When Sasuke Met Naruto (SasuNaru)

- Chapter 40 -

It took Orochimaru some time to process what had happened. At some point during his argument with Tayuya, Kidomaru had drifted into the wrong lane. When he finally set his eyes back on the road, he found them hurtling headlong into a semi truck. That much O knew for a fact. When Kidomaru turned to the left in a panic, however, the rest became a blur. There were sparks. There was flying glass. There was the blare of a horn and the cries of skidding tires. There were chunks of ravaged metal and splattered blood.

And there was pain.

That was all O could think of as he tried to move. He wasn't sure where the van was – all he knew was that he had to escape. Even in his daze, he could smell the noxious fumes leaking into the van. Fire seemed imminent.

The seatbelt. First the seatbelt...

Orochimaru had to consciously order his body to move, almost as if he were teaching it how to function all over again. Slowly, he reached his hand down to the buckle and pressed the button. He then awkwardly forced it from his shoulder with one arm, the other laying uselessly at his side.

Damn... did I break it in the fall?

It was only then that it struck the snake-man – what about the others? Were they okay? A quick glance ahead told him that this was not the case. Kidomaru lay limp against the deployed airbag, while Tayuya was sticking halfway through the windshield, never being a fan of seatbelts herself. Only Kabuto seemed to have gotten out of the ordeal in one piece. Though he looked as if he had hit his head, judging from his cracked glasses, Kabuto was at least conscious. Bloody, battered, and bruised, but conscious.

That only left Sasuke. Turning to his left, O was at once relieved and panicked. Sasuke was there – that was a plus. Somewhere in the crash, however, his head had bashed against the now-shattered window. He was breathing, albeit slowly, but he had a significant amount of blood running down the side of his head. It did not take a doctor to tell he was unconscious, and in a perilous condition.

"Kabuto... can you stand?" O asked, turning his attention back to his right-hand man.

The silver-haired man nodded as he adjusted his damaged lenses. "I think so. You?"

"I'll be fine, but I can't move my right arm. Can you help me with Sasuke? We have to get him out of here."

"What about Kidomaru and Tayuya," Kabuto asked, indicating the duo in the front seats.

"Kabuto... it's too late for them..."

The truth hurt. Kabuto bit his lip, but rose from his seat regardless. It was only as he watched his friend rise that Orochimaru realized that the van had landed on its side – he was lying against Sasuke, and Kabuto was standing on the side of the van. Orochimaru gagged – his head was still spinning, and the disorientation was nauseating. He was just glad he hadn't eaten breakfast.

"Here, O. You need to stand – I'll help you out through the back." Kabuto said, indicating the rear door.

Orochimaru shook his head. "No – we have to help Sasuke first. He's unconscious. I can at least move on my own."

"At least let me help you to your feet, then. We can carry Sasuke out together," Kabuto insisted, extending his hand to the snake-man.

"Fine," O concluded, grasping his bandmate's hand.

With a grunt, Kabuto pulled O upright, so that they were both standing beside Sasuke's head. Nodding at each other, they bent down and scooped Sasuke up, each supporting a side of the teen over their shoulders. Slowly and steadily, they made their way around the back seat and pushed open the rear hatch. Carefully they stepped out of the vehicle and walked a short distance away through the muddy grass, where they set the teen down under a tree, out of the rain.