Of Sunsets and Sunrises - Chapter Two By: Pyro Prodigy

-- Disappearances aren't just accidents --

A/N: Well, as promised, here's the next chapter to my original fic, "Of Sunsets and Sunrises". This is pretty much where everything starts, unlike the last chapter, which was more of an intro, really. That's why I made sure I got both of these chapters written before I posted anything.

~*~*~

It was late, when Jin awoke the next morning, after noon late. His mind was still groggy as he remembered what time he fell asleep last night. He's barely been able to pull off his socks and t-shirt, let alone make it to the bed. The blonde sat up and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, glancing at the clock on his desk. 12:38. It was a Saturday, and other than finishing his history paper, he had nothing to do. Slowly, the seventeen year old made his way to the bathroom. After a quick shower, and a change of clothes, he went downstairs for breakfast.

Kouij didn't say anything as Jin walked into the kitchen. Their eyes met, but the two remained quiet. Silence went both ways between the father and son. Silence with glares from Jin, meant the boy still hadn't forgiven him, while complete silence meant the Kouji had been forgiven, and vice-versa.

"I'm. uhh.. going to the park for most of the day," Jin said, "gonna practice my jump shots and stuff"

"Oh? Well, I'm going to the gym to run. why don't you come along? I hear their basketball courts are great."

". Yeah, great, and crowded, full of amateurs who can't even get the ball near the backboard. I'd sure get a lot of practice done there." The blonde retorted, standing up and putting his dishes in the sink.

Kouji didn't reply, he just continued to drink his coffee. By then, Jin had already walked to the closet and began to rummage around. The blonde pulled out a basketball soon after and slipped on his shoes. "I'm going." he muttered, and made his way out the door.

***

Jin picked up the orange ball again and with precise aim, shot it at the net. Swish.

"You know, I always wondered why you've never joined any of the school teams, with that shot of yours, you could easily be one of the star players." A voice said from behind him. The blonde's eyes narrowed, but he didn't turn around.

"Is there a point to you going up to me out of the blue, or is that all irritable people like you do for fun?" Jin muttered rudely, throwing the ball up once more to hear the satisfying sway of the net as the ball easily glided in.

"Don't want me around? Alright then, have it your way." The stranger turned around and began to walk away, but paused and spoke once more, "After all, I am just being a bother, and you sure don't want to know what I have to say"

Jin let out a growl and roughly picked up the basketball, turning around to face the unfamiliar person. His jaw clenched tightly as he saw the not-so- unfamiliar face. She looks just like my mother. with the soft, dark brown hair cascading over her shoulders like a silken waterfall and blue-green eyes glittering like emeralds. She looked as alive as ever. But, It couldn't be her. she's dead. Jin shook his head, closing his eyes briefly. He gathered his courage and spoke once again. "Well then, what is it?"

"I can help you find Hikari." .

"What.?" Jin asked. His eyes widened for a moment, before closing shut tightly as he shook his head once more. 'First she looks exactly like my dead mom and now she says she can find my missing sister. great' he added mentally. ". You can't. She's been missing for over 3 years. No one's seen her since then"

"That's because you've all been looking in the wrong places. She's not here."

"What are you talking about? Of course she's not here, she's dead. There were at least hundreds of rescue workers looking for her; they never even found a trace"

His mother-look-alike crossed her arms and let out an exasperated sigh. "I mean she's not here, in this world. She's in another time, an ancient world called known only as Endiness. And Hikari didn't just disappear, she was kidnapped."

The teen's eyes narrowed again. "Kidnapped. by who?!"

". Follow me."

All of a sudden, a large rift appeared in front of her. Gesturing for him to follow, she stepped into it and vanished. Jin stood there, his arms crossed and looking incredulous.

"Walk into the rift already! You want to know where Hikari is, don't you."

With one last look around him, Jin stepped in. ".Whatever"

***

". Where the hell are we?" The blonde questioned, taking in his new surroundings.

"We're in a secret building buried deep underground"

"The fact we're in a building is obvious enough, but I mean where"

His mother-look-alike glanced at him, before climbing a set of stairs. ". We are at the ends of the Earth; A place where no normal human being, or creature for that matter, can get to. unless they go through a special rift like we did."

Jin remained quiet for a moment, but continued to follow her up the stairs to a large metal door. She held a hand up to a panel near the door and it opened soon after, with a computerized voice greeting her.

It looked to be something from a future world. The ceiling was unbelievably high up for an underground building. Gigantic screens flashed throughout the room and computers were everywhere.

"So. is this place some sort of computer-run building where everything is exceptionally advanced? And if it is, are all places in 'the ends of the earth' like this?"

She proceeded to walk into an elevator before finally turning to Jin and answering his question. "Yes to your first question, and no to the second. As I said before, this building is secret; only certain people may come here."

Jin rolled his eyes. "And why is that?"

"You'll see. We're almost where we need to go."

"Whatever, look this better be about Hikari, or I am going to be seriously pissed off, lady"

She gave no response, only stepping out as the elevator door opened. They were now in a room containing a large monitor and room-wide keyboard to go along with it. The walls were grey-ish white in color and two leather, teal- blue couches were placed in front of the monitor.

"Take a seat." She finally said, punching in a few buttons on the keyboard.

As soon as he did as he was told, the screen flickered, showing a massive village of people. "These people. are known as the Haidan clan. Usually stay out of others' business, unless you get the Hideku clan involved."

"Why's that? Are they big rivals or something?" Jin asked.

". Exactly; their rivalry is of the worst sort, everyone here knows about them, but will most likely refuse to talk."

The blonde teen remained quiet.

"You're probably wondering what caused such a big rivalry."

Jin nodded briefly.

"Well. not much is known; only that there was a huge betrayal. A man from the Haidan clan turned out to be a spy. fact is, he was one of the strongest members they had, included in the high counsel. One day, he lead the Hideku's right to his clan's hiding place. The result was disastrous. To this day, no one knows why that man betrayed the Haidans."

". Then, I'm assuming, if the Haidan's are the friendlier clan, the Hideku's are the complete opposite?"

The look-alike nodded. "Yes. They are inhumanly cruel; going around cities and towns just trashing places. Rumor has it; they use ancient black magic to make them stronger."

"Forget about them. If the Haidan's are the. less-evil clan, so to say, why did they kidnap Hikari?"

". I. don't know"

"What?!" Jin cried, jumping out of his seat.

"Let me explain, Jin." she reasoned. The teen glared, but crossed his arms, allowing her to speak. "That's why we brought you here, not only so you could have the chance to rescue your sister, but for us to find answers. You see, other than their usual trashing of cities and towns, the Hideku clan haven't started anything with the Haidans, which is very unusual for them."

"So I'm just some sort of spy of yours; to find your answers, and do your dirty work for you?!"

"No! Of course not! It's for your benefit too. that maybe you would learn why they kidnapped Hikari, and not someone else."

"So why am I here, of all places.. Why didn't you just take me to where they are, like how you transported me into this building by traveling through that rift?" Jin questioned.

"The Haidan, and Hideku clans are very hard to track. If they stay in one place for a prolonged period of time, we wouldn't be able to track and see where they are, even with the technology we have at our hands."

The blonde scowled. "Damn it. So, then. why did you bring me here?"

"To get you started on your training. As much as you'd hate to admit it, you need to train in order to survive out there on your own, in order to rescue Hikari."

". Then, let's get started."