Okay so, there's finally a new chapter up for this story. It has kind of been neglected and to be truthful, my muse of inspiration for this story has sort of disappeared for the moment. Of course, I'm going to finish it, that's a promise, but the chapters won't be updated quite so regularly. I know, it sucks for you guys, and it does suck for me too, because I really like this story. And the fact that it was the first story I've ever published kind of gives it a special kind of feeling.

Anyhow, I've read through the reviews, and most of them are amazing, so thank you! However, there are a few things I have to adress so people don't get confused.

I know that I mentioned this story has drawn a lot of inspiration from Afteraffects, and people can see a few similarities. Yes, this is true, but from this chapter onward, the story actually differs quite a lot from it. So no, this story isn't a rip-off, thank you.

On a more happier note, I have three chapters already fully written for this story, and I'll post those weekly, or at least try to, school is going to take up a lot of my free time from now on until June.

Also, I know the story has a few mistakes, but I'll edit those over time!

Now, enjoy!

Everybody is Somebody,

And Anybody is You.

- Shinedown

Chapter 4 – The Crash Course

The week had gone by quite fast, and Sakura had picked up on a few notable things during it. Firstly, the teacher of English Literature would always be 15 minutes late, leaving what should've been an hour and a half of teaching, an hour and 15 minutes instead.

Secondly, her Chem teacher seemed to have a weird affection for guys, if his glances and creepy smiles towards the boys in her class was any indication. It didn't help that he was wearing glasses that looked nothing less than shady, and adding to it all, was the predatory vibe that came from him. In conclusion to those observations, Sakura noted that she'd definitely be wary whenever he was in the vicinity.

And lastly, her teacher in Calculus class… Was the only teacher she deemed to be the most normal out of all the teachers she had. Mrs. Kurenai was strict but in compensation she strived for the students to do their best. But for that to be possible, at least in a rowdy class like the one she was currently in, Mrs. Kurenai had to instil a little discipline.

Emphasis on the word 'discipline'.

Oddly enough though, she kind of actually enjoyed it, despite having been caught red-handed texting to Ino once. And due to the disciplinary standards that Mrs. Kurenai had, she was forced to explain herself in front of the whole class. It wasn't anything embarrassing, fortunately, which the class probably had been hoping for. Instead, it was just Ino informing her that she had to go talk to the Principle about her classes during lunch, since she had been misplaced.

Instead of having History during second period, it had said that she would have P.E., which was entirely wrong, because Ino hadn't signed up for that course. 'Why would she anyway.' Was what Sakura had thought when she had read the message. She compensated the P.E. classes by signing up for the handball team instead, which was, quoting her best friend, "soooo muuuuch more fun!"

Yes, her blonde best friend did duplicate the o's and the a's to emphasize that it was 'so much more fun'. She was crude like that, underlining the message so it was delivered as clearly as possible.

'Talk about wanting to state the obvious in the flashiest way, Ino-pig…'

When thinking of handball and P.E., it reminded Sakura that it was Monday today, which meant that the try-outs were beginning. The handball try-outs were half an hour after the last class ended, however it had yet to reach that time. Unfortunately, she was still stuck in English Literature, with only five minutes remaining. It was a pain seeing the clock slowly tick away the last minutes of class. Instead of actually just being five minutes, it felt like a whole eternity passing by.

She let out a tired sigh, and glanced outside the window.

At least the weather was good today.

Maybe they would perhaps have the try-outs outside instead of inside… 'There I go thinking about the try-outs again… Stop it, Haruno, time won't fly by quicker,' She said to herself, suddenly irritated. Her leg was bouncing up and down in a restless manner, vibrating the desk in front of her. Then, something warm landed on her leg, taking her by surprise as well as shocking her from her daydreaming. A glance downwards told her it was a hand, and following the arm upwards, her surprised expression was met with a boyish smirk.

It was none other but Naruto.

She smiled apologetically towards him, and his smirk widened a little as he nodded. She understood what he was trying to tell her by his simple gesture. Stop bouncing your leg up and down.

