Disclaimer: I do not own Zatch Bell

I'm so glad everyone enjoyed the last chapter X ) Thank you so much for all your awesome reviews : ) I went back and fixed Derrick's thoughts at the end of the last chapter. Sorry if I confused anyone with my wording. Hopefully it makes more sense now haha

Here's chapter 10 of A Battle To Remember! I hope you guys enjoy the beginning of my first arc! ^-^

Suzuki-sensei clapped his hands loudly to quiet the chattering in his classroom. Once the students ceased talking, the brown haired teacher sat down at his desk and pulled out a school attendance sheet. "Alright class I don't want to hear any talking unless I call out your name."

While the teacher called out the students' names one by one, Haley folded her arms and rested her head on them. "Man I hate mornings. Why can't school start later like around lunch time?" She bit back a yawn. "Kai that lucky jerk, I bet he's still fast asleep on the couch. Now that Leon and Toshiro have moved out he doesn't have to worry about sharing the couch. He makes it seem like he's lost sleep because they were there."

True to his word, Leon had found a place to stay the next day after their fight with Hime and Falco. Unfortunately for Haley and Kai, the red haired man and his partner had moved into the apartment next door that had just been evacuated by an elderly couple who had moved to the country to escape the hustle and bustle of the city. Leon even found Toshiro and himself a job as mechanics at a nearby garage. Apparently the two were very good with their hands. It was official the two brothers weren't planning on leaving their siblings alone anytime soon.

The redhead was snapped out of her thoughts when she heard the teacher call out rather loudly. "Ichinose-san?" When there was no response, Suzuki-sensei simply shook his head and marked the student as absent.

Haley tilted her head. "Hmm that's funny wasn't Ichinose absent Monday and Tuesday too? I wonder if she's sick." The redhead's ears twitched when she heard some of the nearby girls began to gossip.

"Poor Ichinose-chan, she must be really sick."

"She's not sick, silly. I heard she ran away. She couldn't take her parents' overbearing attitudes, so she took off."

"That's stupid. I bet she's just playing hooky. We all do it sometimes."

"But I heard that her parents have gotten the police involved. They think she was kidnapped."

Suzuki-sensei hit his desk with a ruler startling the gossipers. "Ladies, enough! If you want to continue talking, you can in detention." The girls immediately shut up and looked down at their desks embarrassed.

Hazel eyes narrowed. "Ran away? Not possible. I don't see a girl like that running away even if her parents are a pain. Being kidnapped sounds like a better bet than running away. I just hope that it's just rumors, and Ichinose is only sick."

After the fourth bell ran, Haley made her way to the library. Her forehead was scrunched up in concentration as she swiftly moved through the crowd of students. The girl was so out of it that she didn't even notice Katsu's presence until he grabbed her shoulder. She looked at him surprised. "Oh hey Katsu what's up?"

The black haired teen gave her a worried look. "Are you alright, Anego? I've been calling out to you for some time. Ever since first period, you've been pretty zoned out. You've barely said a thing to me since then."

The redhead sighed before smiling at her friend. "I'm sorry, Katsu. I've just been thinking a lot that's all. I've got something on my mind."

The two continued to talk as they made their way to the library. Katsu scowled, "Has someone been giving you trouble? Just say the word and I'll take care of them for you."

The girl chuckled, "No, it's nothing like that. It's about what I heard in first period." When she saw his confused face, the older teen concluded he must not have overheard the girls' gossip. "I tell you about it once we get to the library. I don't want anyone to hear us."

The confused teen nodded as they arrived at the library. They opened the doors and made their way to one of the tables in the back near the windows. The table they saw was in fact the same table where Haley had met Derrick.

To her amusement and Katsu's annoyance, the mentioned teen was there fast asleep with his head on his arms. The redhead put a finger to her lips as her friend raised an eyebrow at her. She quietly tip-toed over to the sleeping football player. Once she was in front of him, Haley pulled out the biggest book she had in her bag and dropped it on the table right by the sleeping teen's head.

Derrick was jolted awake by the loud noise and almost fell out of his seat. When he saw the chuckling Haley and smirking Katsu, the football player scowled, "Ha ha very funny, Haley. What the hell was that for?"

Once she finally managed to calm down, the redhead grinned, "Aw don't be mad, Derrick. I just couldn't help myself. You shouldn't let your guard down like that."

