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

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


A Wish Upon A Shooting Star

Chapter 10


Rize moved as fast as she could to get herself into her uniform as soon as possible. As she hurriedly buttoned her shirt, she wondered why she was being so paranoid. Syaro was safe and sound with Cocoa and Chino. They would never let anything happen to her.

What could even happen to Syaro at a small café like Rabbit House anyway? It was a nice and cozy place. A place that filled her with warmth whenever she entered it. A place always filled with the deep aroma of freshly brewed coffee...

Coffee. Scalding coffee. And a very clumsy waitress named Cocoa.

Rize's throat went dry. Maybe bringing Syaro to Rabbit House wasn't the best idea after all. Cocoa wouldn't intentionally hurt Syaro but accidents could happen. Quite easily. And with drastic results.

Rize bolted out of the dressing room and dashed to the café. Was she worrying for nothing? She surely hoped so.

As Rize entered the café, she slowed to a stop. Panting hard, she took a look at the scene before her and sighed in relief.

Syaro was still sitting on the chair. Absolutely safe and unharmed. And Cocoa was animatedly talking to her. Chino stood at Cocoa's side, smiling softly at Syaro.

Rize shook her head. It looked like she had given herself a mini heart attack for no reason. They were just talking.

"So, what do you think, Syaro-chan?" Cocoa smiled brightly. "Want to live with me and Chino-chan?"

Rize froze. What did Cocoa think she was doing? Why was Cocoa trying to steal Syaro away from her?

Rize bit her lip and squeezed her eyes shut as she felt her cheeks flare up. Ugh... What was she even thinking? As if Syaro belonged to her...

"Rize-chan? Are you okay?"

Rize's eyes snapped open. Cocoa was staring at her, confusion splayed on her face. Chino and Syaro too.

Rize walked over to them. "Y-Yeah. I'm fine. Why?"

Cocoa pointed at Rize's face. "Your face is red."

Rize coughed. "It's nothing. Don't worry about it."

Cocoa raised an eyebrow. "Your bow isn't in place either."

"Huh?" Rize looked down to find her bow hanging loosely from her neck and completely crooked. She quickly fixed it up and forced a smile. "Sorry. I forgot about it."

"Right..."

"So, is Syaro going to stay with you two from today?"

Rize didn't like the way her throat dried up as she asked the question. But she needed to know.

Cocoa turned to look at Syaro. "That's what I'd like to know. So what do you think, Syaro-chan?"

Syaro fidgeted in her seat, seemingly uncomfortable. Rize wondered what was bothering her. Maybe she wanted to stay with Cocoa but she was worried about what Rize would think. Was that a possibility?

Rize frowned. She really didn't want to let go of Syaro. But she didn't want to be selfish either.

"Syaro..."

Syaro looked up at Rize, a strangely hopeful look in her eyes. "Yes, Rize-san?"

"You... You can stay wherever you want, you know?" Rize swallowed thickly. "If you want to stay with Cocoa and Chino, then..."

Rize couldn't bring herself to finish the sentence. Why? What was wrong with her? Was she really that attached to Syaro now? This could turn into a problem for her...

Rize eyed Syaro who was now simply staring at her lap. She didn't seem particularly happy. Rize's features pulled into a frown. This was her fault, wasn't it? She needed to clearly tell Syaro that she could stay with Cocoa.

Rize cleared her throat. "If you want to stay here from today, then tell us. It's fine if you want to spend some time with your Cocoa-oneechan."

Rize pursed her lips despite herself. She didn't like the thought of Syaro choosing Cocoa over her. At all.

Was she jealous? Probably.

Syaro's face set into a deep frown. Rize creased her eyebrows. Why did Syaro still look so upset? She could choose whoever she wanted. So what was wrong?

Cocoa giggled. "I don't think Syaro-chan wants to leave her senpai."

Rize blinked. "What are you talking about?"

