After Izuku primed the metal's surface, he began to spray-paint it: a muted, deep blue. He adjusted the respirator on his face as he added a few finishing sprays. These metal panels were then linked, riveted, and screwed together over the mechanical workings. The wooden neck was slotted into place with a tang before he slowly and steadily strung the guitar. Tuning it took longer than the whole assembling process. He knew he lacked the knowledge and no-how to do it so he tried to use a faithful laptop to help. However, trying to use the microphone on a laptop to tune doesn't work in an active workshop. An innocent bang of a hammer or the sizzle of a weld threw off any attempt. So, he had to rely on his own untrained ear which started a cycle of wondrous self-doubt.

"Fuck it… Sorry, Jirou you're gonna have to tune your own guitar…" he sighed. "If you even want it…" He picked up the guitar from his station, adjusting it in his hands. Its anatomy was based on a basic electric guitar but with a block-like shape. It had frets, position markers, pick-ups, a pick-up switch – did he know what they really did? No, not really, but the blueprints he was working off of had them so that's what he did. Is that plagiarism? "I don't think so… the whole process is pretty well, publicly documented…"

Izuku slipped off his stool and took a step away. Then, instead of twisting the volume dial, he pressed down until it clicked. The hydraulics within hissed before spun it in his hands, holding it purely by the neck. He took a deep breath before raising the weapon and giving a mock-swing. The hydraulics buzzed before a section of the guitar jutted out via pistons, rocking his momentum backwards. A smirk marked his face before he tightened his grip once more. He reached over and flicked the Whammy-Arm, causing something within to whirl to life.

Izuku's smirk turned to grin as blue electricity arced across the body's surface. He kept it balanced before moving to press his palm across all of the tuning keys. A bit more pressure and they all clicked downwards, causing a light to blink just beside them – another buzz before the sparks went silent.

He then reached and pressed the volume dial twice; followed by the hydraulics hissing, "Wireless link between body and head for ease of control…" He set it back down, rubbing the back of his neck, "This thing can really do damage… Hope she likes it…"

"Mr. Midoriya, I see you've finished your Support Arm," said Mr. Abraham.

Izuku nodded, "Yeah…" He then reached underneath his station, "Now, to finish up on my own…"

Mr. Abraham blinked, "The Warhammer? It looks different…"

"Well, I got the approval of the Board, so… I decided to give it a bit of an upgrade." He twirled it in his hand, "It was more like a sword, but I don't know how to use that."

"Now, it's more like a bat."

Izuku nodded, "Same concept, same zap. Just simplified." He pinched the first ring of the handle before twisting it, "But, just in case…" The mechanics hissed before the thick base extended to its previous length, "We can return to form."

Mr. Abraham said, "I see." He tapped on his tablet, "You've also submitted a name change…"

"'Mashi', after the first Japanese Baseball player, Murakami Masanori."

"Fitting," smiled Mr. Abraham. "Have you selected which Hero you'll be studying under?"

Izuku's jaw tightened, "I'm… I'm close to figuring it out…" He pushed a smile, "Soon though."

Mr. Abraham frowned, "Well, I would recommend that you refrain from procrastinating. Not only does this have to be approved, but we'll need to contact said Hero for confirmation."

Izuku turned away, biting the inside of his cheek, "I will sir." As Mr. Abraham walked away, he scratched his cheek, "I need to narrow this down… Someone that might be in Stain's sights…"

-XXX-

Hitoshi Shinso followed Jirou down the hall as they moved towards the workshop. The same hallway, same walk, same time of day as the other dozen times they've done it before. "Why do you want to talk to Midoriya?" asked Jirou.

Hitoshi rolled his shoulder, "I think he can help me get an edge." He sighed, "With everyone knowing my Quirk, sparring sessions have been a joke…"

"Ah, yeah, that last fight you had with Yoarashi wasn't great…" said Jirou.

"No kidding…" He scratched his cheek, "My ears are still ringing…"

The pair walked through the workshop's entrance, spotting Midoriya strumming a guitar – an out-of-tune one. As they moved closer, they heard him curse before he tried to adjust the keys once more. Jirou looked over his work, "Do you even know what you're aiming for?"

Midoriya looked up, "Technically… yeah…"

"Hm…" Jirou rubbed her chin before her hand moved to wipe her face. She scratched the back of her head as he strummed once more. "Let me see it," she said, holding out her hand. Midoriya pulled the strap from over his shoulders and passed it to her. Once settled in her arms, she began to strum and tune the instrument, "Jeez, it's all out of wack man."

"Sorry… I did my best, but… Clearly that ain't enough…" said Midoriya, rubbing the back of his neck.

Jirou paused from her process, adjusting the guitar in her hands, "It's lighter…"

"Good."

"So, that's the Axe, huh?" chimed in Hitoshi.

