In Flight

In Flight is a 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 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 in and given that he picked Shin Tokyo of all places to settle down, Shirou's attempts to lie 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 blood stains who said 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.

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

It is also one of the few Fan Fics to spawn Fan Fics of itself. The most famous example is The Emiya Clan, which is based off a hypothetical Good End where Shirou marries, well, everyone, has kids, and then the whole family gets their own adventures.

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

Tropes used in In Flight include:

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.

      • It must be noted that, 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.

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 through 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
    • Homura really doesn't like Shirou putting himself in danger. Unfortunately for him, Shirou has a serious Hero Complex and the skills to back it up, and if Homura doesn't get used to it quick he's going to give himself 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 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.
  • Bi the Way: Matsu, if her reaction to being kissed and cuddled by a sleeping Musubi in Chapter 10 was any indication.
    • And if Yukari's habitual groping of Shirou's Sekirei in one place is any indication, she's bisexual as well!
    • Musubi also likes groping Akitsu, and Akitsu likes being groped by her.
  • 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.
  • Giant Brass Bowling Balls
  • Breather Episode: The Sixteenth Wing has this until you find out that the Clocktower has found Shirou.
  • 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.
  • Brother-Sister Incest: Doesn't happen, but Yukari is way too fond of the idea for Shirou's comfort.
  • Catch Phrase: Shirou has "legacy of a misspent youth", his catch-all explanation for all backstory and magic-related issues though as of late not 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!"
    • Akitsu has "I like it." Often as not in response to something kinky, sometimes head-tiltingly so.
      • Don't forget about her habit of forgetting things. "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.
  • Chekhov's Hobby: Shirou's skill at 'mana transfer rituals', developed with Rin and Saber, which comes in real handy when he is winging Akitsu.
  • 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 that he leaves people speechless.
  • Chick Magnet: Shirou of course

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 having[1] rapidly becomes this within a single generation.
  • Cliff Hanger: 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 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.
  • Cool and Unusual Punishment: Poor Matsu, being a guinea pig for Shirou's development of his own version of the Hannya Mask.
    • It becomes an in-story Funny Aneurysm Moment as of the Twenty Fourth Wing.
    • In Chapter 27, Miya bans Shirou from the kitchen so that he can clean up "the mess he made" in 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.
      • He's not immune so much as he's built up a resistance to it. That, plus the fact that Shirou outright states that Miya's full wrath is even scarier than her mask.
  • Completely 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!"

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
  • Cry Cute: Takami, when she tries to hug Shirou and he shakes her off on pure reflex.

Shirou: "Even after so short a period I felt it in my bones that a crying Takami was just somehow an affront to reality as a whole."

    • And again later during Chapter 26 (though subverted), when Kuu-chan is about to cry because Shirou being able to do magic doesn't neccessarily mean he can pull a bunny out of a hat.

"I sighed. I knew it wouldn't help my cause, but when confronted with so much cuteness it was either perform or be sentenced to the special hell that only people who made adorable children cry could be condemned to."

    • However, in that same chapter, it is played straight with Matsu:

"If my limbs weren't so securely held at the moment I probably would have wrapped my arms around her to try and comfort her. As it was, the only thing I could do was crane my head and neck so that I could keep her in view. Even though I had been mad at her for the last few days, I still couldn't repress the biological male urge to comfort a crying female."

  • 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!
      • Not as much of a shock when you take into account the salient points, A: Miya's Opponent was a Fraga magus using Fragarach, B: Fragarach, due to GB having trouble finding research material on it when writing the scene writes up the weapon as being a absorb/return-type counter, as opposed to the cancellation type counter that it really is, (thus Miya's own force used against her)C: she was not expecting the attack at all, and had been distracted by Shirou moments before it lands, which while it probably saved her life, it also probably caused her to take the hit right in the face.
  • 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.
  • 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?"

  • 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!
  • Did Research, But Got Some Of It Wrong: The author admits that he had difficulty finding information on Fragarach, leading to the situation described under Counter Attack above. In all fairness, Fate/Hollow Ataraxia still hasn't been fully translated, so it's probably best if we just follow the MST3K Mantra in this case and not get too worked up about it.
    • A more literal example would be the people who left reviews complaining about how Bazett was killed in chapter 25, despite the fact that GB explicitly stated, both in his Author's Notes and on the forums, that it was not her.
  • 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.
  • Doorstopper: In progress, 27 chapters, 453,375 words.
  • 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 that Seo WARNED Sanada, The Ashikabi of the West, not to cross paths with Shirou, The Asura Ashikabi of the North, when he was 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.
  • 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.
  • Dual-Wielding: The bread and butter of Shirou's fighting style. And it is Awesome.
  • 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 explosive entrance was stopped only by a timely (and desperate) application of Rho Aias.
  • 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.
  • 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."

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 shows 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.
    • He sent her a fruit basket.
  • Gender Bender: Who else but Homura?
    • 1st 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.
    • 2nd 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.
    • 3rd 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).
  • 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, one which neither rules out nor guarantees a future appearance.
    • Gabriel Blessing himself has confirmed that Rin and Saber will in fact show up in the future.
  • 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 People Have Good Sex: Shirou and Akitsu in the Twenty-Third Wing, and for a good reason too.
  • 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.
  • 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 a Kill'Em All ending), 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).
      • With the introduction of the Jinki, Shirou finally has a bridge for ending the Sekirei Plan. By gathering at best case five Jinki or at least three Jinki during Phase 3 of the Sekirei Plan, when all Eight Jinki are at one location Shirou can destroy it or at least hide it all so the MBI CANNOT continue the plan.
    • If you are able to strike a deal with Karasuba of all people, or in this case Sekirei, you are THIS.
  • Harem Hero: Shirou is a type two, much to Homura's dismay.
  • 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.

