Down in the cafeteria, Scott sat at a table by himself. He glanced up at Stiles' approach, and welcoming feelings flowed through the bond. He grinned. "Oh, look at your face. It's true, isn't it? You really are assigned to Kira." Stiles glared. "Would it kill you to be a little less miserable? I mean, I hang out with her all the time. It won't be that bad."

"You have the patience of a saint," Stiles grumbled, slouching into a chair.

Across the room, Kira entered through a set of double doors and approached them. She pulled up a chair at their table and flipped it backwards, letting her chin rest on its slatted back. Stiles felt Scott's heart lighten at her presence.

"I can't wait until this show gets on the road," she said. "You and me are going to have so much fun, Stiles. Picking out curtains, doing each other's hair, telling ghost stories..."

Stiles shook his head in exasperation and stood up. "I'll leave you two alone for your last few private moments."

They laughed. Stiles walked over to the lunch line trying to decide what to eat. The Trickster felt sick with pretty much anything substantial and kept trying to convince Stiles to skip his meals, but Stiles knew better now. Eating was good.

"Is it true you punched Guardian Argent?"

Stiles turned and looked into the faces of the twins, Aiden and Ethan. "Punch Chris? Hardly."

"We heard you threw a big hissy fit in the gym," said Aiden.

"All I did was—" Stiles paused and carefully chose his words. "—register my opinion."

"Well," said Aiden. "I suppose if anyone's going to keep an eye on that Vampire wannabe, it might as well be you. I hear you're the biggest badass around here." His sarcasm was exaggerated.

Before he could utter another word, Stiles was standing right in front of him, with barely any space between them. "Kira has nothing to do with any Vampire," Stiles said in a low voice.

"Her parents—"

"Are her parents. And she's Kira. You look confuse, Aiden. Want me to draw it for you?"

"Are you saying you seriously don't believe there's any chance at all she might turn into a Vampire like her parents?"

"None," Stiles said. "And if I hear you spreading that crap around, whoever's protecting you isn't going to be able to stop me."

Aiden swallowed and took a step back. "You're bluffing. You can't lay a hand on me, human. If you get suspended now, you'll never graduate."

He was right, of course, but Stiles smiled. "Wouldn't it be worth it though?"

Aiden and Ethan stalked off.

"Jerks," Stiles muttered. Ever since Aiden had started dating Lydia, he wouldn't leave Stiles alone. Apparently, he thought there was some truth to the rumors that Lydia had come to Beacon Hills to be with Stiles.

Which was definitely not true. Was it?

At first, things weren't too different from any other day. Stiles followed Kira to every class. It was a lot more uncomfortable since he now had to stand at the back of the room the entire time. But he could still enjoy the day with Scott.

About the end of the day, Scott gave Kira a quick kiss.

"You guys don't have the same schedule this time?" Stiles asked with dismay.

Scott gave his friend a sympathetic smile. "Sorry. We're going to study together after school, but right now, I've got to go to creative writing."

"And I," declared Kira loftily, "have to go to culinary science."

"Culinary science?" Stiles cried. "Gods, why? That's like the brainless class—"

"Come on, Stiles," laughed Scott. "It's just one class period. It won't be that—"

He was cut off when a commotion broke out farther down the hall. Everyone stopped and stared. One of the guardian instructors had appeared out of nowhere and reached for a half-breed girl. He swung her away, pressing her to his chest and exposing her neck as though he would bite her.

The novice had been caught by surprise — it was the first attack of the day — but he fumbled only a little as he kicked the guardian in the side and wrested the girl away.

Another novice that was close by was so fixated on watching the fight that he didn't notice two other guardians sneaking up on him. One of the guardians distracted the novice while the other — Malia — grabbed the half-breed.

Boyd was quicker than Stiles, telling him to stay and headed toward them, approaching from behind, trying to land a blow on the side of Malia's head. She dodged, pressed the half-breed against the wall, and managed to throw Boyd on the ground.

