Mirage of Changes

by Karura

Interlude

During the many centuries in Japan history, the country had changed its capital many times. Each new dynasty of emperors seemed to want to stand out from the previous ones by imposing its own political centre. Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu was no exception, and he had chosen a small port city as his capital. During his first life, Naoe never had the opportunity to go to Edo-- that was the new capital's name-- simply because there had been nothing to see there. The first time he had seen the city was fifty years ago, soon after the great earthquake. But of course, buildings in ruins and wounded people dying everywhere in the streets hadn't left him with a good memory of this place. So he wasn't especially glad to return there and, if it hadn't been for Kagetora, he would have never returned there at all.

Nagahide had left him a week ago, heading to Hyougotsu as he had planned to. He had to find some informations about the mysterious possessor who had written the kabuki play about Kagetora and had left them a kimono haunted by a tsukumogami as a gift. Apart from the fact the possessor might came from the Takeda clan, they knew nothing else about him. The Yashashuu hadn't faced another possessor since Sogo Nagayusu on Shikoku Island, and this news wasn't to Naoe's liking. Kagetora had almost disappeared for good during that fight tehn, and he had been barely saved by Naoe. It wasn't an experience the former vassal wanted to repeat.

Speaking of Kagetora, Naoe had contacted him mentally earlier to announce his arrival. Over the years, Kagetora had come to terms with these telepathic communications but you shouldn't overdo it. It was only for emergencies and you had to be as concise as possible. Chuckling, Naoe remembered that this poor Haruie had made the mistake of mentally asking their lord which kind of fish he would have liked for dinner. Kagetora had then lectured him mentally so Naoe couldn't hear all the words but he had seen Haruie's long face when he had come back, like a beaten puppy. Naoe had drawn a lesson from that incident so he always was very cautious when speaking to Kagetora by telepathy. Therefore he would wait to be with him to report on the previous case.

He hadn't asked Kagetora where he was since, even in a big city like Edo, Naoe was able to feel precisely his master's spiritual presence. It was a gift that hadn't failed him during the decades, and even Haruie had to admit that, concerning Kagetora, Naoe was more sensitive to his energy. Since then, Naoe hadn't missed an opportunity to remind Haruie this rare victory. That brought him some satisfaction.

He arrived at Edo in the middle of the day and was surprised for a moment when he saw how fast the city had been rebuilt. He still had ruins in his mind, whereas the buildings around himself didn't bear any stigma. Then he remembered that fifty years had gone by, almost a human lifespan. It was sometimes frightening to realize that time no longer had the same meaning for the possessors. "That's why we are right to stand apart from the living," Naoe thought. "We don't really live in the same world." Personally, it didn't bother him. Nagahide wasn't wrong about it: Naoe was not a philanthropist to the core. His primary purpose wasn't to help people but to accomplish his mission. Saving lives was just an inevitable consequence.

There was a market in Edo streets. A lot of people were outside, encouraged by the summer sun. The various stalls were in a cut-throat competition, each vendor claiming that his merchandise was the freshest, the tastier, the less expensive and the best of all the others. The constant sales pitch didn't disturb Naoe. He was only concentrating on the mental thread of Kagetora's presence. This filament, who could feel spidery for some, was in his mind as brilliant as a stars' trail. Despite the disturbing presence of many bystanders, Naoe knew with certainty that he was getting closer to his lord. But this certainty didn't keep him from freezing and blinking for a good while before moving again.

You could have taken them for an ordinary couple having a close look at the fish stall. The woman was wearing a colourful and flower-patterned kimono and her black hair were held back in a bun. This woman was like any other wife who had come to do her shopping. No, the surprise came from the man, Kagetora-sama. He might have sensed he was being watched, for he turned slowly and relaxed when his eyes met Naoe's. The tiger eyes hadn't changed-- they never changed-- but the face around them was starting to show the passage of time, and the hair around were grey. He was an old Kagetora and it was the first time in two hundred years that Naoe saw him like this, so it surprised him very much. However, he managed to recollect himself and cast and interrogative gaze at his master, asking whether he should approach him now or later, when Kagetora would be alone. Kagetora quickly shook his head and Naoe walked closer to the couple. Kagetora greeted him when he was only a few steps away from them. "If my eyes aren't deceiving me," he said with a feigned surprise, "this is the son of my old friend!"

