Another day in the office

A long week of paper signing, kage confrontations and confusing mishappenings. Kyoichi took a deep sigh before continuing with the usual routine of filling out papers, handing them off to an aid, taking a bite of dango and getting another stack. The paper flowed in as smoothly as a current down a river, and Kyoichi felt as if he was stuck in that current. Forced to take on the burden of being a kage alone, he thought to himself. As he heard the door open, Kyoichi took his eyes off of the mission form in front of him and scanned the figure in the doorway with his ocean blue orbs. He saw a male ANBU, with short brown hair coming down across his ears as his wolf mask covered most of his facial features. His customary katana rested on his back, and he approached Kyoichi's desk slowly. "Kage-sama, I have completed my task."

Kyoichi nodded, and waved off the ANBU. He disappeared, and waited for the next person to enter.

A relitavely tall, 5'7, female yawned quietly as she walked towards the Makaikage's office, appearing to be in no exact hurry. She appeared to have just come from a mission, with minor damage done to her - a small cut on the side of her cheek most likely from a lucky kunai, and signs of slight bruising on her limbs from using her body as a weapon.
Apparently the mission she had come from was successful. Very successful.
Meiko pushed a strand of her short auburn hair behind her left ear, nearing the door to the Kage's office. Though, instead of knocking beforehand, she simply opened the door and then knocked.
Meiko wasn't exactly known for her manners.
She approached Kyoichi, noting the rather large stack of papers on his desk. At moments like these, she was glad she didn't have the job as Kage - Meiko and paperwork just doesn't mix. She may want to surpass him, but she had no intention of becoming the Makaikage.
She bowed lightly when she came to a stop, bowing out of respect - she may lack respect, but she didn't lack total respect.
"Mission complete, Kage-sama."

The soft footsteps of the female could be heard by Kyoichi, but he was unsure if the female would simply pass his office or actually come in. The opening of the door and then the knocking gave him a hint of who it was, but it wasn't until he glanced up from what he was writing that he knew that it was Meiko, returning from her mission. The nasty cut on her cheek interested him slightly, but he quickly got to the point. "Meiko-san, welcome back." He wasn't surprised that she was successful, nor was he surprised that she came back with a few new scars. "Ah.. here we go.." He pulled out the mission file and filled in the blanks.

"Is there anything else, Meiko-san?"

Instead of being ashamed or embarrassed about the small cut on her cheek and other things, she appeared to bear them confidently and almost proudly. To her, being hurt was nothing - showing that she could handle it and didn't care was a way of saying - hey, I'm a chick, and I can take a hit and not whine like a wimp.
Apparently vanity wasn't an issue with her.
She was about to shake her head, when she decided to bring something up - the obvious lack in female ninja in Makaigakure.
"I guess since I haven't annoyed you with this in a while..." She trailed off, smirking as her brown eyes rose fearlessly to his. He probably knew what she was getting at, even though she didn't say it yet. "So, how about letting some chicks into shinobi ranks?"

He finished her mission paperwork quite quickly and moved onto another subject until he heard her reply. He sighed softly, and set his pen down before placing his hands together and looking up at her. " Meiko-san, if they have the Myoume, or we're at war, you'll have some female companions in the shinobi ranks." Despite saying this, he knew that he wouldn't be what he was today if his wife hadn't been a shinobi with him. But, she did have the Myoume, so, either way he looked at it she belonged in the military anyway. He knew the several reasons why the Juki did not allow most females into the military, but didn't feel like trying to tell Meiko. Despite their reasons probably being sexist, and selfish, they were true to some degree.

Meiko smirked lightly, having no intention to let the subject drop that easily. One thing about her, was that she never gave up regardless of the situation - and when she did, it was very rare.
She crossed her arms across her rather large chest, already knowing what she was going to say. Honestly she really didn't care for the companion part, just so women could get a shot at protecting their village or doing what they love. Of course, not all women exactly liked fighting... but, Meiko just wanted those who loved it to get a chance.
"Honestly, I couldn't give a rats ass about getting a female companion - I already have enough companions to keep track of. Give me one good, legit reason why women shouldn't get a shot at becoming a shinobi." Ah, isn't being blunt just lovely?

Kyoichi let his tongue slide around in his mouth as he thought, but didn't take long to get a reply. "Women are a lot smarter than men. I trust them with everything non-military, and they trust me with everything military. There are exceptions, such as, if a female is incredibly good at being a shinobi, such as yourself Meiko-san, then we allow that female to be a shinobi. Same with, if a man cannot serve in the military anymore, or he is incredibly good at leadership he helps lead the village. Honestly Meiko-san, the system works." He assumed the topic closed after saying this, and once again picked up his pen and began writing again. He hoped that she would see the light and give up the argument, but doubted it.

