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)
-x-x-x-
(Shima, Japan - Shima Psychiatric Health Facility)
Three months have come and gone, and Kagome sat on a bench outside in the botanical garden of the Health Center she was staying at. Before her, there was a gorgeous view of the North Pacific Ocean; a heavy fog had just settled atop the shore. Just barely on the cusp of eight, she could smell the lavender of the botanical garden with the help of the morning dew. Not far from her, she could hear the scratching of a pencil on a pad of paper. It wasn't her nurse, so she didn't pay them any mind. When she looked back on how she ended up in Shima, all that came to her mind was the detective who had sworn to find Naraku for her. Not that she'd asked him to. He seemed sure that he could find him and place the Hanyou behind bars, but Kagome wasn't so sure. Well, no, that wasn't right. She was quite sure. She was sure that if Detective Miyamoto found Naraku, he would end up like her family. Yeah, she was sure of that.
Bringing her hand up, she held it out above her as she leaned back on the bench and gazed up at the golden thread. It was still there. Not that Kagome thought it would go away. The last three months had left her with strange dreams that made her certain that the golden thread was going to stick around until she did something. Not sure exactly what she had to do, but it was trying to get her to make a move.
She wasn't in any hurry to make that move, though. Glancing off in the direction that the thread was being pulled, she heaved a long sigh. No longer was it just dangling, it was taut, but still, it allowed her to move around. What a strange thread.
"Higurashi-San, here you are."
Dropping her hand beside her, she took a careful breath. A calming breath. Then, she turned to see the Psychiatrist who had been placed in charge of her after her check-up in the hospital three months ago. Ishizu, Yuka was a rather talented doctor with a warm smile and can-do attitude that made Kagome cringe. Her Psychiatrist wasted no time making herself comfortable on the bench Kagome was sitting on.
"..."
She was quiet; that couldn't be good.
"Higurashi-San, I want to talk to you. I know that you are going through difficulties. These are traumatic and emotionally scarring events that you have played witness to, and I don't wish to undermine that." Clearing her throat, she watched Kagome for any tell-tale signs that what she was saying might be causing her discomfort. Kagome, however, just listened calmly. The kind doctor took that as a sign to continue. "You can't continue to hide here..."
'Wow! Just gonna drop that on me?' Kagome's chest tightened, and she made to move, but the doctor quickly took her hand in hers.
"Wait, please listen! I have been watching over you for these last few months, and you are healing, but that progress is stunted. It would help if you went back home. Staying here, you've only settled in this reality, but you don't have to settle. Kagome," she dropped the last name and adopted her first. "Kagome, you must open a new door and embark on a better future for you than what these white walls can offer. If you can take those steps, one at a time, maybe then you can finally allow yourself the opportunity to...free yourself from the shadows that shackle you as you are now. All that you've told me over the last three months; your family loved you so much, you're friends cherished you, and you would let yourself waste away here..." she heaved a sigh, looking over at Kagome.
"There's nothing left for me at home." To her credit, Kagome wasn't upset. Well, at least not in the way the doctor had suspected she might be. She had tears beginning to form in the corners of her tightly closed eyes, but she wasn't upset at the doctor.
"...then, maybe it's time for you to seek out a new home. It's time for you to let yourself begin healing. Such things won't happen here. You are hurting in ways that will only worsen in this facility."
"You said I was getting better, though."
Yuka smiled, "yes, and you are. In the ways of a young lady who has post-traumatic stress disorder." Pulling a notebook from her jacket pocket, she flipped it open and adjusted a pair of half-moon frame lenses atop her nose. "When you arrived, you wouldn't eat; you'd lost your appetite. For a long time, you suffered from prolonged crying and sadness, had bouts of anxiety and fear. Frequently, you suffered from nightmares and had difficulty sleeping. At other times it was nausea and headaches, difficulty concentrating, disorientation and confusion... always uneasy."
Kagome sighed.
