And another chapter brought to you by ShadowMajin

The protests of the leather booth seat added to Gohan's discomfort as he sat there in the too cheerful looking diner, a family of three little boys with a weary mother and father speaking loudly behind him. He picked at the fraying edges of a crack that split the aged cow hide in a crude star-like pattern, but it was only one of many such cracks due to repeated use; it was something to be expected from a booth in a diner such as this one. Yet it wasn't the booth that was making the young man uncomfortable.

No. The award of awkwardness came from the man sitting directly across from him in the booth. Aside from having similar features to his late father—and boy was Gohan resisting the urge to call the man Dad—the young man was glaring at Gohan as if he had committed murder. He was at least a couple years younger than Gohan, maybe three or four tops. Yet his eyes, as hardened and cold as they were, seemed aged beyond his years.

Licking his dry lips, Gohan began preparing himself to try and say something, anything to break the heightening tension between them. Yet, whatever his words would have been died before they even had a chance to be uttered as that look...that stony, pissed off look on the guy made it quite clear that Gohan was not in control of this meeting. It was all on this mystery guy. He would start when he was good and ready. Unfortunately, Gohan wasn't sure if this guy would be ready sometime this decade.

Looking back on what happened, it had all happened so fast. Gohan had just managed to fake his way through buying killer weapons when he bumped into this Goku-lookalike at the front door. The man had froze in front of Gohan and said he knew him. Then he had grabbed Gohan by the arm and roughly dragged him to his rather expensive car, tossed him in the backseat, and drove off. Not even the man's assurance they were going to "just talk" had quelled the fear that had gripped Gohan.

Turned out the place they had gone to was a dinky, yet well-loved diner a few blocks away from the thrift store. A little relief had wormed its way into the Son man, the thought that he might not be killed lessening somewhat. But that glare had become a permanent fixture on this man's face. It hadn't even left when they had been seated and the waitress had taken their orders for coffee. Heck, the waitress had already brought them the coffees and still he just stared at Gohan.

It wasn't doing anything for Gohan's shattering nerves.

Wanting to simply do something in this awful situation, the Son man reached out to his coffee cup and picked it up. He immediately noticed the cup ratting in his grasp, evident of his quaking hand. Calm down, nothing's going to happen. You're just imagining… What? That his guy clearly didn't like him for some reason? That he was going into a thrift shop when the car he drove clearly said he had no reason to be shopping at the place, at least for the above-ground merchandise.

Oh Lord, I am—

"I've seen you before."

Gohan jumped, the coffee in his cup swishing wildly. Fortunately none of it spilled out. "Y-you have?"

The man crossed his arms across his chest and leaned back into the booth's backrest, the leather protesting the move as it gave a soft groan. His features had soften, but he was…mad? Seething about something? "Umm, I can't say I've seen you…" Gohan grasped at what to say next. "Specifically."

Gohan's words had no effect. "We've never been in the same place," the man eventually relented. "But I've seen a couple photos of you."

That made Gohan frown. "Where?"

"In some of my father's things."

O…kay?

"He died recently. I wasn't in town for the funeral, but I heard it was nice. His lawyer managed to look me up a couple days later. Said we had to go over his last will and testament."

"And there were a couple pictures of me in his stuff?"

"Oh yeah." The man leaned towards him, his eyes sharpening on Gohan. "He was really interested in you."

And this was becoming creepy. That bad feeling was coming back with a vengeance. "I have no idea why," Gohan managed to get out. "Perhaps you could tell me who your father was? It might help us figure out what your father's interest—"

"Goku," the man interrupted. "His name was Son Goku."

Time came to a screeching halt. Gohan could feel nothing, see nothing, hear nothing. Just the echoing of his father's name was ringing in his ears. His brain was numb, unable to process that name, its implication, or the man in front of him. "Wh…what?"

"Son Goku," the man repeated. "And that makes you…Son Gohan."

Oh Kami.

"And I'm…Son Goten. We're brothers, you and I."

"Go…ten?"

A small smile appeared on Goten's face, one that Gohan had seen on his father's face many a time, usually when he was being patient when Gohan was struggling with his school work. Then the smile vanished as that cold exterior returned in full force. "I didn't think I'd find you so quickly," he growled harshly. "Our father, he made it sound like it would be hard to track you down—that you're some kind of genius or something." Goten's voice changed then. It came out more aggressive, searching even. "You know, he always seemed disappointed with me, like I wasn't living up to some kind of expectation of his. I never understood why until…until I read his will. He told me about you and it all made sense."

