Senri Shiki

Senri Shiki (支葵 千里, Shiki Senri) is an aristocrat, a model, and one of the youngest Night Class students. Later on, it is revealed that he is the illegitimate son of Rido Kuran.

Shiki's last name is a combination of  shi, meaning "to support" and ki, meaning "mallow"--a flowering plant with pink or white blossoms. The ri in Senri is a traditional Japanese unit of measure for distance, and one ri is about 2.44 miles. Senri  means "1,000 ri."

Appearance
Senri inherits most of his appearance from his mother. Like all Noble vampires, he possesses immense beauty: Senri has mahogany hair, lightly-tinted blue eyes and a pale skin tone, the latter being shared by all other vampires. His mother remarks that he is starting to share a resemblance to his father, the reference being their dark eyes, which never revealed their true thought. Rido Kuran describes Senri as being rather cute. Once he was possessed by Rido, his left eye was changed into Rido's eye colour; reddish brown, which is the similar trait in Kuran family.

Personality
Shiki possesses a personality similar to that of Rima Toya. 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, but when he does it is noted in the fanbook that he can be very blunt with his comments. When the Night Class is given orders to hunt down a Level E vampire, Shiki is usually the one we see out hunting them. He and Rima both share a love for pocky, often seen sharing it when they are together; she feeds it to him as if he is a child. Like all other vampires, Shiki does not like to be under the sun and can often be seen walking around with Rima under her parasol in daylight.

Laid back to the point of seeming apathetic, Senri does not have much of an interest in anything and possesses little motivation, although he is responsible about his modeling career and duties. A follower by nature, he became quite attached to Takuma Ichijo – a natural leader, who was always prompting him to try new things. Because of his mother’s mental illness, Senri learned to become a quiet ‘doll’ who didn’t cause trouble or make her worry. He seems to think little of himself and lets people use him, prompting his friend Rima Toya to encourage him to stand up for himself more. After being possessed by his father, Rido Kuran, and being used to hurt people he cares about, including Rima, Senri does begin to stand up and fight for himself and appears less apathetic afterwards.

History
Senri's history is not very publicized in the manga nor the anime. But, he doesn't love going to his home, and his mother has to beg him to come before he does. Also there is an unknown shaky connection between Senri, his great grandfather and his father Rido.

Plot
Senri does not have much of a main role in the first season and is considered as one of the minor characters. He is heard regarding Yuki as "tasty" much to the surprise of the rest of the Night Class. Senri accompanies Takuma in eliminating a Level E vampire on one occasion (the one where they meet Yuki and Zero) but he doesn't really play a big part in it. Later on, he is seen with Rima Toya going on another mission to eliminate a newly turned Level E, unaware that Zero has also been given the duty from the Hunter's Association. Senri starts having a central role in the plot of the second season when, during the holiday, his great-uncle shows him 'the Shiki family's greatest secret', the bloody, weak remains of his father, Rido Kuran, who was supposed to be dead. He becomes possessed by his father and returns to the Academy, where Rima immediately notices something different about him. She eventually learns the truth and swears to kick out whoever is inside of Senri's body, engaging in combat. During the fight, she tells him that he is an idiot to let someone control him so easily and to "love himself more". Senri is seen trying to regain control, while Rido tells him it's futile. Senri then falls unconscious, and Rido leaves his body as he regains his original one.

In the 41st Night, he regained consciousness and after recalling the events that had taken place, apologizes to an unconscious Rima for letting Rido use his body and embraces her. He then protects Rima from a vampire servant of Rido. Senri declares he is no longer a puppet that can be controlled by his father. In chapter 43, he hurriedly carries Rima out of the Moon Dormitory as it collapses. During this, he suddenly came upon Rido and glared at him before leaving.

He and Rima went searching for Ichijo who didn't come back until Kaname had told them to stop, telling them that Ichijo was safe but not telling them any details. Rima was still upset with Kaname for that and didn't want to be at the ball in the first place, but Senri convinced her to stop sulking and to go for his sake. As they were discussing this, they ran into Takuma Ichijo. The three of them reunited and Senri and Rima learned that Takuma had been with Sara Shirabuki for the past year.

Later, Senri, along with Rima, goes to visit Yuki at the Kuran mansion. Yuki, despite being told by Kaname not to let anyone in, says she'd accept responsibility and cheerfully invites them in for tea. He tells her not to bother as they were not staying for long, and relays on Takuma's message to 'take care of Kaname'. Then, he proceeds to say that he did not refuse the tea because he disliked her, and that he preferred the carefree look she had when she invited them in.

In 58th Night, he and Rima are seen having a photoshoot at a school where Sara was posing as a student and Takuma, her brother. They again run into him there.

Following Kaname's disappearance, Senri has been noting the increased trouble brewing. He and Rima are the first to go and support Yuki in her bid to re-establish the Night Class.

Powers & Abilities
Like all Noble vampires, Senri has accelerated healing powers. He has a whip-like weapon which develops from his blood, a trait he inherited from his father, Rido Kuran.  This is formed when he is pricked on the tip of his right index finger. And like all vampires, he has enchanced strength and speed.

Rima Toya
Rima is Senri's constant companion and they are almost always seen together. He also works as a model alongside her. Rima and Senri are close friends, and there is some debate as to whether they harbour romantic feelings for each other (although this theory has not been proven to be correct). But in chapter 93, they end up together, seen by Senri holds Rima's hand.



Takuma Ichijo
Senri is roommates with Takuma Ichijo. Although they have not known each other very long, they are close friends. Takuma even goes against Kaname to protect Senri's body while he is in Rido's control. In one of the side stories, Takuma notes that Senri is an "Ichijo" while he sleeps on his shoulder. Senri is known for having a good relationship with Takuma.

Quotes
"But still, that girl, she looks quite yummy," said about Yuki in episode 1.

Trivia

 * Despite being Kaname and Yuki's cousin, he only ever acknowledges this once when attending a vampire ball held by the pair. He tells Rima that he's going to show support to his cousins.