The morning was a normal one for Tsukune Aono and his group of friends. Mizore and Kurumu argued fiercely over which of them would marry Tsukune, while Moka and the object of her affection conversed over their recent adventures.
Miss Nekonome, trying to get her class's attention, meowed as loud as her vocal chords would allow.
"Alright students, please settle down. I have an important announcement to make. After recent events, relations between the human and monster world have grown a little more strained. Our leaders have come to arrangement to keep our two sides from further conflict. Starting today, we will have a new member in our class. And he's well…" She looked at her students, afraid of how they would react.
"He's a human."
"WHAT?!" the class erupted. Tsukune, who of course was the only other human, was the only one not to react so animatedly. His friends all knew his secret, which was evidence it was possible for humans and monsters to get along. He figured it may actually be good to have a human classmate to relate to. Of course, he was skeptical another person could adapt as well to the horrifying scenery as he had. After all, Moka was the main reason he could tolerate the monster world.
"That's right. Now if anything should happen to him, there is going to be a very high price to pay. That goes especially for you Saizo." She glared at the delinquent, who feigned incredulity.
"To give you all a little more background, the humans want someone to learn more about our way of life so that they can feel a bit more at ease with our existence. Yokai academy, our leaders agree, was the perfect place to install the humans' representative. As for his identity…" she said.
"His name is Lieven Van Helsing."
A collective gasp was made in the room.
"This will understandably raise strong emotions in some of you. I want to make it clear this school is committed to ensuring the safety of our students, so you have nothing to fear. Lieven is the same age as all of you, so please be kind to him. If you treat him as your enemy, you can be sure you'll make an enemy out of me. Is that clear?"
"But teach…" a student in the front row started to say.
"No buts. This is the way it's going to be. Alright?" The teacher walked out of the classroom, ostensibly to retrieve the transfer.
The class grumbled amongst themselves–some furious, some scarred, still others eager to greet the transfer with vengeful hazing once they could get away from supervision. Tsukune turned around and looked at Moka, who was understandably disturbed.
"How could they…" She begun to imagine all the brutal ways her kind had been slain by Van Helsings.
"Hey Moka, don't worry. I'll protect you. No human is going to treat you badly on my watch," he said.
"Get real Tsukune. Don't you know anything about the Van Helsings? They've hunted monsters for centuries, and vampires are their specialty. It makes sense for her to be scared." Kurumu scolded her human friend, taking care not to become too agitated herself.
"Oh Tsukune," Moka said, clutching the back of her best friend's jacket.
"If he tries anything funny, I'll freeze him," Mizore said through the sucker in her mouth.
"Come on guys, we can at least give him a chance." Tsukune found it necessary to defend his race, lest his monster friends begin to form negative opinions on all humans.
The door slid open and clicked against the wall. In walked a young man about 6 feet tall. He had medium-length, messy black hair; ripped jeans, decorated with a wallet chain, below the torso of his school uniform; and a scar which ran through his left eye. He carried a guitar case on his back and kept a small, dark-colored plume behind the back of his right ear. On his right index finger, he wore a ring with a cross cut-out of pewter stone.
"Greetings to you all. My name is Lieven Van Helsing," he spoke in a Dutch accent, while bowing.
"I realize that my name will upset most, if not all of you. But I want to assure you all I am not here to cause trouble for anyone. Van Helsings are monster hunters, yes, but that does not mean what you think it does. The monsters we hunt are those who commit unspeakable crimes in the human world. I don't see anyone here as an enemy, just classmates. If you're curious to know more, I'll be happy to explain. Here's to an educational year for all of us." Lieven recited his prepared introduction as eloquently as he could manage.
"Oh, and more thing. I'm looking to start a band–preferably punk rock. I play lead guitar, so if anyone drums, plays bass, or sings, and is interested, please talk to me," he said with one last bow. He walked to the back of the classroom to lean his guitar case against the wall. There was an open seat in front of Kurumu and in-between Mizore and Moka, which Van Helsing claimed upon spotting it. All three girls chose to ignore his amiable smiles.
"Now class, take out I am a Cat by Natsume Sōseki," Miss Nekonome instructed.
When it was time for a break, the students formed clusters all purposefully away from their new classmate. Tsukune, who felt bad for the guy, turned around.
"Hey there, my name is Tsukune Aono," he said, waving to the transfer.
"Tsukune? There's a good sounding name! Pleasure to make your acquaintance," Van Helsing replied.
"If you need anything, I'd be happy to show you around." Tsukune's friends all shot him nasty looks.
"Ah, you are a kind soul. If you don't mind, what sort of monster are you?" the monster hunter asked.
"I-uh, um," Tsukune staggered to say.
"He's a vampire," Moka intervened, "So I don't think you'll want to be friends with him."
"Moka…" Tsukune thought to himself.
"Vampire you say? How fortuitous! Please. You must teach me all there is to know about your species! My brother and sisters would be very impressed if I came back to them with an extensive knowledge of vampires," Van Helsing said while reaching out to shake hands.
"Oh great, now I have to know study up on vampires myself. But that might not be so bad, I could always ask Moka," Tsukune thought.
"You don't have to tell me anything immediately though. To be honest, I'm just relieved to be here. My training back in Europe had been growing so rigorous, it was difficult to find time to do what I enjoyed, like playing my guitar," Van Helsing said to Tsukune.
"Really? But aren't you here as part of your training?" Tsukune asked.
"Pfft, I think not. I'm here to enjoy my youth, get good grades, play sports, join a club. But there's one thing I want more than anything."
"And what's that?"
"You see, I've already noticed Yokai Acadmey is quite full of pretty girls. Don't you think?"
"Haha, yeah…" Tsukune nervously agreed, unsure of what his female friends wanted him to say.
"Good, I'm glad you see it as well. Tsukune, I would be most grateful, if you could help me find a girlfriend here."
"What?!" Moka, Kurumu, and Mizore resoundingly exclaimed.
Van Helsing, who had barely noticed their eavesdropping until then, quickly blushed. He turned redder, and redder still, sinking down in his chair. He tried to say something, but could hardly manage one coherent word. After he could no longer stomach his embarrassment, he stood up and ran out of the room.
"Wow, that was not at all what I expected," Tsukune said.