A/N:…enjoy!xD

…hoy nga pala Bix…in two days from the day I'm typing this chapter pasukan na…asan ang sayo? …pero no pressure…xD

The Dog Convention

Chapter Four

"FLORENCE ROCKS!"

And for the rest of the day, every Italian on the street was looking at Tyson funny.

"What?" said the Jap as his companions glared at him. "It's advertising!"

True. People were curious to see what more reason could there be for their beloved city to rock. Huge tents, balloons, international bishounen, free food and dogs that greeted them at the spacious Central Plaza provided the answer.

"Awesome!" exclaimed Max, running ahead of the party with his dogs in tow.

Kai smirked. "Every year the Con never fails to surprise…"

Trailers by the outskirts of the venue served as locker rooms for each of the competing teams. The interiors were fully furnished like five-star executive suites and had equally excellent service. Quite a number of the teams were already making themselves feel at home.

"Hey!" Rei yelled and waved, having spotted his village friend and former mates, the White Tigers. "How's it going?" He detatched himself from Mystel, much to the blonde's visible relief, and ran over to join his fellow Chinese.

"Maxie!" a voice cooed and the King of Candy wheeled about.

"Mom!" he smiled and bounced toward the coach and her team. "So you guys arrived with the White Tigers, huh?" he said and gave each All Star a sugar-high Mizuhara hug.

Michael ruffled his hair. "And how's the squirt?"

"I'm NOT a squirt!"

…moving on to other teams…

"Bryan!" Garland joyfully blurted out at the sight of the annoyable Russian.

Kai gave an 'oop' as he was yanked out from where he was standing and dragged to the Blitzkrieg's trailer.

"Look Kai! It's Bryan!"

"Yes I know…I see his in the Post Office posters."

"WHAT WAS THAT?!" greeted the lilac-haired fur fanatic as his team mates burst into hysterics.

"Nothing, nothing. I said nothing—yAaAaAh!" and this outburst was followed by barks as Bryan's dog, Bruv, a cross between a chowchow and a Siberian husky, was let loose to chase after him.

"Tyson!"

The said bluenette looked up to find Robert and the rest of the Europeans waving at him. Glad at having found an excuse to meet and greet, he, along with a couple of BEGA people and his other mates, went over to their spot.

Through the heat and noise, Hiro Kinomiya and Mystel found themselves standing side by side, happy that all their friends were in one place where they could have fun. The former suddenly felt shy being with the younger boy, and expressed his uneasiness by shifting his weight from one foot to another.

"Tell me, Hiro," said Mystel. "Does Rei like me? I keep getting the implication from his body language…"

The elder bluenette smiled. "So you've noticed?"

The Egyptian hung his head a bit. "I just didn't want to say anything."

There was a sigh. "Yes. Rei DOES like you, and is hitting on you too but I'm sure you know that." He saw a smile and couldn't help but duplicate it. "Why ask, Stel? Do you like Rei?"

His answer was measured but confident. "As a friend, but that's that. Anything beyond it I cannot imagine myself engaging in…"

Hiro nodded, "That IS certainly good news for Tyson."

Mystel's tan head shot up. "Why?"

Hiro stared absently into space. "You see, Tyson like Rei…and really doesn't like you for that matter, but he's being professional about it."

There was a moment's pause.

"Do you like anyone Hiro?" The question was innocent, but had an odd effect on the elder Kinomiya's cheeks.

"I…I can't say for sure…"

"…me either."

Wine red eyes widened in surprise.

--

Sponsors of the Von Beanfield Company had prepared exquisite dishes for all 35 competing canines. They were made according to the animals' individual liking and taste.

The lunch was served in an fenced but spacious plot of grass. Though delivered on silver platters, the dogs wasted no time on devouring it like…well, dogs. The rest on the hour was spent in pleasantries, gossip, and butt sniffing, in which the groups discovered an extremely interesting bit of news.

"My boy Tyson's been unpredictable lately," Tibitee was telling the Blitzkrieg dogs, Bruv, Peewee, a half Chihuahua half chowchow, and Porkbun, Boris' pug. "You see, he likes Rei, but then Rei likes Mystel…"

"What was that?" Dingdong had overheard. "Tyson likes Rei?"

Soon, the rest of the White Tiger and All Star dogs crowded around them.

