"I really want to get one on my shoulder." Audrey said, gesturing to his arm. "Or my bicep. That seems like a pretty good place to get a beginner's tattoo, right?"

"Sounds right to me. What are you gonna get?" asked Daniel.

"Well, Part of me wants something with asian motifs, but I don't want people to be like: 'yeah, of course you got a dragon, you're asian.' Also, I just like basic 'military' tattoos, too. If it's gonna be on me permanently, I really need to think about it, but I don't have any good ideas?"

"You should get a skull on your ass."

"Fuck no. I'm not stupid like you." the reaper huffed.

"Have you tried stealing a design off of Instagram?" inquired Kristopherson, causing his friend to shake his head.

"I've had my stuff stolen off of Instagram before, so I'm not gonna do something like that. I saw a guy using my photography in one of his portfolios. He was getting work from it and everything!"

"What did you do?"

"Sue him for copyright and slander him on social media. People don't want to hire a photographer who lies about taking pictures they actually didn't. Just shows he's a hack." Audrey stated surely. "Also, I don't want to get a tattoo from Instagram because I'm not a fuck boy or basic white girl."

His friends only snickered at him. "What's so funny? Are you suggesting that I'm a fuck boy? Or that I act like a basic white girl? I mean, they're right about that Starbucks shit sometimes, but I don't really get the tattoo aesthetic."

"You go to Starbucks?" inquired the wolfman with an arch of his brow. "I thought you were too manly for stuff like that?"

"I like sugar and I like caffeine. Having a dick doesn't negate that, Kris."

"Have you tried that unicorn thing people were going on about? I heard it's disgusting."

"Oh, it most definitely is. I was pissed off, too, because those things are expensive. That thing costs way too much to taste that bad."

"Gentlemen, if I may interject..." Ciel began in a somewhat passive-aggressive tone before casually gesturing toward the field. "But we are in the middle of a game, and I still need intel on the other team."

"Oh, right. I don't know anything about Gehenna residents." informed Bones. "I only really spy on people outside the wall."

"I know a few people here." Daniel piped up while raising his hand like he was in class. He fully expected Audrey to know, so he didn't say anything. Now, however, it was his time to shine, as for once in a long while, he was the only one with any kind of useful expertise in the group. "I don't know everything or how to really utilise it, but I know some stuff."

"Let's hear it, then." the Phantomhive replied. "We need to be quick."

"Well, You know Tegwen the police chief, right? Sings songs? Total goodie-two-shoes? See how she keeps looking off into the stands? She's looking at her girlfriend, who works in Kristopherson's shop. Apparently, they're super head over heels for each other. She'll probably be the hardest one for Alois to convince to cheat. Speaking of lesbians, Amber is a huge one. She's also stupid fast. Apparently, she used to run track in school. That combined with her werewolfiness, it's gonna make getting ahold of her tricky." He pointed at each person he spoke of as he did, holding the demon's complete attention.

"The pink guy is Elvis, I think he's related to Logan somehow, actually? I helped him get situated so he could open up the hair salon that he owns. He's very invested in his hair, which is why he keeps messing with his hat." he continued. "You know Logan, he's a furry."

"He's not a furry." interrupted Kristopherson, only for the team captain to shush him.

"Baldassare is angry, short, and swears a lot. Alois wants your dick—or ass. Not gonna judge."

"Daniel." Ciel began to scold.

"Right, sorry." Daniel apologised unconvincingly before carrying on. "Lastly, that guy over there is…" He paused to squint. "Wait, I have no idea who the hell that is."

"The back of his jersey says 'Tatum'." Audrey pointed out, causing Daniel to squint. As he looked at the vaguely human-like appearance of a rather mundane-looking man wearing glasses, the Westley came to a very important conclusion.

"Nope. Never heard of him." he said.

"Helpful. Some of that was, anyway." the bluenette stated before his attention was taken away from Daniel.

"Batter up!" shouted Mister Knaggs, followed by several of the Lions shouting at the Phantoms to hurry up.

First to bat was Seras, who was instructed by the umpire to hold back and not use her ridiculous strength. Still, when Tegwen wound the pitch and released the ball, Seras sent it flying. It went all the way out of bounds, she hit it so far.

"Homerun!" the umpire declared before registering Seras' confusion.

