I had come home after the attack and went straight to bed. I was incredibly exhausted, so I skipped all the after school biz and crashed. When my mom asked about what happened and why I got home so late, I just vaguely inquired that I was tired and left it at that, which brings us to this morning.

My eyes squint at the beaming sun as my alarm annoyingly signals that it's time to get up. I send a flame at it and throw it across the room. Gourds, that thing is irritating! Mom must've set it while I was sleeping. School is cancelled today, so there's not really any reason to get up so early.

I sit up anyway and stare at my school uniform. The simple sight triggers a chain of yesterday's memories: the trip to the USJ, the attack on the USJ, the fire simulator, and the Frenchy, er, Aoyama nearly dying. The final thought reminds me of something else: my sixth flame! I was so tired, I completely forgot to tell my parents about it!

Having lost all interest of continuing to sleep, I sprint out of my room, my loose jacket flying behind me. Mom is in her room, having a meditating session of her own. I don't realize until it's too late. I burst into her room. "Mom!" I immediately retract and bite my lips as I just realized my mistake.

Her eyes shoot open and turn to me in surprise. "Yurei! Goodness, I expected you to be sleeping in."

"Sorry. I... forgot about your meditation."

"It's fine, it's fine. Now if you're this excited about something, it's probably good. What's going on?"

"Look." I sit down in front of her and bring in my five flames in a circle fashion behind me then summon the sixth in my hands.

"Your sixth?!"

"Uh-huh!"

"Oh, Yurei! Super job! Did you find out just this morning?"

"Actually it was yesterday during the fight. One of my classmates, Aoyama, was poisoned, and I-!"

"Waitwaitwait, back up." Mom stops me and her smile almost instantly fades to a look of concern. "You were in a fight yesterday? And someone was poisoned?! Who was this with?"

Oh, yeah, crap. I didn't tell her about the attack yesterday. I cringe as I expect her to explode from my response.

"The facility was attacked by an army of villains..."

Mom is silent for a few seconds. "What?!?" She quickly begins look me over. "Are you hurt?! Why didn't you tell me?! Who do I talk to about this?!"

"I'm fine, I was tired, and our principal I suppose."

With that, Mom leaves me with my thoughts. Man, now I really regret disturbing her. While my mom scolds our principal over the phone, I calmly walk to kitchen for breakfast. After my meal, I prepare for a visit to the prison to see Dad. Mom is still cheesed, and is getting ready herself for a meeting with Principal Nezu along with many other concerned parents. A little after Mom leaves, I head out as well.

Upon arriving at the jailhouse, I have the usual argument with one of the guards about my age then make my way to the familiar visiting room after I win. Dad soon comes to the window himself and sits down.

"Hey, Spook!" he greets. "How've you been? School going okay?"

"Yeah, about a few days in, and I'm already getting stronger! Look!" I show off my now six flames as Dad whistles.

"Six! Nice! So does that mean you can summon three minions now?"

"Yep!"

"That's cool. So you beat up any bad guys yet?"

"Surprisingly, yes." Dad's eyes widen. "At the beginning of one of our training classes at a simulator facility called the USJ, we were all attacked by a massive gang of criminals out to kill All Might."

"Wow. I was just kidding when I asked, but that's incredible!"

"You're taking this a lot better than Mom did this morning." I chuckle.

"I can imagine." He shares the laugh. "So what happened?"

I go through the entire adventure with him, about Ojiro and the villains and Aoyama coming to my rescue. He is completely absorbed in my story. Even the guard in the room is eavesdropping and loudly gasps at the exciting parts. Finally I end the tale.

"Wow," my dad shakes his heads. "I'm speechless!"

"And it's true. You sound pretty bored if you're entertained for just a tale that short."

"I guess you can say that, Spook. Turns out, my prison fight buddy was broken out a couple days ago, so I'm without a nice form of entertainment."

"I bet it's not all bad. There's other stuff this place has to offer than fights." I tease.

"Haha." Dad thinks to himself for a bit. "You know, now that you got six flames, I bet you can do all kinds of combos now. So I've been thinking: at this rate, it'll probably be a while till you can perform Paranormal Chaos, huh?"

