"You're an idiot."
Rukia spun around and glared at the man who had spoken.
"Renji, what are you doing here, and why are you insulting me for no reason?" She demanded.
"I'm here, and insulting you, because you are an idiot." He answered calmly, glaring at her.
She wanted to scream at him and tell him to get lost, but her curiosity would not let her send him away without an explanation.
"You wouldn't be here if you didn't have something important to say. Why am I an idiot?" She crossed her arms over her chest and waited. Renji sat on the floor and waited for her to follow suit.
"Why the hell are you here instead of in the living world?" Renji asked. Rukia blinked.
"I have a duty to Soul Society! I can't just abandon my work to play house with Ichigo! He'll be here in time anyway." The short shinigami looked at the floor angrily.
"Soul Society got by without you for thousands of years before, and will continue on for many more after you are gone and forgotten. There is nothing you are going to do here in the next seventy years that we can't get by without. He's going to grow old and die alone without you. He needs you more than we do, and he deserves you a hell of a lot more than we do." The red head said.
"I... That's not fair..." Rukia growled.
"Before you even dare to say that isn't true, take a minute to think about this. When everyone in the world turned against you, your friends, all of Soul Society, me, your brother... When even you wouldn't raise a finger to save yourself when you were sentenced to death against all reason... Who was it that literally stormed the gates of heaven and fought through the armies of hell to save you?"
"Ichigo..."
"Yeah. Have you ever since doubted him? Is there anyone alive or dead you trust as much as him? Soul Society got twisted and used in an attempt to murder you, and he was willing to sacrifice everything to save you, and when you have the chance to choose between living out the rest of his life with him and filling out paper work for those who would have watched you die, you are going to choose them?! Idiot!" Renji shouted, and this time, she didn't deny it.
"What can I do? I do have an obligation to Soul Society..." She looked up at him sadly.
"Already taken care of. You're friends here may not be as good as you deserve, but they pulled through this time. There were enough of us to convince Yamamoto to give you a mandatory vacation. Urahara technically will have custody of you and will be in charge of any visits to Soul Society, but otherwise, you will be issued a perfect gigai and left to spend the better part of the next century with Ichigo with no interference by Soul Society." Renji leaned back on his palms, watching her.
"Why are you doing this?" Rukia asked quietly.
"Because you and Ichigo both deserve a few decades of peace and happiness after all you've been through. This was the least we could all do to repay our debt. You better visit at least once every year or two."
"I will... I can't even begin to thank you for this... But what if he's already given up on me and found someone else? He knows I chose to stay here!"
"Idiot! You're just making excuses now! Get down there!" Renji jumped up and tossed her out the door, pointing down the road. "They have the gate open. Urahara's waiting. I expect you to have a ring on your finger the next time I see you!" The red head laughed and gave her a light push. "Go. Surprise him. Be happy."
Rukia nodded to her old friend and smiled. She was going to spend another lifetime in the human world... She turned and called out her one last question.
"What do you mean by a perfect gigai?"
"I mean it is as close to human as it is possible to be. You'll have to eat, drink, breath, and sleep. And you are completely capable of reproduction, so you know, keep that in mind tonight." Renji had vanished into the building, laughing, before she could begin to beat him up.