"Er… Do I actually run? No one is on the bases, so isn't it a waste of time?" she asked. Thinking about it, Mister Knaggs shrugged.

"Alright. Just go back to the dugout." he said before signaling to the person keeping score to give a point to the Phantoms. The same followed when Elizabeth took a swing after her. It was only the beginning and they already got two points right out of the gate. Didn't Alois have anything planned?

It didn't seem that way. They were just being allowed to play without hindrance. There appeared to be no cheating whatsoever, nor did it seem like the Lions were trying particularly hard. By the time it was Kristopherson's turn, Daniel and Audrey were both on bases and the Phantoms were suspicious. Something was amiss and they were probably going to find out far too late.

Stepping up to the plate, Kristopherson stretched, flexing his muscles. He was partially showing off for Logan in accordance to the plan, although he wasn't sure how it was supposed to help at this point. The incubus was only the catcher, so how this would help them win was beyond him. Either way, he hit the ball and started running.

With his speed, this should have been a piece of cake. Yet, as he looked ahead and saw the menace smirk, he was suddenly struck with a jolt of fear. Then, he was struck with the ground as he tripped and planted his face in the dirt. Next thing he knew, Alois had gently tapped him on the head with the ball.

"You're out!" the umpire shouted, prompting Kristopherson to raise his head.

"What the fuck was that?" the wolfman questioned, looking behind him. Sitting up, he inspected the ground, only to find nothing out of the ordinary. It was torn up in a place as if something had been uprooted, but nothing stood out.

"What was what?" questioned the menace, halting his walk back to his post out of hesitation.

"It felt like something tripped me..." Kristopherson said while inspecting his foot. "There's nothing there, though."

"Don't blame the ground for tripping over your own two feet, Kris." the Phantomhive said with a scoff. "Get your ass off the field, it's blocking traffic."

"Fucker..." muttered Mister Miles while dusting off his mitts. Returning to his team, he offered a shrug as an explanation for his failure and took a seat. Letting out a sigh, he slouched and rested his chin in his palms.

"Chin up, Kristopherson. We'll get there." spoke Elizabeth in a soothing fashion.

"It would have been better if I didn't flex before I ran." the man replied. "It was probably good for my swing, but it really made me look like an idiot when I messed up. Ah… I'm a jerk..."

"Well, I don't know about that… The catcher seems entertained, though." said Dame Hellsing, prompting the other to look up.

From across the way, he could see Logan not paying attention to the game, but rather, paying attention to the Phantoms' dugout. He was practically beaming at Kristopherson, but he didn't appear to be mocking him in any way. Instead, it seemed as though he was comforting him. At the same time, however, he also appeared relieved.

"He's just glad that I messed up too, I guess." Kristopherson said before waving at his boyfriend. While the leader of the Phantoms stepped up to the bat, Logan waved back at him. "I guess there's a silver lining, then."

Meanwhile, another man was not doing so well at looking at the positives. Instead, he was glaring daggers at the mischievous blonde on first base. He could tell that Alois was up to something, but he wasn't sure what. Somehow, he knew that Alois had done something to make Kristopherson fall. It was obvious. All he had to do was figure out exactly what the menace had done and figure out how to avoid or counter it. All of that needed to be done within the next few seconds, or else he was going to fall for the same trap, if his spouse were so inclined to trip him too. Knowing Alois, he most certainly was.

That wasn't all he had to do, however. He had to make a decision as to whether he wanted to get a home run, or if he wanted the chance to confront his spouse for a few moments. There were benefits to both, naturally. If he knocked the ball right out of the park, he would also allow his teammates to score points in addition to his own. If he confronted Alois, however, he might gain some insight into what the other man has up his sleeve. It was entirely possible that he could prevent more outs that way and keep the game going long enough to accumulate even more points.

As the ball came flying at him, he made his choice. He hit it far out there, but it was no home run. Ciel then took off running toward his spouse, but there would be no heartfelt reunion. Suddenly, he sensed something. The diabolical signature tingled with the sensation of his husband using his power. But how? There were only a few seconds before he reached first base. It was being projected outwards, somehow, but from where? From the sides? From above? No. From below.

