Hey guys, this is a short NaruHina story that I started quite literally on a whim. I don't know how long it's going to be or when my next update will be. I used to watch Naruto frequently, but now I just read the Manga, and lately I've been sucked back into the fanfiction world.

I've read a lot of wonderful stories, and some stories that were good ideas but executed poorly. I'm not perfect at writing, but I'm going to try my hardest to write good quality and entertaining stuff!

So this story starts during the Pein arc, and due to the adeptness of my writing style I'm going to jump straight into the heart of the story and skip to the juicy parts. So no worries! I am not going to Re-write ENRITE arcs! Heaven's knows how many frikken times I've read the wave arc! I didn't even like that arc that much in the actual anime!

Anywho, the main pairing is NaruHina and the story is a bit AU. Since I started this quite literally on a whim (and excluding the fact that it's VERY similar to another story I'm writing for another fandom that follows almost this exact plot) I have no idea how AU it will be. But it's a wonderful love story and I hope you enjoy it.

"NaruHina" Normal talking

'NaruHina' Thinking

"NaruHina" Bijuu/ Angry Naruto/ Jutsu (Simple right?)

Love Across the Ages

Chapter 1: Nostalgia

He was trapped. Uzumaki Naruto was trapped under the blazing sun's heat, the barren earth below him – which was once the center of the beautiful village of Konohagakure—was all that was left of Pein's attack. Naruto struggled against his binding, long black chakra rods piercing his limbs and stomach. He wasn't going to lie. It hurt like hell. But the pain was no worse than the wrenching ache he felt in his heart for being trapped like an ensnared fox at the mercy of the very same man who killed his Master, father-figure and dear friend, Jiraiya the toad Sanin.

"I guess I'll be taking you now," Pein's monotone voice pierced Naruto's mind. He growled at the orange haired men but felt utterly useless as the violet sextuplet rings in Pein's eyes transformed; the circles merged together to form pit less black eyes. Naruto felt his soul being tugged from his body, his eyes flickered, threatening to close. His senses left him one by one; first his vision, then the pain, then the feeling of hot air on his back until all that was left was silent breathing of Pein performing his effortless jutsu.

Till he heard the clacking of foots steps rushing, no, running towards him. Pein's Jutsu was interrupted and suddenly Naruto could see again.

"Huh!" He heard a fierce scream and a cloud of dirt and mud exploded before him. Naruto saw a flash of violet, mid-night blue hair and periwinkle jacket of one of his Nakama, Hyuuga Hinata. The dust cleared away to reveal the Hyuuga princess standing in the epicenter of an impressive sized crater. Pein had managed to dodge her attack and stood a good twenty paces away from the destruction zone. "I won't let you hurt Naruto-kun anymore!" She cried fiercely.

"Reinforcement?" Pein scoffed phlegmatically, and then Eyes of God and the eyes in Naruto's nightmares were turned on one of his precious friends.

"What are you doing out here?" He snapped at the Hyuuga Heiress, his veins filled with a paralyzing fear for the women before him. "Get away quickly! You're no mat-"

"I know," she cut him off. Her voice was soft, but Naruto could hear the steadfast timber of her inner courage. From the ground, all he could see was Hinata's long blue-black hair dancing in the breeze. Her back was straight and her posture was poised for an attack. There was no hesitation in her body. She was resolved. "I'm just…being selfish."

"Tch, what are you talking about?" Naruto demanded. "Don't put yourself in danger like this!" He struggled against his bonds, it was no use. He was trapped, and now Hinata was going to get hurt.

"I'm here because I want to be here. This time…I'm going to be the one to save you Naruto." Hinata said. Naruto's eyes widened impossibly. Hinata continued explaining. "You once made me a promise Naruto-kun that no matter how many times we lived, that we would always protect each other. And that we would always find each other so that when we did, we could be together forever and always." Hinata whispered, a teary haze covered her beautiful lavender eyes.

