‘Dim Mak!’ replied Jack as he held her gently, knowing from bitter experience the crushing pain that she would be experiencing in her heart. ‘Kazuki did it.’

Without need for further explanation, Yori struck a series of pressure points on her back and released Akiko from the death grip. Her face immediately relaxed, her breathing eased and she stopped trembling. ‘I’m all right …’ she panted, giving Jack a reassuring smile. ‘The pain’s going …’

Leaving Akiko in Yori’s good care, Jack peered over the gunwale for Kazuki. His rival was floundering in the wake, fast being left behind by the ship. Out of mercy, Jack threw Kazuki a line.

‘Grab the rope!’ he shouted.

But, even though the line was within easy reach, Kazuki let it glide past. As the Hosiander sailed away, he stopped swimming and slipped silently beneath the waves.

46: The Return of the Warrior

The fan-sailed fishing boat eased through the emerald-green waters into a sheltered cove. Encircled by lush green cedar trees along its towering clifftops, the cove harboured a beach of pure golden sand within its inner bay.

‘Welcome to Toba!’ said Jack to his sister, who stood with him on the bow of the fishing vessel. ‘The place where our father and I first set eyes upon Japan and –’ he pointed to an exquisite temple of red pillars at the top of the headland, its entrance dominated by a huge standing stone – ‘where I first saw Akiko.’

‘Utsukushī!’ breathed Jess, gasping at its beauty.

‘Excellent, Jess,’ praised Yori, joining them on the prow with Akiko. ‘You’re now speaking as fluently as a samurai!’

‘Arigato gozaimasu,’ she replied with a bow.

Jack grinned. After more than a year at sea and under Yori’s daily tuition, Jess had quickly picked up the language and her Japanese was now almost better than his own. Alongside her linguistic skills, Jess had also been tutored by Akiko in Japanese etiquette and fashions. She now wore a silk kimono of pink sakura flowers, one of several robes Akiko had helped purchase in the port of Nagasaki before their onward journey north to Toba. Jack too had exchanged his English doublet and hose for a samurai’s haori and hakama, the two swords on his hip ensuring all recognized his status as a hatamoto in the service of Takatomi, the Regent of Japan.

As the boat approached the beach, Jack was surprised to see a lone figure standing upon the sand. They’d sailed to the secluded cove, rather than the main harbour of Toba, as they wanted to avoid a scene. The arrival of a foreigner on their shores – let alone two – would cause a serious commotion in the little fishing port. Not that Jack expected trouble. Rather, he anticipated a crowd so large that it might completely overwhelm them. Everyone would be fascinated to see Jess, a girl with golden blonde hair.