To the reviewers:

Okami Princess: Thanks for clearing up the mystery word last chapter and glad you're enjoying the story. Also, if you want to put your vote for IchiRuki for a pairing in this story, you'll have to place the vote into the poll personally.

Disclaimer: I claim no ownership to Bleach in any way, shape, or form. I do claim ownership to my OCs, however, so if anyone needs to borrow them for one of their stories, just send a review requesting the use, along with a basic idea of the story you're writing and the promise they won't be used as villains. I wouldn't mind if they were either made into anti-heroes or anti-villains, just no making them classic villains.

-- TwinShadows

Shadows Are Rising

Chapter 6: Dark Fang, Phoenix Flight

Arrancar Crash Site…

Chad helped Ichigo into a sitting position, the latter wincing as he moved since his body was still feeling the pain from his bankai. Looking out to the fight before him, he saw two things that really freaked him out: Yang standing next to a monster dog nearly as big as Chad and Shadow with a pole weapon with a crazily-shaped blade on the end, both of them standing before a bloody and blinded by rage arrancar.

"Whoa," he said. "What the hell are those?"

"Those are what stand between us and him," Uryu said calmly, turning to look at Ichigo. "You looked like hell when they took over, Ichigo; although," he added with a smirk, "Your looks haven't improved much even with Orihime's healing."

Before Ichigo could retort past a harsh glare, Urahara stepped in. "As rousing as this conversation is, you all should pay attention to these two. You just might learn something." As they turned to look, he thought, 'So that's what he was doing in the Soul Society; Yoruichi told me that Soifon had found another intruder after Ichigo and his friends left the Soul Society after Aizen's defect to Hueco Mundo. I guess after Ukitake and Kyoraku broke it, he put it back together. Now, let's see how well he can use its power in a fight.'

Moving his left hand up, Shadow took off his arrowhead pendent, holding it by the stone and looked over his shoulder. "Hey, Kisuke," he said, "Hold this for me, will ya? And make sure it doesn't get hurt!" He turned and threw it to Urahara who caught it in his left hand before he put it in his pocket.

"Why'd he do that?" Mizurio asked, confused about the action. "What's so big about that necklace that he has to take it off when he's about to fight somebody?"

"It holds great sentimental value to him," Yoruichi replied, finishing up Tatsuki's wrist. "So naturally, he doesn't wear it to battle for fear of it being damaged."

"WHOA!!" Keigo said, forgetting the person he was insulting was right in front of him. "All that fuss over something like jewelry?! What a wimp!" Angry, Tatsuki slugged him with her good arm.

"DON'T YOU HAVE AN EMPATHETIC BONE IN YOUR BODY, KEIGO?!?!" she yelled, shifting to stomping on his back. "It's special to him, so keep your mouth shut, you dumbass!"

"O-okay..." he whimpered from the ground.

"Now then," Shadow interrupted, bringing the attention back to the fight. He swung the blade in front of his body, letting the other end connect with his left palm before he shifted into a sparring stance, chopping the blade down to hold the weapon parallel to the ground, the point of the blade pointed at Yammy. "I said that it was your move."

'Strange,' Ulquiorra thought. 'Neither of these two have any significant spiritual pressure above that of garbage, and yet...' his gaze shifted lazily to Yang, '...he was able to push Yammy back with only his spiritual power alone...' then he shifted to look at Shadow, '...and he was strong enough to stop Yammy's attack with his bare hand and hurt him with a hit to the jaw. This may cause a problem.'

"Yammy, perhaps I should take over this fight," he said coolly. "You may be in over your head with these two."

"HA! These two and their little mongrel are nothing but ants ready for the squishing," Yammy said arrogantly, wiping the blood from his mouth with his remaining arm. "That freak in the mask just got in a lucky hit."

"I assure you, Yammy," Yang said as he shifted into a sparring position with his right side leading. "There will be many more 'lucky hits' on you during this fight." Yin barked at the arrancar and snapped his jaws threateningly.

"Who said you could call me by my name, you little worm?" he replied, swinging his fist back. At this, Yin rushed him and jumped up to bite into Yammy's right stump, knocking him back and tearing off a chunk of his muscle tissue. Yin then proceeded to start eating it, blood dripping from both Yammy's wound and Yin's jaws as he swallowed the muscle tissue.

"He-he ate the guy's body," Orihime said timidly, hands on her mouth in fear. Uryu put his hand on her shoulder to comfort her. She looked up at him. "Uryu..."

"I don't think we need to worry about Yin attacking us, Orihime," he said smiling at her. "He only did that because he saw Yang and Shadow were in danger; you don't have to worry." She smiled at this and turned back to look at the two fighting for them. Someone tapped his other shoulder; turning around, he saw it was Tatsuki.

"I'm letting you get away with this because you're actually trying to comfort her, instead of acting like Chizuru or Keigo and going after her body," she whispered into his ear. "But, if I find you decide to do that, well let's just say I'll treat ya like both of them combined. Do we understand each other?" Gulping, Uryu nodded as his shaking hand straightened his glasses. She smiled at this and patted his cheek with a, "Good boy," before turning back to look at Shadow, Yang and Yin.

"AAAARRRRRGGGGGHHHHH!!!!" Yammy yelled, grabbing his side in pain. "You soul reaper wannabes are going to suffer for this!!" His felt a cutting into his back and turned to see Shadow with Soulfire Phoenix dripping with the blood that had come from the wound it had created.

"We're not Soul Reapers; we're stranger," he said as he twirled to the left and struck Yammy in the ribs with the weight on the other end. Groaning, Yammy turned to growl before he felt several strikes in his back and behind the knees. Dropping to his knees, he saw Shadow disappear and he turned to see Shadow reappear as Yang hopped back from his position next to Yammy.

"Even with the hierro, you still possess the pressure points that are found in the human body," Yang said calmly while he flexed his fingers. "And an experienced acupuncturist can find and hit these points; all I need is a clear shot at the target area to make the connection and I can render you defenseless for a short time."

"I believe that you said that they only got lucky with their attacks Yammy," Ulquiorra said. "Does this mean that they are exceptionally lucky or that you are just that unlucky?"

"WILL YOU JUST SHUT UP, ULQUIORRA?!?!" Yammy yelled, reaching the point of no return. "I'LL CRUSH THESE BUGS AND PROVE THAT THEY ARE NOTHING!!!!"