Ciel jumped as the root broke to the surface of the earth, dodging it and hurling himself at his spouse. He landed just before the menace caught the ball thrown at him by his teammate and smirked as Alois stared at him with wide eyes. He hadn't expected Ciel to notice- he certainly hadn't expected him to actually make it to first base! Then, just as suddenly as the menace's expression changed, it changed again, morphing into his signature smirk.

"Why, hello there, handsome~" he greeted in a sing-song voice. "Fancy meeting you here. Surprising you didn't get a home run. Did you do it for little ol' me?"

"Partially." Ciel confessed. "I wanted to see how you tripped Kristopherson. Plants, right? You made a root spring up just then, didn't you?"

Alois pouted and put his hands on his hips. "I admit nothing."

"What's with that look? Did you want me to come just to see you?" Now, it was the Watchdog's turn to tease. The corner of his mouth turned up ever-so slightly in a half-smile. "Sounds like that little jest of yours was a little bit of projection, yes?"

With a scoff, his husband replied: "Think you got this all figured out, do ya?"

"I know I do. I know you. That's why I thought it kind of odd that you didn't put yourself in the outfield. It's careless, for you." Ciel said, looking the other demon directly in the eyes as he did. As he continued, he inched closer, still. "That's when I wondered: 'Maybe he wanted to mess with me, himself?' Now, that made more sense."

When the blonde's smirk faltered, his beau knew the truth. Although Alois' smirk did return, it seemed to lack the same gusto that it possessed before. "How very humble of you."

"Deny it all you like, my darling." the Watchdog chuckled. "It's obvious that you're obsessed with me."

Alois opened his mouth to protest, but the sound of a baseball hitting a metal bat rang out and in a flash, Ciel was gone. All the menace could do was watch after him and gawk. By the time he realised what him fleeing meant, it was much too late for him to perform the stunt he had been pulling before and Ciel's replacement failed to be tripped.

Suddenly, he felt what his husband had been feeling thus far and became more determined to win! How dare that horrible man read him so easily?! He had been played, he had been manipulated, but most importantly of all, he had been exposed. A rather serious expression came over him as he turned his attention back to the game with a frown. Similarly, Ciel had felt what the menace had been feeling up until this point. Now he understood why Alois was going through all of this trouble. It was fun.

He turned his focus back to the game with a chuckle. Now he was actually starting to have a little fun. Now that he has confirmed his husband's weakness, he will be better equipped to defeat him. Admittedly, this was a little bit cruel, but it was no less cruel than when the menace himself did it! All he needed now was to get back to the dugout and inform the others that Alois was using his plant abilities to cheat.

All it took was one homerun from Seras to give the group a total of four points, having allowed the those on the bases to return along with her. For whatever reason, Alois had allowed her to progress instead of stalling. It would appear that the menace had something else planned.

"He's cheating." Ciel told his team. "Definitely cheating. He tripped Kristopherson."

"I knew it!" the wolfman declared.

"Are we gonna cheat back?" Inquired Audrey. "And don't say it involves you flirting with Alois."

"Fine. I won't say it." the bluenette replied. "All we need to do is keep at it and dodge his roots. We need to make sure we load the bases and then have Lizzie, Seras, or myself come in with a heavy hit. Then we start over again."

"That's it?"

"Do you have any better ideas?"

"Yeah. As a matter of fact, I do." Bones replied, gesticulating as he spoke. "The other team is here because of donations, right? They have a vested interest in this game making a lot of money. All you have to do is make an announcement that if you win, you'll make a large donation to the city."

"Yeah! Then we wouldn't have to cheat at all! They'd just throw the game!" Daniel chimed in enthusiastically, but the Watchdog only shook his head.

"That's a no-go." the bluenette answered. "There's nothing to stop Jim from saying he'll double it. At that point, it would turn into a contest of which person can throw the most money at the other."

"That and you don't wanna end up sleeping on the couch." stated Kristopherson, shaking his head when the demon folded his arms in response. With a sigh, he added: "Alois would be massively pissed off if Ciel did things that way."

"What makes you say that?" questioned Audrey.

"Alois isn't a nobleman at heart." Elizabeth began to explain, having grown tired of sitting on the sidelines while the other speak. "Noble, yes, but not a noble. There's a difference. He hates the way the wealthy throw around their money to get their way. If we won that way, the game wouldn't mean anything. It wouldn't be a competition to see who has the better team, but like Ciel said: 'a contest to see which person can throw more money at the other.' It's worthless to him."

