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-
Kagome had found a hideaway out back behind the Madrigal house. No one was there. Everyone was helping around the town, which was pretty cool but felt like clockwork for the family. Silently wondering, at what point did they stop doing it for the townspeople and start doing it out of simple habit. Oh, but where was it her right to walk in from out of nowhere and judge.
No, she didn't have the right. Besides, she had her own problems to deal with. 'What am I doing here!?' Closing her eyes, she fisted her hands tightly into her skirt. She could hear her therapist in the back of her head.
"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."
"...are you alright?"
She would have jumped a foot in the air had she been standing up. Turning, her eyes met uncertain yet curious brown eyes. "Y-you're Bruno. Right?" Still not familiar with everyone's name, still learning, she was sure she at least remembered his name. After all, he had worked hard with the house, Casita, to prepare for her visit. That's right... they all were expecting her. She knew Camilo had told Mirabel about his dreams. Then his sister; he said she could hear things from far away, like demon hearing. That was it, though. How did the others know she was coming?
"Yeah. I'm Mira's and Milo's Uncle." Stepping closer, only a step, he looked pointedly to the spot beside her. There was an empty pail beside her. "May I sit down?"
Kagome nodded, "sure."
"...I had a feeling you might not be feeling all that great right now. Oh, not that I was assuming you wanted to talk or anything! I wouldn't do that..." he shrugged, "if you need to talk, I could listen. Or not. I may not be the best person to talk to."
"You..." Kagome paused. She wasn't sure what she wanted to say, but she wanted to say something. "Thank you." Smiling, she watched him sit down beside her. "Can I ask you a question, Bruno?"
"Oh, of course!"
"How is it that everyone was already expecting me?"
"I-um, I had a prophecy. A vision of you."
'Vision?' That had warning bells ringing in her head. "May I see it?"
"You want to? I mean, I don't mind showing it to you. Um, it's just, most people don't like my prophecies. I wouldn't want you to feel disappointed in what you see."
"I don't think there's much left that can disappoint me."
Bruno seemed saddened by that. Still, he stood up and walked away. It didn't take him too long. He came back maybe ten minutes later. A couple of mice trailed after him as he walked with hesitant steps. Just as he moved within arms reach, he dropped in front of her. Somehow, he reminded her of a child. A nervous, unsure child. Like he was afraid of upsetting people, and just longed to be praised. He was at least twice her age, so she couldn't understand how someone could grow up with that mindset.
Kagome watched curiously as he held out a luminescent green tablet. There looked to be another one tucked under his arm, but he clearly wasn't ready to part with that one quite yet. Taking the offered tablet in hand, she looked up at Bruno and smiled at how worried he was, "I'm sure it's fine."
He said nothing to that. Letting go of the prophecy, he let her have it.
'It's pretty. I wonder how his gift works, to make something like this.' Running her fingers over the image, she settled on the curled up and broken figure of herself. This had already happened. The night she lost her family and friends, this position, curled up on the floor crying and dying inside. She knew it well. There was another image of her, though, above that one. In the vision, she was looking at someone, smiling, her eyes were alit with happiness. It was inspiring, honestly. Then there was Camilo...and... "Hey, what's he holding?"
"Hm?" He leaned over, "it's, um, a baby."
"A baby...right..." she nodded, looking back at the prophecy, her brows knitting together before turning back to Bruno, "who's?"
Bruno shrugged, "I don't know. I did try and find out! Um, but my visions aren't always the most...forthcoming."
Kagome brought a finger to the bundle in his arms, a lump forming in her throat at the thoughts tumbling around in her head. Glancing back at Bruno, she gave a small smile, "what about that one?"
He looked at the tablet under his arm, "I haven't shown the family this one yet. I saw it last night."
"It's not good... is it." She wasn't asking.
Bruno pulled it out, holding it in front of him for a moment before handing it over. "Don't say anything. The walls have ears."
She grabbed the second tablet, laying the first one by her side before she looked this one over. The image shifted. It was the Madrigals, smiling happily and surrounding Kagome as if she were a part of the family too. She looked happy here, but... Kagome tilted the image, and it changed. Tears began to burn lines along her cheeks. Dropping her head, she choked back her cries of anguish. 'It's not enough to take my family and friends from Japan; he's going to...no, not if I don't stay!' She made to toss the tablet aside when a pair of arms wrapped around her. She stilled. Frozen. Scared. Broken... curled up in those arms, she cried. She wanted to run, but no matter where she went, he'd follow her. So, where could she go?
-x-x-x-
Camilo found his Uncle sitting behind Casita while out looking for Kagome. Lying curled up in his lap, Kagome. She was out cold, and tears had long since dried smudge lines along her face. "Uncle Bruno, is she okay?"
Bruno gave a small shrug. At first, Camilo was just watching the girl, but the subtle movement behind his Uncle's back had him drawing his attention to a green tablet. "Wait, what's that? You showed her?"
"I- uh, yeah. She has a right to see the prophecy. It's her's, after all."
Nodding, Camilo rubbed his cheeks to fight off the blush. "Is that what upset her?"
"No. No, I don't think that was it. She's in a new place, and she just... feels very alone right now. Camilo, what do you really know about Kagome?"
"...I know she used to travel a lot with her friends. That...until recently, she was always moving from place to place. I know she's good with a Bow and Arrow. Oh, and she hates math! I know she likes the color red but doesn't like wearing it. She has a mother, grandfather and brother...er... well, she did. She told me they passed away." Shuffling his feet, he nudged a stone with the tip of his sandal. "I'm still learning about her, but I think I know quite a decent bit."
"You're right. Considering she's only been here for one night..."
Eyes widening, Camilo realized quickly where he'd messed up. Looking back at Bruno, he smiled, "that's..."
"I don't need to know. Here, switch with me. I'm old, and I need to move my arms."
Camilo knew that wasn't true. His Uncle could sit for hours doing nothing, holding someone if it meant making them feel better. "Don't tell Kagome I told you any of this," he said as he sat down and took the place of his Uncle. Holding Kagome while she slept in his lap, he pulled his ruana off and covered her shoulders with it. "I want her to trust me and feel safe with me."
"Safe?"
"Oh," his eyes glazed over thoughtfully, thinking of how she always seemed to hesitate in everything she did. "Don't you think she comes off afraid? She always looks like she's ready to bolt. I don't want her to run away from us. It's only been a little while, but... I like her. I want to be her friend, and...I-I don't know. My heads kind of all... fuzzy."
Bruno ruffled his nephew's hair, smiling as he lifted the two prophecies into his arms. He started to walk away when Camilo called out to him.
"I thought you only had one prophecy of Kagome."
He didn't turn around. Standing there, he tightened his hold on the two green slabs, and then...without a word... he left.
-x-x-x-
Me: Here is chapter eleven of Reasons. I owe everyone an apology. I don't like how I overreacted to the review. I made them sound rude when only select parts set me off. The reviewers complimented my work and even said they enjoyed reading my work; it was just the small fact of the Spanish and Portuguese. I am very happy to see how much support I have, though. You guys have no idea how much your words motivate me to keep writing and updating as frequently as I do. It's amazing being able to read all of these comments. Thank you so much!