"Then may I make a suggestion?" Ulquiorra asked turning his head to look at the others. "Perhaps, you should focus on the people they are keeping from you instead of targeting them directly." At this, Yammy began to grin widely and chuckle before he erupted in full-blown laughter.

"HAHAHAHAHA!!! ULQUIORRA, YOU AND I ARE FINALLY IN AGREEMENT ON THIS!!" he looked over at Urahara and the others on the sidelines, his face looking like it would break from his evil grin. "I'm gonna enjoy this."

"Eyes in front jerk!" Shadow called out. With his left hand, he held his thumb, index and middle fingers extended as he circled out in front of him counterclockwise before his hand met his left shoulder. "Guardian's 4th strike: Thunder Dragon Dances across the Sky!" His fingers glowed with white-hot energy as he thrust his fingers forward. The energy forward, making jagged movements as it closed in on Yammy. The arrancar saw this and shifted his weight around to put his hollow hole in the path of the kido shot. It singed the edges of the circular hole, but the full shot went right through it; coming out the back of the white jacket he wore and splitting the tree right behind him, the wood catching on fire.

'It seems Yammy is capable of thinking beyond simply crushing his opponents on occasion,' Ulquiorra thought as his aforementioned partner landed heavily on the ground and kicking up dust.

"Now..." he whispered before shouting, "...YOU'RE DEAD!!!" As he kept his mouth open, a sphere of dark red energy gathered in front of it.

'A cero!' Yoruichi thought before she shouted, "Everyone! Get out of the way!!" But too late, the cero shot from his mouth towards them at breakneck speed.

"Yin!! Intercept!!" Yang yelled, making his partner rush to come between the cero and the others. He managed to skid into the gap as it was closing in.

'It doesn't matter what he does, my cero will decimate anyone or anything in its path,' Yammy thought smugly. Everyone watched on in apprehension as the red beam closed in on the monstrously sized dog... before said dog opened his mouth and started to swallow the cero.

"What's happening?" Chad asked stunned at what was happening; though it seemed that he had become the voice of the mostly stunned group. Only Urahara, who was waving his fan again, and Yoruichi, who was breathing a deep sigh of relief, were unsurprised by these new developments.

Yin then began to inhale, drawing in more of the cero into his body. After ten seconds, Yammy had been completely deprived of his attack and Yin was licking his lips at his finished his 'meal'.

"What the hell did you do, you bastard?" Yammy yelled in both anger and shock. All around the clearing, most everyone was think along the same lines, though they weren't as uncouth as Yammy's.

"Yin is a Shadow being," Yang said as he held up his right arm to show his beads. "They are born in the Shadow World before they are sent to our world to find a human partner and work with him or her," as he spoke, reishi began to separate two of the top beads and form new beads from both of the separated beads. "For them to use their powers here however they need to absorb energy; their favorite type is negative energy, like that of a hollow's cero." As he finished, seven new beads had formed and the whole string shifted to comfortably accommodate the new addition. "In other words, when you attacked just now, you plan backfired on two counts."

"Two counts?" Yammy said confused.

"Yes, two: the first was giving my brother here," he nodded towards Yin, "the extra power for this fight; but that's not the worst. That's the second reason, which is..."

"You made me angry by attacking them to get to us," Shadow growled, his spiritual pressure rising. He held out Soulfire Phoenix at a diagonal with the blade pointing up and to the right. His left hand lay on the weight of the weapon and dragged it up towards the blade. As he did so, fire began to follow from the bottom up. As his hand reached the base of the blade, he let the fire continue on to reach the blade tip, the flames licking his fingers but not seeming to burn them. He grabbed underneath his right hand with his left before he started to spin the pole around, dragging the fire into a circle along with it.

"Do you suppose Shadow," Urahara said stepping forward, holding Benihime at the ready, "that I can take a swing at this guy? After all, I think it's fair since he attacked my friend, Yoruichi."

Shadow didn't even look at him to reply. "Go right ahead; he's a big guy, plenty of him to get back at." Urahara smiled as he held his zanpakuto next to his left shoulder. Shadow stopped spinning his blade to hold it in his right hand as he pulled his whole arm back, calling the fire to wrap around the blade.

"BLAZING PHOENIX!!" he cried as he thrust the pole forward, pushing the fire outward before it took the form of a flaming bird, barreling towards Yammy.

"Scream, Benihime!" Urahara called as he swung his sword, creating a blood-red arc to spring from the blade which mixed with the phoenix to create an even greater attack.

Suddenly, Ulquiorra flashed in front of Yammy, swinging his right arm against the combo. He broke it with his hand, though his skin was decidedly burned from both attacks; all without turning an eyelash. This caused Kisuke to look shocked and Shadow to put his weapon under his arm, blade in front, and his left hand up to his chest vertically, prepared for another attack.

"Ul-Ulquiorra..." Yammy stuttered while the corners of his mouth turned up, finding it hard to believe that his stoic partner would actually help him, especially since he always thought Ulquiorra looked down on him. Turning his waist, Ulquiorra stabbed Yammy in his stomach with his bare hand. Everyone stared in astonishment at the fact that he had actually turned on his own fellow.

Dropping to one knee, Yammy clutched his stomach as he glared at Ulquiorra. "Wh...What did you...do that for?"

"Fool," he replied coolly as he waved off the blood from his hand. "Get ahold of yourself, Yammy. That's Kisuke Urahara in front of you and Yoruichi Shihoin with the other pieces of garbage. You can't possibly defeat them at your current level. Besides..." he said walking to Yammy's other side, "...we need to tell Lord Aizen about these two new developments." Reaching out the hand that wasn't in his pocket and touched the space in front of him. Instantly, it opened like the jaws of a beast to a swirling black pit. "We're going."

"Running away?" Yoruichi asked, as Chad helped Ichigo to his feet and everyone moved forward to close in just in case it was a trick.

"Watch what you say," he replied. "You know very well what would happen if you tried to fight me while protecting those pieces of garbage."

"Yeah, we do," Shadow said, shifting his left hand back onto the shaft of the weapon. "You'd be in big trouble." Ulquiorra was unimpressed by this show of force as he and Yammy stepped through the portal.

"We've achieved our immediate objective," he continued, looking at Ichigo in contempt. "I'll tell Lord Aizen that the so-called Soul Reaper he has his eye on is trash. Not even worth killing." With that, the portal closed, leaving a group of unique people still grasping at what they had just heard.