Whereas Goten seemed to fit a giant puzzle piece into the puzzle Goku had left for him, Gohan had no idea what was going on? A brother? He had a living, breathing brother? But how? His mother had died when he was a child! And yet here was this guy who resembled Goku too much to ignore. It was as if Goku had another family he kept away from Gohan, much like his secret day job. But why? What was the point of this? Why would his father keep him away from family? Why keep them separated for so long? It…it made no sense. None at all! This…this revelation was huge, gigantic even—and so much larger than his job as a killer.

Oh Kami, what other secrets did Goku have?

"I…what…I don't…" Gohan stumbled helpless.

"Trouble swallowing the truth?" Goten asked…no, mocked. His tone was full of derision. "Then let me help out. Tell me if this sounds familiar: you spent a childhood where your father was gone for long periods of time. He always dropped in unannounced, yet you didn't care—you were just happy to see him. When ever you asked him where he went, he always said…"

Slowly, the volume of his brother's voice softened until Gohan couldn't hear it. Instead, a familiar voice was echoing in his head, bringing back words he hadn't heard in what felt like an eon.

"Daddy! You're back!"

"Hey, Gohan. Missed me?"

"A whole lot! Where did you go?"

"It's nothing for you to worry about."

Goten paused, giving Gohan a moment to soak it in. Unfortunately, Gohan needed a lot more than a moment—more like an infinite number of them. Goten, however, wasn't going to get that to him. "And you don't care. Daddy's home, that's all that matters. But then you get older. And you ask him what he does for a living, you know, for a school project. But—"

"He never answers," Gohan interrupted.

Goten slammed his hand on the table, causing everything on top of it to rattle. "Don't…interrupt me," he warned, then calmed just as suddenly. "But yes, he never answered that question. I take it this does sound familiar to you."

Gohan slowly nodded his head. "Yeah. Yeah, it does."

A look appeared on Goten's face, the same one that appeared on his face when he had revealed his identity. This time though, it looked as if he were hiding something, dangling it over Gohan's head like a carrot. "I eventually found out what he was doing though. How about you?"

Gohan swallowed hard. Did this guy also know Goku's past? "I…found something," he acknowledged.

"Oh? And what did you find out?"

Every nerve and fiber of Gohan's being was shouting for him not to divulge any more that he knew. Yet, Gohan had the feeling that if he was less than truthful with this man, it would end badly. Hesitantly, he said "He…I think…I think he was an assassin of some sort."

That smug look on Goten's face vanished. "You…you know?" This time it was his turn to be nervous.

Gohan paused at that. That arrogant attitude his self-proclaimed brother had disappeared in an instant. This whole time he had been shaking in fear with this guy, but now that he saw him unguarded, Gohan couldn't help the satisfaction that welled up inside of him. And this was the way he needed to keep the conversation if he wanted to make it out of this alive.

Steeling his nerves, Gohan picked up his coffee cup once more. Unlike the previous time, he managed to bring the cup to his lips without a single rattle. He was doing a happy dance in his head at that, though he did his best not to show how pleased he was on his face. "I found a few things," the Son man said evenly, taking a sip from his cup of black coffee a moment later. Ugh, bitter. No wonder he preferred cream in his.

"And what did you find?" Goten warily asked.

Hmm, how much should he tell him? Obviously not everything, but Gohan needed to at least give out enough evidence that his conclusion was acceptable. Who knows, Goten may give him more proof about what their father had been up to all this time—besides having a second family and a secret job, of course. Or wait, would he be considered the second family?

"I found out my…our father had been given a job to…uhh…" Glancing about, Gohan saw that he and Goten had been placed in the corner of the diner, far away from any eavesdroppers. Obviously a choice by Goten's. Still, one could never be too careful. Leaning forward, he whispered "To kill someone."

Goten seemed to catch on to what Gohan was doing and also leaned forward, dropping the volume of his voice as well. "And the target, it was that Senator guy, right?"

Gohan nodded. "Ox-King."

"And you figured out why he was being targeted?"

This time Gohan shook his head. "No, I haven't. I…I tried looking him up and found nothing that could convince me why he would be targeted."

Goten slumped at that. "Damn," he muttered.

Seeing as his brother wasn't going to give him anymore information freely, Gohan decided to steer the conversation that way. "How did you find out about our father?"