"Yeah, I'm gonna need way more flames! I'm thinkin' probably ten or so."

"Yes, well, I was thinking it's gonna be a while till then, so maybe you should start to get creative with your moves. Set Paranormal Chaos aside for a bit until the time comes and make a few moves of your own."

"Like what?"

"Spook, have you ever heard the phrase 'feed the fire?'"

"Well, yeah, but seriously, you know my fire can't burn things, so what are you getting at?"

"I'm thinking there's a way to grow the flames you have in a way, thus, amplifying your powers."

"I don't get it."

"Here's a hint. Why do you sometimes use multiple flames when it comes to levitating?"

"Cuz sometimes the object's too heavy to just lift with one flame."

"Okay. And when it comes to bigger, heavier objects, why don't you concentrate all your fire on one spot of the object?"

"It wouldn't be balanced. Sometimes, I gotta have my flames orbit the object to keep it steady."

"Precisely. Now, you think you can apply that knowledge to your other techniques of your quirk?"

"Uhhhh. . . Maybe?"

"Sir," the guard calls to us. "your visiting time is over."

"Alright," my dad calls. He looks back at me. "Try to meditate on what I just told you." He stands up. "You'll be surprised what you can do." With that, he walks out, leaving me clearly confused.

Still having my thoughts on the talk, I walk home. Surely by the time I get back, Mom'll be as well.

'Feed the fire?' On earth is that supposed to get me?

On my way back, I pass through the city square. Among the many people around the place, I happen to catch sight of some of my classmates. Iida, Sero, the midget, Ashido, and Hagakure are accompanied by Mr. Carver. Hagakure and Ashido are holding stacks of what looks like fliers against their chests. The midget seems.. uhhh... distracted by them in a way. Iida slaps a flier onto a lamppost while Sero quickly slashes his tape at its corners to have it stay in place. Mr. Carver nods in approval.

Sero wipes the sweat off his brow then catches sight of me. "Hey! Seshin!" he calls and beckons me over. "How've you been?" The others turn to me as well.

Not wanting to be rude, I walk over and scan over them, giving a small nod to address them all.

"Ah! H-hi, Seshin!" Hagakure pants, nearly throwing her papers in the air. "Eh, er, what's up?"

"Nothing much. What's going on?"

"The Annual Sports Festival is approaching!" Iida proudly announces. "As Class Representative, I feel the need to send the word out to UA's fans in hopes that they will support the event!"

"The what?" To get a better understanding, I take a paper off Hagakure's stack to read. "'Scuse me, Hagakure."

"Y-y-yeah! Of course!"

I skim over the paper. The title at the top reads 'THE UA SPORTS FESTIVAL!! A tournament of events for the beloved students of UA High!

I return the paper to Hagakure's stack and glance at Mr. Carver to explain more. "I don't get it."

"Well, Seshin," he starts. "UA High has this festival every year. I'm sure you recall the attack on the USJ?"

"Heh. How can I not?"

"Well this year, we're having the festival a little early. You know, show the public that we're still rough and tough even after the invasion."

"There are many who appreciate the sports festival," Iida adds. "So my fellow volunteers and I, along with Mr. Carver, are going around town putting these fliers up to announce the upcoming event."

"It's gonna be so much fun!" Ashido interjects. "The entire school will be participating, and there will be a huge award ceremony at the end!"

"Hm, surprised it wasn't brought up in class."

"That's because it was going to come later," Mr. Carver explains. "But like I just said, because the attack, we're having it earlier."

"Alright. I look forward to it," I conclude our conversation. I turn in my original direction and continue my journey home. "Take care."

"Later, man!" Sero waves.

"Bye, Seshin!" Hagakure yells loudly, immediately covering her mouth in embarrassment. Weirdo.

About a good thirty seconds from the group, I hear an unusual sound behind me. I turn, expecting to just see a cat or something, but see nothing but the busy roads and poster-covered walls. I turn back to see the midget in front of me.

"How do you do it?" he asks in a low tone.

"Woah!" I step back surprised. "Tumor Head, hi! Where'd you come from?"

