Kyoko Shinsegawa

Though she’s the former Scourge of San Francisco, not much is known about Kyoko Shinsegawa prior to her arrival on the shores of California at the dawn of the twentieth century. An apt warrior and linguist, Shinsegawa rightly earned her place by the Prince of San Francisco’s side, working closely with the Sheriff to bring down troublemaking Sabbat, Anarchs who couldn’t follow the Traditions, and other threats to the stability of the city. Fortunately for Shinsegawa, the local vampire community had their hands full, for as soon as one catastrophe ravaged the city in the form of the bubonic plague, the Great Earthquake of 1906 followed in its wake. The earthquake that almost destroyed San Francisco cracked the earth, disrupting the resting place of Fa Chen Leong, a Nosferatu Elder embraced sometime in the 1850s. Leong, who went into torpor following a vicious battle with a Sabbat Pack during the Gold Rush years, awoke in the middle of a raging fire. Not knowing what had happened, the Elder believed she was still being targeted by assassins who had taken advantage of the earthquake to find her resting place, and went on the attack. Shinsegawa is credited with handling the situation, and brought back the elder for the Prince’s judgment.

For decades, Shinsegawa acted as the Prince’s mailed fist, weathering wars, natural disasters, Anarch and Sabbat-led raids, battles over domains, and oversaw negotiations with representations from other cities. All the while, high-ranking Kindred — including the Justicars — believed the Scourge to be a devoted protector of the city’s many Kindred, kept safe through the defense of the Traditions they thought she was willing to uphold by hunting Anarchs and thin-bloods.

Unfortunately for them, the only thing that was true about Shinsegawa was her name. From what the Justicars have pieced together, Shinsegawa was either sent to San Francisco or headed there to set a plan in motion that would take a century to unfold. Beginning with that key coastal city, Shinsegawa is believed to have undermined the Prince’s authority in small, negligible ways while his attention was focused on larger, more pressing matters. A favor here, a bribe there, and over the years the Scourge had a network of unwitting allies and informants that reported to her. At first glance, this collection of Kindred, ghouls, and mortals may seem disconnected and random, but was built purposefully until she needed to use them.

When Prince Vannevar Thomas was finally overthrown in the 1990s and replaced by Jochen Van Nuys, most Kindred believed it was elders from Clan Ventrue who mistrusted Thomas and so they successfully installed the new puppet Prince — right up until Shinsegawa vanished.

Her disappearance, coupled with Thomas’s fall, opened a line of inquiry, drawing the Justicars’ attention to San-Francisco. Their investigation, which was led by Ventrue Justicar Lucinde, who had been in the city hunting the Samedi serial killer Genina, resulted in Shinsegawa being named to the Red List for reasons that were once known only to them and the Inner Circle.

At first, the actions of the Justicars naming Shinsegawa to the Red List were not questioned by the Alastors. Some felt slighted that the Justicars didn’t reveal more than the Anathema’s name, Clan, and last sighting in Vancouver, Canada. Others believed that it’s not their job to question the reasons why the Anathema was condemned to the List, and felt that some secrets shouldn’t be exposed if the truth puts the Camarilla at greater risk. However, thanks to the efforts of the Red Alastors, more details have since come to light about this mysterious and enigmatic figure to help aid all Alastors when hunting her.

Most Alastors are aware that Kyoko Shinsegawa spent years as the Scourge in San Francisco. This role allowed her to master the art of hunting down undesireable Kindred, and has forged her into the perfect predator. Once she earned the skills necessary to hunt vampires, Kyoko has since taken those skills on the road to hunt down unique Kindred targets in different Camarilla domains. Instead of focusing on Caitiff and Anarchs, Kyoko struck down the Seneschal of Seattle in a pre-dawn raid prior to her addition to the Red List. Initially, a Nosferatu Archon called Weasel tracked her movements and cornered her in Portland. In the battle, Kyoko killed Weasel and vanished for a year into parts unknown. After she resurfaced in Nevada, she nearly destroyed Montrose, the Sheriff of Las Vegas, and left him for dead. Two of his ghouls died in the attack and Montrose still has not risen from Torpor. It was not long after this the Justicars added her to the List when a vacancy opened up.

Now, the former Scourge is now a considerable threat to the Camarilla. No one knows what the Anathema’s true goals are or who she was before she came to the United States, and the Justicars are afraid that whatever answers lie in her mysterious past, the Alastors may not be able to uncover them before it is too late — for it’s been confirmed that the former Scourge of San Francisco is slowly succumbing to her Beast and has been spotted in a frenzy on more than one occasion. Kyoko’s violent nature and rising number of kills have turned her into a nightmarish creature sires warn their neonates about. Because of this, her reputation often generates just as many false leads as it does valuable clues to her past and her current whereabouts. Sightings of the Anathema and Esumi, her ghoul, have been reported in several major Camarilla domains including Baltimore, Minneapolis, and London.

One Toreador Alastor, named Barnes, has a theory why this Anathema has been hard to track down. He believes that Esumi or someone from Kyoko’s past is hiding her in mortal populations where Kindred normally don’t have a strong influence. He further theorizes that there may either be another supernatural faction that their connected to, or Esumi is not a run-of-the-mill ghoul and has access to secrets that she’s using to help the Anathema. Not everyone is convinced that Barnes’ theory is correct. However, his questions have forced people to take a second look at this Anathema and what she’s truly capable of.

Alastors have been put on high alert and are encouraged to strategize their attack before engaging with the former Scourge. There is no telling what Shinsegawa will do if and when her Beast takes over, and the Justicars fear it’s only a matter of time before the Toreador breaks the Masquerade in a way that cannot be fixed.

Kyoko Shinsegawa has wild black hair, brown eyes, and sharp pointed nails. When she remembers to keep up appearances, she targets a fashionable woman, kills her, and takes her clothes. When she doesn’t, however, her dress is ripped, muddy, and stained with blood.

Kyoko has a Ghoul named Esumi that is fully dedicated to her cause. Not much is known about Esumi, and no one knows if she was with Kyoko in San Francisco or arrived later.

Character Sheet
Trophy Clan: Toreador

Sire: Friedrich Kreizer

Alias(es): None

Clan: Tremere

Nature: Sadist

Demeanor: Chameleon

Generation: Tenth

Embrace: 1897

Apparent Age: Mid 20s

Physical: Strength 4, Dexterity 4, Stamina 4

Social: Charisma 3, Manipulation 2, Appearance 3

Mental: Perception 4, Intelligence 2, Wits 4

Talents: Alertness 2, Athletics 2, Awareness 2, Brawl 3, Empathy 1, Expression 1, Intimidation 3, Leadership 2, Streetwise 3, Subterfuge 3

Skills: Animal Ken 2, Crafts 2, Drive 2, Etiquette 3, Firearms 1, Larceny 3, Melee 4, Performance 2, Stealth 4, Survival 3

Knowledges: Academics 2, Computer 1, Finance 1,

Investigation 4, Law 2, Medicine 2, Occult 3, Politics 1, Science 1, Technology 1

Disciplines: Auspex 2, Celerity 2, Dominate 1, Fortitude 2, Potence 2, Thaumaturgy 2 (Path of Blood 2)

Thaumaturgical Rituals: Bind the Accusing Tongue, Deflection of Wooden Doom

Backgrounds: Contacts 2, Retainers 1

Virtues: Conscience 2, Self-Control 2, Courage 3

Morality: Humanity 2

Willpower: 6

Blood Pool/Max per Turn: 13/1