Seireitei, Squad 12, Kurotsuchi's lab...

"Well," Captain Kurotsuchi said, leaning back into his chair, "I must say, that was an interesting show; although it would have been much better if those two had shown more of their abilities." he added, actually sounding disappointed as he stroked the beard-like appendage that was attached to his face. At that moment, a special messenger appeared behind the chair.

Kneeling, he began to give Kurotsuchi the message. "Captain Kurotsuchi," he said, "The Head-Captain has gathered the remaining captains as well as Captain Hitsugya's team in the meeting room of Squad 1. They are waiting for you to give your report, sir."

"Very well," he said with a dismissive wave of his hand. "Tell them that I'll be there with the new information regarding my findings; I just need to gather it into a presentable manner, so about five to ten minutes." Bowing his head, the messenger used shunpo to deliver the counter message. Getting up, Kurotsuchi grabbed the video disks from his computer and moved to get the rest of the data from the Research and Development so that everyone could see just how much more interesting things have gotten.

'Not to mention,' he thought with a wicked grin, 'Maybe I'll be able to properly study these two for research in case there are more of them. What fun!' he chuckled at this.


Eastern Karakura, crash site...

"Well," Shadow said, shouldering his weapon, "That was a little anti-climactic in my opinion." Turning around, he walked over to the group with Yang, Urahara, and Yin walking beside him, the latter transforming back into his original form. When they stood in front of everyone, Shadow looked at everyone and said, "So, I'm Shadow; nice to meet all of ya."

The teenage all looked at him nervously before Ichigo stood up and started to walk up to him unsteadily. "Sorry, man. We didn't exactly expect you to show up, much less start throwing fire at them."

"Excuse me, Ichigo," Uryu said stepping forward. "But before we start acting like we are all friends here, I for one would feel more comfortable if he sealed up his zanpakuto first." At this, Shadow looked over his left shoulder, then his right, and then he looked down at his boots and turning around in a full circle before doing the same thing in reverse. Finally he looked back at Uryu and said, "What zanpakuto?"

"The one on your shoulder." He answered tartly, pushing up his glasses.

"Oh, he's not a zanpakuto, this is Soulfire Phoenix." But he swung it around and brought his left hand up and thrust the polearm, blade first, behind the hand and turned it back into its jian-shaped sealed form. Turning the blade tip downward, he swung it around the presented edge of the extended hand, showing the flame imprint on flat of the blade right above the guard before twirling it in between his fingers and putting it back in the sheath on his back.

"SUUUPPPPPEERRR CCCOOOLLLLLLLLLL!!!!" Keigo yelled, jumping up and saluted Shadow with tears streaming down his cheeks. "I'm Keigo Asano age 15, and I'm honored to see such an amazing display of fiery power! Please teach me how to be as mighty as you!!"

Shadow just stood there staring at him before looking at Yang. "Now I get why you lost your cool when ya told me about him; he's a lot like Sun Wukong in my opinion." Hearing this, Keigo began jumping up and down before leaping up to swing from a nearby branch.

"I'm like Sun Wukong, you say? With such a name, he must have been a mighty--"

"He was more commonly known to the Western world as the 'Monkey King'," Shadow added, causing Keigo to lose his focus and fall from the tree onto his back, twitching slightly. "And it would seem your powers reflect that lineage," he added before moving over, grabbing Keigo's hand and pulling him upright, slapping him on the shoulder. "With a little work, you could be the next Monkey King, monkey boy."

At this, the others started to laugh. Orihime and Mizurio were covering their mouths to stifle their laughs, Chad just had a big smile on his face, (which was as close to laughing out loud) Uryu pushed up his glasses with a smirk, and Tatsuki and Ichigo were laughing out loud; all while Urahara was waving his fan smiling, Yoruichi smirking with her arms crossed and Yang and Yin looking at each other before Yang hung his head and sighed.

"Well," Mizurio gasped, "At least it explains why he, hehehe, had that tail when I saw his spirit image." At this, Orihime started giggling through her fingers and Tatsuki clutched her sides. Hearing this, Keigo started bawling "WHY MIZURIO?!?! WWWHHHHYYYYY?!?!?!"

"Wait," Shadow said turning to look at Mizurio, "What do you mean, 'spirit image'?"

"Well," he gasped, managing to get his breathing under control enough to talk, "I can see more than simply hollows and soul reapers; I can actually see the source of their spirit powers and, up close, I can sort of see what the power takes form of."

"No kidding. That could come in handy," Urahara said, drawing everyone's attention to him. "With it, we could actually get a jump on enemies."

"Ichigo," Tatsuki said pointing, "Who's the goofy guy and the woman with crazy hair?"

"Oh, the guy with the bucket hat is Kisuke Urahara, though I just call him Mr. Hat-And-Clogs," he said pointing to Urahara, who did a bow of his head and a wave of his fan, before pointing to Yoruichi. "And his friend is Yoruichi Shihoin; I told you guys about them."

"You didn't mention how hot she was," Keigo said grinning widely. Now that he had a chance to focus on something other than fighting giant monsters and talking to weird masked men, he was able to observe the newcomers, or more specifically check out Yoruichi.

"Forget it kid," Shadow said crossing his arms and Yoruichi could practically feel the smirk on his face beneath the mask. "She's out of league; besides, she's older than your great-grandma." Hearing this, Yoruichi pouted at him.

"Ahh come on Shadow, women are sensitive about their ages," she said before turning to smirk at Keigo, "But he's right; I'm way out of your league, kid." Looking back she grinned wickedly, "Besides, you and Yang are both way older than me so you don't get the right to talk."

"Well it's a pleasure to meet your acquaintance, Miss Shihoin," Mizurio said with a smile, obviously trying his hand at flirting with her.

"Right; he prefers older women," Ichigo said moving his hand to scratch the back of his head in embarrassment. "Mizurio, don't you already have a girlfriend? Why do you feel the need to flirt if you're supposed to be committed to a relationship? "

"Hey, come on Ichigo; I'm just trying to be nice," He countered, sounding suspiciously like a whine.

"Hate to break up the introduction fest here," Shadow said waving his hand to get their attention, "But I'd like to remind Mad-hatter here that I still need my pendent back since the fight is over." Nodding, Urahara dug out the necklace and handed it to Shadow who placed it back around his neck before turning to Tatsuki. "So, what can you do?"

Tatsuki just sped back to the edge of the crater and back in the blink of an eye before slamming her fist into the ground and made a small crater of her own before looking at him and shrugging.

