Hajime (Male)

**Hajime** (始, *Hajime*) is the main protagonist of the Freedom Series.

He appears as **Hajime Tohsaka** (遠坂 始, *Tohsaka Emiya*), serving as the male counterpart of the more frequently used and female Hajime, as well as the Master of Rider in the First Irregular Holy Grail War. In the Freedom Series, he is the biological son of Shirou Emiya and Rin Tohsaka.

In the Saison Series as well as the second two books of the Freedom Series, he appears alongside Yōsuke Emiya as Berserker, Summoned by Ritsuka Fujimaru - in the Saison Series he's a secondary character, while in the Freedom Series he is the main character and protagonist.

In The Strange Tales of a Boy Named Genesis, he appears as the vessel of Odysseus. His name is never explicitly mentioned, but Odysseus does refer to him as "the boy named genesis" when asked to introduce his vessel.

## Freedom Series Profile

### Background

Born as Hajime Tohsaka, he is the cheerful and optimistic son of Shirou and Rin. An only-child, his parents gave him plenty of attention and taught him well, but his mother suddenly disappeared when he was twelve.

He and his father did their best to get over the disappearance, but despite his father finally accepting it, Hajime is still shaken by it and he will pummel anyone who directly, indirectly, intentionally or unintentionally insults her.

In 2049, the First Irregular Holy Grail War began and he Summoned Rider, or Zheng He, and with his father's help, managed to make their way through the whole thing, but Shirou dies in a battle with Saber.

However, when he encounters Caren Hortensia, the Overseer, it turns out she was the one who captured his mother for reasons she would not identify and is using her as a vessel for the Grail.

Out of pure anger and hatred, he stabs her through the chest and shoots her several times with his gun.

Being the victor of the War, he wins the Grail. Crying, knowing both his parents, the most important people in his life, had died in this wretched War, he wished to the Grail to be able to save all his other loved ones.

As a result, the Grail (who kinda was his mom oops) grants this, and he dies on the spot and becomes a Counter Guardian; Hajime the Berserker, with the ability of extremely High Speed Regeneration because he has the Affections of the Holy Grail - the result of the vessel of the Grail deeply caring for him and wishing for him to always be able to recover from whatever misfortunes befell him.

However, as a drawback from this ability, he has become a greedy man, partially obsessed with material things, but still retains his deep desire to protect those he holds close.

### Appearance

For a majority of the Freedom Series, Hajime appears as Berserker, with a whopping height of 210 centimeters, with a skinny and muscular figure, spiky white hair and crimson eyes. The changes in pigment are supposedly a result of using his Magecraft a bit too much, but not enough to change his pigments completely, as his ability of High Speed Regeneration resulted in him not needing to take the defensive too much and therefore he does not expend much Mana since it would be a waste.

His red eyes, pale hair, height and sharp teeth are a result of his slight overuse of magecraft, but his skin has yet to darken, which has been a shared trait amongst most other Counter Guardians. The scar on his neck was given to him by Saber back in the First Irregular Holy Grail War, the branding on his lower chest being a result of his pendant fusing with him upon death. (Will be explained in more detail further on.)

However, when he was a human, as a child he frequently wore loose somewhat traditional Japanese clothing, consisting of anything from gray kimono to hakama. His hair was styled not much differently up until he became a Counter Guardian, and around his neck was the amulet Rin had originally used to bring Shirou back to life.

Though it was fairly useless when it was given to him, proving simply as an heirloom of sorts, but as years passed by, Shirou, Rin and Hajime himself poured some Mana into it in case they needed a resort later on. Hajime did not use it throughout the War, but once he wished upon the Grail and was turned into a Counter Guardian, the pendant fused with his body, transforming into the branding on his chest and serves as a last-resort source of Mana; it does not have enough to heal someone from near death, but it holds enough for him to either heal non-mortal wounds, create a D rank shield, or fuel himself.

During the First Holy Grail War, Hajime always wore the same thing; a black dress shirt, red tie, two white belts, and a black suit jacket and pants. A watch from his mother's desk tied around his left wrist, and dark shoes, he's always equipped with a gun, his hair swept backwards and some locks stubbornly remaining hanging over his forehead. In attempt to hold some of them back without too much resistance, he has hairclips to make sure some do not spring out.

When he was alive, his hair was a light brown color, a result of Shirou's bright copper and Rin's dark brown, his dull gold eyes much resembling his father's.

As Berserker, his hair is snow white and spiky, seemingly defying gravity save the small bit that decided it liked being in front of his forehead forever.

