The Hospital kindly provided by Ryuken Ishida, housed the insane victims in the lines of white beds while nurses busily tended to everyone, surgery rooms occupied as lives flickered. Sakura tended to Kurama as the small kit refused to resurface. Members of soul society that where grateful to Kurosaki's help during the war with Sosuke Aizen that new of medical knowledge also aided around the hospital. A room that was set aside for the demons of Wonderland held familiar faces to only the demons. "Oi!"
"…."
"Oi!"
"What?" a dark voice growled.
"Give back Naruto now you stupid fox!" Sakura hissed.
"No! Fuck off!" he growled dangerously.
"I agree, don't forget the kit doesn't even know who you are anymore! He belongs to us!" Shukaku warned in a superior tone.
"What the fuck do you want with my Fox!" Gaara snarled.
"He's our friend!" Kakashi warned calmly.
"Like fucking hell you are! You shamed him, ignored him; put him down and that fucking bitch abuses him for no reason! He belongs to us, you fucking excuse of 'friends' can go and do something more useful!" Kurama boomed.
"Hollow" Rukia started.
"It's Shiro" he warned
"Shiro, return Ichigo to us; or I'll make you by fo!"
"Let me put one thing straight, Ichigo isn't sain and he is still running around in his inner world constantly switching from wanting to kill you to wanting to make sure everyone is ok. If you want him so bad I'll give you one minute with him."
The dull orange hair and brown eyes tainted the body.
"Who are you?" Ichigo asked
"Your friends! I'm Rukia remember and this is Renji " Rukia replied about to hug him.
"Ru-ki-a? Ren-ji? Ah! Your" he said getting out of his bed and approaching them, there eyes lit up in relief.
"My hallucinations, I'll kill you like I did to that annoying Zangetsu! Die! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE!" he laughed manically. Ichigo's family who were in the room all froze in horror as he chocked Rukia grinning.
Renji tried to step in but had a vase shattered on his head, as Renji fell to the ground Ichigo was grinning insanely as his eyes glowed in bloodlust.
"I'm going to slaughter you~! You're the reason I was sent to hell's mother; so it's only fair you receive the same treatment as I did!" he smirked dropping Rukia and picking up a glass shard and bringing it to Renji's abdomen.
"Ichigo! Please stop this madness!" Karin yelled as tears streamed down her face in absolute terror. Ichigo turned to face his sister and the smirk disappeared.
"Karin, Yuzu and dad!" he yelled and walked up to them only to have Isshin stand in the way. Ichigo didn't care and hugged his dad and started sobbing. He started whimpering as he clung to his dad.
"Ichigo do you have any idea what you just did? You hurt them!" Karin yelled.
"Hurt!? Who did I hurt? Are they ok?" he yelled and turned around and his eyes meet Rukia and Renji.
"Thanks a lot for trying to kill us" Renji growled with sarcasm laced in his tone.
This eyes widened, as he faced the tilting his head to one side.
"Why aren't you dead? Ah~ that's right I had to do this multiple times before Zangetsu left!" he warned approaching them with the glass shard in his hand and ready to slit Rukia's throat.
She trembled in fear as tears streamed down her face, eyes closed and screamed.
She counted a second and nothing happened.
"You still sure you want Ichigo back in his state?" she heard the watery tone of his hollow asked beside her ear.
She looked at him and plummeted to the ground as yellow liquid pooled around her legs.
"Ew! Gross! Don't piss on the god damned fall, it's disgusting. Damn it, this is a hospital not a toilet!" Shiro yelled backing away from the pool that threatened to embrace his feet. Jumping on the bed making sure his feet where well away from the ground he had his body facing the other demons.
"Trust humans to piss themselves when they get scared!" Shukaku mocked.
"Yer, and I wished they didn't! God they need better bladder control" Shiro warned.
"W-what happened to Ichigo? Why is my brother like that? Who are you!?" Karin yelled.
"Oi, don't you even think of pissing yourself either! I'm Shiro, your brother's inner hollow as everyone loves to state, your brother's mind is completely fucking because of the drugs forced into his system and the torture finally brock him."
"Rep, when with Hatter wake up?" Kurama asked.
