summary: ichika allows himself some reprieve after the fight against lumensis, unknowingly ending up in the hands of the friends and comrades he had made within his time during the I.S academy.
notes: heavy spoilers of JJK 234-235 (i'm bored as hell anyways) and some spoilers for I.S: TbT I Got a Fake Job at the Academy
I.
The wheel of adaptation nearly reaches it's climax, as Ichika finds himself caught off-guard and loses his right arm by the slash thrown by Mahoraga. As he feels his senses start to blur, he dives into the building in an attempt to finish Mahoraga. However, Agito arrives in order to save Mahoraga and smacks Ichika into the building; allowing the two shikigami to rush him down as Ichika is put into the defensive - appearing out of seemingly nowhere, Lumensis kicks Ichika into the head, knocking him right into Agito; before suddenly... "This whole time, you haven't been able to keep up like the others!" Ichika utters as he uses a [Jujutshiki Junten: Ao] on Agito's stomach where it vomits a storm of blood as Ichika lands another a sphere created by [Jujutshiki Junten: Ao] to ensure Agito's death; sucking everything within it's vicinity, as it stands atop of everything in the skyscraper.
The fighters distance themselves from one another; The Revered One, Lumensis feels a creeping sensation that he has long since forgotten until now, Fear.
While Ichika Orimura experiences the thrill of his lifetime, he regenerates his right arm with a smirk in his face.
Suddenly - Ichika strikes Mahoraga with a [Black Flash] throwing him into a loop as Lumensis is caught off-guard by his sudden attack; Taking advantage of this, Ichika grabs Lumensis' arm as Lumensis tries to retaliate by striking with his left hand. However, Ichika abruptly spins his body around by tossing Lumensis into Mahoraga, letting Mahoraga catch Lumensis and setting both of them up to be vulnerable to an attack. He rapidly gathers up mana into his fist to hit yet another [Black Flash] on Mahoraga as it barely blocks the attack, sending them flying right into the building.
As the attack allows them a moment of reprieve, Lumensis notices Ichika floating in the air - just outside the wall of the building he just destroyed.
"Phase... Paramita... Pillar of Light." Ichika mutters quietly as he motions himself allowing his Mana to flow outside his body in order to gather mana to activate his [Jujutshiki Hanten: Aka].
Similar to a sure-hit effect that happens during a [Domain Expansion], there is a wind-up for a major move. Even Ichika, who has the most efficient mana consumption due to his [Limitless] technique is not excluded from this either.
From the casting and scale of mana; the "wind-up" that was occurring infront of him, he deemed that it was going to be [Jujutshiki Hanten: Aka].
'That technique - I'll need to ensure Mahoraga tanks that attack. In order for Mahoraga to adapt it and completely disregard one of his techniques.' Lumensis thinks to himself, as he plans on making sure that his plan would come to fruition.
...
At the heat of the moment, that judgment was not the wrong decision. However-
"[Jujutshiki Hanten: Aka]." Ichika says, as he raises his left hand into the air; shooting the technique right at the location where Lumensis finally realizes what he was planning.
"MAHORAGA!" Lumensis shouts, scrambling in place as Mahoraga suddenly jumps from where he was standing as it suddenly rushes Ichika.
[Kyoshiki: Murasaki] is the sudden clash between [Jujutshiki Junten: Ao] and [Jujutshiki Hanten: Aka] as it combines the attributes of both techniques. As it pushes an imaginary mass that allows it to annihilate anything and everything it comes into contact with, ripping apart at the molecular scale.
Ahead of [Jujutshiki Hanten: Aka] was the [Jujutshiki Junten: Ao] that he shot moments prior when he killed Agito with the technique, seemingly still in place.
Like the [Jujutshiki Hanten: Aka] that wrapped around the building to catch Lumensis off-guard, the technique doesn't gain enough speed before it explodes.
Knowing this, Lumensis had ordered Mahoraga to clash with [Jujutshiki Hanten: Aka] by destroying the still-[Jujutshiki Junten: Ao], as completion finally reaches it climax within Mahoraga's adaptation.
However - Ichika appears right in front of Mahoraga, as he used the Spatial manipulation granted by [Jujutshiki Junten: Ao] converging space into a singular area.
Due to Mahoraga already having adapted to [Jujutshiki Junten: Ao], it wasn't pulled by the center of Gravity that the technique was supposed to do. As Ichika abruptly punches Mahoraga in his place, before he blocks with one of his blades.
Suddenly - Lumensis appears behind Mahoraga, intending to stimulate [Jujutshiki Hanten: Aka] with [Max: Elephant]'s technique as it allowed him to fire a high-pressure beam of water in a manner identical to the Kamo clan's [Piercing: Blood] as it rapidly approaches [Jujutshiki Hanten: Aka].
"You're too late." Lumensis sneers with a smirk in his face, before he widens his eyes as he hears;
As Ichika suddenly recites an incantation, "Phase... Twilight... Eyes of Wisdom." - [Jujutshiki Junten: Ao] suddenly regains output from the enchantments made by Ichika from that split second and absorbs [Max: Elephant]'s technique.
