I'm thinking about how Aoba has such deep-seated abandonment issues to the point where he hates being alone. Like, it's a genuine fear of his, being abandoned or left completely alone. And Sly is so intense about protecting Aoba because of this.
In Noiz’s route, when Noiz left, Aoba searched for him relentlessly and gave up only because he'd gaslit himself into believing he'd see him again someday whilst still being so depressed. When he came back, of course Aoba was happy but he was also conflicted because Noiz had drastically changed so much which made Aoba afraid that he'd seen so much of the world by now that he'd eventually leave him behind.
In Clear’s route, after Clear died, Aoba kept him in his room hidden away for months on end, determined to fix him himself although his knowledge was only limited to allmates and he didn't know the first thing about repairing a broken android. But even after he gave up on trying to fix him, he still kept him hidden away from everyone else in his room because he didn't want to be without him. He was so hesitant when giving the responsibility to fix him over to Tae, and even then he was so anxious and depressed throughout the waiting process. The first thing he asked Clear when he came back was “Are you real?” because he was so convinced his mind set up a maladaptive daydream as a coping mechanism to cope with his grief and depression, which is honestly not so far fetched. He was so afraid to have sex with Clear because the last time they did so, he was breaking down and it was his dying wish; Aoba was so afraid of hurting Clear or of damaging him because he was terrified of losing him again when he just got him back.
In Mink’s re:connect route, Aoba left the comfort of his home as a means to search for him, traveled halfway across the globe to look for him because of how lonely he was without him. He'd told Mink he was depressed and upset when he left without a word and he wanted to see him because he wanted to get a conversation out of him for once, for him to talk to him, to communicate with something other than violence because, with the help of Scrap, Aoba knew that wasn't who Mink really was; he was hiding his true nature from Aoba, hiding it underneath a coat of wanting revenge and nothing more. When Mink ignored his attempts at communication, (not because he didn't care for him, but because he did care and the shame and guilt of abusing him and solely using him as a tool for his benefit made him want to hide and run from Aoba) Aoba nearly drew himself crazy because although they were sleeping under the same roof, he still felt so alone with every moment Mink ignored his advances towards healthy development in their relationship.
In Koujaku’s route, Aoba is upset with him for withholding information from him when they're supposed to tell each other everything, seeing as how they're childhood friends. So, he already feels a lack of trust and communication between them. But, when Koujaku started repeatedly leaving the hotel they were staying at in Platinum Jail, Aoba started to get excessively angry. In a flashback to his childhood, it's revealed that whenever Aoba was left alone, he'd run off because he was so anxious, and he'd start to cry. And Koujaku would find him and console him every time. I think it's because of this that Aoba was so upset at Koujaku when he started leaving the hotel without him knowing. Because, Koujaku out of all people, should know just how bad his fear of abandonment and loneliness is. Which is why Aoba feels somewhat betrayed by Koujaku’s actions.
This is all rooted in the fact that Nine, Haruka, and Tae were the first people who gave Aoba shelter and safety in terms of his abandonment issues and the anxiety that came with the fear of being alone. The comfort his newfound family gave him caused his alters to no longer negatively front and to quiet down amongst his headspace as there was no reason to protect him and no trauma for them to hold for him. Yet, when Nine and Haruka had to leave, this caused very intense trauma of abandonment to form, which in turn caused Sly to front as a means to protect him as well as hold onto his trauma. “Don't trust anyone. They're all enemies. They could hurt us.” Sly just wanted to keep Aoba safe from being abandoned and traumatized again. I could talk about Aoba’s anxiety and fear of abandonment and how that ties into the lengths Sly would go to protect him from experiencing anymore trauma in relation to that, but for now, take my ramblings about this anxiety-ridden system.
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