The Death of the Hikage, The Birth of a Free Life [Sixx, Espi, Gen, Sui]

It wasn't hard to find her; the Hikage. When someone such as Vivian stalked the shadows enough you could find out everything, and she practically lived in the damn things. Rumors went around, information was spread. As long as you knew what to pick through, what to avoid, and what to believe? You were golden. Vivian knew that, and she knew it well. She had been stalking the Hikage for weeks, the whole idea in her mind planned out since the woman had decided to for the lack of better word 'desert' her post. She wasn't doing to her job and because of it the village now suffered: it was lawless, it was ruined. It would take a miracle to get it up and running as a proper village once more and push the scum and filth that filled it out.

The Hikage had to pay for this. And the price that Vivian wanted? Her head on a spike for all to see.

Of course, there was more to this then just that. Vivian knew this was the distraction needed to draw enough ANBU away to allow the bunnies to escape – them being held like slaves had pissed her off more then she had allowed to show that day she met them, and she would be damned if she let them down. In truth she didn't know them all that well, if really at all, but no one deserved to live like that – at least no one who didn't bring it upon themselves.

And so Vivian had this timed perfectly: as the bunnies would enter into the market she would make her move. She knew the Hikage's current location, and she also knew she would be there long enough for Vivian not to lose her – Vivian had arranged a very well paid 'distraction' for her that would keep her busy for quite a bit of all went according to plan. This plan was simple: while she was killing the Hikage and making a public sport out of it Espi and Sixx were to help get the bunnies to safety – out of the village and to a pre-determined meeting point. There were supplies waiting at this location, enough for them all to survive on for quite a while: everything you would need while traveling through such a cold climate, while also supplies for when they hit warmer ones. Plus, enough ryo to purchase more if and when needed. There were also supplies stashed at a second location, an emergency one, encase something happened to stop them from reaching the first.

Vivian would wait until she saw the tell-tale ears of the rabbits before taking off. She took to the buildings, using their roof tops as a means to travel so that she didn't get slowed by the people below. A block over, two blocks over, and she skidded to a stop. Like planned there was an open window: her distraction had done his job perfectly by ensuring it was like that. Vivian paused outside of it and peered in; the Hikage was 'indisposed of' at the moment and that meant she was distracted. With a knuai in hand Vivian slipped in, sticking to the shadows: they were thick and heavy due to the candle lightning that her 'distraction' had been instructed to use. Perfect.

They were in the throws of pleasure; their moans and shouts providing even more cover to allow Vivian to move silently. The kunai shifted in her hand as she drew nearer to the bed: the positioning of their bodies meant that the Hikage was above, her distraction below. Vivian's tongue slipped between her lips, wetting them, as she posed to strike. The kunai flashed out, it's blade sharp and strong, to plunge into the Hikage's neck. She pulled the kunai out, causing blood to squirt out with each rapid heartbeat. Again she struck as the Hikage's gurling screams filled the air; over and over and over, until she had stabbed the Hikage in the neck five times. The Hikage fell off her distraction who got up and went running out of the room just as he had been paid to do. His shouts filled the air as he went running from the Hikage's residence, yelling and hollering. ”THE HIKAGE! SHE'S KILLED THE HIKAGE! HELP! SOMEONE HELP!”

As the last few beats of the Hikage's heart caused more of her life-blood to spray out of the wounds, she picked up the body and got to work: she knew she had a very limited time before all manner of ANBU and guards arrived. There was enough blood to justify the claims of the male, and it would keep them plenty busy while she worked on her next portion of this plan. With the Hikage's dead body in her arms she slipped out the same window she had arrived in, moving stealthy; sticking to the shadows. Vivian took to the alley, finding the hole between the buildings she was looking for that could be so easily over-looked: it led to a tunnel of sorts, no longer used, that had once been part of a delivery entrance to the shops in the area. This tunnel had an exit point not far from the village gates, so it would work perfectly for this plan.

She ran, the Hikage's body nothing in her arms compared to the normal weight she trained with, and therefore not slowing her down. She knew that all hell and chaos had to be breaking loose above this little tunnel she was in, and it only caused her to grin wickedly. She was definitely getting the hang of this life of crime: first going into another village and kidnapping a Genin, then killing the Hikage in cold blood. She knew she'd likely be labeled a criminal for the rest of her life and she couldn't be bothered to care.

At the end of the tunnel she paused, looking out. There were no ANBU around, in fact even the guards had gone to investigate the death that had happened. She could hear the sounds of panic, of chaos. People were rushing every which way. Thinking quickly Vivian took off her traveling cloak and wrapped it around the Hikage: it would keep her body at least more hidden and hopefully keep her from being stopped so quickly. With the body covered she exited the tunnel and moved quickly to the village entrance: the chaos was phenomenal – the village was definitely under-prepared for this due to improper leadership. Perfect. Simply perfect.

At the village gates she arrived; no guards in sight as the few shinobi that did remain within the village were off trying to control things and figure out what happened. Making quick work with the kunai after laying the Hikage's body down and unwrapping it she removed the female's head, her stab wounds helping since they severed a great deal of her head from her neck already – hat and all since she had kept the thing on. It would work better for this regardless, so she wasn't going to complain. With the Hikage's head removed from her body, and blood pooling onto the ice she made quick work of sticking it on a nearby spike: where it would be clear for all to see. From there she dipped her fingers into the Hikage's blood and wrote quickly: “I have killed the Hikage; she destroyed our village, imprisoned our people, and she had to pay. The price? Her life. If you have an issue with it? Come find me. -Vivian” Oh it was bold, bold and brazen, and it would be there for all to see: it would sink into the ice on the door and freeze there, leaving it a very permanent message.

Now, it was time to catch up with the rest and pray to god everything had gone according to plan: she worried for the safety of the others, her best friend and the rest of them...