Yu Kanda

Character Outline
Yu Kanda is an Exorcist of the European Branch of the Black Order, formerly of the Asian Branch. He is a Second Exorcist, an Exorcist raised in a test tube and artificially modified to bear the Innocence of the previous Exorcist his brain formerly belonged to. He is also the second incarnation of the lover of fellow Second Exorcist Alma Karma's former incarnation.

Appearance
Kanda is a handsome Japanese teenager usually found in a foul mood. Kanda has long dark blue hair, which he washes with soap, and black eyes (blue in the manga). Lavi comments that Kanda is a "pretty-type character", and Allen occasionally calls him "girly face"; Inspector Galmar also called him a "pretty boy". Kanda is testy about others touching his hair, getting mad at Lavi when he attempted to braid it. Recently, when Mugen became a crystal type, he gained two stigmata on the underside of his forearms where his blood exited his body to form Mugen's new blade.

On Kanda's chest is a tattoo that is the seal of his Second Exorcist regenerative abilities. Though the ring around the symbol changes (seemingly depending on the severity of his injuries), the symbol in the center remains the same; it is a variant of the symbol for "Om", a symbol/sound/syllable featured in such religions and belief systems as Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.

Personality
Kanda is cold, stoic, and arrogant, with little regard to the lives of those around him, even his fellow Exorcists. He is, more often than not, willing to leave those who slow him down behind, even if it means their death and especially if they are not Exorcists, vewing any field officers (especially Finders) who are not Exorcists expendable pawns who should not be expected to be saved. He is even often seen turning his blade on his own comrades over small things, such as Lavi calling him by his given name, Yu, or Allen simply trying to talk to him. Despite his words, Kanda is frequently seen saving those around him, though he does it grudgingly and openly complains.



Because of their conflicting views about the worth of the lives of others, Kanda and Allen are almost constantly at one another's throats, Kanda ready to blame Allen for anything that goes wrong and Allen often breaking his polite exterior to let his "dark side" out as he incites an argument with Kanda, which frequently leads to physical confontation. Kanda has openly told Allen he hates people "like him"; people who make promises they can't keep and seem to fight without purpose. He calls Allen "beansprout" (モヤシ, Moyashi, English Dub: "Short Stack").

Kanda's personality does not seem to have have changed since he was young. As a Second Exorcist in the Sixth Laboratory in Asian Branch, he was moody and easily annoyed, especially towards fello Second Exorcist Alma Karma, who often followed him around and tried to befriend him. However, his final conflict with Alma, who he came to view as a friend just before he had to kill him, seemed to have hardened him further, as Kanda later admitted that, during his years as an Exorcist, he came to not care what happened to the Order or what the Order did to achieve their goals, going so far as to witness Allen's emerging Noah side and not report the incident to Komui.

Since coming back after Alma's death, Kanda has expressed repentant feeling towards his behavior for all of those years, blaming himself for Allen's current state and feeling like he can't die in piece until he repays Allen's kindness.

Personal Statistics

 * Education: 2
 * Affinity: 1
 * Battle Ability: 4
 * Mental: 5
 * Flexibility: 2
 * Cooperativeness: 1

History
Kanda was originally an Accommodator and Exorcist of the Black Order, but he was killed by an Akuma about thirty years before the start of the story. There was also a woman in his life whom he loved, a fellow Exorcist who died alongisde him.



After their deaths, the bodies of Kanda and his lover were taken to Asian Branch, where their brains were harvested and implanted into new bodies as part of the Second Exorcist Program. About twenty years later, Kanda awoke in the Sixth Laboratory of the Asian Branch to his fellow Second Exorcist, Alma Karma, hovering over his birthing pit. Alma helped Kanda out of the hole and alerted Edgar Chang Martin to Kanda's awakening so Kanda could get medical attention and dry clothes.

Despite the amiable first meeting, Kanda quickly became violent towards those around him, his relationship with Alma especially volatile, Kanda finding Alma's attempts to befriend him creepy. Having been artificially created and not knowing of the reasoning behind his odd birth, Kanda did not think of himself as human, showing child-like confusion and curiosity when Edgar explained the idea behind childbirth to him. At the same time, Kanda began experiencing visual and auditory hallucinations of a woman who, in context, expressed sharing a close relationship with him, though when Kanda turned to face her, she had disappeared, Alma remaining in her place.

During synchronization testing, Kanda was repeatedly severely injured, able to survive only thanks to the regenerative seal on his chest. It was because of this repeated, painful testing that Kanda began to hate Innocence.

Later that night, after recovering, Kanda made his way to the Second Exorcist birthing room, where he saw the woman again, and while trying to reach for her he fell into one of the birthing holes and was quickly fished out by Alma. When Alma mentioned also seeing a woman, Kanda asked him about it, only to quickly realize that he and Alma weren't talking about the same woman. When Alma asked him if he had been crying and started to tease him, he and Alma got into another fight which ended in both of them bleeding out and collapsing, their bodies still weak. He and Alma then started laughing.

Six months later, after his and Alma's relationship had improved, Kanda's hallucinations reached a point where it started to cause him physical, mental pain. When the decision was made to euthanize Kanda, Alma took him and tried to escape with him. After their escape was intercepted by several CROW, Alma kicked Kanda over a cliff and into a nearby canal, telling Kanda to run, much to Kanda's indignation.

A ways down the canal but still in the Asian Branch, Kanda crawled out of the water near Noise Marie and Bak Chang, asking for their help but not letting Bak go for medical assistance. When Marie held him to take the CROW spell needle out of his back, Kanda realized he recognized Marie's scent just before he passed out.

Almost immediately after, Kanda was taken into custody by the CROW, and when he finally regained consciousness, he was in the middle of a large sorcery array, being attended to by Twi Chang, Renny Epstain and Saarinzu Epstain. Realizing what had really happened to him, Kanda began laughing insanely and demanding to know how he (his original body) had died and how many years it had been. Without answering his questions, Saarinzu activated a spell that sent a massive electrical surge through Kanda's body that shorted out his ability to regenerate shortly after, killing him.



Not long after, Kanda's body revived and he synchronized with the Innocence of his original form, Mugen, his memories of the woman keeping him from dying. Using Mugen, Kanda escaped his confines and made his way back to the Sixth Laboratory, where he found Marie, who had been injured and was slated to become a Second Exorcist, himself. After some of his bloody accidentally fell in Marie's wound and healed him, Kanda took Marie with him, Marie's words of thanks reminding him of Alma and giving Kanda the resolve to escape the Order with Alma.