"So? We would still win. It's not supposed to be fun. You're supposed to win."

"Not to the audience who paid to see this match, it isn't." Ciel stated firmly. "Jim also cares about that. To them it is not just a mere match, but something new and exciting. Jim also said that he built this city, therefore he must 'rep' it. The audience's best interest is also his own."

There was a moment of silence while the others considered his words, only for it to end up broken by Daniel as he inquired: "Sorry, did you just say 'rep'?"

"Somebody just take the bloody base already!" ordered the Watchdog in a rather authoritative tone. Despite his severity, the others could only giggle at him.

"I have a serious question, first." spoke up another member of the team while raising his hand. "It's been bothering me for a while."

"What is it, now?"

"Why the fuck am I even here?" questioned Revy in a rather nasty tone. The lad appeared to be rather disgruntled. He was miffed that he had to show up to watch the game, but then after arriving it was suddenly decided that he would also be playing.

"Because your brother is a traitorous swine who bails without telling anybody." Audrey replied.

"Because you never go outside, according to Sam." added Daniel.

"Because asking Sebastian would be blatantly cheating." concluded Ciel.

"You all suck! Every single one of you!" Revy declared with a furrowed brow. "You suck!"

"What the others choose to do in their personal time is none of your business, Revy." said Bones before gesturing to the field. "Now go play!"

"You guys are fucking gross!" the lad protested before getting up. "Why are both of the team made of raging homos? Jesus Christ..."

As he made his way out to the field and picked up the bat, the team noticed something different about the other team. While they were distracted with their own nonsense, Alois had made some alterations to his team. All the same members were there, but their arrangement was slightly off. Now Tegwen was no longer the pitcher and was now stationed on third base. Meanwhile, the man none of the group recognised took her place. Pushing up his glasses, the man planted his feet a little more firmly on the ground and prepared to throw the ball. When he did, it moved far too fast for Revy.

"Strike one!" shouted the umpire.

"Who is that guy?" asked Kristopherson as he watched from the dugout alongside the others.

"I already told you, I don't know!" Daniel answered. "Some guy named 'Tatum,' that's all we were able to figure out!"

"Strike two!" the umpire declared when Revy missed the second pitch as well. Furrowing his brow, Revy was getting irritated- more than he was before, at least. The next time the pitcher threw the ball, he swung hard and aggressively. He would have been able to send the ball flying, had he hit it. In his haste, however, he swung far too soon.

"Strike three! You're out!"

In a fit, the revenant threw the bat on the ground before sulking toward the dugout. The others prepared themselves for what was to come. As if on cue, the lad stomped up to them and took a seat before saying: "This game is stupid."

"It's just a game, Revy." Elizabeth said. "It's not the end of the world."

"That we know of." Ciel butted in.

"Ciel, shut up." Rubbing her forehead, the woman sighed. "When I agreed to participate, I had no idea that things were going to turn out like this. Is it at all possible for you to play an honest, simple game of something?" Looking up at her cousin, she saw his hesitation and frowned. "Don't answer that."

"Was Ciel always like this?" Kristopherson questioned. "Was he always evil and competitive, or?"

"No. He was such a sweet thing when we were younger." Dame Hellsing lamented. "He took turns, said 'please' and 'thank you,' and never cheated. Although, to be fair, there were times when I swore he let me win at chess. Now he's cheating at baseball and being morbid. How awful!"

"I'm not morbid..." the bluenette protested.

"Yeah, you're pretty morbid." replied Audrey.

"Really morbid." nodded Kristopherson.

"A liar, too." accused Revy.

Looking back to the field, Ciel questioned just how much he actually wanted to win this. He wasn't trying very hard. In fact, of all of the strategies he had come up with, only a few had been put into effect. The others joked about his ruthlessness, but he wondered just how much of it he was willing to use on a baseball game.

"I'm tired..." he said aloud. "Just do whatever you want. If we win, we win. If we lose, then, well… That's a thing, isn't it?"

With wide eyes, the others looked at him, then at each other, and then back to him again. They waited for him to turn it around. They waited for him to shift into a rousing speech about not giving up or some such, but the man just stood there, staring out at the field as Daniel swung out.

