Disclaimer: I'm only doing this once. I don't own anything but Ami.

Chapter One: Bug Friend and Invasion Issues.

Mushino Ami had a big, little problem.

Her apartment, for some unknown reason, was attracting insects by the boatload and while she would normally have no problem with it, they were causing issues in the apartment itself; which was why she found herself standing in front of the shinobi missions office on a bright and beautiful morning with cash in her pocket and hoping that she could afford this mission.

"Can I help you with something miss?"

Ami spun, fighting the instinct that told her to fight first and talk later, and fixed her eyes on the shinobi who had startled her. He was a bit taller than she was with brown hair tied into a ponytail, but his most defining features to the young woman were the broad scar across his nose and the kind light in his chocolate eyes. Ami bowed and nodded.

"Hai, is this where I can request a mission?"

The kind man nodded, but it was quickly followed by a frown.

"Hai, but it is usually done first thing…I'm not sure that there are any teams right now. We can go and see though."

Ami smiled a brilliant smile and followed the man, who she now recognized was wearing a chuunin vest, into the mission room. He looked surprised to see that there was a team there, apparently waiting for a mission to be assigned to them. The Hokage sat behind the desk with his hands steepled and a conciliatory look on his face.

"I am sorry Kurenai-san, but there are no more D-ranked missions right now…yes Iruka-kun?"

"I'm sorry for interrupting Hokage-sama, but this young woman wanted to request a mission."

"Oh? Young lady, please step forward and introduce yourself."

Ami felt the sting of her blush as it swept across her cheeks, but stepped forward and bowed low. She hated dealing with higher-ups; they were always looking for weaknesses and strengths, never able to simply take people as what they were. Her dealings with the leader of Takigakure had left her a bit jaded and her participation in the War had soured her to politics entirely.

"Hokage-sama, my name is Mushino Ami and I recently came here from Taki. I was here to request a mission having to do with maintenance on my apartment."

"A perfect D-rank for Team 8, please, continue."

"Hai. My apartment has been infested with insects, primarily kabutomushi and termites and I wanted to request a mission to have them removed."

"So the mission is to exterminate the insects?"

"Iie, I do not want them killed, just relocated. I had heard of a clan here in Konoha that could communicate with insects and…well, when they invaded I was hoping that I could request a member of that clan to handle it. If not…then I guess I'll just have to live with them and figure out something else."

The Hokage sat up when Ami mentioned her knowledge of the Aburame clan, easily the most secretive clan in Konoha. The Third noticed that Aburame Shino, the heir to said clan and member of Team 8, had stiffened slightly at the young woman's mention of his family.

"Tell me child, how did you hear of the Aburame?"

Ami puzzled for a moment, and then seemed to realize what the Hokage was talking about.

"Oh, well, I heard from my friend Fuu in Taki. She said that the clan of insect users in Konoha were the best in the elemental countries aside from herself and that they deserved respect for the way they treated their allies and how they trained. I actually had hoped to meet members of the clan that my friend was so respectful towards…she and Shinobu really don't normally like humans all that much."

Team 8, Iruka and the Hokage were all listening very carefully to what Ami was saying, but the note about her friend's lack of esteem for humans seemed off, so Kiba asked about it. It really was a miracle that he had kept quiet for so long.

"Hey, what do you mean that this Fuu person and Shinobu don't like humans?"

Ami looked surprised, and then remembered that Fuu's status was not widely known in the larger villages, though it was definitely not a secret.

"Um…Fuu-chan is one of Taki's top chuunin and Shinobu-san is her primary trainer. Both are practically royalty at this point." So she told a half-truth…Ami turned to the Hokage and smiled, her eyes closing into upside-down u's.

"So Hokage-sama, can I request a D-rank mission to get my apartment cleaned of the insect population?"

BREAK

Sarutobi wasn't really sure what to make of Mushino Ami as he perused her file after sending Team 8 to follow her to her apartment. He read the file again with a sigh.

Name: Mushino Ami

Age: 16

Home Village: Beniketsueki (Crimson Blood), Makai

Military Status: Veteran, reserve

Kekki Genkai: Onzon Kinen (Retain Memory)

Other: Demon hunter, can only kill humans when they are working for or under the influenced of a demon due to acquired kekki genkai. The closest she has been to death was when a Taki jounin attacked jinchuuriki Fuu due to her status and Ami intercepted the blow. She nearly died from the wound, therefore she is vulnerable to attacks by normal humans.

Sarutobi sighed again and leaned back in his chair. The fact that these forms had not made it to his desk two weeks ago, when Ami had moved to the village, told him that the shinobi that he had assigned to deal with civilian intake were not doing their jobs correctly. They should have had Ami in his office to speak with him regarding her experience and veteran status the day she arrived. Instead he had been forced to wait until she had come to request a bug relocation mission for him to have known about her.

Someone was going to be in a very bad position come morning.

BREAK

Ami watched as Team 8 looked around her apartment. It was a two story set of five rooms that was actually an oddity, as none of the shinobi had ever heard of anything like it before. When Hinata had asked, Ami had answered.

"I actually converted it this way. You see, I actually rent two apartments, this one, and the one above this one. When the landlord told me that I could connect them if I could figure out how I simply put in a staircase from here up. It was a simple thing to cut a portal in the floor of the bed room upstairs, the hard part was converting the kitchen up there into something that I could actually use."

The team took in the first floor of the apartment, but it wasn't long before Shino decided to speak up.

"Mushino-san, may I ask you why you requested this mission the way that you did?"

Ami cocked her head and smiled at the enigmatic nin, a warm smile that held promise that Shino wasn't sure was real.

"Well, I know that the insects are just doing what they were designed to do by Kami, which is no reason to kill them. Besides, you know how I said that my best friend was Fuu, of Taki? Well, Fuu is the Jinchuuriki no nanbi no kabutomushi; I've grown to like most species of insect."

"Jin…jinchuuriki?"

Ami turned her attention to Hinata, though she did note that the jounin with them had stiffened and was staring daggers at Ami.

"Hai, a Jinchuuriki is a human sacrifice used to seal a higher level demon, most often a demon lord. Though it would be a mistake to confuse the prison for the prisoner, but sadly a lot of jinchuuriki are treated badly or the lords are sealed incorrectly and…bad things happen. So, do you all think that you could help me with my problem?"

Shino, still pondering her words regarding demon vessels, spread out his awareness to the apartment and began to talk to the colonies of insects that had made their homes in Ami's apartment. The termites agreed to leave, but the kabutomushi and the small number of kochou (butterflies) adamantly refused to leave. Shino turned to Ami, who still wore her smile, and thanked his clan for always wearing high collars so she couldn't see him blush.

"The termites have agreed to go to the trees outside, but the kabutomushi and the kochou have told me that they are staying."

Ami nodded and smiled at the little blue butterfly that landed on her shoulder at Shino's words.

"I understand, and thank you Aburame-san for your assistance."

Ami then bowed deeply, opening her mouth to thank the stoic nin's remaining teammates, when an explosion from the north interrupted.

Chapter Two: Bug Friend…Who is She Really? Dinner with the Bug Clan!