Snapshots
It was a dreadfully warm day. It was the kind of day where everyone would laze around and do nothing, everyone except her.
"Ichigo, what is that metal box on your desk?" Rukia asked.
Ichigo frowned at her absurd questioning and then replied, "It's a camera. Come on, I'll show you what it does."
He grabbed his camera and walked out the door with Rukia following him. They walked for a while in silence. Finally they stopped at a little river at the border of their little town.
While Rukia interested herself with all of the brown and white speckled ducks by the riverside, Ichigo took pictures. One after another, all of them of her.
It has been years since she has left him. He still is afraid to develop the film in his outdated camera. He finally sums up the courage and goes to the local drugstore and pay for the one hour photo service.
After wandering aimlessly around the cramped store, he goes up to the counter to pick up his photos.
When he opens the envelope, he finds that all the pictures depict her, which was just the way he had intended them to three years ago. He flips through the pictures, looking for the perfect one to fill the silver frame on his desk.
He is surprised that none of the pictures are truly her. Just pictures of a short little girl with defiant eyes. They capture none of her natural elegance of obnoxiousness.
Ichigo finally understands. When he took the photos, he was incredibly selfish. He wanted to keep her with him forever. All she wanted to do was go home.
So he sets them free, floating lazily down the very same river where the pictures were taken. Nearby, he sees a small group of brown and white specked ducks. Ichigo smiles.