Fanfic / Fate/Starry Night

It wasn't Ritsuka Fujimaru's first time waking up on a rooftop out of the blue.

After completing the Grand Order and destroying five of the seven Lostbelts, it'd take a lot to surprise him at this point. Forced rayshifts, dreaming himself into alternate realities, it's a song and dance he's all-too familiar with.

But it's been some time since he's been completely cut off from Chaldea. Never mind being thrown into a Holy Grail War without a single Servant for backup, much less the Fuyuki Holy Grail War of 2004. Surrounded by familiar faces and new foes, Ritsuka must navigate this battlefield he's been thrown into and unravel the mystery behind his arrival.

Fate/Starry Night is a Fate/stay night/Fate/Grand Order Crossover fanfic written by Saikazo. It follows Ritsuka Fujimaru as he's dropped into an alternate version of the Fifth Holy Grail War as a new evil stirs beneath the surface.

Also available on FanFiction.net here. There are a series of omakes called Fate Starry Night: Into the Kaleidoscope. Available on Archive of Our Own here.

A word of warning, the story assumes that you're familiar with the plot of Fate/stay night and Fate/Grand Order all the way up to the Olympus chapter. All spoilers from up to that point will be unmarked. You Have Been Warned.

On August 18, 2021, Saikazo admitted to feeling unsatisfied with the fic and said it will eventually be rewritten.

Fate/Starry Night contains examples of:

A to M

• Actually Not a Vampire: Rider's True Name is Medusa, the former goddess and lover of Poseidon who became a monster to protect her sisters until she devoured them whole. Because of this, she's comfortable drinking the blood of others, especially mages, to restore her energy. Ritsuka is aware of this and lets her drink his blood to recharge.
• Adaptational Badass:
  • The story follows the manga adaptation of Shimousa's interpretation that Ritsuka is able to summon Shadow Servants to his aid even without a leyline or Mash's shield to help him. This lets him take on the Servants of the Fifth Holy Grail War with some success, though he admits that he won't win against a real Servant under normal circumstances and enlists Rider's aid.
  • Ritsuka is also depicted as a skilled martial artist, using his Mystic Code's Instant Enhancement spell to make up for his inability to reinforce himself with regular Reinforcement magic, allowing him to deal with Dragon Bone Warriors on his lonesome. He also uses the spear given to him by Proto Cú to ward off some bladed wing worms with Jack's help rather than letting her do all the work.
• Adaptational Name Change: As this story was originally made before the Lilim Harlot Event, the Beast of Revelations is referred to as Beast VI/L instead of Beast VI/G.
• Aesop Amnesia: Ritsuka lectures Shirou that he has to rest because he can't become a hero if he's too tired to even stand. When Ritsuka leaves the room, he sighs when he notes Shirou is continuing to train.
• Alternate Self:
  • Ritsuka meets numerous familiar faces during his time in Fuyuki, treating them kindly like old friends when they're not fighting. But none of these Servants know Ritsuka, as they're an entirely different summoned instance of a Saint Graph.
  • Jack is also confused when she sees Archer after watching him fail to enter the world Ritsuka is in, considering dismembering him for "tricking" her.
• Always Someone Better: Ritsuka freely admits that he's not really a master at anything besides being a Master, not bothering to refute Lancer when he calls him "Scáthach's worst student". He also attempts to take on Kuzuki in hand-to-hand combat, only to get curb-stomped by Kuzuki's Confusion Fu fighting style and Caster's superior Reinforcement magic.
• Ancient Grome: Discussed. Shirou refers to Berserker as "Hercules", but Ritsuka corrects him, as Hercules is a romanization of the original Greek "Heracles".
• Adaptation Amalgamation: The version of the Fuyuki Holy Grail War that Ritsuka is taking part in contains elements from all three routes of Fate/stay night, including Illya hunting down Shirou from Fate, battling Caster on Mt. Enzou as in Unlimited Blade Works, and Sakura's increasing instability and relation to the Shadow from Heaven's Feel. Lampshaded by the author.
  Saikazo: FUHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! THAT'S RIGHT. YOU ALL THOUGHT WE WERE IN HEAVEN'S FEEL WHEN WE WERE REALLY IN THE DEEN ANIME.
• An Offer You Can't Refuse:
  • Ritsuka offers Shinji the chance to work with him to help save the world. Given that Ritsuka has control of Rider and going back to Zouken empty-handed would just leave Shinji humiliated and possibly dead, Shinji has little room to refuse.
  • Illya agrees to leave Ritsuka alone so long as he can get Shirou to summon a Servant within the next three days, lest she sends Berserker on a rampage against them. Given that his only available Servants to fight Berserker are Rider and Jack, he has little choice but to agree.
  • Ritsuka ends up in another one when Gilgamesh appears to meet him. Ritsuka can't even tell anyone where he's going, as Gilgamesh threatens to skewer him with swords if he refuses. Ritsuka then strikes a deal with Gilgamesh to find the source of the mud girls before four Servants are defeated, lest he be thrown into the Grail as Gilgamesh uses it to flood the world with All the World's Evils.
• Arbitrary Skepticism: Ritsuka jokingly complains that Rider's skepticism about Chaldea and him being from a parallel timeline is unfounded, given that she's from the Throne of Heroes, a realm outside of the flow of time.
• Ascended Fanboy: As per the summer events, Ritsuka is an avid anime and video game lover, giddily imitating a Shoryuken on a whim with a Gandr-charged uppercut.
• Ax-Crazy: Jack will take any excuse to dismember someone. Being a threat to her, lying to her, or threatening Ritsuka are all valid reasons for her to tear your guts out.
• Bad "Bad Acting": Lampshaded. Shinji attempts to use Briar Patching to get Ritsuka to destroy the Book of False Attendant, but Ritsuka sees right through Shinji before telling him that his acting sucks.
• Batman Gambit: Seeing that Illya is trying to kill Shirou at all costs, Ritsuka purposely pushes Berserker's Berserk Button by using a Shadow Jason as a Human Shield, enraging the Greek hero so badly that he ignores Illya's orders for the sake of turning Ritsuka into a blood smear.
• Became Their Own Antithesis: From Ritsuka's perspective, the Gilgamesh of the Fifth Holy Grail War has become no better than the gods he rebelled against in life, as Gilgamesh tries to unilaterally decide the fate of humanity and chain it to the past despite the living Gilgamesh telling Ritsuka back in Uruk that humanity's fate is something for the living to decide.
• Big Brother Mentor:
  • Ritsuka briefly mentions that he sees Kintoki as a big brother figure of sorts while imitating one of his Diving Kicks against Shinji.
  • Flashbacks to the first Singularity show that EMIYA was this for Ritsuka as well, reassuring Ritsuka and empathizing with his feelings of powerlessness and inadequacy following Olga Marie's death and the enormous responsibility laid across his shoulders. EMIYA then swears to protect him so long as he doesn't give up.
