Disclaimer: I do not own the property of Encanto or Naruto; both works are owned by Masashi Kishimoto and Disney, respectively.

Chapter 1: A Stranger in Paradise

The Streets of Bogota (1976)

The city itself was alive with its constant hotbed of activity that raged on with each passing second as the noise of people's cheers and loud music mixed to create a deafening echo that almost seemed to shake the nearby foundations.

It was a heavy showcase of the prosperity that the city was currently undergoing as the money was flowing into the pockets of its people, who were in a state of ecstasy, making each night one to remember.

The bars, dance halls, movie theaters, market districts, and even the very sacred grounds of the church were always the makers of loud cries of excitement and joy. There seemed to be no excuse for not finding a means of having the time of your life.

It spelled out how far the country had gone since the violent bloodshed to be had at the turn of the century.

It was hard not to feel it as he walked through these crowded streets at night. The atmosphere is almost infectious enough to have him want to take part in the fun. But as much as he would have liked to join in, he had other important business.

The blond took a quick turn down a dimly lit alleyway whose other source of brightness was a red neon light at the very end of the alley. The source of this light was the one bright spot that lit the entire dark corner and also came to highlight the bodies of people in it, conducting some of the more obscene actions.

Which consisted of sketchy-looking people outside the bar smoking or drinking from their beer bottles while deep in their conversations. As well as a few prostitutes out with their Johns conducting some "night" services.

He could feel a few of their eyes briefly looking in his direction as he walked closer to the bar. He was not from the city and was not your usual-looking Columbian but a foreigner visiting the country. Their looks were brief as they returned to their own business, but the man at the front of the bar took notice on a certain edge.

Unfazed by their looks, the blond continued until he reached the bar's entrance and went right inside. The scene that greeted him was typical of most bars that were to be found in the dark corners of alleyways.

Dark, dusty, and filled with too many drunks. The noise of the jukebox blaring out was the first thing he heard the closer he got to the entrance, and it became much clearer the moment he walked in.

The entire inside of the bar was mostly shrouded in darkness except for the low lights that lit up some of the sections of the place. The hanged signs that glowed in neon also did their part in giving the joint a little bit more visibility.

It also did its job of highlighting the smoke from the packs of cigarettes being used rapidly. The place would have been a complete hassle for a non-smoker to intake some air without coughing.

"Shady on the outside and shady on the inside." He muttered quietly as he walked towards deep inside, all while once again ignoring the strange looks given to him by the patrons inside. He reached the service bar and sat on one of its stools. It wasn't long after that the bartender went up to him.

"What will you be having?"

"You have rum?"

"We don't have any rum at the moment. Pick something else"

"Just give a corona." He was not bothered by the lack of rum as he was not picky about what drinks were available at this bar. The patrons here would most likely settle for drinking homemade pruno.

Taking the drink with one hand the moment it was brought to him, he turned around with his back against the bar table frame and saw his surroundings again. A couple of guys playing pool in the center, a few outside the entrance, a few couples sitting by the tables near the windows, and a few barflies shuffling close to the bathroom.

Overall, it was your typical seedy bar tucked away in the middle of the city, with only your less-than-upstanding citizens being its only patrons. For most people, this would be the last place anyone would think to come to, but for the foreigner, it was one that he had grown well accustomed to during his travels.

Apparently, for the type of people, he came to look up for information, their go-to place was that of an obscure bar in a bad part of town. I never really knew why they couldn't just pick somewhere more pleasant. It would make his travels more worthwhile.

Taking a swing from his beer, he moved to one of the empty tables near him and quickly flopped down on it. He looked at his watch and noticed that his guy was late to meet him.

"Damm, well, it can't be helped then. It looks like I'm going to have to wait for his ass to show up," The blond thought to himself as he took another sip from his corona while looking up at the television propped up in the corner.

It mainly covered the day's events and some developments in government today. It was boring and only served to get even more so as it went along. Finishing his drink with one more swing, he signaled the barkeep for another one as he waited for his appointment to show up.

One-and-a half-hour later

The waitress had once more cleared his table from the empty bottles that began to litter it and had stopped being surprised at how much the foreigner could drink without kneeling and passing out.

But as long as he kept paying for his drinks, it wasn't much of a concern for her boss to allow them to continue serving him. Though she grew curious at what her boss would think on the off-chance, the blond did end up falling over dead as a doorknob. Because if it were to happen, then she would not be there to help out picking up the body.

