I'm going to tell you a story. It was after the Sakhmet war, when Sakhmet was
safe. I'm young, with lots of dreams for the future, but I saving Neopia was
the last thing on my mind. Listen closely to this long story. Not many believed
me, but if you're willing to listen, I'll tell you the beginning to the very
end. Now let your mind drift as I tell you the story of the Magic Within.
"I will fight till the end for the sake of your safety..." the soft whisper
floated from the lips of a hooded figure. Slowly, he stepped out into the light
and raised his hand to take off the hood of his cloak when...
RIING!! My eyes snapped open and I sat up with a jolt. Groaning, I snatched
my clock and quickly shut it off, slamming it back on the table. I sighed and
got onto my feet, rubbing my head in frustration. I staggered around until I
got my hair into place and applied some lip-gloss. Smiling, I admired myself
in the mirror for a few minutes before I heard a small beeping sound. Turning
around, I caught a glimpse of the time and instantly screamed, "Oh no! School!"
My name is Shiko, and I'm a full-bred blue Usul! My owner, Tammy, says I'm
the prettiest Usul there is. After all, she says I have crystal blue eyes that
stand out with a shine, unlike most Usul's. As you can see, I'm not painted
but that's OK.
"All right! I'm all ready to go now!" I gasped as I skidded to a halt in the
living room. My brother looked over his shoulder and nodded while my sister
huffed, brushing past me with a, "What took you so long?"
As you can see, these are my older siblings. Not the same species as me, but
that's all right. Chay is my older brother. He's a yellow Lupe but I think his
fur looks gold in the sunshine. He's a down-to-earth, sensible, and honest pet
that you can really rely on.
Then there's my sister CherryBlossom. All right, here's what you would normally
see if you didn't know her too well - a stuck-up, snobby and selfish Uni that
is so vain it seems she doesn't care about anybody but herself. But being her
sister, I know she's a kind pet that's loyal and honest to her friends and family.
Though at times she can an annoying brat.
"All right! Stop bickering and get onto that bus!" Tammy (my owner) advised
as we stepped out the door. I flashed her a bright smile before taking off towards
the bus. I hopped in and sat beside Kerrigan, my female Acara friend.
"Hey Shiko," Kerrigan greeted me before lowering her voice and whispered, "Did
you have that dream again?"
I smiled at her and nodded my head. "It was really strange this time because
he actually took a step into the light and I was so close to seeing his face
because he was going to take off his hood! But then my stupid alarm woke me
up."
Kerrigan sighed. "I wonder what that dream means. There has to be some kind
of explanation..."
This conversation continued for a while before the bus came to a stop and all
the students filed out of the bus. We stepped into our homeroom and sat down,
waiting for our teacher to come in. While we waited, the room buzzed with excitement.
Kerrigan and I looked at each other and turned to the student beside us.
"What's going on?" we both asked at the same time.
The Zafara turned to us and smiled brilliantly. "There's a new student! A transfer
student from the Mystery Island! Isn't that so cool? I don't know the new pets
name though, it's a shame really..."
We looked at each other and erupted in giggles. We both hoped it was going
to be a male!
"Wow, maybe it's going to be a hunky Lupe! Or maybe even a Poogle, we haven't
seen one of those in plain old Neopia for a while."
Kerrigan was about to continue when our teacher stepped into the room. She's
a female Kau, very pretty if you ask me.
"Good morning students!" she shouted over the noise, "Attention please!" Instantly
the students stopped talking. "I have a very special announcement today. We
have a new transfer student! He's a Shoyru from the Mystery Islands and I hope
you'll all be very kind to him. Come on in Kaji."
Mrs. Okau smiled as a yellow Shoyru stepped into the room. He had dark fur
that was tanned from the Mystery Island's sun, and broad wings that were brought
down at his sides to rest comfortably. Even though his fur was tanned, you could
see a light sparkle of gold. What amazed the students the most were his eyes.
They were a deep shade of green, a pool of emerald that shimmered and burned
with an inner fire.
"Now Kaji, would you like to say a few words about Mystery Islands and your
life?"
Kaji answered with a slight nod and looked around the room. His eyes rested
on me and his intense gaze stayed fixed on me. "I was born in the Mystery Islands
with a family of 8. I'm the youngest child of them all. My owner likes to take
me to the training school every other day because she has a dream of me being
the best pet in the Battledome."
Mrs. Okau nodded and looked at the other students. "That's very interesting
Kaji. Would you mind if some of the students asked you some questions that they
might like to know?" Kaji shrugged and she smiled as she looked back at the
class. "Are there any students that have any questions?"
I remember that a few raised their hands, but there was one question and answer
that stuck to my mind. The question was, "Why did your owner name you Kaji?"
Kaji didn't even look at the NeoPet--he just kept staring at me. "My owner named
me Kaji because she says that my eyes are like green crystal orbs. And that
inside, they seem to burn with an everlasting fire and passion for life."
I remember that almost all the girls in the class swooned as Mrs. Okau announced
that he could sit... RIGHT BEHIND ME! He took his seat and I turned around to
say hi.
"Hi Kaji. My name's Shiko," I gave him a bright smile but he just looked at
me with those eyes. "Well... If you have any questions, I'm right in front of
you!" I offered him another smile but his expression was no different then before.
The day went on, but a strange feeling was still fluttering in my stomach.
To be continued... | 
