Shizuka Hio

"The Kuruizaki-hime who met a tragic fate."

Shizuka Hio (緋桜 閑, Hiō Shizuka) was the pureblood vampire who bit Zero Kiryu; even her fellow vampires are uneasy around her and refer to her as the "Madly Blooming Princess" or "Kuruizaku-hime."

Appearance
Shizuka Hio possessed unnatural beauty like all the other purebloods. She appeared to be in her late twenties. In the anime, she had straight, long snow white hair and eyes that were an unusually beautiful shade of pink that resembled cherry blossoms. She was always shown clad in traditional japanese clothing, such as a kimono. In her hair, she wore a thin ribbon with a small bell, that Ichiru later uses in his hair after her death.

Personality
She usually appeared calm and composed, and smiled as if amused when taunting or talking to Zero. Her gentle movements gave her a striking presence. Cherry blossoms often accompany her presence, even if they should be out of season, like when she first met the Kiryuu twins.

While possessing Maria Kurenai's body, Ichiru notes that her actions in Maria's body were different than her normal calm and composed demeanor. This shows a bit of Shizuka's playful side, even though Ichiru seemed displeased with it.

Background
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 the Kiryu vampire hunters. Enraged and vengeful, she attacked the Kiryu family, killing both parents, biting Zero (which subsequently turned him into a vampire), and taking Zero's twin, Ichiru, as a devoted servant. She was originally Rido Kuran's fiancée but held strong feelings of hatred for him, and it was revealed that she wanted more power to kill him herself. Later in the manga, when Rido spoke of her death, he mentioned that it was a relief, and that when alive, she had refused to obey/cooperate with him. They never married due to Rido's disappearance and finally her death. Maria Kurenai was one of her very distant relatives.

Plot Summary
Because Shizuka's blood can prevent Zero from falling to Level E, Yuki once had risked her life and humanity for Zero to be able to drink Shizuka's blood. However, to protect Yuki, Kaname kills Shizuka and drinks her blood, leaving only a small amount for Zero to drink. Unfortunately, the blood is drunk by Ichiru, who arrived to find Shizuka first. Before dying, Shizuka warns Kaname that he will live in darkness and has summoned a sinister future for himself by drinking the blood of another Pureblood. Before she died, she tells Ichiru to devour her so that she will always be a part of him.

Powers
Aside from immortality and healing from all wounds except anti-vampire weapon wounds to the heart and the head, Shizuka has the ability to manipulate plants.

Name
Shizuka means "calm and quiet." In Shizuka's family name, hi is "scarlet," and ou is "cherry blossoms." Shizuka Hio is also refered to as the "Kuruizaku-hime." Kuruizaku means "flower blooming out of season," and hime means "princess."