Ryuko was looking out the window of her room. The sky was clear and the clouds were drifting lazily on the wind. The trees swayed slightly as a breeze swept past. Her deep blue eyes seemed to be full of longing. Like they wanted to forget everything and drift up with the clouds. To be free. A knock at the door came and Hitori came in. Ryuko turned to face her.

"Well, we did it." She said smiling.

"Yeh, I guess we did." Replied Ryuko with a sad smile. She turned back to the window.

"Did you get your sensei yet?" asked Hitori.

"No. What about you?" said Ryuko not turning around.

"No. But we're supposed to meet them tomorrow." She grinned. "I've met some of them. They seem okay. I hope you get a good one."

"Yeh, you too." Ryuko got up. "I'm going to look around."

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Ryuko wandered the halls, occasionally opening a door. Once she bumped into Itachi. He looked down on her, glaring. She flinched, she had seen that gaze so many times, it was painful. So much hate. She shook her head. That was all forgotten now.

She continued on, not really paying attention, until she found her way back to her room. She sat down on the bed. She looked at the bag sitting beside her. Reaching in she pulled out a photograph. She gazed lovingly at the figures.

There, on the page, was her, Hitori, and Wynn grinning from the top of a tree. She smiled sadly. That was the last photo they had taken together. She placed it on the bedside table and continued to unpack. Several books, a set of clothes, a necklace and a small statuette of a dragon, soon lay nestled in various nooks and crannies around the room. She sighed and flopped back on the bed. She pulled out a notebook from her pocket. Its pages were worn and yellowed, but it had gotten her through many hard times. She flipped open to an empty page and pulled out a small pencil. The hours melted away as her emotions and feelings were transformed into pictures and colours.

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Hitori watched her friend leave before getting up herself. Ryuko had changed so much. She was too hard on herself. It wasn't her fault. Instead of returning to her room, Hitori went to the kitchen. She poured herself a glass of milk and sat down at the table. Slowly sipping at her drink she soon became lost in thought. She didn't even notice when someone else entered the room. It wasn't until he sat down across from her did she look up. He was staring intently, analyzing her, while absently munching on a bowl of Rice Crispies. She stared back, her eyes hardening. He blinked, and then smiled.

"Hi, I'm Deidara. Nice to meet you, un."

"Hitori, likewise." Her eyes softened a bit and her muscles relaxed.

"So you're the new apprentices, huh? That's a pretty big accomplishment, un." Hitori gave a small shrug.

"I guess so."

"So where you from?"

"The village hidden in the legends, Kodengakure. "

"Never met anyone from there."

"We keep to ourselves. But that's all in the past. Now were here and we're not going back. Not like they'd want us anyways."

"Are you wanted for something?"

"No, just hated. Just hated" She looked away, eyes down cast.

"For what?"

"Something terrible."

Deciding to change subject instead of prying he asked. "Where's your friend, the one with the eyes?"

"Oh Ryuko? She's probably drawing somewhere." She frowned. " How do you now about her eyes? Oh, you must've been the guard." Deidara grinned.

"Yeh. That guy. It took me completely by surprise. I couldn't react in time, un."

"She tends to do that. But don't feel to bad. She even got the Iwakukage1 with it."

"Wow that powerful, un? You guys must be feared by the entire village, un?" At this comment, a pained look entered her eyes. Her fiery eyes seemed to dim, replaced with a deep unyielding sorrow.
"More than you think. More than you think." She got up abruptly. "See you later." She mumbled.

Deidara watched her go. As soon as he was alone, the leader appeared beside him.

"So what do you think?"

Deidara shrugged. "She's deep. Both of them are. They've got something. Do you know what happened?"

"No, no one does. We'll just have to let them tell us when they want us to know."

"Must have been pretty serious, un."

"Must have. We just have to give it time. Will you do it?"

"Yes, I'll do it. But what about the other?"

"Kisame is deciding right now. I'll have an answer soon."

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Kisame sat on the branch of a tree outside of Ryuko's room, watching her. She had been drawing for a couple hours, but finally she placed the little notebook down and started to read. He squinted at the title. ' Dragon Heart ' He smiled. It was a beautiful book. He had it himself, hidden in a secret cupboard. Whenever he felt upset he would sneak away for a couple hours, lost in its pages. A girl with a dragon spirit trapped inside her, hated and loved for it at the same time.

He saw her smile. That smile was a smile of pure and simple joy. She placed a bookmark on the page and returned it to the shelf. She left the room with a dreamy look in her eyes and a smile on her face.

After he was sure she was gone he jumped through the window. He went to the shelf and slowly pulled out the book. He flipped to the marked page. It was his most loved passage.

She asked for an escape, to get away from her life, even for just a moment. The answer came slowly, as her shoulders shifted and started to grow. The nubs of bone stretched and new muscles formed. A pale iridescent skin formed in the empty spaces. They were wings.

She flexed the new muscles and flapped, causing a small whirlwind of leaves. She flapped again, getting more powerful with each stroke. She rose above the canopy, freed from the boundaries of earth; her life forgotten. Soaring amongst the clouds, she was truly free. Freer than a bird or a cloud or the wind. She was a dragon.

Kisame sighed. How he loved that passage. He replaced the book slowly, careful to put it in the exact same position. He turned towards the notebook. Flipping it open he could see she was talented. The first page held the tip of a mountain, looking out onto a lush valley. The second, a bird soaring between the clouds. A lily floating on a river. Rolling hills, the grass swaying in the breeze. Simplistic beauty. But as he turned the next page, a pair of blood red eyes glared out of the darkness. It was disturbing. He continued on, each beautifully horrifying. A child trapped underneath a snapped tree, lying there in a pool of light. A lonely cottage, it's door ajar, the window splattered with blood. A cherry blossom sitting in a hand dripping with blood. The last one, the most recent was a red rose petal, floating, ripples encircling it, and the reflection, black.

He quickly shut the notebook, replacing it hastily. This girl, what had happened to her, to make her change so drastically? To turn so dark? He jumped out the window onto the roof. Leader was waiting.

"So?"

" She's different. Something inside her is not normal. Something changed her."

"Yes, Deidara noticed that too. But we have no idea what."

"I'll do it."

"Just like that?"

"I feel like I can understand a bit of her. She's someone I'd like to get to know."

"Great. See you tomorrow."
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This took so long to write. Please review!

1I know it doesn't exist. But it sounds cool.