Tastes Like Home | Blue Lock x Reader

Ten

When Yoichi met up with the rest of his friends at the bottom of the mountain, they immediately opted to find warmth at the marketplace nearby. Having lived at the very place in the past, Yoichi reassured his three other friends that they would not get lost. He was not exactly wrong, but the welcoming swarm of saleswomen trying to get them to buy their products took a toll on them.

Every food and trinket caught the eye of Meguru, causing him to go feral whenever his friends prevented him from purchasing.

"Let me buy it, let me buy it!" Meguru cried out, resisting Hyoma who kept a firm grip on the end of his jacket. "She said it gives good luck!"

Hyoma sighed, making sure to keep the boy in the middle of the road to prevent him from pouncing on any store. "It's a wooden cat, Bachira. Besides, all we have on us right now are our emergency funds. How would we get back to the cabins safely if we were to splurge?"

"We can just walk back up!" Meguru pouted. "Come on, Chigiri. We came here to have fun! Where's the fun if I can't buy whatever I want?"

"Fun or not, we need to be wise." Hyoma shook his head disappointedly. "And we still need to look for Kunigami, Nagi, and (L/n)."

"Isagi," he called out to the seemingly aloof boy. "Where do we go from here?"

Yoichi gazed nervously at their surroundings, the gradual realization seeping onto him that many things had changed since he had last been there. He was once able to navigate through the colorful stalls with his eyes closed, but now that all of those had been moved or replaced— it was as if he was in a foreign land.

"Well... We could go stop by there for some refreshments..." He pointed towards a table serving hot drinks. "I recognize the seller..."

So they went over to the stall and got each of them a cup of chocolate. Fortunately enough, the seller was one of Yoichi and (Y/n)'s childhood playmates.

"I heard from the elders that you were here." The beige-haired girl smiled. "(Y/n)'s been coming to me a lot lately."

"Really? Why's that?" Yoichi raised an eyebrow. He knew that (Y/n) liked to mingle with the market people, but she never really stuck around to buy sweets— his friend's stall served desserts and hot drinks.

"She keeps coming back for the newest churro recipe." The girl shrugged. "I always get the latest one whenever Father comes back from the capital."

"Ah..."

"Couldn't you just use Google?" Reo— who had been carefully observing the cup chippings— decided to join in the conversation. "Do you not have internet here?"

"We do, but it's prolonged and scarce," the girl said. "So we tend to just have someone go to the capital and gather as much supplies and information needed."

"Interesting..." Reo nodded thoughtfully. "How did you even contact (L/n) then, Isagi?"

"Text message." Yoichi shrugged. "She did reply slower than usual but it wasn't that bad..."

"The (L/n)'s put up their own 5G tower near their place," the girl said. "But anyway, good luck finding the rest of your friends! Don't forget to tell (Y/n) that the newest churro recipe is perfectly crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside!" She waved them off.

Yoichi, not being able to understand the rush, simply nodded and gestured for his companions to follow after him.

"Goodbye, Hikari." He waved.

As they were about to continue their aimless walking, however, a familiar streak of white caught their attention.

There, Seishiro stood, asking for a hot cup of tea like a lost puppy. What confirmed their suspicions most was when he held out a black credit card, the same one Reo had given to him.

"Nagi! There you are!" Reo threw himself onto his friend. "We were worried you died or something!"

"I didn't die," Seishiro grunted upon impact. "I was with (L/n) and Kunigami, but they left me."

"I'm sorry, they what?" Yoichi said. "Did they just leave you without any further notice?"

"Kind of, yeah..." Seishiro shrugged. He raised his paper bag to show Reo its contents. "Bought (L/n) a jacket since she gave me hers."

"It looks nice." Reo smiled, taking out the sunflower-themed coat. "It suits her vibe. What do you think, Isagi?"

Yoichi's azure gaze swept across the meticulously crafted coat. He imagined her sprinting toward him, arms wide open, exuding elegance without a trace of the self-neglect she had endured in the previous week. Perhaps it was his wishful thinking that this simple attempt to boost her self-esteem would make her realize she was not loving herself enough.

"I think it looks good." He gave a thumbs up.

"Are we gonna ignore the fact that (L/n) disappeared with Kunigami?" Meguru said. "In the cold, when everyone's all delirious? In a marketplace perfect for dates?"

"What are you implying, Bachira...."

"I'm just saying— Isagi, that should've been you!" 

"Very helpful, Bachira." Yoichi rolled his eyes. "I appreciate all this not-support, but (Y/n) and Kunigami could seriously be in danger."

"Where did you last see them, Nagi?" Hyoma turned to the white-haired boy.

"At the coat stall, I think." Seishiro yawned. "They were talking to the store owner and just suddenly disappeared."

"Strange, there must be a reason that happened."

"You know how Kunigami's a big softie? He probably saw a kid in need and decided to help," Reo said.

"Yes, that would make sense." Yoichi nodded in agreement. "(Y/n) would also do the same. She's always been very thoughtful and compassionate... come to think of it, I may know of their whereabouts now."

And so, the boys found themselves trekking back to their landing zone where a tiny shed stood tall. There was orange light seeping out of a tiny opening at its side; light that had not previously been there. 

Before anyone could question the shed's security and warmth, Yoichi was quick to refute. "This was built for survival purposes. It's not the biggest, but I know (Y/n) would bring a freezing child here to help him warm up."

As they neared the outhouse, two familiar voices could be heard conversing amongst themselves.

"Be careful with that shrapnel. It's barely been used so it's pretty sharp."

"Are you certain I can be entrusted with... this?"

"Yes, Kunigami, I know you can if you put your mind to it."

"What the hell are those two doing...? Performing a surgery?" Hyoma narrowed his eyes. 

"Could be an autopsy."

"Bachira, stop."

Yoichi— who was just as equally as alarmed as his friends— grabbed onto the door handles and pulled the door open. 

There, (Y/n) and Rensuke sat around a bleeding squirrel with surgical tools in their gloved hands. They were performing surgery on the animal nearing its death.

"Yoichi! Perfect. I'll explain later, but you all need to help us get the bullet out of this poor thing."