My Football Legends Chat Group-Chapter 86: Battle of the Brothers

Archie too felt his ears heat up in response to the lingering stare from his captain, yet it didn’t feel forced or mocking like when the other lads took the piss out of his suit. In fact, it caused him to feel butterflies in his stomach, even bringing a shy smile to his face.

"Okay everyone, let’s get on the coach. London is calling." Manager Farke announced, clapping his hands.

’SAVED BY THE BELL!’

Rio inwardly rejoiced; he had been rescued from his own awkward internal monologue. However, he still needed to smoothly extricate himself from the teenager in front of him, hopefully making up for the intense staring contest.

"Okay, see you on board."

With that, he turned around and headed to the team bus.

’W-What the fuck was that!?’

Rio was mortified. He would need to set up a performance meeting with his brain at a later date to talk over these past 30 seconds of non-verbal decisions. He was a 30-year-old soul in a 19-year-old body, acting like a schoolboy.

Archie blinked a few times before...

"Pfft hahaha."

He broke into one of his giggling fits, leaning on his crutches.

Thankfully his hand was covering his mouth and the others were preoccupied with loading their Gucci washbags onto the bus so that no one but the other bench players heard him.

Both Rutter and Summerville had witnessed the whole situation from the tunnel entrance and were about to step in when they saw Archie was looking flustered. That was until Rutter noticed Rio storming over quickly with purpose.

Using his striker’s intuition, he was able to see the shining white knight in the form of Rio who had come to protect the wonderkid. With a practiced ease, he grabbed Summerville and retreated to a safe distance where they could watch the proceedings.

However, they were left speechless at the abrupt ending.

Rutter and Summerville looked at each other as if to confirm they had seen the same thing, only to be interrupted by the muffled giggles of Archie who seemed to be in a great mood despite the crutches.

"Is he delusional or something?" Summerville commented, watching the kid giggling violently.

Rio brute-forced his way onto the bus, almost flattening Gnonto who was gingerly walking up the steps with his headphones on. The small Italian let out a squeal, drawing a pitiful sight as he clung onto the bus handles for dear life.

"Watch it, Willy!" Rio grunted.

"Jesus, Rio! You are built like a fridge!" Gnonto complained.

After finding his usual seat near the back, Rio placed his head against the cool window and felt his face heat up.

[Chat Room Active]

The_King: You ran away? A King does not run. He conquers the awkwardness.

Zizou_5: Leave him alone, Eric. The boy is shy. It is charming. But next time, just say ’nice suit’.

Thankfully he managed to recover a few minutes later by the time everyone got on the bus.

"Looks like we have the full squad here." Farke said, standing up at the front of the bus and getting everyone’s attention.

His face turned up into a smile, "There’s still one person who begged the physio to come and cheer us on."

With that, he moved to the side.

A boy made his way up the stairs slowly, holding a crutch underneath each of his arms. His body looked in tremendous shape despite the protective boot on his ankle.

"Archie!"

"The Wonderkid returns!"

"Haha, let me sign your cast later."

Morale was instantly boosted. Despite the players already being hyped for their massive FA Cup clash against Arsenal, the atmosphere reached an even higher level seeing their homegrown talent traveling with them.

Archie waved to the teammates he had worked alongside for the past month and couldn’t help but smile. He moved his gaze, looking for a certain person in particular.

Rio lifted his head, his eyes locking with the injured boy.

A look of gratitude appeared on Archie’s face, telling Rio everything he needed to know. He then made his way through the bus aisle, maneuvering his crutches expertly, and spoke up, pointing to the empty leather seat next to Rio.

"Mind if I sit here, Skip?"

"No worries."

The two sat in silence for a little over five minutes into the four-hour trip down to London, however, it wasn’t awkward. The hum of the engine and the sound of lads playing Mario Kart in the back filled the void.

"Thank you."

Rio didn’t respond, nor did he feel he had to. To him, the only natural conclusion was to do what he did—standing up to Steve Cook and protecting the kid. Since he knew about Archie’s future potential thanks to the System, he felt a duty to guard it.

He also did not want Archie to be a liability during the promotion run-in with a broken confidence, hence his actions weren’t completely altruistic. It was all for the end goal of reaching the Premier League.

Archie didn’t seem to be phased by the lack of response.

"The physio said I should be fine to go back to light training in about two weeks from now as long as I keep the boot on." He stated, feeling a smile form on the corner of his lips.

"Good. Don’t push yourself too hard. We need those ankles for the Champions League one day," Rio replied, staring out at the passing motorway.

