"Master Yin, you're mean! All you do is pick on Anko!"
Anko buried her face, her voice coming out muffled.
But Uchiha Yin heard her clearly.
In that instant, he realized this was about him.
Even so, he looked utterly lost. He couldn't remember doing anything to Anko.
He crouched in front of her, confusion written all over his face.
"Anko, what's wrong?"
By then, Uchiha Yin was getting anxious.
Being blamed out of nowhere felt awful.
Anko cried for a while before finally stammering out an answer.
"Master Yin is mean! You're so nice to that new girl, Kurotsuchi, but you always look stern with Anko and act so fierce!"
The more she said, the more wronged she seemed to feel, and her tears started falling again.
Only then did Uchiha Yin realize Anko was jealous again.
To his surprise, he felt a little pleased.
He was about to explain, but the words caught in his throat.
He could hardly tell Anko he'd only acted tough because he was afraid she'd scold him. He'd never live that down.
While he struggled to find the right words, Anko cried even louder.
"Master Yin, you're not even explaining yourself!"
Uchiha Yin felt utterly tongue-tied. Why was explaining things to women so much harder than learning Ninjutsu?
He thought for ages but couldn't come up with a solution.
So Uchiha Yin simply pulled Anko into his arms and patted her head.
"Anko, don't cry. I wasn't being fierce with you. Kurotsuchi just arrived, so I need to take good care of her!"
He lifted Anko's face and wiped away her tears.
"You understand that, don't you? There's no need to cry so hard!"
Uchiha Yin felt rather clever once he'd said it.
His answer covered everything: he hadn't deliberately neglected Anko, and