Naoe was used to pretend. Villagers were usually more suspicious of people travelling together without being related by blood. So you just had to invent some relation to see them relax. During the many years when the Yashashuu had worked, Naoe had been successively Kagetora's cousin or young son-- depending on the difference between their ages. Yet there had never been an occasion where Naoe could have passed for his master's adult son. It was a first, so it was disturbing Naoe very much. For him, his master was always giving an impression of youth and vitality. Not that in this present body, he looked like frail and decrepit. It was just that it questioned Naoe's deep perception of Kagetora. However, to be honest, he was relieved that his master wasn't in a younger body. It would have reminded him of the strange dream he had. Naoe had been worried to see Kagetora again and to compare the image he had of him in his dream. In the current circumstances, no comparison was possible and it came just at the right time.

The woman next to Kagetora looked at him warily, then took a step forwards, as if to come between the two men. Naoe glared at her. How dared she to think he might have been a threat to his master? She was only a mere mortal. He just had to blink and she would have died a natural death, whereas Kagetora and he would continue to fight evil spirits.

Kagetora rested a hand on the woman's shoulder and Naoe's eyes hardened unconsciously. "Ukio," Kagetora said in a soothing tone, "let me introduce you Nobutsuna, an old friend's son."

"How can you be sure it's really him, father?"

Naoe was about to retort something, and no matter if they were supposed to have never met before, but the woman's last word hit him like a punch in the stomach. "Don't tell me he had... despite Kenshin-kou's forbidding?" He thought. Kagetora seemed to guess his thoughts since he sent him a look saying : "Don't be stupid." However, Naoe would have to wait for an explanation.

"He's the spitting image of his father," Kagetora explained to his 'daughter', and Naoe was drawn back to the conversation.

The woman didn't seem really convinced and the way she looked at Naoe clearly showed her scepticism. "Is it mute?" She sneered. "Because it has been five minutes and he still hasn't said a word."

No matter his master's explanations, Naoe didn't like this woman and that wouldn't change. "I was just waiting for you to stop jaberring," he retorted.

She looked insulted and quickly turned to her father, perhaps hoping he would defend her. But Kagetora only sighed. "He's really his father's son," he commented. "Ukio, resume your shopping. I'm going to talk with him."

"Are you sure, father?" This stupid woman was beginning to get on Naoe's nerves.

"Yes, I am. Go now." Pouting like a child, she finally left but she turned to them several times, as if to watch them.

Naoe breathed out loudly, relieved she was gone. An honourable man shouldn't hit a woman, but Naoe had to confess that his right hand had been furiously itching for a while. Lucky for her, she had left. When Kagetora turned back to him-- he too had waited for Ukio to be out of sight-- he was back to the Kagetora Naoe knew, his lord and master. "Let's go in a quieter place," he suggested.

Naoe nodded. There were too many people around them to speak freely. He followed Kagetora in the maze of the streets. They quickly left the market and went into small and straight alleys. The smell of fish was becoming stronger and Naoe refrained from pinching his nose. Kagetora eventually led him to a small house. The building was rather dilapidated but it didn't matter to Naoe. However, the interior was surprisingly clean, and the room where Kagetora led him had this quiet atmosphere that characterized so much Kagetora.

"Let me prepare you some tea," Kagetora said, indicating a low table. Naoe nodded and sat on a flat cushion. Under normal circumstances, it would have been inappropriate to let Kagetora make tea for him, but in the current situation, Kagetora was the host and Naoe the guest. It would have been insulting to refuse or to prepare the tea himself.

Kagetora returned a few minutes later with a kettle. He took two cups of tea from a cabinet and served the hot drink without a word. His smooth and steady motions belied his age. When he sat in front of Naoe, it was with his usual grace. Naoe brought the cup of tea to his lips and only sipped a little of the green tea. "It's very good," he said.

Now that the usual courtesies had been exchanged, they could resume their original roles. "What happened with those actors?" Kagetora directly asked. Naoe immediately began to report. He would have liked to avoid talking about the play, but he couldn't recount the case without mentioning the play, which was at the heart of the case. As expected, Kagetora frowned, a little confused. "A play about me? What does it say?"

Naoe carefully avoided his master's gaze. "You know, it wasn't a Noh play but a kabuki play. Kabuki is very different, from what I saw. There's nothing noble in this art and..."

