A few words from the author: Thank you to all who read my story, and a bigger thank you to all who reviewed it.
Warning: This chapter is not in flashback sequence, read the dates carefully.
FIGHT COMMUNISM: REVIEW MY FIC! (just kidding, but remember... In Soviet Russia, fanfiction reviews YOU!)
Enjoy
May 5, 1982; 1909 local time; Vo Nguyen Giap(1) bridge (formerly Do Long)
Ichigo and Rukia sat in the middle of the sampan as the pilot steered the small boat. The small gasoline engine puttered loudly as they approached the shore. Do Long had changed alot since he had been there. The "asshole of the world" was no longer a muddy hole marked by brutal fighting, it was now a small shanty town. The evening sun slowly set as the sampan puttered over to the dock
The pilot tied up the boat and Ichigo helped Rukia onto the dock. Ichigo took out their belongings. This trip was not a simple vacation, Ichigo came back to fulfill a promise he had made more than a decade beforehand. He brought his wife along to help translate and for emotional support. He had an entrenching tool and six bodybags in a special duffel. Their clothes, tent, and other assorted gear were packed in two other backpacks.
Ichigo was amazed by how much everything had changed while he was away. He told Rukia all about his experiences while he was on the river, pointing out areas of significance or interest as they came. Ichigo entered the local tavern and sat down with his wife at the bar. The customers and the barmaid gave him a suspicious look, which Ichigo ignored. The barmaid went over to the owner of the bar who was sitting down talking to another customer. The owner came over and, in broken english, asked if he needed anything.
Ichigo spoke through Rukia and told the barman that they needed a place to stay for the night and a guide. Ichigo pulled out an old, yellowed map and showed the man a point marked with a small circle. The man looked at the circle before speaking to Rukia.
"He asks why you want to go over there." Rukia said. "There's nothing there but an old busted helicopter."
"Tell him I was on that helicopter when it went down, and so were six of my friends." Ichigo responded. Rukia spoke to the man, he looked a little perplexed and asked her a question. An understanding expression came over his face as he heard the response.
"He says that he has a couple of extra hammocks in the back room if we don't mind sleeping there, it would be about five hundred dong(2). He also has a nephew who can take us to the crash site for another thousand."
"Tell him thank you, and tell him to tell his nephew we will be waiting at the dock tomorrow at six o'clock in the morning."
----------------------
Date: unknown; Local time: unknown; Location: unknown
Darkness. . .
Fire. . .
The burning jungle lit up the sky. A lone Huey flew high above the flames.
Ichigo looked out the side of the helicopter, the aroma of napalm wafting up to his nostrils.
The helicopter suddenly started shaking violently, Ichigo held onto the chopper with all his might. . .
His legs fell out. . .
His lower body followed. . .
His right hand slipped. . .
His left hand slipped. . .
He felt himself falling. . .
-----------------------
May 6, 1982; 0008 local time; Vo Nguyen Giap bridge (formerly Do Long)
Thump!
"Oof"
Ichigo woke up in a very awkward position. Most of his body was resting on the cold dirt floor of the back room, his left leg was still stuck in the hammock. Ichigo tried to stand up, but his leg in the hammock made him fall on his face. Ichigo silently cursed as he freed his leg from the hammock. Ichigo contemplated getting back in and trying to sleep again when he heard a whimper. Ichigo looked over and saw his wife in a tossing and turning in a rather fitful manner. Ichigo looked around and found a convenient box. He moved the box over to the side of her hammock. He sat on the box and leaned down, holding Rukia in his strong arms. Rukia smiled in her sleep and unconsciously wrapped her arms around him. Ichigo rested his head on the hammock and let the warmth of his wife's embrace lull him back to sleep.
----------------------
May 9, 1982; 0929 local time; East of Cambodia
The crash site was different from what Ichigo remembered. The crashed helicopter was covered in vines and other vegetation. Ichigo pulled out his shovel and tried to remember where the graves were. After several hours of digging, Ichigo's shovel hit something that was definitely NOT dirt.
Ichigo carefully excavated around the thing he hit, digging with his hands in the moist clay dirt. Ichigo held the uncovered object in his hands and stared at it, the object's mud-filled eyes stared back. . .
Ichigo's hands quivered as he put the skull into a bodybag and kept digging. He came across more bones; many of them were intact, except for many of the ribs.
Ichigo put the last pieces of bone into the first bag before writing down the name of the occupant.
Urahara K.
Ichigo continued digging, another skull. This one was missing a huge portion on the top right. He dug up the rest of the bones before putting a tag onto the second bodybag.
Kotsubaki S.
------------------
May 9, 1982; 2102 local time; East of Cambodia
Six bodybags were piled in the front of the sampan as it sailed back down the river.
Ichigo and Rukia were underneath the canvas covering while the nephew sat at the end steering the motor, Rukia was laying down with her head in Ichigo's lap. Ichigo leaned over and rested his head against the side of the boat. He was trying to clear his head, digging up bodies of his friends was a traumatic experience.
But bodies weren't the only things that were brought up during this trip. . .
Memories. . .
Ichigo covered his eyes with his hand as repressed memories reared their ugly heads.
Memories of loss. . .
Memories of pain. . .
Memories of harsh brutality. . .
His harsh brutality. . .
Ichigo sighed and wished he had some alcohol. He had given up casual drinking for a while now, but he felt that this was a time when he deserved it. Rukia stirred in her sleep and brought Ichigo back into reality. Ichigo smiled as he gingerly ran his fingers through her hair. As his fingers caressed his wife's raven locks, Ichigo realized something.
He realized how much he had changed during all these years. . .
He realized how much his wife ment to him. . .
He realized just how fortunate he was that he was given a second chance at love. . .
(1) Vo Nguyen Giap was a famous North Vietnamese general.
(2)Dong: Vietnamese currency, literally translated "copper"