Rin paused in front of the door to Luvia's office, taking a moment to collect herself. Elegance and dignity, she repeated to herself in a litany, letting the words settle inside to soothe the tension in her shoulders.

To an outsider, a simple request for access to her magic circuits might have seemed easy, far less onerous than the domestic chores and training imposed on her by her forced status as an Edelfelt servant. But to a magus, it was absolutely intolerable. Magecraft was her curse and birthright, the discipline to which she and her ancestors had sacrificed their ordinary lives. All the blood and sweat and tears, all her countless lonely nights, all the chasms between herself and the people she would have liked to hold dear - at least she could comfort herself with the bright flare of the Crest upon her arm, and the power thrumming in her circuits. The power to work wonders, and perhaps leave her mark upon the world.

Now it had all been snatched away, sealed uselessly inside her own body beneath the brand of her enemy (yes, her enemy, she repeated firmly to herself, no matter how gracious she had proven herself of late). Everything that made Tohsaka Rin who she was, doled out at the whim of her blonde mistress.

The fact that this had become a common scene in the Edelfelt manor, Rin crawling to Luvia's door to petition her favour, hardly took the sting out of it. No, rather it rubbed the salt in a little deeper each time.

Rin grit her teeth as she forced herself to remember El-Melloi's advice, as difficult as it was to accept. You can have all the grand dreams you want, so long as you don't forget to deal with reality. And right now, the harsh reality was that she needed access to her circuits.

Tomorrow was her practical exam in advanced alchemical applications, where she would be called upon to demonstrate the infusement of an elemental vessel with animated mercury. A tricky task at the best of times, but made so much worse because of course she had drawn Istari as her examiner, a man who seemed to find pleasure in mercilessly culling students from

his classroom. If she found herself unable to summon up even a spark of magical energy under those black pits he called eyes… she shuddered at the thought.

No point in delaying the inevitable. She took a deep breath, then rapped on the elegant wood.

"Come in," came the voice of her mistr - no, Luvia, she scolded herself, at least I won't grovel in the privacy of my own mind - and she stepped across the threshold.

The blonde was sitting at her desk, a cup of tea seemingly forgotten at her elbow as she worked through the large stack of papers piled at her side. Her pace seemed unhurried, her beautiful face set in serene concentration, but Rin was familiar with every nuance of the other's expressions. She had spent enough hours watching her, both before and after the unfortunate event that had set her life so violently askew. The subtly pronounced arch of that proud brow, the way her fingers tightened with ever-so-slightly more force than necessary as she scratched out orders, all of them warned of anger simmering under the polished surface of Edelfelt grace.

Rin felt apprehension settle in her belly, heavy and leaden, pushing out the usual prickling of wounded pride. As infuriating as Luvia's triumphant smirks could be, to say nothing of that detestable laughter, they at least meant that the girl was in a good mood. The drawn tension in the room right now promised a nasty storm.

"Do speak up, Rin," said Luvia, with what a stranger might take for a mere touch of impatience, "Unless you're here for the pleasure of my company?"

Her lips curled into the familiar smirk, but there was a hint of steel beneath it that made Rin's breath catch. If Rin had any margin at all to work with, she would have excused herself and tried again some other time. Unfortunately exams at the Clocktower would not be rescheduled, not for love or money. She needed access to her magecraft - more than that, she needed her brand relaxed now, so that her body would have time to build up her od overnight.

So she forced her mouth to form a smile of her own, a mask to hide her unsettled nerves. "I need my circuits unblocked," she said, trying to keep her voice matter-of-fact. "I have a practical exam tomorrow."

"Advanced alchemy with Istari," nodded Luvia, with just a hint of slyness in her amber eyes as she set aside her papers to focus on Rin.

Rin suppressed a huff. Of course she has my schedule memorized. Why wouldn't she, that … that control freak!

She took a few steps towards the desk, stopping just in time to maintain a polite distance. She hesitated just a little bit, fighting down the last vestige of embarrassment, before lightly tugging at the neckline of her shirt to reveal the brand.

"I can see you're busy. Let's just get this over with and I'll leave you to it, okay?"

The steel in Luvia's eyes hardened into a sword as she reached among the stacks, pulling out a leather-bound tome. A very familiar tome, along with notes written in Rin's own precise script.

