Jinchuriki of Water (Shikamaru Love Story)

Chapter 11: Coping

Dedicated to Standardaverage! <3

Chapter 11: Coping

It's been three days since Melody's hands on training began. Ibiki was having a hard time keeping up with her. Not her speed necessarily, but her personalities. Kaida, Rin and Melody were fading in and out. He was learning the difference between them slowly. Their body language, speech, and mannerisms were revealing themselves to him in odd ways.

Kaida is more stubborn and doesn't follow directions very well. She is more apathetic and less compelled to use team work or train with a person. This personality is just irritable in general especially when touched. Kaida lashes out often and Ibiki could work with this. He would use mind games to convince her that lashing out would only get Melody in trouble with the authorities. She would glare and sneer and talk back but she would quit being cruel without warning. There were other times when they would spar and Kaida would become straight up sadistic. She grinned or smirked when she landed a blow and licked up blood splatters on her face and hands. The only time she seemed to be happy was when there was blood.

Rin is shy and often hides behind trees and runs when startled. She stutters and has a child-like lisp. She pouts and cries a lot and doesn't correct Ibiki when he calls her the wrong name. She just cries more as if she has been forgotten. She likes hugs - something that Ibiki was no longer used to. Rin fears fighting and would rather heal people. She talked about a person named "Z" often but wouldn't reveal who he was because "Melly and Kai would get angwee... espeshuawee Kaidwa." and started to tear up at the thought, rocking back and forth with her knees to her chest.

By the third day, Ibiki stood there and waited for the personality to greet him, wondering who he would be training today. He stood there with his arms crossed and a strained expression. The girl appeared in front of him and smiled, but this quickly turned into concern.

"Sensei? Are you feeling well?"

"Yukari..." he almost sighed in relief. Melody (code name Yukari) was his favorite of the three personalities. She was focused, responsible and easy to talk to. He never had to worry about offending her or straying too far from the lesson. Disobedience wasn't an issue either (thank Kami). "Would it be fair if I said that training you is like training a normal team only they are all inside one person?" He rubbed his bandana against his bald head. Melody flinched slightly and grimaced.

"Yeah... yeah I guess it would be fair." She said slowly with knitted eyebrows and a troubled frown. Ibiki wished that he could see her eyes but they were covered, per usual. He sighed, sorry that he something so blunt to his first, favorite, and only student.

"Well.... Let's get started," Melody snapped to attention, "What do you remember about Dead Man's Code?" He asked in his typical rough voice.

"A good ninja follows the rules until the rules do not apply. A good ninja should never leave a comrade behind unless he or she is dead or dying. An ANBU member is sworn to commit suicide if they can no longer continue the mission due to a fatal injury. If a dead ANBU is found, put him or her in a scroll but do not remove the mask to avoid the identity being revealed and send a hawk to the Hokage immediately including the location coordinates where the body was found and description of the mask and general physique of the ANBU member. Attach the sealed scroll and the description scroll to separate hawks then send them to the Hokage.

"The Dead Man's Code includes taking the body or focus point of superior function (such as eyes) if the person (dead or dying) held a kekkei genkai that the village is sworn to protect such as the Byakugan and the Sharingon. Being able to deceive the enemy is just as important as seeing through deception. This can be achieved with real or fake bodies. Keeping a cool and analytical thought process is most important when the enemy choses to use such technique, or it can jeopardize the squad and/or the mission." She recited to the best of her ability.