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Fanfic / Fate x stay night: Future Sight

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Status: Complete 25 chapters.

Fate x stay night: Future Sight is a Fate/stay night fan work created by Archdemon Slayer. It is a story found on Fanfiction, Archive of Our Own, and Quotev acting as another route. This story takes place in 2004 in Fuyuki, Japan where the Fifth Holy Grail War is about to take place. It centers around Akiko Hashimoto, an original character, who's the Master of the Lancer Servant, Cú Chulainn. Akiko has mystic eyes that allow her to glimpse the future every now and then. These are called the Mystic Eyes of Future Prediction.

She is a survivor of the fire ten years ago, a result of the Fourth Holy Grail War. This incident took the lives of both her parents. It's revealed that she had a vision of the fire but didn't tell her parents about it, wanting at the time to punish them for thinking of her as little more than a tool. Her regret about this causes her wish for the Holy Grail to be to revive her parents.

Akiko is 17 years old and is in the same classroom as Rin Tohsaka at Homurahara Academy. She's friends with Ayako Mitsuzuri, another girl in her class, and Bazett Fraga McRemitz, someone from the Ireland branch of the Mage's Association who is the one who sends her Cú Chulainn's runic earring to use as a catalyst.


Other fics with Akiko Hashimoto:

Tropes that apply in this fic:

  • '80s Hair: Kirei has a mullet going down to his shoulders.
  • Abnormal Ammo: Archer can fire swords as if they were arrows, and despite both being archers, Archer and Gilgamesh launch swords.
  • Absurdly Sharp Blade: The claws on Arius Nova's wings are able to cut anything.
  • Action Girl: Akiko, Rin, and Saber aren't ones to shy away from a fight.
  • Agree to Disagree: Saber and Lancer got into a pretty heated debate about their reason for being in the Holy Grail War and what they think is right. Things were said that got them very pissy at the other and it almost ended in a fight. Archer broke it up before it did. In the end, the fact the alliance needs to continue took priority over their dispute and so they continue fighting together.
  • Animal Lover: Akiko loves animals and hates to have had to kill two pigs for their blood to make the summoning circle.
  • Animal Motifs:
    • Akiko compares Lancer to a dog, though she doesn't say it out loud.
    • Rider is called a cat and a snake. The snake one comes from the fact her true name is Medusa.
    • Saber takes a shine to a lion doll.
    • Caster calls Assassin a dog.
    • Arius Nova was likened to a tiger.
    • Taiga's name sounds like tiger and the fact she wears a yellow shirt with black horizontal stripes adds to the fact she can be compared to a tiger.
  • Anti-Magic: Lancer has a bit of resistance to magic and he can also use runes to boost it higher temporarily. And though his limbs feel heavy, he isn't turned to stone by Rider's Deadly Gaze.
  • Anyone Can Die: The Holy Grail War is a fight to the death, so any Master and Servant is fair game for being offed.
  • Attack! Attack! Attack!: Lancer and Berserker don't know the meaning of 'give up'.
  • Awesome, but Impractical: While Saber's Noble Phantasm, Excalibur, is pretty powerful, the downside is that it consumes a ton of mana. After using it, Saber is reduced to a near-vanishing state.
  • Badass Adorable: Rin and Saber are both badasses and look cute.
  • Bad with the Bone: The spear Gáe Bolg is stated to have been crafted from a bone of the sea monster Curruid.
  • Bare-Fisted Monk: The priest Kirei Kotomine usually fights with hand-to-hand combat. He will occasionally throw swords called Black Keys at an opponent. These are used to slow Lancer down, even for a second.
  • Battle Ballgown: Saber wears a blue gown under her armor. She's able to kick ass in it.
  • Battle Couple: Akiko and Lancer are together and don't shy away from a fight.
  • Beast with a Human Face: Despite Arius Nova looking like a mutant animal, it has a human-like face.
  • "Be Quiet!" Nudge: Rin elbows Archer in the ribs and tells him to shut up.