Midoriya waggled his finger, "Nope… It is the Axe no longer." He waved his arms, displaying the guitar in Jirou's hands, "This is Orpheus."

"Orpheus?" echoed Jirou.

"From the Greek tragedy?" said Hitoshi.

Midoriya let out a definitely forced laugh, "Ah, ah-ha." He pointed at the guitar, "It's because whoever is on the other end this bad boy is gonna end up a tragedy."

Jirou stared at Midoriya, "…"

"…" said Hitoshi as he stared at Midoriya.

The inventor's face slowly began to flush as he stood there, frozen.

"This bad boy…" slowly echoed Hitoshi.

Midoriya straightened, pinching the bridge of his nose, "Hm…"

"Oh, he's embarrassed," said Jirou, going back to the guitar.

"He should be."

Midoriya defended, "That's something people say, okay?"

"Who?" asked Hitoshi with a smirk.

"Shut up."

Jirou chimed in, "Ooh, never met a Shut Up before, what's he like?"

Midoriya turned, "Jirou."

"He's right, could be a she," said Hitoshi.

Midoriya frowned before reaching under his station and pulling out a metal bat. With a press of a button, its surface crawled with blue lightning, crackling and screeching with energy.

Hitoshi and Jirou both stepped away from Midoriya before the bat went silent.

He looked between the two of them before shrugging and twirling the bat, "Solid."

Jirou and Hitoshi shared a look before she strummed the guitar one last time – perfectly tuned.

"Orpheus is a good name," said Hitoshi.

Jirou looked it over, "It's a pretty solid guitar, too." Her thumb hit each string once more. "I've never had a custom made guitar before…" She grinned, rocking back and forth, "I've only ever got a hand-me-down or one off the rack…" She strummed the guitar, "This is actually pretty cool…"

"And you can wack people with it…" offered Midoriya.

"But can't that… break it?" said Jirou, holding it close.

"Not easily. I mean… it's built to swing…" He coughed, "Swing it."

"No," she said.

"Jirou," said Midoriya.

She reasoned, "You built it for me – I get to decide what to do with it."

"You got very attached, very quickly." Midoriya pointed at the guitar, "Swing Orpheus – you're depriving him of his life's purpose."

Jirou strummed, "To play music?"

Midoriya corrected, "To harm others."

"Jesus, Midoriya," said Hitoshi.

Midoriya crossed his arms, "It's armament, calm yourself."

"Actually, before you guys get, like, a divorce over the custody of Orpheus here, I do have a question for you," said Hitoshi.

He and Jirou glared at each other for a moment, "This isn't over." He turned, "Yeah, what's up?"

"I was wondering if you could integrate the Maneuver Belt into my Hero costume," asked Hitoshi.

"Um, probably…"

Hitoshi explained, "But… I know you have assignments and that – so this is technically a favor and I wanted to give you something in return." He offered, "Sparring lessons."

"Sparring lessons?"

"I would need lessons to know how to use it, so in exchange for teaching and giving me the belt, I'd help you learn how to fight." He shrugged, "It's a novice teaching an amateur, but I thought it would be better than nothing."

"It would actually be, thank you," said Midoriya, smiling. "That is an awesome exchange, I can totally do that."

"Cool, thanks, man," said Hitoshi, patting Midoriya's shoulder. "Jirou totally ran away, by the way."

Midoriya nodded, "She did – excuse me." He sprinted towards the workshop's doors, "Jirou Kyoka! You get back here!"

Hitoshi sighed, "Hope you two work it out, you crazy kids…"

-XXX-

Under the haze of sunset, Akaguro Chizome rushed towards the brick fence that surrounded the police station. He knew of a back exit that was meant for transporting high-profile individuals – criminals and witnesses. When they did this, it was heavily manned with an armored vehicle and an escort waiting. However, there were no such individuals and no such transport as they were usually provided by prison officials, government officials, or Heroes. This was a small, almost inactive, police station. Also, it is because of that status that it lacked the forefront of security. Its limited number of cameras and keypads were kept for its most sensitive areas, and not for a usually inactive set of doors. After all, who would break into a police station?

Chizome stepped away from the brick wall before running up it and reaching for its edge. He easily lifted himself, and once he placed a foothold, he leapt over the barbed-wire and onto the asphalt below. He approached the door, lowering his body to put its lock at eye-level. It was a thick door with an offset rectangular window and a basic lock. He wedged a tension wrench within before slipping a pick inside.

"How do you rationalize breaking into a police station, actually?" asked Midoriya, splitting up blood. "I mean you do just look like a common criminal, right now."

