She smiled, finding that she enjoyed the company, and the calm of his presence very much. Perhaps that was her problem--most of her assignments were in places and times of war, and the lives of most the souls she escorted had met with violent or tragic endings. That could weigh on one's shoulders after a while.
Not that Ukitake didn't shoulder his share of burdens.
"I wish I could say the same. Right now, I feel like I have all of the familiar obligation, and none of the choice." She laughed, a little. "It's almost as if I'm making up for the teenage rebellion that I never really had. How silly is that?"