She got paid, but she didn't get paid enough to worry for the sorry drunks who spend their entire wages here every other night. It's a real shame, though. Because if he weren't much of a heavy drinker, she wouldn't have minded him taking her home for the night. But, knowing where she worked, the man himself could very well be a sketchy person to begin in being here of all places.

A real shame, though.

Naruto watched as the waitress once more left after clearing his table and wondered for a second what she might think of him with how many trips she was taking and drinking more booze. Not that he cared what these types of people thought of him. It made him curious about what they thought of him since he sat down to wait.

But his patience was already starting to run a bit thin, given the time wasted waiting for his contact to appear. He looked at the clock on the wall for what seemed like the umpteenth time.

He looked at the clock on the wall. He sighed at how tiresome it was to be reminded of how much he hated having to wait around for something that he could have gotten himself quicker if it was left up to him but was prevented from doing so under the strict instructions given to him.

The loud laughter broke him from his thoughts as he directed his gaze to the bar's entrance and saw a meek-looking person whose entire body language seemed to spell out that of a timid individual who a gust of wind would most likely knockdown.

The man in question almost seemed to falter when he stepped inside the bar and quickly grabbed his brown fedora hanging off his head as if something collided against it. His clothing was also in the same disarray, as his white button shirt was stained with dirt patches alongside his beige slacks. That, copped with his footwear being caked in mud, really came to tell a picture of a person who was clearly out of his element.

Naruto just looked at him with a bit of joy as it took a bit of his annoyance out of seeing the person having a more terrible night than he was. But he quickly changed his demeanor the moment he spotted what seemed to be a parcel bag attached to his shoulder. And as in cue, the new person met his gaze, instantly perked up, and immediately went up to him.

"I presume your Señor Uzu-"

"No names. We've already gone over the semantics of how this transaction was supposed to be through the phone, but apparently, that must have been lost in translation given your late arrival."

" about that," He quickly muttered as he nervously sat across the blond who was not in the mood for a small chat."I was caught by surprise by the amount of work that was dropped on me all of a sudden, and on top of that, I had trouble looking for the bar's location. I must have gotten the wrong di-"

"The package"

"Pardon?"

"The package. Did you bring me what I asked you to bring?" Looking at the skittish man with evident annoyance."You know the sole reason I'm even here. That is the only reason why I had to travel from outside the country to this little flea-ridden bar in the first place. Because it wasn't for the drinks, that's for sure."

"Yes! Of course! "I placed the bed on the table and slid the item to him. Though not without ensuring it was secured correctly before handing it over.

The blond took the bag, opened the latch, peered into its contents, and made sure through a critical gaze that they were legit, not forgeries like the last time. Seeing that they were the genuine deal, he gave a confirming hum before closing the bag once he was done looking at them.

The messenger was immensely relieved to see his client happy with the contents, making him feel less nervous than when it came in.

"I expect everything to be to your liking. Everything seems to be in order then?"

"Yeah, it appears to be the real thing." Now, looking back at the man."For a moment, I doubted that these would be real and not just another pair of fakes like the last time."

"I guarantee you that my people have fully checked everything out. I can assure you of that." As if to prove a point, he made a gesture that his right hand raised, pointing straight up, while the left one was across his heart.

Some local patrons shot the man with weird looks at how odd the man was acting but shrugged it off and went back to drinking the night away.

"You don't do this very often, do you?"

"Ummm…not exactly, but it's good to get out and try something new here and there. Even if the experience can be too much," laughing nervously as he gazed at his surroundings and the brief run-in he had with the ones outside the entrance."So I felt this would help me try something new and be a bit daring if I could say so."

"Like a seedy bar filled with the lowest of thugs that will make a quick meal outta you?"

"I suppose some places can be made to be the exceptions, but regardless, it's a new experience nonetheless."

"I would suggest that you keep your business behind that desk because, with this line of work, people like yourself are not always cut for it." He got up from his chair and left a couple of bills on the table, including the package stored under his arm." Please take it as a bit of advice. It'll make you live longer."

"Umm, sir?...What of the payment?" He quickly said before having the tall blond throws him a minor key with an engraved number attached to it.

"Go to the bus station a few corners west from here. There's a combination box with what you want inside."

"You didn't bring it with you?"

"Why would I bring something that will attract too much attention to me?" Giving the man a weird look over his question."That's just basic common sense."

"What if there's nothing there, and you're just giving me this to trick me?" he raised his voice and the key up to his face.

Something that alerted some of the locals again, but this time making some of them pay attention to them as if they heard something interesting. This wasn't lost on the foreigner, but it was for his conduct that he failed to notice the slowly changing mood.

