oOo

Day 4 Prompt: Desenrascanço (Portuguese)

"To find an unexpected and unusual way to solve a problem."

"Hey! Hinata-chan!" a feminine voice hollered from behind Hinata.

Hinata limped to a stop, then awkwardly maneuvered her bad foot so she could turn. Footsteps crunching on the gravel raced up to her.

"No, I'm coming, be careful!" Sakura called. The other woman pulled forward so she could lean in to face Hinata. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you stop."

Hinata pinned the crutch between her arm and her body, and gestured to the path before them. It ringed the entire village. Weapons were discouraged since many civilians used it as a nice nature trail. However, due to its proximity to a few training grounds, many shinobi also used it as a jogging path to warm up.

"That's why I'm here," Hinata said, "to practice."

Sakura grimaced. "How much longer do you have with those?"

Hinata continued moving forwards, carefully and deliberately making sure her injured leg perfectly faced to the front. Sakura paced backwards, in time with Hinata's movements.

"In a couple of days, I'll be allowed to use only one crutch."

"Oh, that's good. And then how long do you have to use only one?"

"Two weeks. But I'm on three months of medical leave after that."

"Three months?" Sakura exclaimed.

She lifted her hands to grab Hinata's shoulders and shake her. Realizing her mistake, she snapped them away so fast Hinata could hear the sound of them cutting through the air. Sakura clasped her fingers behind her back.

She gave a sheepish grin. "Sorry. Just. Three months. You're not joking?"

Hinata shook her head. Tsunade decided the medical leave would be an effective cover. If the information leaked out somehow, then maybe they could identify the entity targeting Team 8. But it would really take that long for Hinata to get her leg back in running shape. Her leg muscles already atrophied a bit. If Hinata flexed her quad muscles, she could see the difference between the strong healthy one, and the thinner, damaged one.

"Have you talked to Sasuke?" Sakura asked. "He brought you in, and he gets really protective of his patients, even if he'd never admit it. I'm sure he could find a way to get you better that everyone else never thought of."

Hinata tilted her head to the side, then regretted it when the movement threw off her balance. She wobbled dangerously. Sakura rushed to steady her.

"Thank you," Hinata laughed. "I guess I can't do that when walking."

"No kidding! You okay?"

"I'm fine." Hinata patted Sakura's arm. "I was going to ask what you meant about Sasuke. I…" She tried to choose her words carefully. "I would think that Sasuke would not become a med-nin. Because…"

"Because of his bedside manner?" Sakura finished with a smirk.

"Is that rude of me to say?"

Sakura barked out a laugh. "Not at all. When Sasuke told us that he was going off to train with Tsunade-sama, Kakashi-sensei's eye bulged out of his head. I thought Naruto was going to have a coronary. But it made sense."

"Sense?" Hinata very pointedly did not tilt her head again.

Sakura held out her hand helplessly. They heard footsteps crunching on the gravel. Sakura leaned around to look behind Hinata.

"It's Lee," Sakura whispered to Hinata.

Hinata took a deep breath and continued walking.

"Hello! Beautiful flowers of Konoha!" Lee bellowed as he paced closer.

"Hello, Lee-kun," Hinata greeted when he came close enough.

Not letting up on his rapid pace, he started running in circles around the two women in order to keep talking.

"It is very admirable that Hinata-chan is continuing to train even with an injury, is it not, Sakura-chan?!" he continued at the same volume.

Sakura bit her lips in an attempt not to laugh. "Yes. Yes it is."

Hinata determinedly stared at her feet. His circles made her dizzy.

"I have done another lap around the village, Hinata-chan!"

"I see. Great job!" She smiled but was sure it looked queasy. "I'm sure we'll see each other again before I finish."

Bless him, but he really did not need to do this every time he saw her on the trail. She could not handle a fourth time.

Sakura told Lee something that managed to shoo him away. But Hinata stopped, closing her eyes to try and regather her equilibrium.

Sakura laughed once Lee's footsteps could no longer be heard. "You okay?"

Hinata opened her eyes. She stared up at the sky and let out a deep breath. "He means well."

"Meaning well and doing well are two different things."

Hinata did not argue.

Sakura set her hands on Hinata's shoulders, this time to steady her.

"Come on. You can do this. I've got you."

Sakura took a careful step backwards and Hinata followed. Once they reestablished a rhythm, Sakura let go. She playfully swung her arms back and forth while maneuvering to walk side by side with Hinata.

"Anyway, as I was saying. We all thought Sasuke did it to piss off his dad. We were sure of it when Fugaku showed up to training to yell at him for disappointing the family."

"That's terrible," Hinata gasped.

"You're telling me. But he was good at chakra control. When we trained together, Tsunade-sama said his chakra control and Sharingan made him a really good med-nin. And I got the strength training. It was a win-win for us."

"So, he's trying to prove something?"

"Hmm… maybe at the beginning. But he wouldn't do anything unless he really wanted to. And like I said, he really does care about his patients. You should hear him harping on Naruto every time he gets injured."

The two exchanged a laugh.

"Thank you for telling me this, Sakura-chan. I'll be sure to talk to him."

"I'm glad I could help! Anyway, I was just trying to warm up before finding a training partner. How about I recruit Lee so he doesn't lap you again?"

Hinata sighed in relief. "You're an angel."

Sakura giggled. She feinted forward, air boxing an imaginary opponent. "I'll be sure to distract him. Talk to you later, yeah?"

"Bye-bye."

Sakura waved. She skipped forward a couple paces, before using the momentum of her high knees to carry her into a quick jog. Then, like turning on a light switch, her jog instantly transitioned into a sprint.

Hinata watched her friend leave before falling into quiet contemplation.

Did Sasuke really want to help her? Should she trust him? Was he really that dedicated to his profession?

He did seem very determined to follow her. And he offered her pads for the crutches. They were not medically necessary, and only provided more comfort. Why would he do that if he only did the bare minimum and truly did not care about patients?

The Hyuga also had a couple of med-nin in their ranks. They did their best. But they were not the best. As much as it hurt her pride to admit it, they did not compare to Sasuke.

Should she rope him into this whole mess?

Did she have the right or permission to involve him? What if this all became too complicated for him to handle?

At that thought, she huffed. Sasuke did not do anything he did not want to do. Even Hinata knew that much.

oOo

Coming up: Hinata develops a crush. Which is very understandable.

**I am currently experiencing a Life Event, which is probably going to keep me from posting every day. (Everyone is fine, it's more of an inconvenience than anything.) However, for once in my life I was prepared. So I'll be posting all the chapters I have up until the 6th of August. See you on either the 7th, or the 9th (depending if I add a chapter or not).

If you could leave me a review and validate me-I mean, let me know what you think, I'd appreciate it. Thanks!