The brown-eyed teen yawned, "You're lucky you're so cute. I can't stay mad at someone with a face as pretty as yours." The black haired teen smirked when he saw the girl blush. His smirk faded as he gazed curiously at the angry teen beside her. "Who's your friend?"

Haley smiled, "This is my friend Katsu. He just transferred to our school not too long ago. He's also a part of the mamodo battle."

Both boys' eyes widened before they pointed at the other and shouted simultaneously. "He has a mamodo?"

The redhead nodded, "Yep. Derrick Runners meet Arashi Katsu. Katsu meet Derrick."

The footballer player held out a hand to the other boy. "Nice to meet you, Katsu. I hope we can become good friends."

Katsu slapped away the other's hand and scowled, "It's 'Arashi' to you. You're lucky you're a friend of Anego's, or I would've hurt you for flirting with her like that."

Brown eyes narrowed while a cocky smirk grew on Derrick's face. "Oh? Is that so? Well it's a good thing I'm her friend then. Though I doubt I'd stop flirting with her even if I wasn't."

Unknown to Haley, a silent challenge was shared between the two boys as they glared at each other. The girl sat down in the chair in front of Derrick and sighed, "Why must I deal with such idiots? I need to start hanging out with other girls more."

The football player stopped his glaring to grin at the redhead. "Aw don't say that, Haley. I thought you loved hanging out with me."

She pulled Katsu down into the seat beside her to prevent his retort and shook her head. "Yeah right. Now if you two would stop fighting, I'll explain why I've been so scattered brained."

Derrick raised an eyebrow, but the other boy glared at the jock to keep him quiet. Once the girl knew she had the boys' attention, she cleared her throat. "The reason why I've been so spaced out is because of what I heard about Ichinose."

The football player interrupted her. "Who's Ichinose?"

Before Katsu could snap at the other boy for interrupting the redhead, she answered, "Ichinose Azumi, she's a girl in our class. She's a football cheerleader."

Realization dawned the brown-eyed boy's features. "Oh that Ichinose! I know Azumi-chan. She's very cute and a really sweet girl. Did something happen to Azumi-chan?"

Haley shrugged, "I don't know. Maybe. She hasn't been to school at all this week. The gossip I heard has gotten me worried about her."

Katsu placed a hand on his friend's shoulder. "I'm sure she's fine, Anego. You shouldn't pay any mind to that gossip. She's probably just sick."

The girl sighed, "I thought that at first too, but that's not the only reason why I'm so worried."

Derrick gazed at her curiously. "Ok so what's your other reason?"

She frowned, "Ichinose isn't the only girl that's been missing school in my class. Inoue Akane hasn't been at school since Monday. Another girl named Tsukimori Reiko was absent today."

The football player shook his head. "Don't you think you're being a little paranoid? I can kinda understand your suspicions about Inoue-chan since she's been missing almost two days, but Tsukimori-chan has only been absent today. She could be completely unrelated to the other two. All three of the absences could just be a coincidence."

Haley bit her lip. "I don't think so. I know it's weird to freak out since she's only missed today, and she could always be coming to school later. But the fact that it's Tsukimori of all people that's missing school has me on edge."

Both boys gave her a curious look before the brown-eyed boy asked, "What do you mean?"

The redhead scratched her head. "I know I haven't been here long, but for as long as I've been here, Tsukimori has never missed a day of school. I remember one of the girls in my class telling me Tsukimori had gotten the perfect attendance award every year since middle school. She's one of those shy types that never speak much in class, but whenever I've talked to her she was always nice to me."

Katsu's eyes narrowed. "You're right. I remember Tsukimori. She's definitely not the type who would miss school even if she was sick."

Derrick frowned, "So do you think their disappearances are all connected? I may not know all of them very well, but none of those girls have anything in common do they? I mean Azumi-chan's a cheerleader, Inoue-chan is a well-known rebel, and Tsukimori-chan is a shy recluse."

The girl looked down. "They don't. I don't think I've ever seen those girls say a word to each other. They're from completely different circles. But I can't shake this feeling that their disappearances are connected. Call it woman's intuition."

The grey-eyed teen grabbed her hands. "If you think something's going on, I believe you. I know better than to doubt your intuition, Anego."

