Author's Note: Here's Chapter 3 for everyone! Next time, we'll dive into the first day of class so look forward to it!

To fluffypuppies: Thank you! Haha, luckily you didn't have to be super patient XD This is an AU I've put a lot of thought into so I'm glad you like it and think it's unique. Minor spoiler: rangers are really cool lol. Smokers a sweetheart and Lu's making new friends left and right (who find themselves wanting to protect the small child XD). Lol I made that "wizard" reference on purpose so nice catch!

To Shiho-Akemi: Haha I did get a lot of my inspiration from Harry Potter and other books, but this is mostly my own AU. Yep, don't forget about Kuma any time soon ;) Thank you for reviewing!

To Sophia Mendes-Coruja: Aw thank you so much! Between you and me, I can't wait for it to get darker too *insert evil laugh*. Akainu is definitely gonna get it later on lol. Thank you so much for reviewing twice!

To Noristar: Thank you! I'm so glad you're enjoying all of my stories, it makes me happy :)

WARNINGS:

- Slight bullying

- Emotions

- Lu's adorable

Luffy bounded around the town called Marie-Jois with glee, wanting to get a closer look at just about everything. Zoro and Usopp followed him, calling him back when he got a little too far ahead.

"Woah, check it out guys!" Luffy chirped from where he stood in front of a large, ornate building, motioning for his friends to catch up. Zoro looked at the name of the building and then down at his summoner schedule.

"Looks like this is where a lot of our classes will be…what about you, Luffy?"

He quickly pulled out his crinkled schedule and looked it over. As it turned out, Luffy had three classes with his friends: General Practices (which included normal stuff like math, reading, etc.), Foundations of Creature Studies, and Combat I. His three 'Ranger only' courses were Ranger Studies 101, Mana Sight & Recognition, and Realm Combat.

"Mana Sight and Realm Combat?" Usopp said, leaning over Luffy's schedule, "That sounds scary…"

"Shishishi, it sounds fun!" Luffy replied, looking over his friend's schedule. Their three special courses were different versions of the same class: Basic Summoning, Summoning: Level I Creatures, and Summoning: Level II Creatures.

"Looks like we'll be getting all the way up to Level II creatures our first semester." Zoro observed, "I hope we'll get to utilize any contracts we already have."

"Wait…you're a Legacy!?" Usopp exclaimed, shocked and amazed at the same time, "That's so cool!"

"What's a Legacy?" Luffy asked, completely in the dark about whatever they were talking about.

"It means I already have the means to summon creatures." Zoro explained, "You remember my three swords…from my family?" Luffy nodded. "Each sword is matched with a creature my family members and siblings used to summon. Now they're mine to command, as long as I have the mana to sustain them."

"That's awesome!" He shouted, grinning widely, "Are they strong?"

Zoro smirked and nodded.

"Yeah, they're all Level 3 creatures."

That sparked Usopp to give him a brief lesson on Summoning Levels, since he'd apparently read a lot about it. Basically, Level I creatures were the weakest, and up to Level II, it was relatively safe for any one person to summon them. Level III up to the highest category of Level VI often required multiple summoners to 'joint summon' or combine their mana to summon one creature (which explained what Sabo and Ace usually did).

"Ehhh…that's cool." Luffy admitted, "So, since Zoro has a lot of mana, he can summon Level III's okay?"

"I guess so." Usopp said, putting a hand to his chin in thought, "If you know the mana required and the power of the creature well enough, there's no need for assistance from another summoner. Though…I've heard bad things happen if you try to summon a creature beyond your means."

"Like what?"

"They can break from your control and kill you." Zoro stated seriously, "Or they can cause the summoning itself to collapse and summon you to their world. That's called a Reverse Summoning."

Luffy noted how Zoro's eyes darkened as he explained. Something told him he had personal experience with these things, but he didn't press him, instead dragging his friends into the main courtyard just down the street.

There was a ton of students mulling around, peeking into shops, cafes, and the like. Luffy beamed when he saw Vivi sitting on the central fountain next to an orange-haired girl, surrounded by a bunch of guys.

