Zero Kiryu

Zero Kiryu (錐生 零, Kiryū Zero) is both an ex-human vampire and a vampire hunter from the alternate universe version of Zero Kiryu from Vampire Knight. Zero is the older twin brother of Ichiru Kiryu, Yuki Kuran's boyfriend, and the Brother-in-law of Clarice Ng. He's also Kanae Izubaki's partner from the vampire dimension. He will be in the crossover anime in the Tag Force Chronicle.

Appearance
Zero is a tall young man with short silver hair, snowy-white skin and lavender eyes, the latter varying in shade from the manga to anime. Zero is a casual dresser and is usually wearing his school uniform incorrectly, with the vest and red tie exposed from under his black jacket. He also wears five silver earrings; three on his left ear cartilage (top) and two on his right (bottom). Zero bears a tattoo, the Hunter's Seal, on the left side of his neck, originally used to suppress his vampire side, and later used to tame him. He has grown taller as the series progresses.

Zero is considered to be attractive and handsome, by both Day and Night Class students.

Personality
Zero is generally a composed person. He is also protective of Yuki. Although he comes across to other students as cold hearted and hostile, he is friendlier towards Yuki and occasionally shows his true emotions to her. However, when Yuki was revealed to be a Pureblood vampire, he became cold and hostile, especially towards Kaname and Yuki. Though he appears otherwise, he is a gentle and kind person. Due to his childhood, he builds barriers around himself, and does not let these barriers down all the way, even for Yuki. Despite this, he has a kind heart which longs to protect humans, and he will never betray the ones he holds dear.

As a child, Zero was once a quiet and gentle boy, to the point that Ichiru questioned whether or not he was even capable of being a vampire hunter. However, after Shizuka's attack, Zero developed a strong hatred towards vampires. Zero is a tsundere character; he sports a scary aura that makes most of the Day Class students wary of him. He can also glare in a way that even Kaname Kuran calls scary. However, his innate nature is to protect humans, and his cold attitude towards those he loves is likely to push them away and keep everyone at a distance.

Following his full awakening as a vampire, Zero harbors a great disgust towards himself because of his inability to control his hunger and his reliance on Yuki. His dismal outlook on his future, and fear of what he might do if he becomes a level E, causes him to give up and he almost kill himself with his anti-vampire gun - the Bloody Rose. However, Yuki arrives just in time to stop him. At times, he would rather ignore his hunger to the point of starvation instead of going to Yuki for help. He tries to help Yuki resolve her own problems and then impresses upon her that its alright for her to burden and use him because she owns him.

Zero is hostile towards the Night Class vampires when they threaten him, however he adopts his standard tsundere attitude when engaging them one on one, retaining a level of civility. Zero expresses a great deal of anger towards Purebloods because of their mechanisms in his life in particular, and because of this, he extends this hostility toward Yuki as well after she reawakens into a Pureblood vampire. In spite of this, his sense of duty overrides his issues, ensuring his reliability and trustworthiness.

A gifted hunter who is intelligent, athletic, and good-hearted, Zero nevertheless has a difficult time thinking of himself or any other vampire as anything but a monster. He struggles both with his desires for blood and his equally strong desire to kill vampires. Because of all this, Zero can be very closed off, as well as being difficult to understand or get close to, especially since he has a habit of not expressing his true feelings. These true feelings are hidden behind a cold, composed personality. He has a lot of attitude, is not at all impressed or easily controlled by higher class vampires, and he also carries a positively burning hatred of all Purebloods. He often acts as if he doesn’t care about anything in order to hide all the scars and pain inside him that have nowhere to go. When not about his duties or in class, he can frequently be found in the Cross Academy stables with the fiery horse, White Lily, with whom he seems to share a special affinity. He is also quite a good cook which was admitted even by Aido, who is known for being quite picky.

Following his revelation towards the end of Vampire Knight and the aftermath of Kaname's sacrifice, Zero is shown to have matured in his perspective on vampires and Purebloods alike. His acceptance of Ai and his unwavering love and loyalty towards Yuki signifies that, unlike in the past, his fierce hatred for Purebloods has subsided greatly. As Zero has always been shown to have a paternal nature, he naturally bonds well with Ai and becomes a father figure in her life. It's this paternal nature that eventually leads to his demise. Despite all of this, he still shows some reservation on revealing his true feelings to Yuki, something that seems to be a mutual issue.

Zero was often busy during Ren's childhood, so he was grateful for Ai taking care of her in his and Yuki's absence. Upon hearing Ai wished to keep Ren away from the dark facts outside of their home, Zero patted Ai on the head, showing his paternal side and gratitude. He also showed a willingness to train Ren in how to use a gun as she had always shown an interest. Zero seemed aware of Ai's desire for Ren's blood, but never acted to protect Ren from her sister as he knew Ai had good self control.

History
Zero was born to a Vampire Hunter's family. Zero, along with his identical twin brother, Ichiru, and Kaito Takamiya, were trained as vampire hunters by Toga Yagari, who frequently looked after the twins when Zero's parents were out hunting. Yagari's fiancée, who was a doctor at Zero's school, was bitten by a Pureblood vampire and escaped custody. Although Zero defied orders to stay away, refusing that the doctor was dangerous, he was almost attacked due to her falling to a Level E state. Yagari shielded him, causing him to lose his eye. This was Zero's first lesson on the danger of seemingly innocent vampires. Yagari later tells the young Zero that he will never regret losing his eye to protect him and Ichiru.

Four years prior to the main events at the start of Vampire Knight, Zero and Ichiru found Shizuka Hio sitting in a tree. Zero immediately recognized her as a vampire and warned Ichiru to stay away. A few days later, Shizuka attacked his family. She bit Zero and killed his parents; Zero tried to warn Ichiru, but passed out not long after realizing that Ichiru had in fact betrayed his family to allow Shizuka to take revenge. He later would claim that he believed Ichiru to be dead, knowing the truth was far different.

After that attack, Zero was taken in by Kaien Cross. Yuki approached him carefully and cared for him despite him being cold and hostile towards her. Zero gradually grew affection for her, but kept it to himself due to her love for Kaname Kuran. Zero failed to reveal that he was going to turn into a vampire after Yuki said she was afraid of all other vampires. Over the next four years, the two become closer but not on a level they could truly call each other friends.

Powers and Abilities
Zero is a vampire hunter who was chosen by Kaname to become a Pureblood killing machine. Zero possesses the standard abilities to sense vampires from a far distance, accelerated healing and in spite of being a vampire, is also able to wield anti-vampire weapons. Since he became a vampire, Zero is able to distinguish Purebloods from other vampires and has gained improved healing abilities. Kaname tells Zero that after he devours Ichiru's blood, he would become the world's strongest hunter. He then explains that since he has drank from Yuki's since she was a Pureblood, as well as Kaname and Shizuka's blood, it has made him the most powerful vampire hunter. After completing the fragment, along with Ichiru now being deceased, Bloody Rose has now become a part of his body, growing vines that can easily kill vampires; although it requires a high dosage of his blood to do so.

Zero's beast form made its first appearance in 40th Night after he drank Ichiru's blood and its shadow was seen on the wall. In 82nd Night, the beast form is released in a new attack from Bloody Rose when Zero fights Kaname shortly after drinking Sara Shirabuki's blood.

Bloody Rose
The Bloody Rose is an anti-vampire gun that Zero keeps behind his school uniform blazer. Zero is able to transform his gun, Bloody Rose, into its evolved state after consuming his twin brother, Ichiru. Bloody Rose literally becomes a part of his body. However the cost is using a high amount of his blood. In both the manga and anime, Zero had used Bloody Rose to kill Rido.

Origins of Bloody Rose
Bloody Rose was a weapon born from the sacrifice of a Pureblood vampire, The Hooded Woman, 10,000 years ago. Artemis and Bloody Rose were originally Kaname Kuran's personal weapons during the wartime before he gave them to Kaien Cross to be in-charge. They were later passed down to Yuki Kuran when she became the school guardian and Zero Kiryu when he became a vampire hunter respectively.

Yuki Kuran
Yuki and Zero became friends after Zero was sent to live with Kaien Cross who became his adoptive father after the murder of his parents by the Pureblood vampire, Shizuka Hio. Both Zero and Yuki have a past with vampires making them both understand each other a little more than the other Day Class students. Whenever Zero has nightmares of the incident that day, Yuki would pat his head until he finally falls asleep. Though, Yuki was not aware of his growing feelings towards her except but her roommate & other only friend Sayori had noticed. Zero knows that Yuki has feelings for Kaname. Zero reveals his romantic feelings towards Yuki in 46th Night and even tells her that he only desires her blood. He asks her if the human Yuki he once knew is still inside her and after she replied that she was, he gives her a kiss goodbye. Letting her go to off to be with Kaname, he told her that when the next time they meet, he will kill her. She replied by saying she will be waiting for him.

Yuki decides she must hide the part of her heart that wants to mourn the loss of Zero. She wants to do what is best for Zero, and at the time that means she must run from him so that his has someone to chase after in order to live. Yuki later leaves with Kaname to the Kuran Mansion, and in a later chapter, she is seen telling Kaname that half of her heart belongs to Zero, showing that her thirst cannot be quenched by Kaname's blood alone.

Zero and Yuki have a complicated relationship. However, both continue to support each other no matter the circumstances. Yuki and Zero suppress the part of their hearts that want to tell the other their real feelings. Yuki and Zero both continue to protect each other, despite their opposite status as Pureblood Vampire and Vampire Hunter.

Kaname Kuran
Zero disliked Kaname on sight recognizing him as a Pureblood vampire, like Shizuka. Kaname has been his rival ever since. They are only tolerant of each other for the sake of Yuki. Zero's hatred towards Purebloods furthermore increases his hostility towards Kaname. By the end of the manga, both men have made amends to a certain extent.

Ichiru Kiryu
Ichiru was the younger twin brother of Zero. Since they were twins born to a Vampire Hunter family, Zero and Ichiru were the cursed twins. To Zero's discomfort, Ichiru often questioned in childhood why he was born since it was obvious that Zero was the one who should have eaten him in the womb. Zero would scold Ichiru for his self-loathing and try to comfort him. However, Ichiru's feelings of jealousy and despair continued to grow until Shizuka appeared and offered him a means to escape his fate. Zero watched his twin in devastation as Ichiru ordered Shizuka to murder their parents and leave him to live. Now the hunter is torn between love and hate for his younger twin. Eventually it is learned that despite his conflicting feelings toward Ichiru he still loves his little brother.

Before the war with Rido Kuran, he seeks Zero once more and asks him to consume him, so that he can once more become a part of his brother. Ichiru is happy when Zero says he doesn't wish for Ichiru to die; meaning Zero still had some love for his little brother. Zero ate Ichiru (another meaning for taking in Ichiru Kiryu's blood so they would be one like how they were supposed to before they were born). Ichiru's dying wish is for Zero to live on and complete his goal. Even after death, Ichiru's ghost often comforts Zero as the hunter questions whether he is losing his humanity.

Toga Yagari
Yagari was Zero's mentor. Whenever Zero and Ichiru's parents were away hunting vampires Toga was responsible for taking care of the twins in their stead.

Shizuka Hio
The Pureblood, Shizuka, became Zero's master after she bit him the night of the attack on his family. She claims she did it because Zero reminded her of her former lover, a level E vampire that his parents killed. Shizuka meets Zero again four years later at Cross Academy while hiding in her hostess body, Maria Kurenai. Despite concealing her presence, Zero recognizes her. During a confrontation with Shizuka, she begins to taunt him about being his master. Despite Zero's hatred for her strongly remained, he finds himself unable to go against her commands.

After watching Yuki getting threatened by Shizuka, he breaks away from her influence and manages to wound her. Shizuka escapes, but Zero is prevented from chasing her by a distraught Yuki, who'd previously realized that Zero had planned to sacrifice his life in order to kill Shizuka. Before allowing him to go, Yuki makes Zero promise to return after taking care of Shizuka. However, to Zero's shock, by the time he arrived to Shizuka, she has already been dealt the final blow by Kaname, who had been waiting for her in the wings. Though Kaname was the one who murdered Shizuka, Zero was blamed for her death by an angry vampire council.

Clarice Ng
Clarice met Zero since she arrived in the Vampire Dimension, when she was small Zero usually calls her Clara Cross since she lost part of her memory of who she is during her previous personality. Later on she finally regained her lost memories Zero asks her if the human Clara he once knew is still inside her and after she replied that she was, so Clarice gives him a goodbye kiss. Letting her go to off to be with Niro and Dark, he told her that when the next time they meet, he will kill her. She replied by saying she will not meet him again for the next twentieth century in her timeline. After that in a later series they finally meet each other once again.

Trivia

 * Zero's given name (零) is usually read in Japanese as rei, which means zero. His surname, Kiryu, consists of the characters for auger (錐, kiri) and life (生, nama).
 * Zero Good at: Sciences,Cooking, Horseback Riding, Marksmanship.
 * Zero Favorite Food: Ramen with Salt Broth.
 * Zero Hobbies: Eating and sleeping.
 * Zero Respects: His Master.
 * Zero Taste In Women: Cool older women (Flat -Chested women are out of the Question).
 * Zero Favorite Fashion : Whatever (like Yuki Chooses for him).
 * As Kaname notes, kindness is a trait Zero had even before he was born. Ichiru was the weaker twin, and should have been consumed by Zero; however, Zero did not, just a sign of how kind he can be.
 * Zero's classification as a vampire is up to debate. Whether he is considered a Level D or C is unknown.