When Kanda found Alma, though, Alma, who had also synchronized with his Innocence, had slaughtered the staff of the Sixth Laboratory and had made the decision to kill Kanda, as well. As Kanda and Alma fought, Kanda realized that Alma has recovered his memories, as well, and when Alma tried to kill Kanda so he could kill himself and they could die together, Kanda made the decision to live and fought back against Alma, hacking him to pieces until he couldn't regenerate and believing he had killed him.

Kanda would later become Froi Tiedoll's pupil, and Tiedoll would give Kanda, who had only been known as "Yu" until that point, the surname "Kanda", which Kanda would come to prefer to be known by. For nine years, Kanda would serve the Order under the impression that he had killed his best friend, never knowing until the events in North American Branch that Alma was alive and had been salvaged for a continuation of the Second Exorcist Program, the Third Exorcist Program.

Introduction arc
When Allen Walker fails the Gatekeeper's exam, Kanda is one of the many to hear the alarm and the first to respond. He attacks Allen, commenting when Allen tries to insist that he's human that they'll know for sure when he cuts him open. Allen insists that the Order should have received a letter of reccommendation from his General, Cross Marian, which makes Kanda pause.

After the letter is found, buried underneatht the mess on Komui Lee's desk, Kanda is ordered to stand down, but only obeys when Lenalee Lee comes out and orders him to go inside. Allen tries to properly introduce himself to Kanda, but Kanda brushes him off coldy, saying he "doesn't shake hands with [cursed people]" before walking away.

Ghost of Mater arc
Shortly after, Allen and Kanda clash again, Allen defending a Finder, Buzz, who had attacked Kanda out of rage for a callous comment Kanda made about the worth of non-Exorcist personnel. Allen tells Kanda to talk to people better, to which Kanda simply tells him to let him go, telling Allen when he gets angry over him calling him "beansprout" that he'll remember his name if he can survive longer than a month.

To Kanda and Allen's exasperation, they are then assigned to a mission together in Mater, Italy. After they board a train (illegally) with Finder Toma to head out to their mission, Allen asks Kanda a few questions about their job, which Kanda grudgingly answers. As they review their mission booklets, both Kanda and Allen realize the "Ghost of Mater" they are going after is just a doll, Kanda commenting that the doll had probably been made with the Innocence inside of it.

When they arrive in Mater, Kanda informs Allen that he won't be going back for him if he falls behind. Kanda then heads after the doll as Allen heads to fight the Pierrot, Kanda using Mugen to clear the Level 1 Akuma out of the area before extracting the password to the talismans from a dying Finder. After Kanda has secured Lala and Guzol, he informs Allen that he won't be helping him before taking off and leaving Allen behind, something Allen doesn't have a problem with.

As Lala guides Kanda to the underground passageways of Mater to escape the Akuma, he is contacted by Toma, who he orders to secure Timcanpy, Allen's golem, before coming after him. Once underground, Guzol steps forward and claims to be the doll, and when Kanda says that he wants to take the Innocence from him then and there to make traveling easier, Lala puts herself between Kanda and Guzol, saying that Kanda would get lost without him. Just then, Toma meets back up with Kanda and gives him Timcanpy, who uses his hologram display to show Kanda how Pierrot's abilities work. When Kanda turns back to Lala and Guzol, he is shocked and angered to see that they slipped away while he had his attention elsewhere, but before he can go after them he and Toma are approached by "Allen".

Seeing that the features of the "Allen" mirror the real Allen's, Kanda assumes that the fake "Allen" is the Akuma and draws Mugen, but before Kanda's attack can land the real Allen arrives and saves the fake "Allen", showing Kanda that the fake "Allen" is Toma just as the "Toma" behind Kanda reveals itself to be the Akuma and attacks Kanda from behind.



The Akuma mocks Kanda for not realizing that he hadn't been Toma all along, then delivers a devestating blow to Kanda's body. As he bleeds out, Kanda mutters to himself about not being able to die before he finds "that person", only to fall silent a moment later and make the Akuma laugh at him about dying on his feet. Allen arrives and knocks the Akuma aside, then takes Kanda, who he notes is still breathing, and flees with him and Toma.

After they meet up with Lala and Guzol, Lala revealing herself to be the real doll and explaining her past with Guzol, Kanda awakens and tells Allen to take Lala's heart from her. When Allen tells him he can't, Kanda throws Allen's jacket, which Allen had rolled up so Kanda could rest his head, back at him, telling him that the uniform is the mark of an Exorcist, not a pillow for the wounded. After telling Allen that sacrifices must be made to save others, Kanda takes his Mugen and approaches Lala to take her heart, only for Allen to intercede and insist on being Lala's sacrifice, assuring Kanda that he will take Lala's heart from her after she and Guzol die on their own terms. Kanda punches Allen, demanding to know if he doesn't have anything dear to him.

Just then, Pierrot returns and rips Lala's heart from her body, mortally wounding Guzol in the process, and when Allen becomes enraged, his Anti-Akuma Weapon arm mutating in response to his anger, Kanda calls out to Allen to wait for his weapon to finish forming before attacking. When Allen's new invocation falls short, Allen having pushed himself too far, Kanda steps in and saves Allen, calling Allen pathetic and saying he hates people who can't keep their promises more than he hates Allen's tender-hearted ways. Kanda and Allen then destroy Pierrot together.

Three days later, Kanda calls Komui from a hospital in a town near Mater, reporting to Komui as he discharges himself from the hospital, to the doctor's anger, that Allen is still waiting for Lala, who has been singing to Guzol's corpse for three days, to die. After receiving a cryptic warning from Komui to not miscalculate how much life he has left, Kanda heads back to Mater to inform Allen that he'll be moving on to his next mission. Seeing Allen upset over Lala's continued singing, Kanda asks why he doesn't just end it as the singing Lala isn't the same as the old Lala, and when Allen tells him that Lala and Guzol's promise is something only they can break, Kanda calls Allen "soft", pointing out that they're not saviors.

When Lala suddenly stops singing, Allen goes to her side, and as she collapses, Allen tells Kanda that he wants to be a destroyer who can save.