• Big Damn Heroes:
  • Just as Ritsuka is about to get flattened by Illya and Heracles, Jack the Ripper arrives in a nick of time to hide Ritsuka in her Noble Phantasm before escorting him to safety.
  • Saber Alter is about to annihilate Ritsuka at Caster's command when Archer appears to protect Ritsuka with Rho Aias, buying the heroes enough time to get away.
  • Perseus is moments away from beheading Ritsuka when Galahad!Tachie appears just in time to block his strike, Galahad yields control back to Tachie, who then strikes a deal to help Fujimaru out of this fight, in exchange for him helping her with her revenge.
• Big "WHAT?!": Ritsuka and Shinji are aghast at Shirou's method of turning his nerves into temporary Magic Circuits while tearing into him for his stupidity. Ritsuka then gets up to forcibly open Shirou's Magic Circuits to prevent him from killing himself.
  Ritsuka: You're doing what?!
  Shinji: You've been what?!
• Breather Episode: "Cooking is Good for the Soul! The Time of Peace Continues!" covers Ritsuka settling into the Emiya household while cooking up one of EMIYA's recipes. It's largely light-hearted and fun, and a break from the intrigue and combat of the Holy Grail War. The author also admits that it's probably Filler, though he feels it's unavoidable given the Food Porn in the original Fate/stay night.
• Briar Patching: After Ritsuka deprives him of the Book of False Attendant, Shinji attempts to convince Ritsuka to destroy the book so Rider's control will go back to Sakura. But Ritsuka sees through Shinji's Bad "Bad Acting" and decides to keep the book instead.
• Bridal Carry:
  • Archer carries an injured Ritsuka away from Mt. Enzou like this until Jack insists on being the one to help her mommy. Ritsuka is glad that no one is around to see him get carried like a princess by a little girl.
  • When Shinji is completely exhausted after a procedure to awaken his Magic Circuits, Perseus carries him this way. Shinji gets embarrassed because they are both guys.
• Broken Pedestal: Ritsuka runs into Gilgamesh and learns of his plan to unleash the cursed Grail on humanity. He can't believe the king he followed in Babylonia could do something so horrible.
• Bunny-Ears Lawyer: Ritsuka is a zany and energetic individual who loves mecha, anime, and video games and is crazy enough to piss off Berserker as part of a Batman Gambit to protect Shirou. Ritsuka's quirks are only matched by his unparalleled experience as a Master and the breadth of skills he obtained while fighting alongside heroes from across history and myth.
• Calling Your Attacks: Aside from Servants calling the names of their Noble Phantasms to activate them, Ritsuka shouts "Golden Justice Smash" while using a Diving Kick to knock out Shinji and "Shoryuken!" while uppercutting one of Medea's Dragon Tooth Warriors.
• Cassandra Truth:
  • Ritsuka describes Chaldea in detail to a curious Rider, who is astonished to learn that Euryale and Stheno answered his summons and that Euryale has entered a loving relationship with Asterios. He then adds that Medusa's sisters still love her and they always did. That last statement leaves Rider in shock, who dismisses it as "insanity" after she devoured them in life.
  • When Ritsuka, Jack, and Rider leave the Emiya household, Archer materializes to examine Ritsuka's belongings and try to dig up dirt up on him. Upon examining Ritsuka's Bakuya-shaped kitchen knife, he reads its history to find a version of himself smiling while teaching Ritsuka to cook. The idea of any version of himself finding happiness while following the path of a hero of justice is met with a blunt "Impossible." from Archer.
  • Ritsuka decides to come clean about Chaldea, the Grail being corrupted, and Gilgamesh's presence. Only Shirou somewhat believes him.
  • Ritsuka offers to help Bazett meet Cú Chulainn. She is torn between hope and disbelief.
• Clingy Jealous Girl: A platonic example. Illya teasingly says that maybe she should call Ritsuka "Mommy" the way Jack has been doing. Jack takes offense to this and declares that Ritsuka is her mommy, not Illya's.
• Combat Pragmatist: Due to lacking Chaldea's resources, Ritsuka fights dirty to give himself a fighting chance.
  • Rather than stand back and let his Shadow Servants fight Rider alone, Ritsuka quickly realizes that Shinji is the weak link between him and Rider and goes after him in hand-to-hand combat. This forces Rider to come to Shinji's aid, impeding her attempts to fend off Shadow Ushiwakamaru.
  • Ritsuka knows full well that he can't take on Berserker with just Shadow Servants, making a hasty retreat while using Shadow Servants of Jason and Chiron as Human Shields and a distraction to draw Berserker away from Shirou.
• Commonality Connection: Lancer is surprised to learn that Ritsuka, a human from the Age of Man, has also been trained by his teacher Scáthach. This interests Lancer enough to spare Ritsuka's life.
• Confusion Fu: Jack fights so erratically that Archer cannot read her moves, putting him at a disadvantage when they fight. Rider joins the fight and swings her chain erratically, also preventing Archer from reading her moves.
• Continuity Nod: There are numerous references to past events from Fate/Grand Order's main story and events.
  • While being confronted by Shinji and Rider, Ritsuka is disappointed that Beryl Gut isn't involved, meaning that Ritsuka won't be able to take revenge for Wodime, referring to the finale of Olympus where Wodime shielded them all from Rhongomyniad, leaving him open to being backstabbed by Beryl.
  • Kintoki explains to Jack that Ritsuka's current predicament is much like the events of Shimousa, where Ritsuka dreamed himself into another world and only Fuuma Kotarou was able to get to him.
  • Jack refers to Jeanne d'Arc Santa Alter Lily as, "Jeanne Spam d'Arc Spam Alter Spam Santa Spam Lily Spam", just as she did back in Janta's debut event.
  • When Jack calls Ritsuka "Mommy", Shinji asks if Ritsuka is actually a really ugly woman. Ritsuka retorts that he's in fact a very good looking woman, referencing his time in the Shinjuku Pseudo-Singularity where he crossdressed to get a rise out of Yan Qing and expose him. It's also a reference to the fact that the player is allowed to freely swap between male and female avatars.
  • The care package that Chaldea sends to Ritsuka via Jack includes a spear made by Proto Cú Chulainn, a submachine gun from Kiritsugu, a cooking set from EMIYA and locks of hair from Georgius' horse Bayard, all of which are return gifts on Valentine's Day. He even mentions that these are hardly the craziest gifts he's gotten for Valentine's.
• Contrived Coincidence: Ritsuka is surprised to learn that one of his Mystic Codes is a perfect replication of Homurahara's school uniform. He doesn't think too much about it, considering it a convenient way for him to blend in and talk to Rin at school.
• Covert Pervert: At one point, Ritsuka fantasizes about using Rin's thighs as a Lap Pillow rather than lying on the ground, though he wouldn't dare say it out loud.
• Cute and Psycho: Jack the Ripper, as usual. She's an adorable little girl who loves her "Mommy" and will do anything for him. She's also an Ax-Crazy Serial Killer, so "anything" includes dismembering anyone she deems a threat to him.
