Away Like a Song Chapter 1, a bleach fanfic

Nope, I'm still not Tito Kube, so I only own the OCs. Set two years pre-series. Theme: Ma, they broke me, by the Rockford Mules.

These hills would be the death of him, Sado thought. Still, he had fresh caught red snapper, a new C.D, and a tidy amount of money left over. And he hadn't even had to delve into the money Rodrigo'd given him.

He still felt uneasy about accepting Rodrigo's hospitality. A six-year-old, no matter how big, shouldn't have been able to beat up a boy twice his age. But he had, and he probably would've killed Rodrigo if Abuelo hadn't pulled him off the older boy. Rodrigo was only putting up with him because of Abuelo's reputation and his younger brother's plea.

He got through the final stretch, and chained up and unloaded the bike. He hummed the new song that he was composing, a counterpoint to the song playing in his headphones.

City of fog, steal my breath, city of fog don't be my death

Your steel towers won't have my bones, I'll die alone among the stones..

"Smells good, cuz," Rodrigo Marquez called. "Tada."

Despite their kinship, they didn't look much alike. Rodrigo was a shade darker then Sado, and his features were sharper, with a long aquiline nose. He kept his hair in a ponytail, mainly because he hadn't had the time for a haircut.

"It's taidama," Sado corrected, removing the paper wrapped snapper from the oven. "Either speak Japanese properly or give it up."

"You should become a linguist. Did Miguel call?"

"You just missed him."

"Oh? Oh well. I'll call him back after we get back from the airport. Celia finally agreed to drive us."

Sado focused on setting the table. This time tomorrow, he'd be over the Pacific Ocean. He didn't want to go, but Abuelo was a stubborn man. Even before his death, he'd decided that Sado would go to Japan for high school, and hopefully go on to a Japanese university. Sado personally thought that if a university in the U.S. was good enough for his parents, it was good enough for him. He'd have preferred to go to Cuba if he'd had the choice.

He liked Mexico. He had friends and family there, he had pets, and he had roots. He didn't know how to be Japanese anymore, even though he still spoke the language. Up until now, he hadn't known where his father's family had lived- or even that they knew that Sado was alive.

"Hey, primo, what's got you down?"

"Just thinking."

"Do you know anything about the people who are going to pick you up in Tokyo?"

"Mr. Mugarama was one of Dad's friends. He's a good guy, even if Mama thought he was too handsome for his own good. I don't know Ms. Yadomaru, but her paycheck depends on getting me to Karakura, so I think Miguel and Felipe are letting their imaginations run away with them again."

"Yasu, Miguel may be right. Felipe likes to tell tall tales, but my brother's usually sensible. If you get in any trouble, call me. How much money do you have with you?"

"I don't know how much it is in yen, but I have about $100 in U.S. money. Cousin Delores made sure I had a fair amount of cash when I left, and I got the rest from busking."

"Oh man, you've been begging?"

"No. It's not begging; I work for anything I get. I'm too young for an actual job, so I've got to make do with my guitar."

San Francisco was surprisingly lucrative. The only downside was that he kept getting hit on. When he got to Japan, he might be able to get a job- as long as they didn't check his passport.

Rodrigo winced.

"Okay," he said, changing the subject. "I know you're going to hate me for this, but did Great-Uncle leave you anything?"

"Yeah. Half of his savings-what was left after paying Mama's college expenses- went to me. The other half went to the school, to pay for improvements. Dad was a fairly rich man, but I can't touch most of his estate. It's being held in trust. I'll get a bit of an allowance, but I'll have to be careful with it. Oh, yeah, I own Abuelo's Nova, too."

"Well, you won't starve. That's good."

"You want the Nova? I can have the mayor transfer the title to you. Nobody at home wants it."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. I can't get my license till I'm twenty, anyway."

"How does it drive?"

"If it could handle the mountains, it can handle San Francisco."

"All right, I'll keep it 'till you can learn to drive. And remember, if you need me, call me anytime."

Sado craned his neck, watching the Golden Gate Bridge in the rearview mirror. Good-bye San Francisco. He was still in a state of shock. Abuelo had been dead less than two weeks. Sado was a few hundred miles and a country away from his friends and most of his family.

"What do you know about the people who are picking you up?" Celia Cortazar, Rodrigo's girlfriend said. Sado had been amused by her- she had Rodrigo wrapped around her finger and she knew it. She was short and tended toward plumpness. Her one vanity was her waist length black hair.