General Yeegar Falls arc
After the death of General Kevin Yeegar at the hands of the Noah Family, Kanda is sent on a mission with teammates Noise Marie and Daisya Barry to search for their General, Froi Tiedoll.

During their search, they encounter many Akuma who try to slow them down, one openly taunting Kanda by saying that he and the others won't be able to reach their General in time. Kanda stabs the Akuma in the face, telling it to shut up as it explodes, then goes to join Marie and Daisya, who joke about their General probably being off drawing something without a care in the world. When Daisya notes to Kanda that they have a strange teacher, Kanda sullenly states that he hates the "geezer" before walking on, Daisya and Marie silently realizing that Tiedoll is the reason behind Kanda's foul mood.

Order in Crisis arc
Still looking for their General, Kanda is separated from Marie and Daisya in a different town, hiding from the Akuma in an alley and using his golem to get a report from them. After agreeing to meet up where Marie is, Kanda gives them dawn as the meet-up time limit before jumping out of his hiding place to face the Akuma that have surrounded him.

As he fights, Kanda hears an odd voice (Tyki Mikk) coming from Daisya's conenction to his golem, Kanda and Marie calling out to Daisya and not realizing that they are hearing Daisya's last moments. When Kanda and Marie meet up in the morning, Daisya's golem arrives and the rendevouz point alone.

Not long after, Kanda and Marie meet up with General Tiedoll and inform him of the situation, telling him that Daisya is dead and that his Innocence, the Charity Bell, was taken. When Kanda asks Tiedoll to come back to the Black Order with them, Tiedoll, instead, draws a picture of Daisya's hometown and burns it in rememberance, saying he can't go back as his duty to find new Accommodators is now more important than ever. Having not expected less, Kanda and Marie agree to go with him.

Edo and Asian Branch arc
Kanda arrives with Marie and Tiedoll in Edo, Japan as General Cross Marian's unit (Lenalee Lee, Lavi, Bookman, Miranda Lotto, Arystar Krory III and the Akuma Chomesuke) are fighting for their lives agans the Earl of Millennium and the Noah Family. Acting on Tiedoll's orders, Kanda goes to the aid of the weakened Exorcists with Marie, saving Chaozii Han from being killed by Tyki Mikk and engaging the Noah in a short battle before being forced to catch Lenalee when Tyki throws her at him. When Marie captures a Giant Akuma in his Noel Organon's strings, Kanda hands Lenalee over to Lavi before taking off, using Marie's strings as footholds to lunge and slice the Akuma in half. Kanda then tells Lavi, who had called him by his given name, that if he ever calls him "Yu" again he'll cut him.

The Earl then unleashes a devestating attack that levels Edo, Kanda getting seriously injured but still standing. Kanda is then attacked by Tyki while trying to keep the Noah from getting to Lenalee, and just as the Earl goes after Lenalee, himself, Allen arrives.

When Tyki retreats, Kanda goes after him and accidentally attacks Allen, instead, blaming Allen when he realizes who he is, and the two begin to bicker, ending with both of them threatening to cut off the other's hair and sell it before they threaten Lavi when he tries to break up their fight.

Tiedoll gathers all of the younger Exorcsits under a nearby bridge and debriefs all of them, Kanda standing guard as he does.

Noah's Ark arc
When Lenalee is suddenly dragged into a warp that opens in the ground, Kanda is one of the several who reaches after her and gets sucked in, as well. When the group (consisting of Lenalee, Allen, Lavi, Chaozii, Kanda and Krory) awakens, they are inside of Noah's Ark, something Kanda automatically blames Allen, and then the Earl's golem, Lero (who they have landed on) for. The Earl then uses Lero to taunt the Exorcists, telling them that the Ark is collapsing and that they will all die inside of it. Tyki arrives shortly after and offers them a key, inviting them to play a "game" with him before throwing the key, which Kanda catches.

Once they have set foot on stable ground, the group makes a pact to escape alive, which Kanda pointedly stays out of, before they use the key to open a door and enter a "room", where they are met by Skinn Bolic. Recognizing Skinn as the Noah that has been hunting his General, Kanda elects to stay behind and fight him. When the others refuse to leave him alone, Kanda turns on them and first threatens, then attacks them with Mugen, making the others angry enough with him to agree to leave him behind. Before she goes, Lenalee makes Kanda promise her he'll catch up with them later, and once the others have left Kanda begins his fight with Skinn.

As they fight, Kanda notes that Skinn had always stayed behind the Akuma before, never attacking, to which Skinn explains that he had never been sure which one of them to attack, but decides to fight Kanda since he thinks he can fight. Skinn then introduces himself to Kanda, making Kanda introduce himself in return, and when Skinn asks Kanda if he likes sweets, Kanda smirks and replies that he hates them.

Kanda continues attacking Skinn, noticing that Skinn is much harder to hurt than regular Akuma but deciding that it doesn't really matter. When the room shakes with another earthquake as the Ark around them continues to collapse, Kanda uses Mugen to tap into his life force and strengthen his attacks.

Skinn warns Kanda that the more he attacks and touches him, the more his power flows into Kanda's body, but Kanda doesn't take him seriously until Skinn uses one of his abilities to extract "chains" made of Skinn's power from Kanda's body, using them to damage Kanda harshly from inside Kanda's body. As he torments Kanda, Skinn notices that Kanda doesn't seem to fear death. The room around them begins to collapse, making Skinn and Kanda intensify their attempts to win, and just when it seems Skinn has seriously hurt Kanda, Kanda's tattoo begins to change, Skinn getting close enough for Kanda to use Mugen to try to cleave him in half and Skinn trying to blow Kanda's head off.



When his body begins to burn, Skinn realizes that Kanda had continue to attack him until Mugen had begun to melt, allowing Kanda to leave some of Mugen's liquified steel inside of his body to infect him with his Innocence. Kanda then stands, his body recovering, and tells Skinn that everyone dies as long as they remain human before he starts to walk off, heading for the exit. Having Kanda's Innocence within him causes Skinn's inner Noah to emerge, Kanda wondering if Mugen, which is riddled with melted-out holes, will hold out as he turns back to brace himself for another attack.

Using more of his life force, Kanda strengthens Mugen and uses it to shield himself against a devestating attack Skinn fires at him, but the force of Skinn's Noah-fueled attack shatters Mugen, Skinn's attack causing a spiky formation of sand to grow up from beneath Kanda and impale him. Just as Skinn begins to laugh over his victory, Kanda commands Mugen to "drink up", the pieces of the broken sword connecting to the hilt still in Kanda's hand and reforming long enough for Kanda to cut Skinn in half.

