#also Yona seems to see VERSIONS of the future if we look at her dream about her & Hak running away from the castle and him dying

[starmist]

I’m just saying…

[taotrooper]

Everlasting Flower: The Library 3 (end)

Everlasting Flower (masterpost, tag, AO3 series) is an AU in which Ouryuu allowed Zeno’s blood to give Kaya a kind of immortality.

→  Part 1 → Part 2 → Bonus chapter → Link to AO3

Chapter summary: After some bonding with Yoon, it's time to say goodbye to the city of books.

"At some point, I asked myself: What's the use of living forever without a purpose, if you don't give back to the world? Even if it's short term, life has a meaning. If I can heal or save someone, I'm really glad! But staying with the others is just as important.”

Yoon found Kaya at the attic they used as bedroom, sitting at the desk and humming a song. She squished and ground the leaves of a plant into the walls of a wooden mortar with the cadence of the song she sang. Yoon couldn't understand the lyrics, but the melody was similar to a folk song from the Fire Tribe he knew from childhood. He wondered if she was humming an original version in words long forgotten by even their ancestors.

He waited next to her. As a fellow herbalist, he sure didn't like to be interrupted while he was working on medicine. He wasn't going to do something as unpleasant to her.

Eventually, she put down the pestle and stretched her arms behind her head.

"Hey, Kaya?" Yoon said.

"Eeeeeeek!!"

She jumped and took the chair with her. After glancing at the source of the call, she exhaled with a grimace.

"You scared me, Yoon... How long have you been there?"

"Like five minutes." He cocked his eyebrow. "Couldn't you feel my presence behind you like Zeno does?"

"Geez, no. I'm not like him, I normally can't tell those things. I have no sixth sense, I'm normal." Yoon bit his tongue. He knew what she meant to say, but that wasn't the right adjective to use. She grabbed the chair from the floor and put it back against the table. "What can I do for you?"

"I finished it." He held the book in his arms towards her. I was wondering if I could..."

"Go grab the one you want, yes!" she beamed. "You don't have to ask me."

"Thank you very much," he nodded and ran to the shelves to put back the book he had read. Yoon had already considered his options beforehand, so he only had to find the title he had chosen already, written on the spine of a blue one.

"Can I see?" Kaya asked, with a curious look in his eyes. Yoon raised it up. She seemed to think about it for a bit.

"Oh, that one's really, really outdated," she sighed and walked towards the shelf. "There's this horrible side effect to one of the recipes that was discovered later, so please don't read it. Here." She took a different volume and offered it to Yoon. "It has another title and I used a different pen name, but it's pretty much like a newer edition of that one. It's good. Except for the last chapter; there are way better techniques today."

"Wait, whoa," he gasped as he grabbed the book. "You're the author of these?"

"Uh, yeah," she blushed. "These are mine. From my notes over the centuries. I also have some diaries about geography and history and personal stuff I don't want to forget, but most of my published books are medical textbooks."

"That's so cool!" Yoon said with fervor. It had been a dream of his to write a book one day.

"I... I figured... uh... more people need that knowledge to pass down through generations. It can reach more patients if you teach others, rather than just tending everyone yourself."

Yoon skimmed through the pages. It was a rather old book, at least fifty years old or more. The pages were quite yellow. So impressive! He couldn't help but admire Kaya even more.

"Is it hard? Writing a book?"

"Actually, yeah!" she laughed. "I'm not a genius so it takes me ages to get anything done. You need to do two difficult things." She raised her index and middle fingers. "First, you need to research and learn, so you know what you're going to write about and how to say it, and it has to be current, real facts. Second, you need motivation to want to sit down and write. And most times, having both at the same time isn't going to happen. Not to mention the time."

"You have all the time in the world, though."

"I do but I also do other things, like to travel with Zeno or tend people or sometimes do other jobs that aren't healer-related. Sometimes we don't have ink or paper with us either! So I take it easy and wait for my books to become pretty obsolete before starting anew."

