Yuki Cross's earliest memory is of a snowy night in winter, when she was attacked by one vampire and was saved by another, Kaname Kuran. Yuki is the adopted daughter of the Headmaster of Cross Academy, Kaien Cross, who is an ex-vampire hunter that now wishes for vampires and humans to live alongside peacefully. She has grown up and become a prefect for the school with one main purpose: for vampires to coexist peacefully with humans. Her fellow guardian, Zero Kiryu, a childhood companion whose parents were killed by a pure-blood vampire, is now determined to kill them all and refuses to trust them. Zero himself is now manifesting vampire traits, having been turned into vampire after he was bitten by a pure-blood vampire, Shizuka Hio, four years before.

Yuki tries to help him fight his bloodlust while also seeking to recover the memories she lost. As the series progresses, Zero's thirst for blood leads to his drinking from Yuki, by her consent, to avoid becoming a level E vampire. To stop this, Kaname gives Zero his own blood, making him a normal vampire which will prevent Zero from going insane and from needing to feed from Yuki. Eventually, it is revealed that Yuki is a pureblood vampire herself, the sister and fiancee of Kaname. To save Yuki from being killed by Rido Kuran, Kaname's uncle, her mother had sealed her memories shortly before her own death. After Yuki reawakens to her vampire nature, Rido again tries to kill her. As Kaname kills the vampire senate, Yuki fights Rido. During a fierce battle, Zero aids her in killing him, but then turns his gun on her, stating he will kill all of the pureblood vampires.

Yuki Cross, or Yuki Kuran, is the adoptive daughter of the headmaster of Cross Academy. Yuki is a first year student at Cross Academy and is a member of the school's disciplinary committee, which is a Guardian for Cross Academy. In her capacity as a Guardian, she is responsible for the nightly duties of monitoring and protecting the Day Class. Yuki carries the anti-vampire weapon, the Artemis Rod.

Zero Kiryu (錐生 零, Kiryū Zero?) is one of the main characters of Vampire Knight. Zero is Yuki's close friend and the only other Cross Academy Guardian. Zero carries an anti-vampire gun named "Bloody Rose," given to him by Kaien Cross.
Contents

Kaname Kuran (玖蘭 枢) is a pureblood vampire who saved Yuuki from an attack by another vampire when she was five years old. Prior to his re-awakening, Kaname was the first king and the founder of the Kuran family.

Hanabusa Aidou (藍堂 英, Aidō Hanabusa?), nicknamed "Idol" by the Day Class girls, he along with his cousin Kain, Aidou is known among the Night Class as "Kaname-sama's right hand" and has a fierce admiration for Kaname that borders on zealousness. Aidou is a noble-class vampire and possesses the ability to conjure and control ice.

Senri Shiki (支葵千里, Shiki Senri?) 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 we see out hunting the level E vampires. He has a whip-like weapon which develops from his blood.

Takuma Ichijo (一条 拓麻, Ichijō Takuma?) 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. Takuma maintains a close friendship with Senri Shiki, whose great grandfather is also a member of the council. He is also good friends with Rima Toya.

Hanabusa Aido's cousin and another one of "Kaname-sama's right hand". His carefree attitude gets both him and Aidou in trouble at times. His nickname is "Wild", despite the fact he is actually mellower than Aidou.

Ruka Souen (早園瑠佳, Sōen Ruka?) is a female vampire popular with the Day Class students and one of those who are the most faithful and protective of Kaname.

Rima Toya (遠矢 莉磨, Tōuya Rima?) is one of the youngest Night Class students. She works as a model alongside Senri Shiki. Her exact relationship with Shiki is unknown, though they are almost always seen together. She cares deeply for Shiki and possesses a personality similar to his. Rima possesses either lightning or electricity powers.She is roomates with Ruka Souen.

Ichiru Kiryu (錐生 壱縷, Kiryū Ichiru?) is Zero's younger twin brother. When they were younger, they were both taught by Toga Yagari to become Vampire hunters. Ichiru, however did not seem to share Zero's natural ability and was often ill. Zero and Ichiru were very close as children, although later Ichiru claims to have hated Zero after overhearing that his parents preferred Zero over himself.

