Running a Village... Into the ground.

It was a heavy sigh, not one of resignation but one of acceptance as Kai looked over his desk again. Setsuna's was clean so his could be this messy in a strong contrast to hers. It made his eyes water as he eyed the inbox on his desk. Its contents overflowing in a stack twice as tall as the box itself. He didn't want to do it. Like at all. Still there was much to do when running a village. Invoices, vouchers, billing, taxation, grants, levies, zoning. And that wasn't even all of the military stuff that Setsuna handled herself.

"I need a damn secretary." Kai mused running a hand through his loose crimson hair and signing off on the last parts of building contract for residential areas. Not barracks, that was all Setsuna's call, like apartments and houses. Right now there were a lot more fighting men and women in Honegakure than there were book-keepers and bean counters, the ratio was reversed from most villages, there usually being about thirty to forty bureaucrats to one trained Shinobi.

The paper landed on one of several outboxes, each labeled to go to their independent handling offices. A kid would come in and take them in an envelope to the office, and usually drop off another inch of paperwork in his box. However as full as his inbox was his outboxes were equally full. Pushing back from his huge desk Kai put his feet up on it and decided now was the perfect time for a breather, and a drink and a smoke, and a quickie but he doubted that unless a gorgeous woman walked into his office right now, he would settle for a scotch on ice, a pack of Land of Fire Longs, and the open window.

That was the great thing about his office, Kai thought as he pulled open a desk drawer and pulled out a glass, a bottle, a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. The window behind him, that of his office had the same view as Setsuna's Office only ten or so feet lower. As his office was directly under hers, by of course her assignment. He'd heard of keeping someone under their heel, but this was taking it a little to far for him, but with the huge office space and wonderful view Kai really had no reason to complain.

The ice was kept in a separate drawer's special ice maker. It made a huge cube of ice for meant for drinks like his Land of Water old vintage Scotch, he would add one of the massive cubes before pouring the beverage of choice over it and return the bottle to his drawer. After a short ship to take the edge off the young man quickly pulled a deathstick from its package with his lips and lit it with a quick flick of his wrist with the lighter. A few puffs later and he was in relaxation Heaven.

There were few things that could make this moment better, the warm sun on his back, a smoke, and a nice sipping drink to relax to before killing off the last of his paperwork.

And suddenly, with a quick swoop, one of those things was missing as a body blocked out the sun filtering in through the window. Once Kai turned to address his surprise visitor he'd find Setsuna sitting wordlessly upon the sill, her legs crossed as she eyed him with an expression somewhere between amusement and stern disappointment. She remained silent, waiting patiently for Kai to take the first words.

Kai blinked for a moment as if surprised by his bosses sudden arrival. She was a Shinobi, as most who viewed her Voluptuous body commonly forgot, to Kai such a thing was a reminder that she was a damn good Shinobi. "Oh Hi boss." He noted raising his glass to her while looking nonchalantly over his shoulder at what w as possibly the most powerful single woman in the world. "Drink?" He asked more as though he was picking up a date at a bar than addressing his boss.

Of course he had business for her but he wanted to be pleasant and offer her all of the comforts he had. "It's a 238 Land of Water Black Label Scotch. Very smooth." She looked comfortable enough in his window, so he wouldn't offer her a seat, and he wasn't even sure he'd ever seen her smoke, so he'd let her ask if she wanted one.

"Only a little business." He added. "The Aizawa Clan wants more re-zoning done, it would expand their territory to include the largest park in the village. I've told them to take a hike but they wont take 'No' from a..." He cleared his throat to remember the exact words. "Paper pushing Monkey. They're acting incensed, but really they're just trying to grab as much land as quickly as possible. You might want to think about setting an example for them." Really he was trying to say "Make an Example of them." The tone was there but playing politician had really skewed his words.

"I suppose..." Setsuna gave a nonchalant wave of her hand as he offered her a drink. "Thank you. Let's not waste too much time on formalities and getting comfortable, however. We both still have a lot of work to do before the evening comes to a close." Her eyes fell upon the stack of paperwork still standing proudly in his incoming pile awaiting his attention.