"Before that, I will need you to explain this."

She found them, thought the Japanese girl, her throat constricting in a futile attempt to swallow the dismay pounding in her ears. That's… ugh… that's really unfortunate. Long practice allowed Rin to keep a steady expression despite the regrettable twist in circumstances. It wouldn't fool Luvia for a moment, but then it wasn't intended to. It was a matter of pride, what little she had left.

So she shot a mildly reproachful look at the scowling blonde. "There's no need to snoop in my personal effects on campus."

"There certainly is, if you insist on engaging in extracurriculars." said Luvia, pausing on the word for sarcastic emphasis. "Our arrangement strictly limits you to your studies, or projects that I have approved."

She flipped through the notes until she found the page she wanted, and placed it on top of the tome. A meticulously inscribed magic circle, the one Rin had spent hours tracing and retracing, stared back at her.

"Researching a ritual to remove the brand, were you?" asked the blonde, with an admiration that did nothing to take away that Rin was in very big trouble. "This would take months of dedicated work for any aspiring magus, and you managed to squeeze it between your scheduled workshops and lectures. Impressive."

"I can't imagine you're surprised," said Rin, determined to pull what enjoyment she could from the situation before the blonde raked her across the coals. There was even an odd sense of relief in being caught - no, more than that. Some treacherous part of her was enjoying this, the way Luvia hummed appreciatively as she skimmed through pages she had doubtless already read, perhaps many times over.

"No," said the blonde at last. "I have faith in both your stubbornness, and your refusal to accept things that you deem inconvenient." She tapped a finger on the circle, a light sneer playing on her lips. "Did you really think this would work?"

Rin felt a simmer of her old anger boil under her blood. Pride in her lineage and her independence had both been stripped from her, inch by agonizing inch, but she could still claim the genius of her work.

"I don't see why it wouldn't -" she began hotly.

"Did you never wonder why the brand went on so easily, Rin?" asked Luvia, with the slightest arch of an eyebrow.

Many times, but she wouldn't admit as much. Not even when amber eyes sought hers out and locked them down.

"Because you're mine," said Luvia, each word a link in the chain around Rin's neck. The intensity of that gaze as it bored into her made the magus' breath hitch "Because you carry the blood of Edelfelt, even if stretched thin, and it responds to my mastery."

Dark triumph slid across that beautiful face, poisoned honey so sweet as to choke her. "That same blood will prevent you from taking off my mark. As clever as your cobbled ritual is," she said, waving a hand dismissively at the piled notes, "it lacks the raw power to overcome our bond, even if you had ten times the gems at your disposal. But even if your efforts were futile from the start, that you had both the opportunity and the utter gall to do this…"

Her eyes hardened as she slipped elegant hands under her chin, in a gesture that might have been playful if not for the edge in her voice. "I believed you were making progress under my tutelage, but clearly you have failed to absorb the most important lesson. We will remedy that."

The silence stretched between them, as sharp as piano wire, with nothing but the ticking clock to mark the passing seconds. Inevitably, Rin broke first. What choice did she have, with a redline on her future looming over her?

"So," she said carefully, her voice softer than she would have liked. 'About my mana -"

"If you can think of wasting gems this way, then clearly you have plenty to spare. You are dismissed."

"But -"

A small spark flared on the tip of Luvia's finger, and Rin grit her teeth as she watched, unable to tear her eyes away. The tome was spared, but not one page of her notes, representing hours of furtive and grueling work, survived the fire.

"Send Franchesca in with the dustpan," said the blonde imperiously as she reached for her next report. "And a new pot of tea."

Rin said nothing as she turned away, even as fingernails clenched so hard into her palm that they almost drew blood. Her mistress' meaning was only too clear. She'll leave me to fume overnight, watching that accursed brand dissipate all my od. She wanted to stomp down the hallway, but maddeningly, weeks of training held firm. Her shoes only whispered across the rich green carpet as she made her way to the kitchen. And tomorrow, she'll unlock my circuits right before the exam, so they'll have no time to generate any power. I'm going to have to use a fortune in gems to make up the difference.

She mechanically relayed instructions to Franchesca, barely registering the maid's response over the angry humming in her brain. Damn that Luvia, hitting me right in the financials. I hate to admit it, but that's where it hurts. I can absorb it this time, I think, but if this keeps going I'm going to be begging the woman for gems, arrgh.