Shizuka Hiou let Ichiru drink her blood to strengthen him and cure his chronic ill health, although she did not turn him into a vampire and he remains a human. He now attends Cross Academy as a Day Class student by the orders of Shiki's father, Rido Kuran (and by Zero's permission). It appears Rido has promised Ichiru that he will kill those who killed Shizuka, which is probably the main reason why Ichiru is working for Rido Kuran.

When Zero was locked up by the Vampire Hunters Association, Ichiru visits him and appears to have shot him due to hatred. However, it is revealed that Ichiru was terribly wounded because he tried to kill Rido, the person he was truly after because of his role in Shizuka's death. After he shoots his brother, he convinces Zero to drink his blood so they could finally become one as they were originally supposed to be. Ichiru stated that he was happy that he was not dead in Zero's heart and when they hug, he says that he feels comfortable to be in his arms, recalling a time when the brother's slept in the same bed often and were loved equally by their mother.After Ichiru's death, Zero appeared to grow vines, most likely from all of Shizuka Hio's blood that Ichiru has ingested

A very distant relative of Shizuka Hiou. She allowed Shizuka to possess her body in exchange for being allowed to drink Shizuka's blood, which would strengthen her sickly body. Due to Shizuka's untimely death, this promise was never fulfilled. Maria has returned to her family after the Shizuka incident, but has asked Yuki Cross to tell Zero Kiryu that if he sees Ichiru Kiryu, to tell him Maria wants to see him again.

Shizuka Hiou (緋桜閑, Hiō Shizuka?) The pureblood vampire who bit Zero Kiryu ; even her fellow vampires are uneasy around her. She is called "Madly Blooming Princess" by her fellow vampires. A manservant whom she loved (a former human vampire, falsely classified by the Hunter's Association as Level E) was assigned to be killed by a Kiryu vampire hunter.

Yuuki Cross's mother and a pureblood vampire who resembles an older version of Yuuki. Juuri was the wife and sister of Haruka Kuran. Ten years ago when Rido Kuran appeared, she sacrificed her life and suppressed Yuuki's vampire side and erased Yuuki's memories. Headmaster Kaien Cross stated that he is in debt to her. Her last wish was for Kaname to look after Yuuki. It is also revealed that she is the sister of Haruka Kuran and that it is not uncommon for pureblood vampires to marry their siblings. Rido was also in love with her.

Haruka Kuran was a Pureblood vampire, born around 3000 years ago. Haruka was Yuuki and Kaname's father, Juuri's husband, her older brother and Rido's younger brother. Haruka was killed by Rido, in his attempt to stop Rido from taking Yuuki ten years ago. He revealed that the Vampire Council are trying to use Pureblood vampires for the value of their existence and the power of their blood.

A pureblood vampire, one of the antagonists of the Vampire Knight and the older brother of Haruka and Juuri Kuran, he is the true head of the Kuran family.

Sayori Wakaba (若葉沙頼, Wakaba Sayori?), Yuki's dorm-mate and bestfriend since junior high, Yuki often refers to her as Yori-chan. Yori seems to be one of the few girls who is not interested in the Night Class. She finds them a bit scary and stated that she would prefer someone from the day class. Yori is also very observant, as she notices a lot of things that happen to Yuki, especially when she gets hurt or is very depressed.

Headmaster Kaien Cross (黒主理事長, Kurosu Kaien Rijich) is a character in the manga series Vampire Knight by Matsuri Hino. In the story, he is the founder and Headmaster of the Cross Academy. He is also the strongest legendary vampire hunter in history. He is the adopted father of Yuuki Cross, the heroine of the story.

Toga Yagari (夜刈十牙, Yagari Tōga?) The current top ranked vampire hunter and a qualified teacher. Yagari formerly trained Zero Kiryu to be a vampire hunter. He lost his right eye trying to save Zero long ago from a Level E vampire. Following the killing of Zero's family, he gives Zero to Kaien Cross to look after believing he would never see the boy again.