Shimazu Sei

He who increaseth knowledge, increaseth sorrow. This article contains spoilers, meaning it has information and facts concerning Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple. If you do not want to know about these events, it is recommended to read on with caution, or not at all. This template should be removed from the article 6 May 2024.

Shimazu Sei is a Japanese Templar working as a doctor for Abstergo Industries aboard the Exitus research vessel in Macau, China. She is a descendant of Shimazu Saito, an 18th-century Templar and samurai of the Shimazu clan.

In 2023, Sei was charged with locating a Piece of Eden believed to have been found by the British Assassin Edward Kenway. Following Abstergo's abduction of one of Edward's descendants, Noa Kim, Sei forced him to relive Edward's memories in the Animus, though she later ended up striking a deal with him, promising Noa his freedom in exchange for his assistance.

Biography

Early life

"All my life, I've only ever served the Templars and my family."

―Sei to Noa Kim, c. 2023.

Sei was born into the Shimazu clan, a Japanese noble clan which had been allied with the Templars since the time of the Tokugawa shogunate. After graduating from Harvard Medical School, Sei followed into her family footsteps and became a doctor for Abstergo Industries, working in their Archaeological Research Department.

Search for the Piece of Eden

Noa Kim's abduction

"Hey, test subject! Can you hear me? Stop trying to resist the Animus! You're only going to hurt yourself!"

―Sei trying to reach out to Noa, c. 2023.

By 2023, relations between the Shimazu clan and the Templar Order had soured and Sei was tasked with overseeing an important operation in order to prove her family's loyalty and worth to the Templars. Sei's mission was to locate a Piece of Eden believed to have been found by the Assassin Edward Kenway in Southeast Asia, and so she began looking for a descendant of Edward in order to gain access to the Assassin's genetic memories.

Sei and her team observing Noa in the Animus

Through the genealogy site WhyYou developed by the Abstergo Genetic Research Lab, the Templars eventually identified the Korean-American student Noa Kim as a descedant of Edward and lured him to Macau on the pretense of a vacation prize trip. Following Noa's abduction by Abstergo, he was brought to the Exitus research vessel, where Sei and her team forced him to use the Animus to relive Edward's memories.

However, due to Noa being unaware that he was experiencing someone else's memories and taking the events he witnessed for granted, he ended up causing several desynchronization errors. During one such error, the Animus reacted violently and electrocuted Noa, causing his heart rate and adrenaline levels to spike. Sei attempted to warn Noa, but due to his stubbornness, she and her team were eventually forced to end the Animus session.

A risky deal

"Okay, knucklehead. We have a deal. As long as you cooperate with us... We'll let you do whatever you want while you're in the Animus. And I promise to let you go once we get the information we want. I swear on the Shimazu family's honor."

―Sei agreeing to Noa's terms, c. 2023.

After Noa's condition had been stabilized, Sei visited him in his room and told him the truth about the Animus, Edward's role as an Assassin, and Abstergo's search for the Piece of Eden. She also revealed that Abstergo had made sure no one would search for Noa and warned him that it was in his best interest to be cooperative. Enraged at being told what to do, Noa pulled Sei by her labcoat collar but was quickly subdued by Abstergo security. As he was being dragged away, Noa decided to offer Sei a deal.

Noa proposing a deal to Sei

In exchange for helping Sei acquire the information she sought, Noa asked that he be given free rein to do what he wanted while in the Animus, as well as his freedom afterwards. Though reluctant, Sei agreed to the terms, but reminded Noa of interfering with his ancestor's history, and warned him that constant interference could make the subject experience the Bleeding Effect, potentially leading to Noa forgetting his own memories.

Noa noticed Sei's sudden caring attitude towards him and teased her about being kinder than she seemed. A shocked Sei rebuffed him and insisted that she only wanted to make sure Noa did not die before Abstergo obtained what they were after. She then watched as Noa returned to the Animus to continue reliving Edward's memories.

Conversations with Noa

Noa: "I guess you can be helpful from time to time after all, Sei."

Sei: "I'm only lending you a hand, given our need to extract the information from you sooner rather than later. And I don't recall allowing you to address me as anything other than Doctor Shimazu."

Noa: "Why? I thought we were on a first-name basis now that we're in the same boat."

—Noa's banter with Sei, c. 2023.

Sei continued to converse with Noa during the latter's time in the Animus, telling him about her views of the Assassins, whom she regarded as self-righteous criminals that brought chaos wherever they went. She also noticed similarities between Noa and the Assassins in their stubborn belief that they could always help everyone, which worried her.

