A word from the authoress:

I cannot begin to describe into words of how many times I iterated these words to you. I apologize profusely for all the times I have neglected to update this story or attempted to take time away from procrastinating to delve deeper into the story. See, I actually started this story about six years ago after having read hopesterock's "I will have you". The summary was similar to the one I adopted. I asked permission to adopt the story context so I wouldn't be reported or sued for plagiarism. Then there came the issue of finding a name for the fiction. At the time, I was totally into reading Sasuke/Naruto stories and I thought to myself, why not? Thus, Ruby Claims The Sapphire was published. While the show itself has reached its ending, the stories still continue and so does the fandom. Although, I am aggrieved to admit that my taste have changed somewhat and thus my interest tend to drift elsewhere as well as impending obligations I must attend to. That is not to say I have abandoned my stories and consider them sacred to me. Inspiration has to come to me to get the story moving. Then there is editing. At the beginning of my writing journey, I was albeit unprofessional and my grammar was juvenile and undeveloped at best. That has improved since then. If you have read the original version, the last chapter will give you information as to why I have decided to start anew with the story's summary. I thank all of you for having been patient and understanding with me through the course of this adventure and could not have been prouder to have you as an audience. As for everyone else, well that is not important. Read and review.

Disclaimer: Naruto does not belong to me in any way, shape or format. Misashi Kishimoto has that honor.

Warning: slight language, injuries, that's pretty much it

Ruby Claims The Sapphire: Redux

Chapter 10: Stormed Out

Naruto descended slowly down the branches of the Alder. He made mind to keep out of sight from within the leaves. Being certain the coast was clear, he leapt down with ease. He back peddled slowly before breaking into a sprint back into the town. The north entrance was in sight when his cloak snagged on a fence post and caused him to fall backwards landing on his rear. He attempted to redon his disguise when he was suddenly lifted up by the back of the shirt. He looked up into the triumphant gaze of Zaku.

"Shit" he cursed silently. "Found you freak" Zaku taunted with a sneer. "Dosu, it seems our efforts chasing down this trash have finally paid off. And what a day it's been; not only does Kin get to do away with Deer Boy, we get to teach the orphan a lesson". Naruto grunted and thrashed struggling to elude his captors. This was awarded with a quick punch to the stomach. The only thing keeping him up was Dosu who held on to his upper arms.

"Easy there, we need him intact for later use" the masked thug stated with boredom. Zaku scoffed. "Whatever". Dosu was by no means a philanthropist, no he was every bit a brute as his two chums. He also like to waft off his malice onto the blond. Since the old man was no longer around, Naruto was all that was left. After all, Naruto was nothing to them dead. As they dragged their prey elsewhere, an inaudible mumbling caused them to halt.

"Huh, what's that you said?"

Naruto lifted his head with a fiery sapphire gaze.

"I said 'why don't you dump your heads in pig piss!". Before either of them could retort, the blonde broke free of his bonds and gripped the fronts of their shirts before being tossed into a nearby pigsty. The nearby spectators howled with laughter at watching the two ruffians struggle to free themselves from the filth and tumbling swine. After all it wasn't every day, you got to see your local neighborhood bullies receive their comeuppance. The laughter died when the two filth covered ruffians finally climb out of the swell. The pair looked the very ideal image of mud monsters. The most frightening thing about them was their white-bloodshot red eyes full of murder. And they were directed at one person in particular: Naruto Uzumaki.

"Youre dead Uzumaki!" Zaku snarled venomously. Naruto wasted no time breaking from the crowd who scattered to escape the two enraged monsters onslaught. He sprinted opposite his original destination. He ran through alleyways and fought off a couple of hoods who got a little too handsy thinking him a girl. He went around buildings. (Wait a minute didn't he just go through this) Almost more than once did he manage to get caught by his ponytail. Gods at times like these he wondered why he even bothered to grow it out to begin with. He cursed inwardly as his eyes shifted sideways trying to figure out which way to turn. He turned a corner where he found himself at the southernmost point of the village. Next to it was a patch of woods he was all too familiar with. It was the same forest he came to when he first came to the village. Shaking his head of said thoughts, he ran straight for them. Hopefully, he could hide there long enough to evade his pursuers. He was blindsided when a familiar pair of arms wrapped around his person.

"Got you twerp" the figure said breathlessly. Naruto response was to elbow him backwards in the solar-plexus. Zaku grunted as he clutched his stomach giving the blonde much needed time to escape. He sprinted through the foliage onto a dirt highway. He didn't dare look behind him to see if he was being followed. It didn't take long before his path was blocked once again.

Zaku and Dosu stood there, hunch-backed, mud covered, and angry. The blond gulped giving off a nervous smile and patted the back of his head.

"Uh, h-h-hey guys. Lovely day for a nice jaunt in the woods, eh?" he chuckled nervously. The two hoodlums scowled in bemusement. Zaku stepped forward drawing out his switchblade causing the blonde to step back two paces.

"Blondie, we have had it up to HERE" he emphasized by putting his hand high above his head "with you constantly making fools of us for way too long. And now it's time the piper started collecting his dues". Dosu for once made no effort to stop his friend. Instead, he seemed all too eager to join in. Naruto poised himself into a fighting stance. If he was gonna go down, he would rather do it fighting. In the past he was able to take on all three of his foes with much needed luck and calculative planning. Sadly, it would seem he would have to be extremely careful if he wanted to escape alive.

He attempted to circle around his enemies but the two quickly caught on and blocked his plan.

Zaku smirked at seeing the initial disappointment. "Awww too bad blondie. Guess you weren't fast enough" he taunted. Naruto growled but then he smirked. He ran straight for the opening between Dosu and Zaku. The two grinned triumphantly and raised up their daggers ready to end the blond nuisance once and for all. What they didn't expect was Naruto to suddenly high jump followed by a frontal flip before landing easily. He looked over his shoulder and gave the perplexed ruffians a peace sign and stuck his tongue out at them as if to say 'na na na na na'. "Ku ku ku, bet you two didn't know I could do that did you? Just a little secret I kept except from the old man in the event I needed to make a quick escape or in the event of an emergency. See ya". Zaku's shock quickly wore off and gestured to his cohort to give chase.

Naruto sniggered. He continued to run down with no true destination in mind. He would have to apologize to Yoshino and Shikaku later once he successfully shook off his pursuers for good. He closed his eyes and allowed his other senses to take in everything around him. There was just something so refreshing about being surrounded by forest and the feel of the late evening air around your persons. He could barely register the enraged screams of Zaku and Dosu chasing him. It mattered not to the lad. Three and a half years had not diminished his memory of the ins and outs of the place. He soon came to a fork labeled by an arrow marker pointing two ways: one pointing toward the western point of the village and the other pointing to the sister country of Konoha; Sunagakure or Suna for short. His decision was quickly made for him when he was tackled from behind and tumbled on the ground.

Zaku panted heavily as he knelt on top of his prey and held his dagger to the blonde's throat. Dosu placed a foot lightly on Naruto's leg. "Move and a slit throat will be the least of your worries", he warned. Naruto gulped inwardly but glared defiantly at his adversaries. Zaku lifted himself slightly off his bounty but kept the knife where it was.

"Now here is whats gonna ha- he was cut off when Naruto's eyes widened and he yelped loudly.

"WATCH OUT!"

Zaku and Dosu matched their captive's expression as an oncoming carriage barreled straight at them and didn't seem to show any signs of stopping. Naruto took the distraction as a chance to throw off his attackers and run for the carriage. The coachmen was a slim built man who was currently attempting to steady the heavy built vehicle and four muscular horses at the same time on lumpy dirt road along with a large cart load of his clients merchandise. A loud thud alerted him that he had company.