She waited quietly, her hand thoughtfully held under her chin as he explained the current order of business to be discussed. She didn't speak until it appeared as though he'd finished.

"Yes... I can't very well give them the entire area they desire. I may have to make a personal appointment to settle this matter, it seems. How troublesome..."

Kai's hands would work quickly to pour the lovely lady a drink, complete with ice. He would serve it up to the woman with his own reply. "Yes paperwork seems to be the order of the week." He looked at the desk. "Remember when we were spies, saboteurs and assassins?" It was a rhetorical question, with a whimsical attitude he usually took about such serious things.

"They gave me times for a meeting, but by all means drop by when it is least beneficial for them," Kai removed the cigarette from his mouth and took a sip of the scotch, raising his own glass to Setsuna before imbibing, "Just to give them a subliminal reminder who runs this village."

Considering what was in his out boxes were nearly to the brim. It wasn't as though Kai was slacking off at all. Just now, when his boss happened to show up. "Oh I almost forgot, The Jounin Association wanted you to be present for the team selection meetings. They would like the opinion of the Commander and Chief about organization and who should teach teams of Genin the ropes and who should do the heavy duty." It was a military matter but since it was submitted through the Jounin Association Kai had to pass it up through his routes of communication. Being a bureaucrat was a pain in the ass.

"What are you doing for dinner tonight?" Kai asked looking back up to his superior. He couldn't let a work-o-holic like her go hungry, not when all of the fledgling village required her strength, or at least the appearance of her strength. Not that he wanted to pick up his boss... or did he?

"Forgive me for saying so, but you're lacking some perspective here...." Following the vocal intrusion, the sound of wood tapping to the floor resonated through the office, and a moment after a figure full in white made use of the door. Less showy than a window, but a viable entrance nonethless. "You want to respond to land claims and desperate grabs with an affront? While I won't bat aside the value of exerting your position over others, I might have hoped you would understand where they're coming from and why this is such an issue for them."

"This is not a grab for power, not exactly. This as an attempt to reclaim power, power they sacrificed leaving their homes behind for Honegakure. Their land claims, their titles, their political ties, and some even their family ties. Of course, I am no longer talking specifically of the Aizawa Clan. They are one of many. But these are but some of the sacrifices people have made to support your vision. Treating them as your lessers, expressing your position over them....that sends a message that you do not appreciate what they've done."

Akemi shifted the position of his staff now, folding his hands over the top and resting his chin upon his knuckles. Relaxing what was a normally stiff posture, he offered the pair of shinobi a smile before he continued to speak."If you are to address them, do not go to any one clan directly. Certainly not to crush their hopes and offend them. If you want to display your position above them, you call the heads of -every- family together. Address them with formality, treat them politely, and give them a clear explanation of Honegakure's state. Hear their requests, claims, and reasoning and let these be heard by the others. They are not without compassion, and they are intelligent men, not children, they will understand and mediate with one another for the good of the village."

"There are countless things we haven't addressed yet. I've had my own duties to attend to in the village after all. I've volunteered what time I can to helping the academy- still short staffed I'm afraid-- and met with officials from the other villages regularly to assure them that our allegiance lay with no other, but could with theirs to ensure a steady truce with all of them while we settle." Akemi Kaguya took in a breath, lifting his chin from his hands and finally getting down to his point. "Five years have passed since you formed this village and recently it has been seen as a threat and perhaps an equal to the others. This status leaves us with a number of important tasks to deal with. Combining this with the note of Jounin and their future charges, resources would be put to good use on an assembly hall and a stadium for exams down the line---if not this year. While I would hate to rush, our unique position makes hosting the exams for each village a viable option---one which would drastically increase the wealth, status, and well-being of our village. As it stands, we could even encourage them to allow our hosting it every year." He finished with a nod of his head to the duo and would follow it up by making note of the situation. "Is this joint business, or are you making plans? I would hate to impose."