Sei being annoyed by Noa's comments

When a later memory required Noa to remain synchronized by staying undetected and avoiding casualties, Sei told Noa not to mess around, as he would have to restart the memory if he failed. However, Noa teased her by saying that Edward did not seem to match Sei's description of the Assassins being "ruthless criminals," much to her annoyance.

Later, Sei decided to deliver on her promise to teach Noa more about the Assassins, and used the Animus to send him information about the most notorious of them, Ezio Auditore. She then asked one of her scientists for Noa's status, to which he revealed that the test subject was displaying the most stable synchronization rates since Subject 17. Satisfied, Sei ordered her team to maintain the current synchronization level as they moved forward.

When Noa ran into an issue after completing one of Edward's memory sequences, he asked for Sei's help. The doctor took the opportunity to tease him about his earlier stubborness and refusal to be told what to do, before bringing up a journal that had belonged to a ceramic merchant in Macau who had encountered Edward. Using this information, Noa was able to synchronize with his ancestor's memories and progress to the next sequence. As he did so, he said that Sei could occasionally be helpful and addressed her by her first name, irritating the doctor.

Sei being angered by Noa's ignorance of the Bleeding Effect's dangers

After completing the next set of Edward's memories, Noa began showing signs of the Bleeding Effect, leading Sei to demand that the test subject be removed from the Animus and taken to rest. However, as he was being grabbed by two guards, Noa mistook them for ninja and attacked them, though he quickly fell asleep afterwards.

Sei waited for Noa to wake up in his room, whereupon she explained the Bleeding Effect to him. Noa was excited by the prospect of assimilating Edward's skills, but an angry Sei responded that she had seen people lose their minds due the Bleeding Effect and that she would not let that happen to Noa until she obtained the information she sought. Noa again teased Sei for caring about him more than she let on, and deduced that her family was in trouble if she needed to rely so much on him. He then asked that he be taken to Macau, claiming to know where Edward had gone next, and Sei reluctantly accepted.

Trip to the A-Ma Cultural Village

Sei: "Why didn't you run away? It was the perfect chance."

Noa: "Run away? I thought we had a deal. At least until we both get what we want... We still need each other, right?"

—Sei asking Noa why he returned for her, c. 2023.

Sei and Noa on their way to the A-Ma Cultural Village

After getting dressed up for the trip, Sei went to Noa's room and handed him a blindfold and a pair of headphones to put on, as he was not allowed to see the other areas of the Exitus. After leaving the ship, Sei allowed Noa to take the items off when he began to complain that he would not get to enjoy his first vacation abroad.

Having assumed that Noa had traveled overseas before as was custom among college students, Sei asked him why that was not the case. Noa explained that he had never been able to afford it, claiming that Sei could never understand his struggles given her wealthy upbringing. To Noa's surprise, Sei agreed, but revealed that, because of her work, she had never been able to take a vacation either.

Once they arrived at the A-Ma Cultural Village in Macau, Noa told Sei that the information they sought was located inside the old Zhang residence. However, when Sei went to speak with the security guards, they denied her entrance, claiming that Abstergo's request to perform fieldwork in the area had been rejected. An enraged Sei then called on her guards and demanded to be let in or else they would be forced to take action. In the ensuing commotion, Sei failed to notice Noa running away to find an alternative way into the building.

Sei watching Noa come to her rescue

While Noa was away, Sei and her Abstergo guards were attacked and quickly overwhelmed by a number of thugs—a distraction by members of the Zhawang Corporation, who had come to retrieve Noa. However, Noa refused to leave with the Corporation agents and instead rushed to Sei's aid, using Edward's skills he had developed as a result of the Bleeding Effect to dispatch all the thugs. When Sei asked why Noa had not run away, he simply told her that their deal was still intact, before showing her a book he had found.

After returning to the Exitus, Sei had the book translated and found that it contained information about Edward's later activities. She then went to retrieve Noa from his room so that he could continue to track Edward's memories. Before Noa went into the Animus, Sei thanked him for saving her and warned him not to succumb to the Bleeding Effect until their transaction was complete.

Later Animus sessions

Noa: "Hey, it was just a little prank!"

Sei: "A prank? Is this all a big joke to you? There's nothing funny about what you've done! You think it's funny to mess around with lives at stake? You're not a child!"

