Baki's first gift was knowledge from beyond the stars. His first curse was knowing the price for that power. From there the curses seemed to keep coming.

He was in the backyard of the orphanage. Normally this place was full of happiness. The sunshine, gentle shade from the trees, and the happy Matron making rounds made the backyard feel comfortable. That was until one Naruto Uzumaki showed up. He walked stepped through the door skittish as Nara doe. She seemed like a nice old lady, but Naruto could be on his best behavior and always get her steamed. That wasn't such a bad thing. When she was mad at Naruto, she wasn't paying any attention to him. That gave him amble opportunity for his own plans.

Baki's first and only gift was knowledge from beyond the stars. He'd thought about it for a long time and decided that now was as good a time as ever to find a hiding place. The orphanage was weird. If he was left alone for more than an hour, someone would come looking. As for bedtime, he shivered. No way was he going to trust his life to another kid. The last time he found his meditative trance, a kid shook him awake. After spraying the kid with blood the Matron never left him alone. She was over reacting really.

If he was going to do this then it had to be done right. Naruto supplied just the thing he needed, an opportunity. The matron had Naruto by the arm and dragged him into the orphanage. She always told them not to play with him. Something about him being evil or something. Baki didn't buy it but what did he know of evil? Then again she thought disturbing his meditation was good for him.

He backed up as the other kids continued to play. No one noticed him when he snuck behind a bush. They didn't see him climb through the hole in their chain link fence.

He crawled through the damp grass. Baki knew this smell someone had peed. He stuck his tongue out in disgust as he crawled under the fence and out of the fence. There wasn't a lot of time, he had to move now before one of the other kids reported him. Naruto could only hold the matron's anger for so long, bless his blond head.

Baki knew how to cultivate essence into qi. He was confident that he could do it if only he had time. That was the kicker, time was what he needed most. Time often ran from him leaving him alone and surrounded by a bunch of grubby friendly orphans. Being an orphan himself, understood what they felt but he needed alone time. Was that so much to ask for? Yes, according to the matron they had to stick together like glue and six-year-old children had the attention span of goldfish. That's where curse number 2 came in.

He was wise beyond his years. Oh he was covered in piss and hiding in a shack next to the orphanage but that didn't mean his plan hadn't worked. He locked the door with a chain from the inside. No one would believe a child of six got into the old shack. That was wisdom the ability to look at your opponent and predict their moves or he could be confusing it with strategy.

Either way he'd reached his destination. The shack across from the orphanage that every kid swears is haunted. It was run down and filled with junk. He wasn't quite ready to believe it was infested with ghosts. As he closed and locked the door he hears something else. There was a buzzing sound above his head. It appeared this place was lousy with wasps, but not ghosts.

As he stared at a hive of hornets larger than his body, he thought about getting out of here. He wouldn't run that would be stupid. They were already buzzing near him to inspect the intruder. If he panicked, they would swarm and then his ramen would be microwaved. It was that wisdom thing he was using.

Despite how deadly they appeared to be they could be a deterrent too. He moved to the far side of the room from the hive and sat down. The hornets still buzzed around and they had stinger half an inch long but they hadn't attacked. That's why he felt confident of this place. It was wisdom.

The next guy would get the door open see the hornets and close it back. With him on the far side they may not see or disturb him at all. Its what any sensible person would do and that's what he was counting on. That and he was tired of the interruptions.

With his eyes closed, he began the twelve kyubi damned hours of meditation. He closed his eyes and felt for the essence of existence. Now here is the thing about this part of the process. Its easy and boring. Not a hint of pain, not danger from being over written by a drop of infinity. It was also the first six hours of the process.

Naruto

She's kicked him out. Where was he supposed to go now? Naruto walked down the busy streets and everyone turned away from him. Parents picked up their children and went to the opposite street. He'd tried going to Jiji hours ago but the secretary wouldn't let him in. Then he tried the back alleys but not even the bums would help him. He returned to the orphanage and saw a shack behind it. He remembered trying to go out to play but the matron wouldn't let him. When he asked her why she only glared at him.

He pulled on the door to the shack and it opened a little. Only to reveal a hornet's nest. He quickly shut the door only to see a kid inside through the glass. Wait, he remembered him from the orphanage. Baki wasn't mean to Naruto but he wasn't nice either. He heard he was always sick but what was he doing in there? That's when he saw an open window. An idea quickly came to mind. He'd need to tell Jiji.