Kai raised an eyebrow, in the few years since he'd been here, he'd only had a passing impression of Akemi. The man had a way with words, and playing emotions, it was detestable but it was a necessary evil. Kai preferred numbers and statistics to passions and emotional games. In the end emotional people make bad choices, it was a game as old as time and that was Akemi's appeal here, yet Kai was unswayed. "We have all sacrificed to be here, and it's not a contest of who sacrificed more so who deserves more, but it's a choice we all made to push forward into the unknown together behind Setsuna." Kai took a pull and motioned back towards Setsuna, "Everyone set aside everything to follow Our Lady here, So she is above us all, because we chose to put her there." Kai didn't even exhale just spat smoke and words as though he was breathing the fire of logic at the Kaguya.

"Please have a seat." Kai motioned to a comfortable looking chair in front of his desk, he wanted Akemi to get comfortable because he was only getting warmed up.

"Above and beyond that, the Aizawa clan has systematically pushed for expansion of their territory through every way you could imagine, I'm half surprised they haven't taken to bullying their neighbors out of their territory. Then again, the Hyuuga and Yuki Clans are tough neighbors. They've tried three different methods of re-zoning expansion all of which crossed my desk all of which I've rejected on the grounds that they're trying to push into Public lands set aside for Recreation and Beautification or Commercial lands set aside for expansion of commerce and both currently in development, by order of the Honekage." Kai again motioned back over his shoulder again to Setsuna. "It's my professional opinion that a personal touch should be used on this one, the military 'praise in public and discipline in private' applies here so that the Clan can just as easily save face, without being called out in front of all the other clans."

"Officially my office has no position on Military matters," Kai deftly removed the cigarette from his mouth with one hand and snatched up his drinking glass and took a long sip. "Unofficially, We have expansion of the Academy grounds to include a stadium and advanced training grounds in the plans for the village, they are huge expenses that fall behind defense and infrastructure. However they are there. Politically, hosting a Chunnin Exam or even more so a meeting of the Big Five requires a level of defense preparedness that this Village doesn't yet have, sure two thirds of the population are trained Shinobi, but we have to settle things here first and display a level of stability before any will send us their young impressionable people."

"Would you care for a drink as well Akemi?" Kai asked pulling the bottle from his desk drawer and another glass with it. He would have to find another source of fine booze if he kept having high level visitors when he was having drinks. "And as far as dinner is concerned, If Saizuki-sama doesn't mind then I don't so long as you can afford to stomach my cooking."

"I will stand, but I appreciate the gesture. I can tell you are winded up for an exchange, and I'm more than happy to stay level when I restate my thesis. -You are lacking some perspective-." He cleared his throat, having allowed Kai to come to a close before he addressed those parts of his advise to Setsuna that remained very real.
"I made sure to point out that the Aizawa Clan was not a specific case I was bringing up, because these are problems and struggles that rise between each of the clans and not simply that one with the others. I vocalized that to ensure you did not assume I was taking their side and supporting their claims. My entire point was that each clan's head needs assembled together with Setsuna overseeing so that their claims could be addressed and formally brought to light before the others. Understanding the intentions and actions of one another while facing the scrutiny of their Kage would go a long way."

"What I understand is people, and I have personally spoken with each of the heads of these families in my time here. Some of whom I join for dinner and others I meet for tea and talks that cover anything from philosophy to their children's studies. They will be considered 'founders' alongside the Honekage in this village when it has matured. Their children will be the most widely recognizable names among our people in generations to come. They're attempting to spread their reach because they want to further cement their position in the village. They want to expand their land claims, their comfort, and in general they want to ensure that their family is held above the others. A proud but hardly comforting thought. In their position they look out for the well-being of their own though. -That- is what you need to see and understand. They're not reaching to bully, and they're certainly not doing it to inspire aggression in a village that carries its fair share of development concerns already."

"So the objective stands as I have put it out for you. Assemble them all. Cast no blame, remain polite, and keep it formal. When they begin to see eachother as equals, they will begin to ease on their demands. When they understand the plight of the others, they will be more amicable with the decisions put forth, and when everyone is heard, they may find it in themselves to encourage and support the growth of the other families where their own do not necessarily -need- it. I am not suggesting that this is a sure thing, but I know it will be an uplifting experience for many of them, even if others fail to realize the plight of the other families there are those who will and their bonds will make us stronger as a whole for it."

