Kazue

For the one that appears in the series, see Kasumi Tachibana.

Kazue (かずえ) was the sister of Hinako and the daughter of Tobei. She and her sister went with Asumu to find Oni to rid their village of the nearby Makamou Orochi.

Personality and background
Kazue was the daughter of the village leader Tobei and elder sister to Hinako. They lived in a small village, which was close to the lair of the Makamou, Orochi. The Makamou marked one of the villagers each year to become a sacrifice to their child, the Orochi. After Suzu had been chosen as the sacrifice, her father told the rest of the villagers to stay away from the beach where the sacrificial altar was located as it would be dangerous.

History
One year after Suzu's sacrifice, Hitoe was marked to be the next sacrifice. Hitoe's friend Asumu convened an evening meeting with the village leaders, where he protested to the sacrifice. Kazue's father, Tobei tried to console the boy by saying it was painful for him to. Her sister Hinako agreed with Asumu and remarked that Hitoe was only 15 years old. Kazue asked why they had to continue with the sacrifice. Tobei said there might be a way, and suggested they find the Oni that fought the Makamou in Japan. One of the leaders protested and said the Oni had given up their humanity and were now as untrustworthy as demons. More of the village leaders agreed, and Asumu refused to ask the Oni for help, but Kazue said it was the only way. Hinako agreed as she had heard a lot of stories of Oni that saved people. Asumu told them to stop it and reminded them that it was an Oni's fault that Takeshi died. Asumu ran out of the meeting.

The talk with Hitoe made Asumu change his mind, so the next day he went with Hinako and Kazue to look for the Oni, despite the protests of the other village leaders. As they were walking, Asumu wondered how they were going to find the Oni. Kazue had heard of other villages being attacked by the Makamou and an Oni would certainly come to them. Hinako said they should try to go to one of those villages.

They soon came to a village called where an Oni named Kabuki charged at a Makamou. Kabuki kept dodging the Kaendaishou's attack and transformed his Onsa to an Onsaken. They duelled for awhile until Kabuki buried it by collapsing a small roof on it and it turned to dust. The villagers thanked him and Kabuki told them the Makamou would not appear any more so they could relax. They were poor people and offered him some some sweet potatoes as thanks. Kabuki was annoyed but he then saw a hungry boy and asked if he wanted it.The boy nodded and ran up to get it, but his mother interrupted him and slapped the vegetable away, which surprised Asumu who was looking at them. The mother had forbidden her son to eat it as an Oni had touched it. Kabuki became gloomy from the incident, but Kazue stepped forward and asked for his help. Asumu looked suspiciously on him when Kabuki asked who they were. Kazue and Hinaka told him of how they need help with the Orochi, and Kabuki said it had been inevitable that he would have to fight it. But right now he could not defeat it. Suddenly the little boy from before appeared and Kabuki happily gave him the vegetable. He told him to eat it in secret so that his mother did not find out. He turned to them and said it was time for them to head of. Hinako asked to where and Kabuki flipped her on the forehead, asking if she did not want to defeat Orochi. Kazue asked what he meant, and he said that as he could not defeat it himself, there was no rush. He only needed to assemble some comrades as saving people was an Oni's duty after all.

They headed to an old shack in a barren area and Kabuki informed them it was Hibiki who lived there. Asumu remarked on the name, and Kabuki said he was a little weird, but good and almost retired from being an Oni. He called out to Hibiki and just as he was about to open the door they were blasted backwards by a shock-wave. Hibiki came running out of the smoke and laughed as he said he had tried to make a new weapon but it failed. Asumu recognised him as his brother's teacher, whom he blamed for his brother's death. Asumu glared at him, but Hibiki did not recognise him and asked if there was something wrong. The boy ran away but Hinako, Kazue and Kabuki followed him. When they caught up to him they asked what was wrong, and he told them Hibiki was responsible for his brother's death. Kabuki said that Hibiki would not kill a human, but Asumu said it was true. Hibiki called for the boy and said he remembered him as Takeshi's little brother. He asked if he still held a grudge against him and said that such thinking was bad as it would be better to look forward. Asumu became furious and yelled at him to shut up and that he hated him. Kabuki held him back as the boy said he did not want any help from Hibiki. Hibiki asked what he was talking about and Kabuki explained he was gathering comrades to defeat Orochi. The Oni said there were plenty of Oni beside him, and he had quit already as it was a lot of trouble. He then went to fry some fish, while Asumu glared at him in anger.

