Disclaimer: I do not own Zatch Bell!

Thanks for the review Iron-Arm-V! I'm so glad you liked how I wrote Derrick. I was worried I wouldn't do him justice. But I'm glad you enjoyed the chaper : )

Here's chapter 4 of A Battle To Remember. ^-^

Haley ran into her classroom just as the tardy bell rang. "That was close." The girl thought as she made her way to her desk. She sat down and pulled out her books from her bag. Once everything was put away, the redhead slouched in her desk. "It's Kai's fault. He just has to be so damn hard to wake up. I wouldn't have even bothered except we needed to go grocery shopping today. That jerk may be skinny like a stick but he eats more in one sitting than I could in a week!"

The high school student glanced up and noticed the teacher wasn't at his desk. "I really am lucky. I probably would've gotten in trouble if Suzuki-sensei was in here. But that's strange, he's never late. I wonder where he is." She continued to ponder that thought when her teacher walked into the room.

The teacher coughed to get his students' attention. Everyone in the class immediately shut up and sat in their desks. When he realized his classroom was in order, the man made an announcement. "Now students I want you to be on your best behavior today. We have a new student."

Whispers were passed across the room. The students wondered who the new kid could be. No one knew of a kid transferring to their school today. It must have been last minute. Haley's ears perked at the news though she didn't join in the classroom gossip. "Hmm a new kid I wonder who it is. Hopefully it won't be another person who'll ask me if I dyed my hair."

Suzuki-sensei clapped his hands to get his students' attention. "Quiet down class. It's time that I introduce our new student. Come on in, Arashi-kun." Everyone in the class quieted down as they watched the addressed boy enter the room.

Haley's jaw dropped. "Katsu?" Katsu walked in with the usual scowl on his face. He wore the boy's school uniform consisting of a white short sleeved button up shirt with dark green pants. Unlike the other boys, his shirt was untucked, and he had his silver sneakers from the day the redhead met him on.

The black haired teen scanned the room as if he was looking for someone in particular. Each girl's face he gazed at blushed at his stare. He finally stopped when his eyes found Haley. Katsu grinned, "Anego!" Every eye in the classroom turned to the girl including the teacher's. She blushed and slid down in her seat. "I'm not here."

The teacher coughed again. "Well seeing as you know, Storm-san. How about you take the seat next to her, Arashi-kun?" The boy ignored the teacher as he quickly made his way to the desk beside the redhead. After he sat down, Katsu turned to Haley. "I'm glad I was able to find you, Anego. I was worried that the bastards in charge may have put me in a different class than you even though I told them I wanted to be in your class."

The girl sighed as she heard the whispers erupt in the classroom. "Did you hear him?" "Yeah he called her Anego!" "I knew she was in a gang. There's no way her hair color's natural."

They all shut up and began watching the board when they saw the glares sent their way by Katsu. He looked over at his friend. "Do you want me to take care of them, Anego?"

She shook her head but gave the boy a grateful smile. "That's not necessary but thanks anyway. I appreciate the thought." The black haired teen nodded though it was obvious he wasn't pleased with her answer.

After that, the class became silent as Suzuki-sensei taught his lesson about history when the girl realized something. She looked over to her friend who wasn't paying any attention to the teacher. He didn't seem to care at all about the lesson. A thoughtful look crossed her face. "Hey wait a minute I thought Katsu was younger than me. What's he doing in this class?"

Haley quickly wrote her question on a note and passed it to her friend when Suzuki-sensei wasn't looking. Katsu blinked then looked at the paper and the redhead curiously. She rolled her eyes and mouthed, "Open it."

The black haired teen quickly nodded and read the message. It appeared that the question amused him because the girl could see a big smile form on his face. After reading the note, he immediately wrote down his answer and attempted to return it to her.

Unfortunately, the action did not go unnoticed. The two teens froze when they heard the tell-tale cough of their teacher. Haley grinned sheepishly and was about to apologize when the bang rang ending the class. "Saved by the bell! Literally."

The redhead rose from her desk and gathered her belongings. "See ya tomorrow, Sensei!" With that, she quickly dashed out of the room with Katsu hot on her heels. When they got a safe distance from the class, the girl breathed a sigh of relief. "Whew that was close. Suzuki-sensei is well-known for giving detention. I've never gotten it before, but I definitely don't wanna try it."

