- Enter Maya! & Training The Rust!

Before I even got the chance to answer the door, it swung open revealing the orange and pink sky. And the intruder was none other than this boy's best friend. Maya Crook.

Her bright red hair flourished beautifully as she dashed towards me with a jump. Side stepping to the left, the girl missed me by a mile, face planting on the pile of pillows behind me.

"You should really stop doing that… You're going to hurt yourself, you know?" I chided, helping her up as she playfully stuck her tongue out and rubbed the back of her head. She giggled before speaking-

"Usually you don't dodge! What the heck happened to that!" Ignoring her question, I sighed and began to fix the pillows that I used to sleep. Maya is actually a homeless child just like me at the moment. Her parents abandoned her at a young age and she was taken in by some other adult, but then that one died from a mysterious sickness a year later… Leaving her stuck with me after I found her curled up in one of the alleyways.

That was about three years ago.

She's actually older than me too, being the big old age of nine.

"Nevermind that. What'd you need? You usually don't visit me unless it's money related…" It's really strange she's here… I don't know what else it'd be other than money. She's obsessed with it!

I guess being raised in poverty can be a reason for her greed towards belli.

"Chi~ chi~ chi~ That's obviously why I'm here! You know that stand that was selling those delicious smelling burritos?" Giving a nod of my head after remembering the specific stand she's talking about, she continued with great enthusiasm.

"Well! He offered us jobs! Well, me but he said I could recommend one other person." She explained. My eyes widened hearing her words. This opportunity would actually be great for us considering the fact that we are way underaged and basically mutts to anyone here with money. Prejudice is in every world, it's inescapable.

"Wow… Thats- Thats great! When do we start?" Getting my hands on some money this early on would be amazing, especially if I can save it and utilize my extensive knowledge towards different types of labors, I can dig me and this girl up out of the mud.

"Uh… Why are you smiling like that? Creep!" Quickly fixing my face, I scoffed.

"Shut up, go tell that man that I'd like to meet him before I agree with working with him."

"He didn't offer you a job though… I'm referring you to him, so technically if you're thinking of making negotiations, it wouldn't work."

Shit.

…

After sending Maya back to the man to accept the job position, and inform the man that she'd recommend me, I decided it'd be best to work on the abilities of my Devil Fruit as well as polishing up my swordsmanship skills.

There's no one in this multiverse that'd be able to pass me in skill, but I'm a little rusty, and the most important part of swordsmanship is finesse and elegance. You wouldn't want to be swung around like some useless tool, right?

Tying my hair up in a knot with a rubber band I got from Maya, I headed to the second floor of our little decomposing shack to get started. We never used the upstairs spot, even though I offered it to Maya. She declined on something about privacy and how we are different genders.

I don't see how that is a problem right now considering our ages… But!

Who am I to decline extra space?

Pulling out Kenshikizo from its place in my soul, I quickly got started.

'But first…' Unsheathing the blade, I swung it around and realized that I could handle a full sized katana meant for a grown man and then some, with ease…

'I guess my fruit did more than just grant me air/wind manipulation.' I concluded, not minding the extra strength. Flourishing the blade with my finger, it made a SHING like sound as my fingers glided off the blade, my reflection being perfect inside it.

The metal used for this blade must be something divine… I've never seen such a beautiful blade before… It even has its name inscribed on the blade.

Holding the blade before me, straight out. I took a deep breath and slowly got in a proper stance to hold a katana.

From there, I slowly went through the motions of my most basic slashing techniques, from vertical, to horizontal slices to diagonal.

With each complete motion, I sped it up the next time around. I even got to the point where I decided to incorporate my devil fruit power into the swings, boosting its power and speed tenfold.

If I actually tried to cut something, It would most definitely cut through something with ease.

After hours of training my sword without break, I was surprised.

My condition wasn't as bad as I thought it'd be. Of course I was sweating, but my body… It's like I just did a light workout.

'Even my stamina is insane… What the hell…'

Just what was my fruit?