  • Berserk Button: Lancer at being called a dog and Caster at being called a witch. It's a good way to have them want to kill you.
    • Lancer also loses it on Saber when she says he killed Ferdiad and Connla just for the joy of killing while discussing the reason she, Lancer, and Archer wanted the Grail. But this was in retaliation from him triggering her, though she didn't end up storming out of the room or pulled out her weapon and threatened to attack Lancer.
  • BFS:
    • Lancer and Assassin have weapons as tall or taller than they are.
    • Berserker's is just huge, it being bigger than a normal-sized adult.
  • Big Bad Wannabe: Shinji makes himself seem like a threat since he's a Master, but he's pathetic when the battle against him and Rider happens.
  • Big Eater:
    • Saber wants to go to a place having an all-you-can-eat special for lunch.
    • Akiko eats a lot of sweets. She balances the calorie intake with a lot of physical training, which is why she isn't fat.
  • Big "SHUT UP!": Akiko and Rin shout this at Lancer and Archer when they argue, and Lancer and Archer shout it at each other.
  • Blade Lock: This happens several times over the course of each fight between Servants.
  • Blade Spam: Lancer does quick attacks and Berserker tries to smash Arius Nova's wing-claws with rapid swings.
  • Blindfolded Vision: Rider wears a magenta blindfold which conceals her mystic eyes.
  • Blood Knight: The only reason Lancer's in this is to fight. When he and Akiko discuss their favorite thing to do, fighting is what Lancer responds with.
  • Blood Lust: Rider licks Lancer's blood from her weapon, talks about cutting him up slowly, and when she cuts his neck, she licks the splatters of his blood on her face.
  • Blood Magic:
    • Rider uses her blood to summon Pegasus.
    • In order to make the magic circle to summon a Servant, blood must be used in its formation. However, the blood can be from any creature.
  • Bodyguard Crush: Inverted. Akiko is in love with her Servant, though she tries to deny it for awhile.
  • Boisterous Bruiser: Lancer seems easy to get along with, teases a bit, and can be a Nice Guy, but he's also a Servant. When it comes to fighting, he knows damn well what he's doing.
  • Boisterous Weakling: Shinji. He's loudmouthed and gets taken down rather easily.
  • Break the Haughty: Shinji first gets rejected, then gets his ego smashed when Rider dies, and finally gets eaten.
  • Bridal Carry: Lancer often carries Akiko like this and Archer does this to Rin once. While it caused embarrassment from both girls, Akiko no longer blushes after she had sex with Lancer.
  • Bullet Dodges You: Lancer's Protection Against Arrows skill causes the projectiles Arius Nova launches at him to be deflected.
  • Calling Your Attack: The name of a Servant's Noble Phantasm is said right before use. This is explained as being a requirement.
  • Cat Fight: This happens at a clothing store. Akiko was having Lancer try on modern clothes to see what fits. After he goes into the changing room, a girl comes out of a different one. She notices Lancer and asks Akiko if he's single. Akiko tries to make her go away, but then the girl asks Akiko if she's already dating him. This causes Akiko to insist He's Not My Boyfriend. The other girl begins to state how flawed Akiko's appearance is, but before she can finish Akiko tackles her to the ground with a roar. They are rolling around, pulling at each other's hair. When Lancer comes out, he sees this and breaks it up.
  • Catapult Nightmare: At the beginning of the story, Akiko has a nightmare about the death of her parents. It causes her to jolt into a sitting position in bed.
  • Chain Pain: Akiko, Rider, and Gilgamesh all use chains as weapons. Rider uses them more than Akiko or Gilgamesh and can turn her hair into chains to attack the enemy.
  • Combination Attack: Saber uses Strike Air and Lancer uses Ansuz to create a fiery whirlwind in the hopes of wounding Berserker. They only manage to make several cuts on him, but nothing serious.
  • Conveniently an Orphan: Most of the Masters in this are orphans.
