Yuki Cross / Yuki Kuran

Yuki Cross / Yuki Kuran is the adopted daughter of the Headmaster of Cross Academy, a 16-year-old first year student, who wields the Artemis rod, an anti-vampire weapon given to her by Kaien Cross. She begins as a human, a Guardian protecting the vampire students' secret from the human students. Yuki is close to Zero Kiryu, who she becomes determined to help once she learns he is has become a vampire. Her other significant relationship is with Kaname Kuran, whom she has been in love with since he saved her as a young child. She is generally a kind, caring, cheerful, crazy and comedic character, but she is very naive and careless girl, often portrayed as not being very smart, being a poor student due to the fact that she is a Guardian at night and student in the daytime, giving her little time to study and sleep. She is often kept ignorant by other characters who know more about on-goings, which results in her character feeling guilty for being unaware of the suffering of other characters. Hino Matsuri has described Yuki as a healing and soothing character, who exemplifies her justice side.

Towards the climax of arc one, Yuki is revealed to be a pureblood vampire, when Kaname awakens her breaking the spell cast by their mother, releasing suppressed memories of her past. This revelation alienates Zero, but the two fight together to defeat Rido. The formerly close friends part ways after Zero tells Yuki he intends to kill all pureblood vampires, including herself, while finally revealing his feelings for her. Yuki’s response is left unknown until she later admits to Kaname an unbreakable attachment to Zero in her heart. During the one year time skip, Yuki spent the entire time inside the Kuran mansion with Kaname until Yuki decides to take up the responsibility of killing purebloods who wish to die. Kaname finally reveals to Yuki that he is her ancestor, not brother which leads Yuki to ask to start over, but Kaname leaves to continue his past mission. Yuki returns to Cross Academy, restarting the Night Class to gather allies. Yuki begins mending her relationship with Zero, but his misunderstanding leads them to form an agreement based on mutual goals that is purely business like. When the hunters revolt against Kaien's attempt to stop Kaname, Yuki states that she wants to stop Kaname too. However, she also told Zero that if she were a piece in Kaname's game, she would play her part and then go to meet him.Yuki is also a pureblood princess

Zero Kiryu

Zero Kiryu is unique being both a Vampire Hunter and a vampire. Yuki's close friend and a Cross Academy Guardian, he was trained to be a Vampire Hunter by Toga Yagari. Zero carries the anti-vampire gun called "Bloody Rose”. Zero lives with Kaien Cross and Yuki, after being bitten by a pureblood vampire who also murdered his family. Due to the attack, Zero developed a deep hatred and distrust of vampires, despite originally being a gentle character by nature. Matsuri Hino described Zero as exemplifying her hesitant nature.

The first arc of the story is spent dealing with Zero trying to overcome his fall into the madness, helped by Yuki when she pledges to feed him her blood. Yuki continually oversteps boundaries in helping Zero and he ends up preventing her from trading her humanity to Shizuka Hio in exchange for preventing his fall to a Level E vampire. Zero swears never to allow Yuki to become a vampire and attempts to help her with her own issues. Zero clashes with Kaname Kuran, who only allows Zero to live to protect Yuki and Zero is eventually forced to drink the blood of Kaname to delay becoming a level E vampire. Following the discovery of Yuki's true nature as a pureblood vampire, Zero and Yuki's friendship is broken. Perceived as dangerous, Zero is arrested by the Hunter Association and it is revealed that Kaname had been grooming Zero in order for him to defeat Rido Kuran. Zero is shot by his dying twin brother, forcing him to "eat" Ichiru to complete the Twin Hunter fragment. With this final act and carrying the blood of three purebloods, Zero becomes one of the most powerful characters appearing in the series. Zero and Yuki work together and defeat Rido, but Zero reveals his intention to end everything, to kill all pureblood vampires including Yuki. However, (in the manga only,) Zero is unable to kill Yuki, revealing that he had been in love with her for a long time and kisses her. The two mutually part, as Yuki promises to run from Zero forever to give him a reason to live.