"Not too long. Right now Gluttony is completely destroying the chemical imbalance in her brain." He explained.
"I see, can't you just regenerate?" the fox added.
"No, so for the rest of eternity she will carry the scars, just like every other battle scar she has obtained."
"How many scars?" Gaara asked,
"Her body is covered head to toe in them. Her usefulness is limited. She only has about two years max to live if she leaves her job."
"You mean where she goes and fights monsters or something?" Shiro added as the presence of the humans became forgotten.
"Yes, but they will never let her leave."
"Why?" Kurama asked.
"Her father is a demon and her mother human, she and us along with her are the most powerful and effective weapon to exist to fight against high level monsters. They use her till she drops dead, no. Probably after her death they will used her body for research and try and create super soldiers using her flesh and organs."
"That's pretty inhuman!" Shukaku warned and added that he wouldn't even think of doing such a thing. The demons and monsters agreed the humans are the most inhuman creature to exist, ironic really.
After a couple of days pasted, things calmed down and the residents of wonderland started to be moved into different hospitals for intensive treatment and will forever be within a warden for their mental condition. Shukaku and Kurama along with Sakura's help stabilised their condition and fixed the imbalance making them almost return to their original state.
Ichigo as fully fixed by Shiro but spent the whole time seeking out Zangetsu trying to apologise. After apologising a trillion times, to not only Zangetsu, Shiro and his family; he refused to leave his inner world because he couldn't face his friends, any of them.
(3 months later, Shinobi world)
Knock, knock!
"Come in!" a sleep Gaara advised.
"Gaara, I had another nightmare!" Naruto weakly warned. Gaara nodded and with his hand lazily indicated Naruto over. Naruto smile and curled up beside his under the covers of the panda's soft bed sheets. Using Gaara as his teddy bear and emotional support comfortably fell asleep. Naruto had moved to Suna and has been living with Gaara ever since a week after returning to their world. He had no intensions of ever leaving Gaara in fear of losing him again like in hell's mother. He is still depressed and has to take anti-depressants. Kurama and Shukaku are constantly supporting the two host and Naruto was excepted into Gaara's family. Konoha has lost their little blond friend and occasionally sends letters back telling them his progress.
The following day Naruto meet up with his team who was staying in Suna for a month.
"Morning Naruto!" Kakashi greeted, he now made it his priority to arrive early to make sure Naruto is safe.
"Morning, Kakashi sensei! It's a lovely day today isn't it?" he chirped.
"Yes it is" he replied smiling at the blond.
"Hello dickless!" Sai greeted.
"I'm not dickless Sai!" he yelled. The two got in a one sided argument on Naruto's part. Naruto flinched and retracted as he saw Sakura approaching.
"He still is scared of Sakura. It can't be helped because she is rather aggressive, and him only just coming back from that trip to hell" Kakashi observed.
"Morning Naruto!" Sakura welcomed politely.
"Ah! Hello, Haruno-chan" he shyly greeted behind his arms in a timid attempted to create a barrier.
"Naruto, you know you can still call me Sakura, it will make me feel better if you do" she gently warned.
"Sorry, Har-Sakura chan!" he mumbled.
"Kit you know I'll protect you if she tries anything. Relax a bit ok!" the demon fox cooed.
"Right" Naruto agreed to one of his 5 best friends.
"Oh right. Me and Gaara are going to meet up and check on Ichigo and Shiro tomorrow" he chirped with a big smile thinking about catching up with his other two best friends. Sakura felt that a distance had been brought between them, not only her but everyone from the village felt a gap they had no hope of surpassing had been created.
They remember the first week, and last week Naruto stayed in Konoha. He wouldn't stop talking to his demon, always sending letter and reading letters from Gaara. When he came outside and hung out with his old friends, he was very distant and said the absolute minimum when spoken to. Kakashi, Shikamaru and Tsunade where taking turns in stay at Naruto's house to help him through his break downs and try and talk him out of suicide.
Shikamaru decided after analysing and having a talk to the Kyuubi possessing Naruto that him living with Gaara would put a stop to his suicide attempts and help him be more open. Naruto has opened up a bit, still refusing to mention anything to outsiders about hell's mother and anything relating to his past at all, in fear of being called insane and sent to another asylum.