Her friend scowled, "You want me to take care of him, Anego?" Haley's eyes widened. "No! It's fine. Please don't worry about it. I don't want you to get in trouble for something like this." She gave him a small smile. "But thanks for the offer."

He returned the smile. "Oh I forgot. You wanted to know why I'm in your class, right?" When he saw her nod, Katsu smirked, "After our battle, I decided I should go back to school since that's where you are most of the time during the week. It seemed like the best way to help protect you just in case other mamodo decide to attack your school."

The girl sighed, "You didn't have to do that, Katsu. I told you, you don't have to protect me with your life or anything like that. I just wanted to be friends." She raised an eyebrow. "Wait what do you mean 'go back to school'?"

Katsu scratched his head sheepishly. "When I joined the White Wolves, I dropped out of school. The other guys convinced me that school wasn't important that I didn't really need it." The redhead gaped at him, but before she could reply, he continued, "But I know now that it was the wrong thing to do. I was stupid. I shouldn't have listened to them." The boy ducked his head shamefully.

When he felt a hand touch his shoulder, the black haired teen lifted his head and saw a warm smile on his friend's face. Haley shook her head. "It's not your fault, Katsu. You were just unlucky enough to end up with punks like them. They took advantage of you when you were just looking for a place to belong. You're not stupid."

His eyes lit up as a large grin formed on his face. "As expected from Anego! Even for someone like me, you show such kindness. I'm unworthy!" She rolled her eyes as she hit him playfully. "Now what did I tell you about saying stuff like that?"

When she saw the sheepish smile on his face, the redhead laughed, "Now how about you tell me about how you managed to skip a grade. I have a feeling it'll be an interesting story." Katsu shrugged, "All I did was threaten the principal into allowing me to take a test to prove I was capable of skipping a grade. They were reluctant at first but after a little persuasion, they let me take it. I passed the test and they allowed me to join the class. I also made sure that they put me in your class."

Her eyes widened as she gaped at him. "What? You threatened the principal? What did you say? Wait never mind I don't wanna know." She shook her head before giving her friend an impressed look. "Wow Katsu I had a feeling you were smart, but I didn't know that you were that smart. You're amazing."

He blushed and ducked his head. "It's nothing special. I just knew most of the questions on the test that's all. You're the amazing one, Anego. I heard you have the highest grades in the class." The girl smirked, "That may be true for now. But now that you're here, you might just give me a run for my money."

The black haired teen shook his head furiously. "I would never! You're way smarter than me, Anego. I promise I won't give you any trouble." She laughed, "I had a feeling you would say that. I appreciate the sentiment, but I don't want you to take it easy with your grades because of me, ok? If I continue to have the best grades, I wanna know I got them fairly not because you didn't want to beat me."

Katsu nodded, "I understand, Anego." Haley gave him a small smile and asked, "So what's your next class? I'm sorry. I made you walk with me when you're supposed to head to your next class. I hope I won't make you late." He waved his hand dismissively. "You don't have to apologize, Anego. I was happy to answer your question. Besides-," the boy grinned, "I won't be late I have all the same classes as you. That's another thing I made sure the principal did before I left his office."

She sweatdropped, "I see. So that's what you meant earlier. Well I guess that's good, I would've hated to make you late." The two arrived at their next class as the bell rang. Haley smiled, "Good timing."

After the final bell rang, Haley silently made her way home. Katsu wanted to accompany her, but he got detention for beating up a classmate because the boy fired a spitball at Haley. She tried to stop him by saying it wasn't a big deal, but the black haired teen wouldn't hear of it. He said, "The bastard deserves to be punished for showing such disrespect to you, Anego!"

The redhead appreciated her friend's efforts, but she didn't want him to get into trouble because of her. At least it was only detention, she would've hated if Katsu got suspended for defending her. The girl sighed as she continued to walk. She had searched the school's premises for Kai, but couldn't find the mamodo anywhere. "That lazy jerk. I bet he's still at home fast asleep. I told him we needed to go grocery shopping. When I get my hands on him, Kai is so dead."

