Sorry about the lack of updations for so long. I had finals. And unless I have a younger audience than I think I do, most of you have experience finals. You've at least experienced school and you all know how hard it can be. So that's what I've been up do. A little bit of dilly-dallying. But without further ado, enjoy chapter twenty four!

Riku and Daisuke were searching left and right, up and down, high and low, salt and pepper. Riku was currently looking in the front lobby, where various guards were wondering if they should question why this strange girl was taking off their boots and shaking them out.

"Let's see… If I were a strange horn from the past, where would I hide?" Riku asked herself, stroking an invisible beard.

"That's an interesting question to ask your self!"

Riku jumped and turned around at the painfully familiar voice.

"Donis! You surprised me!" she said, her voice too high from shock.

"Well, I'm glad you confirmed that you don't just jump foolishly for no reason," Donis said merrily.

"You're going to have to leave now. I'm busy with something." Riku continued looking around the lobby. Donis ignored her, tailing after Riku.

"You wouldn't happen to be helping Daisuke, a.k.a. (Oh, I just love saying that!) Dark, look for some possessed, lost artifact by any chance?" he asked inquisitively.

Riku blinked. "Um… why was that so specific?"

"I'm quite the speculator," Donis replied with a shrug. "Well, I did already know that Daisuke was Dark."

Riku raised an eyebrow. "He honestly told you?"

"It's a bit of a long story and I'm sure no one wants to read it again, but to make it shorter, I'm one of the possessed 'things' that Daisuke was trying to find. But he spared me, because I'm such the charming type, if you will!" Donis laughed heartily.

"Uh," replied Riku dully.

"Is there any way I can be of assistance, then?" Donis asked, peering over her shoulder obnoxiously.

"Hmm…" Riku thought. "Have you seen anything suspicious lately?"

"Oh my, where to begin?" Donis sat himself down in a comfortable looking armchair. "Fan girls often bring strange things. I've met many bizarre fan girls, of course, but I don't dig into their lives if I know what's good for me. But besides that… let's see… Ah! I know just the thing. Get Daisuke for me and meet me back at the lobby, would you, Riku?"

"Uh… sure. But this better be worth it." Riku jabbed him in the nose, gave him a Draco Malfoy glare and walked off to find her short, red-haired accomplice.

"I think that's the first time I've ever seen a frog laugh to death," said Daisuke, coming out of the hot springs with Takeshi.

"And that guy with one eye was weird. I feel bad for that guy who looked at it. He looked terrified," Takeshi added.

"Ever feel like you just went through three days of suffering?" the man said groggily, stumbling forward onto his face.

"… Anyway," Daisuke said, stepping over the unconscious man, "you haven't noticed anything suspicious, have you Takeshi?"

"Besides what we just saw? No. We suspicious people never pay attention to those things," Takeshi stated with a shrug. "Normal things seem to stand out more. Why?"

"Oh. No reason. Though your explanation did explain a lot," Daisuke answered, deep in thought of various ways to end their friendship. "Well, I have things to do, so I'd better get going. Could you feed Wiz for me?"

"Of course. Later, dude." Takeshi raced off to go pet Wiz, who was surely at one point handled by Daisuke's mother.

"Riku!" Daisuke shouted.

"There you are."

Daisuke jumped and turned around at the painfully familiar voice.

"Satoshi!" Daisuke gasped and tried to run. Satoshi grabbed him by his head with one hand, where Daisuke continued to run in place until he realized he wasn't actually going anywhere.

"Um, you're holding my head with one hand," Daisuke noted, wondering if perhaps Satoshi should be in a basketball anime.

"How astute of you. Come with me." Satoshi started to pull Daisuke away.

"Wait! Riku needs to see me!" Daisuke yelled, digging his fingernails into the wall to slow them down.

"I don't care."

"You should, as it means certain death for us both!"

Satoshi contemplated this matter. "Very well. You may go see her. But just to make sure you'll come back shortly…" Satoshi took a small, black bean-shaped object out of his pocket and jammed it into Daisuke's ear.

"Ow, what is that?" Daisuke asked, rubbing his ear.

"A tracking device. No suspicious character's pocket is complete without one." Satoshi glanced at watch. "You'll be back in five minutes. Let's synchronize watches."

"At least you understand," Daisuke muttered.

"Ooh. Battle B-Daman. Not a bad choice. I prefer Dragon Ball Z." Satoshi nodded at his own coolarity.

"I see you liked Piccolo."

"I really like the abnormal features. Hence my blue hair."

"Oh. Of course."

"You're wasting your five minutes, though. You'd better scamper off then."

"Oh. Bye."

So off Daisuke scampered, at a loss of what he should do about the tracking device.

"Daisuke! There you are! Donis has something important to tell us!" Riku shouted as Daisuke came into view.

Daisuke blinked. "Donis has something important tell us?"

"Yeah! Come on!" Riku grabbed his hand.

"No, I mean Donis?"

"Ah. Yeah, I know. He knew you were Dark? Never mind. Let's go, he's waiting!" Riku tried to pull harder, but Daisuke seemed glued to the floor.

"Why are you being such a Difficult Delilah?" Riku said, putting her hands on her hips angrily.

"I have a tracking device in my ear. Satoshi put it in there for some reason. He wanted to talk to me," Daisuke said with a shrug. "I only have five minutes or I'm in trouble. I guess. Delilah?"

"Sucks to Satoshi. Here." Riku used chopsticks to, rather painfully, remove the device from Daisuke's ear. "There. How was that?"

"Please don't become a surgeon," Daisuke cried, tears streaming down his face.

"Shut up. Come on," Riku said for about the hundredth time and this time they really did go see Donis.

"I think I've found what you're looking for!" Donis exclaimed in his usual chipper way. "I have a possessed horn in my room!"

"The Horn of Neptune! That's it!" Daisuke grinned.

"That was easy," Riku noted, sounding very much like one of those easy buttons you press when you complete something that almost always is not something that was easy at all.

"How do you know it's possessed?" Daisuke had to ask. It might just be pink or something, which would be quite the time waster.

"I got the room for free because people thought it was inhabited with spirits and no one would go in there!" Donis thrusted his index finger into the air.

"And…?" Riku waved her hand to get him to continue.

"Ah, yes. It's possessed because it plays such beautiful songs at night," Donis answered. "Of course, it only plays nice songs for me. It usually plays high-pitched notes that annoy people to the point of dementia."

"What's dementia?" Daisuke asked nervously.

"Why, insanity," Donis said wholeheartedly. He took a convenient cup of tea out of his pocket and took a dainty sip.

Daisuke and Riku looked at each other, wondering how they would do in this situation.

"How did he get it out?! It's near impossible!" Satoshi yelled in confusion at the removed tracking device on the floor of the lobby.

"Hi, Satoshi!" said Takeshi.

"Of course," Satoshi said, slapping himself in the forehead.

"Your dad is really cool! He told me a bunch of stories about when you were little!" Takeshi shouted.

"Father?" Satoshi asked darkly.

"He bought me an ice cream," Mr. Hiwatari (first time I called him that) answered sheepishly.

"I don't care! I'm a suspicious character! MY SUSPICIOUSNESS MUST NOT BE DIVULGED TO THE WORLD!!!" Satoshi rambled. "Takeshi. Do not a repeat a word of what my father has told you."

"Right on, Serge," Takeshi saluted. "And in return, you'll get me Daisuke's mom's phone number? I usually wouldn't ask, but they've changed it seven times and it's no longer registered in most local phone books, so…"

"Yes. Whatever." And with that, Satoshi left with a suspicious turn of his heel.