Hi there. I am so sorry for the wait in updates. I have been so busy with studies and writing my new crossover of fairy tail and bleach. I have just gotten like that idea out of the blue and written most of it because I didn't want to forget. If you are interested in it then go check it out. It is called Fairy Tail Reaper and there is already two chapters up, the next one will probably be posted in a few days or so. Any way yea this is the last chapter of The Demon Within so AI was kind of sad about it.

I just want to thank everyone that has supported my story to the end. I know it had it's flaws but it really means a lot. Hope to see everyone giving that review button a chance and tell me one last time what you thought of the story. Would like to know what your whole idea of the chapter and story is.

Anyway, Enjoy the final chapter of The Demon Within :)

Disclaimer: Last time for this story. I do not own Bleach and I don't make any money from this. I only use it to write stories for entertainment purposes.

The Demon Within

Chapter 37: Aftermath

1 Year later

Orihime stood in front of the grave of the man she once loved… No not loved, still love. After all this time she keeps on crying at the thought of his death. A tear escaped her eye and ran down her cheek. She then felt a hand on her shoulder and she slowly turned her head to see a small woman next to her.

"It's ok Orihime. There is no need to hold it in. We know what he meant to you."

"Thank you Rukia. It means a lot." Orihime thanked her.

"I see that you have come a head of us."

Rukia and Orihime turned their heads to see Uryu, Renji and Chad walking towards them.

"Yea, Orihime wanted some time alone so we came ahead. When we arrived contacted my brother and told him when we will be arriving back in the soul society later tonight or tomorrow." Rukia explained.

"What did he say?" Renji asked Rukia.

"He said that there is no need for us to be in the soul society at this time so we shouldn't rush things. If there is trouble or they need us then he will let us know."

Renji nodded and was now standing next to Rukia. Rukia stood next to Orihime and Chad along with Uryu. They were all lined up in front of the gravestone of someone who was not with them anymore. Orihime looked at the written letters that was engraved on the stone. It read:

"May he rest in peace. He who only protected – "

Orihime didn't read any further as a small amount of tears were escaping the edge of her eyes. No matter how much she visits his grave she couldn't help herself to at least cry a bit. Some days were better then others. One day only one or two tears will run down her cheek, another day she will be crying waterfalls. She wasn't sure what today would be like, but it felt like only a few tears which she was thankful for. She didn't want to make a big scene in front of everyone here. A small hand touched her shoulder which caused her to slowly turn her head to see Uryu.

"It's alright Orihime. We know how much he meant to you. There is no need to hold back your feelings with us. We will support you where ever we can." Uryu said with a small smile.

Orihime gave a nod and a small smile. She thought that she was very lucky to have friends like this. She would do anything for them and they show the same kindness towards her.

"One thing we know is that he really cared about you and he wouldn't want to see you cry." Uryu reassured her.

"Hey that's my line."

Everyone turned their heads to see Ichigo walking towards them in a black suit with a red shirt and tie and pointy black shoes. His orange hair still had the messy look but was a bit longer.

"Geez with the way you guys go on it sounds like I am the one that is dead and not Sora." Ichigo said as he stood behind Orihime.

"Where were you. We said to be at Orihime's house at nine o'clock sharp." Rukia snapped at him.

"My dad assaulted me again. He tried to force me to wear this other old suit of him that looks like it came from the stone age. We fought for a while and by the time he stopped pestering me I saw that it was already past nine." Ichigo explained.

"Well at least you came. I am still surprised that you survived after what you have been through or this might have been your grave." Renji stated.

"Yea, me too." Ichigo agreed.

Flashback

Ichigo stood there as the black and red box disappeared and fell to the ground. Orihime ran as fast as she could to get next to Ichigo's side. She fell to her knees and froze at what she saw. Ichigo made no motion, she couldn't even see his chest move up and down from his inhale and exhale. His eyes made no motion to close shut and open again. Orihime held her hands in front of her mouth to stop herself from screaming. Ichigo was no longer…alive.

She summoned her dome in an effort to heal Ichigo and save his life. The dome started to glow bright orange with a few cracks forming. The dome seemed to shatter as fast as she summoned.

"What? Why didn't it work?" Orihime asked with more tears in her eyes.

The group gathered around Ichigo but soon heard a crash just a few meters away from them. Kisuke stared and started to walk in the direction of the crash. Soon enough he saw Saya, bruised, beaten and full of blood. Her arms, legs and torso was full of scars and very deep cut wounds. Kisuke could have sworn he could see her bones if he looked closely.

Blood kept pouring from her wounds as Saya coughed up blood. She opened her eyes and stared up to the sky. She tried to lift up her hand to wipe the blood from her eyes but due to the injuries she couldn't. She felt that her one arm was barley connected with her body and any pressure or strain my separate it from her body.

'I see, so he decided to go all the way after all.' Saya thought to herself.