Goten seemed like he was caught off-guard by that question. He recovered a moment later as he calmed his features. "A couple weeks. At this, he reached beneath the table and into his pocket. He seemed to be searching for something and eventually pulled out a laminated card and set it on the table. Taking a look, Gohan found it to be a press badge with Goten's picture and a bunch of text on it. "I work for the Blue Star Tribune. I was finishing up a story on alleged voter fraud when I found information linking our dad to a murder. I did some follow up work on it and it led me to the thrift shop we met at."

That seemed like a logical story, Gohan mused. A journalist, hmm, he didn't expect that sort of job for his brother. Though considering he was delving into a dark world, perhaps he shouldn't be as surprised to find that someone else was also searching for answers like him. Still, it didn't quite explain his brother's reaction at the store. "So what was the deal with you dragging me here and yelling at me?"

A sheepish look appeared on Goten's face as he raised an arm to scratch the back of his head. A pang ripped through Gohan's chest as he recognized the gesture, one that his father had used on occasion. It was all the more eerie since Goten resembled Goku so much. "Oh, sorry about that. Pent up anger and all. I guess I was taking some of it out on you."

"Yeah…I guess," Gohan murmured. He could hardly blame him for that. It seemed Goten was somewhat neglected by their father, though Gohan was too to an extent. They both were sitting in the same boat, though Goten was more vocal about his feelings. Gohan on the other hand was becoming more and more overwhelmed with every step he took.

"You mind telling me what you were doing at that store?" Goten spoke up, a friendly expression on his face.

Startled, it took Gohan a moment to understand what had been asked of him. "Oh, um, I guess you could say I was following a lead there." He sighed then. "I found more than I bargained for."

"What did you find?" Goten asked as he leaned towards him.

There was no point in hiding it, considering his brother would find out eventually. He was a journalist after all. "A basement full of every weapon imaginable. Guns, knives, poisons—you want to kill someone, they have every method you could ever want to use down there."

Goten's eyes lit up before they narrowed. "You're not pulling my leg, are you?" he all but demanded.

"Nope. Totally serious."

Goten leaned back in his seat and fell into thought, which was alright with Gohan. He also had some things to muddle through, none of them being pleasant. Eventually, Goten broke their silence. "It seems we're both chasing similar stories," he said warily. "Different ones, but they follow the same path. So that made me think: if we're going down the same path, why shouldn't we help each other? I mean, it would make sense since I have information that you don't while you have information I don't. We can compare notes and see where that takes us."

"I guess it wouldn't hurt," Gohan replied hesitantly. He didn't really know this guy and his impression of him was all over the place. Was he the mean version he first met or this seemingly-nice version he was now. Still, he did raise a good point about them going in the same direction. If Goten was the journalist he claimed to be—the Blue Star Tribune was a highly-respected newspaper—then Gohan could make some serious headway. Goten might even have sources that were involved in this seedy underworld he found himself in. This could really work in his favor.

Yet there was something off about him, Gohan could feel it. A gut feeling that refused to go away. It was a foreign feeling to him, one he hadn't felt around anyone before.

Well, actually he had felt it before. It was back when he was little when he found himself in the company of a strange man. His father had come to his rescue in such a rage. It was the only time Gohan could remember his father being angry, anger that was reminiscent of Goten's early outburst. There wasn't much else Gohan could recall of that incident, but it was definitely the last time he had lived with his mother, Kami rest her soul.

"Are you okay? Goten spoke up, interrupting Gohan's musings. "You don't seem to be too sure about this."

Gohan bit his bottom lip nervously. He had to make a decision; it was now or never. "I…I'm in."

A smile appeared on Goten's lips. "Great. Let's get on this."

"Okay. What do we do now?"

"Let's go to my motel room. We can use it as a base of operations." Goten leaned to aside as he reached behind him and to his back pocket. Pulling out his wallet, he opened it and took out a few bills and casually tossed them onto the table. "That should cover the coffee." Moving out of the booth then, he stood up and looked to Gohan and asked "You ready?"

"Yeah, yeah, just um…could we go pick up my car first?"

"Oh, sure. Where did you leave it?"

"By the thrift store." By now, Gohan was also sliding out of the booth.

"Okay, I'll drop you off at your car and then you can follow me to the motel. As Gohan stood next to him, Goten reached up and grabbed the older Son man's shoulder, giving it a comforting squeeze. "I never imagined I'd be getting to know my long-lost brother over a routine story."

Gohan chuckled nervously. "Yeah, I guess stranger things have happened, right?"