The secret princess and titular heroine of Vampire Knight, Yuuki Cross (or Kuran) is a much more complicated character than she seems when we first meet her. Seemingly just a clumsy, optimistic and friendly girl who takes her duties seriously and cares deeply for those around her, she's revealed to actually be a Pureblood Vampire, the highest grade of vampire, as well as the fiancée of Kaname Kuran. However, much like the audience until this is revealed, Yuuki doesn't have her memories of any of this either, which leads to interesting character clashes as she tries to learn the parts of herself she lost.
Today, we'll be going over 10 facts about Yuuki that even true fans of the series might not have been aware of.
10 Fashion Differences
Like the other students that attend the Day Class at Cross Academy, Yuuki is typically spotted wearing her school uniform, only diverging from this whenever she has to go off-campus for some reason in which she tends to opt for comfortable yet cute fashion. While most parts of her outfit are essential and can't be changed due to rules, there is one part about it that differs between the anime and manga: her boots.
In the manga, she wears dark brown leather boots, whereas in the anime they're ankle brown boots. It's a simple and easy-to-miss design change.
9 Her Genetics
Fans of the series will already be aware that Yuuki's 'father' isn't her birth father, as Kaien Cross calls himself, but rather Haruka and Juri Kuran. However, what isn't as openly touched on is what about her she actually got from each parent. It's stated that Yuki has a sweet and tender gaze, something that she inherited from her father. When it comes to her appearance, she is noted to be 'strikingly beautiful' like her mother.
Having been quite young when Kaname rescued her as well as having no memories, she was incredibly impressionable when taken in by Kaien, so most of her energetic, go getting personality that still doesn't lack humor is something she learned from him rather than her birth parents.
8 Her Hidden Physical Strength
Anytime we see Yuuki in a physical quarrel, she is typically overwhelmed quite easily, and this is to be expected. She's an uncertain girl who isn't sure of herself, as well as having adopted the same pacifistic ideals that Kaien now lives by, so she doesn't want to have to fight. Despite this, though, she isn't as physically incompetent as she might come across.
Her favorite subject was listed as P.E., and we see her able to jump and land from great heights without being injured, as well as being relatively flexible and quick on her feet.
7 Her Inability To Cook
In the Valentine's Day episode, we learn that Yuuki has no real experience cooking or baking before, but she tries her hand at making a batch of chocolates for Kaname, which turn out rather poorly. We don't see him eat them, but we do see Zero eat one that was leftover, and he remarks that it's quite bitter. She is also quite clumsy, both spilling and burning ingredients as she tried to cook.
When Hanabusa runs away from the Night Class Dorm and hides out in Yuuki and Zero's quarters, Zero cooks for him and it's revealed that he's the one who makes most of the meals for the both of them, since Yuuki is probably more of a danger to herself than anything with a knife.
6 How Her Amnesia Affects Her Personality
Yuuki comes across as a clumsy, cheerful girl who lived every day with a bright smile and a warm sense of humor as well as responsibility, but beneath that we learn that her inability to recall her past leads her to battle against self-doubt and insecurity. She couldn't trust herself or her own decisions when she felt as if she was being lied to about, or at the very least being kept in the dark, concerning her past.
She has a bad tendency to doubt herself and be incredibly indecisive, since she didn't feel like she truly understood the kind of person she really was or what she should do without her memories.
5 How Zero Helped Her Nightmares
After being taken in by Kaien, with her memories sealed, Yuuki started to have frequent nightmares about the past she was unable to remember. This next detail was never explicitly touched on in the show, so some fans might not be aware of this, but the official wiki states that Yuuki had frequent nightmares until Zero came to live with them as well- who was struggling with his own demons after his family was killed and he was bitten by a pureblood.
It states that she took comfort in being able to help him with his nightmares, and it helped her get over some of her own issues, at least for a while.
4 Her Weapon's Origins
The Artemis Rod that Yuuki wields for self-defense belonged to her mother before that, which is a relatively well-known fact, but what might not be such commonplace knowledge is where the actual origins of the anti-vampire weapons themselves is. Who made them, and how? Where did they originate?
Much like Kaname's sacrifice at the end of the manga, a pureblood sacrificed her heart into the furnace that protected humanity, to give birth to anti-vampire weapons so that humans could protect themselves from bad vampires. Yuki and Zero's weapons specifically used to be the personal weapons of Kaname, before they were passed to Kaien and later to the school guardians.
3 Her Most Treasured Possession
It's clear from the very start of the series that the person Yuuki values higher than anyone else in her life is Kaname, despite how much she cherishes her bond with Zero, as well. It only makes sense that the item that she treasures more than any other in existence would be one that he personally gifted her.
Her most treasured possession is a small rose encased in resin that blooms once every 10 years, that was given to her about 10 years after Kaname first saved her life. She has been pictured since frequently keeping this near her.
2 The Meaning Behind Her Name
Characters in fiction, especially when it comes more to manga and anime, typically aren't named without some kind of deeper meaning behind it- and the heroine we happen to be discussing today is no different. Yuuki translates to "tender" or "kind", both of which represent her character perfectly.
Her last name is the Japanese pronunciation of Cross, but it still has some other meaning behind that, as the kanji used translate to "black" and "master". This could refer to how her personality is able to keep more unpredictable and often hold characters in line, such as Kaname.
1 Her Daughters And Their Meaning
Fans who have only watched the anime and aren't aware of the plot of the manga might not know that Yuuki ends up having four children, two with Zero and two with Kaname- a daughter and son with both. Just as Yuuki was given a very fitting name meaning, she gave her daughters two different names that represent the same thing, and it's incredibly sweet and in-character for her.
Yuuki named her daughters Ren and Ai, relating to two different meanings of love in Japanese culture.