"Nice," he commented. "Anything else I should be aware of, though?"

"She can breathe fire," Chad put in.

Looking her over, Shadow was silent before putting in his opinion. "Well, from those three, I'd have to guess you have some latent dragon's blood going in your veins. Congratulations!"

"Wait, Tatsuki can't be a dragon," Orihime protested. "She would have scales, horns, wings, a tail and she'd get angry at everything."

"That last part isn't that far off," Keigo whispered to Mizurio before Tatsuki turned to glare harshly at him causing him to be quiet.

"Well, dragons did have the ability to shape-shift," Yang said. "Sometimes, they would transform into humans and end up settling down and having a family with another human."

"Besides," Shadow added, "That idea that dragon-human hybrids actually having draconic features is a myth designed by the nerds who made that 'Dungeons & Dragons' game."

I don't know why ya ain't gettin' wit' her, partner. Now that ya know she can take it...

'You, shut up. I don't think of her like that.' Then, he turned to Shadow and said, "Hey, there's a part of the book I didn't get."

"Which was?" he asked as Ichigo brought out the book and flipped to the page he had dog-eared and showed to him.

"What would have happened if this happened?" he asked, pointing at the part that warned about the flying bugs when doing the energy transference. Taking the book, Shadow read the section before he looked up.

"Beats me; I just put it in there when I saw the movie 'The Fly'," he replied, watching as Ichigo's mouth dropped open in astonishment. "What? The guy got his DNA mixed with a fly and turned into a monster; I didn't want to take the chance of it happening with the process or who knows what could happen?!" he added with a wide-spreading of his arms. Seeing this mood, not getting better for him, he changed tactics. "So, I think it's a pretty safe bet that, properly trained, Tatsuki could very well end up taking your nickname as 'Flash Master', huh Yoruichi?"

"Yeah, I don't think so," she said smiling, "at least until she can out speed me without flash step."

"Hey," he shrugged, "Anything's possible." Then turning back, he flipped through the pages of the book he was still holding, he pointed at the section he was looking for: the part where it explained how to do his alternate form of kido. "Now then, let's get you up to speed on this, huh kid?"


Seireitei, Squad 1, Captain's Meeting Quarters...

Looking around at everyone in attendance, Rukia was nervous since she saw that not only were the captains and lieutenants present, but also were the people that had apparently been selected to participate in joining Captains Hitsugaya and Soifon in going to Karakura town. Looking around at her others, she took note of who it was she would be working with, since they had been grouped together.

There was Ikkaku Madarame and Yumichika Ayasegawa, the 3rd and 5th seats of Squad 11 respectively. Ikkaku was a bald-headed man with red marks on the outer edges of his eyes, wore his sandals barefoot and held his zanpakuto in its sheath on his shoulder rather than in his sash like normal soul reapers did. Like the stereotypical Squad 11 member, he enjoyed fighting and like his captain, he especially enjoyed it when he fought against a strong opponent who could make him fight to his fullest.

Yumichika was a man with shoulder-length, shiny, black hair and feather-like extensions on the right side of his face, red on the inside of his eyebrow and yellow on the farther edge of his eyelashes, giving him a womanly appearance. Though he seemed like he didn't belong in Squad 11, he was a narcissist who judged everyone and everything based on whether he thought they were beautiful or ugly and he was very vain; though he was at times caring and helpful to others and extremely loyal to his friend, Ikkaku. His shihakusho was altered slightly by having an orange color and an orange armband on his right forearm.

On Yumichika's other side was Captain Soifon of Squad 2. She was slightly taller than Rukia, with her black hair tied back into two braids ending with two rings at the ends with her bangs hanging in front of her forehead. She wore the standard uniform for the commander of the Punishment Force, a shihakusho without any covering on the shoulders or back, under her captain's haori, long coverings on her forearms which were crossed in front of her chest and Chinese shoes instead of sandals on her feet. Her zanpakuto was hanging laterally from her back with the hilt pointed to her right. From the way she held herself, it was clear that you'd have to be a fool, or in the case of her lieutenant, a "complete oaf", to try and mess with her, since she was a very proud person and a master at hand-to-hand combat; her biggest weakness however, was her obvious, fangirlish, and (to put it mildly) slightly obsessive hero worship/girl crush of Yoruichi Shihoin, her mentor and former superior.

Turning to look to her other side, the single bang of her raven hair swaying slightly, Rukia's violet eyes fell on the other captain who was going with them to the Human World: Captain Toshiro Hitsugya from Squad 10, the youngest captain of the 13 Court Guard Squad and one of the shortest Soul Reapers, a fact he was especially annoyed by whenever someone brought it up. His snow-white hair and teal eyes made him stand out even further in addition to his height and his large-for-his-size zanpakuto which was hung across his back, the 4-point-star guard of the hilt shown from behind his shoulder. Despite his age, he was praised for being a genius and that he and his lieutenant was the one who found out that Aizen was a traitor before everyone else did.

Next to him was his lieutenant, Rangiku Matsumoto. She had long, strawberry-colored hair and breasts that were larger than Orihime's, which she had the cleavage exposed with her exceptionally loose shihakusho, along with Orihime's chipper attitude when off duty as well as her strange taste in food. She was known to be both a lazy drunk who avoided her paperwork with massive creativity (to the constant irking of her captain) and a loyal friend and strong fighter on the battlefield. Now though, her face showed the common feeling that they were all experiencing: anxiety over what Captain Kurotsuchi had ready to present to them.

Ending the row was Rukia's childhood friend and the lieutenant of her older brother's squad, Renji Abarai. To a lot of people, Rukia included, he was in many respects a parallel to Ichigo. He had long red hair, which was either in a spiky ponytail or a braid; black jagged tribal tattoos that started on his forehead and made it look like he had the wackiest eyebrows, which he happened to cover with a white bandana tied to the side or expensive sunglasses (the latter becoming less and less frequent since Ichigo came and started breaking them during their fights), ever that went down to cover most of his body and a short temper that made him yell at anyone who irritated him (namely Ichigo and Rukia), though he always kept in check around his captain. He was staunchly loyal and right now, like he'd been for the past few hours, he was showing his worry for his friend as the doors opened and Captain Kurotsuchi and Nemu came in, the latter carrying a display monitor and several information cartridges, walked to the center of the room and, while Nemu started to assemble everything together, her captain/father/creator faced the other occupants in front of him.

