7 Chapter Seven

Vergil had gone from concerned to frustrated around the time they located the fourth magical circle. They had gone well past the limits of their lunch break, but it seemed like they had made very little progress even when they resumed their hunt after school "There are far too many of these for someone to be sneaking in without anyone noticing," he grumbled as Rin worked on disassembling yet another rune binding the still unidentified field together. "Are you absolutely sure that there's no one who could have possibly done this at the school?"

Rin clicked her tongue as her brow furrowed in concentration. She didn't respond for another few minutes, lost in attempting to unravel the magic. "I thought not, but I'm starting to think the same thing." She pushed herself off her knees and brushed her hands off. "It feels like it has to be someone connected to the school if they can put these literally everywhere. But that means that there's another mage hiding out at school who I've never heard of before…"

Which was probably rather frustrating when she had already missed out on him. Vergil could understand how being left out of the loop troubled her. "Do you suspect another student, or are we dealing with one of the teachers?" Both had their own potential problems. A student would be much harder to track down out of the entire population of the school, and they likely would be actively on the look out for someone trying to find them. A teacher would be easier to narrow down, but they would also be more experienced and considerably more dangerous as a result. Vergil wasn't quite sure which situation was preferable.

"I don't know and that's what bothers me," Rin said with a sigh. "I think we need to split up and keep looking."

Vergil raised an eyebrow. "I thought we were sticking together specifically because I can detect this magic more easily than you can."

"We're going to run out of time to find everything before school closes for the night if we don't hurry," Rin countered with a huff. "I'm starting to recognize them now that I've taken a couple of them apart. We'll be fine working separately."

"We can continue in the morning if you're concerned about being caught out after hours," Vergil suggested. He probably needed to get home at a reasonable time as well if he was going to avoid any awkward questions from Sakura or Miss Fujimura.

Rin just shook her head. "No, I want to get this done now." She hesitated for a moment that made Vergil tenser than the entire afternoon had so far. "There have been strange disappearances over the last couple of days. People showing up injured or hospitalized for no explainable reason. There's at least one mage who doesn't care if they cause collateral while they're prowling the city. I don't want the school to be next on their hit list."

Vergil could see her hands clenched so tight that her knuckles were turning white. "Do you have a cell phone? We can keep in touch easier if I can send you a message."

Rin shook her head again. "I'll have Archer keep an eye on things. If you find something, just call for me and he'll pass the message along."

The half-demon wasn't exactly pleased to have an invisible spirit looking over his shoulder, but it would have to do. "I'll have Saber do the same. Having both of them around in case our mysterious artist shows up would be for the best." Also in case Archer got any bright ideas about eliminating the competition while his guard was down, but there was no reason to provoke her by saying that out loud. Plus, it would just be rude and he liked to think he was the one in his family with some level of class.

The pair separated with a brief nod to each other and Vergil found himself alone again. He sighed and brushed his hair back off his face, holding it up for a moment before he let it fall back. He really needed to see a barber and get a trim. Hair would grow back, but he wanted to be comfortable while he was in this body. Dante could keep a mop on his head if he wanted, but Vergil also liked to think he was the one in his family with some style.

"Saber, are you there?" Vergil kept his voice low, but actually spoke aloud as he walked around the side of the school building.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm here." The blonde knight's voice echoed in his mind, but she didn't bother to make a physical appearance. "Look, if you want help with magic shit, ask your new girlfriend. I dealt with enough for that bullshit from mom and my older brother."

Vergil cocked one eyebrow. "Just checking in. You've been very quiet today and I can't imagine a high school is particularly interesting for you."

"No worse than having to stand at attention and look good at court."

"A fair point." He had never been glad that his father had been an exile long before his birth. He was well aware that the courts of hell were not nearly as refined as the courts of mortal nobility. "Just keep an eye out then. Our enemy might decide to investigate if they notice something is wrong with their spells."

"Same old, same old," Mordred muttered. "At least I might get a good fight at the end of this."

Vergil sighed as she went silent. He certainly couldn't blame her for being bored, but she didn't have to be snippy about it. He let himself come to a stop in front of the one of the buildings, looking up at the empty windows. It wasn't quite evening yet, but it was late enough that the sun was only partially peaking over the rooftop and the building had gone dark. Most of the students had already left for the night, leaving only a handful of stragglers to wrap up club activities for the day.

Come to think of it, the Archery Club was just around the corner, wasn't it? Vergil had distinct memories of spending a great deal of time in their dojo. Or rather Shirou did. He shook himself once and rubbed his temple. He had looked into the teenager's memories because he had to, but he didn't want to get too lost in them. He was only a visitor in this body. He had to remember that.

That said, he hadn't actually visited the archery dojo yet and it was as good a place as any other to hide a magical sigil. He shook himself again and continued his patrol around the building, heading for the small club building at the rear. There likely wouldn't be anyone still around, but that was probably for the best. There would be some awkward questions if he suddenly called Tohsaka to come erase invisible graffiti.