As Skinn bursts into ash, the door behind Kanda collapses and Kanda smirks as the room around him is destroyed.

Later, when Allen has taken control of the Ark and uses the piano in the control room to bring it back, Kanda is seen reforming and waking up, confused. After finding Krory, Kanda makes his way back to the others, meeting up with Lavi and Chaozii, first, before they all rejoin and begin searching for a way out. Kanda brushes Allen off when Allen notices his tattoo, and when Allen steps through a door without looking and nearly falls, the room not having a floor, Allen grabs onto Kanda, first, nearly taking Kanda down into the void with him. After they manage to get out, Kanda and Lavi mourn their broken Innocence, apprehensive of the idea of asking Komui to fix them. Then, Kanda, Lavi and Allen realize that they left Lenalee alone with Cross, a notorious pervert and womanizer, and when they rush back to find Cross (platonically) comforting Lenalee, they are horrified.

Once the group returns to the European Branch, Kanda is admitted to the medical ward with the others, but cannot sleep due to Krory's loudly growling stomach. When he tires to head back to his room, Kanda is intercepted by Tiedoll, who insists that he go back to bed. Even when he and Allen later manage to escape, they are dragged back to the medical ward by the Head Nurse.

Invasion of the Black Order arc
When he is well enough to leave the medical ward, Kanda attempts to mediate in peace, but his joined by Lenalee. Though she tries to insist that she just wants to mediate, Kanda points out that she only runs to him when Malcolm C. Lvellie comes to the Order, an when she begins to fret, Kanda tells her he thinks of her as a strong woman before ordering her to shut up and meditate or leave.

When Lulu Bell invades the Order with her army of Level 3 Akuma, Kanda, who doesn't have Mugen, manages to avoid being locked up with the other noncombatants and pilfers the weapon's vault, managing to secure several swords for himself before going to Komui's side to protect him from the recently formed Level 4. Kanda then stays with Komui, refusing to evacuate in favor of going to Hevlaska to get Mugen. When Komui starts to tell him that he won't let him endanger himself, only to stop suddenly, Kanda smiles grimly and tells him to make sure he keeps himself safe.

As they descend, the Level 4 pursues them and blows up the elevator, Kanda shielding Komui. Kanda is then joined by Lavi, both of them weaponless as they continue to protect Komui and are defeated.

Seeing Komui hesitate to go to Lenalee's side, Kanda kicks him and demands to know why he ever joined the Order, reminding Komui of his resolve enough to make the man go to his sister. Kanda and Lavi then go to a weakened Allen's side, helping him hold off against the Level 4 with his Sword of Exorcism, Kanda telling Allen to "stand firm" and then falling when the Akuma overwhelms them.



When Lenalee rejoins with her Innocence, the Dark Boots crystalizing, Kanda and Lavi observe Lenalee's new speed in shock, unable to keep up with her. As Cross arrives to help Lenalee and Allen, Kanda and Lavi relax, Kanda telling Komui when Komui tires to apologize that he was only doing his job. Later, after the Akuma is defeated, Kanda is seen walking away from the scene of those mourning, not participating in seeing those who are dying off from this life.

Several days after the invasion, Kanda is seen trying to train Allen in swordsmanship, their spar quickly devolving into brawling before the Head Nurse arrives to force them to come back to the infirmary.

Destruction of the Black Order arc


When the decision is made to move the European Branch to a new location, Kanda assists with the packing. During the packing process, both Kanda and Lavi are doused with a knocked-over Science Division experiment that causes their bodies to shrink down into child-like forms. After they are dressed in the Bookman's clothes, Kanda goes back to helping with Lavi, Kanda expressing a concern over whether or not the new location will have a nearby, forested area where he can train in peace. When another serum is knocked over, this one resulting in Lenalee losing her voice to have it replaced with a cat-like meow, Kanda becomes irate, worried over Komui finding out about it.

Just then, the lights go out and the Head Nurse stumbles in, biting Allen and Miranda, the latter of whom bites Marie and makes Marie turn rabid and grab Kanda. Before he can be bitten, Kanda kicks Marie and escapes, and when they are surrounded by more rabid, 'zombified' members of the Order, Lenalee activates her Dark Boots and carries Kanda and Bookman to safety.

After they escape and hide in a store room, the members of the Science Division who are with them begin to discuss the probable causes, and when Komui, from the shadows, warns them that the bites from the infected are infectious, Kanda, not realizing who it is, questions him. As soon as Komui admits that he is the one who made the virus, Kanda recognizes Komui and he, along with everyone else, attacks him and tries to tie him up, only to have Komui use his Komlin EX tie them up in retaliation.

Once they make the decision to work together, Komui unties the group and they begin to make their way through the building. When Komui admits that he has no antivirus and has no idea how to locate the source of the infection to derive one, Kanda tires to kill Komui, only to be stopped, and then joined, by Reever. Suddenly, the Generals, who have been infected, burst through the walls, Tiedoll biting Howard Link after mistaking him for Kanda. Kanda asks Komui if Mugen has been repaired, needing it to fight the Generals when they activate their Innocence, but Komui says that while Mugen has been repaired, the Science Division was full of zombies so he left it behind, resulting in Kanda smacking Komui over the head. They are then attacked by the Generals, and when Komui accidentally orders his Komlin to fire rockets at them, the floor is destroyed and Kanda falls intot he cellar with Allen, Lavi and Johnny Gill.

When Arystar Krory, who might or might not be infected, knocks on the door to the cellar, asking to be let in, Kanda is one of the ones to offer up the Komlin to answer the door, in case it is an ambush, and when the Komlin answers the door and gets his head kicked off, Krory bursts into the room and attacks Kanda and Lavi, slamming their heads together and knocking them out. Kanda regains consciousness shortly after, when Johnny realizes that Krory is the source of the infection, but before they can do anything about it the Generals and the rest of the zombie hoard arrive and they are forced to retreat.

After a bit, an attack from General Winters Socalo sends them crashing through a wall and into a room where Komui, Reever and a few others are being held by the Ghost who instigated the whole event, and while he is weakened Kanda is bitten by Tiedoll, becoming a zombie shortly after.

Kanda, along with the others, would be returned to normal the next day when Bak Chang would arrive to help witht he packing and, after panicking, derive a vaccine.

Disappearance of Cross Marian arc
Ten days after the apparent death of General Cross Marian, Kanda is sent on a mission with Allen and Miranda, during which he weilds a newly reforged Mugen. After the battle is won, Kanda passes a depressed Allen without saying a word to him, going directly to threatening Link with death if he doesn't win the game of chess he is in with the ghost hand of a dead man who possessed the Innocence they are after. After Link wins and they secure the Innocence, Kanda reports back to headquarters.

When they head to the church that has the Ark Gate they will be using to head back to the European Branch, Kanda snaps at Miranda for forgetting the new rules about the personal passwords, which leads to him getting into another fight with Allen. Link reprimands them, only to be brushed off by Kanda, who tells Link that he talks too much. Once they arrive back at headquarters, Kanda is recognized by Jiji Lujun, who is transfering back to the European Branch after being sent to the Asian Branch for a time and recognizes Kanda. When Jiji tells Kanda that Zu Mei Chang was asking about what Kanda thought of the new Mugen, Kanda tells Jiji to tell the old man what he wants before walking off, leaving Jiji with the impression that he has no complaints.

Phantom Thief G arc
Three months after Cross' disappearance and apparent death, in the month of December, Kanda is sent with Allen, Link and Marie on a mission to Paris to investigate the disappearance of several of the Order's Finders. Upon arriving at the police headquarters, Kanda runs into the daughter of the Chief of Police, Emilia Galmar, who instantly becomes smitten with Kanda, earning him the ire of her father (though Kanda doesn't notice the affections and couldn't care less). When Inspector Galmar takes them to the holding cells to show them the countless people all dressed in strange jumpsuits and masks, Kanda is as visibly horrified as Allen, and when they find the missing Finders and Jiji, Kanda kicks their Plexiglass cell hard enough to dent it, demanding an explanation from them. Jiji and the Finders report that they had been investigating a possible Innocence phenomena seemingly linked to a mysterious "Phantom Thief G," and when Marie discerns they are telling the truth, Kanda concludes that, either way, they should investigate and secure the Innocence, to Inspector Galmar's anger.

After another warning letter comes from G, Kanda and the others make their way to the Louvre, knocking out the guards and stationing himself outside with Marie. When the Phantom Thief G arrives and steals a crown bearing the Regent Diamond, Kanda intercepts him in a fountain, throwing the crown to Inspector Galmar when the man arrives and preparing to drag the stunned "G" off when the man he is holding suddenly regains consciousness, confused and not knowing where he is, to Kanda's confusion. Another "G" appears on the roof, this one bearing the crown, and by the time Kanda arrives on the roof to help Allen, "G" has moved on to possess Link.

"G" uses Link's skills as a CROW to subdue Kanda, Kanda barely dodging and explaining CROW to Allen when he asks, and Kanda and Allen attack Link together, damaging Link's body but hurting "G", who Kanda notes mockingly isn't used to pain. After Allen "stabs" Link with his Sword of Exorcism, "G" flees, terrified and not knowing the Sword doesn't hurt humans, and afterwards Marie tracks "G", using his distinct cry, to an orphanage. There, a young Timothy Hearst is kicked out of the door by Emilia and knocks his head against Allen's, accidentally possessing Allen, something Kanda quickly realizes and uses against the boy by holding his body hostage.

Kanda and Marie meet with the Prioress who runs the orphanage and Emilia, explaining the situation to them. When the Prioress explains Timothy's past to him, Kanda and Marie agree that the gem in Timothy's forehead is likely the Innocence they're looking for, and when Emilia asks what they'll do, Kanda answers that they'll take Timothy with them to make him an Exorcist. After earning an angry reaction from Timothy, Kanda starts to bluntly and angrily tell him that he'll drag him back, only to be cut off by Marie, who apologizes for Kanda's bad manners.

Just then, the world outside of the building goes dark, Kanda looking out the window and seeing that the town has disappeared, and when a Level 4 Akuma attacks, Kanda and Allen defend the children. While Link helps the Prioress herd the children down the stairs, Marie secures the Akuma while Allen and Kanda team up to fight it.

The Level 4 turns its arms into gattling guns and successfully lands successive blows on Kanda, who is alarmed when Marie, who is susceptable to the Akuma Virus, is hit. After Marie is forced to cut off his fingers in order to survive, Kanda attacks the Akuma at close range, but isn't fast enough to keep up when the Akuma swings around him and shoots him in the back.

When Timothy properly invokes his Innocence and possesses an Akuma, Kanda is first confused to see the other Akuma that accompanied the Level 4 fighting one another, then shocked when Allen explains, after making out Timcanpy's charades, that Timothy has possessed one of the Akuma. Madarao from the CROW arrives and defeats a Level 3 without Innocence, something that shocks the Level 4 and gives Allen and Kanda enough time to regroup. They fight the Akuma together, and when Allen summons his Sword of Exorcism to himself, using it to pierce the Akuma, he pierces himself to a wall behind him, as well.

The Sword of Exorcism, though, hurts Allen, to Kanda's shock. When he witnesses the Noah within Allen emerging, Kanda stabs the still living Level 4 from behind, narrowly missing Allen and glaring at "Allen" before calling him an "idiot beansprout", both of them using their swords to tear the Akuma apart. After the Akuma is defeated, Allen, once again in control of his body, reminds Kanda that his name is Allen.

After the members of the Science Division, brought by Reever, release the seal on the orphanage and free those trapped inside, Inspector Galmar offers to take Timothy in and protect him from the Akuma, only to be quickly shut down by the group, Kanda included, who also adds that the man should go to a church if he needs to confess.

Third Exorcists arc
After futilly trying to find out more about Madarao in an attempt to finish his report, Kanda is forced to try to forget about it when Jiji can't offer any help. Later, Kanda is training with Bookman, who has taken his hair tie, in the training facilities when North American Branch Head Renny Epstain arrives with Third Exorcists Madarao, Tewaku, Tokusa, Goushi and Kiredori. After Allen is hurt by Goushi, Kanda observes from afar, a severe look crossing his face when he hears of the Third Exorcists half-Akuma origins.