Following the one year timeskip, Zero has progressed from his dangerous state of mind, more concerned with maintaining peace between vampires and hunters, enough to find himself poised as the future president of the Hunter Association. Zero continues to hunt vampires and seeks the truth about a Vampire hunter's death at the party, but is still dealing with issues regarding his loss of his humanity and intense vampire hunger. When Zero meets up with an injured Yuki, Zero finds himself assisting her though they are still technically enemies and he once again finds himself entwined in Yuki's business when she restarts the night class. He is again surrounded by vampires, he is even approached affectionately by Maria for his connection to Ichiru. Zero finds Yuki's behaviour at school abnormal when she attempts to re-establish a connection to Zero and insists she drinks his blood and they begin a new agreement driven by mutual interest of keeping the students safe.
Kaname Kuran

Kaname Kuran is introduced as the pureblood vampire saved Yuki from an attack by another vampire when she was five years old. Kaname is revealed to be one of the original vampires and founder of the Kuran family, who was raised as Juri and Haruka's son after being reawakened by Rido Kuran. During the first arc, Kaname spends his time working to protect Yuki, which includes killing Shizuka Hio and fostering Zero Kiryu's powers. The end of the arc culminates in his destruction of the Vampire Council, which attacked the school, fearing the return of the Kuran family as the rulers of Vampire Society. Kaname's inexplicable attachment and gentleness to Yuki is finally explained when Kaname awakens her true nature as a pureblood vampire born as his sister and to become his wife. Kaname is forced to do so with the return of his enemy and uncle, Rido. As Kaname is unable to kill his master, he approaches Zero to kill Rido and free him from Rido. The attachment to Rido persists beyond the vampire's death and his remnant is later seen talking to Kaname, taunting him about his conflicting nature.

Following the timeskip, Kaname takes Yuki to their childhood home and solidifies his rule over the vampires and forges and new peace between the purebloods and the hunters. When Yuki reveals her attachment to Zero thinking rejection, Kaname instead impresses upon her his love, preferring to be killed rather than losing her. Kaname is haunted by the idea that he will one day lose Yuki should she choose to sacrifice herself and he wavers between the desire to lock her up or allow her freedom. Kaname tells Yuki that he is not her brother but, her ancestor. Later, his true intentions are once again shrouded in mystery when he kills Aidou's father and leaves Yuki. He has underlying intentions that aren't revealed yet, but he does say to Yuki, who saw him kill Aidou's dad, "I have to fulfill my original goal, Yuki." Kaien confronts Kaname and says he is going to kill Kaname for many reasons but mainly because of Yuki.
Ichiru Kiryu

Ichiru Kiryu was Zero's younger identical twin brother. Ichiru failed to be a Vampire Hunter due to being a sickly boy and his lack of hunter talents. He was believed to have been killed by Shizuka Hio, but he returns healthy after revealing that he had become the servant of Shizuka and she had given Ichiru her blood to cure his chronic ill health. In spite of his desires, she does not turn him into a vampire and he remains a human. With Shizuka's death, he returns to Cross Academy as a Day Class student by the orders of the Vampire Council and his own desire for revenge for Shizuka's death. During Zero's imprisonment by the Vampire Hunters, Ichiru visits and shoots him but reveals that he attained a mortal wound in an attempt to kill Rido, because of his role in Shizuka's death. After he shoots his brother, Ichiru convinces Zero to drink his body so they can finally become one, as they were originally supposed to be. Zero buries him alongside their parents grave
Sayori Wakaba

Sayori "Yori" Wakaba is Yuki's dorm-mate and best friend since junior high. She has a fiance.Yori is a very perceptive girl who finds the aura of the Night Class to be scary. She is one of the few girls with no interest in the Night Class and not intimidated by Zero, frequently joining Yuki to tease him while maintaining that Yuki is the only one capable of dealing with him. When Yori discovers that Yuki is a vampire during the attack on the school, she accepts Yuki. After a year has passed, Yori remains Yuki's loyal friend, she refused to have her memory erased by the hunters, now one of the few students who knows what actually happened at the school. Kaito uses Yori as bait at the vampire ball in an attempt to provoke trouble, while she does this in order to meet with Yuki whom she hadn't seen in a year. It is revealed that she is also a daughter of an important official, whether hunter or not is unknown, when the headmaster was discussing on reopening the night class. At Chapter 71 a man known as Sayori's Father said: "I'm also entrusting my daughter Sayori to this school of yours."
Maria Kurenai

Maria Kurenai is a very distant relative of Shizuka Hio. She allows Shizuka to possess her body in exchange for being allowed to drink Shizuka's blood, which would strengthen her weak body. Due to Shizuka's untimely death, this promise is never fulfilled. She seems to be fond of Ichiru Kiryu, and she hugs Zero when she mistakes him for Ichiru. She asks Yuki to tell Zero that if he sees Ichiru, to tell him Maria wants to see him again. She returns to her family after Shizuka's death, and when she sends an owl out to search for Ichiru she witnesses Kaname's destruction of the Senate, and proceeds to spread the news.

