Personality: What's the opposite of friendly? There you are, you've just summed up Yu Kanda.

Kanda has been a part of the Black Order since he was ten years old, and has spent most of that time in battle, killing akuma and -- more importantly -- watching everyone around him die because they weren't as good, or weren't as lucky, or made bad choices. And so, very early on, Kanda learned to stop caring about them. As is evident when Allen first meets him, he's even stopped trying to remember their names until they've lasted at least a month -- and if anyone slows him down on a mission, comrade or not, he will absolutely leave them behind.

And make no mistake: he absolutely expects you to do the same someday, when he slips up or overestimates his ability to heal mortal wounds. In fact, despite his words to Allen, Kanda would probably have gotten himself killed in battle long ago if not for that ability and his determination to first meet a certain someone again. He is an Exorcist, and seemingly dedicated to his missions, but when the chips are down, it isn't duty that keeps him from succumbing to pain and fear -- it's Alma, and his desperate need to see him again.

But for all of this, Kanda is not as dead inside as he would have you believe: even at his most cold-hearted, his behavior on the battlefield and his advice to the others there is clearly designed to keep them alive, and he has occasionally gone back on his word to prevent people from getting killed right in front of him. In spite of himself, he has some people in the Black Order that are almost -- sort of -- something like his friends, and while Kanda still can't quite bring himself to express civil concern or normal reassurance when he sees them in pain, he does manage to give them what they need anyway.

In short, Kanda is brusque and rude, and if you attempt to call him by his given name, he will make you regret it -- but there is a kind heart deep down underneath that gruff exterior. When it comes to dealing with people he cares about, he's still a child -- a bratty child who grew up in the middle of a war and doesn't know how to express himself without making other people cry, but a child nonetheless. He's slow to trust, so when he does finally manage to trust, even a little, he doesn't take kindly to having that trust betrayed -- which is part of why he and Allen are on especially terrible terms at the moment.

Abilities: As the only surviving Second Exorcist, Kanda has a unique regenerative power -- a "mutant healing factor", if you will. Using it, he is able to recover from even mortal wounds, although early on a conversation with Komui establishes that it now takes him longer to heal himself than it used to. (Five months' worth of recovery is accomplished in three days, but apparently compared to before, that's "a long time", and means that his healing ability is starting to deteriorate.) More recently, we learned that Kanda's Sanskrit tattoo distorts, growing larger, when he takes critical damage -- and then shrinks back down again as he rests. Presumably if he never rested, the tattoo would eventually cover every inch of skin on his body, or break, killing him. Cheerful!

As an ordinary Exorcist, Kanda is also in possession of an Innocence, which he calls "Mugen". Shaped by the Order into a black katana with no guard, it can be wielded as an ordinary sword or used to perform a variety of more interesting "illusion"-based attacks. There doesn't seem to be any unifying theme with these attacks -- one illusion makes projectiles shaped like insects made of energy; two illusions makes an extra sword for Kanda to wield or performs eight consecutive, deadly slashes; and the three illusion move Kanda has used allows him to break a "taboo" and utilize his own life force to gain more power. It's lucky that he has that first ability, because otherwise Kanda wouldn't have much life force to spare.

As a man, Kanda is a skilled swordsman and martial artist and somehow capable of eating the exact same thing for every meal of every day without ever getting sick of it. Mmmm, soba. And he can speak English as well as Japanese, which is a good thing, since Japanese is probably a pretty dead language in his universe. Why do I keep playing Japanese people who don't speak Japanese?!

Multifandom Test: Anya Christina Emmanuella Jenkins/Anyanka, Buffy: The Vampire Slayer

Kanda doesn't get along very well with ordinary people, so someone like Anya -- someone who is especially talkative and obnoxious -- would really, really get under his skin. And it doesn't help that 90% of the things that come out of her mouth would completely baffle him, because Kanda just doesn't have the patience for things he doesn't understand. He's too lazy to use his brain and try to decipher things, and too proud to admit when he's not following. So he would probably cut her off whenever she tried to talk, or just walk away from her, because he is a charmer.

Oh, and when he figured out she used to be a "demon", he'd probably try to kill her.

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Appearance: Kanda is tall, slender, and very pretty, to the point where Lenalee mistook him for a girl when they first met -- but that was more than ten years ago, and Kanda is less apt to be mistaken for a woman these days. (The deep, masculine voice helps.) He has long, shiny hair that he apparently keeps in Herbal Essences condition with... soap, and does not really know how to dress himself when out of uniform. He likes Chinese-style civilian clothes, and sweaters, because these two things are comfortable and practical, and generally prefers form-fitting but non-restrictive clothing -- for the combat benefits, see.

Oh, yeah. And as per his species, he doesn't smile. It hurts his face to try. :|