• Deadpan Snarker: Ritsuka eventually reveals that he's from the future of a parallel timeline to Shinji and Rider. Shinji can hardly believe it and neither can Rider, leading to an exchange of half-joking, half-snarking about the situation.
  Rider: So, another timeline, was it?
  Ritsuka: [nodding] God, I sound insane. [sighs] And the worst part is, I’ve done this so much, I’ve been completely desensitized to it.
  Rider: You’re right, you do sound insane.
  Ritsuka: [groaning but joking] You coulda pretended I didn’t. “No, no, I understand, after all, I come from the Throne of Heroes, which is outside of time”.
• Declaration of Protection: When Ritsuka was suffering an emotional breakdown in the first Singularity, EMIYA swears to protect him so long as he doesn't give up.
• Department of Redundancy Department: In classic Fate fashion, "Berserker went berserk."
• Determinator: When Shinji drinks the potion meant to awaken his powers, he collapses in agony, feeling like he is on fire. Declaring that he will surpass Shirou, he fights past the pain and successfully summons a Servant.
• The Dreaded:
  • Ritsuka has faced off against Heracles multiple times in the past, and seeing him under Illya's employ makes Ritsuka no less wary of him. Rather than try to fight him off the way he did against Lancer and Rider, Ritsuka instead opts to flee for dear life rather than face him without a proper Servant.
  • On a more humorous note, Ritsuka dreads the thought of having to face Medea Lily, who is much more unhinged and harder to negotiate with than her adult self as the Witch of Betrayal.
  • The Gilgamesh of the Fifth Holy Grail War also strikes terror into Ritsuka's heart, especially with how volatile Gilgamesh has become in the face of his displeasure with modern society and the end of Uruk. By the end of their conversation, Ritsuka has fallen to his knees and dry heaving from how many ways their conversation could have gone wrong.
• Diving Kick: Ritsuka imitates Rider Kintoki with a "Golden Justice Smash!" kick to Shinji's gut to knock him unconscious.
• Dragged into Drag: Ritsuka has to tell himself that he looked very good as a woman, otherwise being forced to dress as one would have been traumatic for him.
• Drama-Preserving Handicap: Much like the events of Shimousa, something is stopping Chaldea from sending Servant backup to Ritsuka. In this case, it's a wall of grail mud that injures EMIYA for trying to break through it and even obscures Gilgamesh's clairvoyance. But as a wall of curses, a conglomeration of wraiths and hatred like Jack is the only Servant who can be sent through.
• Dream Walker: Ritsuka winds up in Fuyuki after turning in for the night. His body in his timeline simply does not wake up. He's not in a panic about it given that he's done this multiple times before, but he initially struggles to make headway in his investigation without the benefit of his Servants or Mission Control.
• Dr. Jerk: Nightingale and Asclepius are mentioned as well-intentioned but cantankerous medical professionals. When Ritsuka's arm is broken, he's surprised by how well Jack and Archer are able to set it on their own, wondering if he's simply gotten too paranoid around his usual doctors.
• Dull Eyes of Unhappiness: Tachie's eyes are dull and lifeless, filled with nothing but a desire to take out her vengeance upon Shirou.
• Eaten Alive: Ritsuka interrogates Shinji by threatening him with a Shadow version of Hessian Lobo before upping the ante to Kijyo Koyo, both of whom are large animals with long and sharp teeth.
• Enemy Mine:
  • Perseus persuades Medusa, who hates him for killing her in life, to work with him to get the Holy Grail and wish to save Sakura and Shinji (and Shirou when Sakura asks) from the coming of Beast VI and the timeline being pruned.
  • Despite wanting to kill Shirou, Tachie is forced to work with his group when Illya and Berserker attacks them all. Illya and Berserker are then forced to work with them when Arash Alter attacks them all.
• Enfante Terrible: In contrast to the cheerful, kind, and somewhat ditzy Illya from Chaldea, the Illya of the Fifth Holy Grail War is a cold-blooded murderer obsessed with seizing and torturing Shirou, though she only looks like a child and is actually eighteen.
• Entertainingly Wrong:
  • Rin and Archer conclude based on everything they've seen that Ritsuka is actually a spy for Marisbury Animusphere.
  • Zouken wants Ritsuka for his new host body because he saw a vision of the final battle against Goetia and wants Ritsuka's power to summon and control hundreds of Servants. He doesn't understand that Ritsuka got those Servants by befriending them, not by his almost non-existent power. Shinji of all people was able to tell the real reason why Ritsuka could control all those Servants.
• Experienced Protagonist:
  • Ritsuka has already defeated four Beasts, cleared the Grand Order, and destroyed five of the seven Lostbelts. As a result, he's an incredibly experienced Master who has navigated his way in and out of fights between Servants and can remain remarkably calm under pressure. He's also acquired a wide variety of skills and tools during his time at Chaldea, namely Li Shuwen's bajiquan, Chiron's pankration, spearmanship from Cú Chulainn, and marksmanship from Kiritsugu and Scáthach.
  • Despite knowing full well that Shinji is a scummy human being who tried to take back the Book of False Attendant in the middle of the night, Ritsuka thoroughly dissects his personality to Rider and decides to give him a chance to prove himself that he wouldn't get if he's sent back to Zouken. Rider is baffled by Ritsuka's perceptiveness, seeing him as someone who has both been through hell and back while retaining an innocence and desire to help.
  • Flashbacks show the difference between Ritsuka in his earliest days as a Master to the present. In Orleans, he was constantly on the verge of breaking down under stress of his responsibilities and the fact that he has no idea what he's doing. Compare that to his indifference and muttering "It happened again." Upon waking up on a Fuyuki rooftop at the start of the story and purposefully drawing Lancer's attention to protect Shirou.
• Fights Like a Normal: Even without his Shadow Servants, Ritsuka has gotten physical and martial training from some of the greatest warriors across history and myth. He dodges some casual blows from both Lancer and Archer (though he admits that they were purposefully swinging slower than usual), pulverizes several Dragon Tooth Warriors summoned by Medea with Li Shuwen's bajiquan, and destroys a skeletal crocodile with some pankration taught to him by Chiron and Achilles. He also mentions to Shinji that he knows how to load and shoot a submachine gun.
• Finger Gun: Much like Rin, Ritsuka casts Gandr by holding out his finger as though it were a barrel of a gun and gathering magical energy before shooting it as a solid projectile.
• For Want Of A Nail:
  • Ritsuka's presence changes numerous things about the Fifth Holy Grail War.
    • Due to distracting Lancer, Shirou gets his memories of Archer's and Lancer's fight wiped. As a result, he isn't chased to his home by Lancer nor does he summon Saber at the start of the war. This also means that Saber is up for the taking, allowing Caster to summon Saber Alter as her Servant in addition to Assassin.
    • Ritsuka manages to swipe the Book of False Attendant from Shinji, becoming Rider's pseudo-Master.