Sukuna looks helplessly in horror as Ichika finally recites the final incantation of the fight.
"Nine Ropes, Polarized Light. Crow and Declaration, Between Front and Back."
...
"[Kyoshiki: Murasaki]."
As a purple light shines upon the battlefield, Ichika finally loses his consciousness resulting in the imaginary mass that carves itself on the battlefield of Shinjuku, annihilating everything that comes in it's wake.
...
II.
His senses come back to him at that moment, regaining a bit of his consciousness as his eyes struggle to open. With what was left with his vision, he gazes into a white-ish room with nothing but a light-bulb. Ichika tries to stand up, before he notices the person who was sleeping in his lap as he widens his eyes.
"...So they found out." He whispers quietly as he makes a move to ensure Houki, who was sleeping head-first in his lap wasn't disturbed from her sleep. Standing up, his gaze wanders around the hospital room as he sees Chifuyu asleep in a chair, seemingly waiting for him to wake up. However, his gaze focuses on the window with the intent of taking a moment of reprieve for himself to digest the situation he was currently in.
Opening the window, Ichika leans over as he takes it all into himself. Giving him a brief period to think about his current predicament.
"How long has it been? It's been 3 years since i abruptly disappeared off the face of the planet." Ichika mutters to himself as he recalls the circumstances that had started it all. Chi-Tsuki, the incident with his family members, his sudden disappearance caused by the energy overload by both sides at the end of the skirmish.
Sighing, he holds his hand over his forehead as he tries to figure out how his identity had been exposed to his friends-
'No, the people i had left behind due to my selfishness.' Ichika corrects himself as he rubs his forehead, a tinge of guilt and regret under his vibrant blue eyes. As he reminds himself that he chose to leave them behind to pursue his father's killer and gets engulfed by his own vengeance.
Vengeance, which had led to the Delica Kingdom incident, where he had to deceive the only person left who would understand. He knew, that there would've been a better choice than deceiving Casey - Yet, too engulfed by his hatred and vengeance to the system that had caused the murder of his two students; he rejected it.
That day, he seemingly burnt everything related to his past - even his identity had been usurped by the many identities he had accumulated and formed as a result, Machiavelli and Jack The Ripper was the ones he had remembered too fondly. Yet, he calms himself down when he thinks about the new generation of sorcerers that he had helped raise in the identity called; Ludger Cherish.
Flora; the girl who was seemingly arrogant on the surface, but had scars that resembled his own when he was just a student in Jujutsu High.
Aidan, Leo and Tracy; the trio which had reminded him of the past bond he had shared between Kairi and Rei.
Julia and Selinda; a friendship which was eerily similar to his and Kairi's friendship, which had ultimately been broken; compared to Julia and Selinda's friendship which was restored.
Ivelon von Exilion; the man he sees much of past self that he does, reckless in his actions; yet protective of his friends and family.
And lastly. Freuden and Rene; the kids that he helped raise during his time in Jujutsu High I.S Academy, the pair which he had met after he had killed Freuden's father. The man he had killed with his own hands, and the son and daughter of whom he has been entrusted to.
Even if it was little in the grand scheme of things, everything that had led up to this point had ultimately shaped and changed him – for better or for worse. He was not the same Ichika Orimura who recklessly charges in at the heat of the battle and protects his friends with a burning passion, nor was he Jack the Ripper who mercilessly slaughtered dozens of rebellious nobles and soldiers who were in pursuit of Eileen's throne.
But he was Ichika Orimura, the man who had once ascended to the realm beyond humans by realizing the true essence of magic when he was an adolescent; and the man who decided to come back as not the "Male I.S Pilot" nor the "Honored One", but simply as Ichika Orimura.
Deciding his next course of action, he closes the window and decides to stay the night within the hospital in order to reunite and rekindle the bonds that have been lost; until he sufficiently thinks that it's fine.
A/N:
Quite a mouthful, aye? Go easy on me since it's my first time writing a fanfiction! Since i'm not quite used to how it's done just yet, and i just decided to throw my take of I.S: Truth be Told Ichika since he genuinely did have a good foundation; however, certain events are changed and missing in this timeline of events;
since this is just a snippet, expect to see things that you aren't really familiar with; like techniques, characters that haven't appeared yet, and altered plotlines from said stories. I'll elaborate more with my other works.(particularly the ones that isn't a one-shot since i'm just testing the waters)
A) Chi-Tsuki arc of the original Truth be Told story was modified wherein Ichika actually loses instead of winning against the Prodigies due to the immense strain and injuries he had sustained throughout the battle
B) Slightly different backstory for Ichika as he still experiences the same events in the story, however an additional backstory was given to him; where before he finds out his affinity for the I.S, he originally went to a Magic School to hone his skills.
Anyways, leave a comment and suggestions if there's some grammar mistakes in the fic, that's all see ya!