  • Conveniently Unverifiable Cover Story:
    • Servants obtain knowledge about the modern era from the Holy Grail. This includes language. However, this information has to be kept from normal humans. When Taiga asks Lancer, who claims to be vacationing to Japan, on why he's able to speak Japanese so well, he says he had already learned basic Japanese and Akiko, who was already established as a friend of his, taught him even more.
    • To cover up why he's injured, Taiga is told this happened when Lancer fought a street gang. In reality, his injury was caused by Servant Berserker.
    • In an effort to hide the real reason why she's staying at Shirou's house, Akiko tells Taiga a drunk driver crashed through one of the walls of her house and it's now being repaired. The real reason is that she and Lancer are allies with Shirou, Rin, and their two Servants and this makes it much easier to strategize.
    • The incident at the school with Blood Fort Andromeda needed to be kept from the non-mages at the high school, so the explanation for what caused it became something about chemicals in an abandoned classroom, leaving the Masters and Servants that got involved as the only ones who know what really went down.
  • Cool Sword: Saber's Excalibur has a golden blade.
  • Curb-Stomp Battle: If a human were to fight a Servant, the human would get the shit beat out of them. Shirou learns this the hard way after he receives a one-sided ass-kicking courtesy of Lancer. And to add insult to injury, Lancer wasn't even trying that hard!
  • Curse Cut Short: Lancer gets out "What the fu -?!" before he hits the water after Akiko shoves him into the pool.
  • Cute Little Fangs: Lancer sports two fang-like canines, seen when he grins or opens his mouth. These help in him looking like a wild animal/wolf, which helped Akiko figure out his true name.
  • Cuteness Proximity:
    • Akiko has a weakness for puppies, evidenced when she sees a wolf pup at the zoo.
      Akiko: Aww! It's so cute! I just wanna scoop it up and snuggle with it all day long!
    • Lancer, a badass Servant, also has one. Akiko catches him playing with a wolf doll and, judging by the expression on his face, was most likely saying something cutsie to it.
      Akiko: The impression I got of you from Bazett is slowly being shattered...
  • Dark Action Girl: Rider is a Servant that wears black. She's more powerful than a human even with her being in a weakened state, and being free from Shinji's control allows her to fight evenly with other Servants. She pretty much rubs what she did to Akiko in Lancer's face.
  • Deadly Gaze: Rider has the Mystic Eyes of Petrification, which can turn you to stone.
  • Deadpan Snarker: Akiko, Rin, Lancer, and Archer all snark often and are very sarcastic.
  • Declaration of Protection: Servants act as a Master's bodyguard. A very protective bodyguard. Some want to be near their Masters 24/7. The Servants vow to be the swords and shields of the one who they get summoned by.
    Lancer: I want to at least keep the promise I made to her when I was summoned, to be her sword.
  • The Determinator: Lancer doesn't have 'give up' in his dictionary. Lampshaded by Rin:
    Rin: And no matter how much the odds seem to be against him, he doesn't give up.
    • During the fight against Gilgamesh, Lancer wouldn't fall back when Akiko told him to, so she had to use a Command Seal, an absolute order Masters can use on their Servant to make them follow a specific command even if it's against their will, to force him. To add to how stubborn he was being about continuing to fight despite the very disadvantagous position he was in at that moment, he was trying to resist the Seal when it was first used. He really didn't want to retreat. Each Master only gets three Seals to use for the whole War. Using them too early can spell out a Master's death. The fact Akiko had to use one for such an order shows how determined Lancer was to continue the fight even if it would result in his own death.
  • Dual Wielding:
    • Archer uses Kanshou and Bakuya, which are yin-yang short swords.
    • Rider uses a pair of spike-like nails when she fights.
  • Eating Optional: Servants don't need to eat, although they still can. Akiko has Lancer eat since she believes that a Servant will fight better on a full stomach rather than an empty one.
  • Eldritch Abomination: Arius Nova in this is a pseudo-Servant. But it originally appears as an Aragami in the Resurrection arc of the first God Eater game. Just seeing them would tell you how this applies.