"I can assure you that everything you need is in that station, and I swear I am not trying to pull a fast on you."

"I…I..don't believe you." Standing up now and trying to gather as much confidence to his voice, but failing dramatically as he kept shaking."I need the payment, and I need to..t-to see it for myself."

"First, you need to calm yourself down, take a quick breath, and think about where you are before you do anything too drastic."

"I am tasked with returning the payment to my bosses. Responsibility was placed on me through my instance, and if I don't fulfill it on the off-chance that you lied to me, I can't have you leave with that package until I get the payment in hand."

"Everything all right here amigos?"

"Goddammit," He muttered slowly as one of the barflies came over stinking of booze alongside that of his buddies who flanked him from behind.

"Nothing, we're just talking here," He said to the bearded fellow who, by this point, had wrapped his shoulder across that of the more petite frame of the messenger. Who was now paying attention to the newcomer with fear in his eyes?

"Is that so?" Not caring by the sound of his voice."Because from where I am looking, you seem to be trying to cheat this poor man out of his money." Looking at him with a smirk that showed his yellow teeth with that shine of some silver fillings."Ain't that right, boys?"

"Sure seems like it, boss"

"Sure does."

"Somebody forget to teach him some manners."

"Now. Now. Let's not get all violent here. How about we all act like civilized folk and solve this peacefully?"

"Look, I don't care what you want to do. I got what I came for. He got what he came for. Now, if you don't mind, I will leave."

But that wasn't a choice at the moment as the guy's goons blocked the hit path, and two of them got behind him. The leader in question had called the key from the messenger, whose protest was quickly cut out by having him be backhanded by the brute's foreman, who had the man crash down to a nearby table, bringing down all of its contents with him.

His bleeding form and twitching body were all that indicated that he was still breathing, but that was something that wasn't of much concern for the visitor, who could care less about that as his attention was on something more pressing.

"Had enough? Because I have." I continued staring at the man who seemed adamant about this.

"Now, don't be like that. The night is still young for us to have some fun." Getting a bit close to the blond, while his crew did the same, but not as close as their boss."If you give that much money, you have something worth a lot."

"Something worth nothing if you had it."

"We won't know if you just hand it over like a good little puto, and you can just be on your way." Now, standing a few inches from the blond who almost gagged at the bad breath that was being spilled directly at his face."Now, what do you say? Hand it over; maybe you'll be thankful to walk out of here with both your legs working."

"The only thing that's a mess here is you and your boys coming up to me smelling like fucking roadkill and cheap beer." Taking a step back as the leader took a step forward."So, do us all a favor and take a hike. Maybe take a dip in bleach while you at it, or whatever you people use to make the smell of shit go away."

That made his joyful nature disappear on the man's face, but not the anger growing behind his eyes. Though he kept smiling, it didn't match how tense he looked at the foreigner.

"It's funny to think you're talking as if you even have a chance of walking out of here in one piece. Now, this is how it's going to play out. You're going to give us that bag that you have tugged away snuggly under that arm of yours, and you're going to have a couple of shades worth of shit get beaten out of you."

"Is that so?"

"Oh yeah. You can bet on that." His smile turned even wider at the prospect."You're gonna be looking real funny trying to suck dick with no FUCKING TEETH!"

Whatever else he wanted to say was instantly cut out as the head biker's front teeth were knocked inwards as a heavy punch came crashing through them with enough momentum that had him flying backward over the pool table.

The men's game at the pool was completely thrown upwards as the biker landed on the corner of the table and hit the table with a sick crunch.

The moans of pain that came afterward were soon drowned by that of the rest of his buddies yelling all sorts of obscenities at him before lunging at him with the intent to afflict some heavy payback.

The closest to him was aiming to smash him over the head with a half-empty beer bottle. Still, his swing was caught mid-air as he quickly grabbed him by the wrist before using the opportunity to use the momentum of the lackey to have him crash onto the other biker opposite of him.

At the same time, he could grab the bottle that found a home in the face of one of the unlucky bastards who had paused at the sight of his friends tumbling over. One moment, he was staring wide-eyed at the action, and the next, he was clutching his eyes in pain as the glass had cut deep, letting out a torrent of blood seeped through his fingers.

The noise of his screaming as he fell to the floor on both knees was the final indication that many in the bar who weren't getting part of the fight opted to leave instead of getting hurt, which led to the whole bar practically being left deserted, except for the barkeep and some of the waitresses that kept to a corner.

Unfortunately, this resulted in some of the other members of the biker crew who were outside entering the bar as the last of the fleeing patrons exited the establishment. Thus leaving him to deal with more trouble as they ran at him with raised fists.

