Senri Shiki

Senri Shiki (支葵 千里, Shiki Senri) is one of the youngest Night Class students along with Rima Toya. It is later revealed that Senri is actually the illegitimate son of Rido Kuran, making him Kaname Kuran and Yuki Cross's cousin.

Character concept
Matsuri Hino describes Senri as having very animal-like instincts, and if put in the wild jungle, he would cope well.

Name

 * "Shiki" as a whole can mean "four seasons." His last name is combination of shi meaning to support and ki meaning mallow. His given name is a combination of sen meaning thousand and ri meaning distance. Senri means 1,000 ri.

Appearance
Judging from his appearance, it's quite obvious that Senri has inherited his looks from his mother. His mother, however, comments that he is becoming more like "that demonic bastard" the older that Senri gets, sharing the same wild appearance as his father. Senri has mahogany hair, lightly-tinted blue eyes and a pale skin tone, the latter being shared by all other vampires. And like all vampires, Senri possesses beauty.

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 doesn’t 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 Touya 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.

Background
Like the Ichijo family, the Shiki family is the pro-council because his mother's uncle is a member of the Vampire Council. Shiki's mother was also a well-known former actress, though is now a little unstable and her son must take care of her. According to the fanbook, he was scouted as a model while visiting his mom while she was working as an actress. He and Rima had met earlier, as they were working for the same agency.

Senri is revealed to be the illegitimate son of Rido Kuran, thus making Shiki, Kaname Kuran and Yuki Cross cousins although Senri doesn't associate much with Kaname during the series. Senri shares his father's ability to use his own blood as a weapon, although Rido can use it to a greater degree. Though his father is a Pureblood, Shiki is not considered one because his mother is an Aristocrat. It could therefore be said that Shiki is above most aristocrats. Since he is above most aristocrats, he gets a little more respect from the nobles/aristocrats. Shiki notices and has a bad feeling when a pureblood dies or loses blood because his dad was a pureblood causing him to have a little more vampire blood then human blood.

Plot Summary
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 Dorm as it is 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 Ichijo. The three of them reunited and Senri and Rima learned that Ichijo 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 Ichijo'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 him in.

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

Rima Toya
Rima is Shiki's constant companion. He works as a model alongside Rima Toya. Shiki and Rima are always seen together. While the actual nature of their relationship is unknown, it is rather close and professional on two seperate levels. Their relationship is sometimes compared to that of a brother-and-sister bond.



Takuma Ichijo
Shiki 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.

In the Anime

 * In Vampire Knight Guilty, when the Night Class students pictures are shown in the opening theme, Shiki is shown last, upside down with one eye covered. This shows how Shiki's body is taken over by Rido, and one of his eyes is covered to cover the red eye that he has after being taken over. Afterward, a bat with one red eye and one blue eye flies out of the page.

Powers
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 biological father, Rido Kuran. This is formed when he is pricked on the tip of his index finger.