Kafei is the son of Mayor Dotour and Madame Aroma,[2] and he is engaged to Anju, the inn-keeper of the Stock Pot Inn. Although the two lovers made a promise to exchange their masks and get married on the day of the Carnival of Time,[3][4] a sudden turn of events forces Kafei to run from Anju's side, leaving the inn-keeper without a reason for his immediate departure.
During his youth, Kafei was a member of the Bombers Secret Society of Justice.[5] The owner of the Curiosity Shop states that he was a childhood friend of Kafei's and gave him the Keaton Mask as a gift. Later, Kafei eventually fell in love with Anju when they were children and they became engaged. They promised each other to marry on the day of the Carnival of Time, exchanging the Sun and Moon's Mask during the event.[6] However, several years later, and only a month before the Carnival,[7] Kafei was suddenly turned into a child by the possessed Skull Kid.[8]
On his way to see the Great Fairy in North Clock Town about his desperate situation, Sakon came along and stole his wedding ceremony mask.[9] As such, Kafei could not return to Anju despite knowing that she was worried, for he had promised her to greet her with his wedding mask in hand.[10] He goes into hiding at the Curiosity Shop and disguises himself with a Keaton Mask that the owner gave him when he was a child,[11] secretly watching all of the customers who sell stolen goods. He is positive that the thief will appear and he will be able to follow him to retrieve his mask.[12] Despite Kafei's terrible fate, Anju does not know what has become of him or why he disappeared. She is afraid to meet her fiancé and hear the reason as to why he disappeared, for she fears his disappearance might have been caused by her.[13]
Link can meet Kafei by sneaking to the back of the Curiosity Shop while Kafei is getting the letter from Anju. Kafei explains to the young hero his reasons for his disappearance and why he cannot go and see his fiancée. He then asks Link to deliver his pendant to Anju as proof that is still willing to keep his promise.[14] Once Anju receives the pendant, she will once again believe in Kafei and decides to wait for his return despite everyone else taking refuge in Romani Ranch.[15]
On the night of the Final Day, Link and Kafei team up to enter Sakon's Hideout to retrieve the Sun Mask. After making their way through the hideout, Kafei recovers the wedding mask and immediately leaves for the Stock Pot Inn to meet up with Anju. With just a few hours left until the Moon falls, Anju waits for Kafei in her room with her Moon's Mask. The two lovers, at last, reunite and exchange their masks and oaths.[16] In return for witnessing this event, they grant Link the Couple's Mask.[17] Even though the Moon is just hours from destroying Termina, they urge Link to take refuge, for they will stay and greet the morning together.[18]
During the ending credits, Anju can be seen outside Clock Town having her wedding ceremony, although Kafei is never seen in the scene.
Schedule
Kafei's schedule changes depending on the outcomes of certain Events:
Anju's Anguish: On the First Day, after Anju receives a Letter from Kafei, Link can speak to her wearing Kafei's Mask to initiate a meeting with her at midnight. At the meeting, she asks him to mail a Letter to Kafei. If Link mails the letter in time for the Postman to collect it on the Second Day, Kafei will receive the letter later that day and leave the door to the Curiosity Shop Back Room unlocked, allowing Link to meet with him.[note 1] Kafei gives Link the Pendant of Memories, which he must give to Anju before noon on the Final Day to convince her to stay in Clock Town and wait for Kafei.
A Testament of Love: If Link speaks to Kafei on the Second Day after completing the requisite stages of "Anju's Anguish", he will be able to help Kafei retrieve the stolen Sun Mask from Sakon's Hideout on the Night of the Final Day. If Link gives Anju the Pendant Memories and helps Kafei retrieve the Sun Mask, Kafei and Anju are reunited at the Stock Pot Inn just before the Moon falls.
↑If Link is not in the area when Sakon appears at 6:00 PM, he will not be able to witness Kafei entering Sakon's Hideout. When Link returns to the area, Kafei will have disappeared and the door to Sakon's Hideout will be closed.
↑If Link is seen by Sakon as he approaches the Hideout, Sakon will run away and Kafei will not be able to enter the Hideout. Kafei will continue to wait for Sakon to appear, as if nothing happened.
↑Link and Kafei emerge from Sakon's Hideout at exactly midnight regardless of how long it takes them to retrieve the Sun Mask or at what time Link enters the Hideout. However, if Link waits until after midnight to enter Sakon's Hideout, Link and Kafei will re-emerge from the Hideout at the time Link entered it—no time will have passed.