Meanwhile, the first novice had won his fight and 'staked' the guardian. Now he came to help Boyd. Stiles watched, fists clenched in excitement, intrigued with the fighting in general and with watching Malia in particular. He wanted to participate, but knew he couldn't leave his charges.

The first novice grabbed Malia from behind as Boyd got to his feet. Malia raised her legs and kicked Boyd back down — the impulse also causing the first novice to stumble back. He tripped and fell, and then Malia was on top of him, hands on his neck.

"Dead," she proclaimed. The first novice was praised for killing the guardian and Boyd for trying to help. The second novice was 'killed' too fast.

With the drama over, they split up.

There were three other novices in the Culinary class who were guarding half-breeds. Since the room was large and open, with lots of windows, the four of them worked together to come up with a plan to pool efforts and secure the whole room, thus protecting the whole class.

Kira sat near Stiles' post. "I can't believe this is only the first day with you," he complained, watching her cook.

Kira glanced down, focusing on what she was doing. "Do you really hate me that much? I heard you were screaming at the top of your lungs back in the gym."

"No, I wasn't! And... I don't hate you at all," he admitted.

"You're just taking it out on me because you didn't get paired with dear old Scott." Stiles didn't answer. "You know, it might actually be a good idea for you to practice with someone different."

"That's what Malia said."

"Then why question it? I thought you did everything she told you to."

Stiles gaped. "Why—What make you think—?"

Kira shrugged. "She's your mentor, right?"

He relaxed. "Ah. Yeah."

She paused and looked up, meeting his eyes. "You're as good as her," she said. "The way you handled yourself..." She didn't finish the thought, but Stiles knew what she was talking about. She had been there with him, in that hell-hole. "Brace yourself, Stiles, but we aren't that different. I mean, I'm smarter and a lot funnier, but at the end of the day, we both want to keep him safe. And... I'm not going to take him away from you. I can't. No one can, not as long as you guys have that bond."

Stiles realized then the biggest issue was that they were both jealous of each other. He could see the bond bothered Kira. "You shouldn't worry either," he said. "He has a whole separate place for you in there."

Kira closed her eyes dramatically. "You did not just say that. I have a feeling we're on the verge of hugging and coming up with cute nicknames for each other."

"I already have a nickname for you, but I'll get in trouble if I say it out loud."

"Ah," she said happily. "That's more like it."

Across the room, Stiles saw the twins working together. Looking closely, Stiles saw that Ethan had bruises and red splotches on his face. He also had a few weird welts near his ear. Stiles found that strange to say the least — a hurt half-breed — but decided not to get involved.

After class, Kira and Stiles were going to the library to meet Scott, when Stiles saw movement on his left. A slight shadow moving just enough to catch his attention. Harris' face emerged from the darkness as he sprang toward them.

Finally, Stiles greeted.

Adrenaline shot through him just as strongly as if a real Vampire were approaching. Stiles reacted instantly, reaching out to grab Kira. That was always the first move, to throw his own life before theirs. Stiles jerked Kira to a halt and turned toward his attacker, reaching for his stake in order to defend—

And that's when she appeared.

Erica.

She stood behind Harris, looking just as she had last night. Translucent. Shimmering. Miserable.

The hair on the back of Stiles' neck stood up. He froze, unable to move or finish going for his stake. He forgot about what he'd been doing and completely lost track of the people and commotion around him. The world slowed down, everything fading around him.

There was only Erica — that ghostly, shimmering Erica who seemed like she so badly wanted to tell him something.

I wonder what she wants, said the Trickster, mildly interested.

Stiles' stomach turned cold and hollow. His hands shook. His eyes stung. His head spun.

Erica lifted one translucent hand and pointed toward the window. The sorrow on her face seemed to grow.

Suddenly, something slammed into his shoulder, and Stiles stumbled forward. The world suddenly started up again. Stiles fell on the ground. He looked up and saw Harris standing over him.

"Stilinski!" he barked. "What are you doing?"

Stiles blinked. He felt sluggish and dazed. He looked into Harris' angry face and then glanced over at where Erica had been. She was gone. Stiles turned his attention back to Harris and realized he now had one arm around Kira's neck. The Trickster liked that so much Stiles almost threw up.