Ignoring everyone else, Luffy trotted up to Vivi happily.

"Hi!" He chirped, squeezing in front of some of the larger guys, "How'd your test go, Vivi?"

"Luffy!" She greeted, eyes lighting up, "It went well, I scored a 75 thankfully. I was so nervous, but it worked out. What about you?" Before he could answer, someone grabbed him by the back of his shirt and lifted him up off the ground.

"Oi, get lost chibi." The gruff kid demanded, "Can't you see we're talking with these beauties."

"Put him down this instant!" Vivi said angerly, standing up from the fountain. Beside her, the orange-haired girl just looked on in interest.

"He's in the way, Princess. In fact, I think he should take a swim…"

Luffy's eyes widened as the guy went to toss him in the fountain. Wow, what a jerk. Before he could wiggle himself free (as he knew he could…easily), Zoro showed up and squeezed the larger kid's arm, making him drop Luffy.

"You get lost." Zoro growled, effectively scaring the bullies away. Usopp gave Luffy a thumbs up from his hiding place behind their green-haired friend, making him laugh.

"Thanks, Zoro."

"No problem."

"Luffy, are you all right?" Vivi questioned, obviously concerned as Luffy straightened his shirt out.

"Yep! I'm-"

"OI, OI ARE YOU THREE IDIOTS BOTHERING THESE LOVELY LADIES!?" Someone interrupted, charging up to get between them and the girls. It was a blonde guy around Zoro's age whose uniform was crisp and much nicer than their own. He also had a funny curly eyebrow that immediately drew Luffy's attention.

"What makes you think that?" Zoro asked, eyes narrowing in response to the blonde's scowl.

"You're crowding them!" The guy pointed out, "And look at you three, obviously delinquents! As a gentleman, I cannot allow you to harass these beautiful flowers anymore!"

Luffy laughed out loud as Zoro and the new guy clashed. His new friends were so funny. Once everyone finally calmed down, the blonde introduced himself as Sanji, a noble who was starting his first year, same as them.

"And what are your names, my lovelies?" Sanji asked the girls, hearts in his eyes.

"Nefertari Vivi, and this is Nami, my roommate." The blue-haired princess replied, introducing the new girl who huffed, but nodded in greeting, nonetheless.

A few minutes later, they all crowed into a restaurant and ordered food, Sanji paying for the ladies and Zoro paying for Usopp and Luffy (since neither had any money). As they talked, they learned more about each other. Both Sanji and Nami were also summoners, scoring a 70 and 60 respectively.

"What about you, Luffy?" Vivi asked, "You never got to answer before, about your test." He looked up, mouth full of food, and took a few seconds to swallow before answering.

"Ah, I'm a ranger."

At that, Vivi gasped and looked at him sorrowfully while Nami quietly sat drinking her tea, seemingly uninterested. Sanji simply raised an eyebrow.

"It's not a bad thing." Luffy said, puffing out his cheeks, "If anything, I think it suites me more. I've always wanted to have adventures and traveling to the other worlds sounds fun!"

"Eh, well, if you're okay with it." Sanji put in, wiping his mouth with a fancy napkin, "Then, congrats, I guess? What'd you score?"

"…a 2."

Even Nami looked up at that. Luffy just chuckled to himself and Usopp put his arm around him.

"That's right, our bud's special! He'll be the best ranger EVER!"

All in all, they had a good time. Luffy was beyond excited to have made so many new friends on his first day! He was sad when Vivi took her leave, saying she needed to go interview for a position somewhere on campus, Nami close behind her.

The orange-haired girl gave Luffy a strange look before exiting the restaurant, confusing him. Had he done something to offend her?

"Nami hasn't changed at all." Usopp muttered, rolling a carrot in between his fingers.

"You know her?" Luffy asked, leaning forward. Sanji seemed interested as well.

"Yeah…we used to go to school together when we were kids. She lived in a nearby town and made the trip to school with her sister every day." Usopp exclaimed, "One day, she just stopped coming and when I'd see her around, she was…different."

"Different how?"