Her eyes softened. "Thanks, Katsu." She was surprised when her left hand was pulled from younger teen's grasp by Derrick.

The football player winked, "Me too. I would never doubt such a pretty face."

Haley blushed slightly while Katsu glared at the jock. "Thanks guys. I'm sure anyone else beside Leon would probably just think I'm crazy. I'm glad I have such good friends to rely on."

The redhead grinned when she noticed the blush on the boys' cheeks. Her grin faded when she remembered the seriousness of their earlier conversation. "I wonder, do you think a mamodo could be responsible for the disappearances? I know it could be just a normal kidnapping, but what if there's more to it?"

Katsu frowned, "I guess it's possible. Some mamodo do crazy things though I don't know why one would kidnap girls."

Derrick scratched his head. "I don't know. It seems kinda weird for a mamodo to be involved in something like this."

The redhead sighed, "Yeah I know. It was just a theory. The only for sure way we'll know is if we do a little investigating."

Both boys simultaneously asked, "Investigating?"

She smirked, "Of course! How else are we gonna solve this little mystery? I say after school we do a little snooping and find out what we can. During lunch, I'll call Kai and get him to meet up with us."

The brown-eyed boy grinned, "Sounds fun but I'll have to join up with you a little later since I have football practice. Can you ask Kai to bring Alice with him when he comes? I remember her saying she was going to visit him today."

The girl nodded, "Of course. Alright while you're at practice Katsu and I will go to the girls' homes and ask their parents what they know. You and Alice can take care of asking anyone around school since you have to stay here."

The bell rang ending their discussion. After finishing with their plans, the trio headed for library door. The three nodded at each other before heading to their fifth period classes.

After Kai showed up with Alice, the group split up with Derrick and Alice staying at school and Haley and the others going to the missing girls' houses to see if something really was going on with the girls. Not too long after the three left the school, Kira appeared out of nowhere like he usually does and walked with them to Ichinose's house.

Haley got the girls' addresses from Suzuki-sensei by offering to bring their homework assignments to them. Luckily all of the girls lived near the school, so the group wouldn't have to travel around the whole city to go to the girls' houses.

Hours later, Haley's group met up with Derrick and Alice at her apartment to discuss what they had learned from the girls' parents. The six were spread out in the redhead's tiny living room. Haley along with Kai and Alice were lounging on the couch while Derrick, Katsu, and Kira sat Indian style on the floor near the couch.

A few minutes passed in silence until Derrick decided to break the ice. He scratched his head. "So were the girls sick after all?"

The older girl shook her head. "No such luck. All three of the girls are missing, and their parents have no idea what happened. It was like we feared. Ichinose went missing sometime Sunday night. Inoue disappeared Monday night while Tsukimori vanished last night."

Alice's eyes widened. "That's horrible! Those poor girls."

Katsu frowned, "The only thing we could find in common between the girls was the fact that they went missing at night. When we mentioned the other missing girls' names to the parents, they had no idea who we were talking about, so the girls obviously weren't familiar with each other."

Kai yawned, "Alright so we proved something's wrong. Why are we getting involved? This is the police's job not ours."

Haley crossed her arms. "That may be but I can't help this bad feeling I've got. There's something suspicious going on, and I wanna find out what."

The wind mamodo sighed, "You just can't stay out of trouble can you?"

The football player smirked, "I don't think that's possible for Haley. Haley-chan loves getting into trouble. I think it's cute."

Her face turned red while Katsu scowled, "Damn football idiot! Leave Anego alone!"

The brown-eyed teen continued to smirk. "And why would I do that?"

Before the angry teen could retort, Haley interrupted, "Enough! We don't have time for your bickering. We need to decide what we're gonna do about those missing girls."

For the first time since he arrived, Kira spoke up. "If the police haven't had any luck finding the girls, then how are we supposed to find them?"

Everyone went silent as they pondered over the silver haired mamodo's words. After a few minutes, the redhead snapped her fingers startling everyone out of their thoughts. "I've got it! We just need to go to the scene of the crime!"

Kai rolled his eyes. "What scene of the crime? They were kidnapped not murdered. The parents have no idea when their kids were taken. Tsukimori's parents said she disappeared on her way home from her night class. And the other parents said the other girls vanished on their way home from parties. The parties weren't even in the same area."