She mouthed a 'sorry', and let her leg come to a stop. She turned her gaze away from the window towards the teacher to once again pay attention. He had returned to his desk and was currently shuffling his papers. He then spoke up, his gaze sweeping across the classroom.

''Alright class. We have just gone through the concept and lay-out on how to write an essay according to a University's template. This means that in one of the upcoming weeks of next month, you all will be handed a writing project. You will be using the template which we've gone through and you will also work in groups. And before you ask, the groups are going to be decided by me, so there's little point in picking out your writing companions.''

There was a wave of groans passing through inside the classroom, Naruto being one of them.

''Aw man, come on, Kakashi! Do you really have to hand us a writing project? And not even let us pick our own buddies on top of that? This is more like torture than English class, I swear!'' Came the blonde's protest. A few chuckles could be heard from the students.

''Firstly, Uzumaki, it's Mr. Hatake to you, not Kakashi. And that is very unfortunate for you, but regardless, it has been decided already. No one picks their own group.''

And with a final shuffle of his papers, he finally said the words Sakura had been waiting five long antagonizing minutes for,

''Class dismissed.''

Immediately the students rose up and headed for the exit, Naruto and Sakura one of the first. He grabbed her wrist before striding towards the double doors that led outside, and she had to quickly throw herself over her bag to grab it before being yanked outside the classroom.

''C'mon Saks, I know where Tenten is waiting.'' He said in a hurried tone. She really didn't understand the rush of having to get there, but she tagged along anyway, clutching her bag to her chest. It wasn't like she had a choice anyhow, for his grip was vice around her wrist. 'Jesus, people like grabbing my wrist like I'm supposed to flee somewhere… I'll have a permanent blue ring of bruises around my forearm if this continues…' The pinkette muttered inwardly to herself, trying to follow at Naruto's pace.

He was so much taller than her, for every step he took, she had to take two.

Height difference really sucked sometimes.

The duo consisting of pink and blonde raced over to the school's fountain, which was located off to the right from the main school building. It was beautiful really, the fountain, and definitely spoke of the wealth this school had. It was huge, and made of marble white with teals surrounding it in intricate Aztec patterns. The teals stretched out into a wide circle before meeting well-kept green grass. There were benches and a couple of trees stationed around the big fountain too, but the people preferred to sit on the stone-wall of the water fountain instead.

Those people also included Tenten, along with Kiba. Neji and Shikamaru were nowhere to be found, nor Ino or Hinata. It made Sakura wary, for she knew those two had also signed up for handball. 'Maybe they're just getting their things from the dorm…'

''What's up, Ten? Hello, asshole.'' Naruto greeted his friends, one on the receiving end a high-five and the other a punch. It was easy to figure out who got what.

''Dude, ouch! Was that really necessary? I thought we called truce, man!'' Kiba groaned, while clutching his midriff where Naruto had punched him. Tenten ignored the two idiots and turned towards the pinkette standing off to the side. She lifted her sunglasses and placed them on top of her head before speaking.

''Hi Sakura, you feeling nervous for the take-outs?'' Tenten asked, and patted the spot next to her, telling her to sit down. Sakura moved and placed her duffel bag at her feet after sitting down, and glanced around at the people. They were staring, just like in the Cafeteria, but this time it was more discrete. She wondered why they didn't seem more shocked to see Naruto outside than inside the Cafeteria. Maybe because there were more members of their group there along with him when they sat at the Cafeteria last week?

''Just a little. I haven't played handball for some time, so I guess I'll be a little rusty. I'm hoping the Coach won't mind though.'' Sakura confided in the brunette, her anxiousness for the upcoming try-outs just bubbling underneath the surface.

''It shouldn't be too much of a problem, you got some experience so that'll relieve you a little. And the Coach won't mind, she's more into finding people with the right mind-set and dedication to get it right even though you don't succeed the first time, rather than bring in people that play flawlessly. Those people don't enjoy the sport as it should be enjoyed, and they don't thrive to become better with every throw and pass of the ball. It's only those people that play for both competition and enjoyment that can advance the farthest.''

