Fate Series: Kiritsugu Emiya (ISTP)

Ti:

“Knights call certain methods of fighting good and others evil, acting as if there were some sacred nobility to the battlefield. Such illusions created by heroes throughout history have led countless young men to their bloody deaths, all for the sake of this glory and honor they all extol.”

“The ability to pull a trigger to kill regardless of your feelings is a skill most killers take many years to fully develop. You had that skill from the very start.”  – Natalia to Kiritsugu

“Of course not. Personal feelings don’t enter into it.”

For the most part, Kiritsugu is calm, emotionless, and silent. His ability to put down his emotions allows him to make hard decisions in an apathetic manner, which is not to say that he never regrets them later. A good example is when he kills Natalia, the mother figure in his life. He doesn’t appear to struggle with the decision. He speaks to her calmly up until the moment that he pulls the trigger. The emotional backlash doesn’t come crashing out until a little later. He essentially portrays the characteristic ‘dead inside’ appearance that many Ti doms are known for, showing no emotional extreme including anger.

Kiritsugu makes little effort to control those around them. He prefers to do things himself, and doesn’t try to use Saber in any significant way. Whenever Saber questions Kiritsugu’s behavior, his default reaction is to ignore her, rather than impress upon her the value of his actions. When younger, working under Natalia, he also makes little effort to assert himself, even when he disagrees with her trying to land the plane. This all suggests a lack of Te.

The defining moment for his Ti surfaces after he kills off Lancer and Lancer’s master. Saber, angry at his underhanded actions, demands an explanation. Of course, as mentioned earlier, Kiritsugu tries to ignore her completely, and would have if not for Irisviel’s protests. In his answer, he rationalizes away the value of honor and ideals, claiming that war is war and nobility on the battlefield is merely an illusion. Heroes just blind people to reality. Immoral low Fi users often feel the need to crush other people’s ideals and display a hate for weakness. You don’t see this with Kiritsugu, considering the fact that he’s constantly ignoring Saber’s protests. However, in this example, when forced to explain himself, he simply rationalizes ideals away as meaningless.

Se:

“Anyone who let’s their fantasies get the better of them, will never have the wherewithal to win this battle.”

“Kiritsugu Emiya. His assassinations were always carried out in clusters over a relatively short period of time. During the same general time periods, he appeared in a number of war zones, but only when the combat was at its fiercest. It was almost as if he had some obsession with chasing his own death.” – Kirei Kotomine

Kiritsugu up until the Holy Grail War is a freelance assassin, primarily working alone or with one other. While he doesn’t often fight people directly, he prefers to be more hands-on and in the center of the action. This can easily be seen in his approach to the Holy Grail War. Even though he summons the most powerful servant, he doesn’t really want to use her as a key component in his plan or hide behind her. Rather, he places himself near every scene of battle and attempts to take down the other masters himself, or in tandem with his partner. Saber tends to be used as a distraction or to defend Irisviel. Kiritsugu sees people as tools in his arsenal, to be used to complete a task, much like the way he uses magic. He doesn’t rely on magic, but uses it primarily to enhance his physical person (like time warp to accelerate himself) or to enhance his weaponry, which seems like an Se application.

As a child, Kiritsugu also decides to kill his father himself, rather than letting Natalia do it, which can suggest Se. He also at one point expresses a desire to run away with Irisviel, away from the Grail War entirely, but she discourages this. In general, Kiritsugu isn’t shown considering all of the possibilities. He’s overall very quiet, and doesn’t speculate into open air. He typically springs into action quickly and decisively. He’s not shown mulling over ways he might be able to save Natalia; he simply realizes that he must kill her to prevent the future harm that she was going to cause. While one may expect an Se user to be more impulsive, Kiritsugu is not a dominant user, and his training and job experience have caused him to be far more calculated and patient.

Ni:

“He must have some reason we don’t know about to want the Grail, but I can’t even begin to imagine what it is, and that terrifies me.”

Kiritsugu is very underhanded in his methods. He states that he would have preferred to have summoned a caster or an assassin, because either would have been more suited to him. Kiritsugu also creates a contract which he and Lancer’s master enter into an agreement, preventing Kiritsugu from being able to kill the man. Kiritsugu then essentially exploits a loophole by having his partner kill the man instead. His tendency to break and bend rules is easily seen for the entirety of the series. He sees no value in following the traditional rules and methodology, and rather, operates in a manner not at all typical of a mage in the Holy Grail War, which is the result of his combination of Ti-Ni. Of course, this mindset spans into his personal life where he openly cheats while playing a game with his daughter, claiming that what he found was basically the same as a chestnut bud, ergo it counted. That also demonstrates a lack of Si.

Lastly, Kiritsugu uses his Ni to understand and predict his opponents. Kiritsugu actually admits being terrified of Kirei because he is unable to imagine what Kirei’s motivation for being in the war is.

Fe:

“I will break this endless cycle. The grail will make that possible. I’ll ensure that the blood I spill in Fuyuki is the last that humanity will ever shed. If that means I must stain my hands with every evil in the world, I don’t care. If that will save the world then I do it gladly.”

Kiritsugu ultimately holds ideals, desiring to eliminate all conflict. Most of his immoral actions are committed with that end in mind. He also doesn’t draw any specific lines as to what is right and what is wrong, and never attempts to impress upon anyone the value in his actions, which suggests a lack of Fi. He is willing to use anyone, or do anything, even if it hurts those close to him. In addition, he is generally disconnected from his own emotions, which is why he appears emotionless most of the time. His inferior Fe causes a delay in processing his own emotions. An example can be seen when he has to kill Natalia. He initially just sits there stunned before finally having a sudden outburst of extreme emotion.