Chapter 18: A Good Trick

"They're certainly taking their time today," Lenalee remarked and stamped her foot gently against the ground.

Link nodded and absently sent a chunk of ice skittering away. "The decision to make an Ark Gate has to ratified by a total of Central five officers, and one of whom has to be Director Leverrier, and your brother, miss. It's possible they're having difficulty finding one or both of them."

"What time is it in England right now?"

The Crow pulled back his sleeve and checked his timepiece. "Almost midday."

"That's odd. Komui usually has lunch in his office."

"And the Director had a conference of some sort today." He glanced at her. "Perhaps something came up?"

"Maybe." Lenalee yawned. "I hope we get approval soon. It's cold in St. Petersburg."

That made him laugh, a very low, almost imperceptable laugh, but a laugh all the same, and Lenalee turned back to where they'd left their comrades. Less than seven meters away, Allen and Krory were waiting for the Gate approval and had opted to pass the time by sampling whatever street foods the city had to offer. In contrast, Lenalee found she'd had no appetite of her own, politely declined Allen's offer to share a cheburek with her, and wandered out onto the frozen solid surface of the Neva River.

After all, how often did one get the chance to walk across a river in their lifetime?

Evidently, Link must've thought the same, for when Lenalee turned to check up on her friends, she noticed the Inspector had followed her example. He stood calmly on the river ice, some distance from the shoreline and yet close enough to Allen that he could reach him in a hurry should an emergency occur. It was an odd sight, Lenalee had to admit. She couldn't recall a time, except for the Level IV's attack on the Old Headquarters, when Link was so far from his charge.

Perhaps he was simply indulging in some semblance of solitude. It must be exhausting, she considered, to spend every waking moment with someone and never have a moment to oneself. She left him to it and strolled further across the river. How thick was the ice, she wondered? Would it break up suddenly and without warning? If she cleared away some of the snow on the surface, would the ice be glacial blue? Or was the Neva just as disgusting as the Thames in London?

At some point, Link had ventured out to join her, still observing Allen from afar. Very words were traded between them, mostly expressions of veiled impatience for Central's delay. Lenalee kept checking her pockets to reassure herself the newly acquired Innocence shard was still there. Even before the Ark, she'd hated transporting the precious God Matter. The risk of attack was always higher, and she never stopped fidgeting whilst waiting for trains or ships, no matter what any of her friends said.

She sighed.

"He's good at that," Link said suddenly, and Lenalee followed his gaze back to the shore where Allen, bless his heart, had begun to juggle hot pirozhki in his hands. Beside him, Krory was shaking his head in disapproval, as though annoyed at the appropriation of good food into a plaything.

Lenalee burst into laughter at the sight. "It's been awhile since I've seen him revert to his old circus tricks."

The Crow nodded in consideration. "I knew Walker had been a performer before his life as an apostle, but I wasn't aware juggling was in his repertoire."

"Oh, yeah. He's also an acrobat and a clown. He claims he can eat fire, but I've never seen him do it. And you've seen how he is with a deck of cards. Oh, and he's not above doing a striptease for cash once in a while."

That little tidbit must've been omitted from any files the Order had on Allen. From the dismayed look on Link's face to the way his head slowly pivoted on his neck to look at her, Lenalee guessed he had not known. "I…I see."

"Don't worry, he's not going to do it here. Not in this weather." Lenalee grinned at him. "Besides, he robs folks of their clothes in every poker game he plays. It's only fair he gets naked now and then."

"Miss Lee!" came the scandalized response.

She giggled. "What about you, Inspector? Do you know any good tricks of the 'proper' variety?"

Relieved to have changed topics, Link appeared to give it some thought, then, "I can stand a coin on its side."

"No you can't. That's impossible!"

He fixed her with a wry smile, eyebrow raised at her outburst.

"Show me then."

"Not here." Link shook his head. "It won't work on the ice, and I don't have any coins besides."

"Fine, but as soon as you have a shilling and a flat surface, you have to show me this."

"Consider it done."

Lenalee smiled and looked to where she'd last seen her comrades to find Allen's antics had actually drawn a small crowd together. Krory had even opened his suitcase and left it where bystanders could deposit some cash in appreciation. The vampire exorcist had even joined in on the fun himself, albeit with the more simpler entertainment of standing on his hands.

"And yourself, Miss Lee?" Link asked. "Any tricks you'd like to share?"

She nodded to Krory and Allen. "I can run on my hands."

"I knew that one actually. You and Exorcist Kanda had a race down the hall the other day, remember?"