The mini-lecture had the pinkette smiling, for it seemed that Tenten really loved playing the ball sport, which was good for her, for she knew too how it felt to love a sport like she did.

''I guess that makes me feel a little less nervous, knowing that the handball Coach won't kick my ass for missing.'' Sakura said, and the two girls laughed.

''Missed me much, Saks darling?''

A new voice added in to their conversation, and it was none other than Ino. With her she had Hinata and Neji, but as well as Shikamaru. He stood next to the blonde, closer than what a stranger would stand. Much closer.

'Something is going on between those two.' The pinkette immediately thought. She sent a meaningful stare towards her best friend, who only responded with a sneaky smile and a shrug.

''Never in my lifetime will I miss you, Ino.''

''Whatever, one day you'll come around.''

''Sure, when hell freezes over.''

''Ladies, ladies, if you're gonna argue, can't you do it while mud wrestling? It'll prove for some good entertainment and fun!''

''Yeah, for your part, you perv. Go stalk some other hoe, this one is untouchable for you.''

''What, has Shikamaru already dibbed you?'' At that, Ino's face acquired a nice shade of red while Kiba just laughed, and almost fell into the fountain from leaning backwards.

''I knew it, you two have probably already said your vows and shit-ah!'' Kiba went flying, and suddenly found himself very wet, having being kicked into the fountain by one huffing Ino.

''What the hell!?'' Kiba sputtered, flinging his hair to the side to get it away from his face and then standing up, the water cascading down his body from the movement. He wringed his shirt and pants to get as much water out as possible, all the while giving Ino the 'what-the-hell-is-wrong-with-you'-look.

''You deserved that, don't go make assumptions about stuff you don't know, dogboy.''

''Hey, I'm no dog, and it's true though, you and Shikamaru do have a thing, you just proved it!''

Not one second later did he return to being soaking wet. The blonde bombshell, now enraged, stepped onto the stone wall before lowering her head down and glaring icily down at Kiba, her crystalline blue eyes reflecting the prominent anger.

''Shut up, I'll kick your ass if you continue spouting stuff like that.'' Came her angry reply, and Sakura then decided to intervene.

''Ino, he was just joking, take it easy. We all know Kiba's brain is 50% air.'' Her blondehaired friend raised an eyebrow, undecided on whether or not she should continue harassing Kiba or just lay off the matter.

She went for the latter.

''Fine, I'll let it go. We got the try-outs to focus on anyway.'' And with that, she turned her heel and went back to her position at Shikamaru's side, albeit a bit further away. Kiba rose and repeated the process of wringing water from his clothes and hair. But this time, there was no remark.

The others who had been spectators to the little ordeal just shrugged their shoulders. It was a typical scene, Kiba always found himself in these situations, most of them self-inflicted.

''Aaalright… That happened.'' Naruto commented.

''Yepp.'' Tenten replied. Then, everyone broke out into a laugh. Well, not maybe everyone, Neji kept his sturdy expression and Ino was still too worked up to find it hilarious, and Kiba just grumbled. The rest however, let out snickers and laughs, even Shikamaru managed a smirk, the corners of his lips slightly pulled upwards.

''We should go get ready in the locker-rooms, come on girls. We got some try-outs to ace.'' Tenten said and rose. Sakura, Ino and Hinata followed in-step with the brunette, waving their goodbyes to the rest of the group.

Not having walked out of earshot yet, Sakura heard a thud and then something akin to an oomph. Turning her head, she discovered that Naruto had punched Kiba on the arm, probably for his idiotic comments about Ino and Shikamaru. He caught her gaze and sent her a smug smirk. Sakura raised an eyebrow before reciprocating his smile and sending a thumbs up before turning back to enter the P.E. Hall.