Akemi sighed at the close of his claim, lifting his staff to knock the tip against his own skull for a moment. "And unfortunately you remind me that for as much as I know about the state of our village in the eyes of others, I am not totally familiar with the extent of our defenses. Since my departure from Konoha, I have not been involved with any conversations pertaining to personnel and defensive preparations. I fear my reputation and stance on peace have made me more useful as an ambassador than a shinobi these days." His free hand rose, waving off the offer of a drink. "Thank you, but I do not imbibe. A pity that I've already missed the plans put forth on the stadium and training grounds though." He gave a chuckle then, breaking what had been a streak of distant, even melancholy gestures. "Hopeful optimism though. The chatter from the other villages made the concept a bit more flowery in my head. Even should we not host it this year, next year, or a decade from now, it will be good for us to have Genin to take part in the exams. Better if we could send one to finish the tournament on top"

Akemi's eyes now lightened significantly, taking to the less serous aspects of the exchange as they were brought forth. "I handled the majority of my younger years eating the rations provided for extended missions in Konoha. You yourself might recall that it would take an extraordinary amount of effort to find something so disagreeable as that- let alone make it."

As the two men spoke back and forth about their different ideals and means for dealing with an end, Setsuna remained quietly eavesdropping on their conversation that no longer involved her, occasionally taking a short sip of her drink. It was as Kai offered dinner to Akemi and he appeared to accept, however, that she once again injected herself into the mix.

"Very well. How about I invite Natsume and we make a double date of it?" She shrugged nonchalantly despite simply attempting to push a fourth body for Kai to feed. She was well aware that he could handle it, however. Kai was a seasoned chef despite speaking down about his culinary skills. She wouldn't eat his food if it was awful. She'd just tell him it was awful.

"As for the matter at hand, it will be handled. I have my own plan of action that I believe will work well. In the meantime, there's still paperwork to be done before dinner can even be further discussed." At that, Setsuna nodded toward the pile of papers stll waiting to be addressed and sorted for the day. "Don't mind me. My paperwork is already completed for the day."

"The more the merrier." Kai responded eagerly to Setsuna's invitation of Natsume to his little dinner get together. His free hand quickly returning the bottle and glass to their previous staging areas. As far as his skills as a chef was concerned, it was through those same Field Rations that Konoha provided that Kai had learned to make an edible meal. His skills had flourished sine then. It was said that as far as food was concerned that Kai could make the impossible possible. Even more so now since he had a selection of the best cuts of meat and produce in the village.

As for the Aizawa clan, enough was enough. Setsuna had already made up her mind, so it was the end of that conversation, he'd taken this position to help Setsuna manage the village. As much as the job was a pain, someone had to do the job. It was his choice to follow such a strong leader as Setsuna, and he would follow her lead.

Speaking of which, Kai took his feet off his desk and scooted his chair closer to it, hand dusting off where his feet had been, though they left no mess. It was a habit left over from when the walk up to the Honekage's building was unpaved and he tracked dirt in with him. He prepared his pen, and inkwell, Kai wasn't a fan of ball-point pens believing they had no real character, and required no real skill to write proficiently. And because of his preference Kai seemed to write more quickly.

The extra company wouldn't bother him, the exact opposite was true, if they decided to stay and chat in his office it would add a better atmosphere. He would be quick to read the proposals, double checking the details and reports, making important cliff notes as he went and either accept them, deny them or simply sign off on them for record keeping sake. He wasn't going to meddle in the affairs of those under him, through the reports, he would place limits and deadlines on them, but finding the proper solution within those deadlines and limits was up to that particular subordinate. Through this the paperwork would pass relatively quickly. Again it was a boring job but someone had to do it.

