Ichigo's first and and best mistake that day was walking downstairs, seeing what was going on in the kitchen, and not walking back up.

Instead, he shoved his hands in his pockets, watching Karin set the table, while Yuzu was at the stove stirring something, and Rukia was bringing plates of random finger foods like veggies or fruit pieces or bread.

"What's going on?"

Isshin seemed to pop out of nowhere, taking his seat at the end of the table as he announced excitedly, "Today, my lovely daughter Yuzu has made dinner for us!"

"Idiot. She does that every day." Ichigo watched as both Yuzu and Rukia set down several pots in the center of the table, eyeing a certain plate Karin set down, "What? We're having croutons for dinner again?"

"Not just croutons, there's cheese and tomato sauce and chocolate, too. Fon-due!" Yuzu exclaimed excitedly, clasping her hands together, "It's french for 'to melt'. I saw it today on Cooking with Kanonji!"

As if one cue, Yuzu turns to her father and they both cross their arms over their chests, exclaiming, "BOHAHAHAHAHA~!"

Ichigo rolls his eyes when Rukia joins in too, adding, "It looks great, Yuzu! Bohahahaha~!"

Ichigo sighs and sits down. 'Of course. That damn wierdo Kanonji is the only person who could go from spirits to cooking. Why am I not surprised?'

Karin rolls her eyes and points to the pot, tugging Ichigo's arm, "Basically you just pick up one of those long forks, then you get bread or a piece of fruit or whatever and dip it into one of the pots. There's cheese and tomato sauce- and that one's chocolate..."

"Eat the regular stuff first." Yuzu sits back down in her chair, across from Karin, next to Rukia, "Like the fruit and the vegatables. Then you get marshmellows and stuff for dessert."

"My excellent daughter! What a fantastic display of your intelligence!" Isshin has tears streaming down his face like mini waterfalls as Yuzu hands everyone a long fork, "Daddy is so proud!"

"Shut up and eat, already." Ichigo grumbles, but before he takes a stab at a piece of bread, Karin waves her hand to stop him, "And guess what? (looks at Ichigo) If you drop your food into the dip, you have to kiss all the girls at the table!"

"WHAT!" Ichigo jumps at this news, mouth gaping. Karin sits back down, and Yuzu supports her sister firmly, "That's the the rule!"

"Rule? What rule? We've never had anything like that before!" Ichigo protests while Isshin grins goofily, "I think it's a great idea!"

"Shut up, you old beardo!"

"I didn't make it up, you know." Karin replies in a cool voice, "About dropping your food and kissing all the girls."

"Oh really?"

"It was on the cooking show. Don Kanonji told us the story." Yuzu explained, "It's a custom that goes with eating fondue. Right, daddy?"

"Right-o, Yuzu!"

"...Then I'm not gonna eat. 'Scuse me." Ichigo attempts to get up, but Karin yanks him back into his seat and states, pointing to his plate, "You only had one crouton. One crouton is not dinner. Besides, since you already started eating, now you have to go along with it. You eat the food, you pay the price."

Ichigo sits down, grumbling to himself, and everyone (carefully) begins to eat. A little while later...

"Karin?" Ichigo looks at his sister, who has a piece of zucchini on her fork suspended above the cheese pot, "Are you gonna eat that or stare at it all day?"

"Shh. I'm concentrating. I don't wanna drop this. Then I'll have to kiss all the boys at the table-" her brow wrinkles, "-Including dad."

"AUGH! DADDY IS HURT, KARIN!" Isshin yells dramatically, flailing his arms at his daughter and accidently bumping her arm. "Agh dad, you made me dip it into the chocolate!"

Yuzu gives Karin a sly look as she sits back down. Karin nods slightly, glancing very secretively at her orange haired idiot brother, who is not paying attention. All goes quiet as dinner goes on for a few moments, then...

Karin bumped Ichigo's elbow, trying secretively to get him to drop his food into the fondue pot. Every time Ichigo brought his fork to the pot, BUMP! Karin would try. Ichigo got tired of it the fifth time, and glared at her. "Will you stop that?"

Karin scowls back at him, "It's not my fault you're so huge your arms and legs are all over the place. Make them shorter somehow." This ends her elbowing.