Maria returns to Cross Academy to support Yuki and the Night Class. She notices the changes in Zero and Yuki's relationship and tells Yuki she intends to take Zero. She becomes closer to Zero, seeking him out and finding the presence of his twin within him.
Rima Touya

Rima Touya is one of the youngest Night Class students and she works as a model alongside Senri Shiki. She is 165 cm tall. Rima is smart and usually appears uninterested and indifferent. She is often blunt and has a fairly quick temper. She cares deeply for Shiki and possesses a personality similar to his. Rima possesses lightning or electricity related abilities. She shares a fondness for Pocky with Shiki. After suspecting Shiki has changed upon his return to school, Rima confronts Rido and demands him to leave Shiki's body since she can tell that he is not Shiki. She is wounded by Rido, but is saved by Ichijo. While injured, she tries to convince Shiki to snap out of his state and calls him an idiot for letting Rido control him. Badly wounded, she is sent back to the Moon Dormitory by Ichijo. Rima is later seen at the vampire ball with Shiki and at a photoshoot at a school Sara Shirabuki was spotted at. Rima rejoins the newly established Night Class, but has since become a critic of Kaname's actions.
Ruka Souen

Ruka Souen is a female noble vampire who provides a stark contrast to Yuki Cross. Ruka has also been in love with Kaname Kuran since she was a child, ironically she remains completely unaware of Kain's unrequited love for her even when her day class friend Saboten tried to tell her. Ruka power is she can make other vampires kill each other or themselves. She is 169 cm tall. Ruka is one of the most faithful and protective of Kaname. She is also a childhood friend and cousin to Aido and Kain. She has an intense jealousy of any humans that raise Kaname's interest, leading the pack in persecuting them. Her character gets more jealous towards the end of the first arc, after she learns that Yuki is Kaname's lover and that they are engaged, she feels upset though still has love for Kaname. Like the rest of the night class, she works with Kain, Aido and Saboten to defend girls in the Day Class during the attack on the school and expresses a desire to protect them from the hostile vampires. Since the time skip, Ruka has been seen giving Yuki etiquette lessons and Yuki is aware that Ruka still appears to have some feelings for Kaname. While Ruka is kind to Yuki, she avoids Yuki when she can. Wondering why, Yuki confronts Kaname about her; Kaname states to Yuki that it will be a long time before Ruka forgives him, shamelessly admitting to using her as a substitute for Yuki when she was human. Her crush on Kaname disintegrates in the second arc.

Seiren is a student of the Night Class, and is Kaname's unofficial bodyguard. She is usually the first to defend Kaname from anyone she regards as a threat. She barely refrains from killing Zero when he threatens Kaname with the Bloody Rose. Seiren also appears to serve Kaname in the capacity of a spy or informant, for example, she is the one that tells Kaname that his uncle has risen. She uses her body as a weapon and is very skilled in her hands is sharp that can rich the body of the enemies combat. After Rido was killed, Seiren continues following her master, Kaname
Senri Shiki

Senri Shiki One of the youngest Night Class members, he works as a model with Rima Touya. When the night class is given orders to hunt down a level E vampire, Shiki is usually the one seen out hunting the level E vampires. He has a whip-like weapon which develops from his blood. It is later revealed that Shiki is in fact the son of Rido Kuran, meaning he's Kaname and Yuki's cousin. Shiki possesses a personality similar to Rima Touya. He is usually impassive, and often detached to the rest of the vampires except for Rima and Ichijo. He rarely expresses emotion, and may seem like he doesn't care about his surroundings. Because of his reserved nature, he keeps to himself, and never has much to say. However, he cares for Rima and he is deeply in love with her.