"Don't you see how upset Syaro-chan looks?" Cocoa grinned. "She enjoys staying with you, Rize-chan. That's why she's not happy about you telling her she can stay with us."

Rize stared at Syaro. Seriously? Did Syaro enjoy staying with her that much?

Rize gulped. "Syaro... Is what Cocoa saying true?"

Syaro pouted. "If I'm bothering you, you don't have to take care of me anymore, Rize-san."

Rize's eyes softened. She knelt in front of Syaro and smiled up at her. "I told you before, didn't I? You're not bothering me. If you want to stay with me, I'd be more than happy to take care of you."

Syaro sat up straight. "Really?"

"Yes. I promise."

Syaro broke into a huge grin. "Thank you so much, Rize-san!"

Rize chuckled. It didn't look like anyone could steal Syaro away from her.

"Awww. That's so cute!"

Rize looked up to find Cocoa looking at them, her hands clasped together. Rize averted her eyes. She was going to get teased again, wasn't she?

Cocoa giggled. "You two really get along well. And now I'm sure that somewhere deep down, Syaro remembers how she feels about you."

Rize stood up and turned to look at Cocoa. "You act like the usual Syaro doesn't like you or Chino."

"Of course she likes me and Chino-chan." Cocoa smirked. "But Syaro-chan has always liked you more than any of us."

Rize felt her cheeks heat up. "There's no way that's true. She just looks up to me since I'm her senpai. That's all."

Chino shook her head. "You can't seriously believe that, Rize-san."

Rize raised an eyebrow. "Can't believe what?"

Chino let out a sigh. "That Syaro-san respects you only because you're her senpai."

Syaro tilted her head to the side. "What are you all talking about? I don't understand anything."

With a giggle, Cocoa patted Syaro on the head. "You're too little to understand this stuff, Syaro-chan."

Syaro pouted. "Okay..."

Cocoa stood up straight and tapped her chin. "But I wonder if we should be talking about all this in front of Syaro-chan."

Rize furrowed her eyebrows. "What are you talking about?"

Cocoa took a look at Syaro before turning to look at Rize. "What if Syaro-chan remembers everything that's happening after she returns to normal?"


As Rize wiped a plate, Cocoa stared at Syaro who was quietly sitting on the chair. Syaro really was a diligent girl even as a kid. She wasn't bothering them at all.

Rize looked up at Cocoa. "What are you thinking about?"

"I'm just wondering if she'll remember everything or not."

"I already told you, didn't I?" Rize set the plate down. "We'll just have to wait and see what happens."

"But Syaro-chan is probably going to be super embarrassed if she remembers everything."

"Maybe."

"And you too, Rize-chan."

Rize bit her lip. Of course she was going to be embarrassed. But she'd rather not think about that right now.

Rize cleared her throat. "Well, there's nothing I can do about it. I have to take care of her. Even though I know she's actually Syaro. Because right now, she's a kid. And she needs my help."

Cocoa nodded. "That's true. You have to help her. But..."

"But what?"

A mischievous grin made its way to Cocoa's face. "But if Syaro-chan remembers everything when she returns to normal, I want to be there to see the look on both of your faces."

Rize pursed her lips. "Please stop teasing me."

Cocoa laughed. "I'm sure Syaro-chan will be pretty happy too, though. Knowing that you took care of her so well."

Rize took another plate in her hands and started wiping it. "How do you know I'm doing a good job at taking care of her? I might be making a bunch of mistakes, you know?"

Cocoa gave a dismissive wave of her hand. "It doesn't matter if you make a few mistakes. I know you care about Syaro-chan a lot. So I'm sure you're doing a good job."

Rize felt her cheeks flush. "She's a very important friend. Of course I care about her." Rize glanced at Syaro who was silently observing the café from her place on the chair. "She might be a kid now and she might not remember me but... She's still Syaro. And I can't not care about her, no matter what form she may be in."