"Yeah..."

Once again the two were silent for a while before Archie turned towards Rio with a serious expression.

"Rio, if it wasn’t for y—"

"Don’t sweat the details, man." Rio interrupted him, already feeling unworthy of the praise.

"Just make sure you recover properly. I can’t keep carrying your bike forever."

Archie stared at his benefactor with a stunned expression for a moment, however, it was quickly replaced with a smile. It seemed that Rio was not good with receiving gratitude, so he decided to drop the matter entirely.

"Yeah, no worries. I’ll be fighting fit in time for the playoffs if we need them." He stated confidently.

There were no more words the rest of the way between the two, yet they still enjoyed each other’s company. Rio opened his laptop to study Arsenal’s pressing triggers, and Archie watched over his shoulder, occasionally pointing out spaces.

Soon enough the bus came to a stop outside the majestic Emirates Stadium in North London. The sheer size of the arena cast a shadow over the team bus.

"Okay guys, the walkthrough starts in ten minutes. I want everyone to head straight for the changing rooms, drop your bags, and get a feel for the grass."

"Alright, no dilly-dallying, let’s go."

With that, Farke ushered everyone off the bus, not leaving until there was no one left behind.

The team walked through the sterile, modern tunnels of the Emirates and headed towards the pristine pitch. It almost felt like a school excursion walking into a spaceship compared to the rustic charm of Elland Road.

There was a small crowd of media personnel and stadium staff near the dugout who had come to watch the Leeds arrival, mostly made up of Arsenal scouts and journalists.

The opposition manager walked out of the tunnel to meet Daniel Farke and shook his hand. He was a younger gentleman, dressed in a sleek black jumper, his hair perfectly gelled—Lego hair, as the fans called it.

"Thanks for coming out all this way, Daniel." The Arsenal manager said, a polite but intense smile plastered on his face.

"Thanks for having us, Mikel."

Mikel Arteta looked every bit the tactical obsessive he was rumored to be. His eyes scanned the Leeds players, analyzing their body language.

"I saw the QPR game," Arteta said, his voice soft but carrying weight. "Very efficient."

"We try," Farke shrugged.

Arteta’s gaze drifted past Farke and landed squarely on Rio, who was standing near the center circle, looking up at the massive stands.

"And that must be the ’Leeds Missile’," Arteta noted.

Farke stepped slightly to the side, blocking Arteta’s view. "Just a squad player, Mikel. He’s on the bench tomorrow."

Arteta laughed, a dry sound. "We both know he won’t stay on the bench, Daniel. I have prepared for him."

Rio felt the gaze. He turned around.

[Skill: The Scout’s Eye Active]

[Target: Mikel Arteta]

[Mood: Calculating / Wary]

[Current Thought: "He has the chaotic energy of a young Ronaldo. If he comes on, we must double up on the right."]

Rio smirked.

’Double up? Good luck with that.’

He turned to Archie.

"Hey, Arch. Look at the grass. It’s like a carpet."

"It’s amazing," Archie whispered. "Imagine playing here every week."

"Don’t imagine," Rio said, putting an arm around him. "We’ll be here next season. In the Premier League."

Suddenly, a voice called out from the other side of the tunnel.

"Rio!"

Rio froze. He knew that voice.

He turned to see a young striker wearing an Arsenal training kit jogging over.

"Mateo!"

It was Mateo Joseph. His childhood friend. His rival.

Mateo stopped a few meters away. He didn’t smile. He looked conflicted.

"I didn’t think you’d actually make the squad," Mateo said, trying to sound tough but failing.

"And I didn’t think you’d make the Arsenal bench," Rio shot back, grinning. "I thought you were still ball-boying."

Mateo’s face flushed. "Fuck off, Rio. I scored two in the U21s last week."

"U21s?" Rio laughed. "Cute. I got five assists in the Championship."

The tension hung in the air for a second, thick and heavy.

Then, Mateo broke. A smile cracked his serious face.

"I missed you, you idiot."

"Missed you too, hermano."

They hugged, a proper embrace.

But as they pulled away, Rio saw the glint in Mateo’s eye.

"Tomorrow," Mateo whispered. "No friends. Only war."

"Agreed," Rio nodded. "War."

[System Notification]

[Mission Update: Ascend to the Peak (Part 2)]

[Rivalry Detected: The Battle of the Brothers]

[Reward Bonus: If you outperform Mateo Joseph, receive +500 Major Points.]

Rio looked at the notification, then at the massive Arsenal crest on the stands.