Title at the end

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MHA - Return By Death.

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***

Yomite rolled his eyes...Draff's request was bound to be something dumb...

Just like before with marrying Diona...but he was willing to hear him out considering both him and Diona helped him out before.

"So? What is it? Is it about the hunt again? I can go with you once my schedule is more free, but not so early into the morning..."

"No, no...nothing of the sort..."

Draff sighed, "Ya know...most of my life I've been drinking, whether it was to celebrate something, or to wash away stress...or to...forget the pain I felt after my late wife passed...and it seemed to have finally took its toll on me..."

He paused for a moment...then let out a wry smile, "...I'm dying, Yomite."

"..."

Yomite stood stunned for a second, not sure whether he heard right.

Dying...?

Death...?

Was he joking again?

But the words seemed so sincere...so unlike the drunken man he normally conversed with.

The words were spoken in such a somber and serious manner...

Like the truth behind them...

He blinked...then blinked again.

"...What?"

"...I'm starting to feel lightheaded and nauseous every day. My body is slowly failing me. Yesterday, I failed hunting for the first time in my life and didn't manage to hunt a single boar... I went for a doctor's check up and they said my liver is failing, and that...that...it's the end... I have about a month left..."

"..."

There was nothing Yomite could say.

He felt like he had just swallowed a handful of needles...

Draff chuckled, noticing the expression on his new friend's face.

"Sorry, my boy! Shouldn't have told you...I hope you don't hate me...I know we weren't exactly that close and that we are basically strangers...but I have no one I can count on..."

"Draff..."

"Hahaha...I wish I could laugh it off...but I can't. I know it will happen soon. It is what it is. The Archons have determined my fate like this, there is no saving me."

Yomite didn't know how to react. All he could do was stand there...like some sort of statue...

Hearing this sort of information made him...

Stunned? Confused? Sad? No, none of those emotions described him correctly anymore.

Draff was someone he genuinely enjoyed talking with for hours, even if they only met a handful of times and were pretty much strangers.

He was someone who was kind and honest to everyone around him...and even more.

This man...didn't deserve to die...A lone widower with his only daughter...

"I apologize for everything... I really love my daughter and I want the best for her...I thought...that...maybe...if you married Diona and got to know her better, you would change your mind...you would fall in love with her...and she would at least have someone...after I'm gone...I'm afraid of what would happen to her once I'm gone...Yomite. I know I was selfish."

Draff closed his eyes and sighed.

"...I am sorry...to drag you into such an unpleasant situation...but I really do need you here. If not marry her...please at least take her in once I'm gone...that's my request...no...a dying plea."

Draff then walked towards Yomite, grabbing his hands tightly in front of him and pleading...

"...Please. I beg you..."

Yomite stared into his pleading eyes...

"...Can't you heal it with some magic? There has to be a way."

Draff shook his head, knowing it was futile.

Mondstadt didn't have the means to heal his liver.

Mondstadt didn't have a healer capable enough to heal internal organs or severed limbs.

And the same pretty much went for every country.

A healer of that caliber was rarely seen...

The best healer from Mondstadt was the Cardinal of Daybreak, who went on an expedition with previous Grand Master Varka and no one knew when he would return...

He was the most capable healer Mondstadt had ever produced, and he was Barbara's and Jean's father.

If it was him, then there was a chance for recovery...

However, he was currently away and won't return any time soon...

"...Yomite...no. It can't be healed."

Silence fell between them and Draff knew there wasn't anything else he could say.

"...Why me? I shouldn't be the best choice to leave Diona with...what about your fellow hunter friends?"

Hearing this, Draff laughed bitterly.

"Diona hates them all... They're all my drinking buddies...if she finds out I died because of drinking, she would never forgive them...I can think of one other person I could assign Diona to besides you, but she's busy dealing with orphanage and she won't have time for Diona as well...not to mention Diona is already an adult and she wouldn't fit well with the kids..."

Yomite sighed...his thoughts were a mess, his head hurting.

"My lovely Diona is an adult now, but I still can't just leave her alone out there...Due to her attitude she doesn't have any friends and that's pretty much my fault as well...She always gets mad because I keep on drinking and that reflects on everything she does during the day...I know she would be able to take care of herself, but I want somebody to hold her, and be there for her when she feels sad...I want for Diona to have somebody, anyone, to rely on and to share her life with, but..."

Draff hesitated, "...but I also know that your life is hard as it is...you're a hero of Mondstadt. You are constantly fighting evil. You fight monsters every day as an adventurer to keep the city safe...you have a family of your own and responsibilities...and yet, here I am, begging you...since she is bound to live a better life with you than alone..."

Again, silence prevailed...

Yomite looked down, trying to hide the emotion that threatened to break through...

"Alright, if the worst comes, we will take care of her, but don't count yourself out yet. We may find a way. There is still time."

Draff smiled weakly and gave him a quick pat on the shoulder.

"Thank you so much, Yomite...thank you...thank you for taking a pity on this old man..." He sighed, "...Now that that's settled...do you want to see her? She should be still asleep though..."

"Does she know...about it?"

"No."

Draff replied with a shake of his head, "Not at all...the last thing I wanted was to scare her by suddenly telling her the truth...I don't know what to do...if I die, it has to be on the hunt, so she thinks something went wrong and that it wasn't from alcohol...alcohol isn't bad, it's just my fault for being addicted to it."

Yomite nodded... something like this was hard to deal with and it wasn't his place to say anything...

Both of them made their way inside and into her room.

Yomite saw Diona laying under the quilt, hugging a stuffed animal cat tightly and mumbling something in her sleep.

Her pink hair was a mess and she looked exhausted... probably from the amount of stress her workplace put her under lately.

Draff approached her quietly and sat beside her, stroking her hair while she slept.

She continued dreaming, unaware.

It was obvious that Diona would need comfort once the inevitable came...

Something Yomite understood too well.

He lost his mother, and then later in his life he lost his father as well...

Diona lost her mother and now, her father was slowly dying...

They both had similar circumstances.

***

Vol2 Chapter 179 - The Life Is As Inevitable As Death.