Dance in Time

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my own thoughts.

Time for the final 1/3rd of this story. Which means... A Rating Game!

Part Three

Chapter 17

It was a beautiful day in Hell as a Rating Game was about to begin.

Chloe sweat-dropped as she looked at the screen as she and the rest of Ranma's peerage, including Nabiki and a young woman that Chloe only just met, Hayate Yagami, were all moving around in a large locker room. "So... Master..." She looked at him. "Are all Rating Games this... Um... Exuberant?"

"It's basically professional sports." Ranma told her and her eyes widened and she nodded. "Your sister and parents are watching, right?"

"They said they would." Chloe said as she remembered the device that she gave them to let them tune into the Rating Game. "But... Baseball? It seems kind of normal."

Ranma gave her a confused look. "Didn't anyone tell you?" She blinked in confusion. "It's Anything Goes Martial Arts Baseball."

"Huh?" Chloe stared at him in bewilderment and Ranma smirked at her.

"Why do you think when we were in Nerima all last week practicing against those midgets?"

"I thought that was just because you wanted to do something different for training!" Chloe yelled with her eyes going blank and white. Hearing the others laugh, she shook her head and used her magic to make her hair, which was in pigtails, roll into a hair bun on the back of her head and she put two kanzashi hair sticks in to keep it in place.

"I'm horrible at sports." Hayate pouted as she looked at Ranma. "Why did you need me?"

"Because Atsuko and Yohko aren't part of my peerage anymore after they became high ranking Devils, oh and Yohko's pregnant and due any day now and can't participate." Ranma told her. "Besides, didn't you bring Yuuno with to talk with some Sacred Gear users?"

"Well, yeah," Hayate nodded to his question. "Speaking of which, after the game is done, I need to talk to you." Ranma gave her a curious look, but nodded. "And Signum, Vita-chan, Shamal and Zafira all refused to let me come here alone." She sighed and shook her head. "Big brother, it's not fair! Why don't they trust me?"

"More like, why don't they trust Master?" Lilith asked as she narrowed her eyes. "I should tickle them."

"Please don't." Ranma spoke up. "You won't stop until they piss themselves." He looked at the rest of his peerage and smirked. "Just do your best. Don't worry about being perfect, the rules aren't quite the same as normal baseball."

The others nodded as it got close to time to go out.

(-)

In another room...

"Hey, Saji." Issei waved as he walked into the locker room and looked around. "You were put in another room?"

"Well," Saji smiled at Issei, "Sona wanted me to focus on the match and not ogle her or the other girls until the match was over."

"Okay, good, that will make things easier then." Issei said and walked up close to Saji and leaned in to speak in low tones. "Listen, you know I got that match against Serafall Leviathan in a couple of months." Saji nodded, "and I'm not completely confident that I can beat her. So I was thinking that I need something to give me a leg up, just in case."

"Partner, you are the Red Dragon Emperor." D'draig spoke up from Issei's left wrist. "What more do you need?"

"Look, I get that I beat lots of people, but Serafall's got a lot more experience than I do in battle." Issei protested. "And this is just a "break glass in case of emergency" kind of thing. I don't know enough about her other than she fought against both Angels and Fallen Angels and then helped stop those loyal to the Great Devil Kings before becoming a Devil King herself. It just happened a long time ago, I'd like to have an ace in the hole. After all, wasn't she alive when you and Albion got sealed away?"

"...You have a point, partner, but please remember that it took many Angels, Fallen Angels and Devils to defeat the two of us."

"Yeah," Issei nodded and look at Saji, who had an amused smirk on his face, "so, if you could just get a picture of Sona, like, her in a bikini or something. If things go South, I could just whip it out and distract Serafall long enough to win."

"That's dirty." Both Saji and D'draig said at the same time.

Issei had a flat expression on his face when they said that. "You two DO realize that in most of my fights that I've had something happen that gave one side or the other an unfair advantage, right?"

"Yeah, but..." Saji trailed off as he realized that he couldn't argue against that.

"Partner, you have almost fully mastered your Balance Break," D'draig told him, "you have more of an advantage than you know. Why do you need a picture?"

