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DŌMA FOUND THE child funny, for her behavior was quite odd. not only did she run away from chieko when the woman tried to brush her hair, but when given dinner, aya just stared at her food.
"aya-chan, aren't you hungry??", dōma asked, as he sat right across from the child, a table full of rice and other dishes separating them.
"mhm", the girl answered, even though she still didn't make a move.
dōma waited. after all, he had lots of patience.
aya bit the bottom of her lip, as she tried to hold in her drool. she usually stole the villagers' leftovers, since her family sold her to one of the townspeople to pay off their debts.
however, the townsperson basically treated her like she didn't exist since she was too young to do any sort of work, so aya had to scavenge for necessities by herself.
the girl then goggled at dōma, who was just smiling at her, waiting for her to pick up her spoon.
"go on and eat. this is all for you. I already had dinner", dōma assured.
aya glanced at the spoon briefly before ignoring it and sticking her hands in the bowl of rice, for she never learned how to use utensils.
grabbing some vegetables and tofu, droplets of soy sauce has trickled onto the table between the plates.
"aya-chan, why don't you use a spoon to make it less messy?", dōma suggested, picking up the utensil and offering it to the seven year-old.
the tan-haired girl shook her head, as she proceeded to continue eating, snatching the bowl of rice with a few slices of cucumber, fish, and tofu in it. the child had then clutched tightly onto the bowl of food and ran to the corner of her room, huddled like a dog.
dōma raised a brow in confusion, as he watched aya stuff everything in her mouth with her hands, like she would never be able to eat like this again.
"aya-chan, you shouldn't eat in a corner all by yourself. that's sad", dōma stated with a fake smile, his tone as cheerful as ever.
aya seemed to look up for a moment before resorting back to eating, causing dōma to pick up the spoon and a napkin.
"aya-chan, do you even know how to use a spoon?", dōma asked, cornering the child, who just shook her head.
