The branches fluttered in the breeze, leaves brushing across his skin as Butsuma darted between their trunks. The Senju clan's fondness for the forest that surrounded their ancestral home was a known secret but none of the other clans could ever know how deep the ties between them and nature truly extended.

The trees whispered of danger coming closer and Butsuma was always hesitant to acknowledge their warnings even if they had never been wrong before, his hand held tightly to his sheathed katana. If he's honest, he's exhausted from his recently finished mission and he knew he wouldn't make it back to the compound before nightfall at the pace he's moving.