A/N: All right. From here on out I'm really going to try and get this plot rolling. For those who couldn't tell, I'm going to alternate the story for a while between the different points of view. Because of this, the chapters will most likely be a bit shorter than might be expected. I'd like to work on that too :) But, it should be updated more often. Please read and review! I need your comments to improve!

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It had been a long night.

The world may have changed, but the reality of it hadn't. Crime had been on the rise again, and the local task force had been working overtime to try and curb it. By the time she got home to go to sleep, it had been nearly time to get up and go to work again. The only thing currently keeping her vertical was either the exceedingly comfortable office chair she resided in, or the steaming hot coffee she had a death grip on.

Which was why Misaki was less than pleased to find her first scheduled activity for that morning was a one-on-one meeting with her boss. With a groan, she unseated herself from the perch she had just taken to trudge into an adjoining room.

She was even less pleased to find that the battle she had roused herself to fight was, annoyingly, one that she had already fought.

"Think about it, Kirihara. I know we talked about this before, but circumstances have changed. I think you should take another look at it." The burly man across from her pushed the folder back to her side of the table. She flipped it open with one hand, reading over the text again for what seemed like the thousandth time. Closing her eyes for a moment, the woman cursed the stubborn man for wasting her time.

"Sir, I don't see the point in this. I already refused this promotion once, not so long ago. I appreciate your intentions towards my career, and appreciate whatever kind thoughts made you think I deserve this. But, my situation hasn't changed so much. I still cannot accept this." He frowned, not reaching for the folder.

"I think things have changed quite a bit, Kirihara. Not only have you proven yourself to be a trustworthy and honorable officer, but you also now face the public eye." He shifted in his seat, coming forward to rest both elbows on his desk. "Think about it. You're Misaki Kirihara, the woman who stood up to her own boss, even facing her own death, to show the truth to the world. To the public, you're a hero! Someone in the system that they can trust to do what's right."

Ah. I see it now.

"And the department would like to play off of those feelings?" Misaki tried to keep her tone as light as possible. Though this conversation seemed to be more candid than some in the past, this topic of discussion was still dangerous. She would rather not be fired. Her boss laughed slightly, leaning back in his chair.

"I won't lie, Misaki. It would do the public image of this police department a great deal to have someone like you in the media limelight. Of course that plays a factor in this choice. But, believe me, it's not the only one. You've already been offered this promotion, remember? You have merit of your own without that."

She closed the folder firmly, passing it back across the table.

"I thank you for your kind words, sir. Still, I have to stick with my previous decision. The staff that I have right now is where I feel I should be for a while. I have no desire to change things up for a little bit." Her eyes apologetic, Misaki tried to convey her true feelings without seeming out of line. Her boss laughed, picking up the folder.

"I see you're convinced. Very well, then. You're dismissed." She rose with a bow, turning to face the door.

"Ah, just one thing." Stopped by the voice calling her back, Misaki glanced back to the man seated behind the desk.

"Sir?"

"You're going to have to accept this someday, Misaki. There's getting to be quite the buildup of junior officers waiting for promotions under you. I don't like a block in my career pathways." He winked, then waved her on. "That's it."

"Of course, sir." Resuming her path to the waiting door, Kirihara quietly exited and sped towards freedom.

"Finally!" The chair creaked alarmingly as Misaki returned to her office. The others in the room looked up from their paperwork, all infinitely curious. They knew she had been called away for an important meeting, and most of them had a good idea what the meeting was for. Still, none of them truly knew what her reaction would be to the news. None of them wanted to lose their leader, either.

Kirihara simply resumed her work as if nothing had happened. Even as she flipped open a case folder and began scribbling notes madly on a notepad, a deathly silence fell over the office. Yutaka moved over to perch himself on the corner of her desk, as if waiting for her to enlighten them. Instead, she merely fixed him with an icy glare.

"What do you want? My desk was just cleaned, you know." He clapped a hand to his chest, as if mortally wounded.

"Oh, so heartless, Ms. Kirihara. Us lowly grunts were merely wondering what you decided to work out with the supervisor." Misaki looked around at the others, who seemed to be very interested in their work without actually turning pages or writing notes.

"Well, if it's any business of yours, he offered me the promotion again." The others smiled.

"So, then, when do you get your new office?" Kirihara looked back to Yutaka, confused.

"What do you mean? I turned him down, of course." Waving one hand, she continued to scrawl notes across the notepad. "I know all of the cases involved with this position. With things going as they are, we can't afford to be training a new employee. Besides, I like it here. There's no reason for me to move up." This last statement was accompanied by a general facepalming of the staff.

