Disclaimer in profile. From this point on, I'm going to play with the language barrier a bit. Speech that's italicized is in Japanese, since I'm both incapable of speaking the language and afraid of using sandpaper-like online translations.

Ken walked out of Ruki's lab, a smile of triumph on his face.

Ken scrutinized the trio that had somehow entered the lab without being heard. It was odd, but not nearly as odd as the ragtag group in front of him. A middle-aged man with faded gray hair stood in front of the other two. Ken assumed him to be the leader. Behind him, to Ken's left, stood another man. Much younger, with his slightly spiked hair fraying in multiple directions. Next to him stood a small woman. Ken guessed that she was the youngest, with her sleek black hair tied back. He was sure the men were American or British, but he couldn't tell where the woman could've been from.

He turned to Dr. Makino with a look of confusion. "Who are these people supposed to be?"

Dr. Makino shrugged. "I dunno. I didn't let them in."

The younger man leaned over to the woman on his left. "What did he just say?"

She simply shrugged. "I don't know. Japanese isn't in my repertoire."

"Well, I thought you could do all those Asian languages."

"Middle Eastern, Tony. Not Far Eastern."

"Well, excuse me for thinking you were reliable."

Ken rolled his eyes at their bickering. Their leader didn't seem too fazed.

"Who are you people?" Ken asked.

"Special Agent Gibbs," the older man answered, holding up a badge. "this," he pointed to the man behind him, "is Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo, and Special Agent Ziva David, NCIS."

DiNozzo raised his hand in a friendly wave. David simply nodded her head.

"Great," Ken said. "Never heard of you."

Tony looked confused again. "What did he say?"

"I don't know!" David snapped. "Why do you keep asking me?"

"I wasn't this time. I was speaking openly."

"Well, maybe you should be specific when you speak. Keep the confusion down to a minimum."

Ken rolled his eyes. "I said I've never heard of this 'NCIS'." He said in perfect English.

It was DiNozzo's turn to roll his eyes. "Figures. We never get credit for all the hard work we do."

Gibbs stepped forward. "'Naval Criminal Investigative Service'. Our job is to track down crimes involving the United States Navy and Marine Corps." He stood over the bodies. "As such, we'll be taking your family back with us."

"I don't think so." Ken objected. "First off, this crime happened on Japanese soil, making it my problem. Second off, it's my family, so they're going where I say they go. Third, what does this have to do with you people in the first place? They're car bomb victims."

"As it would turn out," Tony spoke up. "Your wife was an informant for us."

Ken took a step back in shock. "What?"

"She was following some criminal activities we've been interested in back home," Tony continued. "Therefore, your problem is now our problem."

"No." Ken said. "They're staying right here."

Gibbs pulled a folded piece of paper out of his brown coat and held it out. "This order says otherwise."

Dr. Makino snatched the paper out of Gibbs' hand. "I'll take that," she said. "I decide what happens to my bodies."

Tony rasied an eyebrow to the comment, earning him an elbow to the ribs from Ziva. Makino read the paper over several times, not believing what it said. She took a deep breath before handing the paper to Ken.

"I can perform the autopsy whenever you're ready.."

"What?" Ken asked incredulously. He read over the paper himself. It contained orders from Chief Ikatani to release the bodies of his family to NCIS. Anger rapidly built up in his body. He stormed out of the lab, ignoring the stares he got from Tony and Ziva.

"Who put sake in his coffee?" Tony unceremoniously asked. Ziva jammed her elbow into his side again.

In the hallway, Ken slammed his fist into the wall. What the hell is going on? Before he could take his frustration out on the wall any further, Ken decided to get to what he felt was the root of the problem. He took out his phone again and made a call.

"Chief Ikatani."

"Care to tell me what the hell is going on here?"

"Ichijouji. I suppose the order came down?"

"Yes. Now tell me what's going on."

"First," Ikatani replied, not bothering to hide the irritation in her voice. "Lose the attitude. You're not doing yourself any favors talking to anyone like that, least of all me. Second, I didn't have a choice about it."

"Why not?"

"Orders from higher up. They didn't want Miyako's death sparking an international incident."

"How would that spark an international incident?" Ken asked, trying to piece together what he was being told.

"She was doing some work for an international police force, and her death could cause some unrest."

"So, why these people? Why this, 'NCIS'? Did they have some stake in this they didn't want another organization taking credit for?"

"In this case, no." Ikatani explained. "We received a report from NCIS that three US Marines had been kidnapped by an extremist group believed to be headquartered in the neighborhood you live in."

