New chapter… and I seriously think that at the rate I'm going I'm gonna have over 10 chapters

XXX

Ishida opened his eyes and found himself among a sea of students. Looking ahead, he saw the three of them, Ichigo, Inoue and Sado walking towards him. He tried to slip away, but the sea of students seemed to close in on him, preventing him from escaping. The three of them drew closer and closer. Left with no choice, Ishida straightened and prepared himself. But when they reached him, they simply passed through him, as if he wasn't there; talking away happily.

Shock, he tried to turn a round, but the floor gave way under him and he fell into the darkness.

When he hit the ground, he realized that he was in the hospital training room. Footsteps. He spun and saw Ryuuken there as well as his friends. As Ryuuken raised the metallic-looking bow, fear flooded him. Without thinking, he lunged with a cry.

"Stop!"

But his hand simply passed through the bow. Ishida watched in horror as the bright blue arrow shot towards his friends like a bullet; and exploded.

XXX

Ishida jerked awake as the sound of the alarm clock ringing filled his ears. His heart was pounding against his chest so hard that he thought it would burst out any moment. His hands were moist and his forehead beaded with sweat. He brought one hand to his forehead, pushing back the stray strands of hair and wiping away the sweat. Taking a few slow, calming breaths, he realized the alarm was still ringing. He groped around the side table and switched it off. Putting on his glasses, he reflected on the dream. Was there any meaning behind it? He got up. Donning his school uniform and tie, he made his way into the kitchen.

Soon, the aroma of breakfast cooking filled the small kitchen. Keeping his eyes focused on the pan in front of him, he had passed off the dream as just another dream. Although he couldn't help thinking about a little, he saw no sense in worrying too much about it.

After eating, he washed up and departed for school. Even without the connection between them, Ishida's ability in sensing spirit pressure was still an asset to him. In addition, Kurosaki, who was not as proficient in this area, would have more difficulty in finding him now that he was keeping his reiatsu concealed. Everything was according to plan. Or so he thought.

XXX

Notoriously short chapter. More of a filler while I fix up the next chapter. And by the looks of it this is going to be one long story… Zzzz….