"I never forgot the first time we found each other Naruto-kun. I-I loved you then and I love you know….so I will protect you. No matter what." And then she smiled and Naruto felt his entire body freeze. It wasn't one of this half-hearted smiles, or forced smiles of amusement on his behalf no…Hinata's smile was so much more. She was warm, genuine, and the love in her smile was for him and him alone. It was like nothing Naruto had ever experienced before.

Hinata dropped into her Juuken pose, and Pein's readied another chakra rod. She gritted her teeth against him and her eyes bulged with power. With sharp "Huh" Hinata swung her foot around in low round house kick and snapped the chakra rod piercing Naruto's arm. Naruto's eyes widened in disbelief, quickly realizing the Hyuuga's plan, he watched her swing her foot around one more time, but her attack was diverted by Pain's Gravitational Jutsu.

Hinata Hyuuga was sent flying across the barren land; her body tumbled like ragged doll until Hinata managed to find her balance and land on her feet. Blood dripped from her split lip. She jumped to her feet and launched into a run that could put Lee to shame. But before she could reach Naruto her body was mercilessly thrown across the field.

"Hinata!" Naruto cried in distress. He growled and shook against his bindings; his body wouldn't budge. Hinata arose from her crumpled position, much slower this time, her body looked ragged. She brushed away the blood dripping from her lips and narrowed her perceptive eyes on Pain's figure.

"I guess I'll have to use that sooner than I thought." She whispered more to herself. She brought her fists to the side of her body and focused her chakra to the palm of her fist.

Pain narrowed his eyes at the Hyuuga intruder. Though his face didn't betray him, he could tell that the power radiating from the Hyuuga was no ordinary power. Her chakra flared around her fists, taking visible form, and enveloped her body in chakra flames not unlike the Sharingan's Susano attack. "Kodai Bijutsu: Twin Dragons Fist!" the purple haired woman cried out and charged with chakra boosted leap.

Pain narrowly dodged the first attack; her fist skimmed her black-red cloud trench coat burning the fabric almost instantly. "What is this Jutsu you use?" Hinata aimed a punch for his midriff, Pain flipped through the air and landed a safe distance away. He had less than a second to dodge Hinata's follow up punch. He drew his chakra rod and swung it like Katana. Hinata parried his blows with the arc of her palms. The reverberating attacks sent sharp stings of pain up Pain's arm and he realized that she was attacking hard enough to paralyze his arm.

If this fight continued like this, he would lose use of his arm. Pein channeled his chakra through the chakra rods and raised his weapon high above his head, intending to finish the fight all in one blow.

"HINATA!" Naruto cried and watched the world slow down around as Pein's chakra rod cut through Hinata's barrier of chakra like knife cutting through butter. All Naruto could see was Hinata's face, the face of the woman brave enough to charge into a hopeless battle, one she knew she couldn't win just so she could save Naruto. No one had ever done that for him. No one had ever gone out of their way to protect him before. Sure Kakashi-sensei and Sakura-chan watched his back, but they'd never willingly charged an enemy knowing they could die just to give Naruto a chance to fight back.

The weapon fell upon the Hyuuga heiress; her chakra flames flared into a massive blaze and blinded Naruto's vision. He squint his eyes shut as the heat of the chakra flames scorched hotter than the Sun at the zenith of the day. He heard a loud CRACK and his heart plummeted in his chest. But he had to open his eyes. He had to see Hinata for himself, so he forced himself to blink.

Naruto's jaw dropped. Their stood Hyuuga Hinata, the very girl that had braved herself against her once prick of cousin Neji, who'd refused to give up the fight, who'd declared that her Nindo was the same as Naruto's, who'd fought until her dying breath, smiling at Naruto as she went down. The very same Hyuuga Hinata stood before Naruto; Pein's chakra rod snapped in half between the dancing dragon like flames around her fists.

