With the sole exception of Satoru Gojo, of course.

He throws both index digits in the air. “ Let’s play a guessing game! ”

More of my art

the second that his wrist was grabbed and the nutrition bar was pressed into his palm, the tension in satoshi's shoulders ticked tighter— frozen. he stood frozen as his brother regarded his hunger.

blue eyes so dull, so daggered, yet when they finally rose from the ground to meet the mirror of his soul, they softened.

damn him. damn satoshi and his weak little heart. there was no steel nor stone when it came to his little brother. what a cosmic joke. to care, even when it needled you.

as he waged a storm within himself, he pursed his lips. there was no fighting the almost... puppy look that took over his face. pavlov dog indeed.

at last, his shoulders slumped.

“... I don't actually know where I'm going. show me?” he finally mumbled. avoiding eye contact because those words started clawing up his throat again.

I missed you.

he could gulp them down, but that didn't stop them from shining bright in his eyes.

The time away from each other allowed him to think through all those years in the clan and the fights he had with Satoshi. And while Satoru struggles with righteousness, arguing with Suguru about the idea of protecting others, and for what? What are they getting out of it? All these questions, yet he still does it. This relates highly to Satoru’s moral compass. Maybe all that arguing did help him see things from another perspective. It still stings, the belief of even the slightest chance that his brother hates him, it gnaws at him. But no matter the circumstances, in the end, Satoru gravitates to doing what’s right. Whether that’s instinct or something he’s learned to do.

He doesn’t realize it at first. This ‘nice’ act came naturally to him, yet it’s not generally the norm for him. So, when ‘nonchalant’ eyes rise up to meet the puppy look in front, he’s nearly derailed. Not what he’s used to, and this basically reveals a part of him that cares. Gahh, so embarrassing! Satoru looks away to his friends, but somehow their smiling faces (almost teasing) make it ‘worse’.

Instinctively, Satoru brings a hand to the back his neck, like he is attempting to scratch away the bashfulness and get his cool back.

“ Yeah, okay. ”

He turns to his friends again. “ You guys can go without me. I’ll catch up later. ”

This time, he’s the one to walk past his brother, avoiding eye contact, still trying to compose himself.

Thor was dying. He knew his time would come someday, but certainly not like this—sprawled out pathetically on the floor of his human companion's apartment suffering from heatstroke. The heat in Shibuya was way worse than anything he's experienced in Viridian. Satoru's apartment had gotten stuffy really quickly and despite his attempts to cool off by stepping out on the balcony. It somehow felt even worse outside than indoors. His body was too hot and even with his short fur, his temperature wasn't regulating properly.

He didn't even have it in him to move anymore. Thor had resigned himself to his fate, ears twitching at the familiar sounds of the door code being pressed followed by the Gojo's swift entrance as he whines pitifully with his cheek smushed into the floor.

He doesn't register Satoru's words or being picked up and placed on the couch, but he does register the glass of water. A small burst of renewed energy travels through him as he wills himself up into a slumped but seated position. He weakly reaches out with his paws to grasp the glass and brings it to his face, slotting the clear cylinder over his muzzle as he quickly gulps the cool liquid down like the dehydrated creature he was.

Meanwhile, he is checking on Thor. He holds the glass of water for him, but because it’s shallow, it might not be enough, despite it being more comfortable for Thor to drink from. Gojo might have to look into buying something more practical. Maybe a Thermos bottle with a few alterations so that Thor can use it easily.

“ More? Yes, yes, of course! ”

He pulls over one of the decorative pillows to carefully put it under Thor’s head to replace his arm for the time being. Satoru gets up and warps over to the water dispenser in the corner.

Merely a second later, he returns, the water dispenser is ‘afloat’ with a luminous blue aura surrounding it. Satoru has re-indexed the space around it, moving it exactly next to the couch. Once it’s put down, the glowing blue outline fades off. Gojo picks up the glass in his palm and presses the button. Water is released from the dispenser and flows into the container.

“ Drink as much as you need. Want ice cream? Anything to eat? ” Ever the concerned guardian, Satoru seems more gentle and nurturing around his students and Thor. Bringing a hand over, the pad of his thumb lightly brushes over the top of the Raichu’s head.

˙˖° ⊹ 𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ ⛧ ˎˊ˗ .. . ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁ ⟡ ݁ . . ⋮ 𝑰'𝑴 𝑯𝑬𝑹𝑬 𝑻𝑶 𝑺𝑨𝑽𝑬 𝒀𝑶𝑼. ･ .. // ... // 𝒀𝑶𝑼 𝑪𝑹𝒀𝑰𝑵' .ᐣ - ｡˚ ˎˊ˗

                                    INDIE. SEL. GOJO SATORU FROM JJK

for a second, a terrifying second, satoshi entertained the idea that his brother might have regretted it. might have felt something, oh just something.

but no matter how they accessorised, they were gojo's. and gojo's were masters of the mask.

his expression hadn't flinched. not once. not even a blink. even if his fingers tightened on the bag strap. “dormitories.”

clipped. short. ever the conversationalist. satoshi still attempted to look over satoru's shoulder at the other two. the protectiveness wasn't lost on him. satoru? protective over people?

they must matter.

“I should be meeting with my— our, teacher.” his stare cuts back to his twin, arching his brow at the petulant pout. nice to see he hadn't changed too much.

“i'm late for the semester so i'll be discussing how to catch up. settle in. so don't worry. I won't be in your hair too m—”

a rumble cut him off. his face finally twisted. embarrassment, shame, sheer irritation at the audacity of his stomach to growl out of hunger. guess he wasn't as steel as he wished he was. when last had he eaten? he skipped breakfast to get here, and his stomach was far too up in knots for lunch.

after a pause, he grunted. “anyway. I won't be in your hair today.” he made quick work to step past satoru.

Truth be told, after coming to this school and socializing a bit, Satoru realized how much he needed this communication. So, it wasn’t that he was closed off and preferring to be solitary, rather, he was waiting for the right moment, while at the right place, to allow himself to be a little more at ease, more connected with others. Of course, it hasn’t been long enough for Satoru to just trust people blindly, but there’s something special about his peers here. He’s finally been able to form bonds that don’t feel forced or superficial. He’s found what he wanted the most. A place to fit in. Hence why he came off a bit protective for a split second.

His brows furrow, and behind dark lenses his eyes roll upward dismissively while he’s listening. He doesn’t say anything, waiting for his brother to finish talking. Speaking of, Yaga-sensei didn’t bring the news to him either. But his classmates don’t seem to know either, so it isn’t like he was the only one left in the dark. He’ll give this the benefit of the doubt.

The mock indifference upon his façade is replaced by a hilariously confused expression at the rumbling sound. He purses his lips and brings a hand up to cover his mouth, stifling a snort. It’s the irritated look on Satoshi’s face that got him. A part of him finds this funny, and yet— another part of him is going, ‘ Have you not eaten?? ’.

“ Have you been walking all this way on an empty stomach? Geez… ”

He dips his hand into his pocket and takes out a chocolate-coated nutrition bar that he’d gotten on his way back from today’s duty. As Satoshi is walking away, Satoru reaches for his wrist with one hand and then quickly puts the nutrition bar in his palm. Ensuring it doesn’t fall first, Satoru withdraws his hands after.