"The name's Mineta, Seshin. But more importantly," he jumps up on me, grabbing me by the collar of my jacket and desperately looks me straight in the eyes. "how do you do it?!"

I'm already incredibly uncomfortable with this, so I phase myself, having the midget lose his grip on me and fall to my feet. Once he backs up, I extinguish my flames. "Get off me, kid. Personal space? Plus, you're getting footprints on my jacket."

"Yeah yeah yeah, but get to it: how?"

"What? Phase? That's just part of my quirk, man."

"No no, how do you get chicks' attention?"

"Hold up, what?! Why're you asking me this junk? Of all people?!"

"I need some pointers, and you look like you've got it going."

"'Got it goi-?!' Squirt, what're you talking about?"

"Ah, of course you don't know." Mineta starts to get practical as if he were explaining something extremely simple. "Seshin, I've studied girls' reactions when they talk to or even look at their secret crush, and my friend, it looks like Hagakure, the invisible angel, has it for you."

"I feel like this is the part where I should be concerned," I quickly point out, disgusted.

"It's just a crush, dude, what's there to be concerned about?"

"No, the part where you said you've studied the reactions of girls."

"Hey," he crosses his arms and glares at me. "you have your crazy, in-depth interests; I have mine."

"Okay, now I know I need to be." I quickly shake my head and get back on the annoying topic. "Look, I'm not trying to get a girlfriend, so I'm not doing anything to try to get anyone's attention! I'm not shooting anything offensive, but just.. no interest!"

"That's okay, that means I got a chance with her! I just need some tips from you in how to get her to notice me. At the same time though, I guess her tastes are logical, since both of you are kinda ghosty-like in a way, so you can't give me that."

Seriously?!? My eyes morph once again.

"I legit just said I'm not trying to get someone! So I have no tips or tricks to give you! Even if I did, I probably wouldn't give them to you according to what direction this conversation has been going, but that's beside the point!"

"Oh well, if you don't wanna help me, I understand. At least I know Hagakure is open. Well, see ya!"

"Bye," I shoot in disgust. He runs off, hoping to catch up with his group. I calm down, having my eyes return to their normal state. Freakin' weirdo. If he keeps up this dumb habit, he's gonna be incredibly lonely in his future. A hero, likely, but a lonely one.

Now where was I? Oh yeah, heading home.

I finally get home. Mom still isn't back, so I fix myself lunch then head to my room to meditate as Dad had suggested. I sit down and get in my usual position: have all my flames circle my head with my hands cupped in my lap.

Now, 'feed the fire.' How do I do that? Do I show more affection to my flames? Possibly. They are my ancestors; however I just don't see how that'll work. They're always as strong as they come. Maybe I need to break this down.

'Feeding the fire' pretty much means growing the flames by burning things in it, but again, my fire can't burn things. Maybe there's a spiritual thing I can feed them?

Let's see... Dad also talked a lot about focusing them on one spot. I guess with my quirk it's dealing with strategy when it comes to this, concentrating my flames on one weak point or surrounding the target with them spread out. I noticed this from using my Levitation. Is there a way I can apply this to other parts of my quirk?

My focus breaks when my phone begins to buzz. I grab it and glance at the banner. Tojuta apparently has put me in a group chat with him, Samae, and Auxi.

Tojuta: Hey guys! With school being closed and stuff I was wondering if any of you wanna hang out or train or something

Auxi: I'M DOWN!!!!!!!!!

Samae: Will we be beating each other up???

Tojuta: 😐😐😐

Tojuta: What do you do to train again?

Auxi: Oh! We can 2v2!

Samae: As long as I'm NOT with you

Auxi: We'll just have to see😏

Tojuta: Hold on! I was really thinking something like target practice...

Samae: Too late pokey! I'm already scheduled to beat up straps!

Auxi: Fite meh, Sushi!

Auxi: How bout everyone against sushi

Tojuta: Let's not!

Tojuta: Yurei if you're reading this back me up pls!

I roll my eyes and get in on the chat.

Me: I was really just hoping to do the hang out option

Tojuta: TY!

