Echo Like Thunder

-"The thunder rumbles as lightning flashes across the sky, shaking the heavens and earth."

A blond five-year-old ran up to Lei and Yen as soon as they entered their two-story house.

"How was training? Who did you fight?" The kid asked as his eyes shimmered with curiosity.

"It was good, but I still got a lot more practice to do," Lei said, wiping the sweat off of his forehead. "I've battled against Wanikiya, Yen, and Zelde. Sadly not against Hikaru, who was too tired by his matches against Wanikiya. Seriously, that guy needs to work on his prana control."

Yen grinned and pointed at herself with her right thumb. "Well, I won, of course. As did Zelde in her match against him."

Lei put his hands behind his head and narrowed his eyes at his sister. "You know, I'll beat you one of these days. You'll see."

Yen raised her right hand toward her lips to stifle a chuckle. "Would love to see you try."

Lei lowered his hands as he took a deep breath. He ran straight to the wooden stairs and grabbed the metal rail. He stopped and glanced back at his sister. "Full of yourself, aren't you? Anyway, I am going to go shower and then head out."

"Where to?" Yen asked, raising an eyebrow. "I don't recall the others inviting us to any events."

Lei reached into the pocket of his pants and took something out. "I want to find this Nyima girl and return this to her," he said, holding out the I.D. he had found.

"Why now? It's already late," the five-year-old said as he followed his big brother. He directed his electric blue eyes toward the window. The sky seemed as if it were on fire.

Lei turned around and messed up the child's neatly combed hair. "I'll be fine, Shandian. Don't worry. I got my magic to light up the darkness of night."

Yen put her hands on her hips and shook her head before saying, "I'll accompany you just to make sure you don't end up getting lost. Plus, it won't hurt to have two of us searching for her."

"Sounds good," her triplet said, putting his hands behind his head again. This time he grinned. "But don't wander off far from me. You don't have lightning magic like me. Nor fire or light for that matter."

She scoffed. "No need to tell me. I know. I plan to keep a close eye on you." She glanced at the card. "Doesn't that I.D. say where she lives?"

He glanced at the I.D. "Yeah, it says that she lives on the other side of town, the western section, to be exact."

"The other side of town? That girl must be rich then. Hey, think that she'll repay us for returning it to her?"

"Look at you, thinking of money," Lei said, matching over to the stairs. "I'm returning this because it's the right thing. If we get money as a reward, then that would be the icing on the cake, not the objective."

Yen scoffed. "Alright, I got it. I hope that she'll be there, or it'll be a waste of time."

He turned around and stared at her sweat-covered face. "You won't be taking a shower? You worked up as much of a sweat as me. If we're going to a fancy part of town, you might scare off the locals."

Her face flushed as she ran past him. "Of course I am! You think that I'm a pig?"

He adverted his gaze from her. "Well, your habits kind of resemble one," he said in a low voice.

Wind danced around Yen. "I heard that you, brat. Honestly, you lack tack when it comes to speaking to girls."

Lei narrowed his eyes. "You aren't any better with guys. If you continue acting the way you do, you will scare off Hikaru."

"Hikaru?" she asked. This time it was her turn to avert her gaze. "He's just a friend. Plus, he's not even my type."

He followed after her. "But you're trying to turn him into your type, or do you think that I haven't noticed?"

"You two," Shandian said, laughing nervously. "Stop arguing! You sound like kids."

The two looked down in shame, being told off by their five-year-old brother like that when it should've been the other way around.

"Think that I can accompany you two? Mama and Papa won't be arriving for several hours, and I'll be all alone. I mean, I was alone previously, but you two were outside so I could call upon you..."

"Sure thing!" Lei said. "It'll be like a family adventure. We should invite..." He gasped and looked away.

"Invite who?" Shandian asked, blinking.

"Never mind what I said," the young mage said, rushing off to his room.

"I guess that I'll use my parent's bathroom," Yen said, turning toward the left.

Shandian watched as the two walked away, an aura of melancholy swarming around the two. He turned his gaze toward his right. Hung on the turquoise wall was a portrait of his family from when he was an infant. He was held in the arms of a purple-haired woman, his mother. While Yen, Lei, and another boy their age were in the forefront, bearing wide smiles.

Shandian stared closely at the boy who looked identical to Lei except for his hair being parted toward the left instead of the right and instead of wearing green the boy white clothes."Did they mean him?" he asked himself, tilting his head at the picture frame. Kun.

***

Lei's right hand crackled with azure lightning as the three siblings flew through the night sky. Well, more like Yen and Lei flew. Shandian had to be held by his two siblings.

"Are we almost there?" Shandian asked. He glanced down at the colorful city lights below.

Yen looked through her phone with her free hand. "Almost there. It's only a few more miles toward the northwest. Ahhh, it's around here!"

"You there, descend now and identify yourselves!" a voice roared from below.

Lei sighed. "Seems that security here is as tight as expected."

Yen shot him a look as if he were crazy. "If you figured that, why didn't you say so earlier?"

"You didn't?" he asked, amazed.

Shandian sighed. "Don't argue in mid-air while holding me, you two. I am too young to die."

Lei nodded. "Of course, we won't let you fall." He glanced at Yen, who nodded, and soon the three descended to the ground. Waiting for them was a blue-haired man holding a relatively thick book.

