Reasons

Summary: She was running away. Running away from the past, from her present, from her failures. When she lost everyone important, everyone who mattered, she lost her reasons to live...a glowing gold butterfly is hoping to help her find it again.

Anime/Movie: InuYasha/Encanto

Genre: Romance/Family (Hurt/Comfort)

Pairing: Kagome (17)/Camilo (16)

A/N: Takes place seven months after Encanto (Movie).

-x-x-x-

(Somewhere in Colombia)

"Oh?" Antonio asked, standing up on his chair to look at the prophecy. He couldn't quite see as Camilo tilted the frame slightly. Not trying to hide it, he was trying to see it better himself. "What is "oh"?"

"Bebe?" Pepa frowned, "he's holding a baby!?"

"Mami, I am always holding a baby. That's the least surprising thing in this vision." Giving his mother a deadpanned expression, he shook his head before placing the prophecy down and pointing. "Since I received my gift, I've transformed into every single person in our Encanto, at least once. Except for her."

Alma stepped around the table and made her way behind Camilo and Pepa to get a look at her. Whoever her was. She was ...young... beautiful too. She looked different, though. Nothing like those of the Encanto. Camilo was right; she was the odd one out in this prophecy. "Brunito, could you try and see more?" Looking to her son, he seemed to sway back and forth on his feet before looking up and meeting her eyes.

"I tried. I have this growing pile of prophecies, and the image is no different from the one you're looking at." He moved to his sobrino's side and pointed just over his shoulder at what was beneath the stunning young girl. "Whoever she is, she's not here yet, and she's deeply hurt."

The prophecy, as it were, held an image of a young girl curled in on herself beneath a series of open possibilities. Camilo was certainly a part of the vision, as he held a small infant in his arms, looking only slightly older than he was now, with the girl's face coming into frame to the right of him. It was now a question of who this girl was and when she would arrive?

-x-x-x-

(Tokyo, Japan)

Faltering at the subtle glow along her wrist, Kagome raised it to eye level. Lifting her other hand, Kagome brought a finger to lift what appeared to be a thin, nearly unnoticeable golden thread connecting her new bracelet to some unknown end. "What's-" her eyes moved past the thread and lingered on the bodies of her family. She had to do something. Calling the police came to mind, but what was she going to say? A spider Hanyou killed them? She certainly knew what happened, but saying it out loud would land her locked up in a psychiatric ward. Not something she wanted. No, she would need to tell them something, though.

That was what she said, but the insistent heaviness in her chest and tightening of her throat every time she tried to speak... after placing a call to 110, she didn't have to wait all that long. Hardly thirty minutes. Kagome was sitting on the shrine steps, her school uniform stained in dried blood. Her hair stuck uncomfortably to the length of her neck. She felt like she'd go insane, with her skin dotted with the blood splatter that was crusted along her socks, shoes, legs, and arms.

All around her, police moved about the shrine. Forensics took photos of what appeared to be slash marks across the wall where Naraku had attacked her mother. They looked confused. Kagome blinked a few times as she tried to focus. A shadow cascaded across her, and she looked in front of her. Turning away from the crime scene behind her.

"Higurashi, Kagome, I had some questions. I'm not sure if you want to do this here or at the station?"

The shadow came from a heftily built man with a hard frown on his face. He looked as tired as she felt. "It doesn't matter to me. Not like location will change anything."

Grunting, he cleared his throat and sat down on the step beside her. "I want you to tell me what happened. Those wounds are not normal, and no school girl would be capable of making them."

She shook her head, "I can tell you that they were killed, that it was my fault. I couldn't do anything, and the monster that killed them decided he wasn't ready to kill me quite yet. He still thinks I have more to lose." Tears began burning at the edges of her eyes. "I couldn't do anything to stop him."

"How is this your fault, and who is he?"

"He followed me... he followed me home and attacked my family. I should never have let him get that close to them."

"I need a name."

"...Naraku. If you look for him, he'll kill you too."

If that wasn't the most ominous thing she'd ever said. Brushing away her tears, she cringed at the feel of the dried blood scratching along her cheek. "It happened yesterday."

"That...much was obvious. The bodies have stiffened considerably."

She nodded, "I passed out while crying... when I woke up, I called...but now they, I need to bury my family." She shuddered at those words, "how cruel."

The detective was quiet for a moment. Standing, he held his hand out to Kagome. She looked at it for a moment, then took it uncertainly.

"You can't stay here. For the time being, we'll have you looked over at the hospital, and a few officers will stand by."

"That's not necessary. I'm-" Kagome stopped, "I'll be fine." Even she didn't believe what she was saying.

"Then humor me." He guided her down the many steps of the shrine.

Below, there was a large crowd of strangers, and then a few familiar faces she wished weren't there.

"Kagome!"

"Kagome, what happened!?"

"Hey, let us through; we're her friends!"

A jolt of terror ran through her, and she moved further away from them, quickly escaping into the police cruiser as an officer opened the door for her. Wherever she was going, she would sooner or later need to come back. She couldn't just keep running away. Hands in her lap, she looked down and away from the window. Her eyes trailed along that shimmering gold thread for a moment before she carefully lifted her wrist and pressed it to her chest. It was warm. Whatever it was, it felt safe.