"I know kabuki."

"Really?"

Naoe's amazed look brought a smile to the old man's lips. "There's a kabuki theatre here," he explained. "I've attended to a few theatricals out of pure curiosity. It passes the days."

"Days?" Naoe wondered. Then he remembered Hisako had told him that a real kabuki play could last hours. Of course, in a travelling theatre, they couldn't make the audience stay so long.

"I'm not yet one of those kabesu(1)," Kagetora added.

"Kabesu?"

"That's how we call kabuki's fanatics. I think that some of them would be able to sleep at the theatre if there were night performances."

"There are some people who have nothing better to do in their life," Naoe sneered.

Kagetora shook his head with an amused smile. "Well, let's go back over that play about me. You still haven't told me what it's about."

Naoe immediately looked away and contemplated with fascination the low table. "Well, you know... Hum... it wasn't really true to History. There were some glaring errors..."

"For instance?"

Naoe was bothered. If he let himself been led to this topic, Kagetora would eventually make him spit everything, including his shameful dream. So he blurted out the first thing that came to his mind: "The... in the play, you have been exorcised by a wandering priest!" It was the only excerpt from the play which was innocent enough.

Kagetora got embarrassed, then scratched his head. "Oh that... No, it's true," he admitted.

Naoe widened his eyes. "Really? Don't tell someone was powerful enough to exorcise you!"

"Not really," Kagetora corrected. "I wasn't aware of my spiritual powers. Actually, I wasn't aware of nothing much." A heavy silence ensued. Naoe had been himself a vengeful spirit so he knew how this topic was sensitive subject. Kagetora added suddenly: "I've been exorcised with my father's help. He chose to call me at that time."

Naoe nodded. More than everything, he wanted to speak about something else now. "I wonder how this possessor could know that," he mused aloud.

Kagetora cast him a sharp look. "A possessor? Go on."

Therefore Naoe told him about the whole case and Kagetora didn't interrupt him. However, his eyebrows were dropping lower and lower. "Show me the letter," he demanded. Naoe handed him the scroll. As Hisako had asked them, Nagahide and he had burned the play but kept the part of the scroll where the letter from the author was written. Kagetora read the missive and got perplexed. "This is from the Takeda clan," he confirmed. "I recognize some turns of phrase. But aside from that, it can be from anyone in the clan, even from Shingen himself."

"And the kimono?"

Kagetora narrowed his eyes. "Your description reminds me of something, but it's too vague... I think I received it when I was adopted by the Takeda. But when the alliance between Takeda and Houjou was broken, I left all my belongings there. I'm surprised someone could have kept this garment."

Naoe cautiously formulated a hypothesis. "Perhaps the one who has kept it had... some special feelings for you?"

Kagetora look at him, disbelieving. "What could make you believe that?" He wondered. "Anyway, I had no friends in the Takeda. Do I need to remind you that I was a hostage there?"

"You didn't have any admirers?"

Kagetora stiffened. "No," he answered firmly.

Naoe preferred to change the topic. "Nagahide had gone to Hyougotsu to get some information. I think he won't find anything but you never know."

"A possessor wandering in the country..." Kagetora breathed and focused. Naoe felt he was trying to contact Haruie mentally. However, after a moment, he gave up.

"My lord?"

"Haruie is injured," Kagetora explained. "It's not serious but his mind seems weak and dark. And also... there's something strange but I can't say what it is."

"An enemy?"

Kagetora shook his head, disturbed. "No, nothing dangerous. Just... Well, I'll clear this matter up when he's healed."

"And Irobe? He's not with Haruie?"

"Irobe had to perform kanshou on a new body four years ago. He can't answer us at the moment."

"If Haruie's state is worrying you, we can go and see him."

"No, he's not in danger," Kagetora decided. "Haruie isn't stupid, he would have already asked us for help if the situation was beyond him."

"As you wish, my lord."

Naoe didn't say anything more and looked at Kagetora with an expectant silence. The other man sighed after a moment. "Well, I suppose you want to know about Ukio?" He said.

"You don't have to be answerable to me," Naoe said, "but still... Is she really your daughter?"

"She's my daughter-in-law," Kagetora corrected.

Naoe frowned. "If she's your daughter-in-law, it means you have a son! That's the same!"