It was a worry for another day. Right now, Rin needed to to be well rested for her exams. Pack away her rage (she was getting pretty good at that, under Luvia's firm thumb), so she could focus on what she could control instead of ineffectually rattling the bars of her cage.

Still, it was a long time before she managed to find sleep that night.

Rin showed up dutifully the next day at Luvia's door with a breakfast tray and hope that the morning would see the blonde in a better mood. It was almost unheard of for the heiress to eat in her bedroom rather than properly seated at the table, but perhaps this informality might signal a change of heart. She had woken up to her circuits unlocked, even if her reserves were at a low ebb, and that seemed a promising sign already.

Finding Luvia seated at her vanity, her hair still loose from its usual drills, made her uneasy again. So did the imperious but silent signal to set the tray on the polished wooden surface. Still, she nodded and hovered at the correct distance while the blonde folded her hands contemplatively around her cup. They stood there in silence for a bit, with nothing but the ticking of the glass clock and the panic of her approaching deadline to fill Rin's ears.

She valiantly managed a minute of restraint before her mouth snapped open. "If there's nothing more you need, I'll just grab my—"

"No," said Luvia, curt and dismissive as the motion with which she set her cup back in its saucer.

"Luvia," said Rin, hoping the irritation in her voice could mask the desperation squeezing her chest. "I need magical energy for my exam today. Since I wasn't able to generate any overnight..." — and we both know whose fault that was— "I need the gems."

"No, you don't," said the blonde, considering her own reflection. "You said it yourself, Rin — what you need is magical energy." A pause, then she shifted to fully face her servant. "I'm sure you can think of other sources."

There was a challenge in that smirk, and in the eyes roaming appraisingly over her body. Rin could read subtext well enough — hell, this was text written in flashing letters — and felt her hands tremble where they rested at her sides. Still, perhaps deflection was still possible.

So she lifted her chin, trying to channel the haughtiness she had once worn like a second coat. "I'm not drinking a cup of your blood, if that's what you mean."

" I wouldn't offer it," said Luvia, although she took the gruesome suggestion entirely in stride. As expected of a mercenary queen, thought Rin with grudging admiration, before flinching when the smirk turned sly. "If I'm to grant you the privilege of drawing upon my superlative reserves, I expect to benefit in turn."

Rin knew exactly what Luvia was getting at, even without the dark hunger in that gaze. Her own body purred the answer at her, from the flushed pink of her cheeks to the growing ache between her legs.

I knew, when I came crawling to the manor that day. When I made myself lick her hand, instead of retreating back to Fuyuki. Her hands still itched from the humiliating memory, but not as much as her flesh tingled in other regions of her body. I knew where this would end. I chose it then, and nothing's changed since. So what's the point in hesitating?

But she did hesitate, icy shivers running down her spine. How could she not, knowing what would soon happen on the silken covers of that bed? Rin knew all about mana transfer rituals, of course. She had built just such a contract between Saber and Shirou in that ruined mansion, on a night that seemed impossibly long ago. Now she would be the one on the receiving end, bound to her mistress by yet another contract — as if the cursed brand still flickering on her breast wasn't enough.

Without considering that she would be dueling Luvia on a more intimate battlefield than ever. If she lost here as well, she wasn't sure her pride could ever recover. And from the blonde's shameless confidence in her advances, the entitlement dripping from that aristocrat's smile, she had every reason to believe herself at a disadvantage in this arena.

Rin shuddered before she managed to catch herself, forcing herself to meet molten amber eyes as the blonde waited with all the patience of a lioness sure of her conquest. To be a magus is to know sacrifice, she chided herself. Often it comes as pain and fear of death, but there are other forms too. If this is what I need to do to further my goals, then I'll grit my teeth and do it. She stiffened her jaw. It's just humiliation. As unpleasant as it is, I can recover from it. Endure, then continue my path on the other side.

But she couldn't, she knew it in her bones. Because it wasn't about humiliation, not this time. That was what Luvia's eyes were telling her, and the hammering of her own heart. All Rin had really lost so far was pride, but now she was at risk of losing more — the ability to deny that part of her craved this. Had craved it for a long time, the ache following her each time she spurned that smile and fled to her lonely flat.