Unsure of how long she was in the car, she felt the breaks' lurch and the subtle slows and sudden go's. Heavy eyes, tired from the emotional strain of loss, Kagome leaned against the back passenger side window and fell into a hellish sleep.

-x-x-x-

(Somewhere in Colombia)

"Have you considered why you're in the prophecy? The prophecy is about that girl, but you are in it too. You should go to Tio Bruno; maybe he can see more!" Jumping out of the way of a cart, Mirabel adjusted her glasses and caught back up to Camilo, who barely spared her a glance. "When do you think she'll get here? The Encanto has never had an outside visitor. I don't even know how she'll find us. Isn't the Encanto...like... hidden by magic? I don't know; I always assumed that we must be hidden away since we don't get many visitors, right? Why do you think—"

"I don't want to think about it, Mira." Camilo smiled down at two kids who tugged on his rauna. Turning as one pulled him, he watched them run away playfully before turning to continue on his way to his next job. Even after Casita fell six months ago, the Madrigals still did their part for the Encanto. That wasn't going to change just because everyone had started to share their feelings. Not that he was complaining. His work was fun. Glorified childcare with a bit of playful antagonizing on his behalf. Not to mention, changing into other people and teasing them was just more entertaining than sitting around doing nothing in his free time. Or taking a break, as Luisa called it.

"Well, you should!" She snatched the back of his rauna and nearly choked him as he came to an abrupt stop.

Coughing and wheezing, his hands came up to the collar of his rauna as he searched for a breath. Switching between his mami, a random villager, and the pastor before finding his way back to his own body, Camilo growled and spun around to face his grinning prima.

"Listen, Mira; I'm sure finding out that you were part of Tio Bruno's prophecy made you feel all special, warm, and cozy inside. After all," He took his rauna and yanked it free from her hands, " everyone was finally starting to pay you some attention. Trust me. I get it! You and I shared the same room for eleven years, remember? I understand you just about as well, if not better than you do." He held his hand up to interrupt her when she opened her mouth to argue, "No! No hables, listen. You like to figure things out. If there is a question, you need to know the answer. Ay por Dios, Mira! I'm not like you. I'm not looking for a life-changing adventure down some rabbit hole of emotions! I want to continue my life the same as I have been."

Popping her hip with her hands on either side, she waited for a moment before she finally spoke. "Are you done?"

"...yeah, pretty much." Camillo shrugged and turned to continue on his way. However, his hand rubbed his throat where a thin red line was forming, no thanks to Mirabel.

"Great! Because I'm not! It's your turn to listen, Milo." Mirabel ran in front of Camilo and turned, walking backward while standing in his way. "As you said, you and I shared a room for eleven years, then you got a gift, and you felt good about yourself. Especial! Si? Of course, you did. Who wouldn't? However, I watched you rise and fall for five years after receiving your gift."

"No, no, no!" He shook his head and turned between two houses.

Mirabel, who had been ahead of him, was now forced to chase after him. "Si, si, si!" She yelled, "the way you would look back at Abuela after she told you to change into someone. If it wasn't Carlos, it was Jesús! If not Jesús, then Catalina, Maria, Juan, Diego...but how often did anyone ask for Camilo?"

He stopped walking. His hand was clutched tightly at his side in a fist. It's not like he didn't already know any of this. He knew how he felt about his gift. He loved it! He just wished the Encanto, his Familia, didn't forget so easily who was underneath the many faces he changed into.

There was a reason he liked his job. He could be whoever he wanted when he was babysitting. The mamá just long enough to calm the bebé down, and then it was back to being playful and fun-loving Camilo! Making people smile is what he was good at, but when he looked in the mirrors in his room and had difficulty recognizing himself... that was troubling. Glancing over his shoulder, he gave her a bemused look, "don't you have something to do? Somewhere to be? Didn't you reconcile with Isabela? Go... bond."

"Isa and I are perfectly fine and bonded. I'll be fine spending a couple of days helping you."

"Que? Helping? Is that what you're doing?"

"Yes, I'm helping!"

"They say that a man never knows how to say goodbye and a woman never knows when to say it...I finally understand what that means." Once more, he left, but he didn't bother trying to get rid of his prima this time. He just smiled and gave a small shake of his head when she ran to catch up to him. At least she wasn't pressing him any longer about the prophecy. Truth be told, he enjoyed having her follow him, playfully bantering and just being able to talk with her the way they had as kids openly. It was nice...even if she did talk a lot.

At the corner of his eyes, he caught the glistening shimmer of a familiar golden wing fluttering at the entrance of the Encanto. He stared thoughtfully at it as he continued to the house not all that far from where he was now. Feeling a subtle tug, he wanted to get a closer look, but that would have to wait. After all, he was a Madrigal, and he still had work to do.

-x-x-x-

Me: I felt almost empowered by my readers and reviewers. I was at work writing this, and I was determined to finish it before bed when I got home. Thank you all for the support, and I hope this story lives up to everyone's expectations. Again, I don't speak Spanish. It's not my first language or even my tenth language. I couldn't tell you the difference between Spanish and Colombian slang, so I hope you all take that to heart, and I can still do some justice to the little tendrils I add to the story.