    • While fleeing from Berserker, Ritsuka and Jack come across the comatose form of Bazett. He has Jack sew Bazett's arm back on to stabilize her condition until he can summon a medical Servant like Nightingale or Aesclepius. In doing so, he prevents the events of Fate/hollow ataraxia.
  • The trope's name is also spoofed by the chapter, "For Want of a Hammer! Ritsuka vs. Shinji!" where Ritsuka tries to ward off Rider with Shadow Servants while he takes Shinji on in hand-to-hand combat.
  • Ritsuka's conversation with Gilgamesh is driven by his memories of Uruk in the Babylonia singularity, with Ritsuka quoting the living Gilgamesh in his retort to the Servant.
• Fragile Speedster: Jack has the highest normally possible Agility stat at A+ and has Presence Concealment, letting her run circles around most opponents. But she's also lacking in Strength and Endurance, and Ritsuka knows he can't take on Berserker with her and Rider alone.
• Framing Device: The "Jack's Adventure" sidestories are narrated from Jack's perspective, as she's describing how she got to Ritsuka in time to rescue him from Berserker. The story ends with her cheering about how she found him.
• Friendly Enemy: Lancer takes a shine to Ritsuka after learning of their shared tutelage under Scáthach. Although they're technically enemies, Lancer helps Ritsuka out numerous times, while Ritsuka promises to summon someone strong for him to fight.
• From Bad to Worse: Ritsuka's attempts to talk down Caster are a complete failure, and Souichirou quickly crushes Ritsuka's left arm before beating back Jack. As if things couldn't get any worse, Caster somehow summons Saber Alter to unleash Excalibur Morgan against Ritsuka.
• Full-Contact Magic: Ritsuka takes out a Dragon Tooth Warrior with a Gandr-charged fist in an emulation of a Shoryuken. He also uses Instant Enhancement in short bursts to give himself enough strength to pulverize bone and suplex a giant skeletal crocodile.
• Goggles Do Something Unusual: Ritsuka finds that the glasses Sigurd made for him also work just fine as Mystic Eye Killers, allowing Rider to walk around without her blindfold on. This is not even counting their other effects, like being tough enough to keep demonic beasts from clawing one's eyes out or improving concentration.
• Good Is Not Dumb: Shinji tries to dupe Ritsuka into destroying the Book of False Attendant by Briar Patching, but Ritsuka isn't impressed and keeps the book instead. He also sees right through Shinji and knows he'll try to steal back the book and betray him, having Rider stationed by his bed and the book to prevent Shinji from doing so.
• Hate at First Sight: Ritsuka is instantly on bad terms with Kotomine, whose face reminds him of one of the three Disciples of the Outer God, especially since Kotomine/Rasputin murdered da Vinci.
• Have We Met?: After tearing through a swarm of bladed wing worms trying to break into a house, Jack sees a young girl sleeping soundly in bed that feels like Ritsuka. By killing the bugs, Jack gets the feeling that she's saved her Mommy, but she doesn't understand why, implying that the little girl is the female version of him. She also gets the feeling that the mud girls that have been popping up around the city are her Mommy, giving her the urge to eviscerate them.
• Hoist by His Own Petard: Ritsuka defeats Shinji and Rider by tricking Rider into tangling Shinji with her chain, allowing Ritsuka to swipe the Book of False Attendant and take control of Rider.
• Hot-Blooded: Although he's able to keep a clear head most of the time, Ritsuka is surprisingly gutsy and energetic in the middle of a fight. He demands a fair fight from Shinji as though they were in the middle of a tournament match and almost cheerfully heads into battle against Caster's Dragon Tooth Warriors, taking the time to mix it up between bajiquan and pankration.
• How Is That Even Possible?: When Bazett wakes up, Shirou serves her tea. Even though it is still boiling hot, she drinks the whole thing in one gulp, which leaves everyone baffled. She doesn't understand what the big deal is.
• Human Shield: Due to having knowledge of Berserker's identity, Ritsuka distracts him with Shadow Servants of Jason and Chiron, two people who were incredibly close to him in life. Seeing Ritsuka use the images of his Best Friend and mentor as shields drives Berserker into an Unstoppable Rage, defying Illya's orders to go after Shirou in order to grind Ritsuka into paste.
• Identical Stranger:
  • In addition to the Servants all being an Alternate Self from the ones he knows, Ritsuka recognizes Shirou, Rin, Taiga, and Sakura as the human vessels for Muramasa, Ishtar, Jaguar Man, and Parvati, much to his confusion.
  • Ritsuka is also noted to bear a striking resemblance to Rin Tohsaka, which he also notices. Illya also confuses him for a Tohsaka but knows that there's only one Tohsaka heir. He later makes use of this to blend in at Homurahara while claiming to be Rin's older brother. No one questions this because of how similar they look.
  • After fleeing from Mt. Enzou, Ritsuka encounters a girl named Tachie who looks eerily like Mash, with the only differences being hair and eye color, even sporting the same armor she did before Galahad left her at the start of Cosmos in the Lostbelt.
• I Did What I Had to Do: To prevent Caster from chasing the heroes, Jack guts Souichirou from behind, forcing Caster to stay behind to tend to him rather than hunt Ritsuka down. When Ritsuka asks how Jack did that, she refuses to answer beyond, "We made sure of it."
• I Know Your True Name: Ritsuka repeatedly surprises the Servants of the Fifth Holy Grail War with his knowledge of their identities, addressing Lancer as Cú Chulainn and Rider as Medusa. He uses his knowledge of their personalities to earn their trust and get them to agree to work with him.
• Impaled Palm: Ritsuka gets his left hand impaled by Rider before being reeled in like a fish. Luckily, his Command Spells are on his right hand, and he's able to summon Shadow Servants to defend himself. He later heals it up with his Mystic Code after subduing Shinji.
• Imposter Forgot One Detail:
  • The one thing Ritsuka's Shadow Scáthach can't replicate is her personality. While his Shadow version of her has her appearance, Noble Phantasms, and voice, it can't produce the overwhelming Killing Intent that a Blood Knight like her would exude at the prospect of a good fight. This is what tips Lancer off that it's not the real thing, but also tells him just how well Ritsuka knows her.
  • Perseus shape-shifts into Ritsuka, but Rider attacks him because he forgot to add Ritsuka's scars.
• Inept Mage:
  • Ritsuka has all of one magic circuit and wouldn't be able to support a Servant if not for Chaldea's infrastructure. What he does have is a working knowledge of the basics, Mystic Codes to let him cast simple but useful spells (though he has practiced Gandr enough to use it even without a Mystic Code, albeit with diminished effectiveness), and unsurpassed compatibility as a Master. When he learns that Shirou has been trying to use his own nerves as Magic Circuits, Ritsuka decides to get him to a proper magus (read: Rin) for training ASAP, as he can't teach Shirou much of anything.
  • On the same note, Kiritsugu's intentionally poor training methods backfired spectacularly on Shirou, who is actively injuring himself to perform magecraft as a result of misinterpreting the phrase that "to be a mage is to walk with death". Ritsuka tries to remedy this by forcibly opening Shirou's circuits before taking him to Rin for a proper lesson in magecraft.