The ink and paper was a problem Yoon knew well. He also realized that her rest stops at the library were likely with the purpose of authoring books and filling up her diaries, rather than actual vacations.

After all, caring for patients... In Kaya's condition, it would be insane to do that all the time. Yoon had been thinking about it, ever since she had revealed her story to them. It bothered him and concerned him a lot. He sat on Zeno and Kaya's bed, crestfallen.

"I don't understand how you do it..." he whispered.

"Well, I carry notebooks with me for when I discover new stuff. Then I use what I've written in other books and update it with my notes."

"No..." He closed his fingers against the book cover and pressed it. "How you can be a healer while being immortal. Doesn't it... dunno, break your heart? Knowing you're outliving everyone? That no matter how long you live... some people will still die on you?"

He had treated sick and wounded people he was unable to save. He couldn't even imagine how many people Kaya had met and failed to save. Had she gotten used to it? Was she desensitized? Did she still see them as important souls to help at all costs like Yoon, or were they akin to tiny birds with broken wings to her, nearly a goddess among mortals after living for so long?

And in a more personal sense... Three faces flashed in Yoon's mind. He knew the dragons would die soon. Lately, he had realized how much worse it must have been for Zeno, finally having brothers again to then losing them too soon. So he could, sometimes when the journey was arduous, feel the weight of dread in his chest that he usually tried to bury deep within and forget. He knew the fear of outliving, even if in a lesser scale than those two.

He felt the bed bouncing down. Kaya had sat next to him. When Yoon looked up, the youth and spark was gone from her dark eyes. He saw a sorrow most ancient in her stare, he saw her real age for once.

"...Constantly, yeah," she finally said. "Even after all these years I cry sometimes, when it's too unfair. It's never easy and it'll never get easier."

"Then why? Why haven't you quit?"

"Hmmmm." She clutched the hem of her kimono. "The same reason you haven't quit, I guess. It's just the right thing to do. In fact... I think it's better for them that I do care that much. Doctors and nurses should keep their heart, don't you think? Even if it hurt us."

Yoon said nothing, but he knew what she was saying. She looked ahead, through the window. Her voice turned softer and kinder.

"At some point, I asked myself: What's the use of living forever without a purpose, if you don't give back to the world? Even if it's short term, life has a meaning. If I can heal or save someone, I'm really glad! But staying with the others is just as important. You know, hundreds die alone because no one will treat them." Yoon knew. Kaya's voice broke. "I could have died alone myself at seventeen. It's so, so scary! Even if you prepare yourself, it crushes you. That's why I don't want people to leave this world on their own. Even if all I can do is giving some solace and hold their hands until it's time? I'm willing. Even if I'll mourn them and sob for days, I'll get better, I'm not alone. That's why it's okay. That's why I still help."

She looked at Yoon and moved a thumb to wipe a tear from his cheek. He hadn't noticed he had started crying. Kaya then put her arms around him. While she didn't cover much of him, being the same size roughly, her hug felt warm and cozy. Her hands, which smelled vaguely like the fresh herbs she had been grinding, moved to caress Yoon's hair. He embraced back firmly, unsure if she was comforting him or if she was looking for comfort from him. It was probably both, he concluded.

"Keep it, Yoon," she murmured after a long silence, still hugging him. "Keep that big heart inside your chest, never lose that humanity. I've met so many geniuses in this field who lose themselves and stop caring about people. But you mustn't. I mustn't. Even if it tears you apart, please keep it."

"You better believe I will," he grumbled with gritted tears, restraining a sniffle. He felt a kiss on his temple. After his journey with Yona and the others, after seeing and fighting against so much poverty, how else would it be?

And she was right. He wasn't alone. He had everyone and even Ik-soo back home. Thinking about the future was just unnecessary pain. They lived now and that's what mattered.

"Oh? Can Zeno join the hug?"

