This was probably the worst part of the Keukage's job. The pile of papers was shrinking fast, but it was still massive. He didn't even want to think about how long this would be taking if he hadn't invented a jutsu for it. Vox chuckled, wondering if any other kage had ever come up with a jutsu solely for being stuck behind a desk. Maybe he was the first.

His eyes scanned across page after page, barely seeming to move. His pupils had dilated to take up almost his entire eye, making it hard for an onlooker to tell what he was looking at. His hands were moving quick enough to be seen as blurs, and he had to weigh down all the stacks of paper so the air currents from his movements didn't blow them away. He'd scrounged up all the paperweights he could, but he was still a couple short. A few of the stacks had knives resting on top of them as improvised weights.

Vox had gotten so caught up in trying to get all this crap done that he'd completely lost track of time. His ANBU captain was scheduled to drop by for a meeting, but he was off in his own little world. He hadn't checked the clock since he'd started, and unbeknownst to him it was just about time for her report.

Jutsu Used:

She walks up to his office, knowing that he has probably forgotten. "Well, the paper work sure has gotten extreme since the last Keukage left, even for me." She sighed as she approached the door. She smirked as she slowly opened it, trying not to alert him that she had arrived. She attempted to slowly make her way around, before standing over his shoulder. "Busy are we?"

Vox looked up when he heard a voice. The Captain's here already? She isn't due until... he looked at the clock. Three minutes ago. Crap. He set the pen down and started to wind down the jutsu. His arms fell to his sides, worn out from the speed they'd been going, and his pupils started to shrink back to their normal size.

"Captain, I'd lost track of the time. Please, have a seat." He gestured to the chair across from him. The paperwork could wait. He'd been getting close to this jutsu's limit anyway, he'd need almost an hour to rest up before starting again. In the meantime, there was other kage business to attend to. "I'd ask for good news, but that hasn't been the trend lately. What have you got?" He steepled his fingers, not showing any discomfort from his exertion. He had to put on a strong face for the troops.

She smirked as she walked over to the chair, taking her seat. "Well, the good news is that I'm back up to full strength. The bad news is that we don't have many shinobi at the moment so we need to strictly train the ones that we got." She sighed as she moved her hair out of her face. "I know you have that pupil of yours. I was wondering if I should take a pupil or even a whole team to train as the elite fighting force that we need." She looked over him, trying to decipher the reaction before he could reply.

Vox nodded, frowning. They had been a bit understaffed lately. Recruitment wasn't as easy here as it had been in his homeland. The ninja world operated more on personal skill than on weapons, it took years to train someone to an acceptable level. He had been considering trying to recruit refugees from Raiugakure, but there was really no tactful way to do that, especially so soon after their village had been destroyed.

She did have a point though. While they were lacking on quantity, they could make up the difference in quantity. "I've been putting together a team, actually. A puppet user, a swordsman, and a ninkenjutsu user. They're each pretty good on their own, but I have yet to test their teamwork." That part worried him a bit. Han was a good soldier, but he could fly off the handle sometimes. It had yet to be seen whether a team would calm that down or make that worse. Kenji wasn't much of a concern, but Yuuki seemed potentially dangerous. The kid was a bit unhinged, he needed to keep a close eye on him. "By all means. If you have the time and the people for it, put a team together. We need the best we can get."

A look of worry crossed Vox's face as he remembered the reason he'd called this meeting. Pausing a moment, he spoke. "There is one thing that's been on my mind. I've heard rumors from other lands, troubling rumors. It seems like there's been a serious spike in missing-nin activity. Any intel on that?"

She sighed. "Let me see if I can work with the team, get their teamwork together." She pulled a piece of paper out of her pocket. "The only intel I've got is a missing-nin by the name of Resonate River. Don't have much on abilities yet. Most of what I'm getting comes from bad intel. I'm going to see if I can get some better scouts for data. I do know he has been a missing nin for a while and there is a high bounty on his head. He is dangerous." She smirked as she sighed. "Other than that, my scouts are still looking." She sighed.

Vox frowned. It wasn't much to go on. In fact, it seemed like far too little. Was someone out there working to cover some of this activity up? He would have dismissed it as paranoid, but he'd been around long enough to know that this sort of thing happened a lot. If there was some sort of a coverup, that was bad news. It meant a level of organization that hadn't been seen among missing-nin since long before his time.

"Can we afford to send some scouts out? Something doesn't seem right about that." Vox rifled through his papers and took out a file, opening it and paging through it. "I witnessed a missing-nin attack about a month before I became Kage. A white-haired woman, possibly a Hyuuga. Very good with a bow. But aside from my own report here, there's almost nothing through any official channels." He closed the folder and passed it to her. "She blew a mansion apart but there's almost no mention of it from Land of Rice Fields law enforcement. They're scared of something. Have your scouts dig deeper, this might be bigger than we realize."