"Expensive clothes, jewelry…stuff like that. She became distant and started avoiding me." Usopp shrugged, "Who knows, I'm sure she had her reasons, but it'd be nice if she would open up again."

After lunch, the four boys headed out to look at some of the billboards up around the courtyard, advertising for jobs. Sanji immediately tore off a flier for a restaurant asking for someone who could cook, serve food, and do dishes.

"Sanji, you can cook?" Luffy asked, immediately excited at the thought of getting free food.

"Sure can." He replied with a pride filled smile, making Zoro roll his eyes.

"I'm surprised someone of your standing would even enter a kitchen, Curly Brow."

"Oi, oi, you picking a fight, Marimo?" Sanji snarled, "I'll kick your ass."

Luffy ignored his two fighting friends to look over the remaining options. Lots of them required a certain amount of education or mana score to even apply for. Humming, Luffy grabbed a torn up flier towards the bottom of the board.

It read 'CREATURE HANDLER WANTED' and advertised for someone to work in the stables on campus, no previous experience required.

'I could do that.' Luffy thought, tucking the ad into his pocket. Usopp chose one that wanted someone to work on banners and other stuff around campus. Apparently, he was quite artistic and wanted an avenue to express that. Zoro ended up picking one that required him to do weapon maintenance and inventory in the armory, something that sounded up his alley.

Saying goodbye to his new friends since they all wanted to go check out their job opportunities (before they were taken by someone else), Luffy trotted along the cobblestone path that led out of the town and towards the stables.

Remembering the horses and unicorns he'd seen on his way in just made him feel even more excited!

The stable itself was quite large with room for all kinds of creatures. Luffy could hear horses, cows, and the like, though some he wasn't sure what they were just based on their call. Seeing no one outside, he trotted into the main area of the stable.

"Hello, anyone here?" Luffy called loudly, turning in circles to check out all of the creatures. To his left were some beautiful horses and unicorns (which he immediately went up to pet…because he could). On his right were a few cows and…was that-

Rushing up to the locked stall, Luffy's eyes widened. Inside was a Pegasus, a pretty palomino with golden irises and chestnut wings. He'd always loved winged horses and thought they were one of the coolest creatures ever. This particular Pegasus looked feisty and snorted in his face, making him chuckle.

'Will they let me ride them…' He thought, coming up onto the balls of his feet to get a better look at the winged horse.

"Oh, are you here for the job…or to check out the creatures?" A voice asked, sounding light and amused. Turning around, Luffy was met by…Usopp? No, his nose was a little different. "I'm Kaku, nice to meet you."

"Monkey D. Luffy!" He chirped, "I'm here for the job!"

"Great! I was afraid no one would come…" Kaku admitted sheepishly, taking off his hat and exposing his orange hair, "Shoveling manure doesn't really appeal to most students. Follow me, I've got some paperwork for you to fill out."

After completing the required documents, Kaku showed him around their facilities. They had some animals from their world (many he'd already seen) like horses, cows, pigs, chickens, sheep, and the like.

"On the creature side of things, we've got unicorns, hippocampus, a couple pegasi, griffins, silver horned deer, some large cats around somewhere… hellhounds, and one minotaur. We used to have some dragons, but that became too much of a hazard."

"Really?"

"Yeah." Kaku continued, leaning on the side of the barn, "I mean, they were epic and all, but they kept eating our normal animals and scaring the crap out of the students."

Luffy laughed and looked around the fields with glee, taking in the frolicking water horses in the nearby pond and the beautiful (surprisingly large) deer grazing in the distance. This was going to be an awesome job.

"Anyway, you're a ranger, right? Then this job should be good for you." Kaku said with a smile, "Besides, our employees get precedence when taking mounts out into another world."

"I can ride them!?"

"Yeah but shoveling comes first. I also require all riders get to a certain point in their course work before we put them on a creature." Kaku winked, "I'll let you know." Luffy bounced happily in place even when his new boss gave him his schedule that indicated some very early mornings for him.