Chizome swung his arm at the phantom; swung his arm at nothing. He gritted his teeth and refocused, taking deep and long breaths. "The evidence room is up the back staircase… There's a camera aimed at the stairwell's entrance both on this floor and the one above… It turns on a swivel at an interval of two minutes…" A click of a pin, "It's slow and has no audio…" And then another, "The ground floor will hold most regular police officers and hold-in… Upstairs will hold the detectives' offices as well as high ranking officers…" The lock turned, "The evidence room is adjacent to the stairwell's entryway…"

Chizome barely peeked through the door's window, spotting the camera along the wall. It was turning away from the door, giving him the confidence to push the door open and slip within. He lightly shut the door behind him before taking in the surroundings.

He was standing in a hall with a door to his left, an open office space ahead, and the stairwell to his right. He swiftly slipped towards the stairs. The stairwell was a separate room to the rest of the building, spiraling to the second floor. Chizome took the time to slip along the wall, peering up at the lofting railings. He held his breath; waited for the sound of footsteps or a door.

After a moment of silence beyond the chatter of the office, he climbed upwards and stopped at the second floor's entrance. The door held a larger window, allowing a better view. Just ahead of him, there was the entrance to the evidence room with a camera above it. "If I remember correctly, off to the side is the office space for the detectives… If I move quickly I may be able to avoid them entirely…"

He took another breath, focusing on the swiveling camera, "There also may be someone guarding the evidence room from within…" He pulled a basic kitchen knife from his belt.

"Killing a cop?" On the back of his ear, a voice wafted in with the scent of blood, "I guess they don't count as Heroes since they get paid for it…? Is that the logic?"

Chizome growled before dipping towards the room's door – just underneath the camera's view. He twisted the knob and found it unlocked—

"Hm? Who's there?" called a man.

Chizome's eyes widened as the grip on his knife shook and twitched. His teeth ground together before pushed through the door. It was a policeman behind a desk that spoke. His back was to a cage and he had nowhere to run.

Chizome adjusted his grip on his knife before throwing it. The pommel nailed the man right between the eyes, stunning him for a moment. The door swung shut behind Chizome as he rushed around the desk. A hand latched over the man's nose and mouth before Chizome slipped his arm under the man's armpit and pinned it upwards. This pinched the carotid arteries and began to put the man to a slumber as his other hand prevented noise or outcry from the man.

A few more seconds and the policeman went limp – that was bound to get someone's attention. He quickly moved into the cage, looking for a box. It would either be labeled under Stain or the Hero Killer. He lingered, moving boxes as quickly and quietly as possible. He gritted his teeth as there was no box labeled for the Hero Killer case. He took a step back before knocking at his own temple.

Chizome scowled before moving back to the beginning of the locker, looking under section A. There was a box labeled, Akaguro Chizome. "They've found my government identity…" He pulled its top off and found his vest in a plastic bag as well as another holding his daggers. "No matter…," he thought as he ripped them free.

The vest secured with daggers sheathed; Chizome began his exit.

"Oi, Mono, you still up for lunch…" spoke a woman, pushing open the room's door. She trailed off, of course, as she was now staring at this lofting villain before her. Her hand snapped to her belt as she shouted to the hall beyond, "S-Shit, Stain's here!"

The Hero Killer lunged at the woman, slamming his hand into her neck. The forward momentum pushed her back and into the hall. He pulled a step back before leaping with a kick – landing his sole against her head. The back of skull cracked against the wall before she slid to the ground.

"HEY!" shouted another officer as several more began to fill the hall.

Stain rammed through the stairwell's door before leaping to the ground floor. A door kicked down before he rushed through the unlocked back entrance. He scaled and vaulted over the brick fence before sprinting down the nearby alleyway. The building to his left had a fire escape and he easily reached its ladder before climbing. A bullet scraped the metal railing as he stood on the railing. Officers hadn't scaled the fence like he had, but were aiming from the empty yard. Stain sucked his teeth before continuing upwards. He held his body close as bullets clipped metal and chipped brick.

Once on the rooftop, he took a running start to jump to another and then another. He could soon hear the police sirens and he was sure that Heroes would soon be on their way. Chizome turned off the tenth rooftop, finding the rain-gutter of an adjacent building. He skidded to ground level. "Have to lay low from here on…" He edged himself to the alley's corner, peeking onto the street. It was semi-busy with a few people wandering up and down the sidewalks. He looked across the street and saw a van parked at the mouth of a delivery zone.

Chizome brought his fingers to his lips and let out a long whistle. The van's lights flickered to life as its engine revved. It pulled out from across the street, turning onto the road and aligning to where Chizome stood. Its side door slid open and Chizome quickly rushed inside. He slammed the door shut before its driver looked over his shoulder.

It was a young man with a reptile-like appearance with bright green scales and purple hair, "Stain! I waited here just like you asked—"

Chizome growled, "Not now! Drive – get us out of town."

"O-Of course!" he exclaimed before the van started down the road.

He commanded, "Drive normally… if a cop tries to pull you over – do so. I will handle the rest."

