A/N: Well, I know I said I wouldn't update NBB, but since you didn't TOTALLY ditch me (heh) I'll post a short chappy, and make you wait until next chap to see Kaede as a Pretty. (Cruel, aren't I? –maniacal laugh-)
"Really?" Chiho squeaked, her eyes huge. "Really really?"
"Really really," Ruri said, studying our friend. "Uh, is she okay?"
"Yup," I cut in, quickly. "She's just…a little spazzy."
"Spazzy," Ruri repeated, laughing. "I like that word. Everyone here is like, 'sad-making! Happy-making! Nervous-making!' Nobody is original anymore." She shook her head. "We may not be brain damaged from surge, but I swear there's something wrong with the Pretties. Even I have my bubblehead moments."
I remembered the words of an old flame-kicker, Toshi. "Complaints. That's what the Mind Rain has given us. Complaints and fear."
And while I'd thought, 'yeah, and a brain,' I was beginning to see his point. This was weird, seeing a Pretty complain about living in the Big Face part of town. It was weird to meet someone who was at the top of the chain, yet still hated the Pretties. It was unnatural. There was something weird about Ruri, a Pretty though she was.
Very, very weird.
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There was an invisible boundary dividing Prettyville.
It went around the center of Prettyville, saving the middle for the highest-ranked people. And while all the buildings moved in the Big Face part of the city, in the middle the buildings changed color and shape, too. The inside never seemed to change, but the outside never repeated a single appearance. Only once had a building looked the same as its neighbor, and those two buildings were the Twin Towers, so of course they would. We passed mansions shaped like pyramids-normal and flipped- as well as rectangles, spheres, and other nameless shapes that looked more like oversized tree branches than buildings. And, or course, they all turned at the speed off an hour hand, just like all the other buildings in the Big Face part of the city.
Today, Valentino Mansion was double helix. It was black and red. The windows had designs on them, made to look like Rusty-style stained glass, but clear. It was pretty.
"Hey," Akako said suddenly. "Did that window just…change?"
"Yeah," Ruri nodded. They can be changed by the room's occupants. Although it's a bit of a pain, and it costs a stack of merits, we never have to bother with merit-grubbing." She laughed. "It comes with being a Pretty, I guess."
We nodded. The Reputation Economy could be a pain for us Sly Girls. But here, the residents loved the Reputation Economy and fed it regularly with their feed channels and high-tech gadgets. The world revolved around this place, and the residents knew that. It was like they believed it was the world's privilege to watch them, and it was bothersome for them.
Yeah, right. They were lapping up the attention.
"So," I said, realizing we'd stopped walking. "Can we go in?" I started walking up the stairs, towards the big front door of Valentino. I hesitated at the glowing golden door, waiting for the others to catch up. My hand hovered over the warm metal of the door's handle, waiting for them. I turned back to look at them over my shoulder. They were running, and Ruri was ahead of them, her tiny pigtails bouncing as she ran.
"Wait," Ruri said. "Don't touch the door handle!"
"Why not?" I demanded, playfully.
"Valentino is very protected. The residents have a password to get in, and only if you know the password can you touch the door without being shocked," Ruri explained. She reached towards a small black box mounted on the wall, which I hadn't noticed before. She entered a series of numbers and strange symbols so quickly, I could hardly see her hand moving.
The door clicked, and it glowed a little less strongly. "There you go," Ruri announced. She opened the door, gesturing for us to go in.
We entered, and I never even looked at the decorations, although I was sure it would be beautiful. I was busy.
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Yuki's POV
When Ruri let us in Valentino, we ran straight up the stairs without even glancing around.
"Room 1337, top floor," Ruri called from behind. "West wing! Good luck!"
"Bye," I heard Chiho shout behind her. "See ya around!"
Then we were almost flying up the stairs, eyes watering from the wind. We were traveling almost faster than when we were riding the hoverboards. Outside, the view gradually changed from buildings to stars. We could see a few Hot Airs (A/N: for anyone who didn't read Uglies, this is a hot air balloon clique.) floating around aimlessly, the bright balloons breaking apart the pattern of the dark night sky.
Then we were outside Kaede and Ruri's room. We paused in front of the black-painted door, staring at the shiny gold numbers, almost in disbelief.
Room 1337. This was it. Kaede was on the other side of the door.
We'd made it up thirteen flights of stairs, in record time. So why couldn't one of us make ourselves open the door?
A/N: 861 words. Not bad for a "short chappy" huh? (: