Yuuki Cross

Yuuki Cross is the main protagonist from the Vampire Knight anime and manga.

Yuuki  is a former student and Guardian of Cross Academy. She is later revealed to be the Pureblood daughter of the Kuran family and is later awakened as a Vampire by Kaname Kuran, subsequently becoming Yuuki Kuran. Following this, she leaves Cross Academy but later returns to the Night Class to help the students coexist as originally planned.

Appearance
Yuuki is a petite and slender girl with shoulder-length chestnut brown hair that has a red/dark brown hue color and big brown eyes that is fringed with red. She wears the trademark black uniform of the Day Class with a white armband carrying the mark of a red rose, signifying her position as a member of the Disciplinary Committee. Additionally under her skirt, attached to her left thigh, Yuuki carries an anti-vampire weapon: the Artemis Rod. She wears different boots in the anime and manga:

In the manga, she wears dark leather brown boots

In the anime, she wears ankle brown boots

Upon her awakening as a Pureblood Princess, it is instantly noticeable that her appearance is strikingly beautiful like her mother and Yuuki has also been praised to have the same "kind and tender eyes/gaze" as her father. Compared to her hairstyle and appearance as a human, Yuuki's hair grows to be much longer, which reaches down to the back of her waist as a vampire. Her character development as a vampire is portrayed to be more feminine and more toned down compared to her human side. Yuuki's eyes glow red and less brown.

During the time that she had spent living in the Kuran mansion with Kaname Kuran and Hanabusa Aido, Yuuki is seen from time to time to be wearing pajamas or long sleeved dresses that reach above her knees. She was also drawn to wearing high heeled shoes or sometimes barefooted. Yuuki adorns pretty head pieces and accessories such as headbands, berets, pearl necklaces, and gloves with ribbons. During important Vampire or Hunter functions, she is dressed in long elegant ballgowns. However, whenever Yuuki leaves the Kuran mansion to go to town in secret, she dresses more casually, but is still very neatly and fully dressed.

Yuuki continues to use Artemis as her main weapon after it transforms into a scythe in 41st Night. However, in 83rd Night, Yuuki uses Artemis to cut off her long hair, reverting to her old hairstyle to show Kaname that she is upset with his unknown plans and disappointed by his sudden change in character. In 93rd Night, a thousand years have passed since Kaname threw his heart into the furnace and it was shown that Yuuki has grown out her hair again.

As a child, Yuki's hair was long, reaching the middle of her back.

Personality
Yuuki was generally a cheerful, caring and a rather comedic girl with her beloved smile. She was considered a poor student because she dislikes studying and falls asleep in class due to the fact that she stays up all night monitoring the school grounds and protecting the Day Class students from sneaking into the Night Classstudents. She exhibits a strong attachment to her close friends, especially Sayori Wakaba who Yuuki affectionately calls "Yori" and Zero Kiryuu. Her indecisive nature and reticence can be attributed to her insecurity regarding her missing past. As a human, she has been seen as standing sides with vampires, but deep in her heart she feared all vampires (because of a vampire that attacked her when she was little) excluding Kaname Kuran.

Due to this fear, she rarely left the Cross Academy grounds on her own. Yuuki doesn't like to reveal her fears and disguises it with a smile. Zero, however, having grown up with her for four years, was always able to tell when something is bothering her, making it hard for her to hide things from him and vice versa.

Following her reawakening as a Pureblood vampire, Yuuki shed the fears she once retained. When a situation demands for it, she can put in an authoritative face as expected of a Pureblood Princess. As a result, she has grown more emotionally mature and thoughtful. Yuuki's overwhelming fault is the tendency to burden herself with guilt over her ignorance when she learns of other people's sufferings that they have kept secret.

Yuuki's favorite subject was Physical Education and her favorite food was ginger pork stir fry set, as well as parfaits.

Abilities
Like all Pureblood vampires, Yuuki has immortality and the ability to heal from anything excluding anti-vampire weapon wounds to the heart or head. Yuuki has demonstrated the following abilities, though most of her abilities are instinctual and uncontrolled: Yuuki is capable of telekinesis and wielding the Artemis Rod despite it being an anti-vampire weapon, as demonstrated during the Battle of Cross Academy when she used it to help Zero Kiryu control his power by cutting him in the shoulder, a wound he received when Ichiru shot him with the Bloody Rose, and severely wounding her uncle, Rido Kuran, to the point of collapse.
 * Telekinesis, breaking windows on the few occasions when she experiences strong emotions.
 * Ability to fly using a pair of wings on her back made of blood that resemble butterfly wings. This also, as Kaname puts it, the embodiment of her power; it's just like Yuuki to have her embodiment take the form of something that craves the sunlight.
 * Ability to separate and disperse into a swarm of butterflies.
 * Ability to interfere with memory blocking through physical contact. This includes breaking memory spells on herself.
 * Ability to wield anti-vampire weapons both as a human and as a vampire and transform the Artemis rod into its scythe form, like her mother did.
 * Ability to cure hallucinations in other vampires using her blood.

Weapon
Yuuki's weapon is Artemis throughout the series. Artemis is an anti-vampire weapon given to her by Kaien Crossafter she assumes her role as the school's guardian. During her lifetime, Juri Kuran was also able to wield the Artemis just like her daughter. Artemis' appearance looks like a harmless plain metal rod that can extend longer when force is applied. However, it can hurt any vampire just by a touch.

Yuuki has used Artemis to pierce Rido Kuran in battle. Other than that, she has never used Artemis to kill or harm other vampires.

She has also offered the service to remaining Purebloods to take their life if they no longer wish to live in 57th Night.

Awakened Artemis
In 41st Night, it is seen that Artemis transformed, just like its wielder. After Yuuki was reawakened as a Pureblood vampire, the appearance of Artemis completely changed. Artemis had features of a vampire and looks very much like a vampire itself. A blade resembling those of a vampire's fang, tearing flesh on the fang (showing its blood lust), a rod made out of bones and additional touch of bat wing designs on the back. All these features makes Artemis look like the most intimidating weapon out of all the other anti-vampire weapons. Even though Yuuki is now a vampire herself, Artemis retains its ability just like before, making it her ultimate weapon against vampires.

History of Artemis
Artemis was born from a Pureblood, The Hooded Woman, who sacrificed her heart to the furnace to give life to anti-vampire weapons for humanity to fend themselves off from vampires with bad intentions 10,000 years ago. Artemis and Bloody Rose were originally Kaname Kuran's personal weapons before he gave them to Kaien Cross to be in charge of. They were later passed on to Yuuki and Zero respectively when they became the school guardians.

Trivia

 * Yuuki good at: P.E, vaulting box, comparing various parfaits.
 * Yuuki respects: Kaname and Yori.
 * Yuuki treasure: A rose that blooms every ten years, encased in resin (a souvenir from Kaname).
 * Yuuki hobbies: Eating, sleeping.
 * Yuuki favorite fashion: Sweet, feminine look that is easy to move around in.
 * Yuuki means "tender" or "kind" (yuu) and "princess" (ki). Cross (or Kurosu) is the Japanese pronunciation of "cross" and the kanji chosen for kurosu translates to "black" (kuro) and "master" (su). Yuuki's biological surname, Kuran, translates to "nine orchids," as ku means "nine" and ran means orchids.
 * Yuuki represents Matsuri Hino's justice side.
 * A fragment of Yuuki's will seems to remain inside her heart, which is now Kaname's heart. Because of that, Yuuki's existence is now inside of Kaname.