Chapter Ten

Vergil woke up feeling like he had barely slept. He couldn't recall any dreams, which wasn't unusual for him, but her felt as if he had been tossing and turning all night. Killing one person in self-defense was not something that usually bothered him. But the body he was borrowing had almost certainly never killed before so perhaps the stress was bleeding over. He sighed and flopped back on to the futon, one hand slowly rubbing his temple in an attempt to ward off the first sighs of a headache. He had hoped that he would at least be free from guilt over the whole incident, but it seemed that he wasn't so fortunate.

Still, sleep seemed to have long deserted him, so he was eventually forced to get to his feet and find something to wear for the day. Shirou's wardrobe was not exactly diverse, but it was comfortable and simple enough that he didn't feel particularly strange no matter what he chose. Properly attired, he made his way down the hall to the guest room. "Sakura?" He knocked gently on the door. "Are you up yet?"

There was a long moment of silence before he rapped his knuckles on the door again. After yet another moment of silence, he pushed the door open a crack. Sakura's futon was perfectly folded and put away, but the girl was nowhere to be seen. His lips turned down in to a small frown as he closed the door again. She was probably just in the kitchen making breakfast already. Even if he had woken up early, Sakura had probably just slept poorly as well. Given that her brother seemed to be a magician of some kind, perhaps she had some kind of sixth sense that something bad had happened. With a sigh, he turned down the hall and made his way toward the living room. Hopefully he would find the purple-haired girl there.

The kitchen proved to be as empty as the guest room had been. For a moment, Vergil felt himself growing actually worried before he noticed a piece of paper on the table.

Emiya-senpai,

I'm sorry for leaving without waking you. Grandfather called early this morning and asked me to come straight home. It sounded important, so I didn't want to disturb you with family business. I'll see you at school today.

Sakura

Vergil felt his shoulders slump in relief. Of course. The police had likely found Shinji by now and contacted his family. It was no wonder that her grandfather wanted her home as soon as possible. He jaw clenched as he stomped down the lingering pangs of guilt in his chest. He had done what was necessary. He had never hesitated at the thought of such a thing before and he wasn't going to start now.

He pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a slow breath. "Breakfast first, existential crisis later," he muttered out loud before walking over to the fridge to see what he had available. Thank god Shirou was a decent cook. He needed something filling to get him on his feet for the day. He dug out some leftover rice and a carton of fresh eggs. Omelets and rice would be an excellent solution.

The pans were still heating up when he heard heavy footsteps down the hall and the other guest in the house made an appearance. "Mornin'!" Saber called out as she threw the door open. Vergil almost did a double take when he caught sight of what she considered pajamas. The t-shirt was acceptable, but the shorts were definitely not meant for someone as tall as she was. Thankfully, he had a moment to compose himself while the blonde Servant surveyed the room. "Shouldn't that other girl be awake by now? She didn't seem like the type to have a lie in."

Vergil sighed and started cracking eggs into a bowl, whisking them together as the butter in the pan began to hiss. "She was called home early. Her grandfather said it was urgent."

Saber blinked once then a look of understanding crossed her face as she connected the dots. "Oh. Yeah, that would do it." She looked a little chagrined as she took a seat next to the table, leaning back on her hands. "So, do you know how to cook without your girlfriend around?"

Vergil pinched the bridge of his nose again and poured the eggs while he considered his response. "I am competent," he finally settled on, deciding not to allow himself to rise to her bait. Dante would probably be disappointed if he didn't come up with a witty comeback though. "Of course, you're welcome to make something for yourself if my cooking isn't to your tastes."

He was a bit more satisfied then he probably should have been when Saber blanched at the offer. "I can put together sandwiches," she replied. "But you're not gonna have a good time if I have to do the cooking." She paused for a moment as if she was considering something. "Still only the second worst cook in my family though."

"Sandwiches are at least an adequate lunch," Vergil replied with a shrug. "But I think that omelets are more enjoyable breakfast."

"Got that right." Saber grinned and took a moment to feel around for the remote so she could turn the television on. The device flickered to life, showing a vaguely familiar news station broadcasting from a very familiar building.

"...discovered early this morning." Ah, of course they were reporting on that. It would no doubt be quite the scandal, even with the recent assault cases in town. "Investigations are still ongoing, but police officials are currently investigating leads between the young victim and the recent disturbances in downtown Fuyuki. School officials are asking students to remain home if possible, or to remain in visible, public areas until the culprit is identified."