"Good afternoon, everyone," he began, being deceptively polite to everyone before him, "I do hope you're all doing well."

"Kurotsuchi," Yamamoto said warningly, "You had best begin discussing your findings before I decide you are merely making a mockery of us all. After your withholding information during the Bount incident, that would be most unwise to do."

"Very well," he replied grudgingly, still angry with the reminder; after all, he had been manipulated by them into getting the Quincy to bring Jin Kariya and the Bounts to the Soul Society in the first place. Deciding on his most favored stress-relieving technique, he started shouting to his lieutenant. "Nemu! Are you not done setting up the equipment yet?!"

Standing upright, she turned to look at her audience. "The system is prepped and ready to show the images you wanted, Captain." With that, she moved to the side as Mayuri pulled out a remote control and pointed it at the display monitor and pressed one of the buttons. A humming sound resonated as the monitor showed the area where the whole incident took place.

"As I'm sure you are all aware," he began, "Aizen has made his first move since leaving the Soul Society last month by sending out two complete arrancar to Karakura town in the Human World." Clicking a button, the monitor showed a slide showing two lights, indicating the arrancar as well as different lights signifying humans; that is until one of the arrancar lights started to draw in the other lights around it. "As you can see, they are absorbing the souls around them and..." he paused to widen the screen to show a larger range, "It absorbed the souls of nearly everyone within a 10-mile radius of it." Taking a minute to let everyone take it all in, he turned to look at Yamamoto who nodded for him to continue.

"Shortly afterward, there was a bit of good news and a bit of bad news," he continued, shifting to a new slide, this time showing a side view of the scene with Ichigo and his friends' energy signatures coming up into the bushes. "The good news, as you can all plainly see, is that the Substitute Soul Reaper Ichigo Kurosaki is perfectly healthy and alive." Hearing this, everyone who knew Ichigo personally on some level relaxed somewhat.

"How did you get the viewing from the side, Mayuri?" asked Shunsui Kyoraku, the captain of Squad 8. Most of the time, Kyoraku was seen as lazy and in love with sake as Matsumoto; however, underneath the aloof exterior lay the mind of an insightful individual who could see the truth in many things others would overlook.

Gritting his teeth, Mayuri was quick to think of a cover. "You know, Kyoraku, I am capable of hacking the human's satellite hovering above the atmosphere and comprise a 3-dimensional visual of the situation. Now, would you allow me to continue or would you prefer to leave and get drunk and pass out until tomorrow morning?"

Pushing up the wide-brim straw hat over his long, wavy, dark brown hair, Kyoraku smiled calmly and waving his hand in a defensive manner. "Now, now, no need to become upset, Mayuri; I was just making a statement, you can go on with the presentation." Scoffing, Kurotsuchi turned back to the others.

"As I was saying, the bad news for this situation is as follows." Pulling out a laser pointer, he drew everyone's attention to the unfamiliar energy signatures. "First of all, there weren't three unknown signatures, but four; at first, I was confused since this fourth energy seemed to be shared amongst two different entities."

"What did you conclude, Captain?" Hitsugaya asked cocking an eyebrow. This caused Kurotsuchi's mouth to curve into a wicked grin.

"I believe that this fourth one may be a Bount that we missed." At this, everyone froze. Having just dealt with Kariya and the other Bounts who had attacked the Seireitei so soon, it was only natural to be shocked that they may have to deal another Kariya was terrifying, especially with Aizen's movement happening right alongside it. Finally, Squad 13 Captain Jushiro Ukitake, a kindhearted man with tuberculosis and his hair turned white because of said sickness, was the one who spoke: "I can't believe it."

"I assure you," Kurotsuchi said, pushing another button, "That's not the end of the bad news."


Karakura, Urahara Shop, Underground Training Area...

"Alright," Shadow called to Ichigo, "Do 5 more for each of them on both arms and then we'll call it a day."

Nodding, Ichigo turned back and started his motions again. It had been about 10 minutes since they had left the battle site and Shadow had explained what he wanted Ichigo to learn for the new kido style. Thinking back, Ichigo focused on what his new teacher had told him.

/5 minutes ago.../

"Now pay attention kid," Shadow said calmly, "To use this kido, you must first learn the moves first. To start you off, we'll work with two low-level spells and one mid-level spell from each of the two types, attack and defense. Once you have the steps down, we'll work on applying the focusing of your spirit energy to the movements to execute the spell itself."

/Return to Present/

Completing the form for, as Shadow called it, Guardian's 4th Strike and moving onto the Scholar's 4th Wisdom which Shadow had called the "Python Embracing the Magpie", Ichigo looked over to where Shadow was talking to the others, presumably about what they were going to do about training Tatsuki, Keigo, and Mizurio on how to use their new abilities.

Ichigo, if you wish to be able to use this new kido, you must retain your focus; if this were a battle and you do this while trying to perform this spell, then it would fail to be generated or backfire upon you or your friends.

Yeah, Ichigo. So get yer head out o' ya butt and concentrate so we can crush those arrancar bastards next time we fight 'em!

'Do you think about anything other than battling enemies and winning fights?'

Nope. Well, unless ya count thinking of ways to get you hooked up with a babe... or two or three.

'I'm going back to learning the forms,' he thought with a slight reddening in his cheeks, 'and I don't want to hear another word out of you, Cazador, unless you see I need to improve my form.' With that, he shut out the voices and continued with his training. If he'd only stayed connected for a few seconds longer, he would have heard the final remarks between his two blades; or more accurately, Cazador's ravings and Zangetsu's quiet comment.

"How dense is he? How does he not see the number of girls who he has a chance with, especially that Orihime chick? GOD!! I hate living in this IDIOT!!"

Zangetsu only shrugged. "He isn't one who notices romance easily. Remember, his contact with the opposite sex is limited and he lost the only one who could have given him the necessary advice on the subject without him dismissing it as perversion or idiotic, so he isn't as well adjusted to it as he is in battle."

"From the sound of things, Shadow," Urahara said slowly, "I think we have to figure out how best to prepare these three," he waved his hand at Tatsuki, Keigo, and Mizurio, "to use their abilities to their fullest extent."

"Actually Kisuke," Shadow holding up his hand. "I sort of put Yang in charge of training these kids. If you want, you could supervise; you just won't be doing any direct training with them," he added with a shrug.

