Gehenna's Gate

What Lies Beneath

Sore legs struggled to walk the distance just from her bedroom to the front door to let Kazuha in.

"V," He breathed out, instantly wrapping his arms around her in a hug after stepping inside.

"I'm here, it's okay..." He felt her body shake, knowing she was struggling to hold in the tears, having kept it in that entire time until he finally got there.

His hand rubbed circles on her back as she cried, clearly scared and shaken by the entire thing.

"Here, let's get you resting." He took hold of her arm, helping her walk back to her bedroom and slowly get back into bed.

"Did you take any medicine for the pain?" Kazuha put his hands on his hips, already knowing the answer.

The girl simply shook her head.

"You know, for a nurse's daughter, you sure love to avoid medicine like it's actually a plague." Kazuha joked, heading back out into the kitchen where he knew her mother's medicine cabinet was.

He'd been over quite a few times in their years of friendship, and he was almost like her mother's best friend instead of her's. Her mom adored him.

"That's not a soda." The exhausted girl fakely pouted when she saw him return to her room with a glass of water and pills in hand.

"You definitely hit your head if you think I'm bringing you a Mountain Dew over water." Kazuha scoffed back playfully, waiting for the girl to get into a sitting position to take the medicine.

"How are you feeling?" He questioned, sitting on the edge of her bed now as he held up a small flashlight, ready to do her mother's old trick to check her eyes for a concussion.

"Sore. Tired." Thinking back, Vena thought she'd feel worse with how bad the accident had initially been.

"Those meds will help. Good news, I think you're clear on a concussion. You get out of an ER trip- this time." The boy playfully pointed a finger at the girl, smiling when she gave a soft yet tired laugh in response.

"It's getting late, do you want to try to sleep?"

Her eyes did feel heavy, and the adrenaline had worn off, making her feel even more exhausted than before.

"That's probably a good idea." Vena grumbled, turning her head to gaze at her now curtain covered window thoughtfully, thankful her mom remembered to pick up one for her after her weird experience the other night.

"Still can't believe your mom bought this chair for me," Kazuha let out a laugh, heading over to the other side of her room to take his usual spot on the comfy recliner her mom had also bought her a while back.

"You come over so often and we always fall asleep talking, she wanted you to stop passing out on my floor." Vena laughed as well, her exhaustion evident in her voice, now sounding a little raspy and rough.

"I didn't mind! She could have saved her money." Kazuha curled up under the extra blankets she'd left there for him as well.

"You see how much she works... it probably didn't even dent her bank, plus the money my dad left us..." Vena's voice trailed off, the subject still a bit sore.

"I'm paying her back for this, one day." Kazuha pointed a finger at the girl, a serious expression on his face now as he made it a point to change the topic of the current conversation.

"She won't take your money." The girl laughed yet again, now all curled up and comfy in her own blankets as she imagined the scene play out in her mind.

"If she's as stubborn as you, yeah, she probably won't."

"Rude!"

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