Derrick grinned, "But I know where one of them was! Azumi-chan's boyfriend is on the football team. He told me the last time he saw her was at that park where we fought that lightning mamodo. Apparently the park wasn't too far from her house, so she told him he didn't have to walk her all the way home since he lived on the other side of town."

Katsu sighed, "Too bad that was her fatal mistake. She'd probably still be here if he stayed with her."

The football player's face grew serious. "Yeah and he's really beating himself up about it. He blames himself for what happened. Poor guy."

Alice jumped off the couch and hugged her partner. "Don't worry, Derrick-kun. We'll help your friend. We'll save all those girls."

He patted her head and smiled, "Right. Those kidnappers won't know what hit them. No one messes with our classmates and gets away with it."

Haley grinned, "That's the spirit! Tonight we'll go investigate the park. Maybe if we're lucky we'll catch the kidnappers in the act."

The black haired mamodo shook his head. "Why the hell would they be there? I doubt they're gonna kidnap someone in the same place twice."

The redhead shrugged, "Maybe they're not very smart criminals. Besides, this is the only lead we have. We got to at least try."

"So you kids plan on going all by yourselves to a place where there might be dangerous criminals? I don't think so."

Six heads swiveled toward the source of the voice. Leon stood with his arms crossed and an amused Toshiro behind him.

Haley chuckled nervously. "Oh hey Leon, are you off work already? Time sure does fly by when you're having fun."

Her brother rolled his eyes. "You didn't think you could actually do this without me knowing did you? Come on give me a little more credit."

Kai lifted his hands in surrender. "Don't look at me. This was all her idea."

His partner hit him on the head. "You traitor!"

Toshiro smirked, "You should've just stayed quiet, little brother."

Alice's face brightened as she ran over to the two older teens. "You must be Haley and Kai's older brothers! It's nice to meet you. I'm Alice."

True to her reputation, the boys' faces immediately softened at the sight of the cute girl. Leon squatted down and patted the silver haired girl's head. "It's nice to meet you too, Alice. I'm Leon and this is my partner Toshiro."

The older mamodo gave her a nod before shifting his gaze to the other three boys in the room. "Looks like your sister is very popular with the guys, Leon."

The red haired man's head snapped up, and he looked at the other boys in the room. Luckily, Kira was able to escape over to where Haley and Kai sat because he was only a kid. Derrick and Katsu weren't so lucky. The two sweatdropped as the intimidating man walked towards them.

Knowing what was about to happen, Haley quickly intervened by placing herself between her brother and her friends. "Leave them alone, Leon. They're my friends. I won't let you kill them because of your overprotective attitude. Besides, I don't think Alice and Kira would appreciate you hurting their partners."

Leon blinked innocently. "Who said I was gonna hurt them? I only wanted to talk with them. I wanna see what kind of friends you've made while you've been here."

She rolled her eyes. "Since when do you only talk to my friends that are boys? Get real, Leon. I'm not gonna fall for that."

Derrick held up his hands in surrender. "I promise I have never done anything to your sister. I'm an older brother too, so I know better than to try anything like that." "If he finds out about my flirting, I'm so dead!"

Katsu bowed his head. "You can trust me, Aniki! I would never do anything to hurt or endanger Anego! I make sure no other boys mess with her at school."

The red haired man raised an eyebrow. "Aniki? Anego? What the hell is he going on about, Haley?"

Haley sighed, "He's been calling me 'Anego' ever since we became friends. Katsu was originally part of a local gang, so that's why he talks like that. Don't worry he's not a part of one anymore. In fact, his old gang's in jail thanks to Kai."

Toshiro gave his brother a curious look. "Oh really? I didn't know you were the hero type, Kai. I'm impressed."

Kai scratched his head. "It's not like I planned it. Hell I didn't even know they were in jail until Katsu told us. They were the ones who attacked me. I just defended myself. Besides, Haley took out a lot of them too. It wasn't just me."

The red haired girl sweatdropped when her brother shifted his gaze to her. "Aw hell now he's pissed! I am so gonna kill Kai!" "Now Onii-chan, it's not as bad as it sounds. You see, the day I met Kai I kinda got into a bit of trouble with a gang called the White Wolves."

Leon narrowed his eyes. "What kind of trouble?"