"Ah. Two outs already..." the bluenette observed. "One more and we're closer to going home."

"Ciel, are you for real?" Audrey questioned, concern apparent in his voice. He then turned to the others. "Is he serious?"

"Come on, Ciel, you were never good at pranks." Kristopherson chimed in. "Cut the act already."

"What act?" the Watchdog questioned, finally looking over his shoulder. "I didn't really want to play in the first place. I only agreed because Jim said he was going to play and needed people on his team. It's not like I'm on a mission or anything. Nobody's life is at stake."

"We did not just hear that." Audrey insisted.

"Ciel, please don't feel down." Elizabeth interjected, standing up to put a hand on his shoulder. "We were only teasing."

"I know. I've just… sort of stopped to think about it." the bluenette explained with an arched eyebrow. "I'm a grown adult cheating at a charity baseball game that I didn't really want to play at in the first place. So I don't think I'll bother with it. Of course, I'll play until the game is over, since I agreed to, but beyond that, I don't think I'll worry about cheating. I'll level the playing field as much as I can, but I'm not really having fun as is. To be entirely honest, it's sort of a weight off my shoulders."

"Stop being a mature adult!" the reaper ordered, standing up and putting a hand on his shoulder as well. "We need your evilness! We're going to lose without it!"

"Think about us!" Kristopherson stated, doing the same as the others. "We want to win! Without you caring, we don't have a chance in hell against blondie!"

"Ciel! You musn't give up!" Elizabeth agreed. "What about your pride? What about your dignity?"

"Let go of me..." complained the Phantomhive. Raising a hand, he tried to brush them off, but they were firmly planted. With a huff, he inquired: "What's the matter with admitting I don't care? Isn't it better than forcing myself to be petty about a game that doesn't matter?"

"We need your pettiness! Be petty! Be the pettiest!" Bones barked at the Watchdog.

"Ciel, please! We love your brand of evil!" Kristopherson called out.

"Stop it! I have to go bat!" Ciel ordered back before wrestling himself free. Even as he stepped out, they yelled after him, calling him a traitor and telling him that he needs to believe in himself. Needless to say, the bluenette paid them no mind. He had other things to pay attention to.

A strange feeling came over him that was somewhat serene. Sure, he might not win the game, but where was the consequence? Certainly, if lives or an investigation were at stake, he would give it everything he had and then some. Moreover, even if that weren't the case, if he were given more time to prepare, he might have had more fun trying to outwit the other. Unfortunately, when put on the spot, it became somewhat of a chore. Part of him really did want to humour the menace, but for the most part, he wanted to go home.

"Strike one!" shouted the umpire. Ciel hadn't been paying attention. Tightening his grip on the bat, he redirected his focus and when the next pitch came, he hit it. Yet, once more he neglected to achieve a home run. For once, the menace seemed unenthused to see him. With a roll of his eyes, he huffed and folded his arms when the bluenette successfully made it to first base.

"Hello, again." the bluenette greeted, only to receive a small grunt in acknowledgment. "I have a bit of a proposition for you, if you'll be willing to hear me out."

"Shoot." replied the other man, although he didn't seem too interested.

"Can we stop trying to cheat?" Ciel questioned, snapping Alois out of whatever little snit his was in. "I'm… honestly not really feeling up to being evil and conniving at the moment."

"Wait, what?" the menace asked with wide eyes. "You don't want to cheat?"

"Yes." his beau replied while rubbing the back of his neck. "In theory, it sounds fun, but in practise? I'm having sort of a rough time. It feels like I'm forcing it, which is not how the best evil plans are formed."

"You're serious?" questioned Alois with obvious amounts of skepticism. "Like, serious serious?"

"Seriously, it's no trick. I'm not going to lull you into a false sense of security and then strike, I just…" Ciel cut himself off to sigh. "I don't know. I just don't feel up to it. I want to scheme with you, but it's just not working."

"Hmm…" pondered the menace for a moment while analysing his husband's features. He thought of every single indication that Ciel could be lying and looked for each one, only to turn up with nothing. "I see… Well, in a way, it's kind of a relief. My next strategy was too mean and kind of made be feel shitty? It's a shitty thing to do."

"What was it?"

