Neji: Definition of a genius!
Genius: A person with an exceptional natural capacity of intellect, especially shown in creative and original work in science, art, music, etc.
I entered the classroom fifteen minutes late, as usual, and my student Naruto came at me the moment I was inside. "Kakashi-sensei, you're late again! Where have you been?" I quickly came up with a good explanation, and took my time looking around the classroom. In the far left corner, Shikamaru Nara was sleeping peacefully, unaware of my presence. In the far right corner, Sasuke Uchiha stared at Neji Hyuuga with his Sharingan, he looked pretty pissed. The Hyuuga seemed cold, but I could see a hint of irritation in his face. "If you are so much better than me, then prove it! Let's fight here and now! I'll crush you with my chidori you baka." Sasuke spitted at the Hyuuga. I had never seen him this angry. "It's not just about brute force." the Hyuuga replied, his voice was as cold as his stare. This fight could be interesting to watch, and the class might learn something from it, I thought to myself. So I made a quick decision, and whistled to get the class's attention.
"H-huh? Kakashi-sensei, what are you doing here this early?" Shikamaru murmured, before he opened his eyes, and got annoyed by the sight in front of him. I heard him mumble something about how troublesome fights are, before he went back to sleep. Even though I was the teacher, I didn't really care. It was time to see how my students had improved. "What are you fighting about?" I asked curiously. Instead of responding, the two kept glaring at each-other. Sasuke vs. Neji, Byakugan vs. Sharingan. It had to become a marvelous fight. "K-Kakashi –sensei… Shouldn't we be s-s-studying now?" Hinata asked nervously, but I ignored her, looking at the two pairs of eyes that both tried to look the most frightening, like in a staring competition. "We will study, by watching these two handle the situation." I stated calmly.
"This is studying? In that case I wanna join!" Naruto yelled, punching his fists up in the air. I sweat-dropped at him, he had so much to learn. "Stay away dobe, I will handle this 'Self-proclaimed genius' myself!" Sasuke hissed. So that was what it was all about? I suppose Sasuke showed off again and Neji interrupted him by telling him that he wasn't as good as he thought. A regular show-off between the two of them, this time it seemed a little bit different though. "I am no 'Self-proclaimed genius'." Neji started. Everyone went silent, as he continued. "Uchiha Sasuke, do you know what a genius is?" the question shocked me, cause truthfully, I wasn't really sure about the answer myself. It was a tricky question, because a genius is so much more than the definition of the word. Sasuke smirked and deactivated his Sharingan, before he started to walk around the room. "Genius: A person with an exceptional natural capacity of intellect, especially shown in creative and original work in science, art, music, etcetera." He stated, clearly proud of himself. The definition was so perfect that it could've been in any dictionary. The Uchiha turned towards the Hyuuga, his smirk growing wider. "There you go dobe, can we get this over with now?" he asked impatiently, almost like Naruto on the way to Ichiraku Ramen. "You still haven't answered my question." Neji said, and the smirk on Sasuke's face was nothing compared to the self-confident look in the young Hyuugas white eyes.
No one understood a single thing, they looked totally confused, Sasuke included. I knew that Hyuuga boy had to have something in store; he usually doesn't pick a fight, unless it's really necessary. "Hyuuga, I told you the definition already, are you deaf or something?" Sasuke chuckled a bit at his remark, before staring at Neji, re-activating his Sharingan again. A small breeze blew through the window, lifting the Hyuugas hair as he looked up towards the sky; this gave his serious and philosophic gaze an even better effect, as if he and the wind were one. The wind blew through Sasuke's hair as well, but his eyes didn't glow with the same depth as the young Hyuuga's, leaving him with his regular smirking gaze. He was much too confident in his abilities, and I knew that it would cost him in this combat. Well, I thought, there are some things you will only learn by experience, and this was one of them.
"So that's the definition of a genius huh? It seems pretty poor don't you think?" Neji said, as he closed in on the Uchiha, who slowly started losing his smirk, even though he tried his best to seem unaffected and careless. However, after a few minutes of silence, he was the one who broke the silence by murmuring "Why do you think so?" though he desperately tried to avoid losing his mask, I could sense the curiosity in his voice as he asked the question. He had started to doubt himself a little, that was a good thing. The pale, ebon-haired Uchiha needed to understand that he didn't possess all of the world's knowledge, barely any of it actually. A whisper was heard between the students, could it be possible that Sasuke's definition was wrong? No it couldn't be, I heard them mumble, he was a genius after all. Neji seemed to have heard them too, and responded in a monotone voice: "No, Sasuke's definition isn't wrong, it is the one listed in almost every dictionary in this world. But it is not completely right either." Everyone pierced their ears and listened. I was pretty interested too; could he be onto it at this young age? What a genius really was.
"If I remember correctly, you said that a genius is a natural, which, in a certain way, is true, but not completely correct." The Hyuuga had all eyes on him, all the whispering had silenced; they were really listening for once. Oh how I wished they would do that in my classes. "You see, even though you are born into a certain family, or born with a certain amount of intellect or creativity, it's what you manage to get out of it that matters. In others words: How you use your abilities to handle conflicts and problems that might show up on your way! And how or if you use your abilities to make a difference, to fight for your beliefs, and not just for vengeance, revenge, or being superior!"
I was literally in shock of the words coming out of the usually careless, egocentric and cold Hyuuga. Was this some kind of a change of heart? "Earlier, I thought that if you completed a mission, it didn't matter how many lives it costed, or how many villagers that ended up homeless because of the damages. But in reality, that's what matters. They are the ones we are protecting, the ones we swore to keep safe when we agreed to become ninjas. They are what we are fighting for!" his voice was strong and confident, with the power to tame any wild snake and get it back on the right path. Even Sasuke was completely captured while he held his speech.
"Earlier, I thought that if you managed to rescue yourself, and complete the mission, it didn't matter if your teammates were left behind. I looked at them as idiotic flies that kept buzzing in my ears till I lost my concentration. Now I look at them all as fellow ninjas, working for the same case, every single one as valuable as any other member. It's true that a genius shall be able to think for himself, but he has to think for others too. I believe a genius is there to discover new things, and create powerful techniques, so that he can use them to help others, and to create a better society. And that's my definition of a genius. A definition I doubt no one will ever live up to, myself included." He finished, and the classroom was filled with applause and cheering as Neji received a true standing ovation. Even the Uchiha came over to admit his loss. I made eye-contact with the young Hyuuga, and sent him an ensuring smile. Maybe he didn't know, but one day he would realize, that he really is "The true definition of a genius."