"Excuse me?" Jiyuudo blinked as she registered what Sasuke had said. "You see me for the first time in a year in the middle of nowhere and your first reaction is to challenge me to a fight? No 'Hey, how've you been?' or 'What are you doing out in the middle of nowhere with no obvious means of survival?'? Wow, you really have not matured at all," she sighed, shaking her head in disappointment.
Makoto's head perked up at this and his tail started to wag expectantly.
"No," she started, tuning and pointing at him, "you stay out of this."
The canine whined pitifully, but lowered his head in compliance.
"Now to answer your question," she said, turning back to face Sasuke. "No, I won't fight you. I would much rather have pleasant conversations with you than beat you into the ground like old times," she hinted to how their sparing matched would usually end back in Konoha.
"I've gotten stronger," he reasoned, obviously not willing to take 'no' for an answer.
"I'm sure you have," Jiyuudo sighed, "but right now I'm not interested in seeing who's the strongest, and if that's all you care about then I'm sorry, I'm not going to humor you."
It looked like she had slapped him. Maybe she should've done that instead; it probably would've gotten her point across quicker.
"If that's all you wanted then maybe you should leave," she suggested.
"Jizouko," he started, but she cut him off.
"No, Sasuke-kun," she shook her head and took a step back. "You might not have changed, but I have; and I'm tired of fighting. If you won't walk away then I will," she finished softly as she turned around and started to leave the clearing.
"And by the way," she said, glancing over her shoulder before she stepped into the trees. "It's Jiyuudo."
Sasuke couldn't believe it. Jizouko didn't want to fight? Who was this and what did they do with his old sparring partner? She knew the results of their old matches, so it had to be her. Had something happened to her that made her this way?
"And by the way," she said, looking back at him over her shoulder. "It's Jiyuudo."
What? So was this someone else after all? But how many other people had those features? Purple streaked hair was hard to come by, and not a lot of people had that many piercings. He started to go after her. To say he was sorry, to try to change her mind, to ask her why, to do something! But he didn't. He had vowed to sever all ties to Konoha, hadn't he? And that's exactly what she was. He just knew that no matter where or when he saw her he would be reminded of that place and the people he left there, and he could afford no such distractions if he was to fulfill his goal. So he too turned and left the clearing, but not before he felt the familiar sensation of her chakra on the breeze as it blew past him.
Jiyuudo couldn't believe it! But then again, she definitely could. Had it been too much for her to hope for catching up as opposed to a fight? Yes, it was. She should've known; Sasuke had always been highly goal-motivated, and since his goal was to get stronger then it would only make sense for him to challenge anyone and everyone.
"Ugh!" she groaned as she passed through the trees, tilting her head back and pressing the thumb and middle finger of one hand against her temples. "Why does he have to be so confusing? Better yet, why do I care?"
Makoto padded up next to her and nudged her side lightly; his attempt at an apology for how he had acted. She smiled a bit at this.
"You know something Mako?" she sighed as she rubbed his ears affectionately. "You would make a decent human being; saying you're sorry even though I was the one who was yelling…"
He just let his tongue loll out to one side and panted happily. At times she wondered if he could understand her, and other times she had no doubt. She sighed internally at her thoughts; she had spent too much time alone is she was worrying about an animal understanding her… She had to get off of this mountain, and fast.
"And where might you be headed?" a familiar voice rumbled, though muted compared to what she was used to.
"Not sure," she admitted with a shrug. "The people here are looking for me – at least I think they are – and if I leave they'll follow, and if they're not looking for me then they'll still be here and you can go all 'Mystical Spirit Guardian' on them," she finished, glancing over at the dragon in human form.
"And what of the precious answers you came here seeking?" he asked skeptically. "If you returned for those then they would surely come back as well."
"I guess I'll just have to cross that bridge when I get there," she shrugged. "Besides, it's a big, wide world out there; someone's bound to know something."
"So you've set your course?" he asked, folding his hands into the sleeves of his shimmering yukata.
"Not in the slightest," Jiyuudo grinned, "I was just going to go where the wind takes me."
"Well, if that's your plan," the dragon started, withdrawing his hands from his sleeves, "then you might need this," he said, holding out to her a curved white blade.
She stared at it curiously for a moment. It looked like someone had taken a large fang or claw and stuck it on the end of a bone handle wrapped in light brown leather with two strands dangling off the end, one with three plain wooden beads and the other with a feather swaying in the breeze. She accepted it, wary of the sharp end as she turned it over in her hands.
"Thanks," she started as she offered it back to him, "but I already have two short swords; I'd have to grow another arm to use this."
"Hn, you don't seem to understand," he said, refusing to take it back. "This is a special blade; very few possess them and even fewer know what they are capable of."
"Well," she said expectantly after a long pause, "what can it do?"
"It's a tool from long ago," he said, staring at the white blade. "When man not only fought against himself, but against dragons and demons as well. Not only is it on of the few things capable of cutting through a dragon's scales, but it also has other qualities."
"Like what?" Jiyuudo pressed in wonder, her gaze drawn down to the present in her hands.
"Hm, it's a big, wide world out there; someone's bound to know something," he smirked as he folded his hands back into his sleeve and walked away.