"Hey, don't we get a say in who trains us?" Tatsuki interrupted, crossing her arms with a frown on her face. "I mean, no offense, Yang, we're all grateful to you for helping us get our powers in the first place," she added hurriedly, waving her hands in a nonaggressive manner.

Yang just smiled calmly. "No offense taken, Tatsuki."

"But we should be trained by someone who we know will help us reach our full potential; and since Ichigo needs his kido training, you'll need to work with him personally," she pointed out while pointing to Shadow.

"I don't really like focusing on one student while training a group; makes me feel like I'm picking favorites," he replied dismissively.

"Well, what if we learned with all of them?" Orihime suggested with her finger pushing up her bottom lip in a thoughtful position.

"That might work," Yoruichi put in. "With all of us teaching them, they'd be able to learn about their powers; and with Aizen's forces on the move already, we can't afford to waste time." Everyone all nodded in agreement as Ichigo came up, slightly sweating from exertion.

"So, how do I use those moves for kido?" he asked, with a slight pant.

"Well, how'd ya figure out how to use Kukaku's Flower-Crane Cannon to get into the Seireitei?" Shadow asked.

"Well, Ganju told me his method of using kido so I just did like he said; see a hole in my mind and jump through it."

"If I recall correctly," Yoruichi interrupted with a big grin, "You overshot the amount of spirit energy when you did it and then you lost your concentration and blew yourself up right after you got it down."

"Thanks, Yoruichi," he muttered sarcastically, "Because he really needed to know that part."

"Well, using kido is sorta the same mental imagining," Shadow stepped in, "Only instead of you jumping through the hole, you're gonna put the spirit energy around you into the hole while you stay and monitor the amount put in."

"How does that work?" he asked. "And while we're talking about controlling my spirit energy, using my bankai while I'm in my body is dangerous with all that compressed energy, so how do I bump up the percentage of power I'm aloud to use?"

Crossing his arms, Shadow walked to stand in front of Ichigo and looked at him right (he assumed) in the eye. "Dam."

Blinking, he looked over at the others, who looked at him confusedly, before turning back to him. "What did I say?"

"No, no, no. You misunderstand," Shadow replied. "I mean that, your power is like a reservoir of water, the mark is a dam containing it, and the energy amount at your disposal is like the drain that regulates the water to pass through to the other side. Now, to use the spirit energy you have and divide it so you'll have the right amount for each individual spell and have energy to spare, you have to think of a channel that splits your flow and shifts the energy in different directions for different purposes. You get all that?"

"I do, but that doesn't answer my second question." Ichigo said. At this, Shadow moved past everyone to stand about 3 yards away before turning back.

"I suggest you all hold onto something for support," he called out, cupping his hand to the side of his mouth. At this, Yang moved to stand in front of the three new teen fighters while everyone else just stared. Breathing deeply, Shadow crossed his arms in front of his chest, fingers drawn into claws. "Release the containment: 10%!" With that, he threw his arms downward to his sides.

The next thing that everyone felt was the crushing force of an enormous spiritual pressure. The very air around them had instantly become thin, making it difficult to breathe; Mizurio and Orihime looked like they were close to passing out. Even Chad had struggled to stay standing, sweat dripping from his jaw-line. The only ones who looked unaffected were Urahara, Yoruichi, and Yin and Yang and the formers flinched slightly. As fast as the spiritual pressure had hit it had dissipated, leaving Shadow panting before them for a few seconds before he took a deep breath and returned to the group.

"So, that's how you do that," he said smoothly, like he'd just shown them the secret behind a card trick instead of crushing them beneath a powerful pressure.

"Say, Ichigo," Mizurio said, heaving up Zangetsu to stand on its tip before falling back into a sitting position. "How exactly are ya going to hide this? If it stays like this, people are gonna freak out and call the cops." They had admittedly been lucky to avoid any suspicion since it took about five minutes after they left before people started to call the paramedics and police. Turning back to Shadow, Ichigo pointed at him to indicate that he wanted the question answered.

"Just as you have a channel for your spirit energy reserved for kido, you have energy which is meant for your zanpakuto," he replied pointing at the hilt of the blade, "So, just imagine the channel being redirected towards your reserves and it should change back to its original form; and since more of your energy is being taken to generate the blade, it should be easier than trying to seal up your zanpakuto. Go on, give it a try."

Ichigo looked at Zangetsu before grasping the hilt with both hands and closing is eyes. 'Think of a water dam, change the direction the flows form the channel from the blade.' While his eyes were closed, he couldn't see the blue energy being pulled from Zangetsu towards his body, the gargantuan sword wavering and shooting up to the hands that held it while the onlookers saw this with slight concern. As the glow faded, they saw Zangetsu had resumed to the form of a worn hilt. Opening his eyes, Ichigo looked down at the hilt in his hand; he smiled at everyone before Shadow tapped him on the shoulder.

"Don't get cocky, kid. You may be quick on learning the physical forms, but ya haven't even scratched the surface of spirit energy control until ya can apply the mental training you've just learned into the kido forms and wield them in battle," he reprimanded, "Also, until you've gotten past the final stage of the cooling period, you are not to loosen up your spiritual pressure like I just showed you."

"Wait," Uryu interjected, "'Final stage?' How do we know what to look for when that happens?"

"Oh you'll know, trust me." With that, he ignored her glare and turned to look at everyone else. "Now, for the rest of the day, you guys can go home and rest up."

"Oh that reminds me," Tatsuki said suddenly, reaching into her pocket and pulling out her cellphone. After pressing some buttons, she held it up to her ear. "Hey, Mom. I was wondering, is it was okay if I hung out with Ichigo and his family for a few hours before I head home? Thanks, love you too." With that, she turned to her aforementioned friend with a smile and said, "Well, that settles that."

"Wait, why're you coming over to my house?" he asked confusedly. Tatsuki just looked at him like he had just asked her how to make water.

"Well, how else am I gonna get my revenge on the pervert who used your body to steal a kiss form me?" she stated it like it was obvious to everyone.

"Wait, you can't just--" before he could finish protesting, Tatsuki walked up to him and started buttoning up his school shirt.

"The way I see it, there are two ways that I can get payback, Ichigo," she said in a cool voice. "I can either go over to your house and beat up the one who is responsible for the event or..." she trailed off turning her head to look up into his eyes, "...since it was your body that kissed me, I could just hurt you instead. So, Ichigo..." her voice dropped to a deadly soft tone, "what'll it be?"

