Over nine days to Mishima, Mariko and Blackthorne meet secretly each night, aided unintentionally by Akira Yoshinaka placing their rooms side by side. Mariko feels safe from the women in their party but fears Blackthorne’s foreign openness could expose them. They proclaim their love in Latin, savoring nights while he strains by day to hide it.

Kiku and Gyoko notice the bond and predict disaster if Buntaro or Yoshinaka learns the truth. On the third night, Omi catches up and proposes to Kiku; though she cares for him, she refuses, citing Toranaga’s unexpired contract and loyalty to Gyoko, promising to obey Omi only if she is freed. Omi rides ahead to Mishima, uneasy.

Yoshinaka moves deliberately on Toranaga’s instruction to arrive by the new moon, torn over whether to report what he suspects. Meanwhile, Father Alvito travels intermittently with the party, offering Japanese lessons to Blackthorne in exchange for tales of the world. A cautious truce forms, pleasing Mariko though Blackthorne keeps his guard up.

At a fork near Mishima, Alvito invites them to his ship; Blackthorne declines, distrusting a trap. Alvito departs burdened: his pigeons destroyed, urgent dispatches pending, Joseph traveling under guard with mock swords to be delivered to Hiro-matsu, and reports of looming war—including a secret musket regiment. Brother Michael’s observation of Mariko’s and Blackthorne’s “touching eyes” shakes Alvito; lacking proof yet fearing mortal sin, he rides off disturbed.

That night, anxiety unsettles the lovers; Mariko returns early, and Blackthorne studies until dawn. By day, they rejoin the Tokaidō crowds, discussing Japan’s wheel-less roads and strict hierarchies. Near Mishima, they agree to preserve their “private world” and, after a two-day stay for Mariko’s business while Gyoko and Kiku depart briefly, to press on through the Hakone pass toward Yedo, where peril and judgment await.