Samae: Cmon you no fun

Auxi: Think about it spooky: strenght in numbers! We'd be unstoppable!!! UNSTOPPABLE I TELL U!!!!

Me: What do ya got for us Tojuta?

Tojuta: My dad got us a new air hockey table if you guys wanna do that

Auxi: *le gasp* THAT'S EVEN BETTER!!!!!

Samae: k text me your address

I scroll through the texts again until stopping on Auxi's text about strength being in numbers. Wait a tic...

Me: You guys go ahead. I'm gonna test something real quick.

Tojuta: kk

Samae: Make it fast spooky. You on my list to beat after straps

Me: Yeh yeh. Prepare your worst

Auxi: I feel stupid

Samae: Bout time

Auxi: I just walked out the door and forgot that you haven't given us your address yet lol

Tojuta: Ack! Right. mb Here:

I already know Tojuta's address, so I put down my phone and let it buzz on my nightstand. Strength comes in numbers. Thanks, Auxi; that's just the idea I needed. My minions form when I concentrate two of my flames at the same time. I just wonder what I can do if I give my flames strength when I put them in greater numbers than two. Therefore, I'm 'feeding the fire.'

I concentrate to bring in just two of my flames to make the minion. I break down the ghost to show its two flames pressed together. Time to build up from there. I add another flame to the clump and watch the fire grow. I'm on the right track. I close my eyes to concentrate then add another. I can feel the flames become a little heavier in a way. I get a better grip then add my final two flames. The same change happens. I squint at my pressure and press my flames together. The process is a little harder to form than merging just two flames.

I open my eyes to stare down at a huge orb of fire the size of a basketball hovering between my hands. From the top of the ball however is a long strand of some kind. I follow it up to see a large, dark purple ghost with more detail than my original minions floating in front of me and staring me down. I gaze back at it in amazement. Man, Dad was right!

The beast is about the size as Tokoyami's Dark Shadow. Its top layers in a zigzag form as it points backwards away from its head. Its six long, yellow, glowing eyes almost look like those of the wrap gate guy's. Instead of being limbless like my other ghosts, it has big bulky arms with large claw hands at the ends. I try to shoot a basic command. I glance over to see my alarm clock I had thrown earlier this morning.

I let my hands fall to my side to release, but almost instantly the flame extinguished. I blink a few times in confusion. I try my method again, and just like last time, once I remove my hands, the flames disappear, leaving a thin misty trail to show that ghost had left. I guess it's unstable. I need to keep the flame in my grasp to prevent it from going out. At the same time, I also need to avoid having the entire thing from going out from other things that can counter my fire if it's this unstable.

I once again make the flames and put them in formation to form the bigger ghost. I try again with the command, this time just gesturing my head to the clock, mentally giving the order. The beast looks and floats over to grab the clock, still connected to my fire. It brings it back, but I can't accept it. Otherwise, it'd just disappear from my hands leaving the flame.

Guess that's another downside, I can't use my hands for other things, so this thing would have to be them for me.

I don't wanna damage anything in my room, so I don't think I should try any attack commands. I give an order for it to look intimidating. Getting the idea, the beast widens its eyes and opens its mouth that show its spiky teeth that are connected to its body.

Satisfied, I extinguish my flame and watch the mist in my room fade. This is the special move I needed. I've set Paranormal Chaos aside and am working with my own move. Now, what to call it...?

After a while, my phone buzzes again. I glance at the banner.

Tojuta: Dude u coming???

I begin to type a response.

Me: Yeah yeah I am. I was just practicing my new move...

I stop typing to choose my words. What should I name my new move?? I try to relate back to times my quirk was teased, just for the irony of showing it making a come back. The memory of my fight with Sicuto automatically pops up, and I remember the one line that got my attention. 'The quirk from hell.'

From down below, huh?

I now know what to call my move. I finish my message, send it, then head out of my room. I leave a sticky note to Mom, telling her where I'll be for probably the rest of the afternoon.

Once I walk out the building, the name still echoes in my mind. I take out my phone and glance at the text one more time.

Me: Yeah yeah I am. I was just practicing my new move, Inner Demon.