"Tch…you are troublesome." Pein muttered darkly and threw his rod aside. But Hinata had sprung away from Pein at the sign of an opening.

"Now!" She yelled and shattered three more rods on Naruto. "O-one m-more," she gasped breathlessly. 'No, Hinata, RUN!' Naruto's mind screamed the words he could not bring himself to say, and then it happened. Hinata fell victim to Pein's Gravitational Jutsu and her body was launched fifty feet into the air.

"NO!" Naruto cried as he saw Hinata fall into a broken heap. His eye's flare angrily at the Akutski member before him. "LEAVE HER ALONE! YOU'RE FIGHT IS WITH ME!"Naruto cried in blinded furry. Pein paused before him.

"She…is interesting." He muttered almost too quietly for Naruto to hear over his grunts of indignant cries. "I cannot allow her to live." Naruto's eyes widened.

"No…no…" he realized that was shaking. There was some small part of Naruto, a tiny minuscule nudging at the back of his mind that screamed that Hinata couldn't get hurt. This was more than just one of his precious people getting hurt. It was something more than that.

"HINATA!"

"HINATA!"

"HINATA!" Naruto screamed until his voice went hoarse and dry. An unknown terror clenched his heart. Something gut deep, and instinct ingrained so deeply in his soul that he could not decipher it if he tried, screamed at him to protect Hyuuga Hinata. He felt emotions like nothing he'd ever felt before, a deep rooted sadness, a love like a virgin – unblemished and pure, and sense of nostalgia that gripped his heart with an iron grip.

But then he saw the slow and steady rising and falling over bruised chest and he knew that she was still alive. Hinata seemed to come around too; she struggled and forced herself onto her knees. She took one look at Naruto, revealing those beautiful, enigmatic lavender eyes. They were deep and wise, her eyes looked much too old for her sixteen year old self, and yet that's exactly what they looked like. In her eyes, he saw in untold story, a missing piece that could explain the sudden emotions that gripped Naruto like never before.

And she crawled towards him, painfully and slowly. "No Hinata…go back, please!" Naruto begged. His fear escalated as Pein began walking towards Hinata as well. "Save yourself, damn it!" Naruto cried in panic, and to his surprise he watched her face transform; her eyes softened adoringly and a gentle smile graced her elegant yet bruised and bloodied lips. She crawled till she sat before the last chakra rod the one piercing his hands together, preventing him from using his chakra.

"I kept my promise my love. Forever and Always…" She whispered so softly the breeze seemed to steal away her words.

Then two things happened simultaneously. Hinata's eyes flared gold; molten gold like lava, and barrier of blue and green energy surrounded the pair of them. Then she coughed out blood, it gushed out her like a spring, too much for caution. The last chakra rod disappeared and in its place was a simple ring with a ruby red stone and silver bands. "Kodai Bijutsu: Memory Seal" Hinata whispered as Pein tore the chakra rod piercing her out of her chest and kicked the motionless body aside.

Naruto's fist tightened around the ring and massive pillar of dark, malicious chakra roared to life and filled the sky like beacon that could be viewed for hundreds of miles. Naruto's fury had consumed him and the seal containing the strongest of the Nine Bijuu snapped.

So…did'ja like it? Huh? Huh? Huh?

I know there are some parts that are confusing, don't worry, there is thrilling back story to go with it! Sorry if the characters seemed OOC.

Jutsus:

Kodai Bijutsu: Twin Dragons Fist

Ancient Art: Twin Dragons Fist—very similar to Hinata's Twin Lion Fist, but upgraded to Dragons. When one uses this Jutsu, and high concentration of densely packed chakra physically form around the user's fists. The chakra flames that surround the Jutsu is part of an ancient art of Jutsu-using that has been lost for many centuries and will be explained later on.

Kodai Bijutsu: Memory Seal

Kodai Bijutsu: Memory Seal—explaination? It's a secret ;)

Review, review, review!

Kiki1770