They had been at the try-outs for a while, and soon it would be Sakura's turn to show what she had on the court. She felt prepared, having received a pep talk earlier from Tenten, but also a little nervous, despite it all. She had seen Tenten play, and Hinata. They both rocked. They had the technique and the steps down, making some pretty badass dunks into the ball net. Right now it was Ino's turn, and she had barely played any handball at all - the only things she knew about handball was what Sakura had taught her.

Which wasn't very much.

But Coach Anko, she introduced herself as Anko before the try-outs begun, didn't mind her fumbling on the field, for she had been quick to show the basics and tell her how to step and how to throw the ball. The power sat in the midriff, the lower part of the body. The power then surged upwards, where the shoulder becomes the main supporter for the arm when it comes to making the actual throw.

For being a newbie though, Ino was pretty decent. It was her fire and will in wanting to success that drove the blonde forward. Sakura had to hand it to her blonde friend, she picked up the tactic of playing pretty fast, and for that she was proud. Another person had gotten hooked on the sport.

And it was no surprise really, because despite handball not being all too acknowledged, it was a sport worth playing. The handball court was 40 by 20 meters long, with a goal in the centre of each end. From the goal, a semicircle stretched out, which could be called the zone. Only the goalkeepers are allowed to manoeuvre within the semicircle, but are not allowed to leave the zone. The only time a player besides the goalkeeper is allowed inside the semicircle, is when after completing a throw, and they land without the ball. If the ball hasn't been thrown and a player lands within the zone, the opposite team cedes the ball.

When playing handball, unlike other ball sports, one is allowed to touch the ball with all areas of the body. However, to walk or carry the ball is unpermitted, and a punishment is given if caught doing it. Instead, dribbling the ball, with hands preferably, and then pass it on to other players is acceptable to do.

The team itself consists of one goalkeeper and 14 members, excluding the Coach. The maximum amount of players on the field is seven, while the others are stationed off to the sides. Only the goalkeeper has to wear different clothing to differ from the rest of the players.

The said players, are categorized into offense and defence, where the offense players are the left and right wingmen. Being an offense player, they have to be quick on their feet and able to jump wide as well as have excellent ball control. Players in the centre backcourt and the left and right backcourt are also categorized into offense players.

The defence players however, are to the far left and right, as well as the centre. Basically, they are the opposite of the offense players. There is one position that isn't stationed to one spot however, and that is called, in handball terms, the Pivot. The Pivot player intermingles with both the left and right backcourt players, as well as the centre player, backing them up.

Usually, she was the appointed Pivot player during defence because she was quick on her feet. At least, she used to be when she played a couple years back. If she's going to remain as the Pivot player however, remains to be seen.

When it comes to the attack formations in handball, they come in waves - The first, second and third wave. If one wave fails, the other follows up. There are also different throws in handball, but the most famous one is the jump throw, and it was also her personal favourite. Among throws, there are faints too, which can be used beforehand the throw to, well, throw off the opposite team.

To make sure the game goes smoothly, there are two referees that supervise the games - the goal line referee and the court referee. All in all, the sport is pretty simple to understand and play, it's more learning and applying techniques and being able to pass a ball that makes it more difficult.

A whistle sounded, signalling that Ino had finished her solo part of the try-outs, which consisted of solo performance – to throw, feint and dribble with and without a defender in front, and then in pairs to demonstrate passes. Now that Ino was done, it meant it was her turn. A wave of nervousness shot through her body, but she quenched it and took a deep breath before walking onto the court and take position in the centre where she would start off.

Anko handed her the ball (a small leather/synthetic ball) before blowing the whistle and telling her to demonstrate what she knew.

She started off with the basics – the typical handball jump throw and simply standing at the edge of the semicircle to throw the ball into the net, to show that she knew the techniques behind the throws. There was only a goalkeeper standing at the goal, but she knew that further into the exercise, Anko would call out a person to act as a defender to see how she handled it.

She sprinted forward, each step calculated, and her mind planning ahead on where to land and jump off before throwing the ball. Sakura steered a little to the left, then back right to study the alertness of the goalkeeper. She was attentive to her movements, which meant she was concentrated on her form. Her foot landed a few centimetres away from the semicircle, and she decided to use that step to power her jump. Now positioned in the air, the pinkette twisted her midriff and shoulder, before bringing the arm back to swing the ball, where she made sure to keep the arm and wrist steady, and then, she released.