He reacted quickly as he moved close to the pool table that had their leader still moaning on the ground in pain. He saw a thick cloth that was dropped by one of the waitresses and grabbed it as soon as one of the goons came up to him with his armed cocked.

A flash kick to the stomach knocked the wind out of him as the momentum of the kick sent him toppling over, clutching at his stomach.

The cloth he had on was used to wrap around a pair of cue balls and quickly tie them together to prevent them from getting loose.

The first one to feel a pair of hardballs was a lanky-looking biker who tried to jump over the rail of the pool section but found his side explode in pain as the sack hit him point center. He quickly collapsed in pain as he grabbed the side of his head.

The rest quickly grabbed their weapons as some pulled out some small blades from their pockets while others used the pool sticks to swing at him.

Having clear visibility of the entire group inching forward with the intent to inflict some pain, he tensed his body as he waited for them to strike first.

The moment they did. He started swinging.

Standing in the middle of bruised bodies and an equally trashed bar. Naruto was checking himself to see the extent of the damage and found that a few nicks here and there had scuffed up his clothing, but other than that, not much was done to cause any sort of serious injury.

The only sore parts of his knuckles, which were bruised and bloodied. Had to rely on them once the sack ripped open during one of the larger hits he gave out.

The bikers, on the other hand, were in a far more serious state, with the worst having multiple broken bones and blood pooling from their mouths and noses. But nothing could be considered life-threatening unless they didn't go and treat themselves.

Walking towards one of the bar stools, he crouched down to pick up the package he had placed there during much of the fighting. Luckily, no hand other than his own had grabbed it since the commotion began.

He looked at the barkeep, who considered the damage done to his entire bar while his employees were picking up some pieces of broken furniture off the ground.

"Sorry about the mess"

As he looked at the place, the bartender didn't seem to register what he said. So he just opted to pay for his drink and put some cash on the counter.

As he walked out. He spotted the man who came with his package and found him still passed out from the hit he had taken. His chest was moving, at least a sign that he was still alive.

He also spotted a key he had given him lying on the floor next to him that was knocked from him when he fell.

"Hey, barkeep? Heads up"

The man finally heard the man call out and saw a key thrown at him. He noticed that it was a bus station key.

"What's this?"

"It's something that'll help you with the bar."

He didn't have enough time to respond to what he meant about that, as the moment he looked back at the key and the person, he was gone in an instant.

A Few Hours Later (At The Motel)

He threw himself onto the bed the moment he got back to his motel room and was nursing his knuckles with some ice as they were the sorest part of his body from the many heads he had to crack open once the fight began to get too hectic.

The fight, though not as difficult as what he was accustomed to, didn't leave anything much for him to worry about concerning his health. On the other hand, the bikers were left in a much worse state than he was.

Almost made him feel sorry for them. Hopefully, the experience would be enough to teach them a lesson about messing with the wrong people and people in general. He doubted the last part, but stranger things have compelled people to think differently after a brutal experience.

Having three shades worth of shit beating out of you would do that to most people.

The contents of the package lay spread out from the counter next to the bed, and suffice to say that at least the trip wasn't a waste of time as he would have thought it to be. Everything inside seemed to pan out as to what he was looking for.

The low spring of the fan continued to buckle for its weight as the screws keeping it together seemed to be on the verge of breaking off but somehow found a will of their own to continue operating. Not that it made much of a difference, as it barely made any effort to cool the blond.

Not even the sound of the TV could drown out the bombardment of noise coming outside as people still had enough energy to burn. Besides, he wasn't paying any mind to what the TV was showing as there wasn't nothing to distract him. It also didn't help that the only thing playing was a soap opera. It did not have a good actor; worse off, it wasn't even in color.

It also doubled as the only light source in the room that wasn't of the motel's neon sign that seeped through the blinds.

But at least it did its job keeping some of the noise from outside at a minimum. If barely.

Looking at the clock that read a bit past 9. He sighed as it meant that he had to get up, but he knew he didn't have much of a choice unless he didn't want to get his ear chewed off again. The last one was bad enough as it was, and he could almost swear that his ear had gotten a bit of damage from all that yelling.

Shuddering at the thought. He got up and went outside his motel room and down the stairs located just around the corner of his room to use the payphone near the establishment's check-in.

The short walk was accompanied by the sound of rumbling coming from the clouds above him that started gathering together. The sound of low thunder began to be heard as the first water droplets started to fall on him.

When he attributed the numbers and put the receiver to his ear, he waited for a familiar voice to be heard.