• Inferiority Superiority Complex: Shinji talks a big game, but he's terrified of being considered worthless after learning that he has no potential as a magus and is desperate to prove himself.
• In-Series Nickname: Ritsuka refers to Jack as "Jackie" to reflect her female form, while she calls him "Mommy" in return. He also calls Jeanne d'Arc Santa Alter Lily by the much more manageable "Janta".
• Ironic Echo: While scolding Shirou for his self-destructive psuedo-Magical Circuit method, Shinji tells him that “That’s not what the damn saying means!” in response to Shirou's justification of quoting "To be a magus is to walk with death." Eight chapters later, Shinji is offered a potion to awaken his Magic Circuits, but with a high risk of death. He quotes the saying to give himself the courage to drink it, and his mysterious benefactor responds with "That is not what the saying means." as he downs the vial.
• It Amused Me: Lancer has Ritsuka dead-to-rights, but he takes a shine to Chaldea's Master after learning that Ritsuka had been trained by Scáthach as well. Because of this Commonality Connection, he's interested in seeing what kind of person he is and what kind of Servants he'd summon, letting him live and defending him from Archer.
• It's Personal: Ritsuka is more than willing to let bygones be bygones for most of his opponents, as shown by how many of his enemies became his allies over the course of his time at Chaldea. The only exception to this is in the present is Beryl, who Ritsuka loathes for backstabbing Wodime. He is more disappointed that he won't have the satisfaction of punching one of Beryl's minions in the face than angry over getting an Impaled Palm courtesy of Shinji and Rider.
• Jack of All Trades: Aside from being a Master, being around so many Servants has given Ritsuka a myriad of skills. He's a skilled enough cook to complete Benienma's introductory cooking course, a martial artist trained in numerous fighting styles from around the world, a marksman, among other things. But he's not a master at any of them, and Lancer teasingly refers to him as Scáhach's worst student by far, a declaration Ritsuka agrees with.
• Kid With The Remote Control: Downplayed. Ritsuka is a poor mage, so he can't do much of anything to a Servant besides summoning Shadow Servants. But against weaker threats like Dragon Tooth Warriors, Ritsuka can handle them himself with martial arts. Lampshaded by Ritsuka, who tells Shinji that he's not some hotshot magus and needed a lot of help to save the world.
  Ritsuka: What, you think I saved the world with just raw grit and determination? With my pitiful one circuit and my magical potential laying face first in the dirt, dead on arrival? [shakes his head] Really man, where did you get the idea I’m some hotshot magus?
• Killing Intent:
  • Three years of being a Master for Chaldea has honed Ritsuka's survival instincts to detect this. His hair stands on end when he feels Lancer's killing intent, giving him just enough warning to dive out of the way of a casual spear thrust.
  • Lancer is able to tell that Ritsuka's Shadow Scáthach is not the real thing because it lacks the overwhelming bloodlust that a Blood Knight like her would exude when the opportunity for them to fight comes to pass.
• Know When to Fold 'Em: Perseus runs away when facing Ritsuka, Jack, Lancer, and Tachie.
• Kung-Fu Wizard: In addition to summoning Shadow Servants, Ritsuka fends off Medea's Dragon Tooth Warriors largely through the hand-to-hand combat he received from the various Servants he summoned at Chaldea, pulverizing them with his bare fists and gratuitous use of his Mystic Code's Instant Enhancement ability. He also challenges Shinji to a fist fight while his Shadow Ushiwakamaru takes on Rider, knocking him out cold with a well-timed Diving Kick. That said, he's much better at the "kung fu" part than the "wizard" part, as Ritsuka is an Inept Mage with only one Magic Circuit and needs Mystic Codes to help him cast basic spells. Even with his training, Ritsuka is no match for Kuzuki's Confusion Fu and Caster's superior Reinforcement magecraft, resulting in Ritsuka's broken arm when they come to blows.
• Lady Looks Like a Dude: Discussed. After Jack calls Ritsuka "Mommy", Shinji briefly comes to the conclusion that Ritsuka is a really ugly woman. Ritsuka retorts that he's a very nice looking woman, a reference to the time he spent crossdressing in Shinjuku.
• Laser-Guided Amnesia:
  • Rin wipes Shirou's memories of Lancer and Archer's fight, as Lancer went after Ritsuka instead of Shirou. This means that Shirou is never chased to his home or forced to summon Saber to defend himself.
  • Shinji recruits his classmate Hane to help him look for strange occurrences by stealing a bulletin board and a stack of newspapers from the local library. Hane is still present when Ritsuka, Rin, and Shirou begin discussing the supernatural, prompting Rin to hypnotize him to forget all of this and head back home after Hane hears too much.
• Leaning on the Fourth Wall:
  • Ritsuka tells Rider that he's not some kind of magic man who could instantly convince people to change their ways or get them to fall in love with him with a pretty speech in a tongue-in-cheek Take That! of general depictions of him in the story of the original game.
  • Jack remembers Jeanne d'Arc Santa Alter Lily's name as "Jeanne Spam d'Arc Spam Alter Spam Santa Spam Lily Spam" in a mockery of the overuse of Servant labels.
• Look Behind You: While fighting Rin, Ritsuka suddenly tells her to look behind her. She is insulted and asks if he thinks she's stupid, forcing him to blast a mud girl before she can attack Rin.
• Lotus-Eater Machine: After Ritsuka gets kidnapped by Zouken, he finds himself in a dream world where Team A survived and he happily gets taught by and goes on adventures with them.
• Madness Mantra: Jack's killer instincts kick in when confronted with innumerable mud copies of Ritsuka, her thoughts filling nothing but the thought of, "Dismember. Dismember. Dismember. Dismember. Dismember. Dismember. Dismember."
• Magical Eye: As the infamous Medusa, Rider's eyes are able to turn anything they see into stone. But doing so is taxing on her, so she usually seals them with Breaker Gorgon until Ritsuka comes up with the idea of using the glasses Sigurd made for him as makeshift Mystic Eye Killers.
• Magnetic Hero: Ritsuka has a natural charisma that makes it easy to like him. He's able to quickly get along with Rider thanks to his knowledge of the version of her at Chaldea, and Shinji finds himself enjoying Ritsuka's presence despite actively plotting to double cross him. This is also why he's able to keep Chaldea intact despite hosting more than 200 Servants of differing backgrounds who would otherwise be at each other's throats. That said, Ritsuka admits that his charm isn't omnipotent and underestimates how badly Caster wants to remain with Souichirou, failing to talk her down despite knowing her True Name.
• Making a Splash: While surrounded by "mud girls", Ritsuka orders his Shadow Fionn to use his Noble Phantasm to blast them away with a surge of water.
• Major Injury Underreaction: After getting an Impaled Palm courtesy of Rider, Ritsuka is more annoyed that Shinji isn't a minion of Beryl's for him to punch than the whole problem of bleeding out through the gaping hole in his hand. He even forgets that he's bleeding out until he starts feeling lightheaded partway through the fight.