Naruto and team 7 sat down in a coffee shop and talked about random things, out of everyone in the group he really opened up to Kakashi, but even that was limited.
(Karakura Town. Same time)
Ichigo was humming an upbeat tune while helping his little sister cook dinner, watching TV was his dad and Karin. Ichigo now only left the house for school or family outings. His friends where avoided, he only spoke when necessary before becoming a mute. He neglected his Shinigami duties completely who was taken over by Shiro who had been granted his own body so he could attend school with Ichigo to stop him from relapsing. Ichigo had dedicated his time for studying and had risen to 12th in his school, Shiro one below as he would constantly take over Ichigo's fights with other delinquents.
"Oi, Yuzu-chan and Ichi-chan. When's dinner ready?" Shiro complained mockingly from the dinner table.
"In a couple more minutes" Yuzu smirked.
"Don't call me Ichi-chan! I'm not a girl!" Ichigo grumbled.
"Put you in a dress and adds some pretty bows to your hair, I wouldn't be able to tell the difference" Shiro teased.
"Yer, Ichi-nii's hair is long, it's like one third up your back. If you want I can make it really pretty!" Yuzu smirked.
"Don't team up with him!" Ichigo complained childishly.
Knock. Knock!
Karin opened the door, and welcomed Orihime and Chad inside. The only people Ichigo held any actual interactions with. Both had accepted Shiro and interacted with him the same way they did with Ichigo. Soul Society who had helped with the Wonderland case were sworn to secrecy about any knowledge of Shiro. Retsu Unohana Captain of 4th squad had 'convinced' Kurotsuchi and twelfth squad to not investigate or interact with Shiro at all.
"Hello! Shiro-kun and Ichi-chan how are you!" Orihime greeted.
"Not you too!" Ichigo almost yelled in surprise than started acting a bit childish and mumbled to himself.
"We're good, but Ichi-chan is throwing a mini tantrum."
"I'm not a girl!" he yelled with only had everyone in the room giggle with Shiro plastered a sardonic smirk at Ichigo.
"You're a bad influence on them you know that!" Ichigo accused pointing a 'very scary' figure at him.
"And I'm very good at it, aren't I?" he continued to mock.
"Ah! Shut up! Your only getting half a serve tonight!" Ichigo roared.
As dinner started and they continued to talk; Shiro stealthily was stilling Ichigo's food from his plate causing everyone to hold back a giggle (except Chad who formed a small smirk) at the act.
"Oh right! Tomorrow four of our friends are coming over! They will be staying for a couple of days" Shiro warned Chad and Orihime.
"Oh! What are they like?" Orihime asked curiously.
"Um, it's kind of hard to tell, since we became friends during 'that' and we were just got out of there. But this will be the first time since we split up from them right!?" Ichigo asked turn over and catching the white haired and gold eyed clone swiping his food.
"Yep!"
"Don't yep me. Don't act like you did nothing, I caught you red handed; bastard!" Ichigo yelled being lively as ever.
"Ya trying to make me death or something there? Besides I've been talking with Shu and Ku for a while. They both say Gaara and Naruto are excited to see us."
"Ah, now that I think about it, what ever happened to Hatter?" Ichigo asked. Shiro's face became blank.
"She went back to the organisation she came from. Her monster warned me that they actually sent her there on a mission, and now they sent her off on another one. She lost her lower half of her body and an arm."
Ichigo as well as everyone looked concern while looking wide eyed at him.
"Will, will she be ok?" Isshin asked.
"She asked her dad to destroy her body before the organisation can get the hands on her corpse, sounds like she won't last long."
"I see, that's a shame" Isshin added. After eating in silence they changed to a more upbeat conversation.
(Following day)
"Ichigo-kun, Shiro-kun!" Naruto yelled waving to them. They managed to find a temporary way to let Shukaku and Kurama have their own body, even if it was a humanoid body.
"Gaara, Naruto, Shukaku and Kurama. Long-time no see!" Ichigo welcomed with a soft and honestly smile.
"Yer!" Kurama agreed.
"We have a LOT of catching up to do!" Shiro warned, they all smiled and headed off to a place where they could be themselves without interruptions.