‘Any sign of him?’ whispered Jack, crouching down beside Miyuki.

She lay well hidden within a clump of bushes at the edge of the forest. The rest of her unit were stationed behind the wooden barrier, staying close to the sentry fire to stave off the cold and keep their fears at bay.

‘Nothing,’ she replied, her eyes constantly scanning the inky forest for the slightest sign of movement.

‘Do you want me to take over?’ offered Jack, aware she hadn’t rested for several hours.

‘No, I’m fine. The Grandmaster trained us for night operations. You quickly learnt not to fall asleep on your watch. Otherwise you’d wake up with all your hair cut off and bound to a tree until the following day.’

She shuffled over in the snow to make space for him. ‘Some company would be nice, though. The farmers are too wary of ninja to talk much to me.’

Jack lay down next to her. The ground was cold, but he could sense the warmth of Miyuki’s body close by his side.

As she resumed her watch, she asked, ‘What will your plans be if we survive all this?’

‘I’ll head south again,’ Jack replied. ‘Get to Nagasaki, somehow.’

‘My offer was genuine,’ she said, her gaze softening as she turned to him. ‘I’ll go with you … if you want.’

Jack truly valued Miyuki’s loyalty and friendship. Yet after Yori’s observation about her feelings towards him, he felt compelled to say something.

‘I –’ Then he hesitated. What if Yori had been wrong? He might insult her and things could become awkward between them. Then again if Yori was right, he had to be clear that, much as he admired and liked her, he couldn’t feel the same way. ‘I’d like you to join me, but –’

Miyuki placed a finger to his lips. ‘Shh!’

All of a sudden her senses were on full alert, her eyes and ears tuned in to the forest.

Jack’s breath caught in his throat as he too heard the rustle of bushes and the crunch of snow. He couldn’t see anything moving, but he could hear the noise getting closer.

Is Akuma finally here?

Jack reached for his katana and prepared to run back to the defensive line to raise the alarm. But Miyuki stopped him.

A deer nosed its way out of the undergrowth in search of food.

Jack relaxed his grip on his sword. As the creature foraged towards the path, Miyuki picked up a small stone and threw it. The deer bolted away in shock.

‘That was one lucky deer,’ she whispered. ‘Any closer and it would have been tomorrow’s lunch.’

Aware Akuma could come from any direction, Jack’s mind now turned to the northern, eastern and southern approaches. ‘I must check on the other defences,’ he said, getting to his feet.