Saya then felt a presence next to her. She turned her head slightly and had trouble seeing who it was. The image was blurry and red so she couldn't make out who it was.

"Saya."

She sighed and gave a small and weak smile. It was Kisuke.

"That boy sure is something. Hope you guys will celebrate well in the following days on your victory."

"Ichigo is dead." Kisuke said bluntly.

Saya was shocked. How could Ichigo be dead? Sure she had injured him a great deal but didn't kill him. Orihime and the others had joined Kisuke and placed Ichigo's body on the ground beside them.

"Dead? What are you talking about."

"Yes, he died for some reason."

"I see, so that is the price for his new power."

"What new power?" Isshin asked.

"When Shiro and I became one he told me to be careful of Ichigo's new power. Ichigo called it Burakku Getsuga Hitsugi."

"Black Getsuga Coffin?" Uryu asked.

"Yes, Shiro had only seen it once and that was when he fought Ichigo for control. The ability was more powerful then the final getsuga tensho. I guess it came with a much more heavier price then just losing his power.

"The cost of his life." Orihime said in a low voice, still crying over Ichigo.

"Yes, it seems that in using this technique drained away his life force. It seems the more and longer he uses it the more of his life is drained until ultimately…death." Kisuke explained.

"Please Kisuke, isn't there something we can do?" Orihime asked in a state that look like she was losing her mental stability. She was clutching her arms and crying her eyes out.

"I'm sorry Orihime. I don't know why your powers won't work. Since there is no other means then there is nothing we can do." Kisuke said in a soft voice.

Everyone was crushed by the news. Each dealt with it in their own way. Orihime made no room to hide how she felt. She was broken and in a state that none has ever seen her before. Her eyes were filled with tears and they ran down her face like a waterfall. Rukia and Renji had small tear drops in the corner of their eyes but more than that they didn't show.

Chad and Uryu remained silent but the sadness filled their eyes. Chad felt like he has lost a long lost brother. Since he could remember, he and Ichigo had each other's back since the old days. Chad felt like he betrayed Ichigo. He couldn't stand himself, where was he when Ichigo needed him? He knew he should have come with Ichigo so that he could have his back.

Uryu felt the same way, though he would never admit it. He felt guilty for not coming with Ichigo and help him in his battle. Uryu lost a friend, a good friend he corrected himself. Probably the best he will ever have.

Kisuke and Yoruichi just lost one of their student that they taught. They both felt guilty for not teaching him more. Focusing more on him to develop his skill further. If only they did that then would the outcome have been different?

Isshin could only look at the ground with his eyes full of tears. He hit the ground with his fist out of anger.

'If only I had gone with him then my only son wouldn't have died.' Isshin thought.

There was a small silence between everyone

"Bring Ichigo closer and I will revive him." Saya said in a weak voice.

"What?" everyone asked at the same time.

"I have one last card to play and brining Ichigo back is within my power. His soul is still in his body. The only thing missing is his spirit energy and his soul chain. He will only truly die when his inner world is gone and we still have a short time before that happens. With some luck, I can restore everything before he dies." Say explained.

Kisuke looked hard at her, trying to figure out if this was another trap or plan. How was she going to bring him back to life? There was no way she has that kind of power. Kisuke decided to trust her which he didn't like. If she could then he was willing to take a gamble. Kisuke nodded at Orihime who looked at him with doubt and sadness.

Orihime pulled Ichigo closer to Saya with red eyes. Not once has she taken her gaze of Ichigo. She prayed in her heart that Ichigo would come back. She didn't know what she would do without him. Orihime then saw Saya take the Orb out of her pocket and held it in her hand. A white and purple mist escaped her body and was placed inside the orb. Her armour and zanpakuto changed back to normal before she fused with Shiro. She then held the orb towards Ichigo and the same mist was poured over Ichigo

They all stared and waited patiently to see what will happen to Ichigo. Not to their awareness but each one of them was holding their breath as they waited. They didn't know how long it took. Seconds, minutes? They weren't sure. Nothing was happening. As soon as they wanted to give up hope, they heard Ichigo cough as he sat up straight.

Orihime, not wanting to wait, leaped onto Ichigo as she embraced him in a hug. Tears of sadness was replaced with tears of joy as her true love came back. She looked at him and gave him one big kiss. Ichigo was a bit shocked by Orihime's sudden act but it didn't bother him. He complied and opened his mouth to allow her access. Both got entwined in each other's lips as they never wanted to stop which they did after a while.

The group just all gave a small smile at the two love birds. Renji and Isshin had a grin. They won't say anything now but in due time they will have their fun with Ichigo. They were going to make sure Ichigo would be embarresed so many times over.

"How is this possible? I could have sworn I died." Ichigo looked at his body in disbelieve.

"You were, but Saya sort of revived you." Orihime told him.

Ichigo's face turned serious as he turned his gaze towards Saya. First she captures him and treat him like a VIP guest, then she attacks him and the head captain, now she saved his life. No matter how hard Ichigo tried, he could not figure her out. What was her true intensions and why does she do all the things she do?