"If I had been a Vampire," he growled, "Miss Yukimura would be dead."

The disciplinary committee was called for.

Stiles sat in one of the guardians' meeting rooms, facing Chris Argent, Adrian Harris, and (unfortunately) Finstock. Several other guardians were sitting in and watching.

"For the last time," he growled, "It wasn't on purpose."

"You know when I'll start believing a word you say, Stilinski? asked Finstock crazed.

"Stiles," said Chris, "you must know why we can't—"

"I saw you," Harris cut. "You refused to protect Miss Yukimura."

"I didn't refuse!" Stiles exclaimed. "I... fumbled."

"Fumbled!" spit Finstock like the idea was ludicrous.

"If you'd blocked or attacked me and then messed up, that would be a fumble," said Harris. "But you didn't block. You didn't attack. You didn't even try. You just stood glaring like an idiot."

"That's outrageous," said Stiles with dignity. "The thought that I would purposely leave Kira to be 'killed' is ridiculous. Why am I getting in trouble for messing up? There are others who failed. Isn't that the point of this whole exercise? Practice? If we were perfect, you'd already have unleashed us upon the world!"

"Can you listen, Stilinski?" said Finstock. Stiles could see a vein throbbing in his forehead. "You didn't mess up, because 'messing up' implies that you have to actually do something."

"Okay, then. I froze." Stiles looked at him defiantly. "Does that count as messing up? I cracked under the pressure and blanked out. It turns out I wasn't prepared."

"Oh, really?" said Harris. "The big Stilinski admits defeat? The novice who has already killed Vampires? By himself?"

"Oh, I see. After one incident, in which I got very lucky, I'm now expected to be an expert Vampire slayer? I can't panic or be afraid or anything? Makes sense. Real fair. Thank you all." Stiles slumped back in his seat, arms crossed over his chest.

Chris sighed and leaned forward. "What's important is that this morning, you made it very clear you did not want to guard Kira Yukimura. And then, when your first test comes around, we find you completely and utterly unresponsive. Understand where we stand. You aren't exactly known for calmly and gracefully accepting things you don't like."

Stiles stood up, pointing his finger at him accusingly. "Not true! I have followed every rule you've laid down for me since coming back here. I've gone to every practice and obeyed every curfew. There's no reason I'd let Kira 'die'. The only thing I would accomplish is getting dragged into the middle of something like this and possibly facing removal from the field experience."

"You are facing removal from the field experience," replied Finstock flatly.

"Oh." Stiles sat down, suddenly not feeling as bold. Silence hung in the room for several moments, and then Stiles heard Malia's voice speak from behind him. His heart thumped loudly in his chest; he hadn't seen her in there.

"If Stiles were going to protest or take revenge, Principal Finstock, he'd do it in a different way."

Chris looked at her with suspicion. "Yes, but after the scene he made this morning—"

"Circumstantial, Guardian Argent," Malia interrupted. "Regardless of how suspicious you think it looks, there's no proof. Removing him from the experience — and essentially ruining his graduation — is a bit extreme without any certainties."

The entire committee looked at her, but Malia didn't seem to care. After a few minutes of thought, Chris decided to agree and so did Finstock.

"Stilinski, do you have anything you'd like to say?"

Oh, you do, don't you? The Trickster woke up from his slumber. There are tons of things. C'mon, Stiles. Tell them the incompetents are them. Tell them you're the best one here. Tell them. TELL THEM!

"No."

Finstock inhaled. "You're lucky, Stilinski, real lucky, that Guardian Tate wastes her time advocating for you, or this decision might have been different. We're giving you the benefit of the doubt. Continue to guard Miss Yukimura. But another mistake..."

"Thank you," said Stiles.

"Oh, I'm not finished," Finstock smiled wickedly. "Because the suspicion isn't entirely removed, and because I can't stand you, you'll be spending your day off this week doing community service."

Stiles jumped out of his chair again. "What?"