A/N:

Thank you to everyone who reviewed/followed/favorite! I know a lot of people had questions, and this chapter doesn't really answer a whole lot of them. Just stay with it! Please.

Reviewer responses:

55: I do not have a pairing as of yet. I am open to ideas though. (It won't let me put your full username for some reason...)

The Fairy King: I don't like cockiness in characters all that much either.

Mr AnimeKidd: It is somewhat strange. I like it though!

ILikeReading1: Thanks!

Kronus96: I'm a tease like that. ;)

Guardian of the Flame

Chapter Two – Saving a King

Naruto sat in front of his Hokage, a man named Sarutobi Hiruzen. Hiruzen was somewhat of a grandfatherly-figure to him, and one of the only people he could actually trust. It made him smile; knowing that in what seemed like a world that scorned him he had someone that actually cared for him. Naruto's legs kicked back and forth, he was too short to actually touch the ground. He was seven though, that was fine for him.

Behind the Hokage, standing, a curious, slightly nervous look in his eyes, was Nara Yori, the boy's newest jōnin-sensei. Hiruzen sighed, his eyes showing exhaustion. Naruto felt incredibly uncomfortable. He hated causing problems for others, especially for someone he considered a precious person. He stayed silent, respecting his elders, who today became his sempai.

Yori silently went through multiple scenarios, trying to come up with a logical explanation for what had transpired a little over thirty minutes ago. No genin, no matter how skilled, should have been able to do what the apparent blond prodigy had done. He wasn't a cocky, arrogant shinobi, either. He was basing his decisions off fact, and the simple fact was that Uzumaki Naruto was either hiding something, or he was receiving some kind of special training. That, however, meant that someone, somewhere, was in contact with Konoha's jinchūriki.

"Naruto-kun," the Sandaime Hokage began, "Yori tells me that, during your genin test, you were able to best him, an experienced jōnin of a prestigious clan." His voice wasn't hard or untrusting. It was soft, and Naruto could tell that all he wanted to know was how he had done what he did. "Would you mind explaining this?" He asked, not demanding.

The blond moved around in his seat a little, an uncomfortable feel about him. His eyes were on the ground and his mind was racing with thought. He finally spoke, his voice soft and pleading. "Do I have to say?" He asked. When the Hokage nodded, Naruto gave a short sigh. He really didn't want anyone knowing his secret. He didn't want people to have another reason to fear him. "I…" he sighed again, knowing that there was no chance of getting away from this. "I stopped time." He finally admitted. His face was the picture of seriousness.

"You…" Hiruzen started slowly, "Controlled time?" He asked, surprised. He then sighed. "Naruto-kun, please take this seriously." He slightly scolded. "You're a shinobi now, you can't lie to me. I'm your commander now." His voice still wasn't too hard. He didn't want the boy to feel like he was being treated badly any more than he already was.

Naruto shot up in his seat, his eyes wide. "I'm not lying, Hokage-sama." He cried. He would never lie to a precious person. "I really can! I can show you, too!" His voice was full of panic. He didn't want his grandfatherly-figure to see him as a liar, or anything the like. He didn't wait for a response; he did what he said he'd do.

Before Hiruzen and Yori's very eyes, Naruto had just vanished from his seat, like he was never there to begin with.

"See," the Uzumaki's voice was behind them, "I really can. I didn't lie, see?" Hiruzen's head turned slowly, his eyes wide and his mind disbelieving.

"Hokage-sama…" Yori started, but didn't continue when said man waved a dismissing hand.

The Sandaime just stared at the blond boy before him, his mind racing. If this was true, if a shinobi could manipulate time, it would cause anarchy for the nations. Especially if that shinobi was a jinchūriki… the very thought caused him to shiver.

"This is not to be discussed outside of this office." He finally spoke. His voice was that of the powerful Kage he was known to be. "Consider this an S-rank secret." He continued. "Tell no one, trust no one. Am I understood?"

