Junichi turned on Toge. ‘Is this some sort of joke? A foreign boy pretending to be a samurai!’

‘We were deceived!’ said Toge, glaring at Jack.

‘No more than you not mentioning Black Moon,’ replied Jack. ‘I may not be Japanese, but I am samurai.’

‘And I’m a daimyo!’ shot back Toge with a mocking laugh. ‘Now you heard Junichi: leave our village – you’re not welcome.’

Sora, who’d recovered from his initial shock, stepped to Jack’s defence. ‘B-b-but he agreed to stop Black Moon. We need him.’

Junichi gave Sora a withering look. ‘Do you really think a boy can defeat a devil like Akuma?’

Sora opened his mouth then closed it, stumped for an answer.

‘Sometimes it takes a devil to beat a devil,’ said Yoshi, siding with Sora.

‘He’s an ill omen,’ argued Junichi. ‘We should get rid of the gaijin before any more bad luck befalls our village.’

‘No samurai has come to our defence, yet this foreigner has,’ Yoshi pointed out.

‘We cannot take such a risk,’ said Toge. ‘When we were in Okayama, I heard that the Shogun had banished all foreigners. Anyone caught harbouring a gaijin is to be punished with death!’

‘That settles it,’ said Junichi. ‘As head of this village, I declare the boy be cast out immediately.’

He indicated for Kunio to open the door. Before Jack could object, Toge ushered him on to the veranda and slammed the door shut behind him. A moment later, the door opened again and his straw hat came flying out.

There’s gratitude, thought Jack, bending down to pick it up.

Gazing round at the decrepit village, all doors closed to him, and at the stark snow-laden landscape, Jack knew his future survival looked bleak. He had no shelter, no food and was stranded in the middle of nowhere. Once more he stood in the cold, alone and friendless.

Well, not quite. He sensed eyes upon him. At the end of the veranda, Neko was observing him with a mixture of confusion and sadness on her grimy face. Her eyes silently pleaded with him not to leave, as he put on his sandals and stepped on to the muddy road.