  • Elemental Powers:
    • Akiko is able to use multiple magecraft elements, including but not limited to fire, lighting, and wind.
    • It is shown that the spells Rin has stored in her gems make use of different elements, though what those elements are is unclear.
  • Enemy Mine: Though all Master-Servant pairs are enemies, the Three Knight Classes and their Masters form an alliance that lasts until Berserker is killed. This gets extended until Arius Nova, who poses a greater threat than Berserker, dies.
  • Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": The Servants are typically only addressed by their class name. Gilgamesh is the biggest exception, only called 'Archer' once. Akiko only calls Lancer by his true name when they are alone or if the ones in earshot all already know it.
  • Everyone Can See It: Everyone Akiko meets is able to tell she's attracted to her Servant. Her coworkers and boss point it out as well.
  • Extreme Doormat: Shirou before he was dragged into this. He had been easily taken advantage of due to him being a Nice Guy. Shinji got Shirou to clean the archery dojo for him, which unfortunately resulted in him seeing Lancer and Archer fight, followed by Shirou being killed by Lancer for seeing too much.
  • Eye Scream: Lancer takes out one of Arius Nova's eyes.
  • Familiar:
    • All Servants fall into this category.
    • Caster uses Dragon Tooth Warriors during her attempt to have the Masters and Servants use up their mana.
    • Rider uses snakes at the school.
    • Rin uses a crystal bird to keep an eye on Shinji when Rider dies.
  • Fangirl: Bazett is obsessed with the legend about Cú Chulainn. When she talks to him on the phone...Needless to say, a side of her came out that Akiko didn't know existed.
    Bazett: Oh my God! I can't believe I'm talking to the actual Cú Chulainn! Squee
  • Field of Blades: Archer's Reality Marble is a landscape full of swords.
  • Fighting a Shadow: Turns out that a Servant is just a copy of the actual Heroic Spirit they're supposed to be. So killing the Servant won't fully eliminate it.
  • Fighting Irish: Lancer is Irish and loves fighting.
  • The Fighting Narcissist: Gilgamesh is full of himself, believing that he's better than anyone else, which includes the other Servants and is ready to prove it through battle.
  • First-Name Basis: Lancer, Saber, and Archer address their own Master and the Masters of the other two by their given name. The three humans don't seem to mind.
  • Fish out of Temporal Water: Averted. Even though the Servants are from various time periods, some alive millennia ago, the Holy Grail gives them enough knowledge about the time period they get summoned into in order to understand things about it.
  • Form-Fitting Wardrobe: Lancer wears full-bodied blue spandex with silver runic protections.
  • Friend or Foe?: Lancer's riastrad (warp spasm) gets mentioned. Akiko says she doesn't want to worry about being killed by her own Servant, as this causes him to attack anyone, be they allies or enemies. He says not to worry about it as it's less likely to come out since he's a Lancer instead of a Berserker.
  • The Gadfly: Lancer seems to enjoy provoking Akiko just to see the face she makes when she gets mad. To a lesser extent, he also teases Saber and Shirou.
  • Geas: This gets Played for Laughs when Akiko eats a hotdog in front of her Servant. Remember: his true name is Cú Chulainn. He doesn't know what a hotdog is made of.
  • Gemstone Assault:
    • Rin uses jewel magecraft. She throws the gems at an enemy and then activates the spell stored within it.
    • Arius Nova launches spears of crystal as well as creating pillars of crystal that come out of the ground.
  • Gotta Get Your Head Together: Whenever Akiko is about to get a vision of the future, it's always accompanied by a powerful headache that causes her to clutch her head in pain.
  • Grey-and-Gray Morality: Each Master-Servant pair has their own reason for fighting and they all have different views on good and evil. It was made clear during Lancer and Saber's argument that neither Servant is entirely good. Saber basically calls Lancer a monster who enjoys killing and Lancer can't stand the idea of Saber trying to erase the fact she became king since that would mean her men died for nothing.