Kagetora sighed. "When I settled in Edo after the earthquake, there were many orphans in the street, left to themselves. Jirou was only five when he tried to steal me some food. So I've fed him and sheltered him for a while... Eventually, he became my adopted son. Ukio is his wife. She's a good girl. They have four children. I guess that makes me a grandfather..."

Naoe couldn't hide his indignation any longer. "So you have got yourself involved with living people," he said in a false quiet ton. "You've also started a family although our priority must be our mission. When we last met, fifteen years ago, you didn't tell me a thing about this!"

Kagetora had averted his gaze but Naoe's last accusation made him look straight at him. "My mission was to stay in Edo and to monitor the telluric energies," he said. "Raising Jirou hasn't distracted me from my duty. When I had to come to your assistance during the years, did I refuse once? No, I didn't! So I don't see where's the problem."

"We shouldn't mix with the living," Naoe explained. "We are different, we are..."

"Superior?" Kagetora prompted ironically, raising an eyebrow.

"Not in every respect," Naoe tempered. "But the fact is we can change our body when we die. We return to life but with another appearance and..."

"Where do you want to get with all that?"

Naoe clicked his tongue, annoyed by the fact that Kagetora didn't see what he wanted to say and therefore Naoe had to tell it plainly. "Your body isn't young anymore," he said, trying to be tactful. "Soon, you'll have to possess another one and after that, you won't be able to see Jirou and his wife! Will you accept this or will you endanger our mission for people who are going to die in a few decades anyway?"

Kagetora's gaze became very cold. Naoe looked at him in the eyes, sure to be well within his rights. When Kagetora spoke again, his voice was clear and neutral but it was carrying a great anger. "I perfectly know that people die, Naoe. Don't take me for a child. And don't ever doubt the fact that I put our mission above anything else. If required, I'm ready to leave them right now and to never see them again. I've taken care of Jirou simply because, unlike you, I can't remain insensible to human misery."

Naoe took offence. He wasn't cold hearted! It really annoyed him that Kagetora had this negative image of him. "It's not hardness," he tried to justify himself. "We have a difficult task that requires great sacrifices from us. I see that you're still not ready to sacrifice everything you have."

"I don't care about what you think, Naoe. Only my father can judge me, not you. This conversation is over," he said in an unequivocal tone.

Naoe champed at the bit. For him, this matter was far from over. He would closely watch his master in order to determine whether his attachment to his family could be a danger for their mission. If that was the case... then Naoe would have to take some permanent measures, but he didn't want to think too much about it. Not yet.

When Ukio went home with her children and saw that this stranger was still here, she was vexed. It went worse when Kagetora informed her that Naoe would stay for dinner and even for a few days. She didn't protest loudly but you could see on her face what she was thinking of it. She believed that Naoe was some impostor who would kill them all during their sleep. When Jirou returned from work with his elder son-- he was selling fishes at the docks-- she took him aside, then he met Naoe with some suspicion. Kagetora made the introductions and Naoe looked closely at his master's foster son. He didn't really know what he had expected. Jirou was near his forties. As soon as you saw him, you forgot him. As for the children, Naoe only spared them one glance. He couldn't understand why Kagetora got attached to such a family. "Is he trying to get everything he didn't have in his first life?" He thought. "If so, it's dangerous. We shouldn't have any bond, it's not sound!"

Unfortunately, Kagetora didn't seem to have the same opinion as him on this matter. But if the worse were to happen, Naoe wouldn't let him have his say.

XxX

The 'few days' during which Naoe was supposed to stay quickly turned into a month. Jirou was more cordial with him than during the first days, but Ukio still refused to abandon her initial distrust of him. She didn't openly express it, and certainly not when Kagetora was around, but he could feel her eyes constantly watching him.

Naoe wasn't really comfortable with them. He often had to bite his tongue in order not to talk to his master like he should. He even had to call him Saburo-san, as Kagetora seemed to favour this name for each body he possessed. Naoe had argued that after two centuries, only a few people could still make connection between him and the son of a daimyo whose line had been extinguished since a long time, but Kagetora had merely shaken his head.

"This name sounds too pretentious," he had said.

"There's nothing pretentious with the name Kenshin-kou has given you!"

"I'm not saying that. Kagetora is still my name, no matter what, but you must admit it's still a little too pretentious for my humble self."