Issei twitched at the question. While valid, it still annoyed him that D'draig would ask that. "Isn't Grayfia just as strong as Serafall? Have we been able to even hurt her in our matches, D'draig?"

"...Okay, you have a point, partner." The gem on his wrist conceded. "However, you shouldn't need to rely on cheap tricks to win."

"It's not cheap if it works." Issei protested. "Besides, need I remind you two about the amount of women over the years in the Rating Games that have used sexual attacks on me?"

"And when they stopped working, someone thought you no longer liked girls and had a male try to seduce you." D'draig said with amusement in his voice. "And then you introduced him to Mil-tan."

Issei groaned and shook his head. "Well, it was either that or kicking the guy in the nuts thirty times."

Which would get him a whole new reputation and he really didn't need that.

"Well, according to the rumors I've heard, that guy was crying whenever he thought about Mil-tan." Saji said with amusement in his voice. "I'll see what I can do, but I don't know when I'll get the time to take a picture of Sona."

"I can help." A young, female voice spoke up and both Issei and Saji stiffened and looked at the door where a young girl with long, dark-red hair done up in twin braided pigtails. Her eyes were a dark purple and she was wearing a fashionable dress and short-sleeved shirt.

"Rachel?" Saji asked in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"Hmm, aunt Sona wanted to get you, so I did." Rachel smiled at him. "I can get a picture for you."

"Dude, she's only three, right?" Issei whispered to Saji and he nodded.

"Yeah, Sona thinks it's because of her dad, apparently all his kids are more mentally mature than their age would suggest." Saji whispered back. "So, um, Rachel, what do you mean?"

The redheaded girl smiled at Saji. "I see aunt Sona all the time, I can get a nice picture. But no peeking!"

"I'm a little concerned, but I'll take it." Issei smiled at Rachel. "What do you want out of it?"

Rachel tapped her chin. "I'll tell you later, bye bye!" She ran off with her arms spread to the side.

"Why do I feel like this is going to blow up in my face?" Issei asked.

"Don't blame me," D'draig told him, "when this blows up, I get to say that I told you so."

"Deal." Issei said with a nod and patted Saji on the back. "Have fun out there."

"Thanks." Saji grinned at Issei. "But it's just baseball, how crazy can it be?"

(-)

After getting introduced to the crowds, Saji found himself up first to bat and he raised an eyebrow as he saw Chloe on the pitcher's mound. 'I guess she is a bit short.' He looked at Hayate playing short stop and Mittelt playing third base, Arisa, Lilith and Ranma were in the outfield, Nabiki was playing catcher, Bulleta was on second and Ravel was on first and mentally shrugged. "Oh well, let's go."

"Just a reminder to everyone," the umpire said as he looked at everyone. "No using your wings or any magic for flight, no creating barriers to step on to catch fly balls and no barriers to stop the ball from flying out."

"Right." Saji nodded, knowing that would be too easy. He stepped up to the plate and swung the bat a couple of times before settling into the batter's box. "Alright, little girl, let's see... HUH?!" He gawked as he saw a large, black bow in Chloe's hands as she pulled back on the draw string with the baseball on the end of an energy arrow. "What the?!"

"SHOOT!" Chloe yelled as she let go of the draw string, the ball launching itself so fast that it kicked up a cloud of dust and debris while making her hair dance everywhere.

Saji could only stare stupidly, as could most people.

"STRIKE ONE!" The umpire called out.

"Wait! She's using a weapon!" Saji protested as Nabiki, who was knocked on her ass, got up, shook her hand and threw the ball back at Chloe, who caught it.

"According to the rules of Anything Goes Martial Arts Baseball," the umpire said and pulled out a small book, "weapons can be used so long as the only thing they attack is the ball. Likewise, special moves and powers can be used, but they must involve the baseball. Attacks that induce blindness such as flashbangs or mist or smoke are not allowed."

"...Is the batter allowed to use weapons and powers?" Saji asked the umpire.

"You must hit the ball with the bat, but any methods are allowed so long as you do not hit anyone with your powers or weapons." The umpire said and put the book away. "Let's continue!"