  • Hero-Killer: Although no one dies by her hands the Fraga magus is established as one by dispatching Miya easily. The Fragarach attack she received would have normally terminate 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 has no clue about his Sealing Designation and thus underestimates 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.
    • And he's actually much better about technology than most magi. Which is in and of itself kind of sad.
  • 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. This may not even be the LAST of it.
  • 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.
    • To be fair, he's quite the mechanic as well.
  • Idiosyncratic Episode Naming: The chapters are called "Wings".
  • 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.
  • Ill Girl: Chiho. Her condition isn't really described in Sekirei canon beyond generic "terminal moe", but for the purposes of In Flight, it's Lupus.
  • 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.
  • Insistent Terminology: Shirou is not a 'sorceror', nor is he a 'wizard' or a 'magician'; he is a 'magus'.
  • The Internet Is for Porn: Or so Shirou thinks.
  • 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.
  • Kawaiiko: Matsu.
  • 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.
  • Knight in Sour Armor: Shirou's had it pretty rough so far...
  • Knight Templar Big Brother: Sure, nothing's happened yet, but 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.
  • 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.
  • Luminescent Blush: Akitsu does this whenever Shirou initiates physical contact with her. Considering her nature, it's rather endearing.
  • Masquerade: Even as a third-rate magus, Shirou refuses to discuss magecraft with those who aren't involved in it.
  • Master Swordsman: Shirou Emiya, Miya, and Karasuba.
  • 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 broke up. Miya then turns it around on him when revealing the Sekireis' past.
  • 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?
  • Mood Whiplash: In the Twenty-Third Wing, from Akitsu's being winged to Matsu's Wham! Line that led to the Wham! Episode afterwards.
  • 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.

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. Which brings to mind a certain Crowning Moment of Funny in Gabriel Blessing's previous work.
    • 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 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.

"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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • Nothing Is the Same Anymore: After 23 chapters where arguably nothing happened, we have a Wham! Episode. Ouch.
  • 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, when you realize it's quite a sadistic one.
  • 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.

  • Omake: GB has written a few and they are almost all canon. The fans have written hundreds of omakes of varying length and quality.
  • 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 normal person in Shirou's entire flock!
  • Parrot Exposition: This pops up a few times in chapter 26
  • Pettanko: Yukari gets called this despite being 81cm in the bust, though it is Kazehana who, measuring in at 98cm, gives her the nickname.
  • Playing Tennis With the Boss: The fight between Shirou and the Fraga magus. The "racket" is Fragarach.
  • Post-Kiss Catatonia: Akitsu in chapter 20 after Shirou has a makeout session with her.

Word of God says that: "For any references on what she looked like after Shirou was done accidentally making out with her, please refer to Mahou Sensei Negima, 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 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.
  • Properly Paranoid: Shirou in explaining WHY he didn't abandon the Sekirei Plan.

"I've already seen one secret tournament nearly end the world, Asama-san, I'm not going to turn my back on a second one that might do the same."

  • Puppy Dog Eyes: Musubi, usually when she thinks/realizes she did something wrong.
  • Red Baron/Names to Run Away From Really Fast: Here is a short list and most of them you should know already:
    • 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"
  • 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!
  • 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!
  • 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: "Giant brass bowling balls" and all its derivatives.
    • Shirou's attempts to copy Miya's Demon Head ability For Science!.
    • Also Shirou's complete ignorance concerning modern technology, which never fails to provide amusement to his Sekirei (and frequently, exasperation from Homura). Even Musubi thinks it's sad!
    • Kusano's "Onii-chan has magic swords!"
    • Shirou will always find something that would surprise Homura no exceptions.
  • 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.
  • Serious Business: Meta-example. See Did The Research, But Got Some Of It Wrong and Counter Attack on the Main Page. 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.
  • Ship Sinking: Many readers like shipping Shirou/Miya. [2] Even though, according to Gabriel Blessing, while Miya and Shirou will be getting closer, they will be very good friends at the most much to the Fandom's dismay.
  • Shoo Out the Clowns: When was the last time Yasaka showed up?
  • "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.
    • And now 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
    • Works both ways, with Shirou not wanting to drag the others in his own conflicts. May be subverted on both counts as of chapter 26. Once Shirou got around to telling the full truth, everyone around him gave their full support. Of course, since they're not exactly normal to begin with, they have a better understanding of what he is involved in; plus, it gives them something to relate with
  • 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 decided that at that point he may as well reveal the whole truth about the Nasuverse magic.
  • 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.
      • The latter, at least, has been given justification due to Shirou's theories – she's revealed to have been a freelancer rather than a regular associate of the magi in Britain, and may have also been hired by the Archibald magus.
    • 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."
  • 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?"

  • 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...
  • 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.
  • Tsundere: Tsukiumi in spades. Shirou was so shocked by the revelation that he threw the accusing "You're a Tsundere!" in her face.
  • Underestimating Badassery: Like The Hill of Swords, Shirou is underestimated before he starts fighting.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • Wham! Line: In Twenty Third Wing:

Matsu: "I mean the tournament that happens in Fuyuki City of course!" Cue Wham! Episode.

  • 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. Canonical, 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."

  • 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.
  • 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".
  • 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.
  • Would Hit Girls and Sekirei: If you are on Shirou's opposing side, he will take you seriously. Gender be DAMNED!
  • 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 (see Dude, Not Funny above). GB wants to make Shirou Dangerously Genre 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.
  • 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.

  1. ↑ plus Honorary Uncle Gilgamesh
  2. ↑ It also helps that Miya is one of the wives of the Emiya Clan.
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