When Komui has no choice but to make the Third Exorcists part of the Exorcist force, Kanda goes to Asian Branch, becoming rather exasperated when he walks through to find Bak Chang being restrained by his subbordinates. Bak sets Kanda, who has been summoned by Zu Mei Chang, up in a room to await the old man's arrival, Bak awkwardly trying to maintain conversation with Kanda. When Kanda observes that the Order is starting up experiments again, Bak begins to fervently apologize, demanding that Kanda hit him. Though Kanda does hit Bak, he insists that he doesn't care what the Order does, to which Bak cryptically refers to an "Artificial Apostle Plan" Kanda had been apart of, saying that his and Renny's families made a big mistake and that they don't see Kanda as expendable.

Kanda thinks back to when he was younger, an image of Zu Mei telling Kanda that the flower Kanda was "seeing" was an illusion coming to mind.

Elsewhere, as Zu Mei makes his way to the room Kanda is in to speak with him, he thinks about asking Kanda if he still sees the flowers, and Kanda is shown again surrounded by presumably illusionary lotus blossoms.

When there is a sudden, world-wide influx of Akuma attacks, Kanda is sent to Jordan with Allen, Madarao, Tokusa and Tewaku, Kanda staying behind at Jordan Camp with Tewaku as guards. During his guard duty, Kanda is approached by the Noah Wisely, who asks for Kanda's name and asks if he knows the name "Alma". When Kanda reacts to the name, Wisely informs Kanda that he wants to use Kanda's brain for a "party", an odd eye opening and focusing its sights on Kanda.

Mystery of Kanda arc
While on a mission, Waizurii (the 5th Noah) appears in front of him atop a pile of dead bodies. When Kanda asked, "who are you?" before challenging the Noah, Wisely says the name "Alma" which shocks Kanda. Kanda loses to the Noah and is dragged to the North American Headquarters.

Before the invasion of American HQ order members of the science division were assembled in the building for a meeting on the Third Exorcists. During this meeting a portion of Kanda's backstory was shown when Teacher Zhu sees the body of Alma Karma (stated moments earlier to be the first womb of the Third Exorcists). As Zhu argues with Malcolm, he claims they should have told Kanda that Alma was alive. He later states the two were friends who they then made "fight to the death".

Having invaded the headquarters the Earl and Noah line up the surviving members. Amongst this line up is Johnny and Reeve, who notice a motionless Kanda on the ground before them. The Earl and Waizurii (both seeming to know about Kanda's past) then put their plan in motion stating to the order members "You will be killed by the demon that you yourself created".

At this point Kanda appears to regain consciousness and see the image of a person beneath him, he then has flashbacks to when he first met a child named Alma. A bird's eye shot shows him kneeling over the body surrounded by flowers. Moments later Allen arrives only to have been baited into what seems to be a trap.

While Allen fights with the Millennium Earl, Kanda aids him but is fought off by Tyki. After an explosion, they see that Waizurii and the Noah family brought out Alma. Kanda then asks "Who the heck is that?", shocking everyone. Zhu states that there is no way Kanda does not recognizes Alma, but when Road mentions it is Alma, Kanda gives her a menacing look and replies "He's dead." Road continues to taunt him, while Wisely creates an eye under her. Allen and Kanda both looking at her, see it, and appear to be sucked into some other dimension where Kanda's past was being unraveled in front of Allen and Road. In the latest chapter, it is revealed that Kanda, Alma, and the other "Second Exorcists" were, in fact, created by transporting the brains of dead or dying Exorcists into artificial bodies in order to see if the compatible Innocence would be carried over to the substitute body.

After managing to escape the cryogenic sleep by synchronizing with Innocence, Kanda leaves and finds Noise Marie unconscious on a table. Kanda manages to heal and wake him up with his own blood (accidentally). He then saves Marie and attempts to escape the base but thinks of Alma and goes back for him. He finds Alma among the mass of dead scientist and Crow corpses, Alma having just murdered Edgar. Kanda questions why and asks whether Alma's memories have awakened or not. Alma then states he must kill Kanda too and attacks, cutting off Kanda's arm. After Alma states they can die together, Kanda finds his resolve and decides he does not want to die, even if it means killing Alma. Kanda delivers two devastating blows to Alma striking him down and apparently "killing" him.

After witnessing this, Allen snaps (because Yu was letting himself being used) and punches Kanda in the head with Crown Clown, sending him spiraling out of sight. However his memories awoke Alma's hatred and subsequently Alma himself. Alma's awakening blows the entire Branch. Kanda is lost in the explosion with everyone else present, minus Alma who calls out and asks if Yu is there in the debris. Yu survives the explosion and turns to Alma who has now become a fully fledged Akuma.

As Alma continues to taunt Yu about his continued survival and the friends he has made, Yu activates his Innocence and attacks with Third Illusion. After more taunts from Alma, Kanda activates Fourth Illusion. His iris's gain four pupils in them and he suddenly and severely strikes Alma. Allen berates him for fighting so seriously.

When the Millennium Earl asks Allen to join him, he mentions that if Allen joins, he will eradicate the dark matter within the Third Exorcists and Alma. Alma says that he does not care about dark matter, and he "just wants Kanda to die." Alma then attacks Kanda and stabs him twice. Lotus flowers appear everywhere; one is shown wilting. "That person" appears and says, "I will wait for you...I'll wait forever..." Kanda smirks, and Alma asks him what he is thinking of. Kanda activates Fifth Illusion and cuts off Alma's arm and leg. Alma smirks and hurts Kanda. Kanda then repeats "destroy" over and over again and prepares to attack Alma once more. Allen, however, intervenes with his Crown Clown.

Kanda glares at Allen and asks him "what mockery is this?". Since Allen, instead of answering, tries to find out why Kanda is having such an ominous expression, Kanda snaps and attacks both Alma and Allen with "Fifth Illusion Style: Ripping Flash Claw", injuring the latter seriously. He continues attacking Alma cruelly. At that point, old man Zhu states that Kanda's hair have turned light purple because he has sublimated his soul too much and that he is going to die. Alma attacks with a heat ray and gets Kanda right in the chest. The force of the continual blow is so immense that Kanda's skin starts to melt away.

Alma pleads Kanda to use up all of his regenerative ability and die right there. However, Allen intervenes again, while Kanda collapses. Alma's regenerative ability begins to wear of as well, and he falls to his knees. Kanda gets up and tries to kill him again, but Allen protects Alma.