  Shinji: [grinning evilly] You think that you can come and try to screw with our Holy Grail War?
  Ritsuka: [steadily losing interest] Oh, you’re just here about the Grail War? Man, I got my hand stabbed for that? What the hell…?
• Master of None: Aside from his sky-high Servant compatibility, Ritsuka isn't a master in any of his crafts and is repeatedly punished for it. His magical sensitivity is untrained and he can't follow ambient energy without the help of others. He also can't teach Shirou anything due to only knowing the bare essentials. He needs to follow a recipe to come anywhere near EMIYA's level of cooking and even the martial arts he shows off are an improvised MMA style cobbled together from the basics of different disciplines. And it shows when Souichirou curb-stomps him in hand-to-hand combat.
• Metaphorically True:
  • To convince Shirou to let him stay at the Emiya household for the time being, Ritsuka comes up with a story that he's homeless after his parents died three years ago in a fire. It sounds plausible enough, though it leaves out the very important detail that they were incinerated with the rest of humanity before being killed again by the Alien God after history was restored.
  • After letting slip that Chaldea can summon Servants, Ritsuka tells Rin that he knows his way around summoning a Servant or two... helpfully leaving out that he's summoned closer to two hundred Servants.
• Mirror Match:
  • Ritsuka gets past Assassin by both appealing to his knowledge of Musashi and allowing him to fight a Shadow version of himself, which interests Assassin enough for him to simply let Ritsuka into Ryuudou Temple under the pretense of being occupied with his Shadow counterpart.
  • Rider and Perseus summon Pegasus at the same time and duel each other while riding them.
• Mission Control: Ritsuka is normally able to contact Chaldea for information and navigation. But having dreamed himself into another world, he has no ability to contact them, and they're only able to send him Jack with a package of Saint Quartz and tools.
• Mistaken from Behind: Ritsuka sees someone who resembles Mash and is lugging her shield from behind and joyfully runs to her. It turns out to actually be Tachie, the Stray Shielder with a grudge against Shirou.
• Morality Chain: Jack would have gone on a killing spree in Fuyuki if not for her fear of being scolded by Ritsuka, instead venting her impulses on the mud copies of him that have been sprouting up around the city.
• Mr. Exposition: As an Experienced Protagonist, Ritsuka is pleased to be able to take this role for once, explaining what Saint Quartz is to Shinji while doing his best Holmes impression. There are gaps in his knowledge though, as his lack of a formal magic education means that he has no idea who Zelretch is despite knowing what the Second Magic is.
• Mythology Gag:
  • After using Jason as a Human Shield against Heracles, Greece's greatest hero is sent into an Unstoppable Rage. The narration punctuates this by stating, "And Berserker went berserk.", referencing the oft-quoted literal translations of redundant lines in the Fate franchise and paraphrasing Semiramis.
  • When Ritsuka decides to cook fish for lunch, Lancer appears as a fishmonger selling red snapper and seabream, referencing one of his many part-time jobs in Today's Menu for the Emiya Family.

N to Z

• Neck Lift: Perseus grabs Rider by the throat, lifts her into the sky, then throws her down.
• Nerves of Steel: Ritsuka treats having his hand impaled by Rider's spike as more of a minor annoyance than anything and stares down Berserker while having the gall to use Jason to purposefully piss off Greece's greatest hero to lure him away from Shirou. His ability to remain perfectly calm in high-tension situations confuses Rider, who wonders what the hell he went through to get to this point. But after successfully fleeing from Berserker, his legs turn to jello as he finally lets his fear seep in, showing that he's far from a Fearless Fool.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Due to presenting himself as Ritsuka Tohsaka at Homurahara as an excuse to speak to Rin, Sakura comes to the false conclusion that he's yet another replacement for her as a Tohsaka, further undermining her mental stability and bringing her closer to unleashing the Shadow.
• The Nicknamer: Jack doesn't remember anyone's names. When the story is being narrated from her perspective, she instead attaches descriptors to them. EMIYA is "red cook man", Kojiro is "long sword man", Xuanzang is "crybaby lady who calls Mommy her disciple", Medea is "funny toy-making lady", and so on.
• Noble Demon: Perseus is a cold blooded killer, but he objects to Zouken interrupting his fight with Rider by destroying the Book of the False Attendant and forcing her to return to Sakura. He also rescues an innocent family that was endangered by the battle.
• No-Sell: Ritsuka and Jack try to flee Perseus with The Mist, but he is unaffected by the poisonous fog and is somehow able to track them.
• Oddly Named Sequel 2: Electric Boogaloo: The second sidestory chapter starring Jack is titled: "Jack's Adventures Part 2: Electric Boogaloo".
• Oh, Crap!:
  • This is Lancer's reaction to seeing Ritsuka summon the Guardian of Dún Scáith to fight. He even stops to complain about her dual wielding Gáe Bolgs until he realizes that Ritsuka's Shadow Servant lacks the Killing Intent of the real thing.
  • In summoning Shadow Scáthach to fight Lancer, Ritsuka realizes he said too much in front of a massive Blood Knight who is eager to test what Ritsuka had learned from the Guardian of Dún Scáith.
  • Ritsuka has this reaction again when Caster commands her Servant Saber to unleash her Noble Phantasm, resulting in Saber Alter unleashing Excalibur Morgan.
  • Shinji is completely scared when Sakura tells him Zouken ordered him to come home.
• Older Than They Look: Illya is 18 by the events of the story, and Ritsuka is put off by how casually she orders Berserker to murder Shirou when compared to the Illya he knows who is in elementary school. He then compares her to Sitonai, who could be similarly cruel and dangerous.
• Ominous Fog: Weaponized by Jack's Noble Phantasm, The Mist: Darkened Misty Metropolis, as Jack always killed her victims at night in the fog. It produces the poisonous smog that once covered Victorian London, burning the throats of living creatures while obscuring their vision and sense of direction. Even Servants will have their parameters reduced by this Bounded Field, allowing Jack to use it as temporary cover to help Ritsuka escape Berserker. She can also direct it to create "safe zones" around those she doesn't want to affect, such as Ritsuka.
• Ordinary High-School Student: Ritsuka was born with a measly one magic circuit out of dumb luck and had no knowledge of the supernatural until he was brought to Chaldea. Flashbacks show him struggling to handle his responsibilities as humanity's last Master, though he's anything but ordinary in the present thanks to years of training and experience as he's settled into his role.
• Paper Tiger: Downplayed. Ritsuka summons a Shadow Servant of Scáthach when he is about to get speared through the chest by Lancer. The sight of his mentor freezes the Child of Light in his tracks, especially since she's dual wielding Gáe Bolgs. But he quickly realizes that this construct lacks the overwhelming bloodlust of his mentor, and while it puts up a fight against him, Cú dispatches it relatively easily.