"I must say, you have out done yourself again Ichigo. How did you manage to take out both Saya and your hollow?" Kisuke asked him.

"Well the head captain did help me and – "

Ichigo stopped in his tracks as he remembered what happened to the head captain.

"Shit, the old man!" Ichigo screamed as he shot up with a sore body. Soon enough he made his way to the head captains body. Orihime and Kisuke followed after him and soon came to a stop as they saw the head captain's body, split in two.

"Orihime, could you heal him!?" Ichigo asked her.

"It won't work." Came the voice of Saya.

"Why is that?" Yoruichi asked her.

"My zanpakuto, Keres has another ability. When it kills someone then I remove the soul from the body. In other words, what you see there, only the body remains of the head captain. There is no more spirit energy, soul chain or even a soul. The only thing you would heal is the condition of his body. The main fact still remains the same, without his soul then he won't come back to life." Saya explained.

Ichigo could feel the anger inside him. He didn't understand how someone could kill another so easily without any remorse.

"How can you just kill someone like that?" Ichigo asked her.

There was a small silence before Saya spoke.

"The world is cruel. The weak die and the strong survive. You have to lean to stand on your own so that you don't have people to drag you down. That is how it works."

"So you are saying that just because we are weak we have to die? Just because we all depend and lean on each other that we are weak? That doesn't make us weak. It just shows where we need some work so that we can improve in those areas." Ichigo told her.

"Looks like there is no arguing with you. No matter. I will leave this world now. Congratulations on your victory Ichigo Kurosaki." Saya said as she started to fade.

Everyone that stood near her turned around to go inform others of the head captain and to go help where they can. Ichigo turned around and was about to walk with the others before he stopped.

"Saya."

"Yes?"

"When you said we should spend the night together. Why did you ask me that?"

"It was one way to reborn Shiro. I wanted to take the good side that was still within him and let him be reborn in the world of the living. I would have removed the evil side of him that would have remain inside you with the orb."

"So most of what you have done was for Shiro?"

"Yes, he was my first son so I only wanted the best for him."

"I see."

Those were the last words they shared before Saya passed away. Her body then started to glow and disappear.

Flashback end

Ichigo's POV

The group still stood in front of Sora's grave. None of them really knew him that well so it's wasn't for them so emotional. They were just there to support Orihime in any way they could. I only saw him a few times like when he picked up Orihime from school or when I happen to walk into her in a store.

He knew that they would struggle from time to time. Sora protected Orihime from their parents from when she was born. Her father was a drunk and her mother a prostitute. They would often beat their children which made Sora fear the day that they might kill Orihime in a fit of mindless rage. So the month Sora turned eighteen he decided to take Orihime away and take care of her.

"Thank you everyone. This means a lot to me." Orihime thanked her friends with still some tears in her eyes.

"Don't worry about it Hime. We do it because we want to." Ichigo assured her as he took hold of her around her waist and pulled her closer for a hug.

The group stood there for a little while before deciding to go home.

"I see that you could hold yourself in this time and not like at the battle with Saya." Renji said with a smirk.

"Damn you, aren't you ever gonna let it go?" Ichigo said with a vein popping in his head.

"As I would ever just let it go." Renji said in a mocking tone.

"You wanna go there pine brain." Ichigo said as he hit Renji with his forehead. Renji not backing down pushed back with his head against Ichigo.

"Anytime, anywhere. I will mop the floor with you strawberry." Renji retaliated.

Without warning, both men got hit over the head by Rukia.

"Could you two behave. We are at a graveyard for heaven's sake." Rukia said in a soft voice, not wanting to scream and disturb other people who was visiting someone's grave.

The two men walked further without any fights, but both still glared at each other.

"I must say it has been very quiet this past year. Normal hollow activity and that is about it." Uryu pointed out.

"Yea, since Saya things has been very peaceful. Hope it stays that way for a while. I still have my university a head and I wouldn't want to join another war." Ichigo said bluntly.

"Let's just enjoy the peace while it last and worry about future threats when they arrive." Rukia put in.

"Yes, I agree with you." Orihime said.

The group walked and exited the graveyard and entered Ichigo's car.

'I'm glad things are back to normal.' Ichigo thought to himself.

"Tch, I wouldn't jump to conclusions Kingy."

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THE END?

Well hope that you all enjoyed the last chapter. I just need to know, who thought Ichigo died when everyone stood at the grave? Please tell me and leave one last review for this chapter and also what you thought about the whole story. Also I may update just one more chapter of a few years time skip just for the fun and to see what they all did with their lives.

I also want to thank everyone that has followed and read my story till the end. You guys are amazing. Please go check out my other story. It is a crossover between fairy tail and bleach. It is called "fairy Tail Reaper" so don't miss out.

Hope to see you all at my other story. Good day to you all. Peace out.