Yes, it's true. I finally-more than a year later-have finished this story, the sequel to Beautiful and Control. It took a long time, and I know that some of you may still be unsatisfied with the results (there's very little romance, for one thing), but I hope that, at the very least, I manage to entertain you.

As far as I can tell, there are 12 chapters in this story, as well as an epilogue; I will likely be posting one every two weeks. I will also be posting a few one-shots and a crossover chapter story; I wrote them, and most of this story, during NaNoWriMo, where I made a goal to write 50,000 words of Bleach fanfic. (I made it to 50,500 words, one week early. Yay!) Finally, I will be re-posting each chapter in Control, as FFNet has messed up my formatting. Sigh.

And now, without further ado, I present Haunted, the third story in my accidental trilogy. I hope you enjoy it!

xx

Rukia gazed out the open window as Ochi-sensei continued her lecture, watching the clouds drift by, chased by a wind which failed to disturb the still air of the classroom far below. She had long since given up taking notes, unable to concentrate for more than a few minutes at a time on Japanese history. After all, it wasn't as if she needed to get a good grade in this class; she was only here to keep up appearances, and the only history she'd ever really cared about had been what she'd learned at the Academy.

A bird flew across her field of vision, small and white, looking from this distance like a single snowflake falling from the hazy blue sky. Rukia rested her cheek on her hand and puffed out a breath of air, trying to make the strand of hair falling across her face dance in front of her eyes for a moment, but it remained firmly stuck to her nose by the humidity. She'd never experienced a summer like this one before; the weather in Soul Society was mild, almost unchanging from season to season. And the school's policy of "saving energy" by refusing to use air conditioning made her want to slip out of her gigai and use Hakuren on the classroom.

Maybe after school, she thought, I can go over to Urahara's to train with Shirayuki. I'm sure she'd welcome the opportunity...

She hadn't been back to the Shoten for a week, not since Ichigo had taken her there after his hollow's attack. She had awakened to find herself lying on a tatami mat, Inoue's Souten Kisshun surrounding her and Ichigo kneeling on a cushion at her side. The look on his face had been one of despair and self-loathing, and she hated it. Hated that Ichigo's hollow had tried to use her against Ichigo. And somewhere deep inside, she hated herself for being unable to stop it.

She was fairly sure he'd talked to Urahara before they left, but he hadn't told her anything about it. And ever since then, Ichigo had avoided her.

It wasn't that she never saw him; after all, they lived in the same house. But Ichigo seemed to be making a point to never allow himself to be alone with her. At mealtimes, he sat on the far end of the table from her. When they watched television, he would sit on the floor instead of next to her on the sofa. And when she awoke in the mornings, he had already dressed and left for school.

Rukia was sick of it.

Today, after school, she intended to confront Ichigo before he left for home and ask him what Urahara had said. And if necessary, she was prepared to slap some sense into him.

"-chiki! Oi, Kuchiki!"

Rukia's head snapped up, and she slid back into her schoolgirl persona. "Yes, Ochi-sensei? Is there something you need from me?"

Ochi-sensei shook her head. "Not really, you just seemed kinda lost there. Is the heat getting to you? You look pretty pale..."

An evil idea came to her then, and Rukia gave a sweet, high-pitched giggle. "Actually, Sensei, I do feel rather faint. I think I may need someone to accompany me to the nurse's office." She gave a little pout, knowing just how Ochi would respond to this request. Sure enough...

"Fair enough. Kurosaki! Take Kuchiki to the nurse's office, will you?"

xx

Ichigo, who had watched this drama unfold with a feeling of dread rising in his stomach, now turned toward Ochi-sensei, intending to protest.

Until Rukia came up behind him, kicked his leg under the desk, grabbed his arm, and whispered, "Now. Or else."

Biting his lip from the sudden pain, Ichigo stood and "helped" her out of the classroom, wincing from her iron grip on his arm. Behind them, Ochi-sensei returned to her lecture, a smug smile on her face.

The two of them made it out into the hallway and around the corner before Rukia dropped his arm, spun around and, with a quick shove, pinned him against the lockers behind him.

Startled, he was about to yell something rude and scathing until he looked down at Rukia's face. She looked strong, determined, just like always... but behind her façade of anger he could sense her inner conflict. He had known all week that she'd wanted to talk to him, but he'd been too afraid of what she might have to say to face her. It seemed he hadn't been the only one who was apprehensive about this talk.

"Tell me," she ordered, staring up into his face. "Tell me what Urahara said to you."

He stared down at her for a moment, and she lowered her eyes, gently biting her lip.

"Please..."

The simple word tightened something in his chest, and he suddenly felt like the world's biggest jerk. He'd done his best to kill her last week, and now he didn't even have the decency to talk to her.