• Parental Substitute: Ritsuka acts as Jack's "Mommy", trying to teach her right from wrong and limit her murderous impulses to monsters and Servants. He also cooks for her, praises her when she does well, and gives her all the affection she and the many other spirits that make up her form lacked in life.
• Past Experience Nightmare: Ritsuka has a nightmare of all the Lostbelt Kings and Wodime asking why he destroyed their Lostbelts and condemned their people to oblivion. This is followed by a nightmarish version of Mash beckoning him to rest rather than continue until they're all burned away by the King of the Cavern. It's implied that Rider is responsible for this through her Breaker Gorgon as a means of probing Ritsuka.
• Person of Mass Destruction: Rider and Perseus' battle ends up wrecking several vehicles and buildings from their sheer strength and speed.
• Pet the Dog: Gilgamesh, even though he Took a Level in Jerkass, still treats Ritsuka with more respect that any other human save for Kotomine. Even when Ritsuka disagrees with Gil over his modern view of humanity and is willing to stand against him, he laughs it off and is content to stop his plans should Ritsuka succeed in convincing him of humanity's potential even in the modern world. It helps that Ritsuka played a huge part in stopping Tiamat from sinking Uruk, giving him a lot of magnanimity and leeway in getting away with his words.
• Poor Communication Kills: Chaldea's EMIYA refused to share his past. As a result, Ritsuka has no idea what Shirou's past traumas are and no idea how to help him out of his self-destructive mindset.
• Pronoun Trouble: While Jack appears in the form of a little girl, she is actually the conglomeration of the grudges and resentments of all of the unwanted, aborted, and abandoned children of Victorian England. That's why she refers to herself as "we" rather than "I", though she responds to female pronouns when used to refer to her.
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Perseus calls Shinji out on his cowardice, inability to commit to his ideals, and wanting to save the world for the glory instead of to help people.
• Running Away to Cry: In a flashback to the events of Orleans, Ritsuka knows he has to put up a strong front for the sake of everyone counting on him. So he sneaks away from the campsite at night to pound a tree with his fist in frustration and cry Tears of Fear over his feelings of inadequacy and powerlessness as an Ordinary High-School Student with the weight of the world on his shoulders.
• Sacrificed Basic Skill for Awesome Training: Ritsuka is a skilled practitioner of numerous martial arts from across history, including bajiquan and pankration. This is on top of being a skilled strategist and an unparalleled Magnetic Hero. But his duties as a Master and the rigors of physical training have left him woefully inadequate in the magical department beyond the bare basics, which leaves him stuck in a rut while trying to track down Caster. as he usually has Mash and Chaldea to point him in the right direction as his ability to sense ambient magical energy is unrefined. Luckily, Rider and Lancer are able to tell him where to go.
• Saving the World: As Chaldea's last Master, Ritsuka has saved the world time and again from Demon Gods, Beasts, and even Outer Gods. Shinji mocks the absurdity of such a thing, but Ritsuka offers Shinji and a chance to do so and prove himself to Zouken.
  Ritsuka: Matou Shinji. You want to prove to everyone that you're worthy of becoming the Matou successor? Then help me. Together, we'll save the world. There's no better way to prove it than doing something so grand, right?
  Shinji: [staring before laughing] Saving the world? What do you think this is, some sort of anime? This game wouldn't threaten the world!
  Ritsuka: [dead serious] When Chaldea's involved, the stakes are very rarely any lower.
• Seen It All:
  • Not a whole lot surprises Ritsuka anymore given how he's scraped through one hopeless situation after another as humanity's sole Master. The Nerves of Steel he has developed serves him well as he tries to figure out what's going on without the aid of a Servant until he gets Rider on his side and later Jack the Ripper as backup. Medusa can tell from his eyes alone that he's seen hell.
  • Ritsuka's indifference is increasingly downplayed as more and more details pop up about the Holy Grail War. He first learns that a Gilgamesh who is willing to cull all of humanity is participating in this Holy Grail War. Then he learns that the overseer is Kirei Kotomine which gives him painful flashbacks to Anastasia's assault on Chaldea. After that, a Shielder-class Servant who looks nearly identical to Mash appears out of the blue. It gets to the point that he mutters, "What the hell is wrong with this timeline?" multiple times in response to what he sees.
• Shout-Out:
  • The title references Vincent van Gogh's The Starry Night.
  • Ritsuka shouts "Shoryuken!" while uppercutting a Dragon Tooth Warrior with a Gandr-charged first.
  • Ritsuka sings "Sorairo Days" while in the middle of cooking dinner for Jackie, Rider, and the Emiya household, owing to Ritsuka's own love of mecha anime like Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann.
  • Ritsuka summons Fairy Knight Lancelot by performing an Accel Synchro Summon.
• Signature Attack: Ritsuka recognizes the Dragon Bone Warriors sent after him as the work of either Medea, Medea Lily, or Circe. He concludes that they're Medea's given that they're not Circe's style.
• Sleepyhead: Ritsuka is so tired after a tense encounter with Gilgamesh that he considers just passing out in the hallway rather than going to his room. He also canonically survived the explosion in the Command Room that killed or disabled the other forty-seven Masters because he dozed off in the middle of Olga Marie's speech even while standing up, which got him booted out and inadvertently sent to safety.
• Stealth Expert: Thanks to her A+ in Agility and Presence Concealment, Jack is able to scout all of Fuyuki while looking for Ritsuka without ever raising any alarm bells.
• Stepford Smiler: As quirky as Ritsuka is, his optimism and silliness hides the enormous amount of pain and responsibility he feels as the last hope for Proper Human History and his role in destroying the Lostbelts. Rider uses her Breaker Gorgon to terrorize his dreams with reminders of his actions before the King of the Cavern chases her away.
• Strong Family Resemblance: Subverted. Despite looking like they ought to be family, Rin and Ritsuka have no known relation to one another. But when Ritsuka shows up to school as "Ritsuka Tohsaka", everyone buys it because of how similar their features are, commenting on the resemblance.
• Suicide Attack: Ritsuka has his Shadow Arash use his Noble Phantasm, Stella, to destroy the mud girls surrouding him, the backlash of the attack destroying the Shadow Servant in the process.
• Superpower Russian Roulette: Zouken introduces Shinji to a mysterious stranger who offers him a potion that could potentially awaken his Magic Circuits and allow him to perform Magecraft and summon his own Servant, but warns him that if it doesn't work, he'll die. Eager to be special, Shinji drinks it and collapses while screaming in pain. It ends up working.
• Supreme Chef:
  • Shirou is an excellent home cook as usual, but Ritsuka finds himself somewhat disappointed with it after spending years with EMIYA and his cooking. Ritsuka then wonders if EMIYA spoiled him.
  • Jack also remembers EMIYA as "red cook man" rather than his name.
• Sword and Sorcerer: Caster is guarded by her Master and lover Souichirou Kuzuki. While Caster is a nearly unparalleled magus, Souichirou is a master of a Confusion Fu fighting style. Caster reinforces him with her magecraft to allow him to battles Servants, breaking Ritsuka's arm with a single blow and fighting off Jack when she rushes to defend her Mommy.