Naruto struggled to get up on the perch. The coachmen shouted indignantly as he tried to push the blond off. "What the hell you doing kid? You trying to get yourself killed?!" Naruto grunted as he finally got his footing and he smiled sheepishly. "I'm sorry but I had to get on so I can escape' he gestured his thumb behind him 'the two bozos chasing after me". As if on cue, two more thuds hit the carriage. The coachmen and Naruto looked up to see the two pursuers now on the roof where the cargo was.

"End of the line blondie. Dosu you take care of the other one. Make sure there are no witnesses". At that instant, all four engaged in a reluctant wrestling match. Amidst the scuffle, they failed to notice the carriage begin to topple until it was too late. The sound of neighing horses, broken merchandise, screech of frightened passengers, and four others were thrown off the now damaged vehicle. Pained groans were all that could be heard from the survivors. Naruto was the first to come to. By now the sky had turned to a dark greyish-blue hue. The rumble of thunder accompanied by billowing clouds followed suit. It would soon begin to rain.

Naruto groaned as he sat himself up on both arms. "Well, it cant get any worse can it?" he replied. Suddenly a flash of lightning echoed through the air followed after by torrential rain immediately drenching everything around him. "Obviously it can" he groaned (1). He hoisted himself on to his feet. The minute he did that a hand gripped his shoulder harshly making him hiss. Zaku who was now no longer covered in mud but still looked ragged from the pouring rain grinned at the blond whilst brandishing his knife tightly in his fist.

As Zaku made ready to end the blonde's life, the fiend was suddenly grabbed from behind and lifted high into the air. Naruto yelped as he laid eyes on a most frightening sight that was sure to scar him for years. A tall hulking figure with long blonde hair that covered its entire face and dressed in an ornamented green kimono held up Dosu and Zaku by the back of their shirts with claw-like grip. Naruto panted with fear as he continued to witness the possible execution of two of the village tormentors at the hands of this beast (2). After some time, the beast lifted up its head, eyes glowing red and teeth bared.

"Which one of you mongrels is responsible for the damage done to my property?!"

A flash of lightning illuminated the terrain. Dosu and Zaku sobbed uncontrollably as they struggled to release themselves from their restrainer. Naruto shuddered as well but it was more from the fear rather than the cold. Zaku and Dosu seeing an opportunity to pin the blame all on our heroine.

"It was him ma'am. That kid over there is such a plague on this village. He always goes around making people's lives hell, bullying the locals and pulling pranks that often leave the buildings in ruins". Naruto stomped his feet heatedly. "WHAT?! I will have you know none of those are true". Naruto shrugged abashedly. "Well…at least not the last part. The other two are all them...them and a girl wherever she is". The green clad figure stood to full height balancing her two captives like a balance beam. The door to the upturned carriage opened to let out another woman. She had shoulder length black hair and pale skin and wore a less formal blue kimono as her companion.

"Ojou-sama (3)! What is going on out here?! A flash of lightning struck again causing her to yelp and duck back into the carriage. The blond female sighed and pulled her hair back revealing her exasperated face. Naruto gasped in surprise to see that the beast was in fact a young middle aged woman with russet brown eyes and a purple jewel centered on her forehead.

"Nothing really Shizune…If you don't count for these three brats standing before us, it's raining cats and dogs, my entire stock of perfume and sake are all destroyed and to top it off…Im soaked". She shifted her eyes back to the other blond and pointed a manicured finger at him. "And I am certain it is that brat's fault!" Naruto's jaws dropped to the floor. "Now wait a minute you old hag; just because you drive around in a fancy smancy carriage and you spend ungodly amount of coinage on whatever you got in those boxes, you think you can just stomp your feet and snap your fingers and everyone will just bow down to you like a common stave. Get real, obasa-

GACK!

He was gripped by the throat and lifted high into the air much like how his enemies were moments before. Shizune yelped as she leapt out of the carriage to intervene. Tsunade paid her no heed as she continued holding her prey. "You were saying something gaki? Or do you wish to add more" she retorted viscerally. Naruto gagged as he attempted to loosen the tight grip around his throat. "Tsunade-sama, please let the boy down. We can pay for the damaged merchandise later but first let us get out of the rain first before we get struck by lightning or worse". Tsunade, as she was called glanced at her captive as he struggled to release himself. She sighed and reluctantly eased him to the ground. Naruto coughed into his hands to ease his breathing. He gave a grateful smile to the dark haired woman who smiled in return. Shizune's smile diminished when she saw the coachmen unconscious on the ground and bleeding slightly from the head. She exclaimed before rushing straight to his side and began to dress his wounds.

"Tsunade-sama! Everyone don't just stand there like ninnies. Help me get this man onto a plank and get him to the nearest healer" she cried out. Naruto and Tsunade immediately ran over to assist her. He broke off the perch of the carriage to help the two women create a makeshift gurney and gently laid the man onto it. Naruto glanced over his shoulder and glared at the two thugs who attempted to slink away. "Aren't you going to help? Or are you just going to run off with your tails between your legs?!" Zaku scowled at him. "We didn't come all this way out here to deal with a dead guy, an old hag, a puny maid servant. No, as it turns out you're not even worth it anymore Blondie! I'm done with you" he snarled. "Do what you want. Dosu and I are so done with this stupid village. We're going to do what we should have long ago; go back to Oto". As he began walking , his arm was grabbed by a livid Dosu. "We can't just leave Kin behind! She's a part of our team. Or have you forgotten?!" Zaku shook his head. "Kin IS done for, Dosu. Even if we were to go back to get her, there is little chance we would be able to get past the guard and escape with our lives intact. Besides, shes' a smart girl. She can get herself out!"

If one could see beneath the bandages, they would have seen Dosu open his mouth in disgust. As the storm began to dissipate, so did his respect for his leader. In his outrage, he gripped the front of Zaku's shirt and shook him several times. "You cowardly, reprehensible, contemptuous excuse of a man! If it had been her, she wouldn't have hesitated to run back to try to rescue your a…

Zaku got very nervous all of a sudden when Dosu failed to finish his rant. He craned his neck over his shoulder and cursed loudly. In the midst of the arguing and chaos, he failed to notice two things. One, it was no longer raining and two; they were completely surrounded. Naruto gripped the sides of the makeshift gurney as he took in the fact he had been found at last; by the Konoha Royal Guards. They all sat propped up on horses, swords propped by their sides. The entire troop parted to make way for the other rider.

"Happy to see me, dobe?"

A little change from the last version. Tsunade and Shizune make a grand entrance. I ended it slightly the same way but in a different format. Like I said, I felt the last version of the story had been comparable to a Mary-Sue or Gary-Sue if you all prefer. This time I wanted to give Naruto some real personality and not have it be another run-of-the-mill SasuNaru tale where they fall in love at first sight and everything goes hunky dory. To be perfectly honest, I have kinda had it with the typical SasuNaru storyline and wanted to add my own twist. I still would like to stick with the original plot but keep the context, characters, and other tidbits the same. The anime may have long finished and had moved on to the more brackish Boruto saga (sigh); I still have a soft spot for our favorite yellow haired heroine and his daily stuggles, and so forth. Not to say I totally found the ending of the anime entirely distasteful. I like that he got together with Hinata like many of you were hoping for as opposed to Sasuke and Sakura getting together (no offense to those fans).

Moving on, the story will have a slightly different plot. Not sure exactly where but it will come to me as I come. Take into consideration however, that I do have life outside computer and such. If I delay, a 1000 apologies. In all else, what do you think? Be sure to read and review please. Until next time.

Chapter Footnotes

(1) That scene from Tarzan where Jane is trying to get off the large tree and she makes this retort.

(2)Note this is from Naruto's P.O.V. Anyone in his situation would think the same thing.

(3) Ojou-sama is an honorific referred to high-class women of Japanese courts