"Because of your rank," Rukia replied simply. "Lower-ranked officers must always treat their superiors with proper deference and obedience." That much had to be obvious to him. It did make her wonder, though, if that made him feel slightly more isolated as a result. Rukia wasn't above being friends with higher-ranking officers. Kaien had been the best man she'd known, and there was a marked closeness between them. It had hurt when he'd died.

But Sephiroth behaved very differently than Kaien did, and put up far more barriers. It was difficult for her to know which barriers she was allowed to cross and which she was not, unless he expressly told her.

"Your rank was not handed to you on a platter," she pointed out. "You earned it with time, dedication, and service. That is worthy of respect." It wasn't as if he were elevated prematurely, or if he attained his position out of blatant favoritism. He was an excellent general, and it was clear that his soldiers obeyed his orders with pride.

She hesitated for a moment, approaching another one of those precarious barriers to see if it was one to uphold, or knock down. "The matters that troubled you then. Have they been resolved, or do you still need to speak your mind?"