Oh, right. What had started as teaching Timothy to do a handstand had quickly escalated into a competition, and then into something from her nightmares as Kanda had been knocked down by a stray mini-Komlin and, still on his hands, proceeded to chase it down the hall like a lizard. It took a few minutes of wondering what the hell had gotten into him and then one glance at Timothy's unconscious body to figure it out.

Recalling the inspector had asked her a question, Lenalee shrugged. "I can play piano."

"That I did not know."

"Marie taught me when I was little. Something to distract me from…my situation." The almost pleasant smile Link wore faded back into a grim countenance, but Lenaee pressed on. "I suppose you know Marie was an apprentice to a composer before he became an exorcist, and he taught Kanda, Daisya, and me to play. Daisya was the best player out of the three of us though. He even wrote a few pieces of his own if you can believe it."

He blinked in surprise. "I confess I did not know the Charity Bell Accommodator was so musically inclined."

I suppose you Crows only knew him as a troublemaker. Lenalee bit her lip and remembered her lesson on the train. No, I won't say that out loud.

"Do you miss him, Miss Lee?"

"I miss all of them." She missed Gwen's confidence and charisma. Her heart ached when she thought of Sol and Kazaana's wedding that never came. She wanted to frantically try and keep up with translating Tina's rapid hand signs again. She missed Suman, even if he had betrayed them. She wondered if Chakar would have ever made a larger house of cards than the veritable fort he'd made two years ago. She wished she could hear General Yeegar's wise words again.

She wanted to hear Daisya play 'Maiden With the Iron Shoes' or 'He Who Stares At Lotus Ponds.' The Order still had the recordings, wax cylinders to be played on a gramophone, and when he died, Komui had set aside his sheet music and passed it along to her and Kanda when they'd finally returned home. But it wasn't quite the same. None of his pieces had the earnestness they had when heard in person.

"I'm forgetting Daisya's face," Lenalee said, emotion in her voice. "Isn't that awful? We grew up and played and fought together, and I'm forgetting him just like that. We have no photos. He hated being photographed."

"Surely General Tiedoll has done sketches or portraits of him," Link pointed out. "From memory if not from life."

"Of course, but…" She dabbed at her eyes again.

"I see," Link bowed his head. "It isn't the same, is it?"

"Not really." A smile came to her face. "But then, I suppose all that really matters are the memories, right?"

And the Crow nodded. "I think that's a fair assessment, Miss Lee. As long as you remember—"

Before he could finish his sentence, Lenalee suddenly heard someone shouting from the shore. Alarmed, both of them whipped around to see Allen's panicked face as he sprinted to reach them.

"Run! There's an akuma beneath the ice!"

No sooner than he'd spoken, Lenalee felt a tremor beneath her feet and the world seemed to fall away beneath her. Her stomach lurched as she was propelled into the air amid massive chunks of ice and a spray of frozen water, and the gaping face of giant Level III lunged after her. Curses flew from her mouth as she retreated, landing on the parapet of the nearby bridge. Behind the akuma, she saw Link had been thrown in the opposite direction where he'd plunged a serrated blade into the ice to prevent himself from slipping into the water. The akuma, however, took no notice of him. It was she who held the Innocence. She was the target.

In the corner of her eye, Lenalee watched Krory launch himself skyward and Allen was navigating his way across the newly formed ice floes. The akuma giant lunged for her, its arm sweeping across the bridge and crumbling the parapet as she leapt away. Debris crashed onto the unbroken ice and scattered.

Of course it had to be one of the big ones! Lenalee scowled as her mind spun around for a plan to destroy the demon without leveling St. Petersburg in the process. If she and her comrades could keep it confined to the Neva and prevent it from stepping on shore, they had a chance, but it was also possible that in the effort to bring it down, its death throes would topple a city block or two. Its explosive destruction alone could prove bothersome.

She landed on the far side of the bridge and skidded on the ice as cracks began to form beneath her.

"If we don't finish this in a hurry," Krory said as he landed beside her. "We may not have anymore footholds to stand on."

"Where did Allen go?"

As if in reply, their comrade's Clown Belt lashed around the giant's neck and the boy in question swung himself upward, sword slashing at its face. The Level III deflected the blow with its armored hand at the last minute, and Allen sailed toward the opposite shore where their enemy pursued him.

"Dammit. Link!" Lenalee turned to her golem and hoped the inspector still had his fountain pen on him.

"Miss Lee, what is it?"

