Aizawa finished unpacking rather quickly that night. He only had several changes of clothing and one formal outfit. His bedding was simple, one black comforter and white sheets with a single pillow and a lumpy yellow sleeping bag for when he could catch a nap on the job. He had brought no personal possessions because he had none, but on the shelf above the bed his predecessor had left him something.
It was a small, purple kitten plush, like the ones from the doki doki crane except far more older looking. He picked it up and the scent of lavender wafted out - her smell. As he moved it around, he saw there was a cloth bag attached to its tail. He opened this and found pieces of paper inside. The paper on top was ancient, the heavily cursive handwriting faded but still legible.
<i>When you love someone you protect them from pain - you do not become the cause of it</i>
There was a newer, fresher piece of paper under the first. It was much different, a hasty scrawl of letters, and he recognized it as Zoro's right away.
<i>You don't protect your heart by acting like you don't have one</i>
He carefully placed it all back on the shelf and stood quietly thinking for several long minutes.
In the dorm complex beside the mansion, all was silent in the new apartment Zoro was starting out in. He sat on the edge of his bed, staring blankly at the wall. He was neighbors with other people now, but thankfully they had taken one look at his thunderous expression and decided to leave him alone.
He had thrown all stuffed animals away except one. It was the first one he had ever won out of the crane, one of the very rarest. The heart was blank, suggestive that the winner could request anything. She had changed those in a hurry, he remembered with a grimace. And as far as he knew, he owned the only one in existence. He placed this bean-filled cat on his empty shelves and sighed.
This was all he had now - weights, clothing, bed. The multilevel security screens were now Aizawa's; he could see her almost any time he wanted and would live with her as a family member. He couldn't walk outside and tap on her door, he wouldn't be picking her up and tucking her into bed when she stayed up too late. No more morning breakfasts or late dinners, interviews and events. No, just patrols and guard duty if and when he chose to start that again.
Zoro gripped his head in his hands and stuffed it between his knees, his shoulders shaking as it struck him that he was no longer a large part of her life. His teeth and fists were clenched to no avail, as tears streamed down his cheek.
He stayed that way a very long time.
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