Chapter 5 - Playing Rough

"Dang, how do you keep your apartment so tidy?" Naruto asked as he walked in after Tora. "Mines just a mess that I need to get around to cleaning."

"Well my friend, it involves a little something I like to call cleaning up after myself." Tora walked over and opened up a cabinet, pulling out some cups. "If any of you want refreshments then feel free to get some. Try not to waste too much though as I'll blow the monthly allowance I get from old man Third. Even if all of us parentless kids get it, I'd still like to conserve what I got."

"Oh please, don't be so stingy," Suna said as she walked in, closing the door behind her after Itana and Sasuke walked in. "Once you become a genin, you can do missions for your own money."

"Thats not the point though Suna," Tora responded as he poured himself some milk. "I'd rather conserve then to try and make myself go completely broke."

The five of them had decided that instead of going out and practicing their jutsu, they'd go over to Tora's house and just hang out for little while and chat about graduation and plans for the future. It was nice to relax every now and then from the never ending training and studying each of them went through almost every day. Even if one was a genius, hard work was still a key factor in everything which was why everyone besides Naruto was ranked top of their class and also why they needed a break.

"So you guys all ready for the exam tomorrow?" Tora asked as he sipped his milk. "A little birdy told me its going to be the clone jutsu after the written test. Such an easy jutsu should surely be easy for all of you."

"Well we're all gonna pass," Sasuke said bluntly as he helped himself to some tomatoes from Tora's fridge. Tora always found this weird but he never said anything about it before nor did he plan on it. "We wouldn't be able to call ourselves top of the class. Just try not to hold me back by failing....Naruto."

"And how would I hold you back?" Naruto shot back. "I got the clone jutsu down with ease. You all should be worried about being surpassed by me, Naruto, the next Hokage!!"

"Yeah? The only one we really need to worry about is Tora and his ability to surpass us all," Itana said as she walked past the group, heading for Tora's room. "If we slack off, Tora could pass us all in no time. Isn't that right Tora Uchiha?"

"Hey hey hey, where do you think your going Itana? My room is off limits," Tora stepped forward and snagged her by the sleeve. "Stay in here and get something to drink. Its a no-go with my room."

"Oh, is that so?" Setsuna asked as she darted by Tora and into his room. "Whats the matter? Does the almighty hybrid have trouble defending his territory from two fragile girls?"

"Fragile my ȧss," Tora replied as he yanked Itana before switching his sights to Suna who was now jumping on his bed. "You're so dead Yakaboshi!!! Wait until I get my hands on you."

Tora ran up and tackled Suna down onto the bed, wrestling her for dominance. Itana joined in a few seconds later and Naruto, not wanting to be left out and let Tora wrestle them by himself, joined in shortly after. Sasuke however was still eating his tomatoe and merely watched from the doorway, at least until a sandal came flying and knocked it out of his hand.

For the next few minutes, sounds could be heard outside the apartment as the five of them messed around like children, wrestling each other just for the heck of it. It wasnt until Tora had pinned both Itana and Suna down on the floor by their throats around ten minutes later that the match finally came to an end. The two girls probably could have gotten away but after a full ten minutes of using their full strength, they were all slightly out of breath.

"Ha....we definitely...win," Tora said between breaths. "You girls...lose. Its three against two though.....so I'll give you that."

Removing his hands, Tora fell onto his back out of breath alongside Naruto and Sasuke who had also surprisingly took part in the carefree childish game. It felt like back in the old days when the five of them would all just fight each other just for the heck of it.

Tora rolled his eyes as his breathing became steady. "You and your weird kinks Suna. Your lucky I'm tired otherwise I'd be kicking you and Itana out of my house right now."

"Ha, I doubt you even could," Itana said with a small laugh as she rubbed her throat. "We're just as strong as you boys are so it'd be difficult for you to do it by yourself."

"Well, its getting pretty late and I'm getting pretty hungry." Naruto sat up and stretched his arms. "I need to head home to get something to eat. You sleeping over today Tora? Sasuke?"

"Not tonight bro," Tora said as he also sat up. "I have things that need to be done. I have still have to return those scrolls before it gets too dark. Old man third never specified when they had to be returned but I'd rather get them back before anyone else complains. I've alreasy memorized the notes, I just need to practice and maybe I can get it with enough concentration."

Naruto nodded before looking over at Sasuke who also shook his head. Though he looked disappointed at first, Naruto had a huge smile on his face when Sasuke handed him a few coins.

"You better pay me back you loser," Sasuke said with a serious expression. "First mission you pass I get your share of the money."

Naruto nodded as he took out his frog pouch and slipped the coins into it before snapping it shut and slipping it back into his pocket. "Well, I'm off to Ichiraku's. Ill see you guys tomorrow." He gave a small excited laugh as he bolted out of the room, the sound of the front door being shut shortly folllowing.

Sasuke stood up a few moments later, readjusting his clothes and nodding towards Tora. "Make sure you return those scrolls. I don't need you getting held back because of a stupid thing like that. Remember our promise.....loser."

Tora smiled and gave a thumbs up. "Become strong, get recognized by the village, get a mission to kill Itachi. Of course I remember!! I'm the one who beat the idea into your head for the past few years. Sure better then your gloomy and depressed state you were in. I'm sure we can all agree that your better this way."

Sasuke actually smiled a little, something that was quite rare for him. "Its not like you all gave me the choice of ignoring you. The first time I ignored any of you, you tried to beat the hell out of me."

Sasuke picked up his fallem tomatoe and tossed it into the garbage can near the door entrance. "Anyways, I'm off. I want to train for an hour or two it gets too dark. I'll also see you all tomorrow." With those words, Sasuke left the house.

Suna and Itana stayed for another thirty minutes, chatting with Tora about random things before both of them standing up and also bidding farewell. Though they all had only stayed with him for a bit, they all thanked Tora for the good time. They then left with Suna attempting to kiss Tora on the cheek but failing and Itana giving him a quick punch to the gut and succeeding while he was distracted.

Rubbing his gut, Tora walked back to his room after escorting the two out his apartment. He now had to go and return the scrolls to their rightful owners and lay on a few apologies to appease them as best he could. He had stolen them a few days ago but he already made copies so he wasn't to worried about giving them up.

"Well, tomorrow is a big day," Tora said as he picked up two scrolls from his closet. "Lets get this done and then get in a hour worth of training. Its about time that I become a genin and take my first step into the ninja world."

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Is it wrong for me to like my version of Sasuke better? He still has hatred for Itachi but not to the point where he neglects everyone aroind him and looks down on others...I feel like I both ruined him and made him better.

Let me know what you guys think about this Sasuke in the comments and if you like adventure more then harem.....I might just forget harem completely because I like where my stories going.

I'd much rather focus on building the relationships of these five characters rather then anything else. I like the feeling of friendship and comradery as well as the process of growth they each need to have.