  • Hate at First Sight: From their first encounter, Lancer and Archer hate each other. This comes from the fact they have opposing personalities.
  • Head Desk: Lancer agrees to spar Taiga using the shintai. Akiko had just stitched up the massive wound he got from Berserker and worries that this will break them. But despite her trying to convince him not to do this, he stubbornly insists.
    Akiko: [bangs forehead on kitchen table each time] Dammit, dammit, dammit, dammit, dammit!
  • Healing Factor: A trait of all Servants. How fast they can regenerate depends on the severity of the injury and the amount of mana they have.
  • Hellish Pupils: Lancer has slitted pupils, which aid in making him look like some kind of beast. But it may be from him being Semi-Divine. Fellow demigod Gilgamesh is also in possession of red eyes with slitted pupils.
  • Hell Is That Noise: Arius Nova's normal roar. Prevalent when it's about to eat Shinji. It's a good warning to hightail it.
  • He's Not My Boyfriend: Akiko keeps insisting that absolutely nothing is going on between her and Lancer. She drops this after she sleeps with Lancer.
  • Homeschooled Kids: Akiko was homeschooled until her parents died.
  • Hot-Blooded: Lancer has a thing for fighting and protecting his Master. It can get to the point where he becomes The Determinator.
  • Hyperspace Arsenal: The Servants can make their own weapons appear out of thin air.
  • Idiot Hair: Saber has a piece of hair sticking straight up which, according to Lancer, makes her look cute.
  • I Can Still Fight!: Lancer insists this even after taking heavy damage from Gilgamesh.
  • Implacable Man: Berserker's Noble Phantasm requires him to be killed 12 times.
  • Improvised Weapon: When Lancer tries to kill Shirou for good, Shirou bumps into a table with rolled-up posters when he rolls out of the way of Lancer's attack, knocking them onto the floor. Shirou grabs one, strengthens it so it's as hard as metal, and uses it like a sword.
  • In the Back: Lancer makes Gáe Bolg vanish. Then it reappears right before Rider finishes him off and it pierces her through the back.
  • Intimate Healing: When a Servant runs dangerously low on mana, they not only are in danger of fading but they are rendered unable to fight as well and their Healing Factor ceases to be as effective. A Master having sex with said Servant, called a mana transfer, is a way to fix this problem when it crops up. All three Knight Class Servants are reduced to needing a mana transfer, but not all at once.
  • Jerkass: Gilgamesh and Shinji come off as irritating and seem to care only about themselves. Shinji instantly blames Rider because he lost the Holy Grail War when she dies.
  • Just Following Orders: The reason Lancer gives for hunting Shirou is that he was only doing what the rules told him to.
  • Kung-Fu Wizard: Akiko uses martial arts and magecraft.
  • Legendary Weapon: The Servants are based off actual historical and mythological figures. As such, the true name of their Noble Phantasm(s) are ones they actually used in life or are linked to based off their legend.
  • Light Is Not Good: One of Arius Nova's attacks is a super-heated beam of light. Just being near it can set you on fire. Evidenced by the fact plant life near it burned up and Shirou's jacket caught on fire.
  • Lightning Bruiser:
    • All the Servants have power and speed vastly exceeding that of humans, and they have remained conscious even after receiving more than enough damage to kill a human.
    • Arius Nova is swift, and it even took down Berserker.
    • Lancer displays the 'lightning' part big-time when he fights Gilgamesh.
  • Magically Regenerating Clothing: If a Servant is wounded, their Healing Factor closes it. Then the blood on them vanishes and their armor is repaired.
  • Maid Cafe: Akiko works as a waitress at Ahnenerbe. But she and fellow waitress Maiko don't exactly agree with the method used to attract male customers, which is to have the waitresses wear maid uniforms.
  • Mana Drain: The Masters and Servants (minus Shinji and Rider) start to have their mana drained by Blood Fort Andromeda, with the stolen power along with the souls being slowly drained out of the others in the school strengthening Rider enough to break free from Shinji's control. The bounded field also halves the strength of those being drained.
  • Mons: The Servants fight while the Masters provide support.
  • My Name Is Inigo Montoya: Assassin gives his true name to his enemies out of the blue. Servants normally never give out something so vital except to their Masters as it can give away their weaknesses.
  • Nice Day, Deadly Night: During a Holy Grail War, battles between Master-Servant pairs normally take place at night (it can be during any time of day at the Einzbern Castle). This is due to it being a secret magecraft ritual and having the killings during the night reduces the chances of having outsiders witness it. Those that do have their short term memory wiped or, if that can't be done, are killed. Even mages who are witnesses aren't safe. They are straight-up killed to prevent the chance of the Grail choosing them as a Master. It tends to be safer during the day, but there can always be unexpected happenings.
  • Nice Girl: Saber. Akiko even notes that Saber is a model knight.
  • Nice Guy: Shirou will always go out of his way to help someone.
  • Nigh-Invulnerable: Berserker is to an extent. Only high-rank attacks can harm him.
  • Normally, I Would Be Dead Now: Berserker makes use of Battle Continuation when Arius Nova takes his 12th life.
  • Not a Date: Akiko decides to take Lancer into town. Shirou asks her what she's doing when she's about to head out and she tells him her intention. Then he asks her if it's for a date. Despite her insisting it's not a date, Taiga and Rin join in with this assumption and even Lancer teases Akiko about this, even saying at the end of it "Not much of a date today."
  • Not a Morning Person: Akiko shows this once after only getting four hours of sleep and has Lancer help her get ready for school due to 'being too weak to do it herself'.
  • Official Couple: Akiko and Lancer. They were even pegged as a couple before they became one.
  • Offing the Offspring: Akiko has a dream of when Lancer killed his son, Connla, during his first life. However, he didn't know it was his son he just killed until after the fact.
  • Oh, Crap!:
  • Older Than She Looks: Everyone except Saber is shocked to learn Illya's 18 since, physically, she looks like a little girl.
  • One-Hit Kill:
    • Arius Nova has a roar that can be this to Servants. This is due to the fact it can disturb the mana making up a Servant, causing it to fade. Skills such as Independent Action or Battle Continuation, having more than one life, or using a Noble Phantasm with most of the mana coming from the Master can have the Servant avoid death. The attack is used only once because it has a high mana consumption.
    • Gáe Bolg is able to reverse cause and effect to always strike the heart when the Noble Phantasm gets used. Unfortunately, Lancer doesn't want a fight where he's having fun to end so easily. Because of his Blood Knight tendencies, he has fun in every fight. As a result, the Noble Phantasm gets used rarely. He's only killed Rider with it. Saber was able to Screw Destiny when it was fired at her and it just barely missed her heart.
  • O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Lancer, when not fighting or dealing with Archer, is typically a happy-go-lucky and friendly man who tends to joke around. But when he sees Akiko serving Gilgamesh (she didn't know he was a Servant) at Ahnenerbe, he tells Akiko that she and he himself need to go. Akiko decides to do what Lancer says because he actually sounded serious for once.
  • Our Spirits Are Different: While they appear to have physical bodies, Servants are the spirits of heroes from the past that reside in a place known as the Throne of Heroes, which exists outside of reality, and are brought forth by the Holy Grail. However, they require a mage chosen by the Grail to be the Master they can pact with to materialize and remain in the world. While the Servants are powerful and can prove hard to kill, even for other Servants, a Master can be their greatest weakness. If their Master dies, the Servant must pact with a new one in a short amount of time (anywhere from a couple hours to a couple days) or it will vanish.
  • Panthera Awesome: Arius Nova resembles a tiger.
  • Pegasus: Rider's Noble Phantasm involves her summoning Pegasus and performing a devastating charge with him. Her true name being Medusa is why she can summon him.
  • Person of Mass Destruction: Noble Phantasms are very powerful, some able to do much destruction to the landscape they hit. Servants are capable of this same result even without using a Noble Phantasm, but it takes longer.
  • Place of Power: On Earth, there are underground rivers of mana. Camping out at a spot where this 'river' intersects with another, known as a ley line, will recharge a Servant on mana. The one on Mt. Enzou is said to be the largest ley line in Fuyuki, which would cause the mana regeneration to go quicker.
  • Porn Stash: While it was never searched for by the others, Akiko questions Shirou on why he has lube. Shirou's mind instantly goes to the porn he has hidden.
  • Power Tattoo: While Command Seals appear to be red tattoos on Masters, they can in fact be used to give the Servant they have a pact with an absolute order, make them teleport to a specific place, give the Servant mana, or temporarily boost their parameters. Each Command Seal is made up of three strokes, so a Command Seal can only be used three times. Also, using all three strokes means you're no longer a Master, so Masters tend to use up to two strokes.
  • Primal Scene: Illya walks in on Lancer and Akiko having sex.
  • Psychic Link: Masters and Servants are able to communicate telepathically and dream about the other's past. It also allows them to sense the location of the other if they get separated.
  • Punctuated! For! Emphasis!: Akiko to the girl interested in Lancer.
    Akiko: Flirt with him and I'll kick. Your. Ass. Bitch!
  • Pure Magic Being: Servants, though they look to have bodies like other earthly beings, are in fact comprised of magical energy. Their status as spirits is the reason they have a superhuman level of strength and can be hard to kill.
  • Really 700 Years Old: Don't be fooled by a Servant who appears youthful. They can actually be really old. For example, Lancer says that his body's 30 years old. But it was stated in the story that he was alive over 1,900 years ago.
  • Red Baron: Lancer is also called "Child of Light" and his true name means "Culann's Hound" . Gilgamesh uses his knowledge of the latter to rile Lancer up, calling him 'dog'.
  • Red Eyes, Take Warning: All the characters in this that have red eyes are ones you DO NOT want to get on the bad side of. The three demigods all have red eyes (Berserker's eyes are normally gold, but they turn red when he fights due to his killing intent), Sella and Leysritt are as strong as lesser Servants, and Illya's basically a cluster of magic circuits in physical form.
  • Red Oni, Blue Oni: The hotheaded Lancer's the red and the not easily angered Saber and Archer are the blue.
  • Runic Magic: Lancer is able to use runes for various tasks, such as for offense or to provide defense. He doesn't use them often, however, preferring to use his spear in combat.
  • School Idol: Rin is the most popular girl at Homurahara Academy.
  • Semi-Divine: Lancer, Berserker, and Gilgamesh are demigods.
  • She Is the King: Saber turns out to be a female version of King Arthur.
  • Shock and Awe:
    • Akiko has access to a lightning spell that she uses on Berserker.
    • Arius Nova can use crimson lightning in its attack.
  • Signature Scent: When Shirou asks if mages have any defining traits, he's told that most have the faint smell of blood on them.
  • The Sleepless: Akiko talks about Servants not requiring sleep like humans. But she says their fighting may improve if they rest so she has Lancer go to sleep when she does. He's easy to wake up, so Lancer is still able to guard his Master from danger.
  • The Speechless: Berserker can only roar.
  • Speed Blitz: Lancer sometimes does attacks too fast for the eye to see. This is best shown when he fights Gilgamesh.
  • The Stoic: Archer. In fact, when he barks out a laugh, it shocks everyone.
  • Storm of Blades: Gilgamesh's Gate of Babylon rains swords on you and Archer can project them in mid-air and launch them.
  • Summon to Hand: If Gáe Bolg is removed from Lancer's grasp, he holds out one hand and the spear seems to move on its own back to its owner.
  • Supernatural Fiction: While mages are able to fit into the supernatural category with their magecraft, the most supernatural in the story are the Servants, all of whom are each a Pure Magic Being.
  • Supernatural Gold Eyes:
    • Arius Nova and Berserker have gold irises and are spiritual beings.
    • Akiko's irises turn gold when her mystic eyes are active.