"They're not related to me. Mugarama's a family friend, Yadomaru's an employee."

"Your family can't even be bothered to pick you up?" Celia said, disapprovingly, stomping on the accelerator. "Rodrigo, just enroll Yasutora in one of the schools here."

" I can't. I don't make enough to support him, and Great Uncle Oscar'd haunt me for the rest of my life," Rodrigo protested. Celia was a cab driver, Rodrigo was a sous chef, and both of them were barely getting by.

Celia made a disapproving noise. She came from a different part of Mexico then the two boys did, so she didn't know of Oscar Joaquin de la Rosa's reputation. What Abuelo did wasn't quite magic, but it sure looked a lot like it. Abuelo'd been an observant and clever man: he always knew where the bodies were buried and what skeletons were in everyone's closets. He probably would have been that way even if he didn't encourage the ghosts to stop by for a friendly chat.

"It's not like I'm helpless," Sado said. "I speak Japanese, and I'll figure out a way to get by."

"You're thirteen," Celia said. "You shouldn't have to worry about such things."

"Got everything?" Rodrigo asked. "Tickets, boarding pass, passport?"

"Yep," Sado said, adjusting the guitar and his backpack. The rest of his bags had been checked but he didn't want the guitar out of his sight. The carry-on bag had all of his , a notebook, some toiletries, spare batteries for the C.D. player and his favorite books. The two suitcases of clothes had been checked and were on the plane already.

"Call me when you get there."

Sado nodded.

"Yasutora, you've really grown up. I'm sure you'll be a fine man someday. Chau, primo."

"Chau," Sado replied.

The flight over the ocean was calm, thankfully. One of the stewardesses seemed to take a liking to him- he found her phone number wrapped around his can of lemon tea. That poor woman was going to be so embarrassed when she found out how old he was.

His fingers itched-he really wanted to play the guitar, but it wasn't worth disturbing the other passengers. Instead, he put in another C.D. and then took out his notebook.

Sparrow (only her parents called her Frida) had given it to him for his birthday: every year, one of his friends gave him a fresh notebook for his songs. He'd written several over the years, and his time in San Francisco had been productive. He wrote down a few calculations. Today was the second week of May, and the Japanese school year went until March. He'd checked up on the laws governing minors in Japan, and the law only made education mandatory until ninth grade.

So, he'd endure eighth grade and ninth grade in Japan, and see if Rodrigo could enroll him in a school in California. If not- well, he had his guitar, he spoke three languages, and he had his strength. He could survive nearly anywhere on his own. If he was really lucky, he might get back home in time for Sparrow's fifteenth birthday.

"So what do you think of Hiyori's new look?" Kensei asked Lisa, as they waited in the airport.

"She looks like a Gothic Lolita who jumped a biker gang," Lisa said, shaking her head. "I hope she doesn't give Shinji a heart attack."

"It's his fault for sneaking off to that chess tournament in Thailand."

"That's kind of unfair. At least Shinji's stayed in touch. Hachi hasn't been in Japan for more than a week at time once he got his passport. He keeps popping up in the oddest places."

"Where is he now?"

"Taking a ferry and train from Ceylon- or whatever it's called now. Apparently, tigers kept stealing his latest mobile junkheaps. I find it hard to believe that even a tiger'd want one of those wrecks."

"Oh, the Tamil Tigers. He has a bit of bad luck with terrorist groups. When he was in Ireland, the IRA jacked his cars twice."

"When did you last see him?" Lisa asked.

"He was in Okinawa for a bit, six years ago, but then he took off again. I hadn't seen him since 1947."

"Do you have any idea why Urahara and Tsukabishi want to get in touch with him so badly?"

"Well, I guess Tsukabishi just wants to hear from him. They were pretty good friends, after all. As for Urahara, I gave up any hope of ever understanding him a long time ago. By the way, how's Love's project going?"

"Badly. He lost the brother already, and little sister has shown no signs of spiritual power."

"I guess he got the short end of the stick, but he'll probably keep looking after her no matter what.

Speaking of projects, here comes our boy now. Oi! Sado-kun, over here!"

Sado turned toward the voice, lugging his bags. Was it just him, or had Mugarama not changed at all? If anything, Mugarama looked younger with those piercings and thick black hair.