His eyebrow twitched as he thought of the pros and cons of his options. On the one hand, Yuzu and Karin would enjoy her visiting them after a long time. Plus, with her new strength, she'd tear him to pieces before he even got there just to make him say 'yes'. On the other hand, it felt like he was betraying someone who, while not a 'friend' in the traditional sense, was somewhat tolerable. And if that wasn't bad enough, he could already hear his dad screaming about grandkids even now.

This may seem like a brain teaser to you, Ichigo, but to someone like me, it makes more sense to go with the option that doesn't involve being pummeled by the hot, psycho dragoness; you know what they say: "Better him than me."

'Okay, what's with you? I get why you're thinking along the lines of selling out, but why did call Tatsuki "hot"?'

Hey, I'll have you know that us hollows, arrancars included, think it's sexy to be bloody and maim people without restraint to our victims. Besides, you do remember that you'll have to talk to your baby sister about Soul Reapers and Hollows when you get home, right? Well, if she were with you, it would lessen the tension when that happens.

Turning back to Tatsuki who was looking at him expectantly, he sighed and grumbled out, "Fine." Hearing this, Tatsuki beamed and let go of the collar of his shirt which had been held in her fist since she finished talking.

"Oh-ho," Keigo said, smiling knowingly, "Now I get it, Ichigo." Then he got up into his friend's face, blatantly ignoring the glare directed at him. "You secretly want to be alone with Tatsuki so you two can--" which was as far as he got before he got a slug from Ichigo and a high kick from Tatsuki, both in the face with a simultaneous, "SHUT UP, KEIGO!!!"

"Urahara," Chad asked, "After Ichigo's done with learning kido, what are we going to do about training him with that hollow power of his?"

"Don't know," was the answer. "I guess we'll see what to do when the Soul Society sends someone to help out with the arrancar situation."

"Yeah, about that..." Shadow said, shifting his weight from side to side and drawing everyone's attention back to him. Looking around, he knew this next statement could and probably would ignite some negative responses. "I think it might be better to wait before you tell your Soul Reaper friends about your other power."


Seireitei, Squad 1, Captain's Meeting Quarters...

"Now," Kurotsuchi continued, "As you see here, the Substitute Soul Reaper engaged the arrancar alone. After his initial attack, he engaged his bankai to fight."

Rukia swallowed nervously at this. If he needed to use his strongest attack to fight, then that meant things would be bad. Looking over at Renji, she saw that he looked like she felt. When he glanced at her, he smiled reassuringly. This made Rukia feel slightly better as she turned back to the screen which had shifted back to the energy signature format.

"Now, this is what I find to be particularly interesting," Kurotsuchi spoke again, his smile never leaving his face. Then, everyone present witnessed Ichigo's energy disappear from the screen before it reappeared before repeating the disappearing act several times. "I'll be the first to admit when I saw this phenomenon, I thought that there was a malfunction with the scanners."

"And that isn't the case?" Soifon asked curtly. At this, Kurotsuchi's smile dropped to a frown directed to her. Wordlessly, he messed with some dials and buttons on his remote before he made the screen rewind to the point that he had started showing.

"To answer your question, Captain Soifon, that isn't the case, no. We will now watch the same scene in the slowest speed we have." This time when it played, rather than Ichigo's signature disappearing, it became a stream that cut through the enemy, the ending drawing slowly behind him. "As you can see, he isn't vanishing; instead, the power in his bankai has made him move so fast, he is in fact moving so fast, everything around him is standing still."

As the video progressed, everyone saw that the signature was slowly starting to slow down. At this, Kurotsuchi reset the monitor to show things at normal time. "The thing here is that he's starting to slow down for some reason after moving at abnormally high velocity." Byakuya chose to speak at this.

"The reason is because his bankai is a compression of his spiritual power rather than an expansion resulting in a faster speed," he spoke calmly, "However, when he first fought me with it, his body wasn't able to handle the strain and it forced him to become immobile."

"Well then, perhaps you can explain this to me as well," Kurotsuchi said, shifting the screen to the side view. "It seems that he's more of a prodigy than we anticipated and a greater fool as well; because as it shows right here," he continued using his free hand to point at the monitor, "He was able to use his zanpakuto in bankai while he was still in his human body!"

The statement shocked everyone and it showed on all of their faces, even Soifon, Byakuya and the anthropomorphic fox captain of Squad 7 Sajin Komamura. For any Soul Reaper, even a captain, to be able to use a zanpakuto while in a physical body was a great challenge for the sealed state, let alone shikai or bankai. So to hear that Ichigo was able to do such a feat under everyone's noses for an unknown amount of time truly was something astounding. That is, until everyone heard the crunching of his bones before the arrancar kicked him away.

"Now, at this point," he continued, completely unperturbed by the fact that Ichigo was coughing up blood heavily right in front of him, "the Substitute is currently out of commission and now needs his friends to cover for his weaknesses." With this, Orihime's shield dropped and Keigo leapt into action. "Here a fighter that we haven't yet identified nor know anything about joins in."

"Hey, I know him," spoke out Izuru Kira, the blond, gloomy-looking lieutenant of Squad 3 and acting captain after the defection of Gin Ichimaru. "Ichigo Kurosaki was fighting a Bount in the Living World because of that kid. But he shouldn't have enough spiritual pressure to fight even hollows, let alone an arrancar."

"Yes, I've actually got the video feed showing the four unknowns' features," with a different pushing of buttons split the screen into quarters, each showing Keigo, Tatsuki, Mizurio and Yang in their individual pieces of the fight.

"Pardon me, Head-Captain sir," Rukia spoke out tentatively, "But I know three of those four people personally." At this, everyone's eyes settled on her and made her feel self-conscious.

"How do you know them, Miss Kuchiki?" Yamamoto asked, his long white beard moving as his mouth formed the words. With a cough from Renji, she snapped back to focus and started to speak clearly.

"The girl and the two male brunettes are Tatsuki Arisawa, Keigo Asano and Mizurio Kojima, all are friends of Ichigo Kurosaki from his high school," she began. "Tatsuki is also Orihime Inoue's best friend; until now, I've never seen any of them show signs of developing spiritual powers. The fourth one I don't recognize."

"I would imagine so, since he's the one whose power is what made me believe that we missed a Bount," Kurotsuchi said, shifting Yang's square to fill the screen and show him activating Yin's power. "That however, isn't any cause for concern at the present time."