"Kirihara...Of course we're glad that you're staying. Still, you're going to have to move up someday..." Saito interjected, glancing up from his work to stare her in the face. She shifted, uncomfortable with so much attention placed on her.

"I-I know that. But, someday doesn't have to be now. Don't you all have work to do, anyway?" With mutual grumbling, the office returned to a general state of productivity.

Her steps clattered hollowly in the deserted hallway. The Astrological Department was barely lit, only natural light leading the way through a large set of double doors to the main planetarium. As always, Misaki was taken aback by the sheer size of the operation. A row of green-lit tanks held the Dolls used by their organization, with a matching bank of computers equipped to interpret the information gathered.

The main focus of attention, though, was the ancient woman standing on the main podium. Attached to numerous cables and with the night sky displayed all around her, she seemed to radiate the aura of mystery that surrounded the place.

"Misaki! I didn't hear you come in!" The crisp voice pulled her out of her reverie. The leader of the Astrological staff came out from behind the bank of computers, smiling widely. It was no secret that the two of them had been friends since their school days, and the astronomer seemed to need no reason to skip on a few minutes of her work.

"Sorry, Kanami. I know this is sudden of me to come in." Kanami Ishizaki shook her head, her ponytail sending cascades of hair bouncing.

"That's not a problem, and you know it. Only, don't you have work of your own to do? It's rare to see you doing something else. What are you here for, anyway?" Misaki sighed, rubbing her forehead with one hand.

"It's not that long before closing. I got off work a few minutes early to come down here. And, I wouldn't be here except for you forgot to send me a report on the activities this week." She adopted a lecturing tone, leaning forward slightly. Kanami went pale, grinning slightly.

"O-Oh, yeah. I knew there was something I forgot to send you. Let me just pull it up real quick." She returned to the bank of computers, typing with the speed of years of practice. "Still, did you really need to come all the way out here just for that? That's what you have a liaison for, right? You're going to drive poor Mayu out of a job." The astronomer pulled a sheaf of papers out of the printer, passing them over to Kirihara.

"Well, there's also something I wanted to check." Misaki moved closer to one of the tanks, using the pale green light illuminating one of the Dolls to read the printout. "It's hard to tell from one side of the data, but I get a strange feeling about some of the activity lately. Figured I could come down and check it out since I've got a few minutes." Ishizaki took her wrist, pulling her into a side office. Once inside, she flicked on a light. Misaki winced, blinking once or twice at the sudden flood of light.

"So. What's up." Kanami seated herself at a long table, slinging her wrists lazily over the arms. Misaki spread out the reports on the table, adding in a few she had brought from the office with her. Highlighting a few important lines, Misaki took a chair across from her friend.

"It may be nothing. Still, I've noticed that in general the frequency of Contractor incidents has decreased. Would you agree with this?" Kanami closed her eyes for a moment, as if running numbers through her head. Nodding, she looked back to Kirihara.

"Yeah. We haven't seen nearly so much activity in the stars in recent days than before the Solar Maximum. Many fewer shooting stars, as well. What do you expect to make out of that, though?" Her voice was tinged with obvious skepticism. Misaki shrugged.

"Well, we've had basically zero instances of normal people reporting incidents with Contractors. I would argue that any cases of activity that we've seen have been Contractors fighting amongst themselves. That isn't that unusual; They've done that all along. But, everything feels very...I'm not sure what the right word is. It's like they're testing the depths." She pressed a thumb into her temple before looking back to the notes. "To be perfectly honest, it reminds me of when you're in the first stages of gang warfare in a new town. Some grandstanding, but mostly an awkward shuffling of power."

Kanami nodded, shuffling papers back into some semblance of order. She seemed to be thinking as she did so, perfectly silent. Misaki waited patiently, equally unmoving. Finally, Ishizaki tapped the papers on the desk to straighten them, and looked back into her friend's eyes.

"That would make sense. From what we've seen, most of the major players in the Contractor's organizations have been taken out. UB-001, the leader of the EPR, fell during the Solar Maximum. HM-432, a member of the Syndicate, and your English friend are gone as well. Not to mention the hundreds of Contractors that fell in the fight." Misaki nodded, her throat tightening. The loss of November 11 still weighed on her hard. Kanami continued, unnoticing.

"Those that didn't fall, are in hiding. The other M16 operative and BK-201 have been perfectly silent since the Solar Maximum. With all of this, we've seen a record number of new stars showing activity. Even though in the grand scheme of things there's been very little movement on the part of the Contractors, those who are acting are new players who we don't know anything about." Misaki nodded.

"They're reorganizing." She whispered. "Forming up new organizations out of the shambles of the old. But, what agendas do they have to cause the divisions?"