Walking back to Quiet Creek, Luffy hummed to himself, pleased with his new job and the decent amount he'd be making. From what Kaku told him, while their living expenses and meals were paid for, everything else (fun stuff, clothes, restaurants, etc.) they needed to pay out of pocket for.

The day had gone by quickly so by the time he reached his dorm, the sun was setting. Most of the other residents were either hanging out in the main area downstairs or getting ready for the first day of school. Luffy bypassed them all and trotted up to his room, where Zoro was sitting on his bed reading a book.

"Yo, you get the job?" He asked, glancing up from his book.

"Yeah, and it's gonna be awesome!" Luffy replied, throwing himself onto his own bed, "What about you?"

"I start day after tomorrow."

Luffy giggled and leapt up, too jittery and full of energy to sit down. He was about to start his new school life and become a ranger! How could he possibly sleep?

Zoro closed his book a little after nine, determined to go to bed early so he'd be well rested. It was dark outside now, and his quirky little roommate was snoring away in his bed, massive pajama shirt riding up his back.

To be honest, Luffy was unlike anyone he'd ever met. Despite being named a ranger (and having practically no mana at all), he took it in stride and actually seemed happy about. Not only that, but he had no issues making friends…something Zoro was actually envious of.

Had he not been with Luffy, would he have met everyone he had today? Not counting Usopp who'd wandered into his room by accident.

Luffy was compassionate, driven, and…contagious. People were drawn to him like moths to a flame, even that aloof girl, Nami.

'I'll have to make sure she doesn't try anything with him' Zoro determined, remembering the look Nami had given Luffy. Unfortunately, his new roommate didn't seem like the type to realize he was being used, so he'd just have to look out for him.

Plus, on top of everything, he'd survived an encounter with a being from Skotàdi, which was almost unheard of. The aptly nicknamed World of Darkness was not known for its benevolent creatures…a fact Zoro knew very well.

Gently running a hand over his swords, he was reminded of why he came to Reverie Academy in the first place.

Dad.

Kuina.

Perona.

'I'll find him, the monster who took you all away from me.' Zoro thought, hands clenching up into tight fists, 'and this time, he won't escape.' He gripped his shirt tightly, right over the massive scar on his chest that ran from his left shoulder to right hip.

He had to get stronger, so no one else he cared about would die.

"I'm going to use the shower if that's all right." Vivi asked sweetly, holding a bundle of clothes in her arms. Nami shrugged.

"Go ahead, I'll shower in the morning."

As the princess left, Nami huffed from where she sat gazing out of their window in the Royal Springs dorm. True to its name, the building was lavish and made for nobles. Their room was massive and had its own bathroom with brilliant tile and a full tub.

'Not that I really belong here.' She mused, looking down on the now less crowded street, shops closing up for the night. As Nami watched people scurry around, she was reminded of all the strange kids she'd met since arriving.

Vivi was kind and relatively normal for a princess, all things considered. Nami didn't think she'd mind rooming with her, at least for the time being. Seeing Usopp again had shocked her (not that she'd let it show). They hadn't spoken since…well…since her life had come crashing down around her.

Thinking back on such bad memories made her shudder, and her shoulder ache where that beast's mark was.

Shaking her head, Nami focused on the others she'd met. Sanji would be easy, like most of the male students at the Academy, though Zoro made her nervous. The green-haired student had scored unnaturally high on his test and obviously had experience.

She would need to avoid him, if her task was to succeed.

Lastly, there was the new ranger, Luffy. At first, Nami thought he was nothing more than a giggling idiot, but…there was something about him, something…eye catching.

Unlike most of the students, Nami wasn't naïve. She knew that rangers were incredibly important for summoners if they wanted to travel to another world or needed to disassemble a spell.

'…and with such a low mana score, he'll likely be very good at mana switches and regeneration.' She mused, smirking to herself, 'I'll need to keep an eye on his growth. He might be useful.'

Of course, she wasn't going to make a move until she got some experience and contracts under her belt. But, Nami was used to being patient.

'Just you wait, Nojiko, this'll all work out…somehow.'

It had to, otherwise, her sister would end up like Bellemere.