"Well, I know all of your buttons and how to push them. One thing that motivates you more than anything, even sex, is worry. If I convinced you I was upset with you, you'd practically forfeit." explained the blonde. "But… emotionally manipulating you isn't fun at all. Huh… I think I actually learned something."

"What's that? That you have standards of decency?" the Watchdog jested.

"In a way, yeah. I like being evil, too..."

"Obviously..."

"…But as much as I like teasing you to get a rise out of you, it just isn't fun? I really wanted to flex my muscles and do bad things, but that would really upset you! That's too far..."

Ciel interrupted his train of thought by laughing- genuinely, laughing. He covered his grin with his hand as he tried to recover, but it was just too entertaining. It was such an unusual complaint, yet, at the same time, the bluenette understood.

"Don't laugh at me! I thought we were being real for a second?"

"I know. I'm sorry. It's just that I somehow get it." the Watchdog stated, prompting the other to roll his eyes.

"So, are we just gonna play a normal, friendly game, then? Y'know, like a couple of loser normal people?" Alois questioned, placing his hands on his hips.

"If his highness agrees."

"I do. As much fun as it would have been, I don't mind. Especially since you've been kind of bummed out, lately."

"You're the best." Grinned the bluenette. "I'd kiss you, but we don't have enough players to risk a penalty."

"That's the most painful thing about all of this." Blinking, Alois turned his attention back to home base.

"Strike three! You're out!" the umpire bellowed.

"Time to switch." informed the blonde before pecking his husband on the cheek. "We're between plays, so it's fine."

"If you say so." Ciel replied before returning the favour. "Best of luck to you."

"Likewise~!" chimed the menace while his beau turned to leave. With that, they parted ways and Ciel turned to his team. Unfortunately for him, they were not at all thrilled.

"What the fuck was that?" demanded Revy. He, along with the other Phantoms glared at their team captain, judging him with scornful eyes. "You spent the entire time flirting? Seriously? In the middle of a game?"

"Revy, language." chastised Elizabeth before turning to her cousin. Surely, the others thought, she was going to offer Ciel some reassuring words. Alas, this was not the case at all. "In all seriousness, however, what on earth were you doing?"

"Getting Jim to agree to stop cheating?" Ciel answered. "Also: we need to stop cheating, too."

"Who even are you?!" gawked Audrey. "You're usually all about cheating and being nefarious?! What's gotten into you? Why are you blowing the game?"

"That's not all he's blowing..." snidely remarked Daniel before receiving an elbow to the ribs by a certain angel. The demon, however, remained unfased.

"I've just got off a tough mission and finished nursing my husband back to health. I'm tired of it for now." the bluenette replied. "Moderation is a healthy thing, you know. I can't be scheming all of the time. I'd go mad! That said, if you want to concoct a scheme or two, be my guest. I'd like to see you try."

"Fine! Then we will! There's plenty of innings left, right?" Bones replied while looking to his comrades.

"Actually, playing a normal game sounds nice." Kristopherson said, adding his own opinion. "It's not everyday that we all get to do normal stuff together."

Thinking about this, Daniel responded. "I'd like to change my opinion. I'm with Ciel and Kris."

"You, too?!"

"A regular game of baseball sounds lovely." Seras chimed in. "That's what we were all expecting in the first place, right?"

"Agreed." added Elizabeth. "I think this is the best course of action."

Now, everyone stared at Audrey expectantly, waiting for him to recant his previous statements. Yet, the man, like most like him, could be stubborn at times and his competitiveness was doing him no favours. "I just want to win." he said. "As long as we win, I don't care."

"What is with straight men and sports?" asked Kristopherson with a puzzled look on his face. "I don't get it."

"You watch your mouth, Kris." Daniel chimed in. "I quite like football."

"Are you sure you're gay?" inquired the wolfman while placing a hand on his friend's shoulder as mock sympathy.

"What about you? You go to the gym!"

"Daniel, Daniel, Daniel, you sweet, summer child… The gym is one of the gayest places you can go..."

To this, the bluenette finally butted in. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but we do have a game to play, if you do recall..."


A/N: This got long... It's naptime. I'm up early because I had a doctor's appointment and I want to sleep so badly...

I don't even know with this chapter. I just kinda threw a bunch of stuff in. I hope it worked?

Probably do the same for the next chapter...

Until the next chapter, my duckies~!