"What were US Marines doing in Japan?"

"Shore leave." She said simply.

"And that had what to do with Miyako?"

"We believe that the group that kidnapped the Marines was the same group that's based near where you live."

Ken furrowed his brows. "I still don't see what that has to do with my family being killed."

He could hear his chief sigh over the phone. "You'll have to ask NCIS about that. I don't have access to that kind of information."

Ken seethed. He didn't like where this was going.

"And what about my investigation?"

He could hear Ikatani let out a deep sigh. "For now, you don't have one."

"Hell no!" Ken quietly stressed, not wanting the phone conversation to reach unwarranted listeners. "This was my family. I deserve to at least be involved!"

"Then talk to the lead investigator. This is now out of our hands."

It was Ken's turn to sigh deeply. He ended the call and slipped the phone back into his coat pocket. Unbelievable, Ken thought. I have to convince someone from a completely different organization to let me help investigate my own family's murders. He rubbed at the back of his neck again. The stiffness from earlier set in once again, and Ken could swear he could feel a migraine coming on. Ken shook his head, hoping to ward off the pain for at least a little while.

Hopefully, he thought, this "Gibbs" is willing to listen to reason. With that, Ken turned back to the lab and reentered. Whatever he was expecting to see, it wasn't a fuming Ruki glaring at him as he walked in. Gibbs, DiNozzo and David looked on in mild amusement.

Ken stopped in his tracks. His eyes darted back and forth between Ruki and the trio. "What?"

"Make these people see sense!" Ruki nearly screamed. Ken took a step back in surprise.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

Ruki began flailing her arms about in panic. "These people want to take your family back with them to America!"

Ken raised an eyebrow in amusement. It wasn't often that Ruki Makino lost her cool. But, in the rare times that she did, she always seemed like she would do something that belonged in a sitcom.

"Now, why would they want to do that?"

"I don't know! Ask them!" She pointed an accusing finger at Gibbs. Ken, with his brow still in the air, turned to the agents.

"So," he started. "My good doctor here says that you'd like to take these bodies to the United States. Is there a specific reason for this?"

"We'd like our medical examiner to take a look at them." Gibbs replied.

"Dr. Makino here is perfectly capable of performing a competent autopsy."

"I know," Gibbs nodded slightly. "But I'd like someone who can do a good autopsy to take a look."

Ruki's fire burned brighter at Gibb's statement. "Now listen here-" Ken shot Ruki a glare, causing her to stop and close her mouth rather sheepishly.

"Fine. I'll have them moved immediately." Gibbs started toward the door.

"But," Ken called, stopping him. "On one condition."

Gibbs slowly turned around.

"You include me during your investigation."

"We'll keep you in the loop."

"Not good enough, Special Agent."

"I'll see what I can do." He turned to his team. "Let's go." He walked out the lab, Ziva and Tony following behind.

"Think he'll let Kung Fu Panda join the investigation?" Tony whispered to Ziva.

"First off, he is Japanese and second, I doubt it." She responded.

"Okay then. Where are we going?" Tony asked.

"Scene of the crime," Gibbs answered.

Back in the lab, Ken stood with his hands in his pockets and a smirk on his face.

"What are you smiling about?" Ruki asked. "They're about to take your investigation and leave you in the dust!"

"They're headed to the scene." Ken answered.

"Which only proves my point!" Ruki screeched.

"They're in Tokyo."

"...and?"

He turned to Ruki, smirk still on his face. "They don't know their way around."

Ruki's eyes widened in realization as what he was getting at finally dawned on her. "Oh, you're a manipulative bastard."

"I know." The sliding door opened again as Gibbs walked in. "Make up your mind already?"

"Don't get your hopes up," Gibbs answered. "I just need you to get us to the scene."

"I'll see what I can do." Ken sneered. He turned to Ruki. "How soon can you have everybody ready to go?"

"An hour," she said. "But I won't be happy about it."

"Thanks." He turned back to Gibbs. "So then, do we have a deal?"

Gibbs stared at Ken for a few moments, debating the pros and cons of having a biased detective as a part of his investigation. He eventually came to a decision.

"Alright," he nodded. "But you report to me. Understood?"

"Understood."

With that, Gibbs tossed Ken a set of keys, which Ken deftly caught.

"You drive."

Ken walked out of Ruki's lab, a smile of triumph on his face.

Fail chapter is fail, but it didn't seem to work out any other way in my head. Not that this worked out too well either. Plus, I wanted to start the investigation so that I could get some Ken/minion interaction. We'll start the digging next chapter.