He didn't recognize the woman with him, but figured that she must be Lisa Yadomaru. She looked like a stereotype of a librarian: long braids, a long prim dress- but the look that she gave him made him wonder if she was more than an employee.

The stewardess from before passed him and mouthed 'call me.' He dropped his gaze down to his shoes, blushing.

"Is that all you have?" Lisa asked, picking up one of the bags.

"Yeah. I figured anything else I needed I could pick up on the way."

"That's the way, kid," Kensei said approvingly. "Heck, I once went halfway around the world with nothing but some tooth powder and laundry soap. C'mon, we have a train to catch. Yadomaru, quit spacing out."

"I am not," she retorted, and realized she was behind both of them. She didn't mind much: the view was pretty nice. Escorting nearly 50 kilograms of sulking teenager had not been on her to-do list for this century. She'd take her side benefits where she could find them.

I can't believe I'm being paid to do this, she thought, happily.

"Hello, may I please speak with Genji Sado?" Sado asked. He sprawled across the hotel bed. He still wondered why his father had never mentioned his family before.

"Hello, this is Yasutora. I arrived in Tokyo about three hours ago. It'll be a day or so before we get to Karakura. Yes, it's nice to meet you too, sir."

He hoped this conversation would be brief. He had two jumpy cousins that were waiting for reassurance.

"Thirteen... yes, I'll be going into eighth grade. Yadomaru's been very attentive and I already knew Mugarama. Yes, he was one of Dad's friends in Okinawa. I'll call as soon as we get to Karakura. Oh, really? Where? Thank you."

He quickly wrote down the directions, and checked his watch and the clock. Too early to place a call- his cousins wouldn't be happy to be dragged from their warm beds. He was feeling kind of tired anyway.

Duties done, he changed into pajamas and burrowed into his bed. They had another long day tomorrow, and he needed to get used to Japanese time. He'd call his cousins and friends tomorrow, to make sure they didn't start panicking. If Miguel thought he was dead, Sparrow'd probably have the whole gang halfway across the Pacific by noon. He missed them already.

Kensei gently manipulated the kido spell and watched Sado carefully. He frowned. The seals Hachi'd put on the kid were beginning to fray. At one point, he saw Sado's hand acquire a chitinous coating, which was quickly reabsorbed into the skin. He was glad he'd remembered to dose the kid after dinner; he hated to do it, but an unconscious subject was easier to work with.

He slapped an extra layer of bindings on. Hachi's careful pastiche was holding, for now. Maybe he could talk Tessai into helping, but Tessai would blab to Urahara. Urahara didn't need to know anything about this.

There really wasn't much anyone could do. The internal hollow was odd: it was almost like a parasite at this stage, and it might not have any will of its own left. Kensei wondered if that meant that Sado could use ceros after a bit of training. He batted the thought down: too risky.

Sado might be able to resist the internal hollow with willpower alone, or he might succumb after his death. There were a few cases of humans turning into hollows while they were still alive, which was one of the worst-case scenarios Lisa had suggested.

If Aizen got hold of the kid, they were screwed. If he died, Sado would likely become the equivalent of an Adjuchas, if not a full blown Vasto Lorde, and Aizen wouldn't hesitate to make him into a weapon. Even as a human, he could potentially use the hollow's power, and that would keep Seireitei puzzled enough that they'd pull their strikes until it was too late.

In order to fight Aizen, the Vizards had to keep an eye on anyone or anything he could use, and keep them out of his reach. Central 46 had screwed them over, but they fought for the ones they'd left behind.

What are we gonna do with ya, kiddo? Kensei thought. I hate to turn ya over to the family that abandoned you and Akihito, but I don't have much choice here. Aizen'd wipe out that cute little hometown of yours in a heartbeat. And we can't turn ya loose while he's around.

They had such a lot in common, Kensei mused. All three of them couldn't go back, they could only go forward. He locked the door and flicked off the light. Before turning in, he gave Sado's hair an affectionate ruffle. Even if Aizen didn't make a move, Sado had a hard road ahead of him.

Stay strong, Yasutora-kun. Akihito, please forgive us for involving your son.

A/N :Translation notes: Primo: cousin, chau: a Spanish version of ciao.

Since Kube doesn't give us much detail on Sado, I'm making quite a lot of stuff up. While this story will contain a fair amount of original characters, they will have a good reason for being there. I should note that Rodrigo and Miguel are Sado's third cousins. He doesn't have any first cousins on his mother's side.

Next chapter: On to Karakura!

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