—Sei reprimanding Noa for pranking her, c. 2023.

When Noa came across another one of his ancestors, the Korean scholar and engineer Yun Pyeong-Gyu, in Edward's memories, Sei added an Animus database entry for Yun to allow Noa to learn more about him. Later, Noa and Sei witnessed Edward recruit Sei's ancestor Shimazu Saito into the Zhang Wei Union. When Saito revealed her perfect photographic memory, which helped the Union members in their quest for Angkor, Noa made a joke about Sei inheriting her "Harvard-educated" brain from Saito, causing an annoyed Sei to tell him to remain silent.

Noa playing a prank on Sei

Shortly after completing this memory, Sei ordered that Noa be removed from the Animus as the machine was unable to track Edward's memories any further. As Sei told Noa that he needed to find a clue about his ancestor's later activities, she became concerned to see Noa seemingly succumb to the Bleeding Effect, believing himself to be Edward and mistaking Sei for Saito. A terrified Sei immediately told her team to initiate the breakdown protocol and tried to help Noa return to his senses, only for him to pin her against the wall.

Suddenly however, Noa began to chuckle and revealed that it was all a prank. Sei was not amused and slapped Noa before returning him to his room, where she angrily reprimanded him for treating everything like a joke. Noa retorted that Abstergo had kidnapped him to use him as a guinea pig, so Sei had no right to get angry at him as she was just a criminal. Visibly hurt by Noa's words, Sei agreed to leave him alone and, as she departed, she told him she had never been worried about him in the first place.

Sei on the phone with her superior

Later, Sei called her superior to inform him of her mission's progress, revealing that she had to relocate to Cebu in the Philippines in order to physically trace Edward's footsteps. The superior reminded Sei that this operation was her only chance to prove the Shimazu clan's value to the Order, and warned her not to leave any more loose ends like the thugs who had attacked her in the A-Ma Cultural Village, whom Abstergo had yet to identify.

The superior then revealed that, given the likelihood of another attack in Cebu, he had approved Sei's request for backup, putting both an Abstergo task force and Sigma Team at her disposal. After warning Sei to only use them as a last resort, the superior told Sei that he was looking forward to good news and ended the call. Left alone with her thoughts, Sei vowed to succeed in her mission at all costs as her entire family's fate depended on it.

Personality and traits

"Knucklehead."

―Sei's nickname for Noa.

Due to her upbringing as a member of both the Shimazu clan and the Templar Order, Sei never got to experience life outside of serving the Templars and believed that any failure would bring dishonor not just to herself, but to her entire family. After being tasked to search for the Piece of Eden found by Edward Kenway, Sei realized that her family's fate now rested on her shoulders, as failure in her mission would result in the clan losing the Templars' support. As such, she became extremely devoted to her mission and would not let anything distract her from it.

Sei laughing at Noa's discomfort

Over the course of her interactions with Noa, Sei came to show a less professional side of herself, mainly whenever Noa teased or otherwise annoyed her. Though she refused to admit it, she cared about her test subject, showing concern for Noa's well-being, and eventually grew accustomed to his comments, even teasing him in return at one point. She was also grateful when Noa chose to return to her instead of escaping, and was visibly hurt by Noa calling her a criminal for kidnapping him.

However, Sei could lose her composure if Noa did not take situations as seriously as he should, mainly in regards to the Bleeding Effect. Because Sei had witnessed many previous subjects succumb to its effects, she was worried Noa might suffer the same fate and took all the necessary precautions to prevent it. As such, when Noa was dismissive of the Bleeding Effect's dangers, Sei could not control her anger and smashed a plate, cutting her hand. She had a similar reaction when Noa later played a prank on her, slapping him and reprimanding at him for his childish behavior.

A firm believer in the Templar cause, Sei despised the Assassins, seeing them as nothing more than self-righteous and ruthless criminals that needed to be stopped. She also possessed a strong sense of honor and honesty, telling Noa everything he needed to know about Abstergo and their goals and upholding her end of their deal, even if only because she believed this would facilitate her mission.

Gallery

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  Close-up of Sei
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  Sei with Mitsuko Nakamura
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  Sei brushing off Noa's comment about being kind
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  Sei ordering that Noa be removed from the Animus
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  Sei visiting Noa in his room
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  Sei and Noa in the A-Ma Cultural Village
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  Sei refusing to leave without Noa
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  Sei thanking Noa for saving her
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  Sei observing Noa on a monitor

Appearances

• Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple