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In Flight is a completed crossover fic between Fate/stay night and Sekirei that follows the Good End of the Unlimited Blade Works route and written by Gabriel Blessing. Yes, the same guy who wrote The Hill of Swords.

The story opens with Shirou en route to Japan after an altercation at the Clock Tower that he'd rather not talk about. His attempts to get through airport security are stymied by a new MBI security technology, some kind of DNA analyzer prototype. It leads — in a rather bizarre and improbable series of events — to Shirou meeting his biological mother, one Takami Sahashi. Shirou's proper birth name turns out to be Minato Sahashi, and of course, given what Takami is involved with and that he picked Shin Tokyo of all places to settle down in, Shirou's attempts to lay low until his business with the Clock Tower dies down are fated to be severely eventful. During a stroll in a park, he finds a traumatized woman covered in bloodstains who says to him:

"I'm broken," she whispered, not even bothering to glance at me, "a failure."

With the initiation of the Sekirei Plan and his sudden affiliation with a group of mysterious alien girls, Shirou is irrevocably embedded in another twisted tournament.

This story is guilty of Harem Antics, Badass Fight Scenes, and Hilarious Escapades. As of Dec 14, 2013, it is also completed.

Like The Hill Of Swords, this fic has a particularly active Fandom, who is in awe of its awesomeness, and Hatedom, which goes to great lengths explaining why it doesn't like the story. It is recommended to recite the MST3K Mantra before reading.

One of the few Fan Fics to spawn multiple instances of Recursive Fanfiction; probably the most (in)famous example being The Emiya Clan.

Now has a Character page under construction.


See Fate/stay night and Sekirei for the tropes of those respective universes.

This fanfic contains examples of:

  • Action Girl: Pretty much all of the female Sekirei, with the exception of Matsu, who fills the Smart Chick role.
  • Adaptational Badass: Shiina handles Yukari's kidnapping much better than he does in Sekirei canon. Somewhat justified as his accommodating personality and respect for Shirou probably influenced him to at least try to match Shirou's readiness under dangerous situations.
  • Adapted Out: Since they hadn't appeared in the manga at the time of the final battle was occuring, Sanada's other three Sekirei do not make an appearance.
  • Affably Evil: Karasuba and Minaka.
  • Alas, Poor Villain:
    • Yomi, #43 — sort of, anyway. Although she killed the MBI soldiers in her path and threatened Kusano, she was pretty much forced to realise, in terror, just what it meant to fight Shirou, and her defeat is followed by weakly calling out for her Ashikabi. She presumably didn't even realise the severity of her actions, being a Sekirei and all. Shirou is quite annoyed that this trope is in play (given that he doesn't want to pity her after she scared Kuu) but of course Shirou can never stop being Shirou.
    • Benitsubasa becomes this after Karasuba brutally kills her on Shirou's instructions, whimpering her Ashikabi's name as she dies.
  • Alien Geometries: The Jinki, according to Shirou. He can't even look at it without his brain locking up. Same happened to Rin later on, though she at least has to concentrate first to experience it.
  • Animal Motifs: We get a few.
    • Musubi: the bear.
    • Akitsu: the dog.
    • Kusano: the kitten.
  • Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking:
    • Shirou's plan for the day in Chapter 13.
      I would have to start analyzing the information Matsu had gathered, reevaluate my plans on how to go about fighting this war, deal with the fact that I had accidentally started a relationship with multiple partners, try to unravel whatever plot or conspiracy MBI was initiating, attempt to convince a potentially homicidal alien that she really didn't want to kill me and instead wanted to allow me to wing her, and find a kitty.
    • For Shirou, this is inverted. In his own words:
      Strangely enough, it was the kitty that really worried me. I was experienced with all the other tasks, but I'd never had a pet before.
    • Also in Chapter 24 during one of Haruka's rants:
    Well, I've had enough! There's no way in hell I'm going to stay here, not when this freaking place has some kind of demon murderer in it! Or that freaky hannya ghost lady, or 'Devil Ashikabi' or 'Grim Reaper' Sekirei, or crazy drunks!
  • Art-Style Dissonance: Kusano's doodles of herself and Shirou would be perfectly typical of her apparent age if not for the swords.
  • Awesomeness by Analysis: Shirou is beginning to show some shades of this trope. When he uses Matsu's information gathering ability to make his point and to esteem the current situation of the Plan, even though Word of God stated that Minaka would surely let runaway participants get away, he managed to really impress all the people present.
  • Awful Truth:
    • Shirou's past and the backstory of the Holy Grail War is not really pleasant for several people. It is followed by Nothing Is the Same Anymore.
    • The extent of Shirou's distortion, as pointed out by Rin and expanded upon by his explanation to Homura.
  • Babies Ever After: Ten years after the final battle, Kazehana is the only member of Shirou's flock to have had any children (two to be precise). Musubi and Tsukiumi have decided they're ready now. And Kazehana wants another.
  • Baby Talk: Matsu does this deliberately to make herself seem cute.
  • Badass Normal: In-Universe. Shirou was able to impress even Miya with his sword skills, despite fighting at a strictly human level. We know better.
  • Balanced Harem:
    • While it may seem like he gives special attention to Kusano and Akitsu, he treats each of his flock, even Homura — Though not how some might think yet — all equally, helping them with any problems they may be facing.
    • Although he will punish them if warranted. Either using his Asura mask or a Time Out as Matsu has learned both the hard way.
  • Batman Gambit
    • Shirou using the East's rumors for his own needs.
    • Matsu making Shirou panic, so he will confirm the existence of another secret tournament.
  • Battle Couple: Yukari and Shiina.
  • Battle Harem: Shirou and his Sekirei.
  • Berserk Button: Don't treat the Sekirei as subhuman; Shirou really doesn't like that. This also applies if you're another Sekirei and make a disparaging comment about a scrapped number like Akitsu, as Tsukiumi discovered in Chapter 13.
    • Do not attempt to hurt Shirou, or Akitsu will make you regret it. In Chapter 17 she finally got to follow through on her protective instincts, literally reducing a magi who was trying to kill Shirou to a pile of shredded meat.
    • Hurt anyone close to Shirou and The Gloves Come Off. He also doesn't like being called Minato, and even goes so far as to attack Karasuba when she won't stop calling him that. Why? Because he considers that part dead.
    • Homura really doesn't like Shirou putting himself in danger. Unfortunately for him/her, Shirou has a serious Hero Complex and the skills to back it up, and if Homura doesn't get used to it quick she's going to give himself/herself an ulcer.
  • Beware the Nice Ones: Sure, Shirou is a peaceful and easygoing fellow who will never turn away from people that need help and will go out of his way to be nice to others, but DON'T, under ANY circumstances piss him off. He is a badass veteran of an ultra-brutal war who has no qualms about ending his opponents in a quick and violent manner. Now then — what would you like for dinner?
  • Big Bad: Minaka, of all people. Made specially funny in the different continuity of Debt of a Sword.
  • Big Bad Wannabe: Izumi Higa. While his unscrupulous tactics and having a Brain-type Sekirei at his disposal make him a legitimate threat to a degree, he is ultimately no match for Shirou, who has much more experience dealing with people of even greater ruthlessness than Higa. The moment Higa decides to move against Shirou directly, the latter puts him through a Humiliation Conga (mentioned below) that ends with Higa's death and the complete and utter destruction of his company.
  • Big Brother Instinct:
    • Shirou acts as a surrogate older brother for Kusano.
    • When Yukari calls him in chapter 13, claiming that there is a boy in her room, Shirou instantly assumes that it's some kind of pervert and starts to draw up plans of what he'll do to him if he hurts his sister.
  • Big Damn Heroes:
    • Shirou bursting into a clearing right when Yomi was about to scythe down Kuu-chan and sending the Sekirei flying.
    • Akitsu interrupts a duel between Shirou and another magi and turns his opponent into minced meat.
  • Big Damn Kiss: Karasuba pounces on Shirou after he unintentionally unwings her with Rule Breaker and gives him quite possibly the most passionate kiss in the story.
  • Bittersweet Ending:
    • A few elements of this are present, though only really noticeable to those well-versed in Nasuverse lore. Shirou and his flock are now the first of the A-rays, and the Ultimate One of Jupiter had just been sighted.
    • Yukari left after the end of the final battle, and has since been seen going down the same path that led to Archer's existence.
  • Blank Slate: Another part of Shirou's distortion in the aftermath of the fire.
  • Blatant Lies: "Legacy of a misspent youth" is used to explain more or less any abnormality relating to Shirou's backstory that comes up, which, being who he is, there are a lot of, even though thinking about it does make sense. Not much so when he uses it as the entirety of his explanation when he comes home in bloodstained pants.
  • Blood Knight: Karasuba, to the point that it reminds Shirou of Lancer. See also Toyotama and Ichiya — they not only like violence but got extremely excited and aroused when Shirou proved to be much more capable than they thought. Musubi also has shades of this.
  • Born in the Wrong Century: How Shirou feels about Karasuba. This is also the main reason he just doesn't have the heart to hate her despite being the biggest threat to stopping Minaka at that point.
  • Break the Haughty: Each time he appears barring Chapter 37, Kakizaki assumes he's on top of the world and acts like everyone and everything else is beneath him. Each time, Shirou brutally shatters that arrogance, reducing Kakizaki to a pathetic wreck. The biggest example comes in Chapter 36, in which Kakizaki assumes he's completely untouchable after he and his boss kidnap Shirou's sister and assume they can use her as leverage to force Shirou to serve them. Shirou pretends to play along, then he nails Kakizaki's hand to the dinner table with a spoon and cows him into terrified silence with his Asura Mask. By the following chapter, Kakizaki's ego is completely shattered, to the point of where the mere sight of Shirou causes him to freeze up. He then suffers a Villainous Breakdown before receiving a brutal execution.
  • Breather Episode:
  • Broken Bird: Akitsu, due to being a scrapped number, and Musubi, of all people, has a similar distortion to Shirou's own born from the events of her kidnapping and subsequent rescue. It's only in chapter 26, with her reaction to a superpowered enemy nearly killing Shirou, that you realize just how bad the damage really is. There is something seriously wrong with that girl. In chapter 23, Shirou has fixed Akitsu's condition.
  • Broken Pedestal: Yukari doesn't take it well when Shirou kills Minaka, their biological father.
  • Brother–Sister Incest: Doesn't happen, but Yukari is way too fond of the idea for Shirou's comfort.
  • Brown Note: The Jinki for Shirou. He nearly loses his mind when he instinctively analyzes it with his magic. This concerns him deeply, as the only other thing he couldn't analyze was Gilgamesh's sword Ea, a Noble Phantasm created from a fallen star capable of destroying the entire planet. His concerns about the Jinki's power are well-founded: his Sekirei tell him that they can cause mass genocide. Then it gets much worse than that. The Jinki is Minaka's way of trying to fight against the Counter Guardians. Should his plan Go Horribly Wrong, the number of casualties would lead to possible extinction.
  • Character Catchphrase:
    • Shirou has "legacy of a misspent youth", his catch-all explanation for all backstory and magic-related issues though as of late not so much anymore.
    • Kusano has "Onii-chan has swords!" for whenever someone brings up Shirou's fighting skills.
    • Shirou notices that as of the Twenty-Seventh Wing, this phrase looks set to be modified since he revealed the nature of his magic - now she says, "Onii-chan has magic swords!" Now that it is revealed that Shirou's body is literally made of swords, he is worried that the her catchphrase would become "Onii-chan is made of swords!" Eventually concludes with the more-than-apt "Onii-chan has all the swords!" after Shirou successfully brings out the Blade Works.
    • Akitsu has "I like it." Often as not in response to something kinky, sometimes head-tiltingly so.
    • Akitsu has a habit of forgetting things, saying "Ah, I forgot."
  • Character Development: Loads of it, and not just the main cast - Gabriel Blessing goes out of his way to make even one-off characters from Sekirei have some semblance of complexity, mostly by taking what's already there and expanding on it. It mostly works.
  • Chef of Iron: Shirou is a marvellous cook — if Homura and Uzume's reactions are anything to go by, he even surpasses Miya — and can kick ass so hard, he leaves people speechless.
  • Chekhov's Gun: The fact that Shirou is Karasuba's reacted Ashikabi becomes very important in the Forty-Third Wing.
  • Chekhov's Hobby:
    • Shirou's skill at 'mana transfer rituals', developed with Rin and Saber, which comes in real handy when he wings Akitsu.
    • As this skill helped him in winging Akitsu it also helps him wing Yume.
  • Chick Magnet: Shirou.
    Shirou: "What was so special about me? Was it some kind of gland or something? Did I unconsciously produce pheromones that caused all the Sekirei nearby to automatically want to jump me?"
  • The Clan: Fanon and Omake found on forums and connected stories holds that, years down the line, the absurdly large number of wives and children Shirou will inevitably up havingnote  rapidly becomes this within a single generation. It has its own Tropes Page.
  • Cliffhanger: Since Gabriel discovered the power of cliff hangers, he uses and abuses this trope!
  • Cloudcuckoolander: Musubi is just as much a ditz as she was in the source material, but it becomes apparent that this is more due to a lack of knowledge about human social norms and her innocent personality, rather than a lack of intelligence. Considering that she was raised by scientists in an isolated laboratory, it is no longer all that surprising.
  • Combat Pragmatist: Shirou seems to be willing to use anything he can to gain an advantage against his opponents. During his fight with Toyotama and Ichiya, he made it a point to pretend to be retreating to high ground. He then proceeded to take advantage of their past experience with him by completely changing his method of fighting from one that was suicidal to one that put his opponent on guard at all times. Of course he took advantage of Kanshou and Bakuya when he stabbed Toyotama in the heart... but Ichiya? Ichiya wraps around Shirou in some improvised half nelson and proceeds to choke him. He goes up to a wall and you'd THINK he'd aim to beat her with the flat surface until she fell off. Instead he impales her with the spear that was left behind. Then, once she's dead, he snaps the thing in half and gets ready for a confrontation with Karasuba. Yeah.
    • You forgot to mention that he impaled her with the spear by having it go through his own body as a method of catching her by surprise. Which, by the way, makes the scene of him snapping it in half all the more 'pragmatic'.
    • Minaka as well. He used guns, gas, and a Jinki as a Mystic Code. Shirou had to pull out Unlimited Blade Works to win.
  • Comically Missing the Point: After Musubi mentions that Shirou defeated a Sekirei all by himself, Uzume calls her out on allowing her Ashikabi to risk his life. Musubi's reaction?
    "I must get as strong as Shirou-san so I can fight beside him next time!"
  • Consummate Professional:
    • Shirou is the kind of man who can put together complex plans for carrying out assassinations, potential escape routes, ways to approach dangerous situations, etc. And all with a calm, stern expression on his face.
    • Subverted with Higa and Kakizaki. They think they're professionals, but the truth is that they're amateurs who stumble repeatedly when faced with a real professional.
  • Cool and Unusual Punishment:
    • Poor Matsu, being a guinea pig for Shirou's development of his own version of the Hannya Mask.
    • In Chapter 27, Miya bans Shirou from the kitchen so that he can clean up "the mess he made" during his fight with the Fraga magus. Given that Shirou is now more or less immune to her Hannya Mask (on account of having his own), he wonders if this might be her new method of punishing him.
  • Counter-Attack:
  • Covert Pervert: Akitsu said she liked the porn clips Matsu was teasing Shirou with in Chapter 16.
    • Tsukiumi might be one too.
    • And if Shirou's suspicions are correct, so is Miya.
  • Crapsack World: Shirou's idea of "The Age of Gods". Sure, it was a World of Badass back then, but only if you were badass yourself. Human life-expectancy was much shorter, Muggles were at the whim of Jerkass Gods and there was nothing you could do about it.
  • Crazy-Prepared: Shirou, when he begin to use Matsu's ability.
    Uzume: "Damn, bro. When you say you like to be prepared, you really like to be prepared, dontcha?"
    Shirou: "I will not be caught unaware in this game. No matter what, I will be ready for it,"
  • Crossover
  • Curb-Stomp Battle: Very one-sided between Shirou and Yomi. On the one hand, he is an Ashikabi who survived the Holy Grail war, has swordsmanship skills as good as Miya's, and came across Yomi in a similar situation to his greatest failure when directly meeting Kusano for the first time. On the other, she is a Sekirei, who in Shirou's words is not a true warrior and just follows her Ashikabi's orders. Who do YOU think won?
    • How about the other part of that battle? Hikari and Hibiki vs. Akitsu and Musubi. We didn't get to see it but if Seo's opinion that they are alive only because Shirou didn't order Akitsu to kill them is anything to go by, the ice lady curbstomped them. Actually, so far every battle Akitsu fought was a Curb-Stomp Battle on her part. And then came The Seventeenth Wing.
    • The Twenty-Fifth Wing? The Fraga Magus One-Shots Miya. MIYA!
  • Daddy DNA Test: Takami's disbelief makes her do some double checks.
  • Dark Action Girl: Karasuba is known as the Black Sekirei for good reason. See also Toyotama and Ichiya.
  • Darker and Edgier: Darker than Sekirei at LEAST.
  • Death by Adaptation:
    • Higa in canon has a Heel Realization after Toyotama's termination; in this fic, where she and Ichiya were winged by Kakizaki instead, he gets worse until he is assassinated by Shirou.
    • Kuno is terminated by Uzume in chapter 43.
  • Defeat Means Friendship: Beautifully deconstructed by Shirou in regards to Tsukiumi and later Karasuba. When Musubi offers to convince Tsukiumi with fists that she should join Shirou's harem, he points out that what they would be doing would be like rape.
    "Use fists?" I echoed, my lips twisting into a distasteful sneer. "How? Should I have you two beat her until she can't resist, and then take her by force? Is that what you're proposing?"
    "You can't seriously be considering using a manga as a reference book for... ...Wait, is that what I think it is?"
  • Delicate and Sickly: Chiho. Her condition isn't really described in Sekirei canon beyond generic "terminal moe", but for the purposes of In Flight, it's Lupus.
  • Demon Head: Shirou is pretty much inured to Miya's version thanks to surviving some equally scary shit and his complete lack of self-preservation instincts. Worse, he's managed to replicate it, much to the horror of Izumo Inn's other residents.
    • Well, Shirou isn't fully immune. Getting hit with it full force still rattles him.
    • And for Shirou, the trope's name is even more accurate since his Demon Head is that of an Asura!
  • Determinator: Shirou, especially during his battle with Rin and Saber. Despite having an arm cut off, and rendered so sick from three consecutive Gandr shots that he can't even see straight or talk through the vomiting, he still manages to get up again to pull off a complete victory.
  • Did Not Think This Through:
    • Higa and Kakizaki's plan to force Shirou to serve them by kidnapping Yukari positively reeks of this! Not only does Higa send Kakizaki to Izumo Inn with no form of protection, but he never even considers the possibility that Shirou might, ya know, take Kakizaki hostage and threaten to torture vital company information out of him if Higa refuses to play ball in his court. In addition, as Shirou contemptuously points out, a pair of boots is not sufficient evidence to prove that Yukari was even kidnapped in the first place. But the two biggest factors he overlooked are the following: he failed to capture Yukari's Sekirei, meaning that the boy might, say, break into the facility to rescue her; and that Shirou has already established himself as a grade-A badass who cannot be taken lightly.
    • A less serious example with Shirou regarding aforementioned kidnapping: he was so obsessed with rescuing Yukari himself that he never even considered the possibility that Shiina might rescue her first.
  • Distant Finale: Like The Hill of Swords, the epilogue takes place many years later, in this case ten years. Also like The Hill Of Swords, there are also elements of being a Bittersweet Ending, though much more subtle than its predecessor.
  • Do Not Call Me Minato: Shirou refuses to go back to using his birth name of Minato Sahashi. The one fight he had with his mother over the subject nearly destroyed any chance of them having a relationship, and he even goes so far as to attack Karasuba when she uses it one too many times.
  • Don't Make Me Take My Belt Off!: Midway through chapter 35, Takami threatens to give Shirou a spanking if he doesn't get his self-inflicted injuries checked out at an MBI hospital. He is so terrified he very nearly complies.
  • Doorstopper: As of the final chapter In Flight clocks in at a whopping 762,492 words and 44 chapters.
  • Double Standard: Abuse, Female on Male:
    • Averted. Whenever Tsukiumi goes into "tsun-tsun" mode and tries to attack Shirou with water, Akitsu always freezes it in place before it can touch him. He also doesn't hesitate to use his Asura Demon Head technique to cow his Sekirei into submission whenever they get rowdy.
    • Played straight with Seo. Like in canon, it's Played for Laughs.
  • The Dreaded: The reputation Shirou tries to attain for himself and is doing quite well. Opponents who have faced him so far definitely won't be enthusiastic about repeating the experience. He is SO DREADED, in fact, that Seo WARNS Sanada, the Ashikabi of the West, never to cross paths with Shirou, the Asura Ashikabi of the North, when Sanada is starting to admit wanting to hit on his sister Yukari. ALL ON CAMERA!!!
  • Drives Like Crazy: Seo exhibits a worrying disregard for speed limits, safe distances between the cars, and street lights. Not as bad as some other examples of this trope, though.
  • Dual Wielding: The bread and butter of Shirou's fighting style. And it is Awesome.
  • Dude, Not Funny!: In-Universe Shirou's opinion of the Sekirei Plan. With the way the plan is set up, the only logical conclusion he can draw is that the entire thing is just one giant exercise in sadism on the part of MBI's director. This also extends to any mistreatment of Sekirei. As far as he's concerned, they're people, dammit, regardless of the fact that they're not human.
  • Dude, Where's My Respect?: Shirou lampshades this in Chapter 36 by asking himself why it takes him such a long ordeal to get any genuine respect from his adversaries. Then goes on to say that it has to be his chef's apron.
  • Dumbass Has a Point: Although rare, Musubi does have some moments of insight. While everyone (including Matsu, Homura, and possibly Miya) else was concentrating on the JUICY details, Musubi is the one who FIRST noticed Akitsu's condition; the REASON for the Tantric Ritual.
  • Dying Alone: Shirou's original belief that he would eventually end up doing this (on a hill of swords) is the worst fear of ALL of his Sekirei.
  • Dynamic Entry: Courtesy of a member of the Fraga clan, whose (literally) explosive entrance is stopped only by a timely (and desperate) application of Rho Aias.
    • Thirty-Fourth Wing: Karasuba has just entered the game. Right after Shirou defeats Ichiya and Toyotama
    I suppose I had an excuse, for not being ready for what came next. After all, as drenched as I was with fluid there was no way that I could have noticed the scent of blood as it grew even stronger.
    But that didn't change the fact that I was unprepared when with the noise like a stained glass window being shattered, a dark blur appeared above me at the edge of Akitsu's territory, scattering ice and frost in its wake as Karasuba, with eyes wide with glee launched herself at me, a cry of, "Sahashi!" being howled as the Black Sekirei bared her steel and her teeth at me.
    Oh crap.
  • Entertainingly Wrong: The Thirty-Sixth Wing reveals that Higa, Ashikabi of the East, made several assumptions and educated guesses about Shirou that, according to the man himself, are a lot more believable than the truth: First, due to the existence of physical records of the birth of "Minato Sahashi", Higa assumed that "Shirou Emiya" is a forged identity put into place to hide Shirou's connection to his sister Yukari (a potential weakness) and his mother Takami, a high-ranking member of the MBI and scientist in charge of the Sekirei. The latter also would explain why so many Single Numbers were winged by Shirou: being Takami's son probably implied an early and prolonged contact with Sekirei, allowing him to form acquaintances that eventually would pay out after the start of the Sekirei Plan, and access to privileged information that would help him to wing a Scrapped Number, who are notorious as overpowered and dangerous.
  • Everybody Has Standards: Matsu and Kazehana are shameless perverts, but even they don't approve of kiddie porn.
  • Exactly What It Says on the Tin: In-Universe example. A Sekirei's "Winging" has been described as a mating ritual for the species. Taken literally in Akitsu's case.
  • Extreme Doormat: Akitsu is extremely devoted to Shirou, to the point that she will obey him without question or hesitation. Her Freudian Excuse is that since she's a scrapped number, and thus can't be winged normally, she demonstrates her loyalty to Shirou by being perfectly obedient. She's slowly getting better thanks to Shirou's kindness. Her loyalty eventually paid off; she became an official Sekirei after a Deus Sex Machina.
  • Face Fault: Not only do Homura and Tsukiumi pull this off when Shirou proclaims that instead of fighting Tsukiumi they'll leave, but Shirou also provides a believable explanation for why the two Sekirei fell face-first on the ground.
  • Failure Is the Only Option: It is bad enough that Shirou is discovered by the Clock Tower, but now the Second Stage of the Sekirei Plan has begun and he cannot leave Shin Tokyo without MBI going after him. Shirou sums up this very nicely in one word:
    Shirou: "Fuck."
  • Fair-Play Villain: The reason why Shirou is willing to be lenient towards MBI, despite holding contempt for them. They've established a specific set of rules that all Ashikabi and Sekirei are to follow to the letter, and breaking any of them will prompt the company to unleash Karasuba on the unfortunate fools, resulting in the Sekirei being terminated and the Ashikabi facing legal trouble. They don't give themselves any leeway, either: the Discipline Squad are expected to follow the rules too, and while they show contempt for them, their Ashikabi is more than willing to put his foot down whenever they try to do some rule-breaking. The only reason Higa gets away with his blatant cheating is because of his own wealth and quantity of Sekirei, and even then, they take any chance they can get to punish him.
  • Fantastic Arousal: Any Sekirei that reacts to Shirou, with the exception of Homura. Tsukiumi's reaction was so extreme that one reviewer wondered if she spontaneously orgasmed!
  • Fantastic Racism: Numbered Sekirei react like this when they learn Akitsu is a scrapped number. Unsurprisingly, Shirou has minimal tolerance for such behavior.
  • Field of Blades: Obvious due to the fact that it is UBW Route Shirou, however his chant is now drastically different, thanks to the influence of his Sekirei:
    "My body is made of swords,
    Iron is my blood, and glass is my heart.
    I have crossed a thousand battle fields,
    Having finally now learned defeat, I have finally now learned victory.
    No longer alone on the hill of swords, I forge my steel.
    With them, my life's meaning can be...
    …Unlimited Blade Works!"
  • Finger-Snap Lighter: Homura does this as a bar trick to impress his clients and light cigarettes.
  • Fix Fic: Considered one for Sekirei, one example being a reunion that should have been done for a long time: Kusano and Shiina's reunion.
  • Flat "What":
    • Shirou's reaction to Yukari's call in chapter 13.
    • As well as Yukari's reaction two chapters later, to Shirou telling her exactly what is more important than giving her a life counseling.
  • Fog of War: With FOG MACHINES.
  • Food as Bribe: What Shirou does to unleash Karasuba, of all people, on a bloody rampage at Higa's home base.
  • Foreshadowing:
    • Karasuba's muttering about Benitsubasa after her fight with Shirou implies that she is going to kill her. In the penultimate chapter, she does.
    • Similarly, Benitsubasa's angry remark about how Shirou and Karasuba are perfect for each other in their own casually murderous way could be considered this after the events of Chapter 43.
  • Forgets to Eat: Akitsu was so obedient to Shirou at first that she didn't even eat without his permission.
    I asked her something that I was suspicious about from the night before. "Last night, was the reason you didn't tell me you were still hungry because I didn't ask?" Was she so determined to obey me that she was willing to even let her body suffer for it?
    "Ah," Akitsu murmured, and from the corner of my eye I caught her blushing. "I forgot," she admitted in a tone that I was beginning to suspect was Akitsu-speak for sheepish.
  • For Science!: Shirou and especially Rin both show shades of this trope sometimes.
    • The moment Shirou saw Miya's Hannya technique he decided to make it his own. For Science!. No matter if he died in the process! And out of his research, he created his Asura mask!
    • In the 20th chapter, he went and literally kissed the hell out of Akitsu to research her apparent inability to be winged. Akitsu didn't mind.
  • Friendly Enemy: As of the Twenty-Seventh Wing, Shirou and Karasuba are heading towards this. At one time he even sent her a fruit basket, somehow completely un-sarcastically.
  • Gender Bender: Homura
    • First Law of Gender Bending: After finding out what's causing it, Shirou immediately tries to subvert it. Still a bit too soon to find out if it worked, though so far it's not looking hopeful. As of Chapter 32, it is a complete failure.
    • Second Law of Gender-Bending: Not enjoying per se, but Homura is - as Shirou observed - subconsciously changing mentally, first seen in his altering fashion sense. He's not pleased about this so far.
    • Third Law of Gender-Bending: Subverted so far: neither Homura nor Shirou are very happy about the process, and Shirou is sparing Homura as much de-sexing as he can (which isn't much, admittedly, but still).
  • Gender Flip: An odd case of it, worked with the Gender Bender described above. In canon, some of Homura's lines suggest that he/she still has a penis and is thus intersex/hermaphrodite. Here, Homura reveals she doesn't have one anymore past a certain point, having fully turned into a woman. As a bonus, in canon Homura never stops seeing himself as well, male, while here Homura seems to be choosing to be a woman in full.
  • The Ghost:
    • How often do Rin and Saber get name-dropped in this fic? In fairness, the plot has provided us with a very good excuse for their absence.
    • Eventually Subverted with the appearance at the end of Chapter 38.
  • The Glasses Come Off:
    • Matsu in Chapter 33, to show she's fully serious for a change.
    • Minaka in Chapter 42. It's his trigger as a magus.
  • The Glomp:
    • Yukari to Shirou in Chapter Three. According to her, he was supposed to fall down, but his height and strength put paid to that. She tries again in Chapter 15 with the same results, despite a running start.
    • Musubi also does this to him after his sparring session with Miya, inadvertently subjecting him to Marshmallow Hell.
  • Good Scars, Evil Scars: Shirou has a starburst-shaped scar on his chest and back, showing the entry and exit wounds he received from Lancer before he joined the Holy Grail War proper.
  • Got Me Doing It: In chapter 27, Musubi and Matsu's Third-Person Person tendencies temporarily rub off on Uzume, Miya, and Akitsu. And Miya catches and corrects herself.
  • Graceful Loser: Minaka takes his defeat rather well, having seen Shirou's Reality Marble for himself.
  • Grievous Harm with a Body: Well, not exactly "harm" but… when confronted by Karasuba after his battle with Rin and Saber, Shirou throws his own severed arm at her. Karasuba is apparently so surprised by this that it actually hits her.
  • Guile Hero: Shiro gets a lot of use out of Matsu's information-gathering abilities and deliberately establishes a reputation as The Dreaded to discourage other Ashikabi from attacking him. Ironically enough, it is because of this trope he felt like he became the Caster of the Sekirei Plan.
    • Shiro created three possible endgames of the Sekirei Plan; a Saber plan (Go by the rules of the Sekirei Plan. Cons: Although normally planned to have the LEAST casualties in comparison to the other plans, not every Ashikabi, *cough* Higa *cough*, would follow its rules and even then there is the possibility that even the True Companions would fight each other to the DEATH), a Kiritsugu plan (Using guerrilla warfare and assassination to become the last Ashikabi standing and the winner by process of elimination. Cons: Results in the most death and possibly Killer Finale), and an Archer plan (Destroy MBI in order to free the Sekirei. Cons: Although it would cause fewer Sekirei casualties than the Kiritsugu plan, it would kill a larger number of humans, and with the destruction of MBI, the Sekirei may get in danger with the Magus Association).
    • If you are able to strike a deal with Karasuba of all people, or in this case Sekirei, you are THIS.
    • In the case of Yukari's Kidnapping with Higa, he shows both his anger all the while planning on how to take him down, by using Yukari as bait and adding the possibility of her death. Shirou really hates himself for this.
    • After Higa's assassination, the complete destruction of his company and Yukari's rescue in a mere 30 minutes, Shirou blackmails MBI and talks his way out of being taken to the hospital by his mother, who is impressed by this achievement.
  • Half-Human Hybrid: At the end of the fic, Shirou has become an A-Ray due to the Jinki.
  • Head-Tiltingly Kinky: Akitsu's reaction to one of the videos Matsu was showing Shirou in Chapter 16. If his description was anything to go by, this isn't that surprising.
    I wasn't quite sure what was happening to the female lead in this one and I had trouble believing that anyone could really enjoy what was being done to her, but from the expression on her face either she was an incredible actress or as depraved as they come.
    "So that's what that was for," I muttered, feeling my own case of shock setting in as I recognized one of the contraptions that Yukari had gotten for me nearly a month ago being put to use, feeling lightheaded when I discovered precisely what the toy was meant for.
  • Heel–Face Turn: After Shirou uses Rule Breaker on Karasuba in the hopes of terminating her, she pounces on him and wings herself to him, meaning that all the knife did was unwing her.
  • Hero Killer: Although no one dies by their hands the Fraga magus is established as one by dispatching Miya easily. The Fragarach attack she received would have normally terminated a Sekirei contract, had anyone else been hit, and if Shirou hadn't interfered at the last second Miya would have been killed. Hell, Shirou himself admits that in skill she greatly exceeds him and is well prepared for her attack; Shirou only won because she had no clue about his Sealing Designation and thus underestimated his abilities.
  • Hero-Worshipper: Kusano cherishes the very ground Shirou walks on since he saved her from Yomi, and now she wants him to train her in swordplay.
  • Hopeless with Tech:
    • Shirou, so very much. You know you've got a problem when Musubi knows more about computers than you do!
    • And yet he's actually much better about technology than most magi. Which is... kind of sad, in and of itself. Rin Tohsaka has no clue what a cellphone or a computer is which makes her even worse off than Shirou.
  • Humiliation Conga:
    • Shirou so far is building one for Higa. He first denies Higa of Tsukiumi in his own territory, backfired his bounty attempt so badly that it WORSENED Shirou's status as The Dreaded, sent Karasuba over to cause chaos at his home base, rescued Chiho from his hospital and even gave a warning to NEVER enter the North to one of his Sekirei.
    • It's not. In the Third Match, Shirou takes on Ichiya and Toyotama again, this time dealing a Level Five Termination. This is after turning up with (apparently) only a single Sekirei to a match that allows up to three.
    • It ends with his assassination, storming his headquarters, killing his secretary, recovering the Jinki and Yukari, etc. All in 30 minutes. Higa himself gets killed by an exploding sword, fired by Shirou from a mile away, without even having a clue what was coming.
  • Idiosyncratic Episode Naming: The chapters are called "Wings".
  • Idiot Savant: Noted by the author. Shirou is extremely skilled at combat and his areas of magical expertise, but is comically inept when it comes to social situations, or pretty much anything besides combat, tactics, and magic. And cooking.
  • If You Ever Do Anything to Hurt Her...: Skewered. Shirou tries to do this to Homura when he thinks he and Takami may have been getting it on, only for it to fall flat due to nothing having actually happened; this prompts Takami to try doing this to Shirou, only for that to fall flat due to the fact that his two real girlfriends from his original series were already at least nominally broken up with him before he even met her, and Takami knows his current harem better than he does. Shirou then tries to do it for his sister's Sekirei, only for that to fall flat when he realizes the Sekirei in question is too damn perfect for him to criticize.
  • Impaled with Extreme Prejudice:
  • In Love with Your Carnage: In a way, it might be why Karasuba started reacting to Shirou. He is probably the only human outside of MBI to not only stand up to her and not be afraid of her but also seems to have the abilities to back up his confidence. Being a Blood Knight, she would be captivated by something like this, who knows what will happen if she ever sees him fighting.
    • As of chapter 34, She Has. Shirou's reaction is quite appropriate.
    • And in the chapter after that, after managing to block her attack AND give Karasuba her first wound, Karasuba is even more eager, and when Karasuba realizes she's been wounded for the very first time by Shirou, she almost attacks him again, only to be stopped when she's ordered to stand down by her superior.
    • Taken to its logical conclusion in the penultimate chapter. She and Shirou have their last battle, but Shirou breaks her contract using Rule Breaker in an attempt to defeat her through a Level 1 termination. Due to how the Noble Phantasm works, it turned out that he just reverted her to an unwinged state, and given that Shirou — the guy she originally reacted to — was right beside her...
  • Insistent Terminology: Shirou is not a 'sorceror', nor is he a 'wizard' or a 'magician'; he is a 'magus'.
  • The Internet Is for Porn:
    • Musubi thinks so. Now if only she could find out what porn is...even though she KNOWS what sex is.
    • Matsu takes offense to this. Her decision to then use a rather inventive collection of porn as part of Shirou's computer training somewhat undermined her attempts to disprove this.
  • It's Not You, It's My Enemies: The reason Shirou left Saber and Rin behind. Exacerbated to even higher levels than usual for the trope by the fact that the enemy in question is, technically, an organization they kinda rely on heavily and belong to.
  • Jailbait Wait: The Distant Finale reveals that Kusano has been chomping at the bit for Shirou to take her virginity ever since she hit puberty. Much to her consternation, everyone else—even Matsu and Kazehana—decided that she'd have to wait until her eighteenth birthday. She's been counting down the days ever since.
  • Kawaiiko: Matsu's speech pattern when she's a playful mood. Whenever she drops it, you know the conversation just turned really serious.
  • Kick the Dog:
    • Shirou has a minor version of this in Chapter 11, when Musubi exclaims how much she loves him. He makes sure to apologize to his Sekirei after he calms down.
    • A truer example happens in the Twenty-Fourth Wing. As punishment for forcefully revealing one of Shirou's darkest secrets, Matsu gets taken off the whiteboard.
  • Knight in Sour Armor: Shirou's had it pretty rough so far...
  • Knight Templar Big Brother: If his thoughts and actions regarding Yukari and Shiina as well as Takami and Homura are anything to go by, if anyone ever hurts his sister, Shirou will come down on said someone like the wrath of a whole pantheon of Ax-Crazy gods. Going by the manga storyline, woe be to Higa if he dares to try to get to Shirou through Yukari.
  • Lady of War: Miya, especially when she fights seriously.
  • Loophole Abuse:
  • Love Cannot Overcome: A magus's pride and at times human nature. Musubi, who's Love Freak tendencies are deconstructed to being a distortion, doesn't take such revelations well.
  • Love Epiphany: Of a sort. Matsu's sheer rage and passion as she calls Shirou out on his self-destructive attitude clearly strike a chord in Shirou's heart.
    Her eyes were bloodshot, shiny with unshed tears and surrounded by dark bags formed from lack of sleep. One of her usual braids had come loose and was unwinding even as she continued to yell at me. Splattered across her dress and exposed skin were bits of food and ash, and a few spots of blood courtesy of getting too close to Miya earlier.
    And staring up at her, her face alive with the passion of her anger as she tore into me, I realized just as I had twice before just how truly beautiful my Sekirei actually was.
  • Love Freak: Musubi, possibly even more so than in canon. Yes, she is simultaneously a Love Freak and a Blood Knight. No, she does not understand the contradiction there. Yume too.
  • Luke, I Am Your Father: Yukari reveals that Minaka is Shirou's father. He doesn't really care.
  • Luminescent Blush: Akitsu does this whenever Shirou initiates physical contact with her. Considering her nature, it's rather endearing.
  • Mama Bear: Tamaki is terrifyingly enraged when she sees the events of Chapters 34 and 35 live, obviously concerned about her son's safety. Even Shirou is terrified by his own mother.
  • Man of Steel, Woman of Kleenex: After Shioru and Akitsu perform a tantric ritual to wing her, he admits she cracked some of his ribs despite his Reinforcement. He then muses that the adjustment Sekirei undergo may be to ensure they don't accidentally kill their Ashikabi.
  • Masquerade: Even as a third-rate magus, Shirou refuses to discuss magecraft with those who aren't involved in it. Subverted in Chapter 25 to Wham Episode levels. As one reviewer put it, "Cat status: out of the bag and accelerating towards escape velocity."
  • Master Swordsman: Shirou Emiya, Miya, Karasuba, and Saber.
  • Meaningful Echo / Call-Back: "It's fine, I trust you." First said from Shirou to Miya when revealing an edited version of how Rin, Saber, and himself got together and then later broke up. Miya then turns it around on him when revealing the Sekirei's past.
    • In Chapter 14, as Kakizaki is retreating from his battle with Shirou, he spouts the old clichéd villain line: "Shirou Emiya. I'll remember this." Then in Chapter 37, just before Shirou kills him, he remarks:
    Shirou: "And my name is Shirou Emiya. You should have remembered that."
  • Mistaken for Gay:
    • Yasaka's idolization of "Kagari" (aka Homura) leads to both Shirou and Homura wondering if he's gay.
    • Which may or may not be true, how about Homura and Shirou having to deny "being like that" all the time? Which won't matter anymore.
  • Mood Whiplash: In the Twenty-Third Wing, from Akitsu being winged to Matsu's Wham Line that led to the Wham Episode afterwards.
  • Mook Chivalry: Invoked by Shirou for his duel with Rin and Saber knowing full well he cannot win if he faces both at the same time so he officially challenges Saber first knowing she has to comply with her honor as a knight.
  • Moral Myopia: A minor version. When Shirou gives a (very watered-down) explanation of what prompted him to leave London in the first place:
    For a moment I could see them making the connection. Me: capable of fighting against Miya for a prolonged period of time. Them: privileged rich kid bullies. Result:…
    "Oh my," Miya sighed. "I hope you didn't kill any of them." Uzume nodded her head in agreement, smirking as she did so.
  • Mundane Utility: Shirou decides to use his magecraft to build a magic washing machine.
  • My Greatest Failure: How Shirou treats Ilya's death. This is relevant to how he met Kusano.
  • Mysterious Past: Initially Shirou is a complete mystery to Matsu.
    Matsu: "Shirou Emiya," she interrupted me, still staring at me. "True age: unknown, speculated at twenty. Birthday: unknown. True family: unknown, presumed dead. Adoptive father: Kiritsugu Emiya. Status: dead. Grades from elementary school to high school: average. Observed personality during that time: altruistic, extremely accommodating. Upon graduation from high school departed for England." During this rapid summation of my life the newcomer had began marching towards me, her hands swinging wide as she tromped audibly to where the rest of us were gathered. I grimaced, nonplussed by the sudden and rather blunt summation of my life by a complete stranger. "Activities during England: unknown. Returned to Japan five months ago and began living in Shin Tokyo and immediately enrolled in preparatory school for Shin Tokyo University. First attempt: failure. Second registry already filed for future attempts."
  • Mythology Gag: In Chapter 14, Shirou, when attacked by the Sekirei Toyotama with the sun at her back to blind him, compares it with other old tricks such as saying his shoes were untied.
    • In Chapter 3 when Yukari visits Shirou and almost breaks his back with a flying tackle, Akitsu seems prepared to attack Yukari thinking that Shirou, her Master, is being attacked but relaxes when she realizes it's only his sister. A similar scene happened in The Hill Of Swords when Eleanor, Louise's sister, attacked her in her room and the only thing that stopped Shirou from painting the wall with the blond's blood was the realization that it was Louise's sister.
    • Shirou: "Considering that I had ended up with two girlfriends at one point and was now surrounded by a bevy of well developed alien fighting machines I suppose I might even qualify for an eroge if someone were to take my life out of context." Now what type of game was Fate/stay night again?
    • In the same vein, only this time considering Sekirei itself:
    If this was some kind of anime or story of some sort, I was absolutely positive that I would have done something as clichéd as face-faulting at the snow woman's response. Since this was reality, I settled for palming my face and sighing.
    • Shirou deconstructing Defeat Means Friendship for Musubi is similar to how he deconstructed Love Potion for Montmorency in The Hill of Swords.
    • Here's another one involving The Hill Of Swords:
    Shirou concerning Yukari: "There has got to be something wrong with that girl, Takami must have dropped her on her head a few times when she was a baby." This is one of the few funny parts of the Wham Episode.
    • And again from The Hill Of Swords, three lines that never fail to invoke a shiver in we readers:
    They became fragile. They became dangerous. They became broken.
    • The Thirty-Third Wing has a reference to the original game. Shirou's use of Unlimited Blade Works causes swords to burst out of his left arm... the same arm that was replaced with Archer's arm in Heaven's Feel, and was causing Shirou's body to turn into steel.
    • The Thirty-Seventh Wing has a reference to The Garden of Sinners involving Overlooking Views and the impulse to jump.
    • While discussing "True Magic" with his flock, Shirou mentions Zelretch and Aoko Aozaki, two users of said magic, though the latter is not actually named in-story. The funny thing is, Shirou is actually wrong about what Aoko's "Magic Blue" is. It's related to Time Travel, but nobody can really blame him for coming to the conclusion that it's cold fusion instead, because Aoko is very good at blowing things up.
  • Naked Apron: Kazehana in chapter 27. Miya is predictably Not Amused.
  • Narrative Filigree: A lot, this is the main reason that this fic is two times longer than The Hill of Swords.
  • Nice Job Breaking It, Hero:
  • Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: All of Higa's plots against Shirou end up benefitting him. After Shirou prevents him from winging Tsukiumi, he puts a bounty on Shirou's head, hoping that anyone wanting to collect it will at least weaken Shirou enough to make him non-threatening. Shirou curb-stomps them without any losses of his own and thus becomes more feared as a result. Higa tries to get Uzume to spy on Shirou for him, only for Uzume to eventually decide to cut a deal with Shirou instead when she realizes he can rescue her Ashikabi from Higa's clutches and cure her of her terminal illness. His final, desperate attempt to blackmail Shirou into serving him by kidnapping Yukari only serves to give Shirou an excuse to murder him outright—which he does.
  • Nightmare Fuel: In-universe, Shirou's detailed explanation on how he got injured so many times nearly drives most of his Sekirei into having a heart attack in Chapter 28.
  • Noblewoman's Laugh: Matsu does this in Chapter 9 after bragging about her hacking abilities. Shirou even lampshades it!
  • No Indoor Voice: Yukari's way of greeting Shirou over the phone is shouting "ONII-CHAAAAAN!!!" at the top of her lungs. In chapter 14, he holds the phone away from his ear to preserve his hearing, but Yukari stays quiet until he puts the phone to his ear. She admits (without an ounce of shame) that she waited until she heard his breathing before attempting to deafen him.
  • "No. Just… No" Reaction: Shirou has two of these in Chapter Three, both courtesy of Yukari. The first is when she tells him that she got into college, then asks if he'll "make her a woman now". Shirou is squicked.
    "No!" I snapped, trying not to blush. "That one is completely inappropriate! Absolutely not!" I ordered her immediately.
    • Later, at the end of the chapter, she reveals that she took Akitsu clothes shopping at a sex store. She thinks that Shirou and Akitsu are in an S&M relationship and got him "everything a beginner needs".
    With numb hands I took the offered bag and looked in. "Agh!" I shrieked in a manly fashion, and threw the bag to the corner of the room, determined not to look in it. "No more! Absolutely not! Completely inappropriate! Sisters do not buy sex toys for their brothers!"
  • Noodle Implements:
    • The contents of the aforementioned bag. Aside from candles, rope, and a couple outfits, we never find out exactly what Yukari got for Shirou, though he does state that some of them looked more like torture implements than sex toys.
    • Some more in Chapter 19 where Shirou sees a video clip displaying just how many ways a couple could use three boxes of saran wrap, two cucumbers, and a feather duster. Then another one involving chopsticks, ice, and two rubber bands. Then a third one involving fly swatters, clothes pins, and fur lined parkas. And yet another involving shibari, candlesticks, and a full body costume of a bear. All courtesy of Matsu.
    • In the epilogue, Shirou finally knows what one of the items in question is intended for, though we are never told, and he curses himself for that having that knowledge.
  • Noodle Incident:
    • What exactly happened at the Clock Tower. Subverted in that we do find out much sooner than the author had originally intended. It involves Shirou's Reality Marble and a Sealing Designation.
    • Shirou's "most awkward day ever". So far (as of chapter 38), no matter how embarrassing, uncomfortable or plain ridiculous the circumstances surrounding Shirou may get (and seriously there had been one too many examples where to choose from), he can still reassure himself they have not been that bad in comparison.
  • The Nose Knows: In addition to Seo's canon ability, Shirou is able to sense magical phenomena, which his brain interprets as smells. This allows him to sense any nearby Sekirei, how many there are, and get a general idea of what their abilities are.
  • No-Sell: Shirou mainly No Sells a gunshot wound on his forearm because at that time his body is made of swords.
  • Nothing Is the Same Anymore:
  • Not in Front of the Kid: Discussing or doing lewd things and swearing while Kusano is present will lead to an unpleasant confrontation with Shirou or Miya (or both of them).
  • The Not-So-Harmless Punishment: Matsu's punishment of being written off the whiteboard. It doesn't look that bad, until you think about the fact that Sekirei live for their Ashikabi, and you realize it's actually quite a cruel one.
  • Obfuscating Stupidity: Hiroto Minaka is not only a Magus, but a Second Owner and the Big Bad of the series.
  • Offscreen Teleportation: Miya literally does this in chapter 27 when Kazehana pulls her Naked Apron stunt.
    "Oh," a new voice interrupted, and I realized that at some point the figure of Miya in the courtyard had disappeared. Musubi was still in the courtyard, hand poised to block an attack that would never come and blinking in surprise as where her sparring partner had apparently vanished mid strike. "God isn't here right now," Miya continued from where I assumed she was standing directly behind Kazehana and I, her voice deceptively cheerful as she did so.
    • Though the first time she does this is in the end of Chapter 15, when Yukari attempts to start a Sekirei duel inside Izumo Inn.
    The only warning the three would be combatants received was a 'whooshing' noise, the sound of air rustling some kind of loose clothes, and then I was greeted by three nearly simultaneous 'thump' noises and three startled cries of 'ow', 'oof', and 'ugh'. When I pulled my head from my hands the scene before me had changed as though by magic. Yukari, Tsukiumi, and Musubi were all clutching the backs of their heads, looking absolutely flabbergasted at the sudden and unexpected assault. Miya had somehow managed to transport herself from her original seated position to the other end of the room, and was clutching a surprisingly clean ladle that had originally been intended to be used for serving the soup in her hand like it was a weapon.
  • Oh, Crap!: Shirou has had a few, most notably when realizing the Fragarach was about to attack Izumo directly, Karasuba's Dynamic Entry right after defeating Toyotama and Ichiya, and realizing Saber and Rin have met his flock.
  • Omake:
    • GB has written a few and they are almost all canon. The fans have written hundreds of omakes of varying length and quality.
    • And that is BEFORE the existence of The Emiya Clan.
  • The One Guy: Justified and Subverted (currently) with Shirou.
  • Only Sane Man:
    • Out of the members of his harem, Shirou is of the opinion that Tsukiumi is this. I repeat, the tsundere is the most well adjusted person out of Shirou's entire flock!
    • However, when Shirou starts explaining things about the Grail War and magi, Homura fills the role pretty well
  • Parrot Exposition: This pops up a few times in Chapter 26
  • Post-Kiss Catatonia: Akitsu in chapter 20 after Shirou has a makeout session with her.
    Wordof God says that: "For any references on what she looked like after Shirou was done accidentally making out with her, please refer to Negima! Magister Negi Magi, the scene where Chachamaru finally gets her pactio. Or whenever the cute little android girl is getting 'screwed', pun intended."
  • The Power of Love:
    • Musubi, Yume, and Kazehana are the ones who are most vocal about it, but all Sekirei are technically powered by love.
    • A very subtle, yet poignant example occurs in Chapter 28. Uzume has always backed down from whatever she was doing when Miya even starts to conjure up her Hannya Mask. It's probably one of the most terrifying things in the world for her. When she's questioning Shirou about how powerful Avalon is, she mentions that it didn't heal the scar Miya received from Fragarach, something the landlady is a bit touchy about. Miya remarks that Uzume should probably pick her words more carefully and begins to summon the mask. Uzume just brushes her off like it's nothing! Her Ashikabi is hospitalized with a terminal, incurable disease, and she wants to know if Avalon could succeed where medicine couldn't. Considering that Saber was likely immortal when she carried it, this might actually work.
  • Precision F-Strike:
    • Shirou has not one but two "F_ck"s in chapter 17, after the Clock Tower finds him and Minaka announces the second phase of the Sekirei Plan, meaning that Shirou can no longer freely leave the city.
    • Shirou is very much a Nice Guy, the moment he uses this trope in pure anger he is DEAD SERIOUS. Just like the first Wham Episode.
  • Pride: Shirou has reunited with Saber and Rin, who have a method of keeping the Clock Tower from experimenting on Shirou by having them stay with him. You'd think this would be just the thing to lead to a happy ending for him, right? Wrong. The only problem is that Rin's pride as a magus and human would never allow her to be reduced to the level of his Alien Harem and she would rather go into exile than share him. Note that she staked her future on bringing him in and being with the Sekirei would allow her to keep her magic and be with her lover.
  • Properly Paranoid:
  • Puppy-Dog Eyes: Musubi, usually when she thinks/realizes she did something wrong.
  • A Rare Sentence: The Thirty-Fifth Wing:
    Shirou: I was not having a conversation about partner swapping from my harem with a lesbian alien. And that might just have been the first time that particular sentence had ever been used in the history of language. And also oh god, I've even started calling my flock a 'harem' in my head.
  • Red Baron/Names to Run Away from Really Fast:
    • Karasuba: The Black Sekirei
    • Miya: The Hannya of the North
    • Yukari: Devil Ashikabi
    • Shiina: Grim Reaper Sekirei
    • Shirou: The Ashikabi with Swords and "The Asura Ashikabi of the North". This eventually culminates in "The Asura of the North, sword-bearing Ashikabi".
  • Refuge in Audacity:
    • Deliberately invoked by Shirou. When his plan to stay anonymous and keep his cards close to his chest for as long as possible is ruined by a major confrontation, he decides to play to his strengths and the strength of his flock by building up a reputation for being completely unstoppable; the Sekirei Plan's version of Berserker and Ilya. He even refers to this trope by name!
    • Shirou is incredibly embarassed when his foreplay with Tsukiumi is interrupted by Kazehana masturbating while watching them. He note the only reason he didn't immediately trace a sword to kill somebody (either Kazehana or himself) was that the whole thing was simply too ridiculous.
  • The Reveal: The Twenty-Fourth Wing revealed the Awful Truth of both himself and of the Holy Grail War without revealing the existence of Nasuverse magic. The Twenty-Sixth Wing revealed the existence of Nasuverse magic and Shirou's true thoughts of why he didn't want to reveal it. The Twenty-Eighth Wing revealed the differences between the Holy Grail War and the Sekirei Plan, Shirou's goal in joining the plan, and Saber's identity to the residents. The Twenty-Ninth Wing reveals Miya's truth of the Sekirei Plan and about the Jinki, which can cause MASS GENOCIDE! The Thirty-First Wing reveals some more of the Nasuverse, Shirou's idea of "The Age of Gods", its connection to the Grail War, and more identities of some of the Heroic Spirits (Gilgamesh, Hercules, Medea, Cú Chulainn, and Sasaki Kojirō). The Thirty-Third Wing reveals more Nasuverse information, the spirits of the Earth Gaia and Alaya, the Akashic Record (The ROOT), the Counter Force (which Shirou himself admits that he could be one for the Sekirei Plan), the Counter Guardians which then leads to the final Servant of the Holy Grail War Archer and HIS Identity as an alternate future possibility of Shirou EMIYA, how they both differ from each other, and finally Reality Marbles and the reveal of his Unlimited Blade Works. In the Thirty-Seventh Wing, Shirou reveals more in depth of his tracing and that his body is literally made of swords. The Thirty-Eighth Wing reveals more information about his adopted father Kiritsugu Emiya, his role during the Fourth Holy Grail War and the aftermath with the fire. The Fortieth Wing reveals the Awful Truth about Shirou's distortion brought about by the fire and the main reason he abandoned his original name of Minato Sahashi.
  • Rouge Angles of Satin: Not as bad as The Hill of Swords could get on occasion, but still noticable nevertheless. Let's face it: homonyms are just not Gabriel Blessing's strong suit.
  • Running Gag:
  • Scars are Forever: Shirou's scar from where Lancer got him at the Grail War's start. That this trope is played very straight upsets Miya, who gets a scar of her own from the Fraga magus and it will always be a reminder of her first true defeat.
  • Scary Shiny Glasses: Matsu does this at times, usually when she is up to something perverted.
  • Self-Made Orphan: Shirou, after he kills Minaka.
  • Serious Business: Meta-example. See Counter-Attack. After chapter 25, many readers were annoyed after the Tennis Battle using Fragarach. Some others were more helpful and took time to explain where Gabriel Blessing was wrong.
  • Sex Slave: Akitsu refers to herself as Shirou's. He's... uncomfortable, to say the least.
  • Ship Sinking:
    • Many readers like shipping Shirou/Miya. note  Even though, according to Gabriel Blessing, while Miya and Shirou will be getting closer, they will only be very good friends at the most, much to the Fandom's dismay.
    • Although there is a Shirou/Miya story called Debt of a Sword set in a different continuity, which can be found here.
  • Shoo Out the Clowns: When was the last time Yasaka showed up?
  • Shout-Out:
    • Akitsu's Norito incantation and its effect are a big one to Evangeline McDowell's Kosmike Katastrophe/End of the World spell.
    • "My name... is Emiya!"
    • "I only do one thing. But what I do, I am the best at."
    • It wouldn't be a Sekirei fic without a reference Pokémon.
      Yukari: Shiina! I choose you!
  • "Silly Me" Gesture: Musubi does this when she realizes that she did something weird/foolish.
  • Skinship Grope:
    • Yukari to Shirou's Sekirei, constantly, with the only exception being Kusano.
    • Musubi has revealed that she does this to Akitsu. And they both like it.
  • Sliding Scale of Idealism Versus Cynicism: Most of the Good Sekirei lean towards the Idealism side while some of the older ones are a bit cynic but still lean more on Idealism. Shirou has some idealism but is very heavy on Cynicism due to the Holy Grail War and the fact that the Magus Association is after his head. A good part of the story is about the differences between those two sides and to determine where the scale is currently scaled at. For example, The Twenty-Fourth and Twenty-Fifth Wings tipped the scale quite a bit towards the Cynical end and as of The Twenty-Seventh Wing tipped the scale towards the middle with Idealism being favored. As calm as it is now it is just another Wham Episode away before possibly turning the Sekirei Plan into the Holy Grail War. And Shirou himself recognized this possibility.
  • The Smart Guy: Homura is well versed in Mythology, he identified Saber's true identity and legends with ease, serving as the one who explains things to Sekirei when Shirou loses them.
  • Smug Snake: Higa and his secretary Kakizaki. Both use dirty tactics in the Sekirei Plan without giving a damn about the rules, and yet both are foolish and arrogant enough to believe that no one would try similar tactics against them (Shirou is so astonished by this that he has to resist the urge to laugh). Both retain a stance of supreme arrogance and derision when they think they have the upper hand in a situation, but that stance gives way to sheer terror in Kakizaki's case and seething anger in Higa's when each finds himself in danger. They also completely underestimate Shirou at every turn, and both ultimately pay for this mistake with their lives.
  • Soap Opera Disease: Chiho, or as the author calls it: "Terminal Moe". Somewhat subverted in later chapters as it's revealed to be Lupus, a real but rare autoimmune disease.
  • So Proud of You: Minaka admits this upon learning why Shirou, his son, was Sealed. Even more so when he breaks out Unlimited Blade Works.
  • Spanner in the Works:
    • The main idea behind the Counter Force. In Shirou's example, Joan of Arc is considered one, and he is also considered one for the Sekirei Plan.
    • An example of one against Shirou is Yukari being kidnapped by Higa. Shirou was planing to leave Shin Tokyo and while he would run into a few conflicts with MBI things were very smooth, until this happened. Don't get started with Rin and Saber making an appearance.
  • Spared by the Adaptation:
    • Mitsuha (Sekirei number 38), canonically terminated early in the game by Karasuba while she and Akitsu were hunting unwinged Sekirei for her Ashikabi Hayato Mikogami, ends participating in the first match of the Third Stage.
    • Uzume herself as well.
  • Squee: Musubi's reaction to watching Shirou and Miya spar when Shirou shows just how good he is.
  • Stalker with a Test Tube: Matsu has openly proclaimed that she wants to have Shirou's babies, and is disappointed that Shirou won't give her a "wedding night" after he learns that winging is a mating ritual.
  • The Stations of the Canon: Averted. Shirou moves into Izumo House and gets Minato's harem, but he also gets Akitsu, the circumstances of several of the wingings are vastly different, Yukari's relationship with her brother is quite different and elements of the Nasuverse intervene.
  • Stay in the Kitchen: Shirou]is frequently told by his Sekirei, mainly Homura, to stay off the battlefield. Naturally, he never listens.
  • Sugar-and-Ice Personality: Akitsu could be considered as one. For the majority of the story, she is very stoic and apparently emotionless, though Shirou grows capable of recognizing her feelings from the small signs she shows. After Shirou wings her, while she doesn't change all that much, she does still become much more open with her emotions, most notably that she has yet to stop smiling.
  • Superpowerful Genetics: Called. In the Twenty-Sixth Wing, Miya suggested that Shirou's abilities are in reality Sekirei powers, making him a Sekirei descendant. Shirou decides at that point that he may as well reveal the whole truth about Nasuverse magic. Wordof God has revealed that Shirou is in fact a Sekirei descendant, but that his powers are all from the Nasuverse.

  • Suspiciously Similar Substitute: Used twice with both the mages to attack Shirou, the first being a clone of Kayneth Archibald El-Melloi from Fate/Zero, and the second being a copy of Bazett Fraga McRemitz from Fate/Hollow Ataraxia.
    • Although, the Archibald canonically don't have any remaining heirs other than a young girl, and the Fraga clan don't interact with the Association – Bazett being a singular oddity among them, so technically neither of these characters could have existed in canon Nasuverse.
    • At the same time, trying to come up with unique mages capable of challenging Shirou is difficult, since not enough about the Nasuverse and its forms of magic are known or understood. Perhaps GB can be forgiven his carbon-copying.
  • Suspiciously Specific Denial: Shirou in chapter 27 when Miya offers to do the cooking instead of Shirou
    "Are you sure?" I hedged, not liking the sound of that. When Miya's eyes narrowed, I held up my hands in surrender. "I mean, I'm certain you can cook, but I wouldn't mind putting off the shed until later tonight." I winced slightly. There had been a body in the blaze I was about to root through and it would be a little awkward if I were to unearth some particularly incriminating piece of the corpse at an inappropriate moment. It might be best to wait for after dinner before I began the salvage operation. Seriously. That was my only reason. I was in no way nervous at the way Miya was trying to cut in on my kitchen time. Not nervous at all.
    • Also played with in Chapter 28:
    After all, if Miya was going to take over my kitchen, it seemed fair that I take over discipline in return. And no, I wasn't going to abuse this new duty to the point where the rest of the house would start begging Miya to let me return to cooking in order to keep me too busy to do anything else.
    That would be unethical. And wrong. Even if it probably would be effective…
    • Meta example: When asked about whether Takami would show up or not, Gabriel Blessing replied, "It's not like I'm planning anything silly, or potentially traumatizing for Shirou. Not at all." He also said that in case anyone had wondered about what Yasaka was up to, "I'd completely forgotten about him, and no, he will most certainly not be making an appearance later on with humorous results."
  • Tastes Like Purple: He describes Miya's aura as "smelling" like regret. And Benitsubasa's as obsession.
  • Tempting Fate: Shirou does this mentally in chapter 3, regarding Yukari's habit of using manga for references on how little sisters should behave.
    Shirou: "I just prayed to the gods that she never decided to start using eroge as a source of inspiration."
    • And then he learns that yes, she does.
    Yukari: "Oh, I knew I should have brought my H collection," she wailed. "Now what am I supposed to do?"
  • Tennis Boss: The fight between Shirou and the Fraga magus. The "racket" is Fragarach.
  • That Man Is Dead: The main reason why Shirou threw away his Minato Sahashi name.
  • There Are No Coincidences: There is only the Forcenote .
  • There Is No Kill Like Overkill: Akitsu in chapter 17. By the time she had finished with the magus that was attacking Shirou, the opponent's body looked like it had been 'put through a wood chipper.'
    Shirou: "If nothing else, I had to give Akitsu this much: when she decided to kill someone she did so in a very thorough manner."
    • Invoked by Shirou in chapter 20. Defeating his opponent with one hit was enough, but nearly decapitating him (though he didn't get hurt) and using his mask on him was overkill. His "let's become this game's Berserker" tactic only works because people know him for being prone to overkill.
  • Third-Person Person: Matsu and Musubi frequently refer to themselves in the third person, and in chapter 27 Uzume and Miya get into it as well, though that was unintentional on their part.
  • Tim Taylor Magic: Turns out that all Scrapped Numbers need is MORE POWER...er, MANA. And given that this is a Nasuverse, crossover, well, no prizes for guessing the best way to give them that mana...
  • Token Evil Teammate: Karasuba becomes this to Shirou's flock after his use of Rule Breaker removes her connection to Natsuo and, in turn, causes her to make herself Shirou's Sekirei instead.
  • Too Dumb to Live: Junichi Tanigawa. While attacking the Ashikabi normally isn't such a bad idea, taking him on with a switchblade when the opposing Ashikabi (Shirou) happens to be a Master Swordsman IS.
  • Took a Level in Badass: Musubi after Shirou wings Yume and can channel her powers.
  • Tsundere:
    • Tsukiumi in spades. Shirou was so shocked by the revelation that he threw the accusing "You're a Tsundere!" in her face.
    • Rin Tohsaka is STILL one after her return.
  • Underestimating Badassery: Like The Hill of Swords, Shirou is underestimated before he starts fighting. Lampshaded, even:
    Shirou: Why on earth does it always take me so damn long to get some genuine respect out of the people I deal with all the time? I swear, it's ridiculous how often I get underestimated and looked down on. Maybe it's the cooking. For some reason, people just have such a hard time taking a chef seriously. It must be the apron.
  • Unwanted Harem:
    • With particular emphasis on "unwanted". Shirou, upon realizing that winging is a "mating ritual", has a panic attack and flees to have some time for a nervous breakdown. He gets better, but is still less than pleased with the situation. Eventually he gets over it and decides to make the best of the situation.
    • As of the Distant Finale, his harem consists of Akitsu, Matsu, Musubi, Tsuikiumi, Homura, Kazehana, Kuu, and Karasuba, also with the implication that Miya, Uzume and Chiyo, and Saber and Rin are also tentatively involved in some capacity, bringing his total to thirteen. It's a good thing most of them are willing to double up on the sleeping schedule.
  • Unwitting Pawn:
    • Shirou is this to Higa, though indirectly. By providing Uzume with information about the targets Higa told her to take out, Shirou is aiding the man.
    • Higa eventually tries to enslave Shirou directly by taking Yukari hostage after being thwarted by the man one too many times. It backfires spectacularly.
  • Victoria's Secret Compartment: Kazehana's "Jinki vault".
  • Waking Non Sequitur:
    Rin: "Inverse ultracompact counter-crystaline purple!"
  • Walking the Earth: Yukari and Shiina go around stopping wars and helping people after Shirou kills Minaka.
  • Well-Intentioned Extremist: Minaka, as a former member of Atlas, wanted to prevent the end of the world, but ultimately came to the conclusion that it was impossible. But, upon finding the Sekirei, he decided to make humanity strong enough to survive even after the planet's death.
  • Wham Episode: Twenty-Fourth Wing, where most of the skeletons in Shirou's closet are revealed to his flock, is brutal.
    • Chapter 25: Another mage found Shirou, said mage gravely injures Miya, and Shirou is forced to reveal his magic to the household.
    • Chapter 38: Rin and Saber show up.
    • Chapter 40: Shirou must fight Rin and Saber to help them return to the Clock Tower; if Shirou loses, he must go back with them and his role in the Sekirei Plan ENDS.
    • Chapter 41: The "emotional climax" of the story, where Shirou puts a geas on Rin and himself, forbidding them from contact and unable to approach each other
    • Chapter 42: Minaka is a magus with a plan to reach the Akasha, despite the fact that it may result in everyone who has Sekirei blood dying. That's millions, if not billions, of people.
  • Wham Line: In the Twenty-Third Wing:
    Matsu: "I mean the tournament that happens in Fuyuki City of course!" Cue the Wham Episode.
    • In Forty-Second Wing:
    Hiroto Minaka: "It certainly took you long enough, Sealing Designee Emiya."
  • What Happened to the Mouse?: Shirou's MBI Card. Now that he has his own job, he seems to have forgotten he possesses a card that has virtually unlimited funds. Canonically, Miya doesn't honor the MBI money: she practiced the Work or Get Out policy in Izumo Inn. "In Flight" brings this up in chapter 18.
  • What Measure Is a Non-Human?: As far as Shirou is concerned, the Sekirei may not be human, but they're still people who deserve to be treated with dignity and kindness. Behaving otherwise is a sure way to piss him off. Matsu starts to point this out as a potential problem for Shirou.
  • What Might Have Been: Gabriel said in the forum that one idea for why Shirou was on the run was that he became an apostle. There were also plans of using apostle Shirou in a crossover with Rosario + Vampire. However this was dropped after he did some research.
    "I was cruising through the wiki for facts about apostles and it turned out the idea would never have worked, not without the type-lunatics destroying me forever."
    • In-universe, Shirou wonders about how his life would have turned if he never went to Fuyuki and stayed "Minato Sahashi". Minaka reveals he intended to groom his son as the successor to the Minaka lineage, but changed his mind when Kiritsugu adopted Shirou.
  • What the Hell, Hero?: During the attempt to convince Tsukiumi to join Shirou's harem he chews out Musubi and Homura for suggesting that he should force the unwilling Tsukiumi to join, describing the process as very close to rape. Which, in a way, it is.
    • Matsu, the Twenty-Fourth Wing, that is all.
    • Shirou himself has one in the Twenty-Sixth Wing. His Sekirei are tired of how Shirou keeps holding down his burdens all the while telling them it was all his responsibility, even if it means that he would die alone. They want to stand besides him in both the good moments and the serious moments. They want to help ease the burden and let him know that they are here for him. They want him to know that he is not alone.
  • When All You Have Is A Tantric Ritual: How Shirou winged Akitsu.
  • Wide-Eyed Idealist: Musubi in spades.
    • Shirou is still considered an idealist, just without the "Wide Eyed" part:
    Even if I drown in my ideals and die, I will never regret them.
  • Wild Card Excuse:
    • Homura escaped from others by proclaiming that "he is tired" when it wasn't true. But to be fair, he couldn't say "I'm currently contemplating female underwear because I'm enduring the process of changing my gender."
    • When Shirou wants to avoid talking about something related to his backstory (magic in particular), he claims it's a "legacy of a misspent youth" it gets ludicrous when he uses it to explain why he has bloodstained pants or why there's scars on his chest that look like he got impaled in the heart.
  • Won't Take "Yes" for an Answer: When Uzume asks Shirou for help in freeing her Ashikabi, she assumes that Shirou won't say yes immediately. To be fair, Shirou has built his reputation on being ruthless and intimidating, to the point when even his own Sekirei are surprised that he says yes.
  • The Worf Effect: The first thing the Fraga magus does is burn down Izumo Inn. The second? One-shot Miya, goddess of the Sekirei.
  • Worthy Opponent: Shirou regards Toyotama and Ichiya as this, describing them as the type of people he was trained to kill. The feeling is very mutual.
  • Wrong Genre Savvy: Shirou's experience with the Holy Grail War leads him to drastically misunderstand the nature of the Sekirei Plan for quite some time. And once he understands (or thought he did, see Shirou's What the Hell, Hero? above) and recovers from his Freak Out, he sees the obvious differences between them and is terribly disappointed and angry with the MBI. GB wants to make Shirou savvy in the combative parts in the Sekirei Plan.
  • Yaoi Fangirl: Matsu breaks out in perverted giggling/panting when Miya asks if Homura's reaction to Shirou was as enthusiastic as the rest of the girls'. Shirou explicitly compares her laugh to that of a Dirty Old Man. The rest of the flock isn't any better; they'll argue night and day as to their respective positions on the schedule, but Homura's time is Homura's time and that won't be interrupted for anything.
  • You Are Not Alone: Shirou's Sekirei pull this on him in chapter 26.
  • You Have GOT to Be Kidding Me!:
    • Shirou, when he realizes that Tsukiumi is a truly archetypal Tsundere.
    • Shiro's response when he finds out Karasuba is reacting to him.
  • You Put the "X" in "XY": Used by Shirou in chapter 18.
    Shirou: After all, I tended to put the 'react' in 'overreact' sometimes.

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