Naoe hadn't insisted but he didn't like it. So as soon as they were alone, he took the opportunity to talk suitably to his master.

Every day, Kagetora went to different places in Edo, to monitor the earthly energies. Often, altars had been built at these locations, as if the Shinto priests had been able to pinpoint the concentration of energy.

"We aren't the only one who can feel these things," Kagetora said one day. "Even if there's only one priest out of thousand who has this talent, we can't overlook this fact."

"We have the same purpose," Naoe noted. "So why do you sound like you're wary of them?"

Kagetora frowned, the gesture increasing the light wrinkles on his forehead. "We don't belong to the natural course of things," he reminded him. "Possessors defy the natural law. We have on our hands the blood of all the souls whose body we snatched."

"But we do it only to save people! We have to possess body to survive and pursue our mission. These small sacrifices are necessary!"

Kagetora threw him a sidelong glance. "You're cold as always," he said. "There is no small sacrifice when you talk about human life. Have you ever felt some kind of regret for all the souls you have ousted from their bodies?"

"Yes, of course," Naoe replied, a little cut to the quick.

"Have you ever wondered what those people would have become if we hadn't interrupted their lives that had just begun?"

Naoe was frowning now, puzzled. "We only possess infants' bodies, except in case of emergency. So these people don't have time to accomplish a lot of things."

"Precisely. We take any chance of future away from them. As soon as they appear in this world, these souls are immediately expelled from it."

Kagetora seemed morose and melancholic that day. Yet his arguments deeply disturbed Naoe. "So you think that one day, we will have to answer for our crimes?"

"Surely. Every man has to answer for his acts, whether good or bad. Normally, he answers for them when he dies, but we have avoided death for so long."

"If it really depends on our acts, we shouldn't worry. Think about all the lives we have saved since two centuries!"

Kagetora smiled indulgently. "Good deeds and evils deeds doesn't have the same value. It's not because you had saved someone's life that you would be forgiven a murder." He sighed. "Indeed, it's a heavy task my father's imposed us."

"But we have accepted it, haven't we? Although, when I think about it, Kenshin-kou hadn't really given us time to think. And I don't know if it was the same with you, but he didn't give so much details when he told me about the mission..."

"Already regretting it, Naoe?" A slight smile appeared on Kagetora's lips and his tone was challenging.

"No, my lord," he answered straight away. "Even if I had known all the details, it wouldn't have influenced my decision."

The former warlord looked away. "That's what you're saying now."

"That's what I would still say in two hundred years."

Kagetora sighed. "Frankly, I hope we won't have to live for another two hundred years. Our mission can't last that long!"

Naoe's gaze got lost while contemplating the landscape and his lips curved into a slight smile. "No matter how long our mission will last," he said, "I'll never regret my decision..."

... because it helped me to come to know you and understand you better.

But it was too early to share this thought with Kagetora. As long as there would be a wall between them, Naoe couldn't completely open to his master.

XxX

It happened in the middle of the night. Naoe felt a mental call and recognized the spiritual signature. Nagahide? He said, a little surprised. He hadn't heard about him since their parting but it hadn't surprised him unduly. He had simply assumed that his friend hadn't found a valid trail about the owner who had written the kabuki play. Actually, Naoe would have been rather surprised if Nagahide had found any trail.

Naoe, I need you to come here as soon as possible, Nagahide said. Are you still in Edo with Kagetora-sama?

Yes.

And have you talked with him?

Naoe didn't answer. It was true that Nagahide had advised him to 'talk' with Kagetora, but he had been rather mysterious about it, so Naoe still didn't know what he was supposed to talk about. How could he get onto a topic when he didn't know the topic? Moreover, before he talked about anything personal with Kagetora, Naoe first wanted his lord to open up a little to him and to trust him more, which wasn't easy to get!

Nagahide may have sensed all this, for he sighed mentally. Frankly, he said wearily, what am I going to do with you two?

The question was purely rhetorical so Naoe didn't answer, all the more because he felt a little offended by the fact that Nagahide didn't see him as someone able to handle his own life. He wasn't a child anymore.

Have you found anything about that other possessor? He asked, preferring to change the subject.

There was a new sigh from Nagahide. Nothing, and I don't want to hear you: I had to try.

Of course, Naoe said in a magnanimous tone. So what's the problem now?

I came across a strange case in a small town near Nagoya. It would help me a lot if you could come and give me a hand.