"Well, it seems like school will be closed for several days then." It would likely take the school and the police at least that long to clean everything up. Hopefully the priest had done a thorough job of covering up any evidence, or he was going to be seeing some uniformed visitors soon. Not that he couldn't handle them, but going on the run from the law when he was in someone else's body felt wrong. He was trying not to completely upend Shirou's life after all. "I should call Fujimura and see if she's still coming over for breakfast."

As it turned out, Taiga had been called in to work as soon as Shinji had been discovered, and would likely be occupied for a good chunk of the day. Which was not surprising, but did mean that he had unthinkingly prepared a fair bit more egg than he probably needed for only two people. Or at least, he would have if his current guest wasn't able to put away several times more food than he had ever seen a sane human being eat. Perhaps it was a requirement of whatever kind of being a Heroic Spirit was. Surely she needed a large amount of energy to keep up her impressive abilities. Though from what Rin had told him, he was supposed to be able to provide all of that energy from his own magical reserves. Maybe she was receiving less because he had a half-demon soul.

"Man, that was good!" Saber grinned from ear to ear and patted her stomach in satisfaction.

Or maybe she was just a glutton. "I'll make sure to keep up the quality," Vergil deadpanned as he collected the dishes. Saber continued to click through channels, looking for something to entertain her while he quickly washed their dishes and stacked them to dry. The silence gave him a few minutes to consider what he actually planned to do next. It would probably be best for him to just lay low and playing the part of the ordinary high schooler. The last thing he needed was to draw unnecessary attention right now.

Unfortunately, that approach meant that he was likely going to be trapped in the house all day. Unless he could find some kind of shopping that needed to be done urgently, it would be better not to be out and about where people could ask questions. He could probably avoid any probing questions as long as he stayed out of his school uniform, but it wouldn't be hard to put two and two together if someone saw a teenager wandering around the shopping district instead of at school. He sighed and toweled his hands off. "Saber, how do you feel about sparring?"

The blonde immediately perked up. "I'm always down for a brawl. What brought this up?"

"I was slow and sloppy last night," he replied, trying to keep his annoyance at himself out of his voice. "And since it seems like I'm not going anywhere today, I might as well work out a bit. The sooner I get back in shape, the better."

"Now you're speaking my language. I'm not half the teacher father was, but I can easily handle that much." She flexed her arm and made a show of her, admittedly impressive, biceps.

Vergil allowed himself a small smile. "Luckily for you, I don't need a teacher, just an opponent who can keep up with me."

Saber's grin was practically feral. "Now you're speaking my language."

--

It took several broken training swords before Vergil was willing to admit that they weren't making much progress. He was capable of restraining himself as needed, but Saber was lacking in that department. Her fighting style… he hesitated to call it 'primitive', because there was a surprising amount of skill behind it, but it was certainly bestial. The blonde had the instincts of a predator and the strength of a demon to match. It reminded him of fighting some of the greater demons he'd encountered during his long stints in hell.

He wasn't sure if he should tell her that, or if she would consider it a compliment or not. Given what he'd seen so far, telling her that she 'fought like a demon' would probably please her. "I think we're going to have to take a new approach," he said with a sigh as he tossed aside the cracked bokken. "Can I trust you to spar with blades without taking my head off?"

"Hey, just because I'm a little wild, doesn't mean I'm an idiot," Saber replied, though she didn't actually sound all that bothered. "I'll make sure not to inflict any permanent damage."

"I would also appreciate it if you didn't damage the house," Vergil deadpanned. He considered his options for a moment before he reached up and drew a spectral copy of his Yamato from the air. It was little more than a pale reflection of his favored weapon, but it would do until he regained some of his strength.

"Yeah, yeah, I get it." Saber grinned a little too viciously for his comfort as she also drew her blade from the aether. It didn't feel quite the same as how he and Dante had learned to dismiss their Devil Arms, but there was still something familiar about it.

Come to think of it, he and Dante hadn't had a chance to spar since they were children. Unless one was to consider their numerous fights to the death to be 'sparring'. He would prefer not to encourage any further bloodshed between them. Nero would not be pleased.

"Hey, you still in there?"

Vergil shook himself and immediately shifted into a combat stance, his glowing blade held at his hip as if he was about to draw it. "Of course. I was merely taking a moment to center myself. You may begin whenever you wish."

Saber huffed. "Don't blame me if you get hurt because you weren't paying attention." Then she moved forward faster than an ordinary human would have been able to follow. She didn't actually come at him with her blade first, which he appreciated, but he was still forced to duck low as she aimed a wild haymaker at his face.