### Personality

When he was alive, Hajime was a light-hearted and carefree male, frequently teasing people and attempting to lighten the mood when he can. He was honest and friendly, being responsible (sometimes) and knowing when to take things seriously, making him a generally agreeable person. He could be considered somewhere between True Neutral and Chaotic Neutral; he only follows the laws because he faithfully does what his parents instruct him to do, and thinks that the world in all reality is corrupt and cruel, not that he's wrong.

He only takes what he considered necessary for the result he wanted when he began a task, and more if he thinks that someone else will do wrong with said reward in their own hands.

Once he becomes a Counter Guardian, as a result of having the Affections of the Holy Grail, his charitable behavior takes a complete turn and he becomes greedy and selfish; though he *is* still caring and helps those in need if he considers it worth his time, and he will not steal from those he considers too close to do such a thing to, unless it is to tease them or work them up.

He only acts upon finding something that interests him, on impulse some might say, and will not do something he considers "boring." Hajime becomes very easily surprised and excited, much like a child. However, at times he drops the occasional sagely advice that sometimes sends those around him, usually his Masters, into a state of confusion and wonder of the sudden change of attitude.

### Relationships

#### Shirou Emiya (Father)

Hajime is quite fond of his father and respects him to huge levels, trusting whatever he says to be something he believe to get them both a beneficial result, as Shirou usually only acted upon wishes to help Hajime or both of them, never only himself.

When Shirou died in combat against Saber, Hajime was crestfallen before his own Magecraft went on overload as he gained an ability somewhat alike but not identical to Unlimited Blade Works. The death of his father scarred him forever.

#### Rin Tohsaka

Rin and Hajime were close, and she acted more like an older sister than a mother to him, scolding him in an almost comical way when he did something wrong and huffing at him when he pointed out she was just trying to help him.

However, when Rin disappeared, Hajime began to slowly fall apart, vowing to do his best to survive, which was something his mother had always reminded him to do. When he was told by Caren that she had been used as the vessel for the Holy Grail, he entered a state of blinded rage and killed the white haired girl on the spot.

He is very sensitive about what people say concerning his mother and if it sounds in the slightest negative, you better believe he will beat their ass.

S'cuse my language.

#### Ritsuka Fujimaru

Upon meeting him, Hajime has no particular opinion, only saying that Ritsuka is "Bright..."

He's rather anti-social around his Master at first, simply gazing at him nostalgically, remembering the days when he could be so happy in such a carefree way. Jealous, Hajime tends to avoid Ritsuka in the first few days of being together, causing the boy to become worried.

Eventually when the boy confronts him, Hajime reveals that he too was once a Master, but never explicitly mentions his actual name, simply saying that he's from "some family obsessed with gems and all those shiny things." Deciding not to press, Ritsuka says that no matter what happened to him and what he does, he will keep trying to become Hajime's friend.

Touched by the gesture, as he is used to being abandoned (from previous experiences with other Masters), Hajime smiles a happy and gentle smile, instantly growing fond of the boy.

They quickly grow to have a brother-like bond, Hajime always doting over him and Ritsuka returning the friendly affection.

Shirou Emiya (Archer)

Hajime and Archer have been seen to have an up and down relationship. The two respect each other, and Hajime immediately recognized Archer upon sight, almost excitedly asking him if he remembered him, but upon receiving a negative response, he deflated a bit before telling Archer to forget about it.

Confused, Archer later asks why he had such a response, to which Hajime replies with his theory that Archer is his father but from an alternate universe. Archer, recognizing his first name, explains in surprise that while he never married Rin, he adopted a young girl he also named Hajime, who could potentially be his counterpart.

From there on, they do grow to have somewhat of a father-and-son relationship, but it isn't as close as either had been with their respective previous families.

#### Yōsuke Emiya

Yōsuke overheard Hajime's talk with Archer and was surprised, hearing that Hajime was his mother's counterpart and confronted him soon after to speak with him about it. Hajime is surprised to hear about this before grinning and playfully asking if that means that he's his "uncle or something."

Yōsuke seems to be fine with this, even smiling happily at the thought, and the two hit it off from there, constantly playing tricks and pranks on each other.

## Abilities (Berserker)

### Noble Phantasm

Berserker's Noble Phantasm, **Truth**, is not a very strong Noble Phantasm. It does not deal any damage to the opponent, however it allows him to hone in on openings in the enemy's stance much easier. His sight is enhanced greatly and he can easily predict and avoid their next move. His speed is increased dramatically and while he is using it, never fails to miss.

However that does not mean he is guaranteed a kill.