Hinata glanced back, but the wraiths from earlier had been replaced by statues.
"Hinata?" prompted the goddess.
"I'm sorry," said Hinata, bowing her head quickly in apology. "I'm not sure what's going on."
"You are Naruto's fiancee, for all that your father hadn't been entirely serious when he made that bet," said Midnight.
"WHERE THE HELL AM I NOW?!" screeched someone.
Midnight blinked and looked puzzled. "How did she end up here?"
"I stuck her in your hedge maze. She wouldn't stop screaming after getting a look at me," came an impossibly deep voice. "Not in my contract."
"True," said Midnight. "Hinata. Do you know?"
"Kyubi," said Hinata shyly. "Sakura-san is all right?"
"I really wanted to have this conversation with just you and me," said Midnight. "So you know about that."
"It was said about him when I was very young, and I wondered why some adults called him 'fox brat' - and when I read about seals, I sort of figured it out. That and his birthday."
Midnight nodded at the girl. "Good. You know that caused him to develop greater chakra capacity. That his family might have already inclined him towards a powerful chakra, but having the Kyubi sealed in him did that even more."
Hinata shook her head. No, she hadn't realized that, but she didn't know who Naruto's parents were either.
"SOMEONE GET ME OUT OF HERE!" yelled someone.
"Oh bother," said Midnight, making a gesture. Suddenly Sakura Haruno was sitting there, frozen in a moment. "I have to get through the parts of this that are classified by your village as a top secret - you have a right to know because you are engaged to Naruto and because you love him."
"EEEEP!" said Hinata, who began to faint. And then suddenly wasn't in danger of fainting at all.
"That's enough of that," said Midnight, shaking her head. "You know about that with Naruto. Naruto doesn't know how you feel about him, but you really ought to say something soon."
"But... I can't," muttered Hinata.
"If you can't, you will lose," said Midnight. "However, I have arranged for you to be here for the purpose of meeting you and setting down an offer."
"A-a-an offer?" asked Hinata.
Midnight considered the frozen Sakura for a moment, then made a single gesture.
"What? Where? When? How? Why?" asked Sakura as the twelve year old girl tried to figure out where she was and why was she having tea with Hinata and some woman she didn't know. "The cavern?"
"Hush, child," said the woman. "I am Mitternacht. You are currently inside me. The dragon is not here. You will return to Konoha in a moment. Since you are a girl of Hinata's age, in mostly her own situation, and you have zero desire to go after the same boy that Hinata desires - I'm offering you a chance to give your friend here counsel."
"What?" asked Sakura.
"When you leave here, I will be waiting, Hinata," said Midnight. "You can come to me if you ever decide to take this offer."
"What offer is that?" asked Sakura as Hinata fidgeted.
"The statues you see there are all of gods who have died, but some of their essence and some of their will and some of their power could be gathered," said Midnight. "If Hinata desires, as the fiancee of the wielder of my prison, she can have one of these sealed within her. You get some measure of that power, they get to live again - even if that life is through you."
"What kind of power?" Sakura asked again as apparently Hinata was reluctant to speak.
Midnight faded from her seat to stand next to the first statue, which was of a man in robes and battered hat, apparently reading from a book. "This is Azuth - the patron of spellcasters where I was the goddess of magic. With him within you, you would master jutsu faster and your hand seal speed would increase."
Midnight flicked, simply disappearing from her position near the statue of Azuth, to reappear next to the next statue in line.
"Eilistraee," said Midnight, touching the pedestal of a statue that held a woman dancing with a two-handed sword in her grasp. "Goddess of song, beauty, dance, swordskill, hunting, moonlight. An elven goddess. With her sealed within you, your skills with swordwork would increase. Also your speed and grace."
The next statue had a vaguely feminine shape, but no details. "Leira," said Midnight. "Goddess of deception and stealth and shadow. A trace of her power and essence remained, hidden away, and I was able to retrieve it from the Astral."
"Tyr," gave Midnight next to the next statue. "God of justice of the Realms. He would give you increased strength and some other talents."
"Finally Helm," said Midnight at the last statue. "God of watchfulness. With him sealed inside you - you would find yourself more aware of your surroundings. Less likely to be surprised. Also quicker to react."
"Why should Hinata take something like that?" said Sakura. "She's already got the Byakugan. What more could she want?"
"Mff," managed Hinata.
Midnight sighed. "Right now, there's a boy she likes. Right now, there is a divide between them that she feels she cannot cross. Right now, that boy is concerned about her."
"Eh?!" said Hinata, startling enough to look up.
"He IS concerned," said Midnight. "He made enemies. If they see you as vulnerable and a weakness - they will go after you. This solution was discussed between myself and that person."
"Na-Naruto-kun is concerned about me?" asked Hinata as if the very idea of someone being concerned for her well-being was nigh on an alien concept.
"Come on, Hinata," retorted Sakura. "Your team is concerned about you too. I'm not too sure about this whole 'sealing' thing though."
"I have given you the choice, Hinata," said Midnight, standing up. "It is up to you whether you take it or not."
"I see," said Hinata.
"Now, return to your world, and know that your cause is not lost - yet," said Midnight, making a gesture that caused Hinata to fade away.
"Hinata's engaged to Naruto," said Sakura, shaking her head. "Whenever I hear that I can't help but wonder..."
"What she sees in him?" asked Midnight with a smirk. "Perhaps her eyes see more than your own."
"I kind of doubt that where Naruto's concerned," said Sakura.
"You as well, child," said Midnight. "It's time to return."
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(Posted Fri, 30 Jul 2010 18:00)
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