Takuma Ichijo

Takuma Ichijo (一条 拓麻, Ichijō Takuma) is the Vice-President of the Night Class at Cross Academy. He is an Aristocrat vampire and is good friends with Kaname Kuran, whom he is close to and respects.

Ichijo can mean a "ray" or "streak" The Kanji for Takuma is a combination of Taku, means "to cultivate" and "ma", the kanji for asa, meaning "hemp" or "flax", a plant with blue flowers

He is an aristocratic 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 and Rima Toya. 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'd be the one to handle the issue. Takuma was discovered unconscious afterwards by Sara Shirabuki, who said that she always wanted "to have" Takuma. Following the one year time-skip, Takuma remains at Sara's side and cannot return to Kaname's side after being fed with Sara's blood when he was injured, because Sara's blood has been taming him and turn him into her slave.

Appearance
Takuma is one of the taller male students in the Night Class, possessing a lean and thin frame. He has ash blonde hair that is kept in a rather unkempt condition like a majority of the male Vampires, and he has forest green eyes. His skin is rather fair but still a bit more tan compared to other of his colleugues such as Senri. On most occasions, he is seen sporting the Night Class uniform which consists of a black collared dress shirt under a white, black striped, eight buttoned blazer and a red tie. Along with this are white slacks and shiny black dress shoes which is customary of a male Night Class student; otherwise, he is shown wearing a much more laid back attire. Like all of the Night Class students, Takuma is described as being beautiful.

Personality
Takuma appears very un-vampire like with his cheerful, enthusiastic, and caring demeanor whether it be towards humans or vampires. However he is also very capable of being deadly and determined when the situation requires. His constant smile and upbeat attitude, even in dark or painful situations, sometimes make it difficult to tell what he’s really thinking or feeling.

Kaname grew up in his house and as a result,Takuma understands and is more comfortable with him than most vampires. He seems to understand the burden that being a Pureblood can be, and is not particularly reverent or afraid of them. Takuma is also clever at mentioning the flaws or negativity of Kaname's character or decisions without angering him, and is the only one who can name Kaname without honorifics.



In school, he took his roommate, Senri Shiki, under his wing and looked after him, becoming quite close to both him and Rima Toya as a result. He is very loyal to his friends and will protect and stand up for them no matter what. Although Takuma usually possesses a carefree attitude, it can be shown that he understands complicated scenarios with an air of maturity, though occasionally showing an immature side.

Takuma's hobbies are reading (manga, mysteries, dictionaries), playing rakugo, and performing tea ceremonies. Takuma is a master when it comes to tea, something that both Kaname Kuran and Sara Shirabuki seem to like. He likes his rose tea with rose jam.

History
The Ichijo family is the highest family of the vampire aristocrat families. Takuma's father is an actor and his mother is the head of a flower arranging (ikebana), Asato Ichijo (the former head of the Vampire Council), who had also raised him as well as educated him.

Plot
His grandfather asks him to spy on Kaname, but he refuses out of loyalty and attempts to break free of his grandfather's mold. Takuma attempts to protect the possessed Senri Shiki, forced to go against Kaname in order to protect all his friends. Following Shiki's freedom from Rido's possession, Takuma has rejoined Kaname's side, where he appears in time to stop Kaname from killing his grandfather and instead insists on being allowed to handle the issue. It is strongly hinted at that Takuma intends to end his life along with his grandfather, saying "Together, let us pull the curtain on the Ichijo line." But it is revealed that he never got his wish, as he was discovered unconscious afterward by Sara Shirabuki, one of the only known Pureblood vampires, who said that she always wanted "to have" Takuma, as though he were simply a doll or a toy. He is currently in the hands of Sara Shirabuki, who is torturing him to extract information about Kaname.

After the one year time-skip, he seems to be living with her and is quite healthy physically. However, as time progresses, he starts to lose his luster. The smiling, cheerful Takuma that was shown in the beginning is now a lot more serious and stern. He seems to be more distressed as he sees the terrible things that Sara has been doing. It seems that she is using his name and face to control 'The Ichijo Group' in the background to get what she wants. He also sees that she is keeping humans locked away, forcing them to agree to let her turn them into vampires. He vows to stop her as soon as he gets the chance. While it can be speculated that while their relationship was all right in the beginning of the year time skip, the more he sees of her cruel behavior, the more he distresses and wants to leave. It can also be speculated that she has used her Pureblood control to keep him where he is or tell him what to do.

After Sara Shirabuki was killed, it is left unknown where Takuma is after that. Later, it is shown that he is with Kaname Kuran when he asked Zero to join Kaname and Yuki with tea, as well as with Senri and Rima before the tea, talking to them. During the fight with the Purebloods, Takuma helped the Hunters fight against the Purebloods and the other vampires. It is also proven that Takuma was known as the "acacia honey" haired guy who watched over Kaname's Ice coffin throughout the 1000 years.

Powers & Abilities
Like all other Aristocrat vampires, Ichijo has accelerated healing. His vampire power is to disintegrate matter to a molecular level, which is to break up or explode the form of anything he wants. He is also very talented with the katana sword, showing swordsmanship.

Sara Shirabuki
The relationship between the two is somewhat mysterious. Takuma seems to have become quite close to Sara Shirabuki during the one year time-skip, although the nature of their relationship is still unknown. Despite the fact that Sara likes to treat him as her personal slave, Takuma comes to her defense when Rima Toya and Senri Shiki ask if she has abused him. Takuma was actually under influence of Sara because of her blood, causing her to question their relationship moments prior to her death as her blood had been used to manipulate other vampires to do her bidding as well. Before consuming her blood, he was prone to mild disobedience, to which he received a violent rebuttal by Sara. Sara tells him that she has always wanted him, because he would be the voice of truth where other vampires would tell her whatever she wished. Under the power of her blood, he is extremely protective of her, even going as far as to insult Yuki Kuran by standing in front of her during a confrontation, and even risking death by Kaname's hand when the latter came to murder her. He is the first to come to her aid when Sara is attacked by the Ancestress. When she is released from the Ancestress' grip, Takuma carries her away from the battle. He asks her if his feelings for her were just manipulated through her power, to which she smiles and remarks that their love was nowhere near normal (meaning she used him for her own uses). She asks him to bear witness to the destructive nature of the Purebloods, and kisses Takuma before shattering into a million shards of glass.

Kaname Kuran
Takuma and Kaname spent ten years together as constant companions after Kaname's parents died. Takuma could be considered Kaname's closest friend, and Kaname sometimes confides in him. Back when Kaname was living with Takuma, when he went to visit Yuki, Takuma would at times accompany him but stay in the car. When Takuma's grandfather came to visit Cross Academy, he asked Takuma to watch Kaname and "spy" on him, but Takuma refused, saying that he would only do what is best for his friend. Since Kaname got Yuki back, Takuma has kept his distance. After Sara Shirabuki dies, it is later shown that he is with Kaname Kuran when he asked Zero to join Kaname and Yuki with tea. As well as with Senri and Rima before the tea, talking to them.

Senri Shiki
Takuma and Senri are very close friends and were roommates at Cross Academy. Sometimes, Senri rests his head on Takuma's shoulder while he reads his manga. During Takuma's birthday party, Senri cut him "accidentally" while cutting the cake, and then tasted his blood, which symbolizes how close they are. When Senri was possessed by Rido Kuran, Takuma stood up to Kaname because he did not want Senri to be harmed.

Quotes

 * "I'm sorry, ladies. I'll bring Shiki right to you!" (To Day Class, St. Xocolatl's Day)
 * "Is there... something else you need, Kaname?" (To Kaname, Outside Cross Academy)
 * "To use a pyramid as an example... former humans are lower than common vampires. To tell the truth, they aren't treated very well. The vampire I killed... was a Level E vampire-a vampire who's fallen outside the pyramid." (To Yuki, Night Party)
 * "I may have betrayed Kaname as a vampire, but I won't betray him as a friend." (Vampire Knight Guilty)
 * "Hey don't forget everyone! This is my birthday so you must celebrate properly for me! Yuki-chan and Kiryu-kun are also my special guests!" (To Night Class)
 * "It seems that I am jealous." (To Sara Shirabuki)
 * "This isn't a children's quarrel here." (Episode 1 of Vampire Knight Guilty To Kaname)
 * "Oh no! This is worst than St. Xocolatl's Day!" (To the Night Class)
 * "A late arrival... a transfer student... it's quite mysterious... something is definitely wrong here." (To the Night Class)

Trivia

 * His grandfather taught him how to fight with the katana sword.
 * Favorite Food: none, it doesn't matter
 * People he respects: his mother and Kiryû
 * Favorite saying: "Be curious of everything"
 * Takuma's taste in women: "We can easily be bored of beauty. Let's say, someone I will have a perfect connection with."
 * Favorite hobbies: Japanese Theater/Rakugo, reading (manga, polars, dictionaries), tea ceremony.
 * How does he spend his free time : making voluntary work and doing his work as Vice-President.
 * Style: Discreet Elegance