Dmc5

C.5

**Chapter 5: A Night with Kurama**

The van rolled to a halt under the pitch-black sky, stars barely visible through the dense clouds swirling above the infernal landscape. The group had been pushing through Hell for hours, the endless drive taking its toll on all of them. Even Nero, usually stubbornly alert, was nodding off in the passenger seat. Nico yawned, her fingers slackening on the wheel as she blinked rapidly, trying to fight off sleep.

"Alright, y'all," Nico muttered, turning off the engine with a sigh. "We're stoppin' here for the night. I'd rather not crash us into some Hell-beast 'cause I dozed off."

Nero grunted in agreement, already pulling a blanket over himself in the front seat. "Good call. We need to be sharp tomorrow. Things are only gonna get tougher from here on out."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Y/N waved dismissively, climbing out of the van and heading for the roof. The others might have been worn out, but his mind was buzzing too much to even think about sleep.

Settling himself on top of the van, Y/N shifted around in his new sleeping outfit—a stereotypical nightgown complete with a matching cap. It was Nico's idea of a joke after finding it stashed in the back with some of Dante's old stuff, but Y/N wore it with pride. He was Deadpool-esque, after all. Ridiculous was just another flavor of awesome.

But tonight wasn't about the outfit, or even the demons they'd fight tomorrow. It was about his powers. He was still struggling with them, and it was pissing him off. How was he supposed to be the ninja badass he was meant to be if he couldn't even summon a proper shadow clone?

His newly regenerating arm, still in its awkward baby-phase (a la Peter Griffin), flopped uselessly as he attempted to form hand signs. Each movement felt sluggish and wrong, the chakra slipping through his mental fingers every time he tried to grasp it.

"Come on, you stupid ninja powers... work, damn it!" he grumbled, waving his little arm around like a madman. But all that happened was a weak puff of energy sputtering out and disappearing into the night air.

Frustrated, Y/N flopped onto his back, staring up at the dark sky. "This is pointless," he muttered to himself, closing his eyes. "Maybe I should just stick to what I'm good at: stabbing stuff and looking awesome while doing it."

His thoughts began to drift as the weariness of the day finally caught up with him. Just as he was about to doze off, a low, rumbling voice echoed through his mind, shaking him to his core.

"*Oi, brat...*"

Y/N's eyes snapped open, but instead of the starless sky, he was met with a dimly lit cavernous space. The walls were jagged, dripping with an eerie red glow, and before him stood a massive cage, the bars etched with intricate seals and chains that pulsed with a dark energy.

Inside the cage, a pair of colossal, glowing eyes glared down at him, filled with a mixture of irritation and... boredom? Y/N had seen enough anime to know where this was going, but it still felt surreal.

"Welcome to the cage, huh?" Y/N greeted the giant beast with a lazy wave of his baby hand. "Lemme guess, you're Kurama, the big bad Nine-Tails fox?"

Kurama's growl was deep, reverberating through the chamber. "So, you know who I am. That makes this easier."

"Yeah, yeah, you're the big bad wolf with enough power to blow up a mountain, blah blah blah," Y/N interrupted, crossing his arms—or at least trying to, with his baby arm getting in the way. "Cut to the chase. How do I get these powers to actually work? I didn't sign up for a free trial of 'How to be a Ninja'—I want the full package."

Kurama's eyes narrowed, the beast's tails swaying irritably behind the bars. "Your powers are beyond what you can comprehend, brat. If you're not careful, they'll consume you."