Shandian and his other siblings looked at the guy's clothes. He wore a button-up blue shirt and white pants.

"You aren't security," Lei said, giving the man a funny look.

"And you are a bunch of kids," he said, crossing his arms.

Lei grumbled. "I'm not a kid! I'm fifteen! I'll be turning sixteen in a few weeks."

"Is that so?" he said, turning his back to them. He snickered. "You two should be lucky that I discovered you instead of a real cop."

"Yeah, real lucky," he said under his breath.

"Lei," Yen said, yanking on the sleeves of his tai-chi shirt. "This is the location."

Lei glanced up at the navy blue building, which glistened in the artificial light cast by the streetlamps. He looked forward at the man as he entered the apartment complex.

"Wait up!" Lei yelled, chasing after him.

He stopped and turned around. "Something wrong?"

Lei nodded. "I found this I.D.," he said, showing him the silver card. "I thought of returning it to its owner. Do you know where I can find a Nyima Taiyang?"

The man gasped and smiled. "Nyima, huh?" He extended his hand out toward him. "Here, I'll take it to her. I know exactly where her family lives."

"Really?"

He nodded.

Lei smiled and handed him the card. "Thanks a ton! I appreciate it. Please tell her that Lei, the future Magus Maximus, returned it."

Yen narrowed her eyes. "Oh, why do you wish for her to know your name? Fell for the girl? Here I thought that you only had eyes for Yuzuki. It appears that you're a player."

Lei's face reddened. "It's not like that." He turned toward the man. "Tell her that Yen and Shandian also brought it alongside him."

The man nodded and tucked the I.D. into the pockets of his pants. "Will do." His blue eyes drifted down toward Shandian. "You all seem familiar. Where are you three from?"

"We come from the eastern part of town," Yen responded. She tilted her head. "But no idea as to why we would seem familiar."

He waved his hand. "Forget it. It's just that seeing that young one reminds me of a certain electric-blue-eyed guy with azure lightning."

Lei gasped. "Do you know my dad? His name is Feng."

The man snickered. "So you are the children of Harmonica and that guy. Those two were the neighbors of who is now my wife." He waved. "I better get going as I got a lot of work to do. Be careful on your way back!"

"Bye," Lei said, waving.

"Wow, imagine us meeting an old acquaintance of our dad here," Yen said, crossing her arms.

Shandian smiled. "The world is smaller than one thinks."

Lei ruffled the kid's hair. "True that. I wonder who else we'll meet in the next few days. I'm dying for the test to begin already! Gah, I should do more training!"

Yen shook her head. "You will train by finding us a way back home without getting detained for flying at night, unsupervised by an adult."

Lei grumbled. "Well, the only option is to run there. Hey, I got an idea!" He glanced around the street, which had several sports cars parked by the side of the road. As soon as no vehicles were driving, he signaled at the two. "Come, I'll tell you my idea on the way to the bridge!"

Yen sighed. "This better be a well-thought-out idea."

Shandian snickered. "Got any suggestions, sis?"

Lei smiled at their sister. "Yeah, got any?"

She rubbed the back of her neck. "Yes. I can run at the speed of sound by..." She gasped. "Wait, is that your idea too?"

Lei snickered and nodded. "Yup!"

***

[Dawn Tower-- Room 300]

"Welcome back home!" Nyima said as a navy-blue-haired man holding a thick book entered the apartment.

"Daddy!" yelled a blue-haired girl around Shandian's age.

The man smiled and squatted down to pat the young girl's head. "How have my favorite girls been?"

"We've been fine," said a red-haired woman as she came out of the kitchen holding a blue-haired toddler. "Though it seems that Nyima here lost her identification."

Nyima scratched her head. "I can't find it anywhere. Have you seen it? Wait, I had it this morning after you went off to work, so of course, you didn't. Where could it be?" She raised a hand to her chin and lingered in thought for a few seconds before sighing. "It appears that I lost it while I was out looking for Mahpiya's location!"

Her father snickered and took out a silver I.D. from his pants pocket. "Here you go. A young man called Lei brought this back. Well, he was accompanied by his siblings Yen and Shandian too."

The young woman snatched the card. "Thank the Goddess. I wonder how it ended up in their hands."

He shrugged. "No idea, but you should be more careful with your stuff. You're lucky that a nice group of siblings found it instead of someone sinister."

Nyima glanced at the silver card and smiled.

I will need to thank this Lei kid and his siblings if I ever get the chance to meet him.

"Lei, you say?" Nyima's mother said, putting a finger against her lips. "That name, where have I heard it before?"

"He is Feng's child. It appears that he dreams of being the next Magus Maximus." He glanced over at his daughter, who smiled back. "He won't reach that title easily, though."

Nyima scoffed. "I am thankful to this guy, but if he thinks that he'll one day be the emperor of this realm, then he is dearly mistaken."

Though he sounds like an interesting youth. I wish to meet him even more now, this 'Lei'. If he seeks to become Magus Maximus, I'll undoubtedly run into him at the exam for Nine Petal Academy or at some other event. Ha. Will his name one day ring throughout the realm like a chorus of thunder ever echoing throughout the eons, or will it be but a mere squeak swallowed by the passage of time?