"Is it so bad, Rin?" asked Luvia, her voice gentle in a way that hurt so much more than if she had been mocking or gloating. "This is what you want. What we both want."

"No!" spat Rin, even as some awful part of her whispered "yes". Both were somehow true at once, no matter how much the absurdity of it made her want to laugh. Because she had been fantasizing about the blonde for months now, oh yes. Dreaming of generous breasts and strong thighs and a smile as bright and arrogant as the unconquered sun. But always she had pictured herself conquering the other girl after a lightning bout, pushing her down and having her wicked way.

And what came after that part? whispered that treacherous voice from the back of her mind, the one that purred in her ear on late nights when her fingers plunged in and out of her yearning flesh. When you pictured the two of you together, what did you really want to do? To have her do to you? She clenched her trembling fists. You wanted her to push you down and take you, run her hands all over you and inside you until you burned with pleasure –

No, she screamed over it, no, never. A Tohsaka is pride, elegance, control. Such thoughts were unworthy. She would not consider them any further.

Her resolve almost faltered when she snapped her gaze back up, and realized Luvia had been watching her this whole time. Watching her blush and squirm and agonize, her smile growing a little wider with each passing second.

Speaking of seconds - she couldn't stop herself from glancing at the clock. Three hours until she was due in the alchemical department's testing chambers, lined with asbestos and merciless expectation. No time to seek out other options, and no time for doubt.

Surely that was the reason she finally nodded at the blonde.

"Fine," she said, trying to keep her voice steady even as red blossomed in her cheeks. "I'll accept the mana transfer. In exchange…" she took a deep breath, not entirely able to repress a shiver, "... do as you please."

Luvia clicked her tongue in disapproval. "As I please? No, as we both please. I won't let you lie to yourself this time, Rin. Not here, when you're finally mine. "

She rose smoothly from her seat. With each of the blonde's strides, Rin found herself retreating a step, until the back of her knees hit the side of the bed. Trapped, but she had no time to worry about it. Soft but iron-strong arms were already wrapping around her shoulders, while the blonde's breath was warm against her ear.

"Tell me, Rin. What is it you wish me to do?"

Rin swallowed around the lump in her throat. "I.. " she hesitated, then forced the words out. "I want you to form a contract with me."

"Ohohoho! You need to do better than that," says Luvia, pushing her back onto the bed less with her hands then her sheer presence. Her hands settled on Rin's thighs. Not enough to constrain her, but enough to make her shiver with a sensation she refused to name. "How will we form the contract? What precisely is it you want me to do to you?"

Rin shuddered at the close contact, the fire of Luvia's lips brushing against the sensitive skin of her throat, before that honeyed voice was whispering again. "Tell me you want this. Tell me you want me."

A flood of emotions coursed through Rin as she felt her face, her body, redden under that touch. Outrage, that Luvia was making this seem like… like an invitation, rather than a bargain made under duress. Arousal too, pooling low in her belly and suffusing her trembling limbs with its aching warmth. And fear—fear that Luvia perhaps didn't mean this after all, that she would laugh and snatch it away and leave Rin (bereft) scrambling for another solution.

Her mind raced with words, pretty ways to couch what she needed (in more ways than she wanted to think about), but none of them fit.

Finally she gritted out, "Please, fuck me." Crude, and the mistress would surely disapprove, but Rin told herself it was the only appropriate term for what was about to happen.

Luvia, damn her, didn't so much as flinch. Instead she pulled away, and it was all Rin could do to stop her treacherous body from following when the blonde resumed her seat at the vanity.

"Do get on the bed, then," she said, although not without a small tremble in that normally serene tone. Rin might have taken heart in it, were she not feeling so out of sorts herself.

She looked down at sheets the exact shade of the best champagne, then back at the blonde. "Okay… but don't you need to also…"

"So eager to have me join you, mmm?" The damnable smirk was back, along with the mask of aristocratic confidence. "As I made clear, I intend to fully benefit. That puts you in the palm of my hand, Rin."

"You…" she growled, but the once-familiar tirade of insults didn't rise to her tongue. Weeks of restraint had dried them up, perhaps for good.

"Time is of the essence for you, is it not?" The blonde nodded in satisfaction when she heard the other's sharp intake of breath. "Go on, then."

