The Worst Pair

"The Worst Pair" is the fourth chapter of the Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign manga series, written by Takaya Kagami and illustrated by Yamato Yamamoto.

Short Summary
Yūichirō Hyakuya bumps into fellow student Shihō Kimizuki, and they get into a fight. When in Guren's class, the boys fight again, ending with Guren knocking them out.

Shihō later confronts Guren about when he can be tested for a Cursed Gear. It is learned that he wishes to join the Army to receive better medical care to his ill younger sister, Mirai Kimizuki. Guren is not convinced and warns the boy what Demons have prepared for him.

The following day, Yu and Shihō are forced to pair up for a training test, but is halted when Shihō is told that Mirai is in trouble. Yu forces Shihō to go check up on his sister when he hesitates, and tells him that his sister was more important than the points they loss.

At the end, Shinoa Hīragi recommends to Guren that Shihō and Yu should be tested for the Black Demon Series. Guren smiles about taking down the Hīragi Family.

Long Summary
A new day begins as Yu makes his way to class. In the hallway, he has a run-in with a lanky, squinty-eyed young man with glasses and short hair. They basically bump into each other and fight.

Later on, his face covered in bruises from his scuffle, Yu meets up with Yoichi and Shinoa to head to their first class for learning the fine art of killing vampires. While Yu would still prefer to just hit the battlefield in full sprint, he still has to attend these rather ironic classes in order to be properly equipped and outfitted for the job.

In class, they find that Guren Ichinose is their homeroom teacher, and the two boys are introduced as the Idiot and the Crybaby. Yu makes less of a self introduction to the class, and more of a proclamation that these 'classes' are little more than a lame formality for him to have to cull through before he can get equipment like the kind Guren has at his side. Yu then gets seated in front of the same lanky delinquent as before, which of course results in another fight.

Guren bashes them both unconscious, and the bespectacled (and bruised) delinquent Shihō Kimizuki later visits Guren in his office to inquire about the same subject of interest as Yu: when would he be tested to be outfitted with Cursed Gear, specifically of the Black Demon Series. However, time is of a greater concern to Kimizuki because his little sister has contracted the same virus that wiped out all but ten percent of the human population eight years prior, even though children below the age of thirteen are not supposed to be affected by it.

If Kimizuki advances into the army's elite forces, he will have access to better care and treatment methods for his sister. Despite Kimizuki being at the top of his class in all subjects though, Guren remains unconvinced that the boy would not hold his own against a demon weapon once he's touched it. Demons latch onto desires and feed off the worst emotions humans can feel, and Guren felt the boy's desire to save his sister may wind up being turned against him if he tried. Guren unsheathes his sword, just to give Kimizuki a taste of the demonic malevolence the demon weapons have in store for him.

The next day, the two stooges are being assessed for their abilities in combat. Yu tries to team up with Yoichi, but Shinoa promptly throws herself at the timid one just so Yu would have no choice but to partner up with Kimizuki. The teacher then handcuffs all partners together with suspicious accuracy, then animates a myriad of mannequins which the partners must destroy in order to receive class credit.

At the very beginning of the test, though, Kimizuki hears word that his sister had gone through a relapse. Although at first trying to power his way through the test, Yu convinces Kimizuki that the test wasn't nearly as important as being there for his little sister.

The two leave and visit the little girl in the hospital wing, still handcuffed together. While Kimizuki mused over having lost the points he needed to advance, it appears his kindness swayed Shinoa enough to recommend that Kimizuki and Yu be tested for the Black Demon weapons right away. Guren smiles, and decides to start making preparations to oust the Main Family from their throne by force.

Chapter notes

 * Shihō Kimizuki is introduced.
 * Kimizuki is just as strong or stronger than Yu in a fight.
 * Guren is setting the stage for a massive coup to take over the military.

Characters
List of characters in order of appearance:

Gallery
Manga panels provide a visual overview of the events of Chapter 4 with depictions of the characters, Seraph of the End world and scenarios.