"Why didn't anyone warn me?" Saji asked.

In the dugout, Sona frowned slightly. "Indeed, why didn't anyone warn us?"

"Um..." Tsubaki blinked a few times. "...Remember when you got a letter about the Rating Game but you were too tired to look at it?"

"Yes, I had all of us over for a meal that day." Sona looked at Tsubaki. "Why do you bring that up?"

"...Didn't Rachel run off with it?"

Sona groaned and facepalmed. "That girl has entirely too much energy for her own good." At least it made sense why they hadn't seen that particular part of the rules, since they did get to see most of the details of the rating game without having to ask for a replacement.

Back at the plate, Saji narrowed his eyes as he looked at Chloe, who was pulling back to do another pitch. "Must hit the ball with the bat, huh?" Saji thought about it for a second and nodded. "Alright then, Vritra!" A gauntlet appeared on his left arm and strings lashed out at the ball the was fired, slowing it down enough that he was able to dismiss his Sacred Gear and smash the ball out of the infield and deep into the outfield.

Ranma shook his head as he smirked. "Seems Saji caught on quickly, oh well..." He bent his knees and launched himself into the air, catching the ball and causing Saji to slow down. "Hey! Saji! Just so you know, you're only out if you get tagged with the ball!"

"Huh?" Saji gawked before the ball was engulfed in energy and launched at high speeds at him. "Well, if I'm not out, then!" He ran as fast as he could to the base, only for the ball to turn in midair and smack his ass scant millimeters before he got to the plate.

"OUT!" The first base umpire yelled.

"Oww! Oww! Oww!" Saji rubbed his right ass cheek as he hobbled back to the dugout. "Sorry."

"It's okay." Sona said with her eyes closed. "However, it truly seems that Anything Goes means that anything goes so long as it's within the rules." Her glasses seemed to gleam as she opened her eyes and adjusted them. "Tsubasa, you're up next, feel free to go all out."

Sona's rook, a tall girl with blue, shoulder-length hair and blue eyes grinned as she walked up to the plate. Gripping her bat, she had a grin on her face as she took a stance.

"SHOOT!" Chloe yelled out as she launched another high speed ball at the plate.

"TOO SLOW!" Tsubasa yelled as her bat was suddenly engulfed in ice and she swung forward, hitting the ball and encasing it in ice that flew over Chloe's head before shattering and launching the ball right into the ground near Bulleta, who had jumped to grab the ball, but missed, allowing Tsubasa to get to first base.

"And the first person to get on base is Tsubasa Yura." The announcer said into the microphone.

"And there goes my no hitter." Chloe said with a pout before looking up as a short girl with striped green stockings, long brown hair done up in twin ponytails and green eyes stepped up to the plate. "Well, I won't let this slow me down!" She grabbed the ball as it was tossed back to her. "I guess I'll do some trick shots now." She pulled back on the drawstring of her bow.

After all, if her opponents had adjusted to the fastball already, it was time to change things up.

(-)

In another part of the world...

Serafall Leviathan sighed as she watched the game on television. "I wish that I could be there to cheer So-tan and Ran-tan on. Ooooh! I want So-tan to win!" She squirmed on the couch and kicked her feet up and down. "But I'd be a very bad wife if I cheered against my husband! But I'd be a bad big sister if I cheered against So-tan! Waaah! Why did I want this again?"

In another chair in the room was a woman with ebony colored skin, dark hair and green eyes, behind her was a tail that flicked from side to side. Her eyes were slitted like a cat's were and on her head were a pair of cat ears. "Believe me, darling," she practically purred as she spoke, "whenever I have to choose between my sister and my husband when there's an arguement, I feel the same way."

"Yeah, but your husband married both you and your sister." Serafall said as she calmed down. "Lady Bastet, I apologize..."

"Don't," Bastet waved her hand off, "I would much rather you be yourself with me than be formal. Ptah and Ra are sticks in the mud, as is my sister, Sekhmet, and I'd rather not deal with that. There's a few things that we need to discuss, namely a certain Nekomatta extermination."

Serafall mentally winced and nodded. "Believe me, none of the current Devil Kings authorized that."