"Yes, sir!" was the reply.

Chizome then laid flat in the van's empty storage area. He stared at the ceiling as the van bumped, turned, and slowed. "Once I'm out of town… I can return to my blade and… my mission…"

Midoriya plopped himself down next to the Hero Killer, "Can't believe you're trapping someone else in your so-called mission." He took his amputated thumb and tapped it on his chin, "I do wonder though… If this one is who he says he is… You just took him in from a Hero Board site… Maybe he spouted the same things you have, but… maybe it's all a lie." Midoriya crawled over Chizome, spilling – pooling blood in the back of the van. "What would you do?" A whisper with the faint smell of copper snaked into Chizome's ear, "Leave him bleeding in an alleyway like all the others?"

Chizome closed his eyes, growling, "Silence."

"Sorry?" replied the driver.

Chizome opened his eyes, finding nothing but metal and himself, "I… require silence."

The confusion was evident, "Of-Of course, sir."

-XXX-

Izuku peered out his window, noting the blazing police sirens in the distance. He sighed before pulling on his blinds and cutting himself off from the outside world. He was in his dorm's spare room – it became his workshop away from school. However, it now held a whiteboard marked with now organized words and thoughts.

Izuku rubbed his chin, "Stain has forty victims… Not including the one who escaped and myself…" He looked over pictures held in place by magnets, "Seventeen were killed… Twenty-three were crippled… They'll never be Heroes again…" He scratched his cheek, "His methods were blitz-based… Using a paralyzing Quirk… Public information is limited since this is an ongoing case…"

He was able to piece some information together, "Some of the living victims were interviewed after the fact… Harrowing tales of their survival… Some of them held a slight inconsistency… Some couldn't move through the whole ordeal while some began to… Crawling away… running away…" At first, he thought it was dramatic storytelling or something like that, but then he realized, "Those who described being able to move had blood types A and O…" He chuckled, "Who knew our habit of using blood types as personality tests might come in handy with something like this…" But that allowed him to conclude, "His paralyzing Quirk must have a time limit based on blood type. O and A being shorter than the others…"

Coming to that conclusion was the smartest he felt, but he knew that if he could piece that together, that the police could too. And it was useless in locating or understanding Stain.

There had to be something else that linked these victims – a constant variable. Locations varied – some on the west side of Japan; others on the east side of Japan. Age, gender, and even Quirk Type were wildly different. No pattern or set order of those statistics. It seemed entirely random, but…

"This is the face of a True Hero!" he recalled.

Izuku sighed, plopping himself down on a stool, "There's a method to the madness here… What could it be…?" His laptop was nearby and he took it up, linking it to a hot spot on his phone and avoiding the school's internet. He began to randomly search through the victims once more. His gaze glazed over the screen, ignoring what he had already read and seen.

However, his eyes refocused on something. "The results…" He rubbed his chin, "How many hits on the net…?" He shook his head, "No…" He thought for another moment, "But… what if…"

Izuku started on a Hero forum and began to input the names of the victims. "No way…" The website divided the boards into varied topics due to the diversity of the discussions. "Number of interviews are consistently high…" Some of those topics were described simply as Appearances, "Product Advertisements, commercials…" It was a broad stroke but what made it notable was that the victims had a dramatic amount of Appearance topics. "All-Might is the Number-One Hero and even he doesn't appear on TV this often…"

Izuku looked at his whiteboard, "Does… Stain target people based on media appearances…? The more you put yourself on TV; the bigger the target…?" A few of the victims didn't quite meet the number of product placements or commercial appearances. However, they were popular in news articles and interviews, "Ingenium doesn't do commercial bits…. But he appears on TV often… Speeches and motivation talks… Interviews…" He set his laptop down, "He's popular…"

His attention then shifted to the Field Support sheet – the one in his bag. "A Musutafu-based Hero… popular on TV with frequent media appearances…" He pulled it out and filled in the blank space, Mount-Lady.

-\XXX/-

AN: Chapter 28, Orpheus and Mashi have been named and born. Mashi will be around for a while and may even receive some upgrades. As well as Orpheus the guitar-axe of Jirou. Orpheus is a main-stay but no real upgrades in mind. Shinso aims for an upgrade as well which will be his thing for a while as well. Jirou and Midoriya's banter is definitely the result of listening to a Brooklyn 99 complication of Jake and Amy.

Chizome infiltrates the police station retrieves whats his. Worried about this cause writing a stealth section is something I haven't really attempted. How much detail or how little. I hope I nailed the balance. Spinner's here as well.

Izuku figures where Stain may strike, but who knows if she'll be next.

PS. Changed a few chapter names - based off "READYMADE" by Ado lyrics. Will do this for a while

With that, thank you for reading and criticize away!

Update Window: January 20th - 30th

Intended Due Date: January 20th - 25th