A serious case? Naoe asked. If it was so, maybe it would be better if Kagetora came with him.

It's hard to say. I have several leads but they are all contradictory, so it's difficult to sort them out. It might be only an ordinary spirit but it's more clever than the others. I really need to pick your brains.

Alright, Naoe nodded while thinking about something else. I'll come as soon as possible. In the meantime, be careful.

As always!

Naoe straightened in his futon. If he went to join his friend, he would leave Kagetora in Edo and it didn't appeal very much to him. However, there may be a way to help matters.

He stood up, donned an indoor kimono and lit a candle. He silently left his room-- he had been supposed first to share the children's room, but Kagetora had taken pity on him and Naoe had finally been sleeping in the dining room-- and headed to his master's room. He was very careful when he walked past Jirou and Ukio's room. If they ever saw him wandering in the corridors in the middle of the night, they may believe he was stealing their possessions, especially Ukio!

When he arrived in front of the screen of paper which demarcated Kagetora's bedroom, Naoe knelt and scratch the wooden frame. He waited a moment, then did it again. Unfortunately, Kagetora didn't wake up. Naoe hesitated at this point: should he enter his master's room, regardless of all the rules of politeness, or would it be better to contact him mentally, although Kagetora hated it? Moreover, if he was really asleep, Naoe might get a glimpse of his thoughts and Kagetora would probably never forgive him. In both cases, Kagetora might consider it as an intrusion into his personal space. Therefore, Naoe chose to enter the room since the intrusion seemed less serious to him this way. Lying on his futon, Kagetora had his back turned to the door and Naoe frowned. Fifty years spend in the comfort of a normal life seemed to have dulled the warrior's necessary caution. This reinforced Naoe's decision: he couldn't leave his master alone here. It was absolutely out of the question!

Naoe cleared his throat and called in a whisper: "Kagetora-sama?"

Kagetora woke up with a start, his hand instinctively fumbling around for a sword that hadn't been at his side since a long time. Then he realized who was his night visitor. "Naoe," he nearly hissed. "What are you doing here and now?"

"I just got contacted by Nagahide," the vassal explained. "He's working on a difficult case and he needs some help. He didn't tell me more."

Kagetora scratched his head, thinking a moment. "It can't be this serious," he concluded. "Otherwise, he would have personally contacted me."

"I'm not sure, my lord. You are rather... huffy about our telepathy. He may have been afraid to bother you during the night. As he knows I'm with you, he's preferred to bother me."

Kagetora took a sullen look that made him look ten years younger. "It's not that I'm huffy," he grumbled. "It's just that this kind of things makes me uncomfortable."

Naoe blinked. "This kind of things? You mean, our power and everything else?"

Kagetora pressed him a look. "I mean, just telepathy. Conversing mind to mind... is too..."

Naoe waited for Kagetora to went on but the other man seemed unable to find the right word. Naoe sighed. "You know, it's not as if we could read the mind of our interlocutor," he said. "You have no reason to be wary."

"But you admit that you can sometimes know what the other is feeling."

"Just like during a normal conversation. I don't really understand your reluctance. The telepathy has been very useful to us, and I don't know how many times it has saved our lives!"

"Forget it," Kagetora sighed.

Naoe gave up to reason with him, but the two men perfectly knew it would only be a matter of time before Naoe got onto this topic once again. In the past, the vassal had always done his best to have the last word, even though he had sometimes to wait for decades.

"What about Nagahide?" Naoe said to change the conversation.

Kagetora sighed deeply. "Did he really say nothing more?" He insisted.

"Nothing more, my lord."

"It had better be important," he grumbled.

"So we are going together?" Naoe wanted to make sure. "Are you sure it doesn't cause any problem?" He meant of course Jirou, Ukio and their children, the little family Kagetora had created in Edo.

His master looked daggers at him. "I told you earlier, Naoe Nobutsuna. Our mission comes first. We're leaving at the sunrise."

Naoe bowed, partly because he had to hide his triumphant smile. "I'm your loyal servant, Kagetora-sama."

To be continued...

In this chapter, Naoe is showing his jealously and want to monopolize his master. However, it's still unconscious for the moment, but he'll soon realize it.

Notes:

(1) Kabesu: this word comes from the various foods sold in the theatre: cakes (kashi), bento and sushi.