NOTAKING
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Chapter 28
🕑 Added 2025-04-07 05:18:13 +0000 UTCThe streets were alive with the buzz of the festival, lanterns illuminating the night sky as laughter and voices filled the air. Ichigo, Tatsuki, and Orihime walked through the crowd, stopping at different stalls to play games and enjoy the atmosphere. Ichigo had left Rukia behind for the day, knowing full well that bringing her along would only stir up tension. Tatsuki and Orihime didn’t hate her, but she was definitely their rival.
"Alright, Ichigo, let's see if you still got it!" Tatsuki grinned, cracking her knuckles as they approached a ring toss game. "Loser has to buy the winner taiyaki."
Ichigo smirked. "You’re on."
Orihime clapped her hands. "Oh! I want to play too! Maybe we should make it more fun—whoever wins gets to pick the next stall we visit!"
Tatsuki and Ichigo exchanged glances before nodding. "Deal."
The game started, and Tatsuki immediately took the lead, landing three rings in a row. Ichigo narrowed his eyes, adjusting his stance before tossing his rings with practiced precision, catching up to her. Orihime, on the other hand, giggled as her rings bounced off the pegs in random directions.
"Ahh! Mine are rebellious!" she laughed.
Ichigo shook his head with an amused huff. "Maybe you should focus on aiming, Orihime."
"I am! But they don’t want to listen!"
Tatsuki was on her last toss. She took a deep breath, locked onto the peg with a determined gaze, and threw. The ring soared through the air, landing perfectly onto the peg with a satisfying clink.
"Yes! Victory!" Tatsuki pumped her fist in the air before turning to Ichigo with a teasing smirk. "Looks like you’re buying me that taiyaki."
Ichigo sighed. "Fine, fine."
Orihime tilted her head. "What about me? I tried my best!"
Ichigo chuckled. "You get one too, don’t worry."
They made their way to the food stalls, Ichigo reluctantly handing over money for the sweets. Tatsuki took a bite of her taiyaki, looking satisfied, while Orihime hummed happily, savoring hers. As they continued to walk, Tatsuki suddenly slowed her pace, subtly falling back. Ichigo raised a brow.
"Go on ahead," she said casually. "I think Orihime deserves some one-on-one time with you."
Orihime blinked. "Eh? Tatsuki-chan—"
"Go on," Tatsuki insisted with a knowing grin before giving Orihime a gentle push forward.
Ichigo scratched the back of his head, but he didn’t argue. "Alright."
With that, he and Orihime walked side by side through the festival, the sounds of cheerful chatter and festival games filling the space between them.
"This is nice," Orihime said softly, glancing at him. "You seem more relaxed today."
Ichigo exhaled through his nose. "Guess I am."
She smiled. "I like it when you enjoy yourself. It makes me happy."
He glanced at her, a bit surprised by her honesty. Orihime, ever the bright and warm presence, always had a way of saying things that caught him off guard.
"Well, the festival's fun. And you’re not bad company either," he admitted with a small smirk.
Orihime’s heart pounded, and she quickly turned away to hide her growing blush. She felt like her love for him was increasing every second, just by being near him.
They passed by a goldfish scooping stall, and Orihime’s eyes lit up. "Oh, let’s try this one!"
Ichigo sighed. "You know those things are hard to catch, right?"
"That’s what makes it fun!" she beamed, grabbing a scooper.
Ichigo watched as Orihime excitedly tried to catch a goldfish, only for the paper scooper to break instantly. She pouted but kept trying, her determination amusing him. He decided to give it a shot himself, focusing on a slow-moving fish. With careful movements, he managed to scoop it up, earning a small victory smirk.
Orihime clapped. "Wow, Ichigo, you’re good at this!"
"It’s just about patience," he shrugged, handing the fish to the stall owner. "You want to try again?"
Orihime nodded eagerly but failed once more. Eventually, the stall owner gave her a fish out of pity, making her giggle. "I think he could tell I wasn’t going to win."
Ichigo shook his head with a small chuckle. "Let’s go find Tatsuki before she thinks we ditched her."
By the time they returned, the short-haired fighter raised a brow. "That was quick."
Ichigo shrugged. "We walked, we talked. You wanted time with me too, didn’t you?"
Tatsuki crossed her arms. "Yeah, yeah. Let’s go then."
They walked along a quieter path, away from the main festival. Tatsuki stretched her arms behind her head. "I’ve been training a lot lately. Thinking about what comes next."
"Yeah?" Ichigo asked.
She nodded. "I want to keep fighting, maybe go pro someday. But it’s tough. Gotta be the best if I want to stand out."
Ichigo glanced at her. "You’ll get there. You’re strong."
Tatsuki smirked. "Of course I am. But I want to know something—what about you? What’s your goal, Ichigo?"
He exhaled. "To be the strongest."
Tatsuki raised an eyebrow. "Strongest in what? Fist fights? Sword fighting? Academics?"
Ichigo simply smirked. "You’ll find out soon enough."
Tatsuki pouted. "That’s not fair."
"Life’s not fair," he said with a teasing grin.
Tatsuki groaned. "You’re impossible."
After some more walking, they bought some extra food before heading back to Orihime, who waved at them excitedly. Together, they climbed a small hill that overlooked the festival, settling down on the grass as the first firework soared into the sky.
BOOM!
The explosion of colors painted the night sky, and Ichigo found himself smiling. It had been a while since he had enjoyed something so simple.
Tatsuki glanced at him. "See? You needed this."
"Maybe," he admitted.
Orihime rested her hands on her lap, her gaze fixed on the sky. "This has been wonderful. I hope we can do things like this more often."
Ichigo nodded, though he couldn’t shake the feeling that something had changed between them tonight. Tatsuki and Orihime’s feelings for him—he could feel them growing stronger. To the point where… maybe, just maybe, the idea of sharing him wasn’t out of the question for them.
When the festival came to an end, he walked them both home, saying his goodbyes before heading back to his own house. Stepping inside, he stretched his arms and yawned. It had been a long day, but a good one, he entered his room.
Then, his eyes landed on Rukia.
She was sitting on the floor, sketching something in her notebook. He leaned over slightly and smirked when he saw what it was—her usual doodles of tiny, cute animals.
He shook his head, amused. 'Wonder when she’ll come around,' he thought before laying on the bed.
' Alright what's next again? Grand Fisher that dumb fuck. ' he thought as he drifted off to sleep.
TO BE CONTINUED