Haley was so frustrated that she didn't even notice that she passed her apartment until she finally looked up. She gazed at her surroundings and saw a park full of children to her left. "Huh? How'd I end up at the park? Man I really must've been out of it. The park's ten minutes away from my apartment."

The girl scratched her head. "Well might as well enjoy the scenery." She treaded along the path watching the kids play with each other. The sound of laughter caught her attention. When she looked to the side, the high school student saw a group of boys surrounding a little girl.

Her eyes narrowed when she saw the boys hit the girl. Haley quickly ran over to the group of kids. She caught one boy's fist before it made contact. The redhead glared at the boys. "What do you think you're doing picking on her like that? Get out of here now before I bring a new meaning to the phrase "Hit like a girl".

The boys ran away but not before sticking their tongues out at the little girl. As soon as they left, Haley knelt down in front of the girl and asked, "Are you alright?" The kid nodded as she hugged a teddy bear. The girl had silver hair tied into two buns, one on each side of her head. Her eyes had a silver-grey color, and she looked to be around three feet tall. The child wore a brown jacket with bear ears on its hood, a light blue shirt underneath, dark blue pants, and white sandals. She couldn't have been older than seven.

The teen smiled warmly at the girl. "That's good. I don't see any real injuries just some scratches, so you should be alright. I'm Haley. What's your name?" The silver haired girl glanced at her shyly. "A-Alice." She shifted her gaze from Haley to her shoes before looking back at the older girl. "T-thank you for h-helping me."

The redhead patted Alice's head. "You're welcome. Do you know why those boys were picking on you?" Alice began to stare at her feet again before slowly nodding. "Y-yes. They were making fun of me saying that I looked w-weird." The little girl brought her tear-filled gaze back to the teen. "T-they said only old people have silver hair. They called me a f-freak." She put her hood, which must have fallen off during the fight, back over her head to try to hide her face.

Alice's eyes widened when she found herself engulfed in a hug. She quickly rubbed her eyes and held onto the older girl. After a few minutes, Haley leaned back to look at the silver haired girl in the eyes. "You listen to me, Alice. Don't you pay any attention to what those boys say, alright? They're just a bunch of brats. You don't need to take anything they say seriously. Besides-" the redhead pulled the hood down to put her hand on the child's silver hair, "I think you have very pretty hair and an equally pretty face. Those boys are just jerks. They don't know what they're missing."

The silver haired girl blushed as she shifted her feet. "Really?" Haley grinned, "Really. You know what? I had the same problem when I was little. Kids would make fun of my hair too and call me 'carrot top'. Though whenever they did, my older brother would show up and beat them to a pulp."

The child's eyes grew large. "Really? That's what my older brother would do too. Nii-san hated when the kids made fun of me because of my appearance. He said it was like they were making fun of Oka-san because I look just like her. He said I should be proud of how I look." The teen's grin widened. "You don't say. Looks like we have more in common than we thought."

Alice shared the grin. "I wish Derrick-kun was here. I think he would like you, Haley-san." The redhead held up her hands. "Hold on. Now let's get this straight. Even though I'm older than you, you don't have to add –san to the end of my name. It makes me feel old. You can just call me Haley."

When she saw the girl nod, Haley asked, "You just said 'Derrick-kun' right? As in Derrick Runners?" Alice's eyes widened. "You know Derrick-kun?" The high school student chuckled, "Yeah I know him. I met him a few days ago actually. He goes to my school."

Realization crossed the young girl's features. "I remember now. Derrick-kun told me about you. He said you were from America like him." She grinned widely, "He said you were very nice and pretty. I agree."

Haley blushed slightly. "Stupid flirt. I should've known." Alice giggled, "That's Derrick-kun for you. He's very friendly." The teen mumbled, "Maybe too friendly." When she saw the curious look in the girl's eyes, the older teen coughed, "Never mind. So where is Derrick? He didn't leave you here alone did he? If he did, I'm definitely gonna beat him up."

The silver haired girl shook her head quickly. "Please don't be mad ad Derrick-kun. It's not his fault. He told me to stay at home, but I got bored and decided to go on a walk. I got lost along the way and ended up here."

