A/N: Here it is! I have not yet written the next chapter, but I will still try to update in two weeks. No promises this time 'round, though. I'm really, really busy and I'm not sure if I'll be ablse to find both the time and inspiration to write. Also, I know it may seem like there's a lot of Saaya going around right now, but I just needed to set this up. She shouldn't be quite so prevalent later on in the story.
Addendum: For some reason, I don't think this chapter was showing up yesterday? I'm reuploading it to see if that works. Fingers crossed!
Brainstorm
Saaya was excited. Ever since her run-in with the Ice Princess the day before, she had been in a terrible funk. In some ways this was fortunate because whenever she got in that mood she would spend a lot of her time thinking. And with the amount of time she devoted to thinking, she was struck by the most brilliant idea.
She was a genius.
The excitement and feeling of accomplishment served to blow whatever doubts about herself she'd been starting to have right out of the water.
Everyone would see. She was brilliant and talented and perfect for Tadase. She would show them. She would show them all.
"Um, Yamabuki-senpai?" a voice said, interrupting her from her rather maniacal thoughts. Saaya's focus snapped back to the present, which happened to include a short, chestnut haired boy with big grey eyes and even bigger glasses.
She cleared her throat, not bothering to feel self-conscious. "Ah. Suzuki-kun," she said brightly. The boy, one freshman by the name of Seiichiro Suzuki, continued to stare at her in trepidation.
"You… wanted to speak to me?" he said carefully. Saaya had all but dragged him away from the music room regardless of his loud protests. And then she just smiled triumphantly at him until her eyes took on a faraway look. He was a little concerned for his well-being.
"Ah yes," she said exuberantly. "Would you like to earn money and popularity, Suzuki-kun?"
Seiichiro eyed her warily. "What's the catch?" he asked.
"It's not a 'catch', but I'll need your help to get the money and popularity," Saaya said breezily.
He regarded her for a moment. "Alright, let's hear it."
-lll-
The idea went something like this.
Economy, as far as Saaya knew, revolved around supply and demand. Where there was a demand, eventually you would find some smart person with a supply—for a fee, of course.
And Saaya had realised that there was a huge, unfulfilled desire at their school; a potential goldmine. Almost everyone in the school wanted desperately to see the Powers again; and the few that weren't rabid fans of one Power or another were insanely curious as to how they interacted, given their explicit hatred of each other.
Saaya had stumbled across this brainwave while pining for Tadase. If she would pay to re-immerse herself in the comforting cloud of being a fangirl, then how many others would cough up for the same reason?
She had her demand.
From there she had to work out how she could provide a supply, and how best to capitalise on it. It was probably illegal, but it wasn't like she was hurting anyone. To the contrary, this would probably help the entire school. Teachers wouldn't have any more riots on their hands, after all, for which they would be eternally grateful for.
She could stalk them and take pictures of the Powers to sell to the student body but that felt… inefficient. Even though it was practically traditional.
No. Others would get the same idea, and her market would be ruined.
What she needed was…
-lll-
"You want me to install security cameras into Room 9?!" he yelled. Sayaa immediately clasped a hand over his mouth and made a shushing noise, eyes darting around franticly.
"Shh," she repeated, just in case. "I know that it's genius, and it's kinda weird that no one else thought of it, but you don't have to be so loud."
She released him when he made a muffled noise against the palm of her hand. He tried not to stare at her like she was crazy, but he didn't think it was working.
Seiichiro cleared his throat. "Right. So… you want to film the Powers without their permission and then sell the videos to the rest of the school."
"Exactly." Saaya smiled at him sunnily.
"And what do you think will happen when they find out?!" he shrieked, seemingly unable to keep his voice from rising.
She shrugged, unconcerned. "They'll be in that room with each other. They wouldn't do anything stupid or personal or anything if the rest of them are there."
Seiichiro stared at her. "What, you think the Snake will thank you and shake your hand or something once he knows?"
A muscle in Saaya's cheek twitched. "Look," she said with a tone of finality, "either you're in or you're not. Nobody else has to know you helped, if that's what you're worried about—you'll just get a cut of the money."
He bit his lip, contemplating the offer. "…How much of a cut?"
"Ten percent," she said.
He laughed outright. "You want me to install the cameras and edit all the footage and manage all the technical stuff for ten percent? I want at least eighty."
It took some arguing, but eventually they settled on a fifty-fifty even split.
-lll-
On Tuesday afternoon, they gathered the supplies.
Early Wednesday morning, they planted the cameras in the room and tested their equipment.
Wednesday afternoon, they argued over whether or not they should include the Witch's sudden demand for tutoring in the truncated video they were working on. Saaya voted yes (drama sells, Suzuki-kun! The great Sassy Witch asks for help. They'll eat this up) and Seiichiro voted no (she's not with the other Powers, Yamabuki-senpai. I'm not comfortable with this—this is private).
In the end, Seiichiro won. He was the one who actually knew how to edit the footage, after all.
Saaya conceded before narrowing her eyes and smiling like a shark. "Teach me?" she asked saccharinely.
He sighed. It wasn't like he was going to have much of a choice.
