"Your sister is so cute, 'ttebane!" Kushina coo's, but refrains from hugging her in lieu of asking where the kitchen is. The girl flushes, but surprisingly she leads Kushina instead of Ichigo, who follows behind them.
"I'm Yuzu," she introduces, smiling shyly as Kushina takes the bags from Ichigo and lays out the ingredients.
"Kushina Uzumaki, 'ttebane," Kushina grins. "You can call me Aunty Kushina like Ichigo-kun, though."
"I do not call you that!"
Yuzu laughs, quietly, and steps a little closer to Kushina. "It's nice to meet you."
"You too, Yuzu-chan! Would you like to help me make my special Uzumaki ramen tonight?"
Yuzu beams, clearly excited, and Ichigo slowly backs out to see if he can find Karin and hopefully have some back up against the crazy red haired woman.
There's an unfamiliar woman in his kitchen.
Isshin blinks, watches as the red haired woman directs Yuzu in setting out the bowls as she carries a pot of something that smells suspiciously like ramen to the table.
His son and other daughter have been coerced into settling out cutlery along with Yuzu, but despite Ichigo's scowl he doesn't protest.
Isshin coughs, politely, but as soon as the woman's eyes land on him he wishes he'd remained silent.
Her grin is sharp, eyes dangerous as she pats Karin on the head as she stalks around the table towards him. "You must be this tou-san i've heard so much about, dattebane."
"Ah," Isshin starts, but Kushina whirls back around, uncaring as her hair smacks him in the face.
"Now that everyone's here, time to eat!"
(Isshin wonders if perhaps it would have been better if he'd stayed the night in the clinic.
But when he looks again he see's the way she grins at Yuzu and the way she smiles back, how her and Ichigo snip and snap at each other without heat, how even Karin shares a smirk with her when she gets Ichigo flustered and speechless.
Misaki was the glue that kept their family together, and over the two years she's been gone, they'd broken.
But Isshin remembers an old Japanese art of using golden lacquer to fix broken pottery, and this woman is certainly bright enough to be their gold.
Isshin smiles, a bit wryly, and joins them at the table.
It's the best meal he's had in two years, (even if the red haired she-devil looks ten seconds away from eating him instead of the ramen.)