Then he looked at the shack again and realized it was the oni's shack. If you're bad the oni will get you in the middle of the night and lock you in there. Was Baki bad ? He'd have to tell Jiji.

He ran back for the Hokage's tower. He'd tell Jiji this time for sure and he'd help. Naruto ran inside and brushed past the secretary. "Hey you brat get back here Hokage sama is busy." She yelled. He turned and gave her a raspberry before charging up the stairs. A dog masked ambu let him through and even stopped the secretary for him.

"Thanks Dog san." Naruto yelled as he raced up the stairs. He burst into the office. The old man was busy putting up his pen when Naruto ran in.

"Naruto not that I don't appreciate the visit but what are you doing out so late." Jiji said.

"Jiji my friend is stuck in the Oni shack and there are hornets." Naruto yelled. He was jumping from foot to foot but no matter what he did he couldn't slow down. There was so much energy.

"Naruto start from the beginning. Why is your friend stuck there, why are you out so late, and what is the matron doing about it?" He had to hurry but Jiji was smart if he didn't tell him everything how could he help. Was that what the Hokage did? Did they remain calm and think? Naruto wasn't sure if he could do it he had so much energy. He needed Jiji to use his cool ninja powers to get Baki out. When were they friends well after Naruto saved him, he was certain Baki would be his friend.

"Well its like this the mean Matron threw me out and said I'm not allowed back ever again. She threw me out and I tried to come here but the lady down stairs wouldn't let me in. So I went around town asking for help but everyone avoided me and then I went to the smelly bum people and they wouldn't help. Then I tried to go to the shack. I didn't remember it was the oni shack. When I tried to get in the door wouldn't open and I saw a hornet nest. Then in the window, I saw Baki like this." Naruto sat on the floor crossed his legs and clasped his hands.

"I think your friend is smart to do that. He's trying not to disturb the hornets." Jiji said. "Even if you were able to get in it would just cause a swarm." He turned to Dog. "Do you know where the shack Naruto is talking about is?" He asked.

"If it's the one by the orphanage, it was used to store field rations during the third shinobi war if I recall.

"Get the child and bring him here." Jiji said then turned back to him. "So Naruto when did the two of you become friends." Naruto felt nervous. But in the stories when you save someone they are supposed to become your friend.

"We aren't yet Jiji but we will be." Naruto said with conviction.

Baki

Four hours after the meditation began he felt it. It was at the edge of his senses, when he touched the Omni essence. The rainbow bright multicolored essence filled with no end of possibilities. It was the great zero sum that could wring out his soul until he's a husk or supplement his very existence. No matter how he handled things from this point on his life would balance on an edge. At the same time this was a turning point. With this power, he'd be one step forward on the path of cultivation. That more than the power was worth all the trouble and smelling piss for six hours.

Gently, he pulled at the essence a little at a time. He needed to create an orbit and slowly bring the essence into himself. It circled around him ready to burn him out of existence. The second it touched his orbit, he was at the point of no return. The essence would pour into him either carefully or all at once.

The last time he'd touched it, he was shaken out of meditation immediately. It shredded parts of his body and he puked up a lot of blood. This was different, he drew it into his orbit. There was no turning back.

An hour passed before the first of the essence touched him. It felt like he'd injected liquid glass in his veins. The pain went deeper it didn't just hurt his body, it dug into him to stay. Unfortunately, this was the desired effect. His mind screamed in agony as the power began to crawl into him.

Two hours or two minutes might have past but Baki wouldn't have known. When the burning sensation settled, he knew if he didn't push the waste out, it would harden like cement. He pushed against it with his pain, his hate, and every emotion he had. Even as more poured into his body he pushed the waste out. It didn't take long for him to find the first barrier.

Refinement held nine barriers. Each barrier restricted the flow of qi and removal of waste. The first barrier was fear. He was afraid of dying, afraid of becoming nothing, and most of all afraid of never really living. Baki had no friends because he devoted himself to cultivating it was everything he thought about and it consumed his world.

It was impossible to control the intake of qi and fight against the barrier. But with the barrier, essence would keep pouring in until he popped. He'd never refine essence into qi and his body would pay the price. He could feel himself filling up until there was no space. No space wouldn't stop the Omni essence. His will wasn't enough to stop the flow as he was.

They'd find his gory remains all over the cabin. Baki didn't want that. He didn't know what to do and that terrified him. If he focused everything on the barrier could he break it open in time? Which was he more afraid of dying because he tried his hardest or dying because he waited until his hands were tied.

