelief, Rize burst out laughing. Syaro looked away with a blush.

Rize grinned. Was Syaro having as much fun as she was? She most certainly hoped so.

"Rize-san?"

"Hmm?"

"You said I live alone. Am I lonely by myself?"

Rize blinked. That was something she'd like to know herself, actually. "Uh... Well, Chiya lives next door so I think you're not that lonely."

"Oh." Syaro stared at the ground, her lips trembling. "Did Mama and Papa forget about me?"

"Huh?"

Tears sprang to Syaro's eyes. "Do Mama and Papa not love me anymore?"

"No, no. You're misunderstanding." Rize scrambled over to Syaro and rubbed Syaro's back. "I heard that your parents come to visit you a few times a year."

Syaro rubbed the tears from her eyes and looked up at Rize. "Really?"

"Yes, sweetie. I'm telling the truth."

Syaro sniffled and gave Rize a small smile. Rize continued to rub small circles into her back. Poor thing. She thought her parents forgot about her.

A knock sounded and a deep voice called out from behind the door. "Ojou, your lunch is ready."

Rize blinked and looked at the clock. She was so engrossed in telling Syaro everything about their lives that she didn't notice that it was already late in the afternoon.

Rize stood up and picked Syaro off the ground. "Let's go and have lunch, Syaro. And then we'll go to Rabbit House."

Rize entered the dining room and lowered Syaro onto the floor. "Wait here a moment, Syaro."

Rize walked over to the maid and whispered into her ear. The maid gave her a quick nod and disappeared into the kitchen.

Rize walked over to the dining table and pulled out a chair. She sat down, picked Syaro up and sat Syaro in her lap. Two maids swiftly came out of the kitchen and placed two plates of food in front of them.

As Rize pushed her plate to the side, Syaro leaned forward to eye her own plate. She looked up at Rize, a quizzical look on her face.

Rize pulled Syaro's plate closer. "What's wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?"

Syaro pointed at the plate. "Why is there so little food on the plate?"

Rize smirked. "Because I just told the maid to give you less food than normal."

"Eh?" Syaro slowly looked up at Rize, fear evident in her eyes. "Is this punishment for what I did before? For not listening to you and running in the hallway? Are you mad I made you fall?"

"What?" Rize burst out laughing. "No, no. Of course not. I'm not mad."

Syaro creased her eyebrows. "You're not?"

"No, Syaro. I'm not." Rize grinned. "You're eating a little less for lunch today because we're going out after we eat. And do you know what I'm going to buy for you?"

Syaro shook her head.

Rize's grin grew wider. "Melonpan!"

"Really?" Syaro's eyes sparkled. "You'll buy me melonpan?"

"Yep. So let's hurry up and finish lunch."

Feeding Syaro took barely five minutes. Rize then proceeded to have her own lunch, acutely aware of how Syaro was fidgeting in the chair next to her. Rize stifled a laugh. Syaro liked melonpan a lot, didn't she?

Finishing her meal, Rize stood up and lifted Syaro into her arms. Carrying Syaro up the stairs and to her room, Rize slowly lowered Syaro onto the floor. She raised an eyebrow as Syaro made a run for the couch as soon as her feet touched the floor.

Syaro grabbed the bag lying on the couch and pulled out some clothes. She turned around to look at Rize and smiled brightly at her. "Could you help me put these on?"

Rize giggled. Syaro surely was excited. "Sure thing, Syaro. I'll help you."

After Rize helped Syaro into her clothes, she proceeded to get ready herself. Barely fifteen minutes later, Rize walked out of the room with Syaro in her arms.

As Rize stepped out the front door, she took a deep breath and smiled. It was a bright sunny day. A perfect day to go out for a stroll.

Rize set off for Rabbit House. She was early today so she was sure she'd get there before her shift. Even though she was going to stop by a bakery on the way.

Rize made sure to stay on the sidewalk and as far away from the road as possible. Syaro needed to stay safe.

Syaro shyly looked around as Rize continued walking. She seemed to be kind of scared of the strangers that passed by. But when Rize entered the bakery, Syaro immediately perked up.

Rize held up her index finger. "One melonpan, please."

With a smile, the baker took one melonpan, popped it into a paper bag and handed it over to Rize. Giving Syaro the bag, Rize paid the baker and walked out the door.

Rize chuckled at the way Syaro was eyeing the bag in her hands. "Can you wait a little longer to eat that, Syaro?"

Syaro pouted. "I can't eat it now? But it's so nice and warm. And it smells so good."

Rize patted her on the head. "Just wait a few more minutes. You can eat it when we get to Rabbit House."

By the time Rize got to Rabbit House, Syaro seemed like she was ready to tear the bag open. Rize stifled a laugh and walked through the door.

Cocoa turned around at the sound of the door opening. "Rize-chan, you're here. And you brought Syaro-chan with you!"

"Of course I brought her with me. I couldn't just leave her at home with all of those strangers. She'd be terrified."

Cocoa walked over to them and sniffed the paper bag in Syaro's hands. "That smells good. What's in there, Syaro-chan?"

"Melonpan!"

Cocoa giggled. "Oh, is that so? Did Rize-chan buy it for you?"

With a nod, Syaro looked up at Rize. "Can I eat it now? Please?"

Rize burst out laughing. "Sure. You've waited long enough."

Rize walked over to a table near the counter. Pulling out a chair and turning it so that it was facing the counter, she sat Syaro down on it.

Syaro immediately tore the paper bag open and pulled out the bread. Her eyes sparkled. "Melonpan..."

Cocoa knelt in front of Syaro. "Are you going to eat that all by yourself? Or can I have some too?"

Syaro's features pulled into a frown. She stared at Cocoa for a while, glanced down at the melonpan in her hands and looked back at Cocoa. "Rize-san told me you're my good friend so..." Syaro held out the melonpan. "You can have some."

Rize bit her lip. Syaro's arm was trembling. She didn't want to share her melonpan, did she? She was just trying to be polite. But to think that a four-year-old actually knew how to be polite. It was cute.

But why was Cocoa trying to make Syaro share anyway? Couldn't she let the poor thing eat her favorite food in peace?

Cocoa patted Syaro on the head with a giggle. "It's okay, Syaro-chan. You can eat the whole thing."

Syaro instantly brightened up. "Really?"

"Of course!'

Rize smirked. So Cocoa wasn't actually after Syaro's melonpan after all.

"I'm going to go change into my uniform." Rize narrowed her eyes at Cocoa. "Make sure you take good care of Syaro until I come back."

"Oh, come on, Rize-chan. As if anything will happen to Syaro-chan in barely ten minutes." Cocoa wiggled her eyebrows at Rize. "It looks like someone's being overprotective of their kouhai, eh?"

"Wha-? Sh-Shut up." Rize spun on her heel and walked away, hoping that neither Cocoa nor Chino had seen the blush that she was sure was on her face.

So we're back at Rabbit House. I wonder what shenanigans will ensue here…

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