Kanda then battles Allen in order to get to Alma. At first, Allen also fights back, but is hit from the behind by an attack from Alma. Allen then notices from Alma's expression, and lets Kanda stab him, which makes Kanda pause his attack. Allen then tells him to look closely at Alma and asks him why he is making a conflicted, pained expression, before falling and his skin turning gray. Yu comes back to his senses but Alma still attempts to kill him. However, Allen's body begins to rise and blows both back with a shockwave. Alma, the worst for wear, crashes into a wall but Kanda catches him.

They watch on as Allen begins to transform, the Earl informing Kanda he released the 14th by messing Allen up too much with his innocence; the Noah cannot forget their hatred of innocence. Allen's transformation is abruptly stopped as his left eye activates, and an illusion of Mana calling out to him appears. He awakens to see the soul within Alma, which is actually the woman Kanda has been searching for. Alma screams for Allen not to say it and in a last attempt to kill Kanda, Alma begins to self destruct. He cries out "Why, Alma?!" to Alma as Alma detonates. As the smoke clears, Kanda's body crumbles to the ground. Sheril notes that to be adequate revenge for Skinn Bolic, while the Earl muses how Kanda, who prided himself as a powerful member of the order, was so "brittle" before Alma. As he begins to regenerate, he calls to Allen, saying "Beansprout," while Alma's soul begins to be eaten by Dark Matter. Allen assists Kanda in reaching Alma, asking him to open a gate to where they had their first mission, so he and Alma can be at peace there, giving Mugen to him. Before he catches Alma, Allen calls him and says that Kanda is the only one capable of helping Alma. In response, Kanda smiled at him and says "Thank you. Allen Walker." He then catches Alma and tells him they will get away from innocence and the church together. Alma cries happily, their childhood bond reaffirmed. However, Kanda also sheds tears as he and Alma fall through the gate, knowing that Alma doesn't have much time left, and arrives at the underground stage that Lala had sung her last song on Allen's first mission.

Kanda watches the Gate disintegrate, realizing that Allen has helped him stay alone with Alma for the little time they have left together. Alma, who is still alive, tells Kanda that the akuma, can tell that Allen is a Noah. Before Alma can say anything more, he thrashes around, and Kanda coaxes Alma, saying he should not say anything at the moment. Alma tells Kanda not to use his Innocence, but instead watch his soul disappear. Alma discusses how much he hates the Order for doing terrible things to both him and Kanda, but also talks of his guilt since he killed so many people as an Akuma. Kanda comforts Alma until Alma finally dies, leaving Kanda to watch the illusion of Alma and Alma's former self walk away in the distance, holding hands in the garden of lotuses.Just as Kanda continues to mourn, he hears Alma's voice confess that he loves Kanda, and a ripple in the lake of lotuses occurs. Kanda then smiles slightly before closing his eyes, still cradling Alma's body. After further investigation the order found Mugen covered in a strange rust, which was interpreted as meaning that it lost its compatibility. Because of this, Yu Kanda was presumed dead.

Searching for A.W. arc
Later, however, he is shown to be alive and well, approaching Lenalee and Noise Marie in France. When Marie asks why he came back, Kanda simply smiles and asks why he wasn't welcomed properly. After arriving in the Asia Branch, much to the astonishment of the Black Order personnel, commenting on how Allen's comment about always being an Exorcist sounded like him. He states stoically that Lenalee looks "quite ugly" because her face is blown up and swollen by her crying, which results in Marie having to hold her back. When he arrives in the room Komui is in he is greeted enthusiastically by Komui who a first thought it was an "Art of Kanda" General Tiedoll had made.

He is then questioned by Lvellie, who asks him where Alma's body is. Yu responds by say that he will say nothing because he hasn't forgiven the Order. He is silent when Lvellie points out that Allen commited treason to protect the two. As he approaches Zu Mei, who is dying in his bed, he is informed by Bak that the rust covered object he is holding is Mugen. Zu Mei questions why Kanda returned, stating that he was free. Zu Mei then admits that he was the one who proposed the Second Exorcist Project. Kanda touches Zu Mei's hand and lets him see the lotuses that he sees, smiling and telling him that he's going to hell, too. While holding onto Zu Mei's hand, he calls for Mugen to awake, causing it to revert back to it's original cube form and a shocked Bak notices it has become a Crystal Type.



Before he can swallow it, Lenalee stops him and asks him if he really wants to, seeing as he has been bound to the Order for so long. The Innocence turns into liquid in Lenalee's hand and Yu swllows it, much to the outrage of Bak and Komui after telling Lenalee not to be angry. He says that he has decided by himself to become an Exorcist as a crystal figure arises from his stigmata, before transforming itself into the new Crystal Type Mugen.

Later, when Johnny Gill is successfully able to resign from the Order under the pretense of returning to his home to care for his grandmother, his plan really being to look for Allen and help him, Kanda appears on the train Johnny is on and saves him from being arrested by two CROW, beating the men unconscious before announcing to Johnny that he will be escorting him in his search for Allen. Lenalee and Marie seem to be the only ones aware of Kanda's decision to help Johnny find Allen, as they both lie to Komui after being questioned on where Kanda went.

After searching countless bars (which were mentioned in a list of debts that Cross left Allen - Johnny retrieved these in order to track him), Kanda and Johnny hit another dead end. When leaving to go to another bar, Johnny is attacked by an Akuma, which results with Kanda destroying it. As it dies, the Akuma realizes that Kanda is still alive and mocks him for "wasting" the last bit of life he had left after the incident with Alma and not simply dying in peace.

It is revealed after the Akuma explodes that Kanda feels regret for ignoring his first encounter with the 14th Noah (when Allen stabbed himself with Crown Clown) and for bringing the Noah out even further when he went beserk in the American Branch due to the Earl's plan to use him to awaken Neah.

Later, after dealing with another dead end and a nasty hangover, which implies that Kanda's healing abilties have reached the point where he can no longer drink alcohol without consequence, Johnny offers medicine, which Kanda cruelly rejects. He throws the bottle into a nearby crowd and demands that they continue on to their train station to hit the next location on the list.

However, when Johnny goes to retrieve the medicine, he is entranced by a street performing clown. When prompted for money, Johnny realizes that his wallet is missing. When Kanda appears, attempting to drag Johnny off, he senses something off about the clown, who nervously smiles and continues his act. The feeling doesn't edge away, and Kanda glares as the clown performs, brutally wanting to "slice him up just a bit", and using his hangover as an excuse for this weird urge.