They looked at the threshold: Zeno had just entered the room. That day he had his hair braided. Yoon had thought that morning that Kaya was making up for their time apart in creative ways. The boy unhanded Kaya but before he could say no to the offer, a dragon had coiled around his body. He could hear the girl —the woman—'s giggles as he resigned to his fate.

"Zeno, Zeno! Yoon is so kind and considerate and cute! The cutest of them!" Kaya chirped.

"Yep!"

"Zeno, Zeno! Say, can we adopt him? I really want to adopt him!"

"What the hell?" Yoon cried, annoyance written on his face.

To his surprise, Zeno let him go and stood in front of his wife with a serious expression.

"No, Kaya. That's out of the question."

"I know. But..."

"He's your mother-in-law, Kaya! It makes no sense to adopt my mom!"

It was Yoon's turn to get up, anger piling up, while the other two were snorting.

"I'm neither your mother or your son, you eternal seventeen year-olds!!" he yelled.

"Eternal eighteen year-old," Kaya corrected with a grin.

"Argh!" He grabbed the book and walked towards the door. Before he could leave, he heard Kaya's voice.

"Being your mom was a joke but... Please do think of me as an older sister, okay? These adults keep forgetting you're younger, this one here included, and they should be the ones nurturing you just as much as you nurture them."

Zeno mumbled some excuse Yoon couldn't hear, but he stopped when Yoon turned to look at Kaya. Ever since Ik-soo took him with him, no one else had been so conscious about his needs.

"I... I appreciate it," he blushed lightly. "I think I'll do that."

He left immediately, embarrassed, before Zeno or her said something stupid again. After that conversation and learning so much about Kaya, having her in his strange family of sorts was an honor.

******

"Okay, you can open them up whenever you want!" Kaya said after handing out the last package. She was bouncing on her heels while everyone opened their gifts.

The first one was Kija, perhaps because of his large hand. He stared at the wooden figurine and the bottle with confusion.

"What is this?"

"The bottle is home-made bug repellent. It smells a bit weird so I added some flower scent so... now it smells like a weird bouquet instead, sorry. But it should keep mosquitoes and crawlies away! The other one..." She smiled as she looked at the vaguely dragon-shape statue. "To be honest, it's a present I got but I think you should have it. You see, it was given to me by ancestors of yours, long ago. It's time it returns to the hands of Hakuryuu Village."

Kija looked like he was going to cry.

"Kaya... Thank you very much for sharing this piece of our history with me. It's an honor. May I ask what it's for?"

Kaya-chan, I can't believe you and Lord Ouryuu still haven't had children! Here, have this fertility charm. My sister carved one and prayed to it before her wedding night, and they've had four bundles of joy so far! You have to continue the lineage of the Ouryuu as his wife, so please take it with you so you can be blessed and fulfill your duty.

"F-For good luck," Kaya lied without losing her smile. She didn't have the guts to throw it away, because she considered Guen's family as her own, so she took it as a souvenir instead. Not like it mattered since Ouryuu's blood made it impossible for her to get pregnant, but those ladies were too exhausting to argue against. "Oh! And I'm teaching Yoon my plum sauce recipe so that should be a present for you in a way."

"Ooooh, what a pretty comb!" Yona said with sparkles in her purple eyes. It was lacquered black and had tiny colorful flowers painted on its design.

"That kind of comb has big teeth with large gaps too, so it should be great for your curls. I have one to do Zeno's hair and it's amazing for unruly sorts. Ah, the other present is medicine for..." She made a pause and lowered her voice. "They're special painkillers. For cramps." Yona understood immediately and reached for Kaya for a hug. She returned the gesture.

"Thank you! They're both so useful!"

"A sharpening stone and..." Hak opened his eyes wide. "No way, is that a bottle of Fuuga Galebrew?"

"Saw it at the marketplace and I figured you haven't tried it in ages."

"Wow, thanks!"

"Not fair, I want to try that sake as well," Jae-ha sighed.

