Saber (Fate/Crossover - Kaede)

**Saber** (セイバー, *Seibā*) is the servant of ??? in the ??? Holy Grail War.

*"So this was your first time? The Blade of the Living Heart stings painfully, does it not?"* - Kaede

## Profile

### Identity

Saber's true identity is **Kaede**, a character who is considered to be the main protagonist of the Last Blade series.

Kaede was adopted at a young age by a legendary swordsman named Gaisai, who also adopted and trained Yuki and Moriya. As he aged, Kaede became an avid swordsman and powerful warrior, surprising even himself. One day, when he was twelve, he and Yuki returned from an errand to discover their master slain and Moriya standing over his corpse. Enraged, Kaede physically attacked him for the (presumed) killing of their master. Moriya withstood the attack and left in silence.

Shortly thereafter, Kaede and Yuki depart their foster home to avenge the death of their master and confront the killer. Five years on their quest, he still searches for Moriya. He eventually discovers that the real killer of his master was one of the four guardians of hell, Shinnosuke Kagami. He engages him, but the guardian's superior skill quickly overpowers him. However, it is revealed that Kaede possesses the power of the legendary dragon Seiryu, one of the Four Sacred Beasts of Chinese mythology. He can transform with the beast's power, changing various physical aspects and giving him additional power. With his transformation into "awakened Kaede" , he defeats Kagami.

After honing his skills and learning to control the power of the Seiryū to a greater extent, Kaede and Yuki set off for Okina in order to find more information. When they arrive, they discover that the “Sealing Rite” needs to be performed, for a great evil threatens the world. This rite is to be performed by a special maiden, but a warrior named the "Messenger From Afar" seeks to assassinate her and prevent her from performing it. Kaede sets out to protect the maiden and to allow her to accomplish her mission. The name "Kaede" means "maple".

### Personality

Kaede is humble and polite for his age, modest about his accomplishments and careful about how he perceives himself to others. At first, he is reluctant to release Seiryū's power, afraid of the possibility of letting his other half becoming dominate and subsequently berserk with power. He has mixed impressions for Moriya as he respects his brother but is also a little envious of his freedom from the Four Sacred Beasts.

As Awakened Kaede, he is transformed into a cocky and brash warrior with a more rough way of speaking compared to his prior soft voice, a trait that slowly but subtly mellows as the series progresses. By Last Blade 2, Kaede establishes complete control over his awakening and uses Seiryū's power more effectively.

In his normal form, Kaede uses the Japanese pronoun "boku" to refer to himself; when awakened, he refers to himself with "ore" instead.

## Abilities

Much like traditional sword styles and like the Kasshin style itself, normal Kaede's sword strikes are frequently two-handed (as well as holding his sword in both hands in his idle stance), and his special moves all have the "Ittō" (One Blade) naming before them. His moves mostly have a wind motif about them due to his katana's name (such as Hayate/Squall, Kūga/Air Fang, Ara Uchi/Tempest Conquer and for his awakened form, Oite/Tailwind).

While when awakened, his skill increases by quite a bit as he swings his blade on the same line and manner as his normal form, only one-handed (even in his idle stance). All his special moves instead have the "Shinmei" (, Early Glow) naming before them, and all involve radical control over lightning, as well as gaining/making a few new techniques of his own and adding a personal spice to them (due to the radical change in personality Kaede has in his awakened form). Though both forms' DM's have the "Kasshin" naming before them; his awakened form in the second game as a nod to this during his strongest SDM yells out "Kasshin Saishū Ōgi!" (Lively Heart Final Secret Skill!) upon connecting; normal Kaede is even able to channel a portion of Seiryū's power, suggesting that Gaisei taught him to also hone such energy as a last resort.

### Skills

#### Personal Skills

* Kasshin Ittō-ryū (B Rank): As the name suggests, the style is meant to tame Kaede's temptations to depend on Seiryū. Throughout the series, he attempts to carefully control Seiryū enough to simply increase his natural skill and power slightly.

* Mana Burst (Lightning) (C Rank): Kaede can enhance and control electricity, thanks to the power granted by Seiryu and his own awakened. This skill can allow Kaede to summon lightning from the sky and from the ground up.

* Seiryū (EX Rank): Benevolent and powerful ruler of the east. In Japan, it's said to drink from the waterfall within Kiyomizu Temple at nighttime. It's possessor gains the power of electrokinesis.

### Noble Phantasm

#### **Seiryū Kakusei; "True Possessor of the Thunder Dragon"**

An Anti-Self Noble Phantasm that alloes Kaede to harbor the power of Seiryū and transform into an awakened state.

The state when Kaede gives in to Seiryū's influence is called "Awakening", and can transform into “Awakened Kaede” (, Kakusei Kaede). When Awakened, Kaede's hair turns blonde, and his eyes turn red. He becomes less gentle and more impulsive, but still retains his sense of good and justice. In this form, Kaede has greater control over his electric powers, which were granted by Seiryū. By the time of The Last Blade 2, Kaede has established refined control over his awakening.

#### **Kasshin Soryu; "Lively Heart: Azure Dragon"**

Kaede stabs his opponent, then does a strong Shinmei Kuga, releasing a lightning dragon that travels upwards.

### Quotes

* *"So now you want to live? You dare face me when you are not prepared to die?"* - Kaede
* *"I'll show you!"* - Kaede's Combat Start 1
* *"Stay calm!"* - Kaede's Combat Start 2
* *"Is that all you got?"* - Kaede's Battle Finish 1
* *"How's that? No performance anxiety here!"* - Kaede's Battle Finish 2
* *"By the Seiryu, I will not lose!"* - Kaede's Battle Finish 3
* *"I'll prove to you that I can take this seriously!"* - Kaede to Yuki
* *"Now you understand the differance in my strength?"* - Kaede to Moriya Minakata
* *"Don’t get too chummy. It makes it harder to slice you."* - Kaede to Akari
* *"So now you want to live? You dare face me when you are not prepared to die?"* - Kaede
* *"You should have yielded. Be grateful that mostly it is your pride that's hurt."* - Kaede

## References

https://snk.fandom.com/wiki/Kaede

https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Characters/TheLastBlade