Rin's limbs felt like rusty joints as she forced them to settle her in the middle of the bed, but she couldn't deny the softness of the silk sliding under her fingers. Nor the sweet scent carried by the sheets, her scent, citrus and rain and expensive tea, and a bit more heat came unbidden to her cheeks.

"Good," nodded Luvia. "It is always a matter of incentives, is it not?"

She took a brief sip of tea then set the cup down again, the china rattling a little more loudly than was her custom. Then she smirked. "Take off your clothes."

Not unexpected, but Rin found herself drawing in her shoulders anyway. "Wouldn't you rather do that yourself?" she asked, trying for sardonic and wincing when it slipped into defensive instead.

"I would remind you, Rin, that while I certainly want this, you're the one that needs it. You should be putting in your best effort to entice me." A sly quirk of lips. "Unless you've changed your mind?"

"No! I mean… damn you," grumbled Rin, averting her gaze so she wouldn't need to look at that smirk any longer than necessary.

But necessity drove her hands as, with a heavy swallow, she began shedding her clothes. The easy things first, slippers and stockings, although the caress of silk on her bare legs was unwelcomingly pleasant. Then her blouse, though she found her hands hesitating on the second button down. A glance up confirmed Luvia's smirk, full of anticipation and amusement alike. As infuriating as ever. Rin was almost tempted to put on a show, to entice her and shut her up with lust, but nerves made her fingers clumsy. So she settled for slowly sliding the shirt from her shoulders, hoping it would be enough.

Why would it be, Rin? You already know the ritual requires you both to c— climax. The word sent more shivers down her spine. Does it really matter whether she lets you keep your underwear on?

"And now the bra, please." A pause filled the air, before Luvia sighed. "There are layers to presentation, you know. We really need to do something about those garments, but that can wait for another occasion."

There won't be another, Rin promised herself, even as she undid the straps. She hesitated before letting it fall - no one had ever seen her so exposed, not even in her swimsuit - but an arch of Luvia's brow made her release it. Still, her arms automatically crossed protectively over her chest before she could stop them. A show of weakness, but she couldn't help but feel embarrassed when she had to compare her breasts to the generous swell under her mistress' bodice.

It almost came as a relief when she finally tugged down her skirt. Even though it left her practically nude in front of Luvia, clad only in panties and ribbons, it did give her the chance to show off her legs. Her best feature, and she had always delighted in showing them off during their spars — why was she thinking about that now?

Luvia's eyes darkened in appreciation as she took it in, roaming over each new inch of flesh revealed. "Undergarments as well," she said, her voice a little more husky than usual.

Rin gave them a vicious kick off her legs, just to send a message, although the blonde only laughed.

"Excellent!" she clapped her hands, "Now lay down."

Rin took a deep breath and did so, settling herself down on decadent pillows, impossibly soft against her naked skin. She felt exposed all over again, but at least it wouldn't last long before the blonde settled on top of her.

But Luvia did no such thing. She only picked up her tea, taking a long sip before she raised gleaming eyes to Rin's again. Then she smirked. "Pleasure yourself."

"I… what?" Rin shook her head, unable to believe she had just said.. "You want me to what?"

"I believe my instructions are perfectly clear."

"But you…"

"I want to watch you," said the blonde, as calmly as if she'd suggested a musical recital instead of this… this perversion.

"No way," spluttered the girl on the bed. "There's no way I can… why can't you just take what you want?"

"This is what I want, Rin."

The intensity of Luvia's gaze left no room for argument, any more than the distant but all too audible ticking of the clock. So Rin closed her eyes as she gingerly palmed her breast, while the fingers of her other hand slid down towards her entrance. Tried to forget those hungry eyes on her as she traced slow circles on her flesh and pressed against sensitive points. Pretended she was back home at her flat, at the Tohsaka manor, anywhere but on this bed, with the silk and the lingering fragrance that set her blood aflame.

Think about Shirou, she told herself, his muscles, the way he moved on stop of Saber that night. The way she felt wrapped around your fingers, breathing hard for you…

No good. In her fevered mind, the blonde hair curled into drills, sherry-brown eyes brightened to shining amber. Luvia had already reigned as undisputed queen over Rin's fantasies for months now. It was impossible to think of anyone else, anything else, with the temptress seated mere steps from her, her gaze searing Rin's skin everywhere it touched.