Smiling, Yuka placed the list down. "Your appetite has recovered for the most part, and you no longer suffer frequent nightmares. In fact," she flipped a few pages of her small notebook and grinned, "the screenings show that you haven't suffered from nightmares since your first two weeks here. Perhaps you managed to find something else to occupy your thoughts at night?"
Shrugging, Kagome glanced away, "I guess you could say something like that." Glancing down at the golden thread before looking back at the doctor.
"Crying and sadness are normal. It's expected and the perfect medicine for someone learning to cope with loss. As for your disorientation and confusion, the difficulty focusing, and the headaches, those come and go, but in time, I'm sure of it, you'll find yourself again."
"And the uneasiness?"
"...staying here will never help you get rid of that lingering feeling that you're prey."
Dropping her head back against the bench, Kagome watched the clouds over her head as they lazily drifted above her. "I guess...it's about that time."
"I'm not pushing you to leave immediately; I'm sure you still need time—"
"No," the wind brushed her bangs from her eyes, and Kagome lifted her eyes once more to the doctor. "I've felt like I needed to go for a while now. Kind of like, I don't know, something's been... pulling me?"
"Pulling you where?"
Kagome lifted her hand in the direction the thread was being tugged in and pointed out at the ocean.
"Hachijo? Hawaii?"
Sighing, Kagome shook her head, "No, it's not either of those. It's further." To her surprise, the thread did something she'd not seen it do yet. At her mention of leaving, it glowed, and a trill tickled up along her wrist as it showed its excitement.
'I suppose one more adventure won't kill me...'
-x-x-x-
(Somewhere in Colombia)
Camilo yawned and was stretching as he headed home after his duties in the Encanto. It wasn't all that late. Just barely evening as the sun began burning light up alongside the mighty hills and mountains surrounding the Encanto.
"Camilo, have you seen Mirabel?"
It was no secret to the Madrigals that Maribel had been practically glued to Camilo's ruana since they learned of the prophecy. She still helped everybody, but Mirabel had certainly made a name for herself as his shadow in town. Especially since that day. His eyes glared down at his wrist, where strangely familiar magic had encircled his wrist in a golden bracelet similar to that of the Encanto's magical golden butterflies. Attached was a golden thread that tried daily to tug him off in a direction away from the Encanto. He had no intention of leaving, though.
"Haven't seen her," was all he said with a small shrug. Not wasting any time in passing his Tia Juliette, he quickly made his way into the kitchen to help his hermana set the table. "Ah, Tonito, you're in here too?" Bending down, he scooped the youngest Madrigal up into his arms and smiled as he curled into a hug in his arms.
"Tio Bruno is looking for you," Dolores perked up and tilted her head slightly, "he's not alone."
"Of course he's not," Camilo rolled his eyes. Setting Antonio down on the counter, he took the plates from Dolores and started towards the dining room. From over his shoulder, his mom swooped in and pressed a kiss on his cheek. Giving him a loving pat on his head as Camilo set the table. Isabela came in with Dolores, holding the glassware as his Tia Julietta had Casita help bring the dinner dishes in. She was still glancing around for her Mirabel, but that had nothing to do with him.
"Camilo!"
Jumping in surprise, he transformed into his hermana and glanced down at the plates as he adjusted his grip. Looking over his shoulder, he watched as Bruno and Mirabel came running down the steps of Casita. Maintaining his change, Camilo silently set the table, much to Dolores's humor.
"Camilo,"
"Mirabel, can you grab the silverware from the kitchen," Pepa called to her sobrino, who slowed to a stop and acknowledged her Tia by running into the kitchen. "Julietta, she's become obsessed with this prophecy. Don't you think she's taking it a bit too far?"
Julietta sighed, "I'm not disagreeing; I just don't know how to distract her from it." The whole room turned and gave Bruno a look.
"M-me? I-I should distract her? I'm the one having the prophecies, though. How will Mirabel hanging out with me all day distract her from the prophecy."