"Can you make a barrier with your Crow spellwork? Something to keep the akuma boxed into the river?" she asked. "We need to minimize damage and the loss of life."

"I agree." It was Allen who answered her through Timcanpy. "If that thing takes any more human lives, it will evolve to a Level IV no doubt."

"Confounded specimen," Krory growled. "Why didn't we bring the new brat with us? This would've been much easier with—"

"Look out!" Lenalee shouted at their opponent's hand drew back and struck at the two of them. The ice shattered and more water surged upward from the impact. Without waiting for a reply from Link, she threw herself skyward and hurtled toward the Level III. If she could gather enough speed and slam through its gigantic, leering face, she could end this! Strike the head and it would be over!

No! The thought came unbidden and she activated her Sound Shackle technique to veer off course. She landed on a nearby rooftop, her breath coming it sharp gasps. No, if they destroyed the akuma in this form, this entire area would become contaminated with poison gas, just as the Old Headquarter's Lab Five had been in that terrible final battle. This beautiful December day with is calm wind had just become their greatest hindrance.

The Level III lurched after her again, drawn to the Innocence she carried. Within moments, Clown Belt had again trapped its gangly limbs.

"What happened, Miss Lee?" Link's voice shouted through her golem. "Why did you cease your attack?"

"The gas! It's poison!"

"What do you mean?" That was Krory.

"She's right!" Allen answered. "During the attack on Headquarters, the corpses of the giant Level III's emitted a lot of poisonous gas after they were destroyed!"

"You're mentioning this now?"

What to do? Sink it into the river and destroy it? No, they would contaminate the water. What if she could kick up a strong enough wind to send it flying? Could her Dark Boots lift a large Level III, even in their crystalline form? Would the gas appear if Krory had the chance to drain it dry first? If Allen purified it with his blade?

Even as the younger boy kept the Level III restrained, she could tell its enormous size would not be hindered by Clown Belt for long. And maybe asking Link to restrain it was too tall an order after all. She'd never seen a Crow subdue a target larger than a person, and—

At that moment, Lenalee heard a loud, booming crash, like thunder, and she froze at the sight before her. Ice had thrust its way up from the river, forming like stalagmites around the Level III's massive frame the way tree roots reclaimed an abandoned monument. As it grew and warped and shifted, the akuma's struggles grew weaker until it was completely trapped. An enraged roar resounded across the ice as it thrashed and thrashed. "Exorcists!" it called in its haunting wail. "What is this? What have you done?"

What had they done? Lenalee looked up and down the river until she saw several spell strips scattered about the base of the Level III's prison. Crow Sorcery? Yes, there was Link at the water's edge, fingers twisted in one of many gestures familiar to her and brow furrowed in concentration. So he can use Ice Wings. A short laugh escaped her and she turned to her golem. "That's a pretty neat trick, Inspector."

"Won't hold long," he answered. "You had better think of something quick, miss."

"I've an idea!" Krory shouted. "I'll drain the akuma of its blood oil whilst the inspector has it trapped, and after I've weakened it, Allen will finish it off with his blade. If the gas appears, use your Waltz Misty Wind to send it into the sky and disperse it amongst the atmosphere!" With his plan in place, the vampire exorcist did not hesitate and threw himself at the demon like a mosquito.

Then Allen was flying across the river, propelled by Clown Belt. Lenalee waited and watched nervously as cracks began to form in the brittle ice, both around the akuma and across the river.

"Be careful, Link."

"I see it."

Then Allen brought his sword down across the Level III's face and, just as Lenalee predicted, the poison gas began to leak up from the giant. With one fierce kick of her Dark Boots, she sent it up and up and up just in the nick of time. As the akuma screeched and convulsed in what they all took to be death throes, the ice around it shattered and it toppled into the river with a loud, metallic groan. Allen and Krory leapt clear of the destruction, and Lenalee saw Link retreating further upriver.

But at the last moment, quicker than Lenalee or any of them could give warning, one of the demon's hands crashed onto the still intact part of the ice and Link, taken off guard, lost his footing. For a half second, he scrambled to regain his balance, but the akuma's impact with the water had compromised every flat surface within reach. He felt to his knees and gripped the edge of the ice, and just when Lenalee thought he would right himself and make for the shore, something swelled from the riverbottom, likely the purified akuma detonating, and everything from ice to inspector was hurled into the air, only to fall with a crash into the Neva.

-0-0-0-

Author's Note: I think it's about time I had a 'to be continued' 2-shot.

D. Gray Man is owned by Katsura Hoshino.