The half-demon returned the favor by attempting to slam the hilt of his summoned sword into her stomach, but the Servant's seeming sixth sense served her well. She skipped backwards the instant his hand moved, forcing him to withdraw his attack before he overextended. Saber took advantage of the momentary lapse to swing out at him with her foot, catching him in the side and sending him skidding much further back than he had intended. He barely got his sword up in time to parry the flat of her blade.

He winced at the impact and spun, forcing himself inside her guard and slamming his elbow into her gut before following up with a slash. He clicked his tongue as his body refused to move as fast as he was used to and Saber had a moment to twist out of the way of his blade. He pushed some magical energy into his limbs, forcing them to respond faster as he pressed his momentary advantage, delivering several swift slashes that kept Saber blocking rather than attempting to fight back.

He didn't notice any flaws in his form, but the Servant certainly did. She suddenly cut to the side, moving into a position that was awkward for him to strike at and slamming the hilt of her sword in to his elbow. She seemed to have enough control to not shatter his bones, but the sharp pain forced him to release his weapon. The sword shattered into splinters of demonic power as it hit the ground and he twisted, drawing a replacement from the air and forcing Saber back before she could follow up.

Vergil fought the urge to grind his teeth as he caught sight of the massive grin on his Servant's face. He had asked her to go easy on him, but he still wasn't fond of the feeling of being toyed with. "You're not bad," Saber drawled out as she absently tossed her sword into the air and caught the hilt perfectly. "Never thought I'd see a mage who knew how to swing a sword without looking like a ponce."

"Swordplay has always been my forte more than magic," Vergil replied, absently flexing his arm to make sure she hadn't done more than bruise him. "Though I admit, I haven't fought a great many foes with a style like yours." Even Dante had a rhythm to his techniques, no matter how much he buried it behind flash and nonsense. And the most bestial demons might have brute strength, but they were animals without the reason to make any kind of complicated plan. Saber seemed like she fought almost entirely on instinct, but she had the talent and experience to create very good instincts. "You're truly one of a kind."

Saber just grinned wider. "Of course! I'm the one and only heir to King Arthur. There's nobody in the world who can compare themself to me."

Vergil allowed himself a small chuckle. "I suppose your confidence is well-earned." He retook his combat stance and pushed the magic in to his limbs again. "But don't think that I'll make this too easy. I'm not entirely of this world myself." He could feel his demonic power rising up and his demonic half practically snarled for him to show his opponent everything he was capable of. He pushed the reckless urge down and let out a slow breath.

"You do have a bit of that feel," Saber admitted, though it didn't seem like it bothered her in the slightest. She tapped her sword against her other palm pensively before she finally raised it into a combat stance again. "Better than that shitty wizard at least. Give me your best shot."

Vergil felt his summoned blade start to warm as demonic power surged in to the blade. "Remember. No destroying the house."

"No promises!"

--

They managed to restrain their destruction to the tatami mats in the dojo and every muscle in Vergil's upper body. Even with his special abilities, Emiya's body was not in any way used to the exertion that he put it through in his attempts to keep up with Saber. Most of his muscles were already crying out for mercy when he finally admitted that he needed a break. "Very… impressive…" he panted, allowing himself to fall to the floor while he tried to catch his breath. "I have… haven't felt this tired… since I was a child." Saber looked down at him with her cocky smile. Despite the intensity of their match, she didn't look nearly as spent as he was. He had managed to force her to work up a sweat though, so he was going to take that as a win.

"You're pretty tough," the blonde finally said. She reached out a hand to him and Vergil took it without thinking, expecting to be helped to his feet. Instead, he was yanked straight off the ground. He only had a moment to let out a startled squawk before he was slung over his Servant's back. "If that was you out of shape, I'm looking forward to seeing what you can do when you're at your best."

Vergil just groaned. "You do realize I am not actually a child, right?"

"Yeah yeah, just let me help you inside, dumbass." There was a surprising amount of affection in the last word.

Vergil almost laughed. It seemed that he had a habit of attracting fools who thought insults were a suitable stand-in for terms of endearment. "If you insist," he said, a bit of amusement leaking in to his voice. "Alright. If you can help me to the bathroom then. I think a warm bath may save my muscles yet."

"Just don't ask me to help you bathe. I'm not in to that servile kind of shit."

Vergil smirked slightly. "Noted."