She smirked at the mention of women being much smarter than men, her womanly pride agreeing completely. Meiko anime sweat dropped - he had a really good point. Even she couldn't deny that. But, she was naturally hard headed - even though she knew that he had a very good point, her mind was still trying to think of a way to argue with that and not look stupid at the same time.
"You kinda have a point there..." Meiko's eye twitched as she admitted that, her stubbornness refusing to let the subject drop. Unfortunately, she couldn't argue with that. Especially the 'smarter than guys' part.
Sighing, she spoke. "I suppose... but, I'm not dropping it." She smirked lightly.

He furrowed his brow in frustration, and couldn't be helped but be reminded of another female as hard headed as Meiko. His old wife. He sighed softly once more, and stood, now towering over the female at 6'6". "Alright then Meiko-san. I guess I can't force you." He motioned to the door, and left Meiko standing there. He didn't doubt for a second that she would follow him to where he would go. He headed out of the building and towards the Dango shop. He needed a quick snack to get his mind off of his wife.

Meiko noticed his brow furrow in frustration, silently wondering what was wrong - don't think she's getting soft and being worried, but she is like any other resident in the village - she cares for her kage.
Meiko felt a little small when he stood up, though only a little - height wasn't much of a deal for her, and she didn't mind people towering over her that much. Instead, she liked the advantages of being small, of course excluding the ability to reach things off of a high shelf without jumping or getting a stool.
But, she was still wondering what was wrong when he walked out of the door. When it comes to Meiko, she won't wait until you tell her. She'll interrogate you until you say it without hesitation.
Meiko walked out and caught up to him quickly, walking next to him looking up at him. "Hey, what's got your panties tied in a knot?" Translation: what's wrong?

Kyoichi looked to Meiko, wondering if he should actually tell her what was on his mind. He didn't want to concern her with his problems, but knew the repercussions of withdrawing the problem from others. Despite that, the reason he remembered his wife was because of the argument anyway, so he didn't want to make her feel bad. What to do... He placed his hands in his pockets and continued his slow pace down the road. "Nothing important, Meiko-san. Just hungry. Can't remember the last time I got out of that office."

Meiko assumed that 'nothing' was actually 'something' but she didn't want to press - she may be persistent and stubborn, but she knew when to stop or lay off. Considering his mood right now, she probably shouldn't press the topic too much.
Meiko raised an eyebrow at the mention of his office, again glad that she didn't have his job. She also probably couldn't sit still all day like that - which was another reason she was a taijutsu user, considering it required her to be moving and using her body as a weapon.
"Oh? You need to have some fun!" She smirked, giving him a gentle slap on the back, more of a pat, but still a little rough. To Meiko, her idea was fun was a spar match or some sake. But, she doubted that Kyoichi was a fan of alcohol, and fighting wouldn't help with hunger.

He turned back to her, surprised that she didn't push the subject further, but was glad he wouldn't have to explain himself yet. Kyoichi thought softly to himself of what he did for enjoyment, and honestly, there wasn't a lot he did just for fun. Everything was business related, or involving his family, which he did dearly love, but it was still tiring. It had been awhile since he shared a bottle of sake.
He came upon the dango shop, and waved at Sho and said lightly. "The usual, please." Sho nodded and began making his favorite type of dango. He sat down and expected Meiko to sit across from him. "Want anything to eat?"

Meiko plopped down on the seat across from him, shrugging lightly. She would order sake, but didn't feel like enduring another hangover... besides, if she got drunk, she'd most likely try and make Kyoichi crossdress if he said he was bored.
"Regular dango sounds nice..." She replied, silently wondering what he did for fun. Really, she didnt know. "Hey, random question - what do you do for fun? Don't say read (;-; tht sentence was hard to type... reading is awesome...) or paperwork... real fun." Meiko smirked lightly, leaning back in her chair crossing her arms across her chest.

Kyoichi got comfortable, taking off his onyx colored jacket to reveal a paper thin white shirt that stuck to his toned and muscled body, and in the same motion, loosened his maroon tie. Despite being in this building, and relaxing, he couldn't outrun the memories that continued to auto play in his mind. He rested his forearms on the table and slightly turned his head as his ocean blue orbs looked from her eyes to the scenery behind her, then back to her pupils. "I work most days. On my days off, I usually visit my brother, and my son in Makaigakure. And that's about it." He never had much spare time, with having his Myoume and such while growing up, and any that he did have, he spent it was with his family. He discontinued drinking after his wife had passed. There isn't much else for a kage to do in a military focused shinobi village such as Makaigakure.

Fun didn't exist in his vocabulary.