The ball flew and a thud was heard. She had landed the ball in the upper right corner, the goalkeeper having misinterpreted her throw. She smirked. It was a success.

Next up was to simply throw the ball and try hitting inside the goal, which Sakura managed to land most of her throws. The goalkeeper did deflect a few, but the majority of them hit. Rusty or not, she still had her throws intact.

Now it was time for a defender to take position, so the pinkette headed back to the centre of the court, this time mulling over what feint technique she should use. There was the three step feint, in which she zigzagged her steps in a sequence of three steps before jumping and throwing the ball. The trick to this was to try divert the defender away from the direction you shall throw, or else you would have to reach above the opposite player. And with Sakura being short… Well, she would just have to rely on confusing her opponent. That, or really press some power into her final step to make a high jump, but that required a lot of effort, and she would become tired more quickly. But she still favoured the jump throw.

Another feint was the twist feint. It's a bit more difficult than the three step feint, because not only do you have to plan where the defender would block, but also give up sight in favour of twisting in front of the opponent to the other side and then throw the ball. All this without overstepping the line of the semicircle.

Sakura decided to go with the first one, thinking it would warm her up enough before being secure enough to complete the twist feint. There was also the shot feint, similar to the three step feint, but to really manage a shot feint, the offense player would have to time the shot perfectly, lest the defender smack the ball away.

The pinkette completed all three sets of feints, doing them three times each. She only half failed with the twist feint, the defender managing to catch her off-guard, but none the less, she felt good about it.

Anko then blew the whistle, signalling that it finally was over – she had gotten through the first phase of the try-outs, and she let out a relieved sigh. It was nerve-wracking being up there but once a few minutes had passed, the nerves disappeared and she would become oblivious to the crowd, her focus wholly taken by the exercises.

She felt she had managed to show what she knew, and if it wasn't good enough to get into the team… Well, there was still that P.E. class she could sign up for…

'I hope Coach Anko found me good enough…' She silently thought to herself, her gaze watching the others perform after her. Some of them were good, but there were those that didn't seem to know a single thing about Handball. They couldn't even hold the ball right.

''Hey, Sakura! Come over here!'' She heard someone call out, and turning her neck to see who had said her name, she spotted Tenten on the bleachers off to the right. She waved, and rose to join her, Ino and Hinata, having missed that they all had seated themselves there.

''Why did you sit down there by yourself? Didn't you know we were up here?'' Ino asked her when the pinkette finally made the last set of stairs. They had chosen a spot high above, and Sakura couldn't help but wonder who exactly had chosen this spot, it was so far off… Even though the view was great, it felt more like climbing a mountain, especially after having been on the court minutes ago.

''Not really… I guess I just kinda forgot.'' Came Sakura's reply, and she shrugged her shoulders.

''Of course.'' Ino replied, before continuing;

"After those three girls have played, there's gonna be the last part of the try-outs, the passes. I seriously hope we get teamed up with each other, at least we all can handle the ball, unlike others…'' She heard Ino let out a sigh, and saw how her blondehaired friend threw a glance to the girl that at the moment occupied the court. The pinkette followed her line of sight, and immediately understood what exactly Ino had been hinting at. The girl on the court was stiff, and her hands shook. She looked lost, and definitely didn't seem to belong there. She had even gripped the ball with both her hands, and if Sakura interpreted it right, then the girl didn't really know how to hold the ball correctly. In fact, she looked like she didn't even know what to do, just standing still on the court.

It made the pinkette feel pity towards her. She seemed intent on wanting to learn to play the sport, but she didn't even know how to start off. Usually, you do some research before signing on to join a sport, or at least that's what she did before she started playing handball three years ago.

''M-maybe she just chose t-the wrong sport…'' Hinata quietly interjected. Ino turned towards the purplehaired girl, and lifted an eyebrow.

