Shiki Tohno sustained a life threatening injury as a child, and due to that incident he was sent away from the Tohno household and was given to a relative to be raised. Years later, when Shiki is in high school, the head of the Tohno household (his father) dies, and he is ordered to move back in by his sister Akiha, who is the new head of the household.

       However, Shiki holds a huge secret. Ever since that injury, he could see "lines of death," which, if penetrated, would cause a person or object to be completely destroyed upon insertion of a sharp object. A mysterious woman gave him a pair of glasses which suppress the lines to help him live a normal life. He is also unable to remember anything since the accident.

       On the day he moves back to the Tohno household, he stumbles upon a woman named Arcueid Brunestud and decapitates her with his ability (the reason to this act of insanity is not given). However, Arcueid, princess of the Shinto vampires, is not so easily killed. Considering Shiki's ability, she invites Shiki to join her on her task to hunt down Roa, a dangerous enemy vampire.

Characters

        Arcueid Brunestud - She is the immortal princess of the Shinso ("True Ancestor"), a clan of vampires who are essentially like spirits of the natural world. Ever since she was deceived by Roa 800 years ago, she has been waking from her slumber to kill him and then sleep again after that (Roa can't be killed easily, thus he will come back to life in another body after some time). She met Shiki during one of her hunts for Roa and managed to convince him to aid her in her task with his special 'ability'.

        Shiki Tohno - After an accident which occurred to him as a child, Shiki Tohno could see strange lines everywhere. These lines, which when penetrated, would destroy whatever they intersected. Thankfully, a mysterious woman gave him a pair of glasses which would prevent him from seeing the lines, thus enabling him to lead a relatively normal life. Ever since the accident, Shiki's father entrusted Shiki to a relative's care. After the death of Shiki's father, his sister, Akiha sends for him to return to the Tohno's household. Not long after that, he encounters Arcueid Brunestud and ends up getting involved in her search for Roa.

        Ciel - Long-long ago, Ciel was controlled by Roa who uses her to create havoc and commit sins. Ciel somehow managed to regain control of her body and she now vows to destroy Roa and his kin. She senses something strange when she's around Shiki and thus, she disguises herself as a senior student in Shiki's school. At school, she's a sweet natured president of her school's Tea Ceremony club. In fact, she is her club's only member. But when she's hunting for Roa at night, she arms herself with three long blades which she holds in one hand like claws.

        Akiha Tohno - Akiha is Shiki's sister who has inherited the Tohno estate from their recently deceased father. Her character in the story is still not very clear to me. She was once very close to Shiki but ever since the accident, she has been separated from Shiki. Although she hasn't spoken to Shiki in 8 years, she still cares for him very much. Towards the end of the series, it was revealed that she is not a normal human being. She seems to consume Kohaku's blood to heal herself and there was once when every strand of her hair turned orange!

        Kohaku and Hisui - They are identical twins who works in the Tohno Household. Hisui and Shiki used to play together as children, and she seems quite concerned about him. Hisui's specialty is laundry and cleaning whereas her elder sister, Kohaku's specialty is cooking.

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