If Neji were a flower, Tenten mused, she thought perhaps he might be a sunflower. She wasn't the heiress to a flower shop business like Ino was, but she knew that sunflowers faced the sun. And Neji was a Hyuuga, someone who also faced the sun. Could there be anything else that could symbolize him so perfectly?

His cousin Hinata was of the same opinion as her. "It's true," she said, nodding her head solemnly when Tenten broached the subject. "And Himawari is a wonderful name, don't you think, Tenten-san?"

So Tenten thought it was settled. A sun-facing flower for a sun-facing man.

Lee was of a totally different opinion, though. For him, the flower that best suited Neji was the primrose. Why? Because youth.

Neji, he had declared, was never represented better than with the pale yellow of the primrose, according to Guy-sensei, who had apparently been discussing this with Kakashi-sensei. It was a muted and understated color, primrose, just like Neji, and even though it wasn't green, yellow was also a youthful color. What better flower to symbolize Neji than the flower of YOUTH? (Tenten had scowled and rolled her eyes at this little bit of drama.)

Others had their own ideas. Ino, hanakotoba expert, scoffed at her simpleton friends and had confidently declared that no, the flower that stood for Hyuuga Neji was none other than the clematis. Hyuuga Neji was a genius, a once-in-a-generation intellect who wouldn't ever be seen again in their lifetimes. That was true, Tenten found herself agreeing. They would never see a genius like Neji ever again in their lifetimes. He was unique.

But, Shino argued, Neji was the epitome of devotion. After Naruto inspired Neji to change after the drubbing he had received during the Chuunin Exams, Neji had lovingly looked after Hinata, his long-dormant brotherly feelings rekindled into a bright, shining flame that had burned away the worst of his traits and turned his essence into something pure. So, really, there was only one flower that was Hyuuga Neji. The white honeysuckle. Why? Because...

At this point, Kiba barged in to declare that he didn't get all the flower language gibberish, and Akamaru barked in agreement. All flowers were good, so really, giving Neji any flower at all should be fine, right? Chouji agreed, and suggested that Neji might appreciate dango more than flowers, all while munching on dango-flavored potato chips.

They were both rewarded with a head thwap from Sakura while Ino shot them an enraged, horrified look. How dare they? Sakura had bellowed. However...in her opinion, there was one flower that did suit Neji perfectly. The cherry blossom, duh. At this, everyone groaned. Really, what a cliche that Sakura would nominate sakura for the candidate of best bloom. She had to be more original, they'd chided.

"But it is original!" she had protested. "Sakura is for purity and the fleeting beauty of life!"

Everyone turned silent at that, their eyes becoming as downcast as a gloomy sky.

"Yes..." Hinata said sadly. "That's true, Sakura-san."

Sakura's green eyes widened in horror as she realized how that sounded. "No, no, seriously, Hinata, I didn't mean it that way! I just meant...look, it's a great flower to honor Neji, isn't it? He had a beautiful life! We need to celebrate that!"

"Sakura-chan is right, ya know," Naruto said defensively, taking everyone's eyes off Tsunade-sama's aghast and mortified student. "Besides, how is it worse than saying that we'll never see a genius like him ever again? Anyway, I have a great flower idea for Neji too! Wanna hear it?"

"No," Shikamaru said shortly. "Your idea will definitely be troublesome."

"Shut up, Shikamaru, I don't wanna hear that from a guy who leaves cigarettes at his sensei's grave!" Naruto shot back. "Anyway, you all know what Neji was about? Freedom. And you know which flower stands for freedom? The willow."

Everyone turned silent again.

A bush warbler trilled a happy song.

In the end, Tenten thought, they could pick all the flowers in the world, and still find it a daunting task to capture the essence of Neji.

She laid a new vase of zinnia flowers on Neji's grave that night, right next to the sunflowers, willows, primroses, clematises, cherry blossoms, honeysuckles, forget-me-nots (most likely Ino's advice to Kiba), dango (definitely not Ino's advice to Chouji), and oddly enough, a shogi piece with the word "king." The fragrance of higanbana wafted across the cemetery and the full moon shone softly down on her, transforming the white stone to a blinding silver.

It was a daunting task indeed to capture the essence of Neji in a few flowers.

Perhaps only his absence could be highlighted with them.

A/N: Written for Day 16: Flowers. A bittersweet one...

Review, please? :)