"You're late," Came the sound of a smooth but calm female voice at the other end of the line.

"Sorry about that. Time sorta got past me during the pick-up."

"The job should have been done hours ago." Though sounding calm, the voice sounded anything but calm to the young man."When you contacted the target and made the transaction, you should have relayed your progress to us."

"I have a valid reason why that didn't happen."

"Please explain."

"For starters, the contact had me waiting at the pick-up location for far more time than I would have expected to be there. Secondly, the man himself was a total screw-up in getting there due to some bullshit work he had to do, and to top it all off, he was a total non-compliant once the transaction was made."

"Elaborate"

"Once the exchange was done, I had the package with me. He began to grow skeptical as to the manner of the payment and didn't believe me as to having the money."

"Did you have the payment?"

"I did." Now getting a little heated at the question as he began to remember the troubles that went down tonight over a simple mission."I gave him the location of a secured drop-off with the payment. He refused to believe me, and things got out of hand when outsiders got involved, leading to a commotion."

"Did you at least get the package in one piece?"

"Nothing to worry about. Everything is where it should be, and not a single shred on them."

"Is it what we've been looking for?" The tone of voice shifted to one that seemed to be at least hopeful about what he would have to say.

He placed a hand into his right pocket and took out one of the documents he put there while he was looking through the contents of the parcel and smiled at what he took out the moment he unfolded it.

A piece of a map that highlights the deep country of the country with a line of old rivers that headed deep into the mountains. Some notes on the decades-old paper highlighted multiple arrows pointing to the mountains that ran through the rivers.

The illustrations of the mountains had a circle over them to signify their importance. As to what it was, it seemed to be exactly what the company had tasked him to find.

"Respond agent. Are the contents of the package authenticated?"

"Definitely. They're the real deal"

"Good. That's at least some sort of assurance over the botched pick-up."

"You making sound as though that was my fault."

"I am more concerned over your late confirmation than a drunken bar fight. Regardless, it's a win for us to find a direct route to what we've been searching for after all these years."

"We still don't know if this is gonna lead us to the artifact," He replied as he stood alone in the lone hallway."It still doesn't guarantee us where exactly it is."

"But it gives us a more definite location than anything else we've worked with."

"I guess"

"Whatever the case, contact us as soon as possible tomorrow for the next set of instructions."

"Can you just tell me right instead of leaving in suspense?"

"Where's the surprise on that?" Now clearly toying with him."Just be sure to be fully rested, as your plans for the duration of the mission will have you do some heavy traveling in the country."

"Great"

"Just think of it like a vacation. I am kinda jealous of you," Her voice almost cracked at the end of the sentence.

"Yeah, yeah, I do enjoy being smacked down here in Columbia, sweating my ass off in this fucking heat" Too tired to engage in any more banter with his handler."I will crash on my bed before I start to feel myself getting Zika by just standing here all night talking with you."

"That's the spirit. Just remember to make sure not to be late again. It's bad enough to be kept in suspense, especially now that we have proof of its location."

He didn't bother to reply as he had already hung the phone back onto its receiver. He stared at the phone for a bit as he was caught up in his thoughts about what would come for tomorrow's next part of the assignment.

Stepping outside of the phone booth, he sighed as he looked up to the sky, feeling a bit of the breeze hit him. The quiet moment was soon interrupted as the sudden fall of rain came crashing down on him. Completely soaking him from top to bottom.

"All of this for a fucking candle"

End of Chapter 1

Thinking about all the Disney live-action remakes that the company has made or is about to make made me kind of go back and rewatch the originals. Watching Encanto again made me realize a bit more about the world-building, especially with the flashbacks of the grandmother.

It made me curious about the world of Encanto outside of the mountains.

It also made me start to think about the film's era. The film's creators don't give a definitive answer as to the year the film takes place. It's set either in the late 19th century or the early 20th century. Others believe it to be around the 1950s to the 1960s due to some hints people have pointed to because of the grandmother.

The grandmother and her husband could have been victims of some real-life events in Columbia. They could have either been a part of the Thousand Days War (1899-1902), the Banana Massacre (1928), The Violence (1948-1958, or the Colombian Civil War.

Though the most I could find on some of the film's inspiration, the creators, due to the lack of exact dates, tend to be between the late 1890s and the 1960s. So, I am banking on the Banana Massacre to fit the ages of the family members during this fic. It also gives me an excuse to add a bit of pop culture from the late 70s and maybe a bit from the 80s.

Hope you enjoy the chapter, and until next time, have a good read, and stay safe.