"Well, I guess I could give you one glass, Droopy Eyes."

"Yessss." Jae-ha's grin faltered once he saw his present. "A fan? Well, it's beautiful but I don't think I get it, Kaya-chan."

A smiling face and a wink came to Kaya's mind, long gone and a bit blurry but still alive in her heart.

"Some time ago, Zeno and I traveled with this girl for a few years. She was like a sister to me. You remind me of her sometimes and I think she would've liked you a lot, Jae-ha. I know you have your own fighting style but that fan was her weapon. Maybe you could find it a good use one day?"

"Oh, I see." Jae-ha touched the edge of the fan. It drew a drop of blood he sucked immediately. "Not bad, actually. I can't refuse the will of a young lady so I'll take it." He then turned to the booklet with interest. "Are these music sheets?"

"Yup! Should be handy for your traveling artist shows. Besides, I want to hear you play."

"But of course!" Kaya felt relief when she saw him smile. She didn't know Jae-ha that well, so she had feared he wouldn't like his gifts. She looked at Shin-ah, who was observing and touching his new soft scarf.

"I heard you're cold sensitive and I saw this pretty sky blue fabric. It's still a long way for winter, but for trips to mountains they're nice to have."

He nodded.

"And two bags of pistachios, one for you and one for Ao. Since they don't grow in Kouka, I figured you haven't tried them yet?"

He shook his head. She moved to him to pet his hair.

"I hope you like them, then!"

"Thanks, Kaya..."

"I can't accept this, Kaya," Yoon said as he pushed his package against her.

"Why?"

"I should've suspected you were up to something when you asked me what books I had liked the most yesterday. But this one is yours! And the other is from the library!"

She laughed but her hands remained behind her back.

"We have copies for both in the second building. Don't worry about it and accept them! Or if you want a different book you couldn't read yet, we can check if there's a copy of that one instead."

"There's... There's really no problem? Just like that? Are the librarians fine with it?"

"As long as there's at least one copy left they can remake again, they won't mind because it's me asking."

He looked torn, but the power of free books won.

"...I have enough notes for this one, so I want to check out this world atlas I saw," he said. "After we pack our bags, though."

"Sure thing. You guys take your time."

"Doesn't Zeno get presents...?" Shin-ah asked after munching a pistachio.

"Zeno got new robes," Zeno grinned, laying in bed on his belly and chin cupped inside his hands. "Also, just being with Kaya for a few days is my present."

"Smooth," Jae-ha teased.

"Ah, is it okay if we pass by Ryusui first?" Kaya asked. "They have a really nice marketplace and I want some supplies that are cheaper there."

"Sure! It sounds like fun," Yona smiled.

"It's a gorgeous town. We'll have lots of fun seeing the stands there," Kaya nodded.

"Its settled," Yoon said. "Let's hurry and pack now, rare beasts. I still have to check the books."

"Yeeeeeees!"

Kaya was sure it was going to be a lovely trip.

Notes:

Well, here it is, the last part. I want to thank you guys for your patience. I've been building up to this chapter since even before I finished the main fic, especially the "you can't adopt your mother-in-law!" joke. So here it is and I hope you've liked this miniseries. I don't know if it met your expectations but that's how I envisioned the way they'd meet Kaya and how they'd get along with her. There's a lot of stuff to explore in their dynamics, so feel free to leave drabble requests for interactions or even just unrelated-to-HHB Everlasting Flower prompts if you want, either here or on my Twitter (username is the same everywhere, taotrooper) or AO3 comments. I have no idea if I'll be able to get inspired or fulfill them, but I'll be taking notes and we'll see.

The timeline for The Library is between the Lushing Forest arc and the Sei arc. They're still stopping by the same marketplace so the canon events (meeting Ayura and Tetora, Yona buying the lapis lazuli for Hak) should still happen despite Zeno not needing a new outfit anymore.

I hope you enjoy!