She stubbornly denied herself a moment longer, then gave into the inevitable. Let herself imagine elegant hands running over her breasts and stomach, their manicured nails digging into her hips. Fantasized that other fingers were picking up the pace, pressing against her aching clit to give her sweet satisfaction.

Fire danced on her skin, stoked higher with each caress, each brush of digits against her inner walls. She let her hips buck shamelessly against her hand as she lost herself in that vision, barely choking back the name that threatened to spill from her lips.

Rin arely registered the weight settling on the bed behind her before strong arms locked around her waist. A mortifying squeak escaped her as she was pulled firmly into Luvia's lap. Her naked lap, she realized with a fierce blush, as full breasts were pressed firmly into her back.

"I thought…" Rin gasped, shock making her pause her motions despite the growing ache in her core, ".. ngh… I thought you wanted to watch."

Luvia slid her hand between Rin's thighs, gently but firmly nudging her hand out of the way. "Mmm, I did. But that was before you called out so sweetly for me. And I am always generous to what's mine."

"I didn't… I didn't say—!"

Rin thought she had managed to silence herself, but the sinful laugh in her ear made her doubt. Then thought became impossible as nimble fingers slipped inside her, rubbing deliciously against already wet flesh while a thumb drew tight circles against her clit. Very much like her own technique, but so much better, hotter, until she thought she might melt from the sensation. She moaned and gasped, unable to keep her hips from rolling desperately into Luvia's touch, even as her cheeks burned with shame.

'"Admit it, Rin," said the blonde huskily in her ear. "This is what you wanted all along. For me to ravish you, fuck you, until you're a beautiful broken mess on my bed?"

The unexpected obscenity dripping from those perfect lips ignited something deep in Rin's mind, as hot and devouring as the fire blossoming in her flesh.

"N-no, I don't…" she forced out between the little cries Luvia's fingers pulled from her trembling lips, "That's not what… the contract.."

She gave up on the half-formed denials, hollow even to her own ears. Because for all that Rin had always sought control, as any magus must, this felt so good. To finally relax and let someone else take charge, for once. To surrender herself to them, and trust that they would make her feel good, better than good, amazing like sunlight suffusing her like—

She was almost at her release, sweating and shuddering and moaning, when Luvia abruptly pulled her hand away. Rin let out a whine of protest before she could bite it back, and felt her entire face burn with mortification. Luvia only laughed as she wiped her hand delicately on the sheet, then pulled Rin by the shoulders into a seating position.

"The contract works best if our energies peak near each other," said the blonde. "So our circuits will be at their most receptive." She curled a strand of inky black hair around her finger, a familiarity that Rin might have resented if she weren't so… so…

Luvia grinned as she watched Rin struggle to form words. "I expected that I would need to work you over a little longer, but you're so very responsive," she said.

Rin felt her body flush anew, consumed by humiliation and desire alike.

"Well," said Luvia, "I think it's time you earned the mana you seek,"

The blonde leaned languidly back on the pillows, her every sinuous movement radiating the confidence of an empress. Unfair, thought Rin with a dry swallow. They were both entirely nude, but while Rin blushed every time that sinful gaze roamed her curves, Luvia seemed to welcome the reverse, judging from her widening smirk every time Rin's eyes lingered a little too long over her breasts.

An impatient sigh pulled Rin from her reverie. "While your awe is understandable, I do not like being made to wait." A strong tug at Rin's arms pulled her down atop Luvia's chest. "Now please your mistress."

Rin might have lost herself entirely in the delicious feel of the blonde's hard nipples sliding against her own, if not for the grip guiding her hand down smooth warm skin and firm muscles. Guiding her to delicate folds, and the sensitive bud nestled at the top. Luvia was already damp, but all thought of teasing her was drowned by the wetness slicking Rin's own core.

Instead she willingly pressed her fingers home, relishing the pleased groan that escaped her mistress. Moved them eagerly inside those tight wet walls, even as Luvia's digits slipped back inside her own. In her gratitude and pleasure, she did not protest when the blonde's other hand wound itself in her hair, pulling to guide Rin's mouth over that gorgeous body. She found herself pressing kisses on her navel, her shoulders, the crushed rose-petal pink of her nipples. Enjoying the erotic sounds she was pulling from the her mistress, before reminding herself how much she hated this. Had to hate this, if her pride had any meaning.