It took Yori a fraction of a second to deduce the Hokage's decision. A shinobi with the power to mess with time was a threat to all other nations, and if his age was considered, it was all too easy to come to his conclusion. "Hai, Hokage-sama." What would the boy be capable of with shinobi training? They barely understood what he could do now, at the tender age of seven. It was impossible to know for sure what he could do in a few years.

Naruto looked at Yori, and then back at the Hokage, a worried look on his face. Had he done something wrong? Had he lost one of the few precious people he had?

Hiruzen saw the worried panic look in the boy, and decided to comfort him. He smiled, placing a hand on the child softly. "You're not in trouble, Naruto-kun. I promise." He tried to give a warm, comforting pat. "I just need you to promise me this. It's for your own safety." He looked the boy in the eyes, azure blue meeting dark black. "Do you trust me, Naruto-kun?" He asked.

Naruto nodded his head. "Hai!" he slightly shouted. He paused for a moment, trying to think his decision over. He never liked to agree to something if he couldn't think it through, thoroughly. He then smiled, deciding that his Hokage was trustworthy. "Okay, Hokage-sama," he started, his happy smile still marring his face, "I promise." He finished.

Hiruzen nodded, smiling at the boy's decision. "Now, I would like to know more about this ability of yours." He sat back in his chair, gesturing for the boy to return to his seat on the other side of the desk. Naruto walked back to the seat, sitting down, ready to let someone know his biggest secret, or at least the biggest secret he knew of.

"It all started with a butterfly." Naruto began his tale.

Five years old Naruto was taking a walk. He loved walks, they calmed him down. The sky was full of stars, and the crescent moon lit the path he enjoyed taking, despite not being full. The trees rocked back and forth with the cold winds, and the sounds of birds were a beauty his ears very much appreciated.

He walked slowly, enjoying the forested path, secluded in an area not many visited. It was a sanctuary, a paradise. It was peace.

Taking a deep breath of clean air, he let his lungs enjoy the pureness of the oxygen. Letting the air out, he stopped, noticing something in the bush to his right.

It was heartbreaking. It was saddening. It was the circle of life.

Caught in a spider's web was the most beautiful butterfly he had ever seen. Its wings were such a bright orange that they almost glowed in the darkness. It was poetic, not that the young mind of the boy knew it. A helpless, beauty of nature, entangled in an ugly truth of life: for one to live, another must die. It was the one instance that the natural world and the shinobi world were similar.

Before his very eyes, a king was sentenced to death.

Naruto knew from his books that this butterfly was a monarch. He loved butterflies. They had a beauty about them that enthralled his mind every time he laid eyes on them. A single tear ran down his cheek, the sorrow of such a beautiful creature trapped, waiting to be devoured, getting to him.

Catching something orange in the corner of his eye, the boy turned to look at the tree above him. His eyes widened in horror, his young mind not understanding that what was happening was not cruel, just a part of life. Settled on a tree right above him, another butterfly sat, still as the night sky. His mind saw it as the trapped butterfly's family member, a precious person. His mind saw himself, watching as the Hokage was given to fate.

He balled his hands, running at the web, denying fate. He scooped the injured monarch into his small hands, tears flowing down his cheeks the entire time. He knew that, by saving the butterfly, a spider would go hungry. He shed tears for the spider. What if the arachnid had family of its own? What if the butterfly was its only hope for survival? Yes, Naruto was heartbroken with his monumental decision.

He ran, ran as fast as his little legs could take him. His eyes were blurred with the liquid streaming from them, so he couldn't see the butterfly that had been watching following him. He didn't know where he was going, what he was going to do when he got there. All he knew was why he was doing it. He couldn't sit by and watch as something so beautiful was taken from this ugly world. His heart was pounding. His breath was heavy.

Stopping, suddenly coming to a great lake that seemed to glow just as the firefly's buzzing above it, he allowed himself to fall to his knees. He stayed like that for many seconds, catching his breath, trying to understand the emotions he was feeling. He saved a life, but possibly condemned another. He helped something beautiful, but possibly hurt something necessary. He took a deep breath, raising his head to look at his clasped hands. He stared at them like they were not his own. He shakily opened them, peaking in on what lay inside.