She gulped, "It wasn't my fault! Whenever I went home from school, I had to go through their territory which they didn't like. So they would always pick a fight with me whenever they saw me. But they were really weak so I always beat them. Unfortunately that last time was different. They had tasers and more weapons which caught me off guard. Luckily, Kai came just in time and saved me."

Her brother clenched his fists. "This is exactly why I didn't want you to come here by yourself. Who knows what would've happened to you if Kai hadn't shown up!"

Haley grinned sheepishly as she went over to hug his arm. "Then it's a good thing you showed up huh Leon?"

Leon sighed, "You're lucky l can't stay mad at you."

The girl continued to grin. "I know. You just love me too much."

Toshiro coughed to get the two redheads' attention. "So what's this about catching kidnappers?"

For the next half hour, the group explained the situation to the newcomers. Once they finished, the two older brothers wore serious expressions. Leon gave his sister a curious look. "So you really think a mamodo might be involved in these kidnappings?"

Haley shrugged, "I don't know what to believe. All I know is someone is taking my classmates, and they need to be stopped."

Derrick added, "There's just something weird about these kidnappings."

Katsu scowled, "I hate to admit it, but the football idiot is right. I think there's more to these kidnappings than meets the eye."

Leon sighed, "True but you three could just be paranoid. Either way if you're planning on going to that park tonight, Toshiro and I are coming too."

The red haired girl smiled, "How'd I know you were gonna say that?"

Once it turned dark, the group of eight headed towards the park in hopes of solving their little mystery. When they arrived, everyone split up with their partners and hid in different places around the park. Over an hour had passed and no one had appeared.

Kai yawned, "See? I told you no one was gonna show up. Can we go home now? I'm tired."

Haley rolled her eyes. "You're always tired. Besides, it's only been an hour. The kidnappers might strike at a later time."

Before the mamodo could argue, the snap of a twig caught the duo's attention. They froze before they quietly surveyed their surroundings. Not far away were two figures covered in shadow. Haley and Kai held their breath hoping the strangers wouldn't find them.

Unfortunately, the newcomers seemed to know where the two hiding teens were because they were walking straight towards the redhead and her partner. As the strangers approached, Haley was able to make out most of their appearance despite the darkness.

The taller of the two was a boy in his early teens that was around 5'5. He had dark blue hair and grey eyes with silver glasses. The young teen wore a dark blue hoodie, blue jeans, and grey sneakers. The blue haired boy held a dark green book in his right hand.

The shorter figure was a young girl about the same age as her friend. She was close to 5'2 and had long dark green hair and bright yellow eyes. The green haired girl wore a black and white maid outfit along with black slippers.

Once they were only a few feet away from the bush where Haley and Kai were hiding, the young girl smiled evilly. "You two can come out now. We know you're there."

Haley and her partner slowly walked out of the bushes not once taking their eyes off the mysterious girl. Hazel eyes narrowed. "So a mamodo is involved. Are you the one kidnapping young girls?"

The other girl giggled, "Not me though I am here to stop you and your friends from meddling. I know all about how you're trying to find the girls missing from your class."

The redhead growled, "If you're not the one kidnapping them, then who is?"

The green haired teen wagged her finger. "Now why would I tell you that? It wouldn't be any fun if I just told you."

Kai sighed, "I had a feeling she'd say something like that."

Haley pulled out the silver book which gave off a bright glow when she opened it. "Looks like we'll have to use force."

The younger mamodo grinned, "Aren't you two worried about your friends? I know you're not here alone."

Sapphire and hazel eyes widened. The duo began searching the area for any signs of their friends but saw no one. The high school student scowled, "What did you do to them? You better not have hurt them!"

The yellow-eyed teen snapped her fingers. Suddenly five large snakes appeared with their tails wrapped around the others. Derrick and the other book owners were wrapped so tightly that they couldn't use their books. Their mouths were covered by the snakes' tails preventing them from talking. The mamodo kicked and squirmed trying to free themselves and their partners.

Haley noticed Alice was missing from the group but said nothing. "Maybe Alice will be able to save the others while we distract this mamodo."

The green haired mamodo's grin grew larger. "I'm known as Jun the ruler of snakes. Sorry but your pathetic group won't be able to stop me or my master."

Kai's eyes narrowed. "Master?" "What do you want?"

Jun continued to grin. "I told you. We came here to stop your meddling." Her eyes grew serious. "Permanently."

Haley glared at her. "You'll pay for attacking my friends. Kazedron!"

The wind mamodo lifted his hand and fired a blast of wind at the green haired teen. She along with her partner jumped out of the way to avoid the attack.

The younger mamodo smirked, "If that's all you got, then this will be an easy fight. Minoru, read the spell!"

The blue haired boy nodded and shouted, "Snero!"

Jun's hair began to change shape and turn into actual snakes. She pointed at Kai and his partner and ordered, "Attack!" At her command, the snakes on her head stretched and headed for the other team.

Haley's eyes grew large. "Kazerudo!"

The black haired mamodo lifted his hands and summoned a large dome of wind that surrounded them. Instead of hitting their intended targets, the snakes bounced off the shield and turned back into normal strands of hair.

Before Minoru could read another spell, Haley yelled, "Chisokumera!"

A silver aura surrounded Kai's body, and he quickly vanished. The wind mamodo surprised Jun by appearing in front of her. He unleashed a flurry of fists before the girl could react.

The green haired girl was unable to dodge most of the attacks due to the other mamodo's intense speed. Finally, she jumped backwards barely missing the blow aimed at her stomach. She shouted, "Minoru, don't just stand there! Read a spell!"

Minoru chanted, "Snareke!"

Jun's right hand turned into snake's head. When it opened its mouth, the snake unleashed a dark blast of energy at Kai. The older mamodo disappeared right before the attack hit him.

When Kai reappeared, he noticed the ground where the attack had hit begin to shrivel and turn purple. "What the hell?"

The yellow-eyed mamodo grinned, "Some snakes are very well-known for their poisons. I would be careful if I were you." She fired another blast this time aiming for Haley.

Kai swiftly grabbed his partner and avoided the attack. He scowled, "Leave her out of this. You attack my partner and you'll regret it."

Jun giggled, "Oh I'm so scared. Now how about you hand over that book. You didn't forget your friends were captured did you?"

The wind mamodo smirked, "I don't know what you're talking about."

The green haired teen scowled, "Don't give me that. If you don't want me to hurt your friends, you better hand your book over."

"Who did you say you would hurt?"

Jun quickly turned to around and saw Leon carrying a knocked out Minoru over his shoulders with everyone else safely standing behind him.

The yellow-eyed teen began to back away as she stammered, "H-how?" She turned to the side to see all five of her snakes frozen solid. "How could you have cast a spell? You shouldn't have been able to open your books!"

Derrick grinned, "You should've been paying more attention. While you did manage to capture me, you failed to catch my partner."

Alice appeared from behind the football player's legs and smiled, "It wasn't hard to help Leon-san with this book while Haley distracted you."

Haley smirked, "If you had a better relationship with your partner, he probably would've been able to warn you. I could tell there was something weird about you two. I could hear the reluctance in Minoru's voice when he casted your spells. He didn't want to be in this fight did he? Otherwise he would have said something when he noticed the snakes get frozen."

Jun glared at her unconscious partner. "That doesn't surprise me. Minoru is a complete weakling. I can't believe I got partnered with such a coward for this battle."

Katsu held out the dark green book and lit it with a lighter. "Well you won't have to work with him ever again."

Despite having lost the battle, the green haired mamodo didn't look disappointed in fact she was grinning. "Don't think this is over just yet. Unless you defeat my master, girls will continue to disappear."

Haley walked over to the fading girl and pulled the mamodo to her eye level. "Who is your master? And why is he kidnapping girls in my class?"

Jun continued to grin. "It's not just girls in your class. My master has been doing this for a while now. He likes to go from town to town snatching up girls."

The redhead growled, "Why?"

The yellow-eyed mamodo cocked her head to the side as her grin grew large and cynical. "Why to steal their souls of course why else?"

With that, Jun disappeared leaving everyone else in stunned silence.

Now I'm sure you guys are wondering why Jun didn't go ahead and burn the others books when she captured them. Don't worry I'll explain that in the next chapter ; )

I hope you guys liked this chapter. Sorry if the fight wasn't really exciting, but come one Jun was outnumbered. Forgeting about cute little Alice was her undoing X D

With a raise of hands, how many people were creeped out by this cliffhanger? Haha sorry I couldn't help myself. I know it sounds weird for a mamodo to be able to do something like that but I'll explain it later on I promise. ^_^