But that was hard, especially with Luvia's hand fondling her, rubbing circles on her cit and driving her wild with delicious friction. It felt good, molten pleasure coursing through her to drown every nerve in ecstasy. Even better when her mistress's hand slipped beneath her chin, raising her head to force their gazes together. She looked into those warm eyes, eyes the color and richness of wild honey, and shivered.

Contract. The word barely registered through the haze of desire swiftly overtaking her, and her mind barely snatched it before it drifted away again in scarlet passion. Contract.. That's right. You're doing this for a reason.

It was hard to focus with those nimble fingers plunging inside her, stoking her to flame, but Rin was a magus born and raised. Pleasure was a different obstacle than pain, but surmountable all the same. She took a ragged breath to steady herself, then raised her free arm as her Crest began to glow.

"Anfang," she breathed, using all her tattered willpower to back bite another moan, lest the spell be ruined. "Silber fließen lassen—"

The next words were swallowed entirely when Luvia captured her lips in a forceful kiss. Searing and full of the will to possess, tongue thrusting in to claim territory before tangling mercilessly with Rin's own. As aggressive as it was, it resonated with the passion consuming her body, and it was all she could do to stop herself from kissing back. It might have felt absurd, holding this back when Luvia had already invaded her most intimate parts, made her groan with sin and pleasure, but some part of Rin insisted it was very different. Sex was a means to an end, all for the sake of the contract. But kissing, and meaning it — that would be surrender, in a way that went far past her desperation for mana.

When the need for air finally forced Luvia to withdraw, a thin trail of spit momentarily connecting their lips, the blonde glared down at her. "I own the contract between us, Rin. You are not claiming mana from me; rather, I am lending it to you. Do not forget the order of things."

Rin bit her lip, but said nothing as Luvia cast the spell, her murmured incantation filling the air between them, sparking along the edges of her flesh and her soul. Soon enough, the Tohsaka could feel power flowing into her circuits — a trickle at first, then more strongly as the groundwork of the connection took hold. It felt like powdered ice blown into her veins, a touch of cold fire.

Then Luvia settled fully on top of her, pressed herself hungrily until their empty places interlocked, rocking into each other in the most intimate of dances. All the more so with the blonde's essence flooding into her, filling every inch of her shuddering body with liquid starshine, until her toes curled and her mind burned with ice.

Before long, Rin felt white hot pleasure wash over her as she crested, groaning low in her throat. The warm glow of her release contrasted with the chill of the borrowed mana flowing inside her. She hesitated, then pushed away the voice demanding she analyze those sensations fo future reference. Let herself feel instead of think, let it wash over her along with the little aftershocks.

Distantly she registered a sigh of deep contentment, then warm arms pulled her close. She felt Luvia press a kiss to her forehead, and dazedly let it happen. Allowed herself to be held, listening to the beating of their hearts.

She wasn't sure how long they had been lying there, tangled in sweat-soaked sheets and each others' bodies, before Luvia gently nudged her.

"You have two hours before your exam, Rin."

She blinked in confusion, then realization dawned. "Right," she said after a moment. "The exam."

The whole purpose of this exercise, remember?

Awkwardly Rin extracted herself from the blonde's embrace, grateful that the other made no move to hold her fast. She wasn't entirely sure what she would — no, of course she would leave. She wanted to leave this den of… of iniquity, as soon as possible. She hurriedly pulled on her clothes, forcing herself to think of incantations and spellwork — anything to forget Luvia's gaze on her back.

She had an exam to write. It was natural that she would make haste. Luva said so herself. It wasn't running away, not at all.

That didn't stop the pounding of her heart as she clicked the door shut, then unceremoniously bolted down the hallway.

—

Two days later found Rin sitting at the dining room table, choking on anger and wounded pride as she glared down at the letter from the alchemy department. The missive contained both her grade, and a personal note that Istari, damn him, had seen fit to include.

A considerable improvement over your usual efforts, read the note in arrogant looping script. Whatever you did to practice the material, you should consider during it more often.

She wasn't sure which she should murder first, when she was free once more. That damnable professor, or the infuriating woman whose power she could still feel glowing faintly in her veins.