As soon as his eyes met the beautiful form of the dazzling king, his heart stopped racing, his breath evened, and his mind had calmed. He was looking at brilliance, pure, nature-made brilliance.

"Hello," Naruto whispered to the butterfly, "My name's Naruto. What's yours?" He asked. He smiled, chuckling to himself slightly. He knew a butterfly couldn't talk. Maybe that's why he was so happy to talk to it. A butterfly couldn't call him names. A butterfly couldn't look at him with hateful eyes. "I'll call you… Chō-chan!" It wasn't very original, but he was five. Not many original ideas came from those so young.

Chō-chan tried to flutter its left wing, only for it to stop, obviously in pain. Naruto's brow furrowed, Chō-chan's pain hurting his heart.

"Your wing, Chō-chan!" he cried, bringing his newest friend closer to his face. He looked at it sadly. "What can I do?" He asked. "How can I make it better?" Memories of his own painful experiences came to his mind. But whereas he was here, with the butterfly, he had been all alone, forced to suffer, alone.

He closed his eyes, shutting them as tight as possible, clasping his hands together, and bringing them close. He silently prayed. He prayed, wished with all his might, that someone, that something would help Chō-chan. He had never wanted anything more in his young life. He didn't want another living creature to feel the same pain he had already felt. Where his pain was emotional, Chō-chan's was physical, and he wanted nothing more than to switch places with it. He wanted to endure the pain himself; so that the beautiful butterfly could do what is was meant to, to fly.

He wanted it to all go back, back to the time where Chō-chan wasn't hurt. Where the butterfly had two, healthy wings, to where it could fly again.

Opening his eyes, he was greeted by something unknown. His hands – were they his hands? – were alit in a bright, while light, the same color as the moon above him. He had never seen this light before, or anything like it. He was almost positive that it wasn't what most would call normal, but he also knew, somehow, that it wasn't harmful. If anything, it felt… old. How anything could feel old was too complicated for his young mind to contemplate, but that was the answer nonetheless. His azure eyes watched with a trance-like fascination as the white lit up the dark.

He couldn't help it anymore; he slightly opened his hands, looking in to see what exactly was happening. And when he saw, he looked on disbelief. Before his very eyes, Chō-chan was getting better, like its wing was turning back to when it wasn't damaged. It was going back. His wishes were answered.

That in and of its self was odd since he never got what he wanted. He didn't have a mommy. He didn't have a daddy. He didn't have a sibling. He didn't have anyone, sides the Hokage, but he could only do so much. Yet here his wishes, his hopes were being given to him. It was beautifully amazing, miraculous even.

The white died down, and the old feeling was gone with it. He completely opened his hands, watching something beautiful spread its wings. Chō-chan beat its wings, climbing into the air. Naruto pointed his finger at nothing in particular. The king of butterflies landed on his finger, making the boy smile, laugh and cry all at once.

Chō-chan took off from his finger, and Naruto's azure eyes widened when he saw the second butterfly from before meet it. The two fluttered side-by-side, almost dancing to an unheard rhythm, and it was hypnotizing. It made Naruto feel warm inside. His childish mind saw a mommy, and a daddy, and hoped that, somewhere, their baby was waiting for them. His childish mind had saw him saving his parents, whoever they may be, and that struck something inside him with great force.

Determination lit his azure eyes with white-hot flames. He would be joining the academy next year, and he would become a shinobi as fast as he possible could, so that he could protect all the other mommies and daddies. So that he could protect all the others like himself.

He was Uzumaki Naruto, and he had a purpose now.

He took a step, ready to go home and sleep, feeling very tired. The second his foot touched the grassy ground, his vision blurred and he felt dizzy. He vaguely felt his knees hit the ground, and then, without any more warning, he slipped into unconsciousness.

A/N:

I know most people like longer chapters, and the chapters of this story will no doubt lengthen, but I'm sort of enjoying the short chapters. I can put in that raw emotion that otherwise would be somewhat lost in the tsunami that is 10,000 words plus.

I also know that, even though I explained, somewhat, what Naruto is capable of, it wasn't much. All I can say is that everything will be revealed when it is time.