"Hey there." Of course, that would require fate to be on his side for once. Shirou's memories were quite clear about the identity of the purple haired young man coming toward him.

"Shinji," Vergil said smoothly. Shirou had tolerated the boy, but he had no desire to be so soft. But as long as he at least acted distantly polite, he should be able to get through this without having to deal with him. "I was expecting you to have gone home by now."

"Ah, Mitsuzuri stuck me with clean up tonight." Then a distinctly unpleasant smirk crossed his face. "Say, do you think you could do an old friend a solid? I have a date that I'm going to be late for if I stick around here any longer. But the club needs everything cleaned up so they can practice in the morning…"

Vergil knew that Shirou probably would have said yes. He was very tempted to say no, but it would get Shinji out of the way so he could search the dojo. "I can do that," he said with a sigh.

"See, that's what I like about you, Emiya." Shinji strolled over and clapped a hand on his shoulder with a great deal more familiarity than Vergil was quite comfortable with. "You're such a reliable guy." Thankfully, he only maintained the contact or a moment before he let go and continued on his way. "I'll catch you later." And then with a wave he walked away, leaving Vergil on his own.

"Well, at least that was easy," he muttered to himself. The half-demon brushed his hair back again with a sigh that was far more tired than it had any right to be. He pushed the door open and stared into the empty dojo. No feeling of magic, slightly scuffed floors and some scattered pieces of archery equipment. He was actually going to have to clean the club room before he left, wasn't he?

"That guy is an ass," Saber complained as he reluctantly started to gather the abandoned equipment and set it back in its proper place.

"Undoubtedly, but he's out of the way, so we can ignore him." Vergil pushed a cabinet shut and then went looking for a broom. The faster he got this done, the faster he could get back to something actually important.

"Do you have to do his chores too?"

"Unless you would like to help me get it done faster…" Saber's silence was telling. Vergil would usually consider this kind of work below him as well, but someone had to do it. At least he could honestly say that he was learning humility. Nero would be so proud.

Despite having absolutely no experience with household chores himself, Vergil had plenty of borrowed memories to fill in the gaps. He silently thanked Shirou for his knowledge as he swept floors and wiped cabinets like he had been doing it all his life. Or at least for the past year or so if his memories were any indication. Considering that Shirou seemed to have left the Archery Club some time ago, he had spent a lot of time cleaning up their club room. Shirou was entirely too nice for his own good.

The sun was even lower in the sky by the time Vergil emerged from the club room. And with no leads from Tohsaka yet, it seemed like their hunt was finished for the day. Perhaps they had gotten lucky and already managed to eliminate all of the circles. And if they hadn't, then hopefully they had eliminated enough that they couldn't be used for whatever their intended purpose was. Magical rituals could be exceptionally finicky, at least in his experience. As long as they had done enough damage to ensure the students would be safe the next day, then that would have to be sufficient.

A shiver ran down his spine and he came to a dead stop in the middle of the courtyard in front of the building. It wasn't the feeling of another magic sigil. It was the feeling of being watched. And his gut was telling him that they weren't particularly friendly. His hand went instinctively to his side and he shifted his stance as if he was ready to draw a sword that wasn't there. "Saber…" he murmured under his breath.

"Yeah, I can feel it. Finally, I was starting to lose my mind here."

"I want you to stay out of this until I call."

"The fuck did you say?!"

Vergil sighed and shut his eyes. "I need to see for myself. Just how strong a Servant is. I need to test my strength against theirs. Don't worry, you'll get your fight. I just need a little time to… see what the difference in our strength is."

He could feel the silent seething from his own Servant. "Fine, but if you take too long or it looks like your dumb ass is going to get killed, I'm not going to hold back any more."

"That is acceptable." Vergil took a deep breath as his Servant went silent. "Well," he said aloud in a thoroughly dishonest conversational tone. "Why don't you stop hiding and we get on with this."

For a moment there was no response, then he caught a flicker of movement out of the corner of his eye. Demonic energy concentrated in his hand and the Force Edge came into being just in time to intercept a flying dagger bound to a long steel chain. He grunted from the sheer force of the impact and braced his sword with his other hand to avoid it being knocked from his grip entirely. "Damn…" He shifted his grip as the chain whipped back around, wrapping around his sword and giving a sharp tug. He let the energy blade dissolve and reforged it instantly, only for the chain to vanish back into the woods behind the school building. "Are we going to fight, or play darts?" he called out. He wasn't quite as practiced at crass taunts as his brother, but he could manage.

For a moment there was no reply, then a figure emerged from beneath the shadow of the trees. The first though that struck Vergil was that she was oddly beautiful, in a slightly unearthly way. Her hair was long enough to reach her knees and a brilliant bright purple that he had never seen on a human or demon before and her skin was pale as porcelain. Her clothes were black and deep purple, with a strange blindfold covering her eyes. A blind Servant? Or one with some kind of special eyes perhaps. Both theories had no shortage of legends to draw from. He had no shortage of experience with feminine demons, so perhaps it wasn't the most unusual appearance to someone like him, but it was almost comforting in a way. She was obviously inhuman, but he was used to inhuman. "Do I have the honor of knowing your name?"

