A Life In Flowers
His life begins in white carnations, as they celebrate the birth of a new clan member. When he reaches out at a month old and crushes a branch to powder, dreaming of hyacinths, the carnations blush pink in the cries of his mother. Later in his cell they fade to purple, as do the hyacinths in his dreams.
When Orochimaru finds him, the purple hyacinths and pink carnations explode in a burst of petals; beautiful, fleeting, and gone forever. Orochimaru gives him aloe and makes him a camellia, and he feels happy at last.
Under Orochimaru, he becomes a cactus, stepping on buttercups as he trains, drunk on ambrosia. He is no hibiscus, and the crocuses are fading.
Dahlias bloom, and Orochimaru is pleased, the buttercups long gone by now. But then the illness comes, the taste of blood and defeat in his mouth, and the yellow hyacinths which Kabuto brings as a gift from Orochimaru, placing them in a vase with a mocking smirk.
Over the days, the flowers change into yellow chrysanthemums and evening primroses: Sasuke receives the true primroses. When Orochimaru comes, he says that he smells of grass, stroking Kimimaro's cheek as he did so many years ago. Light pink roses bloom in his cheeks, but he still sees the begonias in his master's eyes, matched by the petunias in his own.
When the final yellow carnation comes, he is ready with cyclamen, to cover the dead geraniums in the pot by his hospital bed.
For a few hours, he is an orchid once more, Orochimaru's precious white camellia, wallflowers blooming fiercely as he fights.
There are no marigolds at his death.
FLOWER MEANINGS:
White carnations innocence, sweet and lovely
Pink carnations I will never forget you
Purple carnations capriciousness
Purple hyacinths please forgive me, sorrow
Aloe misplaced devotion
Camellia my destiny is in your hands, gratitude, perfection
Cactus endurance
Buttercup childishness
Ambrosia your love is returned
Hibiscus delicate beauty
Crocus youthful gladness, cheerfulness
Dahlias elegance, good taste, instability
Yellow Hyacinths jealousy
Yellow Chrysanthemums slighted love
Evening Primroses inconstancy
Primroses I would die without you
Grass submission
Light Pink Roses admiration
Begonias beware
Petunias resentment, anger, your presence soothes me
Yellow Carnations rejection, you have disappointed me
Cyclamen resignation, good bye
Geraniums folly, stupidity
Orchids grace, elegance
White Camellias perfection, you are adorable
Wallflowers fidelity in adversity
Marigolds grief, cruelty, jealousy, sacred affection, despair