"It may not take her mind off the prophecy, but it will at least give Camilo a break. Look at him; he's hiding in Dolores." Felix gave his eldest son a look, "cambio de vuelta!" Camilo quickly changed back into himself.
A few seconds later, Mirabel ran in and sat next to Isabela, who smiled at her little sister. Her attention, however, was stolen away by the sand in her hair. "What were you doing before you came downstairs?"
"I was playing with Antonio. When Ma called for dinner, we were on our way downstairs, but Tio Bruno stopped me. He's been looking into the future every day since he had the prophecy with Camilo in it, and today, it changed. Well, to be exact, it changed about twenty minutes ago. He checked it before and then again twenty minutes ago...I said that already, didn't I." Smiling up at Agustin, who ruffled her hair as he took a seat on her other side.
"Miraboo, you're worrying more about this prophecy than Camilo is."
"That's not true!"
"It's true," wincing a bit as his father nudged him, he shrugged and settled down in his seat beside his mother and sister. Making sure that he put his mother between him and his father.
Pepa smiled when Camilo leaned his head on her shoulder, patting him. Her fingers played with his wild curls before he lifted his head and reached across the table for his water.
Mirabel glared at him, but he didn't even glance up at the obvious look of betrayal.
Agustin laughed, "Tomar un descanso, Mira. If this young lady comes to the Encanto, then she comes. Until then, how about you and I spend some father and daughter time together?"
"I think that's a great idea."
Isabel scoffed at her primo as he shared his two cents without reservation. "Tell us how you really feel."
"You don't want me to do that."
"Camilo!" Pepa stormed, a cloud forming dangerously over her head. She gave a small smirk when his body stiffened at the shock of thunder.
"Tú y yo, Miraboo."
"..." dropping her shoulders, Mirabel gave a small nod. "Si, papa, I guess that won't be so bad."
Pepa leaned forward and locked her eyes with her hermano, "in what way did the prophecy change?" She asked, placing her hand on her eldest son.
"Mami, no," groaning, Camilo let his head fall to the table. Closing his eyes, he was no longer hungry. He just wanted to go to his room and hide from all this talk about the prophecy. Camilo opened his eyes and looked at Mirabel, who was staring down at her hands in her lap. A sharp tug in his chest had him feeling guilty for the way he'd been actively avoiding her. Camilo loved his prima; he just... well, he didn't know. He couldn't place the way he felt. It just bothered him. Not the kind of guy to voice his feelings, more often than not, Camilo was the one helping others through their own hardships. However, now that he was on that side of the emotional tug-a-war, he wasn't feeling very talkative.
"It was the same, all except for a golden butterfly. With what looked to be a golden thread that is trailing behind the butterfly."
Sitting up, Camilo looked at his wrist with wide eyes and opened his mouth. Not sure what to say, he snapped his mouth shut and chose to keep silent.
Alma sighed, "It has been months since you first had this vision. Let's not speak any more on this. Whatever happens, is meant to happen."
The table fell silent; Camilo looked around and cleared his throat carefully before braving the waters and finally speaking up. "Can somebody pass the arepa con queso's?"
-x-x-x-
(Shima, Japan)
Kagome was guesstimating where exactly the golden thread strapped to her wrist was leading her on her phone. "I can't just buy plane tickets to another country without any clue as to where I'm going." Kagome sighed while sitting on a bench outside of a nearby park of the facility she'd quietly left not all that long ago. "It's impossible." Lifting her wrist, she stared helplessly at the golden thread, "give me a sign, something."
Dropping her hand back into her lap, she turned her screen off and let her head lull back onto the bench. "I should head home first. I need to head home." Standing, she clutched the small bag of items she had with her and shouldered it. "Mm," glancing at the golden thread, she gave it an uncertain smile, "let's go home."
-x-x-x-
Me: Here is chapter 3; I hope you all enjoy it. I got momentarily sidetracked this week and found myself too tired to type.