The redhead slowly stood up and brushed the dirt off her knees. "Ok I understand. How far is your home from here? I can walk you home." Alice waved her hands frantically. "No, you don't have to do that. I think I can walk home on my own. I don't want to trouble you."

Haley raised an eyebrow at the girl. "You expect me to let you go home all by yourself? No way. You're way too young to be on your own." When she saw the sad look on the other girl's face, the teen sighed, "Ok how about this? You come to my apartment and call Derrick to pick you up. It's only ten minutes away."

Alice pondered this idea for a few seconds before slowly nodding. "I guess that's alright though I'd hate to cause trouble for Derrick-kun." The high school student waved a hand at her dismissively. "Don't worry too much about that. It's his resposiblity to take care of you, right? It shouldn't be too hard for him to come pick you up."

The two began to walk toward the park's entrance to go to Haley's apartment but stopped when they heard a voice behind them say, "There you are. We've been looking all over for you, Wild Cub."

When the girls turned around, Alice immediately froze when she saw the girl and boy in front of them. Haley's eyes narrowed when she saw her friend's reaction. "Who are you?"

The boy laughed, "That's none of your business, lady." He had spiky blond hair, green eyes, and tanned skin. His figure was clad with a red t-shirt, a black sleeveless vest, black pants, and red sneakers. The blonde appeared to be around 12 years old, standing close to 5ft.

The girl behind him just scoffed at the boy. "You're so uncouth, Kouji." She had long curly blonde hair, blue eyes, and very light skin. The blonde wore a black gothic dress that reached to her ankles along with black slippers. She was also carrying a black parasol. The girl looked to be around 15 years old and stood at 5'4.

Kouji stuck his tongue out at the other blonde. "Shut up, Ana." He shifted his gaze back to Haley and Alice who were trying to get away. "Hey where do you think you two are going? We have unfinished business with you, Wild Cub."

Alice hid part of her body behind Haley's leg. "I-I don't want to fight you. M-my book's not even here, so there's no point." The redhead's eyes widened as she looked down at the girl. "You're a mamodo?"

The silver haired girl lowered her head and nodded, "Yes and Derrick-kun's my book owner. But how do you know about the mamodo battle?" The older girl grinned, "Let's just say we have something else in common."

The blonde mamodo joined in their conversation. "Oh? So you're involved in the battle too? This is too good to be true. Two books in one day, lucky me. Where's your mamodo?"

Haley scowled at the boy as she pushed Alice further behind her. "Like I'll tell you, brat. You heard Alice. She said her book's not here so scram." The other mamodo chuckled and waved his finger at her. "It's not that simple. For all I know, the kid could be lying, and you could be her book owner. But even if she is telling the truth, I'm not just gonna let her go. If we keep her, her partner is bound to show up to look for her."

Alice moved from behind her friend's legs to in front of her. "You leave Derrick-kun alone! I won't let you hurt him." Haley smiled at the girl's courage. Kouji continued to laugh. "And what are you gonna do about it, Wild Cub? Throw your teddy bear at me? If you ask me, I think that nickname of yours is just that-a name."

When she saw the stricken look on the child's face, the redhead put a hand on Alice's shoulder and growled at the other mamodo. "Shut up, you brat. I won't have you badmouthing my friend. If you don't stop, you'll have to deal with me."

The silver haired girl glanced up at her friend. "Haley." Her friend looked down and smiled at her. "Don't worry, Alice. I got your back."

Ana sighed, "Can we get on with this? I have more important things to do than this. Kouji, hurry up and burn their books already. I'm tired." Her partner scoffed, "You always say that, Ana. I think you're just lazy." He winced when Ana hit his head with her parasol. "Ow! What was that for?"

She crossed her arms and huffed, "For being a rude brat."

When Haley noticed that the mamodo team was distracted, she leaned down to whisper in Alice's ear. "We're gonna make a break for it. There's no way we can beat them without our partners. They're distracted, so this is the perfect chance."

The young girl nodded but was startled when her friend picked her up. She gave the older girl a surprised look, and the other replied, "Since we're about to start running, I thought this would be the best way. My legs can cover more distance than yours."