She sighed as she thought the same. "I will send a team out asap. I will not let this get through." She began thinking of what her next move should be. "We need a secure way of locking the village down and protecting everyone in the case of an attack. We must be ready for every circumstance." She sighed as she rubbed her forehead. "I want to meet this team as soon as possible. If need be, I want these three to be ready for anything. I will not let this village fall." She looked on in determination.

The captain had a pretty grim outlook, but he could hardly blame her. Things had been getting pretty grisly with the loss of Raiugakure. He didn't know if it was possible to stop something like that, but they would have to do all they could to shore up their defenses. "We'll convene a meeting of the commanders tomorrow. Anything that can be done, we'll do." he said with a nod.

"Meeting the team will have to wait. Two of them are still out of town. Remember that genin prom?" he was a bit embarrassed to remember it was his idea. It had seemed like a good plan at the time, but the more he thought of it the more it seemed like a disaster waiting to happen. At least he hadn't heard any disastrous reports yet, but he was sure they would be rolling in as soon as his people came back from it. "They should be back before too long. In the meantime I've been teaching the third recruit a few tricks. Kujira Han, pure physical fighter. Mostly kenjutsu."

She sighed. "Well then, it seems our path is lit for us. I'll be ready for the summit. I won't let you go alone." She began to think as she laid out the response. "All right, I'll get the ANBU ready for battle and ready to take on anything. I'll make sure that this village can't fall while we are away. Even if that means a secret hideaway. Be ready, sir. The summit will be a hot mess."

Vox suppressed a groan. He had forgotten about the summit. It was a bit nerve-wracking, having to represent his village so soon after becoming its leader. He hoped he would be ready. In just six years he had gone from joining Kemurigakure to speaking on their behalf at an international conference. "Right, the conference. How long do we have?" He was running through the preparations in his mind. He'd have to put on a good show for his first major act as kage. While he was probably older than all the other attendees combined, they'd all been doing this longer than he had. He had to show he was competent.

She sighed. "Have you forgotten already? The summit is tomorrow. We need to be ready." She got up and smashed her hands on his desk. "That stupid jutsu of your makes you forget all the important stuff. Maybe you should learn something a little better." She glared at him. "The old Keukage was never this forgetful."

Vox glared. "I expect this sort of insubordination from genin, Captain, but not from you. In the future, I'd suggest you stop yourself before having another outburst like that and remember the chain of command, or you might find yourself lower on it." He didn't like being that harsh with people, but that sort of outburst was unacceptable, especially from a senior officer. Even in his worse moments, Han hadn't shown such disrespect. And that was during the heat of training, not in an office setting.

The Keukage stood, taking stock of what he'd need to pack. He still needed to rest his arms, but after that was done he'd be able to get everything together in a matter of minutes. It still amazed him how few shinobi used their abilities for mundane things, he had always thought it was one of the best parts of being abnormal. "Now if you would excuse a forgetful old man, I have to prepare some things. You are dismissed, captain."

She sighed and made pouty lips. "Aw, Did I offend you? I'm so sowwy. Can I make it up to you in any way, big boy?" She smirked and winked. She giggled and unzipped her jacket. "It is so hot in here." She winks again and begins to walk off, swaying femininely to mess with him.

Vox groaned, rubbing his temples. Was she really trying to pull this card on him? "Even if you weren't my subordinate, and if I weren't more than three times your age, not interested." He wondered if her recent traumatic experience had unhinged her a bit. He had quite a bit of experience with that, but he was managing. He managed to stay professional most of the time, and even at his worst he wasn't this downright silly.

"I'm disappointed, captain. I expect you to be more professional in future, if you want to keep your command." Where had this meeting gone wrong? It had started off so well, and she had suddenly gone off the rails. He reminded himself to have psych evaluations for everyone immediately after the summit. It seemed like quite a few people here might need it.

She sighed, knowing that it wasn't going to work. 'Worth a shot.' She had said to herself before doing it. She merely walked out to the hallway and closed the door. "Why did I agree to being Captain again. At least the Old Keukage understood when I had to be strict with him. Now just to get this one to understand." She shook her head and body flickered away.

Vox sighed, sitting back at his desk. Had she always been like this? He wondered why his predecessor would allow such sloppiness in the ranks. "Maybe that's why numbers are down." he grumbled, turning his chair to face the window. He wasn't sure how to deal with such hypocrisy. She was talking about making a more efficient fighting force, but then she had engaged in that sort of schoolyard shenanigans. Do people still say shenanigans? He ended that tangent quickly, focusing on the matter at hand. Namely, whether she was responsible enough to handle a command position. He had trusted her judgement before, but now he wasn't so sure.