  • Super-Speed: When Lancer was fighting Gilgamesh, Lancer was going so fast that it looked like he was teleporting.
  • Sword Beam:
    • Excalibur when used to full power unleashes a scorching beam of golden light when slashed down.
    • The first version of Gáe Bolg being used as a Noble Phantasm is able to send out a beam of red mana when thrust. This is also able to be used as a normal attack. While it lacks the cause-effect reversal to always strike the heart, it doesn't require Lancer to shout the spear's name for use.
  • The Tease: Lancer to Akiko on numerous occasions, including after they hook up.
  • Tempting Fate: While Akiko is driving through the Einzbern forest, Lancer is in the car with her. Every time he talks about her crashing, she almost crashes the car into a tree. Eventually, he just shuts up.
  • There Can Be Only One: The Holy Grail War involves seven mages called Masters which are each paired with a Heroic Spirit, known as a Servant. To obtain the Holy Grail, a device capable of granting a wish, each pair will fight to the death until only one pair is left standing.
  • Tragic Bromance: During his first life, Lancer kills Ferdiad, someone from Connacht, which is a nation opposing the one Lancer's from, Ulster. After the two had gone through hell in training with Scáthach, the two saw each other as brothers. This battle took three days due to the fact neither wanted to kill the other. Going through this had definitely put Lancer under mental stress and made him wonder if he's too soft. This is the source of one of Lancer's regrets, which is subjecting Ferdiad to Gáe Bolg's curse.
  • Tsundere:
    • Akiko calls Lancer an idiot and other things to hide her attraction to him, denies the fact she has any feelings for him until she sleeps with him (the first time she says was for necessity, saying she's performing a mana transfer on him to save his life. An internal monologue reveals she does in fact want to have sex with him), has a habit of hiding her true feelings, tells Rin not to read into them, gets embarrassed when others try to say how she really feels, shoves Lancer into a pool during a date with him, and shows flashes of hostility towards the others with most of it directed at Lancer. After they hook up, she's more pleasant. She can still get hostile to her allies, though rarely.
    • Rin tries to hide her true feelings, but if they slip out she can get embarrassed and/or angry. She bottles them up because it feels wrong to expose that much of herself.
  • Undying Loyalty: Akiko and Lancer are very protective of each other. Same with Berserker towards Illya. It's also implied Caster is towards Souichirou.
  • Urban Fantasy: This takes place in Japan in 2004. Other than the supernatural abilities some people have, it isn't too different from the modern world.
  • Vampiric Draining: One way for Servants to replenish mana is from sucking blood. The effect is made greater if the blood being sucked is coming from a mage.
    • Rider sucks Akiko's blood for mana. Later, she uses Blood Fort Andromeda on the school to obtain more power.
  • Violently Protective Girlfriend:
    • Harming Lancer with Akiko present is a big no-no.
    • Archer and Rin aren't an item, but when Arius Nova injures Archer, Rin is sent into a violent rage.
  • Vitriolic Best Buds: Despite Lancer and Archer's constant bickering, the two remain allies.
  • Volleying Insults: Lancer and Archer won't stop arguing, much to the annoyance of their Masters and Saber.
  • Wall Run: The laws of physics don't apply to Servants, which allows them to stand on and run along vertical objects.
  • Weapon of Mass Destruction: Noble Phantasms have varying levels of destructive power. Those on the low end, Anti-Army, are only effective for wiping out large amounts of people. The highest classification is Anti-World/Anti-Planet. The name of the category tells you the scale the area of effect is capable of being at.
  • World's Best Warrior: There are actually three. Saber, Lancer, and Archer, collectively called the Three Knight Classes, are supposedly the strongest Servants in a straight fight during a Grail War.
  • Wound That Will Not Heal: Gáe Bolg is a cursed weapon that causes any wound it makes to be unhealable. This is shown when Archer is holding off Caster, the wound he received from Lancer is revealed. Gáe Bolg made that wound a week before.
  • You Have GOT to Be Kidding Me!: Lancer shouts this when Saber's summoned.

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