When Johnny finally manages to get Kanda in check, the two begin to walk away when the clown as well as one of the children watching the show are attacked by an Akuma, which states that it sensed the 14th nearby. As it moves to swallow the two victims, and as Kanda rushes to destroy it, the clown reveals the mask and cowl that traditionally follow in Crown Clowns invocation. It is at this point that the clown is confirmed by both Johnny and Kanda as Allen Walker.

After the Akuma was killed, Allen tried to run away only for Kanda to hold him down and rub his face with a cloth to wipe all the clown make-up off. Kanda then asks Allen if he killed Link, leaving Allen shocked. Before he can explain himself, an Akuma arrives and the two fight it. As Allen asks how he died, Johnny and Kanda realize that Allen didn't kill Link and Johnny goes on to state Link died after Allen left. As the Akuma is killed, more appear and Allen flees to keep the people safe, Kanda and Johnny follow due to Kanda not losing his trail again.

Powers and Abilities
Enhanced Artificial Regeneration: Kanda can recover much faster than ordinary humans and is able to withstand the blood of Akuma due to a secret skill created by the Chan family. , He is seen being able to rebirth after death ("approximately during 580 seconds", [Chapter 189]),regenerate lost limbs, and even survive a crushed skull. His blood is also enriched with healing power, even allowing him to accidentally save fellow Exorcist Noise Marie from a wound that had been deemed fatal.

Physical Prowess: Kanda is noticeably much stronger than the average human; while his Anti-Akuma weapon does enhance his power, when none of its abilities are activate he is able to cleave Akuma in half using the blade alone.

Speed: Kanda is faster than most other characters in the series and can leap beyond average distances, though this may be attributed to his regenerative abilities, where such jumps on normal humans would result in damaged ligaments in the feet.

Expert Swordsman: Though his Innocence makes him already inclined to swordsmanship, Kanda is shown to be powerful with a blade in his own right. He has been seen using regular swords to hold off Akuma as evolved as Level Four, and can use various forms of Japanese swords without changing his fighting style.

Innocence
Mugen (六幻 (ムゲン), Rokugen (Six Illusions)). Kanda has a sword with supernatural powers. He runs his index and middle finger along the back of the blade to activate it, whilst saying Mugen Unsheathe, Innocence Activate, which turns the blade silver. The shape of the sword has changed throughout Kanda's Timeline, during his childhood, it takes the form of a small butcher blade with multiple small wings on the hilt, upon Kanda's introduction in the beginning of the series, it took the form of a chokuto (a straight Japanese sword without a tsuba) with a black cross-emblazoned hilt and sheath, but after his battle with Skinn Bolic, it was reforged into a traditional Katana.


 * KandKaichuIchigen.pngFirst Illusion: Netherworld Insects (界蟲「一幻」, Kaichū: Ichigen): Kanda swings his sword and releases a small swarm of supernatural creatures that devour his opponents.
 * Double Illusion Sword (二幻刀, Nigentou): Kanda covers his sword and scabbard in a coat of energy and generates an energy blade, creating two impossibly sharp weapons. The second blade that he creates over his scabbard can also be just a pure energy blade if the scabbard is not used.


 * Eight Flower Mantis (八花蟷螂, Hakka Tourou): Using Nigentou, Kanda quickly slashes the enemy eight times. The slashes collectively resemble a flower.


 * Ascending Flower (昇華, Shouka lit. Sublimate): Kanda activates the power of his tattoo, and his pupils change into three dots. Veins also rise around his eyes. Once it is activated, Kanda can activate Triple Illusion.


 * Forbidden Spell: Triple Illusion (禁忌 「三幻式」, Sangenshiki): Kanda drastically increases his speed and strength at the cost of some of his life.


 * Because Triple Illusion feeds directly off of a being's 'life force,' Kanda can reallign and reforge Mugen's blade if it is broken as long as he has life to spare, using the command "Drink up".


 * Exploding Spirit Cut (爆魄斬, Bakuhakuzan): Kanda needs Sangenshiki to be active to use this, and makes a slash that seems to create small explosions and is strong enough to cut through a Level 4 Akuma. Kanda can also use it with the Fifth Illusion Style.


 * Fourth Illusion Style (四幻式, Yongenshiki): Kanda's pupils changes to four dots and he gains another drastic increase in speed and power as shown by being able to severely damage Alma Karma.


 * Fifth Illusion Style (五幻式, Gogenshiki): Mugen's blade changes color and emits a large amount of dark, lightning-like energy. Like the Triple Illusion, it uses up Kanda's life, though on a larger scale. Forcing the Fifth Illusion causes excessive strain on Kanda's body and soul, eating away at his life quicker than any of the previous Illusionary Styles. It also causes him to enter a berserker-like state, and causes his hair to turn a light purple.


 * Ripping Flash Claw (五幻・裂閃爪): Kanda unleashes seven sharp energy beams.

Crystal Type: Upon returning to the Black Order, Kanda went directly to Asian Branch and took Mugen from Zu Mei Chang, who had refused to let it go. Kanda ordered Mugen to invoke, and the rusted sword turned into a black cube and liquified, much like Lenalee's had. He then drank the liquified Innocence (from Lenalee's palm), and stigmata opened up on his arms, drawing his blood out of his body and reforming it into a new Mugen.

Trivia

 * In the English dub, "Mugen" is pronounced mew-gen, often calling it "Mighty Mugen".
 * According to the -Gray Ark- Fanbook, Kanda's interests include gardening and making soba and he dislikes anything group-related, and he and Lavi are listed as "Friends?".
 * Hoshino notes that Kanda is the dumbest out of the four, behind Allen, Lavi, and Lenalee.
 * Hoshino's comments on Kanda's profile that it's "not easy drawing beautiful people".
 * Kanda placed 2nd in the first official popularity poll. 1st in the second and then 2nd again in the third.
 * It is implied that Kanda cannot swim.
 * In one of the Discussion Rooms, it is noted that Kanda washes his hair with soap.
 * His favorite foods are soba and tempura, and he likes pumpin, sweet pepper and lotus root tempura.
 * According to D.Gray-Man Reverse, vol. 3, Kanda's first kiss was with Jiji when Kanda was thirteen (physically; chronologically three) and Jiji was drunk.