↑Kafei disappears after the cutscene shows him running away from Sakon's Hideout. He reappears at the East Gate.
The following section is not part of the Zelda canon and should not be taken as such.
Kafei being transformed by the Skull Kid in the manga
In the Majora's Mask manga by Akira Himekawa, Kafei is first mentioned by Anju's Mother, and later Anju explains his disappearance after nursing Deku Link's injuries. He later makes an appearance as he tries to get into the Stock Pot Inn. Link, thinking Kafei was up to no good, chases Kafei away which causes him to drop a letter addressed to Anju. Link delivers the letter to her, and she decides to wait for Kafei. Link later tracks down Kafei, and interrogates him, thinking he is a minion of the Skull Kid. Kafei explains what happened to him, and asks Link to take him to the Skull Kid. Kafei pleads with the Skull Kid to change him back to an adult, who then fires a blast of energy at Kafei, gravely injuring him. Anju appears and the two embrace as Link enters the final battle with Majora's Mask. After the battle, Kafei changes back into an adult, and he and Anju enjoy their wedding day.
Like in the game, Kafei's adult form is never fully shown.
Kafei is one of the few Majora's Mask characters that do not have an Ocarina of Time counterpart.
One briefly plays as Kafei in Sakon's Hideout. This is the first occurrence of playing as someone other than Link in The Legend of Zelda series, and the only such occurrence initiated involuntarily rather than by Command (Ability).
When Kafei is putting his letter in the Mailbox on the first day, it is possible to injure him if the Dog is tricked into attacking him or if he is caught within the blast radius of Bombs, Bombchus or the Blast Mask.
Nomenclature
Kafei is a romanization of his Japanese name, カーフェイ (Kāfei).[note 3] The name may be a corruption of コーヒーKōhī (coffee) or カフェKafe (café), as his parents and characters who appear in the Mayor's Residence seem to be named after words related to coffee.
↑If Link mails the Letter to Kafei too late for the Postman to collect it on the Second Day, the associated Event is still marked as complete. However, Kafei will not receive the letter in this case; Kafei's schedule proceeds as if the Event had not been completed.
↑If Link kills Sakon instead of merely preventing the robbery, the associated Event will not be marked as complete in the Bomber's Notebook. However, Kafei's schedule will proceed as if the Event had been completed—Sakon does not appear in Clock Town on the Night of the Second Day, therefore Kafei cannot discover the location Sakon's Hideout.
↑The masks of the sun and the moon... We were to exchange them on the day of the Carnival of Time... — Anju (Majora's Mask)
↑We promised each other when we were children that we'd marry on the day of the Carnival of Time. — Kafei (Majora's Mask)
↑Kafei? I can recall when he was in the Bombers. Don't see his face much anymore, though...Well, what could he be doing? — Professor Shikashi (Majora's Mask)
↑We promised each other when we were children that we'd marry on the day of the Carnival of Time. — Kafei (Majora's Mask)
↑The person I want you to locate is my son, Kafei. You know him, don't you? ...You don't? Really? He disappeared about a month ago. It's terrible! I'm so very worried... — Madame Aroma (Majora's Mask)
↑I was turned into this by a strange imp wearing a mask... But I'm not hiding because I look this way. — Kafei (Majora's Mask)
↑When I was turned into this, I went to see the Great Fairy in the shrine near the North Gate... But on the way, my precious mask--a wedding ceremony mask--was stolen from me by some prancing man with a grinning face! — Kafei (Majora's Mask)
↑I know Anju is worried...but I can't go out yet. I made a promise to her that I would bring the wedding mask and greet her. — Kafei (Majora's Mask)
↑All it took was one glance at that Keaton Mask he was carrying for me to realize that I was looking at my old friend. I gave him that mask a long time ago when he was just li'l Kafei. Didn't know he kept it that well for so long... — Man from Curiosity Shop (Majora's Mask)
↑Things that get stolen in this town always make their way to the Curiosity Shop. I'm waiting for that to happen. — Kafei (Majora's Mask)
↑I'm...actually...afraid to meet him...and to hear the reason why he wanted to disappear... It might be because of... me... — Anju (Majora's Mask)
↑...We're locked in. I'm sorry you got caught up in all this. If you can get out, then do it. Anju is already fleeing to Cremia's ranch. — Kafei (Majora's Mask 3D)
↑Isn't her bridal dress lovely? We promised each other when we were children that we'd marry on the day of the Carnival of Time. ...But my promise... I couldn't keep it. — Kafei (Majora's Mask 3D)