Cocoa grinned. "You've always cared a lot about Syaro-chan, haven't you? You've always protected her."

Rize's lips curved upward in a small smile. "I want to protect all my friends, Cocoa. But for some reason... My sense of protectiveness has always been stronger with Syaro. I don't know why."

Cocoa's smile widened. Rize smiled back. She glanced at Syaro and a chuckle escaped her lips. The urge to protect Syaro was ridiculously stronger now since Syaro was so little.

Rize's smile faded as she felt her cheeks heat up. "Uh... We should probably talk about something else. I don't think Syaro is listening to us but if she is..."

Cocoa gave her a knowing smile. "It will be pretty embarrassing for you if she remembers everything later, right?"

Rize nodded. "I don't know how much she'll remember but... I'm already worried."

"Well, she'll be embarrassed too so you two will be even."

Rize set down the plate. "I know that but this isn't really a matter of being even."

"Right. So..." Cocoa waggled her eyebrows at Rize. "What exactly are you going to be embarrassed about? Want to tell me?"

Rize thought back to all the embarrassing things she had said since yesterday, her face growing hot. She cleared her throat. "Nothing specific. But I'm carrying her around everywhere and feeding her because she can't properly eat by herself. And I have to help her get changed. And I even had to tell her a bedtime story last night and..." Rize buried her face in her hands. "I hope Syaro doesn't remember any of this."

Cocoa giggled. "That's so cute!"

Rize lowered her hands from her face and looked away. Sure, it was cute for Cocoa but what about her? She was going to die of embarrassment if Syaro remembered everything.

And it had barely been a day. Who knew how much longer Syaro would remain a child? Rize was sure she'd end up saying a lot more embarrassing stuff if this went on for too long.

And it wasn't like she could avoid Syaro now. Syaro was weak and vulnerable right now. Rize had to stay by her side and protect her. No matter what.

Rize glanced at Chino as she walked up to Syaro. Rize wondered what Chino was going to say to her.

"Syaro-san. There's something I'd like to tell you."

Syaro looked up at Chino. "What do you want to say?"

"Two of my friends are coming over to meet you today. They called me a while back and asked if you were here. I told them that you were and so they said they'd come. They should be here soon."

Syaro tilted her head. "Why do they want to meet me?"

"Because they're your friends too. The three of us used to go to middle school together. That's why you know them."

Syaro's eyes widened. "Are Maya-san and Megu-san coming?"

Chino nodded. "You know about them?"

"Rize-san told me about them. She said we all went on a trip to the city together."

Chino smiled. "Well, they heard that you turned into a child. So... They want to come and see for themselves."

Syaro's eyes dropped to her lap. "Okay..."

Rize lifted an eyebrow. So Maya and Megu knew, huh? Chino probably told them. That was okay but...

She couldn't help but be worried about what Maya would do. She'd be excited for sure and Rize wasn't sure how Syaro would react to that. Would she be scared? Rize hoped Maya didn't accidentally make Syaro cry.

The door slammed open. Rize looked up to see who it was.

"We're here to visit Syaro!"

Cocoa smiled. "Maya-chan and Megu-chan. You're here."

Maya ran into the café, Megu quietly following after her. Maya ran up to Syaro and crouched before her. "Whoa. You really did shrink!"

Syaro immediately stiffened. "He-Hello."

Maya burst out laughing. "You're so meek. But you really shouldn't be so shy. It's me! Maya! Don't you remember me at all?"

Syaro shook her head. "No. I'm so-sorry."

"Oh, don't apologize. It's not your fault."

Maya jumped up. With a grin, she lifted Syaro off the chair and held her up. "Wow. You really are tiny. And so light too."

The look on Syaro's face morphed into one of fear. She turned her head to look at Rize, tears threatening to spill out.

Rize let out a sigh. Maya had managed to make Syaro cry in less than a minute.


Poor Syaro. Let's all hope she figures out how to deal with the overly excited Maya.

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