Momiji looked up at her summoner, the preteen girl tearing up tufts of grass in an anxious tell she would need to grow out of. Hanako was a strange child, but the same could be said of any shinobi child. Momiji had always appreciated the girl's serious nature and level head, especially when compared to other children her age. Still, she and the rest of the pack—even those under Kakashi—had noticed how forlorn she was. At first, they chalked it up to lingering grief for her mother, but as the years passed, it became clear that she was simply melancholy by nature. Perhaps that was why she received such a damning name? Had her chakra always borne such weight?

Still, such a name was...

"Momiji," Hanako said without looking at the dog. "I don't know if you heard about this, but I apparently have a Sharingan."

Ah. Yes, she'd heard.

"Apologies, Princess," she said with honest remorse. "Boss specifically asked us not to tell you."

Her summoner sighed. "That idiot. I don't know why anyone ever puts him in charge of anything."

Momiji chose not to comment.

"That's not the point," Hanako's tone was serious, but her chakra was agitated, revealing an inner struggle Momiji was not privy to. She turned her fathomless black eyes on the dog, expression more intense than she'd ever seen it. "Momiji, who are you loyal to; me, or my father?"

What kind of question was that? Certainly, Momiji owed a degree of loyalty to Kakashi as the head of the Hatake clan, but her summoner was her number one priority.

Hanako's eyes expressed a sad smile when she said so.

"I'm about to ask something totally unfair from you," she said quietly. "I can only hope you won't hate me for it."

"I could never hate you, Princess."

The human scoffed. "That remains to be seen." Her doubt was insulting, but she continued before Momiji could protest. "I'm going to try and use my Sharingan to cast a genjutsu on you. I've been studying them, so I hope I'll get this right. If I do, can I ask you to keep whatever you see a secret? At least until I say otherwise?"

This was serious. Hanako's chakra was still agitated, radiating nervous energy even as her dark eyes beseeched Momiji for her cooperation. Whatever the child wanted to show her, she clearly considered it very important.

"Alright," Momiji said with confidence. "I will keep your secrets, Princess."

The tension didn't leave Hanako's narrow shoulders, instead seeming to mount as she took in a deep, steadying breath. Momiji's hackles rose as the girl began channeling her chakra. There was no guarantee she'd even be able to activate the Sharingan at will, given that she'd only activated it the one time under extreme emotional stress.

Momiji's doubts were laid to rest when the black began to bleed out of her summoner's irises, leeching into the pupils and leaving a familiar pale blue in their wake. A single tomoe rotated sluggishly as her gaze focused.

"Woah," her voice was breathless, almost like she'd run a few laps with Guy. "That's...weird."

Momiji waited patiently as the girl adjusted to the changes in her vision, her own nerves mounting in response to Hanako's own anxious chakra.

"Ok. Are you ready?"

No, but nothing would come of saying so.

Falling into a genjutsu when you know it's going to happen was a little strange. Momiji prepared herself for emotional manipulations and physical movements outside her control—typical genjutsu stuff.

She was not prepared to be an invisible spectator to a play about the history of the world. Gods, a love story, children with horns—nothing to warrant Hanako's anxiety, thus far. Then, the ten-tails made itself known, and Momiji was suddenly engrossed. Bijuu, reincarnation, talking tree men, world ending genjutsus, a flattened Konoha, implanted Rinnegans, the walking dead! The story was long and convoluted, jumping around in some places and played out by familiar faces made strange by cartoonish overlays. Despite the horrifying tale unraveling before her eyes, Momiji couldn't help but notice something strange.

Where was Hanako?

Nowhere did her summoner feature in the story, and there were several bits which reflected events Momiji had witnessed, but with Hanako's conspicuous absence. A maskless Sasuke left the village, plagued by a curse mark she knew he didn't have. Gaara seethed under Shukaku's influence, hatred far more poignant than the boy she knew. Naruto ran amok in the village without an ally in sight.

What was this?

The genjutsu fizzled out of existence and Momiji sat stock still as the light of the setting sun filtered through the leaves of the tree they sat under. Her mind twisted over itself trying to understand the show she'd just watched. She looked up at her human.

"What—?"

Hanako rubbed at her eyes with the heels of her palms, scrunching her nose with a groan. When she looked at Momiji, her irises were black once more.

"I don't really know how to explain it," she began. "But that's the future—a future, I guess. I—I've known it since I woke up on the riverbank. Only that." Her straight brows furrowed. "Everything I told the Hokage—told Kakashi—was a lie." She buried her face in her hands, hiding tears that Momiji could smell.

Of course, this was all troubling news and, had she not just witnessed a most fantastical play, Momiji might have held it against her. Knowing the kind of wretch Danzo was—and the freedoms Hiruzen had allowed him—it was hard to blame a five year old for trying to protect herself.

It was no wonder she was so mature. The weight of such knowledge would burden anyone, let alone a child.

"Why haven't you told anyone?" Momiji asked delicately. "You know the Boss would believe you."

Hanako clenched her fists. "What could he do? There are forces at play here that he can't face on his own, and the more people who know about this the greater the chance of betrayal. Kakashi might believe me, but Shikaku? Inoichi? All the other people who would need to be involved to actually make a difference?" She shook her head. "No. I can't risk having Obito or Zetsu finding out about this. I've changed things, but they're small. The ripples are manageable, so far, and haven't really changed the story. The only advantage I have is knowing what will come. If I change things too much, I lose that upper hand."

It made sense. Momiji hated to admit it, but it did. She'd sat in on many of Hanako's lessons with Shikaku Nara, so following her logic wasn't hard. Giving up such a powerful advantage would be foolish, no matter how many allies it might gain her.

"What will you do, then? You can't do nothing."

Hanako sighed heavily. "I need to gather proof of Danzo's crimes against the Uchiha. If I can get people to start looking into that, everything else should start unraveling. Kabuto needs to know what Orochimaru has planned for him. If we can get him on our side, we can rule out Edo Tensei, which will keep Madara out of the picture. Obito can be our main focus, then." She sighed again, the tension rushing from her body in one fell swoop. "You have no idea how nice it is to talk about this with someone."

Momiji jumped up into her summoner's lap, snuggling with the sniffling girl. "It's alright, Princess. I've got you."

Hanako pet the dog with a grateful hum.

"I still think you should show this to more people," Momiji said softly as Hanako scratched her ears in just the right way. "Just a few in strategic places. Shikamaru, for example. He's a major player, anyway, so his involvement won't be out of place and he'll know better than to change too much too quickly."

Hanako wiped at her eyes. "Yeah, I've thought about it. I just didn't have a way to explain it in a way people would believe before now, you know? I'm still not sure I got it all right."

"It was a little patchy in places," Momiji admitted gently. "But that's fine. You can practice with me until you get it perfect."

Hanako ran her fingers through Momiji's fur. "You're the best, 'Miji. I don't think I could do this without you."

If Momiji were human, she'd probably be biting her lip. "Hey, Princess? I'd like your permission to tell someone about this."

Hanako looked down at her in concern. "Who?"

"One of the elders in the canine Summoning Realm. I think he might be able to help."

Hanako considered it for a long moment before nodding hesitantly. "Ok. If you think it will help."

She did. If anyone could make a difference, it was the Raiju.