All Noble Things Are Touched [Rukia, Himiko]

"Yeah, Shiro, that's him. He's one of the...academy students..."

Rukia's voice trailed off as she said that, knowing all too well that it could probably come off the wrong way given her position as a teacher at the academy. She had been his teacher, yes, but it wasn't like that was the nature of their relationship. Besides, he wasn't that young...

"I can't say I've got many girlfriends, exactly. I'm usually pretty busy, and I spent a while mostly at home handling family duties. Working with all of you has been most of my socializing."

Of course, she'd had friends once upon a time. She'd been able to talk to them about a whole lot of things, but she couldn't exactly afford to get caught up in the past. She had to move forward. She'd learned that from them.