Saber (Fate/Crossover - Hiko Seijūrō XIII)

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

"Because you've slain so many people, you don't even value your own life. That's what allows the manslayer that lies deep within your true heart to take over your soul. Live on, Kenshin. That way you'll be able to use the Amakakeru Ryu no Hirameki as you please and you'll never again lose to the manslayer within you." - Hiko Seijūrō XIII

## Profile

### Identity

Saber's true identity is Hiko Seijūrō XIII, the twelfth successor of Hiten Mitsurugi-ryū and the sensei of Himura Kenshin in the anime/manga series Rurouni Kenshin. While incognito as a potter, he assumed the alias Ni'itsu Kakunoshin (新津 覚之進).

### Personality

Hiko is shown to be very sarcastic, egotistical and a punishing taskmaster, often referring to Kenshin as "my stupid/idiot apprentice," and bringing up embarrassing incidents in Kenshin's past to provoke him into training harder. Kenshin describes his personality as "twisted, brusque and misanthropic", being vindictive to the point that he remembers more embarrassing and negative things about a person than who they really are.

He dislikes the complications of socialization, and hearing of the ills of society, both of which he finds annoying, and to the latter's weight, ultimately incessant and depressing. In order to avoid having to work with people, he makes his living as a pottery artist alone on a mountain (a profession that he is reported to excel at). He also comes off as somewhat lazy, professing to have retrained Kenshin to save himself the bother of having to deal with Shishio, and later on, he complains about having to protect Kenshin's friends, after the latter pleads with him to do so (though he does).

Despite this rough exterior, he has a deep sense of responsibility to Kenshin and those he protects in the rare cases when he does get involved. He loves sake, himself, and teasing Kenshin, and while he is frequently seen drinking copious amounts of sake alone, he never becomes drunk. He and Kenshin frequently have bouts of slapstick conflict between them, and although he treats his apprentice rather roughly during training, he does so mainly to only to get his attention; he remarks to him as his idiot apprentice as he desires Kenshin to be more knowledgeable and insightful, while also to see him have more confidence in himself. Also knowing the ultimate destiny as a master of the Hiten Mitsurugi style, he also wants to ensure Kenshin would not bear regrets when that day would come, and for him to know that, despite his rough teachings, that he never wanted his apprentice to be miserable using the style.

His philosophy as a swordsman is that the Hiten Mitsurugi Ryū should be used to protect people from suffering, but only if it is used independently from any political power. He also seems to possess considerable insight, wisdom, and foresight. He was correctly able to predict exactly what would happen to Kenshin if he participated in the revolution, was able to correctly identify Kenshin's psychological problems during their second training, and was able to both explain to Kenshin what was wrong and help him overcome it. Also, during his confrontation with Fuji, he correctly identified Fuji's despair at being so freakishly large that people saw him as a monster and not a warrior, and helped him overcome it by giving him a respectful opponent that he need not hold back against.

Kenshin even states that if Seta Sōjirō had a mentor like Hiko the way he did, rather than Shishio Makoto, things would've turned out much better for him.

Also, unlike Kenshin, he appears to have absolutely no compunctions about killing his enemies, as seen during his first meeting with Kenshin when he slaughters a group of murderous bandits in cold blood. However, during his fight with Fuji, Kaoru notices that he reversed his sword so that only the dull edge hit the giant warrior and so he spared his life and also said that Fuji survived his attack because of his humongous size.

## Abilities

Hiko is the most powerful fighter in the series, vastly superior to all other characters. During Kenshin's second training, while Kenshin seemingly was on par in sheer speed to his master, Hiko in fact greatly suppresses his true capacities beneath his 90-kilogram cloak. Despite this handicap, when Kenshin strikes at Hiko with his "entire body and soul" at one point (devoting all his attention that he falls afterwards and passes out), he only manages to graze one of Hiko's bracers. Ultimately, Kenshin is only able to match his master when unleashing the Amakakeru Ryū no Hirameki. According to Kamiya Kaoru, Hiko's might and level of skill and makes the space measured from his own sword's reach and length from himself into a barrier-like zone which any seasoned fighter would be wise enough to sense and not cross into; taken in the context of martial arts and kendo, Hiko's ma'ai is at such a level of skill that, if one were to enter this zone, it would only mean instantaneous defeat.

Unlike Kenshin and most other wielders of his style, Hiko has perfectly mastered the Hiten Mitsurugi Ryū, able to wield and perform all of its techniques, skills, and methods to the maximum limit. This is because of his superbly muscular and peak-developed body, which lets him use the legendary style regularly and for long durations without any debilitating side-effects, as the Hiten-Mitsurugi-Ryu puts so much strain on a body that it will gradually cause permanent damage to a user with any less of a conditioned body than Hiko himself. This also gives him a distinct tactical advantage of surpassing the style's normal limits, letting him go beyond god-speed without the need of battōjutsu strikes or actual running to reach speeds faster than the human eye can detect. His absolute mastery of this style even makes him one of few wielders in history able to use the Hiten Mugen Zan, an attack of such speed and power that it can utterly destroy the ground before him and unleash a countless barrage of slashes due to its unperceivable speed.

In addition to pushing himself to peak human conditioning, Hiko possesses tremendous sheer physical strength, able to block the gigantic swinging blade of Fuji and repel it. A highly versatile swordsman, he is proficient in a variety of attack methods, including wielding his blade backwards or with either hand with equal efficiency. He is also equally proficient in hand-to-hand combat, able to seamlessly use both unison. While possessing a superior sense of judgement in combat compared to Kenshin, Hiko is also extremely perceptive and analytical, able to instantly see through his opponent's strengths and weaknesses, letting him easily exploit them, likewise able to understand the nature of his opponents.

Even though Hiko is 43 years old, he looks as if he were in his mid-to late twenties, looking the same as he did to when he first met Kenshin as a young child, and showing no signs of weakening despite being chronologically past his prime. When Hiko told Yahiko and Misao his real age, the two were shocked and pondered if Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu acts as some sort of fountain of youth.

### Noble Phantasm

#### **Kuzuryūsen**

Hiko Seijūrō XIII's signature move, a dashing attack that utilises Shinsoku (Godspeed) to near-simultaneously strike all nine vital spots on the foe's body from a standard sword stance. It is said to be nearly unavoidable and unblockable.

## References

https://kenshin.fandom.com/wiki/Hiko\_Seij%C5%ABr%C5%8D\_XIII

https://vsbattles.fandom.com/wiki/Seijuro\_Hiko