"So that's the guy Tyson likes…" some of them were saying.

"Why is it important to you?" asked Shritz.

"Because our Tala likes Tyson!" said Porkbun.

"Tala as in your team captain?" confirmed Posh.

"He's the guy who likes Tyson!" yipped Picpac and Tictac.

"Tala likes Tyson?"

This time, the European dogs have overheard and had slunk over to where the greater population was.

"How many times do we have to tell you?!" shrieked Chopstick.

"It isn't that," said Gracie. "It's because my Master Raul likes Tala."

"HE WHAT?!"

The fat was out, boiled and sizzled in under five minutes.

"So let me get this straight," said Summertime slowly as all the dogs listened to her. "Raul's in love with Tala who's in love with Tyson who's in love with Rei who's in love with Mystel?"

"Who's Mystel in love with?" Lovely Day asked for effect.

"I wouldn't know…" said the Scottish terrier. "But I'm not allowing that cat boy get him."

"I agree!" said Shuggy. "Rei belongs to Tyson!"

"No!" interjected Chinese, Russian and American dogs. "Tyson belongs to Tala!"

"Absolutely NOT!" countered the Euro dogs. "Tala belongs to Raul!"

"Wait! WAIT!" cried Tibitee as the beginnings of a seemingly violent riot stirred. "SHUT UP!!!"

His mates had a hard time settling down.

"No one belongs to anyone, ayt?" said the crossbreed. "Why don't we just try some couples out and see if there's gonna be some chemistry."

"How're we going to do that?" asked Clappy. "We're only dogs!"

To this, Tibitee grinned slyly. "Maybe…but pray tell how will our owners compete without dogs?"

"Woah there, love," said Summertime. "What's your plan?"

"Oh I know!" exclaimed Oolala. "It's all coming together! Hear me out, I've got a suggestion." His tail wagged with excitement. "We all have links to these boys don't we?"

There was a chorused agreement.

"All we have to do is lead our masters on! Get lost or something! Start a chase! The end result must be these boys meeting in any way."

"That's an excellent plan!" said Sunday. "It's just the one we need."

Candy rolled her eyes. "I KNEW there would be running."

"But who meets who?" asked the ever-black-hat Woofle.

"Use gut feel," rumbled Don Quixote. "Instinct…who do you think can be right for who?"

"And we shouldn't base it on who our masters like," added Tinklepush.

"We know them better anyway," said Sizzle, making the party laugh.

A moment's pause was given for thought. Each dog fell quiet as options were weighed carefully.

"How about Raul Tala and Tyson Rei?" asked Daisy.

"That would be unfair to one side of the party," said Vodka.

"What about Raul Rei and Tala Tyson?" suggested Screwy.

Murmurs erupted.

"No," said Bruv. "It doesn't look or feel right."

"Yeah, I can't see a connection," added Peewee.

And the thought was easily scrapped.

"HeEey…" Shmoo spoke after a prolonged silence. "How about…Tala Rei and Raul Tyson?"

The dogs exchanged looks.

"Not bad," said Bartolo. "Not bad at all, right?"

"Sounds like a plan!" said Lenny and Tenny in unison.

Everyone cheered.

"Great!" declared Tibitee. "All we have to do is make them meet!"

"That's the easy part…" remarked Sake and the group immediately brainstormed.

…a dog was missing out on all the fun though.

Summertime was sitting on a grassy corner. Her bushy tail was limp and sad. Tibitee was the only one who noticed and approached her silently.

"Summertime? What's wrong?" The half chowchow half spaniel looked her in the face.

"Everyone wins with that plan," she began. "Everyone except Mystel."

Tibitee sighed. "Are you even sure he needs someone to be complete?"

"It sounds like a cliché…" said the terrier.

"I'll listen."

"Stel-darling lost a bit of summer in him since Malik…er, a former boyfriend back in Cairo, don't ask…since he left him. At first he didn't want to go with BEGA on this convention but I forced him by running ahead to the plane. But anyway…yeah, he hasn't been happy."

Tibitee considered her for a moment. "Things will work out," he smiled. "They always do; just have faith."

Summertime didn't look convinced till he added,

"If everything fails, you can always run away again…"

TBC

A/N: …enjoy!xD and ciAo…