The high school student slowly tiptoed away from the quarrelling team as she headed for the park's entrance. Right as she passed through the gate, the redhead heard a "Hey they're running away!" Haley immediately took off not even turning around to see if the two were following them. She knew they would.

Kouji and his partner chased after the girls when they realized the two were trying to run away. The blond mamodo cursed, "Damn I didn't even notice that they moved. Ana, read me a spell!" The curly haired girl sighed, "Fine if it means we can stop this foolishness." She pulled out a pale yellow book and read, "Zerom!"

Haley took deep breaths as she continued to run. "Well at least they're not attacking us." An electric blast hit the area near her feet. "Damn. I spoke too soon!" She quickened her pace as the mamodo team kept firing at her.

Alice looked up at her worriedly. "Haley, you should put me down. If you do, I can stay here and distract them while you get help. I don't want you to get hurt." The older girl shook her head. "Nope I'm not leaving you alone with these guys. Who knows what they'll do to you. Besides Derrick wouldn't forgive me if I let something happen to you. And I definitely wouldn't be able to forgive myself if I left you on your own."

Kouji lifted his arm again. "Those first two blasts were warning shots. If you don't wanna get fried, I recommend you surrender." He sighed once he realized they weren't slowing down. "Fine. We'll do it the hard way. Ana use the second spell." The blonde huffed, "Quit ordering me around! Zeramu!"

She didn't care if the first shots were just for warning. Haley was not planning on stopping for anything. The redhead wasn't one of the most athletic girls in the world, but she at least knew how to run for her life.

A sudden searing pain in the back of her left leg caused Haley to crash to the pavement. The girl tried to get up, but the pain kept her from moving. She checked on the girl in her arms. "Alice, are you alright?"

The silver haired girl nodded. Her eyes grew large when she saw the teen's leg. "Haley, you're injured!" The older girl glanced down at the calf of her left leg and winced. In her leg was what appeared to be a lightning bolt made out of yellow energy. She touched it and to her relief didn't get shocked.

Haley sighed, "Well at least it's not a real lightning bolt, or I'd really be screwed." She noticed the other mamodo team was getting closer. "So much for our head start." The teen slowly pulled the object from her leg and bit back a scream. "No need to scare Alice." She thought as the lightning bolt was completely removed from her leg.

Alice looked at the wound worriedly. "We need to get you some help! It looks really bad!" The redhead gave her a small smile which was quickly replaced with a grimace. "Don't worry about me, Alice. I'll be fine. What's more important is getting away from those guys." She tried to get up again but quickly fell. "Ok scratch that. Time for plan B. Alice I want you to run away from here as fast as you can and get help. I'll try to hold them off."

The young girl shook her head. "I won't leave you! It's my fault that they're chasing us." Determination filled the young mamodo's eyes. "Don't worry, Haley. I'll protect you!"

Kouji laughed, "Oh really? Try to protect her from this!" His partner shouted, "Zerom!"

Haley's eyes widened. "Alice, get out of here!" She watched helplessly as the silver haired girl got in front of the teen and took the electric blast head on. "Alice!"

When the smoke cleared, everyone was surprised to see the young mamodo still standing with her arms spread out. There were little burn marks all over her clothes along with many scratches on her face. She glared at the other mamodo. "I won't let you hurt my friend!"

The blond mamodo scowled, "We'll see about that. Ana, use the third spell!" The girl sighed, "This better work, Kouji. I can only use so many spells. Zeromace!" Kouji smirked as he lifted his two arms and put his palms together. An electric blast way larger than the first one shot from his palms straight toward Alice.

"No!" With a new found speed, Haley sat up and reached out to grab Alice. She covered the girl with her body. The silver haired girl tried to get out of the older girl's grip. "Haley, let me go! If you don't, you'll get hit by the attack!"

The redhead shook her head and strengthened her hold on Alice. "I don't care! I won't let you get hurt anymore!" "Looks like this is it. Man Kai, where the hell are you?"

Ooh my first cliffhanger! Please don't hate me! lol An even longer chapter than the last one. It seems each chapter just keeps getting longer. Sorry about that haha Well I hope you all enjoyed the chapter please review! ^_^

Alice is the wonderful creation of Iron-Arm-V. Thanks again for the awesome OCs!