Akemi wasn't one to kick a dead horse, so the close of their conversation and the change of their topic was the end of it. He had no desire to dwell on matters the Honekage had sorted out for herself somewhere between or beyond their own prattling. While he was quick to offer her advice while the village had been forming, he couldn't help but notice that her way of doing things would never quite mesh with his own. It might benefit from it, but it was never going to be an exact match. A comfort more than a woe though....He was no infallible entity and he was bound to make mistakes. That his own decisions and advisions were to be dismissed from time to time was a reminder of such and a greater comfort than blind acceptance could ever be.

"My my, quite the load of work left ahead of you. I suppose in my drawing away from traditional shinobi practices I can take comfort in knowing that I am not tending relentlessly to paper." He chuckled at the thought, placing his arms behind his back while he gave the room a cursory glance...seeming to ponder something of his own for the time being.

"He takes far too many breaks," Setsuna responded with a small, mirthful chuckle to Akemi's comment about Kai's remaining workload. "I've been going too easy on him now that the village is beginning to grow and properly develop. I'm afraid he's gotten soft on me..." And at that, she tsked with a slow shake of her head.

Kai wasn't so busy with paperwork that he couldn't hear the conversation going on over his head. "I would Volunteer for field work, but then I know that I'd have to sort out whatever mess my replacement made in my wake along with my regular work." Kai made note to the conversation signing off a thick stack of papers and passing them into the agriculture box. The paper in question was sustainable irrigation practices, he'd already met with the Farmers Guild and worked out the details with them. He signed another one off, on funding for applied Sciences, handled by a woman whose reputation proceeded her.

It wasn't too much longer and Kai was done. The pile in the Inbox now completely gone, the copious piles high in each of the out boxes showed the completion of his work. Kai balled his hand into a fist as if trying to push away the soreness of writing so much. He'd been at this a few years now, and it seemed like more and more that each of these different boxes on his desk should have their own Minister or Czar. He would have to talk to Setsuna about that later, as the village expanded his role would have to be expanded as well.

Still the sun was getting any higher now. "Shall we reconvene at my humble Abode?" Kai asked the guests in his office.

"I've doubts everyone in the village is that incompetent. There are plenty studious shinobi with a mind for these sort of regulations and many more you could assign strict guidelines to in your absence. I suppose matters of trust are hard dealt with in cases so pressing though." When the work was taken care of, Akemi eased up to his feet and gave his outfit a quick dust off before offering up his response. "Lead the way."

"Very well," Setsuna hopped up from her position on the windowsill to instead stand atop the surface on her toes in a crouched position half out the window. It seemed to be time to move on. "I'll fetch Natsume and meet you at your home." And at that she took a dive backward straight out the window. She'd give herself a head start with the more unconventional route since she was the only one of the three of them with a stop along the way. If she moved really quickly and Natsume wasn't doing anything at the time it was likely they'd even manage to beat Kai to his own home if he and Akemi took their time!

Kai stood up as Setsuna left his office, stretching out his body that had been stuck in it's chair for the last few hours. He'd only taken a few breaks, and did a lap around the building when he'd gone for lunch other than that he'd been in his office since sunrise this morning. With a quick motion of his head Kai popped his neck, and let out a groan of mixed pleasure and pain.

Moving to his door seemed to push all of the ache of sitting so long out of the way. He pulled the door open for Akemi, and allowed the man to pass first hitting the lights on the way out. The buildings secretary would come through and close the windows and lock the doors.

Kai's humble abode was anything but: Recently finished, Four stories taking up most of twelve acres in the middle of the village, built atop a rise in the ground, a manner named "Hill Top Home" Of course he'd chosen the land himself, and bought the place with the money he'd taken from the Konoha Jounin's association and what Setsuna had paid him.

At the door Setsuna would be greeted by a good looking young man, in nice clothing, bidding the Honekage and her Sister into the home of Uzumaki Kai. His name was Jacob and he would take the pair to a lounge to wait for Kai and Akemi offering the Ladies a drink while they waited for Kai to return home.

The two men wouldn't be that far behind.

Kai would hand off his cloak Jacob before showing himself into the Bar. "Have you ladies thought over what you'd like for dinner? Perhaps Seafood? I just had lobster delivered from the Land of Waves. I'd heard good things about it, and wanted to try it out."