"And what do you consider to be worse than another Bount?" asked Komamura.

"Why, this is," Kurotsuchi replied, his grin growing to manic levels. With an adjustment of the dial, he jumped the screen to show the man in black holding his sword behind his empty hand. As the scene played out, they all saw it transform into a familiar looking halberd.

"Is that...?" asked Ukitake, eyes wide.

"Yes, the Sokyoku, as Captain Hitsugaya theorized a month ago, has been reconstructed," Mayuri replied, as he fast-forwarded to the point where fire was being shot from the blade in the form of a firebird. "And our mystery man seems to be able to, at some level, control it for personal battles."

Hearing this, everyone showed shock on their faces, even the Head-Captain Yamamoto had to open his eyes at this new fact. Once the Sokyoku was released, it took the best of the kido corps to reseal it due to its great power. For one man to not only use it without its spiritual power overwhelming him, but to also be able to seal it into a smaller form was astounding, and at the same time, terrifying. It was Captain Kyoraku who broke the tension with a smile.

"Now now, everybody, let's not get in a panic; this might be good for us in my opinion." All eyes turned to him in confusion with his proclamation.

"Shunsui, I'm afraid that I don't quite understand what you mean," said the soft, motherly voice of Retsu Unohana, the captain of Squad 4. Turning his gaze over to his friend, taking her long dark hair tied into a braid that went down the front of her shihakusho with her zanpakuto hanging from her shoulder on its rope and the face that made everyone trust her as the head healer of the 13 Guard Squads. Pushing back his hat to look her in the eye, he answered her with a cheeky wink.

"Well, if we're goin' by Mayuri's footage, I'd like to point out that, even if he's right about that boy with the ponytail being a Bount, that boy's been helping Ichigo's friends to get him out of danger and he has shown skills that would give some of us a run for our money. Also," he continued shifting his gaze to the rest of the Soul Reapers before him, "I should probably mention that both of them are fighting the arrancars, so at the very least, they're against Aizen; meaning that maybe they could help us out."

"An interesting theory, Captain Kyoraku," Soifon spoke curtly, "But you're making a point of overlooking the fact that he attacked one of the Captains when we confronted him." To her chagrin, he only chuckled.

"And you're overlooking the fact that Captain Hitsugaya, yourself, and both of your lieutenants as well as Captain Zaraki and Lieutenant Kusajishi admitted that Kenpachi made the first attack," he countered, "So that means when he fought back, it was in self-defense more than assault. Besides, Yoruichi didn't seem to be worried about them being there, so that's something right?" Growling, Soifon turned her head away, hoping no one noticed her blush in embarrassment.

"ENOUGH!!" Yamamoto called forcefully. Hearing this, everybody stopped talking and turned to face him. "While Captain Kyoraku makes an excellent point about the strong chance of him being against Aizen, we must also remember that, with the evidence the Captain Kurotsuchi has presented, it isn't a chance that worth risking the safety of the Seireitei after the events in the Bounts; at least not without proper conformation from Kisuke Urahara who is currently watching Karakura with the Substitute Soul Reaper, Ichigo Kurosaki. In addition, we must learn more about the powers that his friends possess in case it might become a problem."

"What do you suggest then, Yamamoto-sensei?" Ukitake asked.

"Captain Hitsugaya, Captain Soifon," he directed, "Has your team been assembled yet?"

"Yes, Head-Captain sir," Toshiro said coolly, Soifon nodding in agreement.

"Be prepared; you leave for the Living World tonight! We cannot let this rapscallion get away with this any longer! You are all dismissed!"

"Yes sir!" echoed throughout the hall and everyone turned to leave until his spoke again.

"Jushiro, Shunsui, Retsu, stay behind for a little while longer; this is a private matter that must be discussed between us and us alone."

Hearing this, Rukia and Renji turned back to look at the three who were called out.

"Come, Renji, Rukia. It isn't any of your concern, so you need not hear this; anyway, you two have to return to gather your possessions for the mission," Byakuya said calmly as he walked past; Renji nodded and moved but Rukia hesitated. Ukitake turned to look at her and smiled reassuringly.

"It's all right, Rukia," he answered her worry. "Just go on ahead and tell Kiyone and Sentaro that I got held up so that they won't worry about me." With that, she nodded with a small smile and flash stepped back to the Squad 13 barracks.

"Is something troubling you, sensei?" Ukitake said, resuming his serious face. At first, Yamamoto didn't speak; then he looked at his three original students and asked them something they weren't expecting.

"Do you recall what Captain Hitsugaya and Captain Soifon said that the intruder called me before he escaped?" Hearing this, they all looked at each other before returning to look at him.

"If I recall, they said he called you Sourgrapes, old man Yama," Shunsui said with a cheeky smile on his face.

"Why does this concern you so much, Captain Yamamoto?" Unohana asked curiously.

"I have been called many names in my lifetime: Head-Captain, Yamamoto-sensei, even, as you just said, 'old man Yama'," he replied with a pointed look at Shunsui who smiled sheepishly. "And yet, only one man has ever had the gall to use such a name with me with complete disregard to rank or age. For our intruder to know such a name and be able to use the Sokyoku as expertly as him cannot be mere coincidence."

Ukitake, Kyoraku and Unohana looked at each other nervously. They remembered the person who he was talking about; and if things were going in the direction that the three of the oldest captains assumed things were going, then there was more trouble than they thought.

"Y-you don't mean..." Unohana stuttered nervously. Yamamoto nodded.

"Yes. I believe that the Black Dragon has returned and he's making his movement through Ichigo Kurosaki and the other humans."


Next time on Shadows Are Rising:

"I don't know what you're thinking, Shadow, but you'd better be sure about all this."

"Alright bro; you wanted to talk, so let's talk."

"OH MY GOD! WHAT IS THAT?!?!"


So, I'd really appreciate it if more people were to actually put down a vote in the pole on my homepage. Also, I wouldn't mind if more people were to review my story (though I like how many people have made this story their favorites). Don't be a fool and watch out for a cranky rabbit with a basket of colorful, hard-boiled eggs.

P.S. I didn't mean to offend anyone who plays Dungeons & Dragons. I'm just not that into it.

P.P.S. Did anyone else notice that, if you put Ichigo's bankai coat over his new hollow form, those tufts of hair on his collar and wrists make it look a lot like Zangetsu's coat on his spirit form or am I just thinking too hard?

--Twin Shadows