Sighing, he thought back to his conversation with Geta-boushi, wondering what he was going to say to her.

He knelt next to Rukia's sleeping form; the details of the fight replayed in his head over and over again, each repetition making him feel worse than before. Inoue sat next to him, the warm glow of her healing shield playing across their faces as the wounds covering Rukia's body slowly faded. Inoue looked horrified to see her friend in such a condition, but had begun healing her instantly, seeming to realise that Ichigo wouldn't tell her what had happened. Not after seeing the look on his face.

Ichigo watched the bite wound on her shoulder (and when the hell had he done that!) revert to smooth, unblemished skin, watched the blood vanish from the torn fabric, watched the kosode mend itself back together almost like nothing had ever happened. Rukia's face began to relax as her injuries were erased, and Ichigo had to look away to keep from screaming.

It's all your fault, an insidious voice whispered in the back of his mind. You're the one who did this to her.

Ichigo wasn't sure whether it was the hollow speaking, or just his own subconscious. But whichever one it was, he found himself agreeing.

He heard Inoue gasp next to him and flinched, then realised that Rukia had finally reopened her eyes. She looked confused for a moment, then seemed to figure out where she was and why. Sighing, she looked up at Ichigo and scowled.

"Wipe that ridiculous look off your face before I do it for you, tawake."

Inoue smiled and clapped her hands. "Kuchiki-san! You're okay!"

Rukia shifted her focus to the bubbly girl sitting next to her, and a smile graced her features for a moment. "Of course I am, Inoue, thanks to you."

Turning back to Ichigo, her smile vanished again. "You're still being an idiot, Ichigo. What did I tell you?" She shifted an arm under herself, trying to push into a sitting position, but fell back onto the mat with a tired grunt. Ichigo's face twisted, and he stood up.

"I need to talk to Urahara," he said, and left the room without a second look.

He set out down the hallway toward Urahara's room, but when he turned the corner he was startled to see the man already standing there with a serious look on his face, seemingly waiting for him. Ichigo paused for a moment, afraid to ask what he knew he needed to ask, then remembered the look on Rukia's face when she had seen him there. He needed to do this for her.

Ichigo sighed, then opened his mouth to speak. Urahara, however, was one step ahead.

"I know what you're going to ask, Kurosaki-san, and the answer is no. I don't have a way to help you control your hollow."

Ichigo stared at him, surprise changing to astonishment and then to anger. Moving closer to the shopkeeper, he said in a furious whisper, "So what, you're just going to tell me that I need to defeat him on my own or something? I tried that already, and Rukia... Rukia was almost..."

He stopped for a moment, swallowing the lump that had formed in his throat and trying not to think of the sight of his sword buried in her shoulder, and before he could compose himself, Urahara began speaking again.

"That's partly right, Kurosaki-san. You do need to defeat him yourself. You do not, however, have to defeat him by yourself."

Ichigo looked up at him, uncomprehending.

"Trust in Kuchiki-san. Together, the two of you can make it through this. Remember what I told you before? If you truly desire to save her with your whole heart, you have at your disposal a power stronger than steel. Alone, neither of you may stand a chance, but if you place your trust in her and allow her to help you through this..."

Ichigo swallowed hard, then looked Urahara directly in the face. Remembering the conversation he'd had with Urahara the day Rukia had been taken back to Soul Society, the ghost of a smile returned to his face for the first time that night.

"Well, if I don't do this, there's nobody else who can, right?"

Urahara's grin reappeared.

"That's exactly right."

Looking down into Rukia's determined face, Ichigo decided that from now on, he would have no more secrets from her. He owed her that much, after all he'd done to her, and after all she'd done for him.

Except...

There was one thing he couldn't bring himself to tell her. He'd spent the entire last week thinking about the realisation he'd come to during the battle, and still had no idea what to do about his feelings for Rukia. He knew there was no way she would ever love him, a stupid human boy who couldn't even control his own inner demons, and he didn't want to risk their friendship by foolishly blurting out the fact that he was in love with her.

Resolved, he sighed, and told her, "He said that we can win... if we fight the hollow together."

Rukia gazed up at him, her face set, then did something he never would have expected.

She leaned in and wrapped her arms around him.

Pressing her face against his chest, she took a deep breath and whispered, "Okay."

She lingered for a moment, then pulled away and walked back to the classroom, leaving a very confused Ichigo staring after her.

xx

Thanks to everyone who has put me on alert or favourited me, and especially to those who have reviewed. You're all wonderful, and I love you.

Translations: (I have no clue what people might have trouble with, so this is mainly a CYA)

sensei: teacher

gigai: false body

shoten: shop

geta-boushi: literally "sandal-hat", Ichigo's nickname for Urahara

tatami: floor mats

kosode: the black top of the Shinigami uniform

tawake: an outdated word meaning "fool"