''You might be right, but still, she could be paired with any of us, do you really want that?''

''… N-no…''

''Exactly. It's not that I'm against her trying on a new sport, good for her that she is, but the repercussions will be ours. I mean, if she can't pass a ball, then how are you going to show what you're capable of?" Ino huffed and seated herself down, clearly irritated by the chance of getting paired up with someone… Less qualified. Hinata just looked down onto her lap, deciding to not answer to avoid getting on Ino's bad side. Sakura however, didn't think her friend's behaviour was rightful, especially not towards a friend.

''Ino, you haven't played much handball either, so don't downgrade others because they don't learn as quickly as you. That could've be you on the court right now, maybe she thought the same about you.'' Sakura pointed out.

''That's not me, because I'm here. And at least I know how to hold a ball, clearly she doesn't.'' Ino waved a hand towards the girl, who had just recently started off making the dunks. Sakura glanced towards her and saw that her footing was a little off but she compensated for that with the power of her throws.

''She has good throws, and with a little fixing, she can become a decent handball player. I don't get it, why are you so spiteful?'' Sakura asked. Something was up with her friend's behaviour, because she never acted like this if someone hadn't gotten on her nerves.

Her blonde friend went quiet, and everyone in the group turned questioning gazes at her. She then let out a sigh.

''Alright alright… That girl on the court – she started some shit with me last week because I apparently have stolen her Shikamaru. I'm just friends with him for God's sake, and besides, you can't own people. But since she's some crazy fangirl fanatic of him, she wouldn't listen. So she got on my nerve and said some things, and I punched her. There. That's why I don't like her.'' Came Ino's answer.

Everyone went quiet, no one daring to break the tense atmosphere that had settled over them, everyone too busy to mull over what Ino had shared.

Tenten then chose to levitate the awkward silence, not bearing another second of it.

''If she's so much of a maniac, then why don't you just ignore her? Those girls won't lay off until Shikamaru himself says anything.''

''That's the thing, Shikamaru's too lazy to say anything to his maniacal fangirl club. It's like he doesn't even care that they're throwing themselves at him - it's like he doesn't care how his friends are treated because he can't say otherwise…'' The pinkette then finally understood the underlying meaning of why Ino was in such a sour mood.

She had started to develop feelings for Shikamaru.

She had noticed it when her blonde friend first met him along with the rest of the group. But now… Ino was hurt over the fact that Shikamaru wasn't seeing her effort in getting him to reciprocate her feelings… Instead he let girls throw themselves over him and he didn't even seem to mind, according to her blonde friend.

It had to be a tough blow, that the guy you like… Doesn't notice your efforts. The pinkette glanced down before walking over to her best friend and wrapping her arms around her in a comforting manner.

''It's okay, Ino… It'll be fine…'' Sakura silently whispered in Ino's ear, and the blonde responded by hugging her tight.

''I hope so, Saks… I hope so…''

They then let go of their embrace, and Ino sniffed. She was back to her old self, none of her previous weakness shown on her face.

''Just in time you two, Anko's waving us down. And Ino, don't worry about the passes too much, Anko will demonstrate the passes first before letting us perform them. You'll do great.'' With a pet on the blonde's shoulder, Tenten proceeded to walk down the stairs, the other girls following in tow. Sakura turned around to Hinata, before speaking.

''Hey Hinata, I hope you're not upset about Ino's behaviour… I don't want you to be sad over that.'' The purplehaired friend blinked in surprise, not expecting Sakura to, well, reassure her. But then again, they were friends, and Sakura had always picked up on her emotions better than anyone. She simply had a caring nature, despite her past… Hinata gave Sakura a small smile.

''I'm a-alright, thank you, Sakura. I-I just wasn't expecting h-her outburst l-like that…''

''We know Ino can be irritating at times, we all got our moments.''

''Yeah, t-true…'' Sakura smiled at her purplehaired friend, and proceeded to jog down the rest of the stairs to get in line with the other girls. It was time to show her full potential.