Both sisters watch a few moments later, as Ichigo brings a piece of bread stabbed on his fork to the fondue pot. This opportunity is golden as he dips it into the cheese and waits for a few minutes as the cheese drips off the bread, and right at that moment, Yuzu creatively swivels her leg so she kicks Ichigo, who, at impact, stops paying attention to his fork and-

PLOP! The cheesy bread slides right off of the fork and lands in the middle of the fondue pot in a cheesy blob. Everyone is silent. Yuzu and Karin exchange glances as Ichigo desperately chases the bread around with his fork, hoping to get it back before anyone noticed.

"CODE RED!" Yuzu screamed, standing up so her chair screeched back, and pointed dramatically at the pot, "HE DROPPED IT!"

"EMPTY FORK!" Karin yelled, pointing at the fork in his hand, "YOU GOTTA KISS ALL THE GIRLS!"

"But I didn't- it was- Yuzu, you kicked me!" Ichigo glares at his sister, who sits back in her seat, turning to Isshin, "Daddy, Ichi-nii's accusing me!"

"Shut up and kiss all the girls, you valiant flea!" Isshin yells dramatically, pointing with his fork at Ichigo, who sighs angrily and stands up, chair screeching as it moves back, and makes a move for Karin-

"No, no! Rukia-nii first!" Yuzu yells, eyes shining evilly as she points at Rukia next to her, across from Ichigo. Rukia looks up from her fork, looks from Yuzu to Isshin to Karin, then at Ichigo, eyes widening in realization at his now-pink face.

Ichigo tries to get out of it, "Why...-?"

"Cause she's special."

Ichigo looks at Rukia for second and then turns and glares at his sisters again. Karin waves her hand, "You HAVE to do it, Ichi-nii! Glaring at us won't make it go away! You call yourself a man? Do it!"

Ichigo turns, defeated look on his face, and sighs, "Rukia..." as he walks around the table to her. The twins and Isshin get sparkly fangirly looks on their faces as they watch. Ichigo rounds the table, stepping in front of Rukia, who is looking up at him with wide eyes. He leans over, grabs her face, and kisses her cheek. Rukia's face turns a light pink, the corners of her mouth turned up, her lips quiver, and it's obvious she's trying not to burst out laughing and embarass Ichigo even more.

The kiss only lasts a second, and Ichigo moves onto Yuzu next, but she pushes his face away and declares, "Do it again!"

"What!"

"That one doesn't count! You gotta makes you lips like this! (makes fish-face) You gotta make it last 10 seconds at least! And make kissy-noises!" Karin grins widely as Yuzu and Isshin start making kissy faces at Ichigo, who's face is now tinted a bright red.

"WHAT THE HELL KISSY NOISES!" He yells over dramatically, and everyone except him bursts out laughing, because not only is he acting sexually frustrated, but he's unable to form sentences that make sense.

"Ohh, Ichi-nii enjoyed that, ohh~"

"SHUT UP!"

Dinner continues. Ichigo never drops his food into the fondue pot again. Karin drops a piece of apple once, making wretching noises as she kisses Ichigo and her father, who is loudly proclaiming his love for her. Isshin drops it five times, and after the first time, exclaims the next times, "OOPS, GUESS I HAVE TO KISS ALL MY DAUGHTERS!" with a goofy look on his face, each time also attempting to kiss Ichigo, who shoves him off. They get into a fight the last time, and Karin yells at them to shut up and sit down, and stop acting like wild beasts.

When he's done, Ichigo asks to be excused. Five minutes after he leaves the table, Rukia's fruit piece slides off her fork while she's dipping it into the chocolate fondue. She gives Isshin a kiss, but Yuzu and Karin are mourning the fact that Ichigo had to have such perfect timing and leave the table.

Rukia says, with a gentle smile, that she'll make up for it. She goes upstairs to his room, where Ichigo is at his desk finishing math homework. She walks up behind him and taps his shoulder.

"Hm?" He turns his head slightly to look at her, and she bends over and kisses his cheek, her fingers touching his cheek almost lovingly.

His face flames immediately and he chokes, "What-?"

"I dropped a piece of strawberry into the fondue pot." Rukia's voice is gentle yet almost sing-song, as she flashes him a cheeky smile and dances off to her's, Yuzu's and Karin's bedroom, closing the door behind her.

As the door clicks closed and he can hear girly giggles that can't belong to anyone else but his sisters, Ichigo touches his face slightly where her lips met his skin and smiles.

Fondue for dinner every Saturday.