Takuma Ichijo

Takuma Ichijo ( is the vice-president of the Night Class. He is a noble-class vampire nearly as powerful as Kaname, whom he is close to and respects. With his cheerful and enthusiastic demeanor, Ichijo appears very "un-vampire like", lacking the dark atmosphere that surrounds most vampires and making him appear more like a human. Ichijo maintains a close friendship with Senri Shiki. Ichijo is ordered by his grandfather Asato Ichijo to spy on Kaname while attending Cross Academy but refuses out of loyalty for his friend. When Senri Shiki is possessed by Rido Kuran, Ichijo is forced to go against Kaname in order to protect his friends. Once Shiki is freed from Rido's possession, Ichijo rejoins Kaname's side and stops Kaname from killing his grandfather, instead asking that he be the one to handle the issue. It appears that Ichijo intended to end his life along with his grandfather's. Takuma was discovered unconscious afterwards by Sara Shirabuki, who said that she always wanted "to have" Takuma. Following the year time leap, Takuma remains at Sara Shirabuki's side and cannot return to Kaname's side after being fed with Sara's blood when he was injured, because Sara's blood have been taming him and turn him into her slave. After poses as Sara's brother at the elite school she is scouting, he come back to the new Night Class formed by Yuki Kuran in Cross Academy, along with Sara, completely under Sara's possession.
Headmaster Kaien Cross

Kaien Cross is over 200 years old,the oldest and most powerful known Vampire Hunter, nicknamed "The Fangless Vampire". In spite of being a vampire hunter, Kaien maintained friendships with several pureblood vampire families, especially the Kurans. Kaien adopted Yuki and also took Zero and Saboten into his home after they lost their families. Kaien retired as a vampire hunter and became the Headmaster of Cross Academy, he established the Day Class and Night Class with Kaname Kuran with dreams of promoting peace between humans and vampires. Kaien is an eccentric character who often provokes Zero and irritates other characters with his silly mannerisms, though he is a serious character when it comes to matters he cares about. He carries a hidden anti-vampire weapon in his cane which he uses to fight against the President of the Hunter Association who had turned corrupt from drinking Rido Kuran's blood. It is also pointed at, although never said directly, that he was in love with Juri Kuran.
Toga Yagari

Toga Yagari is currently the top ranked vampire hunter, as well as the one who trained Zero to be a Vampire Hunter. He lost his right eye trying to save Zero long ago when Zero's old school nurse turned out to be a Level E Vampire and tried to attack both Zero and Ichiru. Yagari told them to leave but in an attempt to help his teacher, Zero refuses and stays. It is during this time that the nurse goes for Zero, that Yagari stands in front of him and gets a blow to his face, losing his right eye. He appears at Cross Academy in the guise of being a new Ethics teacher for both the Day Class and the Night Class, but he's really there to see if Zero's become a Level E. One night when Zero tries to drink Yuki's blood, the two fall in a swimming pool and when the emerge from the water Yagari shoots Zero in the shoulder with an anti-vampire gun. Later when Ichiru returns to confront Zero, they get in a fight. Yagari steps in, and to avoid Ichiru having his sword fall through his face Yagari stands over him and lets the sword fall through his own shoulder.

Yagari is shocked to learn the Senate's decision to punish Zero for the death of Shizuka Hio and later reappears to arrest Zero. Yagari subsequently joins the Kaien Cross to protect Cross Academy from the Hunter Association.
Haruka Kuran

Haruka Kuran was Yuki's and Kaname's father and both brother and husband to Juri Kuran. Haruka was killed ten years ago, by his elder brother, Rido Kuran, in a fight to protect his family when Rido came to take his daughter.
Juri Kuran

Juri Kuran was Yuki's and Kaname's mother and the wife and sister of Haruka Kuran. Ten years ago when her elder brother, Rido Kuran appeared, she sacrificed herself to erase Yuki's memories and sealed away her vampire nature, because she wished for Yuki to be able to live happily like a normal human girl. Kaien Cross states that he is indebted to her, and it was revealed that she spared his life when he attempted to murder her when she was pregnant on the condition that he would establish a school where humans and vampires can co-exist
Shizuka Hio

Shizuka Hio was the first antagonist to appear in Vampire Knight. Shizuka was the pureblood vampire who bit Zero and is referred to as the "Kuruizaki-Hime". Shizuka shows up at Cross Academy in the guise of another vampire, Maria Kurenai, but is recognised by both Kaname Kuran and Zero. In order to save Zero, Yuki risked her life and humanity for Zero to be able to drink Shizuka's blood to prevent his fall to level E, but Zero stops her by defying his master's orders. Yuki in turn prevents Zero from gaining his revenge on Shizuka, instead Kaname kills Shizuka to save Yuki