The woman paused as if she studied him. "I am the Rider class Servant. And I will make this quick."

"You will try." Vergil adjusted his grip and took a fighting stance as he and the masked Servant stared each other down. Then they both moved at once, his sword coming up to meet her knives as they lashed out, gliding through the air with preternatural ease as she sent the chains whirling through the air. Vergil hated how easily she pushed him on to the defensive, struggling to keep her blows at bay as he tried to close the gap between them. He knew that he was faster than this, but Shirou's body was quite able to keep up with his demands. His instinct and old reflexes kept him from getting casually skewered, but it wasn't enough to actually take an advantage.

He reflexively called up a wave of summoned swords, sending the spiritual projectiles hurtling at his opponent. Rider's body practically blurred as she dodge through the barrage, slipping through the gaps in his attack. Vergil barely had time to get his sword back up to intercept her next attack as she closed the gap between them. Her dagger clashed with his shimmering blade for a split second before she spun and her boot caught him in the stomach, sending him flying backwards.

"Damn it," Vergil groaned as he forced himself to stay standing, bracing himself on his sword. "Is this really my limit?"

"Wow, I'm impressed, Emiya." Vergil and Rider both froze as a familiar voice came from behind him. "I thought you were just another loser, but you actually have some magical power after all." Shinji Matou leaned against the corner of the school building, a smug smile on his face.

Vergil scowled, though he would take the reprieve while he had it. "So we were right. There was another Master among the students." If the boy was as arrogant as he acted, maybe he could get him talking.

"Oh right, I heard you were hanging out with Tohsaka today." Shinji was scowling just as much as he was now. "I guess if you're some kind of big shot magus too, you would be hanging out with that bitch, huh?" Then his face morphed into the most unpleasant smile Vergil had ever seen. "It's just too bad that a Servant is head and shoulders above even a 'real' mage, isn't it?"

"I'm sensing some history there," Vergil deadpanned, not taking his eyes off of Rider even while Shinji was monologuing. She seemed content to let her Master make an ass of himself, but that didn't meant that he could turn his back on the more dangerous foe.

Shinji snorted and stood upright. "Don't play dumb with me. You're just like Tohsaka. Laughing at me behind my back." He growled and for the first time Vergil noticed that he had some kind of book clenched tightly in one hand. A grimoire? "But so what? I have the upper hand now. And since you're actually a mage, you'll be a much more satisfying snack for Rider here. Then she'll be strong enough to deal with Tohsaka and her Servant too."

Vergil clenched his jaw so tight that he could feel his teeth grinding together. "So you're responsible for the attacks in the city too… I was hoping I could get you to explain yourself, but I believe I've stopped caring." He let out a frustrated sigh. "SABER!"

The blonde Servant erupted from the air, slamming into Rider like a sentient bomb and sending her hurtling backwards with a single blow. "Fucking finally!" the armored knight snarled. Even with her voice distorted by her helmet, Vergil could here visceral satisfaction in her words. "Took you long enough."

"Just keep her off my back." Vergil calmly turned to face Shinji and raised his sword. "This will only take a moment."

Shinji's face went through several emotions very quickly, but Vergil could make out anger, fear, and remnants of his smug satisfaction all in the course of a few seconds. "You wouldn't actually… Rider! Protect me!"

The purple-haired Servant move faster than most humans would have been able to follow, dashing forward like she was trying to get between Vergil and Shinji. Unfortunately, Saber was not a human. The armored Servant moved faster than someone in full plate should have ever been able to as she cut off the other Servant, slamming her steel-plated fist into her gut. Rider managed to look shocked despite half her face being covered as she was hurled backward again. "You're fighting me, bitch," Saber said, condescension obvious in her voice. "Better make it quick or your Master is gonna have a bad day."

Rider scoffed and responded by a lightning fast charge. One of her feet whipped around and slammed into Saber's forearm as she raised it up to intercept the blow aimed for her head. The armored Servant responded with a swift upward slice that only caught air as Rider flipped backwards and launched one of her knives to take her place. Saber growled as she knocked the blade aside, only for the chain to wrap around her arm and go taut as the two Servants grappled with each other for a moment.

"Stop playing around and beat her!" Shinji snapped. "You can't be this useless you stupid…"

"I'm afraid that you've already run out of time." Shinji's next shout was cut off by a strangled gurgle as Vergil's blade sunk into his chest. "Perhaps you'll be a better person in your next life."

"No… way…" Shinji gasped wetly as Vergil pulled the demonic blade free from his body and he fell back against the wall. "Em… i… ya…" The strange book fell from his hands and burst into flames, vanishing like dry kindling in an instant.

Rider froze up at the sight, seemingly almost shocked by what she had seen. Then she shimmered and vanished into her spirit form, leaving her opponents and the remains of her former master behind in the growing darkness.