Kabuki led Asumu, Hinako and Kazue to a large town where they stopped for lunch. Asumu was still upset and was not eating, so Kabuki asked why. The boy said he did not want it, but Kabuki called it a waste and shoved it all into Asumu's mouth. Hinako asked if Kabuki was comforting the boy, but the Oni shrugged it of. He teased Asumu a little and the boy spit the food out on him, which made the sisters laugh. Asumu said it was enough as they needed to find more Oni. Kabuki told him to calm down as they were going to meet one soon. He led them through a busy street and pointed towards a large castle which was their destination. He said the one who lived there was the most prominent of the Oni, by helping in a war he became a. They were granted an audience with him, and bowed their heads as he entered the room. The Daimyo known as Ibuki told them to not be so formal and to raise their heads. Kabuki laughed and asked what Ibuki was wearing. Ibuki was happy to see him, and Kabuki approached him while asking for his help as an Oni. Ibuki's retainers did not like it, and one got close to Kabuki and called him rude. Kabuki reacted by instinct and hit him which made the retainer call for the guards. Kabuki was about to face them when Ibuki told them to calm down. He confessed that he had become bored of the dull daimyo lifestyle, and in response cut of his hair. The retainers panicked as their lord was breaking tradition, so Ibuki beat the ones who tried to stop him. Ibuki dashed out from the castle together with Kabuki, Asumu, Hinako and Kazue while the retainers called out for their lord.

Kabuki took them next to a temple shrine in where a monk sat praying. Kabuki called him an idiot for always praying. Ibuki revealed that the monk was called Touki and had practised Buddhism before becoming an Oni, but Kabuki scoffed at the notion of Buddhism. Kabuki decided to test him and threw a large rock at the praying monk, but it was stopped mid-air and sent back at Kabuki who fell backwards. Touki stood up and asked if he saw his ability of the mind. If they trained, such a thing would be easy for them as well. He then said it was time to go and Kabuki asked where. Touki replied that he just had heard Buddha's voice saying it was the time for battle and that they were offering a girl to the Makamou.

Kabuki and Ibuki thought they might have a chance to defeat Orochi now and asked Asumu and the women to take them to their village. When they arrived, Tobei agreed to switch Hitoe out with Ibuki in order to draw out the Douji and Hime. The plan was however a failure, as the strength of the Orochi easily overpowered the three Oni.

The Douji and Hime summoned the village leaders and demanded to know why they had brought the Oni. The Makamou suspected they might be opposing them but one of the villagers said that they would never do such a thing. The villagers blamed the Oni for everything that happened. The Hime then said that Hitoe would get sick soon due to the mark, which upset Tobei. The Hime told the villagers to hand the girl to them in a month and if they broke the agreement again, the sickness would spread to all the villagers. Kazue and Hinako listened carefully as the Douji told them to remember the agreement and their place. The Oni were forced to leave, and Hitoe was hidden in a cave by Asumu and Kazue. The Oni later returned with several more comrades. During the following night, Hitoe lay sick in the cave and was cared for by Kazue. Kazue went to get some water and said it would not be long. Two villagers were searching for Hitoe near the cave, when someone suddenly attacked them. The noise woke the dizzy Hitoe up and she stumbled outside to see the attacker before she fainted due to her sickness. Hitoe had collapse outside the cave so the villagers brought her back to the village. During the night, more fighting had ensued between the Oni and the villagers and resulted in the communal house being burnt down. The next morning the fighting started again, but Kazue was occupied tending to Hitoe. The girl suddenly became worse so she ran out to get Asumu.

Asumu and Kabuki went to check on her, and as Hibiki joined them it was revealed by Hitoe that Kabuki was the killer. The Oni had joined with the Makamou and started attacking Asumu and Hibiki. He fled when Todoroki and Habataki came to help, which made Hibiki able to cure Hitoe of her sickness. The Oni then left the village, one after another.

Hinako and Kazue listened in as Asumu was convening with Tobei and was unsure of what they could do next to save Hitoe. Tobei said there was a gap between Oni and humans that could not be filled yet, and it was due to human foolishness. Tobei saw the dagger Asumu found who revealed that it was probably his brother's treasure. The village leader concluded that Takeshi must have made a katana for his teacher Hibiki. It was however unfinished so he had not been able to give it to Hibiki. The katana had Takeshi's soul and feelings for Hibiki imbued in it. Asumu went to give the blade to Hibiki, and a great battle ensued, ending with the defeat of Kabuki and the Orochi Makamou.

It is unknown how the Oni defeated Orochi as the pages containing the story was missing. After Orochi's defeat, the Oni gathered at the village and smiled at the villagers as they said goodbye and left. All of the villagers bowed to them as thanks. Hitoe said that one day, humans and Oni would surely be able to understand each other. Tobei proposed that they create and organization that would help them, which the villagers agree to. Asumu decides the name of the organisation to be Takeshi, just like his brother.

Afterwards, Kazue and her father were checking on the villagers' work.

Portrayal
Kazue was portrayed by Mayu Gamou (蒲生 麻由) who also portrayed Kasumi Tachibana in the series.

Appearances

 * Icon-hibiki.png Kamen Rider Hibiki
 * Movie: The Seven Senki