"Which is the only reason that I even bothered having an audience with you." Bastet said and shook her head. "Tell me something, how is your husband doing?"

"Ranma?" Serafall blinked in confusion. "He's doing well, why do you ask?"

"He has an artifact of mine." The cat Goddess said as she leaned back in her chair. "No, I'm not asking for it back, I'm glad that it's being used by someone who went through that training." She shook her head. "So, why come to us to join your alliance?"

"We're trying to unite the world powers together." Serafall told Bastet. "There are threats that exist out there that may be too powerful for us to handle individually."

"While that is a good idea and I know about the International Games that your pantheon has set up to be a substitute for war and fights, I can only guarantee that I like those games." Bastet sighed softly and shook her head. "Anubis and Apophis, however, may not agree to an agreement, same with Nut, Geb and Seth. After all," she narrowed her eyes at the Devil, "many of our brethern fell in battle in the past to your pantheon and their followers."

Serafall closed her eyes and nodded, knowing what Bastet was referring to. "Believe me, the Hebrews that your followers enslaved were not looked upon kindly by Devils," especially after Solomon had enslaved so many to build the temples of ancient Israel, "the fact that most of the Gods of Egypt are dead is a sad fact of ancient times and the rulers in charge of our pantheon."

"Horus, Isis, Bes, Neith, Nephthys, Sobek, Hathor and Amun all perished in the past." Bastet growled in annoyance. "It wasn't just your pantheon and its followers, but those Longinus Sacred Gears that were created to fight against our kind."

Serafall gave her a cool look. "Need I remind you that many Gods in the past, especially the Babylonian Gods to the East and the Greek Gods to the North were notorious for not being kind to humans."

"I do not need to be reminded about what those Gods did to people, especially those they did not like." Bastet said with a soft sigh. "I will talk to my husband, sister and to Lord Ra, but it may be some time. Thoth may be able to help convince those who are unsure about this alliance, but that is all I can say."

"That's fair, I suppose." Serafall said with a nod. "If that's everything, I should probably..."

"Buuuuut..." Bastet had a contemplative look on her face. "I must ask, is your sister single?"

"The last I checked, why?" Serafall asked while taking on an adorably cute and confused expression. "I'm not going to give her over to you as some sort of deal."

Bastet waved Serafall off. "No worries there, both Ptah and Sekhmet are wonderful lovers and none of us have any desire to increase our little threesome. At least," she winked at Serafall, "permanently increase. All three of us have had some extra-marital affairs after all. But that's not why I ask." Her expression mellowed out as she looked at Serafall, "I ask because there are plenty of unscrupulous people out there who would find a high ranking Devil who happens to have a Devil King as a sister and is a leader of a powerful clan to be too tempting to ignore..." Bastet turned back to the television. "Especially since she just got a hit and got two people to home plate."

"I don't need you to tell me that." Serafall said as she looked back at the television. "I constantly worry that So-tan will find someone who doesn't care about her for herself and only sees her as a status symbol."

"Well, I wish you luck in finding her the right person then." Bastet said as her tail flicked. "Actually, I just remembered, your husband has a Nekoshou as one of his wives, yes?" Serafall nodded and Bastet started to purr. "I would love to meet her and her children, to give them my blessing. And before you say anything, I have blessed Demons and Youkai in the past. Why do you think Nekomatta and Nekoshou exist?"

"...Fair," Serafall nodded, "I'll give Ran-tan a call," she idly noted that the teams were switching with Sona's team up two runs to nothing going into the bottom of the first, "I'm sure that he and Roka-chan won't mind. Might I ask..."

"It's just a simple blessing for good fortune and a healthy life." Bastet purred, "oh, and for the children to find the purrfect partners in the future."

Serafall giggled and nodded. "I'm sure that no one will have a problem with that."

Bastet smiled and looked at the screen as Lilith was up to bat. 'I wonder though,' she thought to herself, 'where is Anubis these days? He's been busy.' She hoped that it was simply dealing with something in the Realm of the Dead and nothing serious.

End Chapter 17

Nothing to say, enjoy and review.