He dropped his control over the essence and focused completely on the barrier. The barrier was massive and he had only his will to batter against it. Omni essence crashed down on him mercilessly as he clawed at the door. He beat and he beat until tiny cracks appeared.

Baki continued to claw at the door as he felt essence overfilling his body. Any second and his body would explode in a shower of gore. He pounded at the door screaming, punching, and cursing. His mind began to erode as the barrier cracked more. Even as he pushed against the door the essence crushed him against the barrier.

He couldn't take it anymore. His body was going to fall apart, he was going to die. His bones felt like glass, his skin was paper, and his muscles were jelly.

Baki hit the barrier one final time. The pain was too much. He just wanted it to end one way or another. If he survived he'd give up. Nothing was worth this kind of pain. With a final swing the barrier shattered.

A drain opened up for the waste and he felt like more. The fear was still there but it was different. He'd felt as much pain as he'd ever felt and he survived. The Omni energy was still pouring in and he could refine it now. The barrier was broken and he had qi. Off in the distance the next barrier anger waited and he wasn't ready. That much he knew for sure.

Where the barrier once stood a machine took its place. The rainbow colored Omni essence went in and crimson qi poured out. The qi flowed back into the machine giving substance to it. With his life no longer in danger, he opened his eyes.

The wasp filled shack had been replaced with a white room and a white bed. All kinds of monitoring machines were hooked to him. His body was covered with filth. The Hokage of all people along with Naruto sat by his bedside. It was obvious he was either dreaming or in a wasp venom caused hallucination.

He tried to get up but found his body was too weak. A price paid for breaking the first barrier. "Hey Jiji he's awake." Naruto shouted.

Why would his mind have Naruto call the Hokage Jiji. That sounded like a good way to get executed by the local dictator. It also sounded like something Naruto would do.

"Hokage sama what am I doing here? The last thing I remember was making myself still."

The old man took a draw from his pipe. Something only the village dictator was allowed to do in a hospital of course. It was time to look at the facts. His body was out of commission. Qi or not he almost died from exploding.

"It seems you passed out. The staff believed you slipped into a comma. Why were you in the shack to begin with?" When Baki looked into the old man's eyes he measured the odds of getting away with a lie. He quickly wracked his head for a half truth. Then came up empty. That was odd, normally he had at least some bull shit.

"I wanted a place where I could quietly meditate." That was a close to the truth as he could go without showing his hand.

"Are you religious?" Where was this going?

"No Hokage sama, I also wanted to make my own club house. No one was using it." It was the only defense he could come up with.

"If I were to offer you and Naruto an apartment would you accept it." That was completely beyond his wildest dreams. Instead of dealing with over forty children he'd only have to deal with Naruto.

"Yes, if Naruto is ok with it." Baki replied.

"Are you and Naruto friends?" The Hokage asked. Naruto squirmed at the words.

"Of course we are Jiji. Right Baki." Naruto said.

"No Hokage sama we aren't friends but we could be." The Hokage nodded his head.

"Then I'll draw the paper work. If you have anything at the orphanage, I'll send dog with you to collect it." Baki held up a hand and inspected it. Filth fell from the limb. He could feel his strength slowly return to him. In a few weeks, he'd be much stronger than he had been.

Sarutobi

It had been a week since he'd dealt with the matron and moved the two boys to an apartment. The fact that he was moving two orphans helped smooth things over with the civilian council. Some days he wished he could just kill them all and be done with it. But he'd won this time while keeping his sensei's dreams alive. It was a difficult fight everyday.

On his desk was a full report on the changes displayed by Baki. Some unknown element was fusing with the boy's body. It had not been a gentle merger. It had taken several days of rest before the boy could leave the hospital. Even then he required a cane to walk. After a week, the boy was running and playing with Naruto.

If that was all then he'd merely watch and wait. The boy was faster than Naruto now. He could run longer and slept less hours. This wasn't the awakening of a kekkei genkai. It was more like an unknown substance was influencing the boy. Only no source could be found. He was half ready to drag the boy to T&I just to get to the bottom of this. If the boy had lied to him, he would have.

"Crow, I want you to watch the boy living with Naruto. Baki could be a danger to Naruto."

Omake First Day of Quarantine

Baki shrugged his shoulders when they were told to stay inside during the quarantine. All the shops were closing early and all they had to eat was ramen. Apparently being the friend of the demon child was like being a demon himself. That's the thing people loved to whisper about how he was under the demon's spell.

Jokes on them ramen can last almost forever and they had enough to last a year.

Author's Note: Thanks for reading tell me what you think.