Returning Jack’s embrace, Miyuki whispered in his ear, ‘I really thought I’d lost you forever.’ Then she stepped away, Japanese formality taking over once more, and focused on their situation. ‘Let’s get out of here. I’ve had enough of this Pirate Queen’s hospitality.’

‘Do you still have the sea chart?’ asked Jack.

Miyuki nodded and held up the roll of paper.

‘Excellent. There’s a boat through a gated tunnel beside the jetty, but first we have to get the key,’ Jack explained. ‘And if we’re lucky, find your weapons and the rutter too.’

They turned to go when Yori remembered: ‘The rice!’

He ran back into the room just as a tremendous explosion shook the building. The floor beneath Yori collapsed.

‘NOOOO!’ yelled Jack as his friend disappeared.

He rushed to the door, where a huge gaping hole now exposed the perilous plunge to the lagoon. Fragments of wood and tatami mats twirled through the air, vanishing into the distance. A gunpowder store on the level below burned fiercely, having been hit by a daejon arrow.

‘YORI!’ cried Jack, his eyes searching for his fallen friend.

‘Down here!’ replied a tiny terrified voice.

A section of floor hung precariously from a few broken beams. Yori clung to the edge, his legs dangling in mid-air.

Dropping on to his stomach, Jack reached for him. ‘Grab my hand!’

Yori shook his head. ‘I can’t. It’s too far.’

The floor gave a little as a beam split further. Yori cried out in panic.

‘Take my ankles,’ Jack instructed Miyuki and Saburo.

Using the door frame as a brace, they lowered him over the abyss. Jack stretched out his arms to his friend. He could hear the terrible sound of splintering wood and snatched in desperation for Yori’s hand … and missed.

He tried again. ‘Now!’

Yori let go with one hand – the floor broke away and tumbled down the cliff face – and he just managed to clasp Jack’s fingers. Jack held on to Yori with all his might, his friend swinging helplessly over the lagoon. Miyuki and Saburo wrestled to pull them both in.

‘Hurry!’ urged Jack, feeling Yori’s fingers slipping through his grasp.

As Jack was dragged back over the threshold, he lost grip of Yori … but Saburo made a grab for his jacket and pulled their friend to safety. They collapsed in a heap on the corridor floor, panting from exhaustion and shock.

‘Sorry …’ gasped Yori. ‘I dropped … the rice.’

Jack burst into laughter at his unnecessary apology. ‘As long as I didn’t drop you, nothing else matters.’

Another explosion shook the building.

‘This citadel’s becoming a death trap,’ said Saburo, scrambling to his feet. ‘Let’s go!’

‘We need to get the key first,’ reminded Jack.