*Nosebleed* Kazu and Riley Black Friendship

It's been a while since I've been to a church. Kazumi thought. Carter's Church was such a beautiful church, too. I wonder why I don't come here more often... Kazumi got up from the pew and walked over to one of the stained glass windows. She gently traced the lines with her fingers and studied the colors and designs. It truly was a work of art. Kazumi couldn't help but smile at it. The bright sunlight reflected through these windows and bathed the floor and Kazumi's body in colored light.

Riley was never a religious person, but now that she was here that changed. Once she met a man with red hair here that said the church was a place to remember and to hope, and she went there to hope nowadays. She hoped she'd get her old life back. She hoped her father would be nicer. She hoped that she could live her dream of being a fashion designer.

Most of the time when she found herself coming to the church she was alone. This time wasn't exactly the case though. To her surprise a young woman was there. Already she could feel her 'dress up instinct' kick in. The girl was adorable and that was enough to send Riley reeling. "Hello," she said warmly. "You're really cute. I mean really cute."

"Ah!' Kazumi gasped. The voice of the lovely young woman standing at the door had surprised her. The woman had complimented her by calling her cute. Being raised a humble farm girl and not getting compliments often, Kazumi felt her face turn beat red and her ears turn hot. "AH! N-no! I'm not all that cute! I mean, thank you very much for such an amazing compliment but I'm afraid I'm just a simple-looking girl! Oh! but i'm being rude! My name is Kazumi Martin."

It was almost too much for Riley--even how the girl acted was adorable. The surprised expression on her face nearly sent Riley bonkers, but then how the brunette tried to deny it only added to the cuteness. If Riley didn't get a hold of herself, she'd go insane. But the girl had to be the cutest person she's seen so far.

"I am Riley Berkley," she introduced herself likewise. "I'm a tailor that has been studying fashion my whole life. And trust me--I know cute. Simplicity is the cutest thing ever these days." The urge to squeal with delight was at an all time maximum. "Uhh~! I mean I never suspected to meet such a cutie all the way out here~."

['Uhh~!' = Riley's squeal.]

Kazumi blushed even harder until her whole face had turned as scarlet as Miss Scarlet's red evening gown. "N-nice to meet you, Miss Riley." Kazumi said trying to hide her embarrassment. Personally, Kazumi felt she had no right to be called "cute." If anything, this Riley person was very attractive herself, and she was a tailor no less! This woman could be a model if she wanted. "I'm--um, I'm a farmer." Kazu said trying to collect her herself. "I own a farmm in Fore-get-me-not Valley."

A cute name, a cute face, a cute outfit, a cute personality, and a cute way of talking. When she became a famous designer she had to use this girl to wear her clothes, well, the ones meant to be for cute people. She didn't quite have the body to wear edgy outfits. Cute was the way to go clothing wise for Kazumi.

"I'm happy that I got to meet you too," chimed the happy tailor. Pushing away her bangs she smiled generously as she began to speak. "I'd never picture such a cutie to be a farmer," admitted Riley. "A diamond in the rough, as the expression goes, I guess. Do you do all the work yourself?"

Kazumi giggled. "Yes! I do!" She said happily. It always made her happy to talk about her farm. "I was my father's farm until he died. Then it was passed onto me. I've been working there since I was very young." Kazumi placed some hair behind her ear and walked over to a pew. She gently traced the carved wood with her fingers. "So, you design clothes? That's amazing! I bet you're really good at it too! I'd like to see your clothes sometime if it's not too much trou-" Kazu stopped herself. Saying something like that seemed to be too rude, especially since they had just met.

Riley couldn't believe how happy the girl seemed to be when she talked about her father and how she worked on it since she was young. Part of her wondered if she wanted that dream from the start or sort of was forced into it. She did seem rather young still, so Riley guessed her mother was out of the picture or the sickly kind of woman. It must have been a hard life and Riley couldn't help but want to run up to the girl in her designer shoes and hug her babbling about how strong she must be. Surprisingly, she held this instinct back and as soon as Kazumi mentioned clothing her eyes grew big.

"Don't stop yourself!" exclaimed Riley already thinking ideas for clothing for Kazumi instead of herself. "Big Sister Riley will be more than happy to show you some clothes anytime." With a squeal of delight, "I can already picture you in a floral pink dress with a simply, yet sweet headband."

[That's right, Kazu just got a big sister. *bro-snap*]

Kazumi smiled and continued what she was saying. "I'd really like to see your clothes designs." She finished. "They sound wonderful." Riley then refereed to herself as "big sister," which made Kazumi giggle. "Does this mean I call you 'Onee-san', now?" she asked. "It's Japanese for 'big sister.'" Kazu had wanted a female companion for a while. She hadn't really had one since Kitty moved with her husband to the city. She missed Kitty, but still wrote and sent her letters. She was glad her friend was doing well. Although, it was time she met someone else.

Nothing could make Riley any happier than Kazu telling her that she'd really like to see her clothes designs and that she was willing to call her big sister. Riley had always been an only child, so it'd be interesting to have someone to call sister, even if they weren't related through family at all. She liked that about Kazu, otherwise if she was related to her, the sweet girl could end up like her parents: distant or just jerks.

"You know Japanese?" commented Riley making some small talk. "Me, je sais un peu de français, or I know a little french myself. Did you teach yourself or were taught in school like me?"