• Taken for Granite: Rider's eyes are able to turn anything they look at to stone. Because of this, she usually seals them with her Noble Phantasm, Breaker Gorgon, though Sigurd's rune-enhanced eyeglasses work well enough as Mystic Eye Killers.
• Take Off Your Clothes: When Shinji gains powers, he checks his hands for Command Spells but doesn't find any. Perseus tells him to take off his shirt. He gets embarrassed and refuses at first, but it's to show him that his Command Spells appeared on his back.
• Taking the Bullet: Shirou uses his body to shield Illya from Arash Alter's arrow.
• Talking the Monster to Death: Ritsuka tries to appeal to Caster's memories of her little brother to stop her from draining the townsfolk of energy and get her to stand down so they can cooperate. He fails, as Caster understandably sees Ritsuka as emotionally manipulative before Souichirou moves in to crush Ritsuka's arm and fight off Jack.
• Tears of Fear: Back in Orleans, Ritsuka sobs tears of anguish as he struggles to handle his responsibilities as humanity's last Master while also coping with his feelings of powerlessness and guilt over the death of Olga Marie.
• Thief Bag: As the only one able to breach the wall of mud preventing other Servants from entering Fuyuki, Jack is entrusted with a bulging bag of Saint Quartz and various useful magical tools and artifacts for Ritsuka to use.
• This Is Reality: Shinji scoffs at Ritsuka's offer to help him save the world, asking Ritsuka if he thinks he's in some kind of anime. This retort is cut short by Ritsuka lowering his voice to a dead serious tone that stands in stark contrast to the otherwise Hot-Blooded and silly person Shinji had seen prior to this.
• Thoroughly Mistaken Identity: As she tends to do, Brynhildr Alter attacks Lancer after mistaking him for Sigurd, no matter how many times he corrects her or introduces himself.
• Throw the Dog a Bone: Shinji competently investigates the many disappearances and presents his findings to Ritsuka, Shirou, and Rin. Ritsuka praises him, and he is visibly thrown that someone is actually praising him for something.
• The Unchosen One: By his own admission, Ritsuka was only brought to Chaldea to fill a quota, being the least qualified mage who only got in due to his absurdly high Master compatibility. He's not a born hero or someone expected to do great things, but he gradually rose to the challenge and has saved the world time and again.
• Unstoppable Rage: Even while driven to the depths of madness by his class, Berserker is outraged that Ritsuka would use the image of Jason as a Human Shield against him. Because of this, he refuses to listen to even Illya's commands and goes on a warpath against Ritsuka, just as the latter had hoped.
• Villain Takes an Interest:
  • Gilgamesh gets a vision of the events of the Seventh Singularity: Babylonia, and witnesses his living counterpart Taking the Bullet for Ritsuka before seeing Enkidu bind Tiamat. The image is so moving to him that he wears an expression that Kotomine has never seen before while eagerly awaiting his meeting with Ritsuka.
  • When they finally meet again face-to-face, Ritsuka is appalled that the proud king who put everything on the line to protect Uruk and humanity has degraded into a tyrant willing to burn it all to the ground so he can rule over what's left, calling the current Gilgamesh no better than the gods he rebelled against. While Gilgamesh is initially annoyed by Ritsuka's retort, he soon finds Ritsuka's resistance to him refreshing and bursts out laughing, offering to stop his plans if Ritsuka can discover the source of the mud girls before four Servants are defeated. If Ritsuka fails, Gilgamesh will throw him headfirst into the Grail as the price for failing to meet expectations.
• Weak, but Skilled:
  • Ritsuka's abilities as a magus are middling at best given that he possesses only one magic circuit, and he scoffs at Shinji's accusation that he's a hotshot magus. But he's perhaps the most experienced Master of all and rigorously trained by the greatest warriors across history. As a result, he's able to ward off Rider with nothing but Shadow Servants and defend himself against weaker enemies like Dragon Tooth Warriors with his bare fists and his Mystic Code's Instant Enhancement ability.
  • This also extends to his command of Shadow Servants. They simply don't compare to the real thing, but Ritsuka's tactics and knowledge of the identities of the Servants of the Fifth Holy Grail War lets him use them cleverly to take them by surprise, such as using Scáthach's image to freeze Lancer in place. He later does the same with Jason and Chiron to stop Berserker's charge as well as lead him away from Shirou.
• Wham Episode:
  • Chapter 9 "Assault on Mount Enzou! A Darkness in the Light!": Medea reveals she summoned Saber Alter as well as Sasaki Kojiro.
  • Chapter 10 "Aftermath. Questions Answered, Questions Recieved.": Ritsuka's party runs into Tachie, the Stray Shielder with a grudge against Shirou, causing Ritsuka to realize the timeline is all kinds of messed up.
  • Chapter 11 "The Truth Shall Set You Free, but at what Cost?": When Ritsuka, Rider, and Bazett attempt to retrieve Bazett's Fragarach, it gets stolen by Perseus from Fate/Prototype.
  • Chapter 16 "Confrontations!": Shinji managed to get Command Spells and form a contract with Perseus. It is also revealed that Perseus was masquerading as Shinji's friend Hane the whole time.
  • Chapter 18 "When One Story Ends": Perseus reveals they are in a Singularity that will be pruned in a few days, so he no longer cares about hiding from the public since everyone is going to die anyway. Zouken remembers the London Singularity and captures Ritsuka.
  • Chapter 25 "Enforcing the Hero's Resolve": Brynhildr and Prototype Cu Chulainn, who have become Alters due to the Grail Mud, attack Lancer. Shirou finally manages to summon Saber, but his group is attacked by Arash Alter.
• Worf Had the Flu:
  • As Bazett is still recovering from being attacked, when she gets into a chase, she lags behind and collapses.
  • Ritsuka is forced to fight Rin while suffering from a broken arm.
• Wowing Cthulhu: Seeing Ritsuka's defiance to his plans and outright refusal to follow him, Gilgamesh is so impressed that he gives him a chance to convince him that there is potential in modern humanity. Should Ritsuka succeed, Gilgamesh will abandon his plans.
• Wrestler in All of Us: When facing down Medea's crocodile-shaped Dragon Tooth Warrior, Ritsuka combines the Instant Enhancement effect of his Mystic Code with some of Chiron's pankration to take the crocodile to Suplex City, crumbling it into dust.
• You Are Better Than You Think You Are: The mysterious stranger says Zouken gave up on Shinji and called him worthless when he didn't have Magecraft, but he doesn't see it that way. He praises Shinji's intelligence and offers him a potion to awaken his Magic Circuits to give him a chance to live up to his potential.
• You Have GOT to Be Kidding Me!: Lancer is hard-pressed to deal with both Brynhildr and Prototype Cu Alter. He tries to turn them against each other by pointing out that since he and Prototype Cu have the same face, she should also see him as Sigurd. It doesn't work when she says only Lancer is Sigurd, causing him to complain.

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