A Monster Lives in Rome #2
Thud!
"Ah—! What the hell!"
Shoved to the ground by a Lazio player, Yohan scrambled back up and charged right back in, driving his shoulder forward.
Phweeet—!
The referee's whistle cut through the air, and a foul was called.
That hurt like hell.
He'd been bounced off that massive frame like a rubber ball, and something had caught him wrong — his ribs were throbbing. But this was a derby. Yohan refused to show any weakness.
His whole body ached. He brushed the spot lightly and winced; it felt like a bruise was already forming, the impact site burning with a deep, insistent pain.
Last year it had been his ankle. This year, contusions.
For some strange reason, every time they faced Lazio, players from both sides turned savage.
Yohan was no exception. He was only human — when the other side came at him rough, his temper flared right back.
Rumor had it that by the time you reached Primavera, the matches got far more ferocious than this. For the first time, the word rivalry felt like something he could feel in his bones.
"You okay?"
Bianchi had come over, looking at Yohan's pain-twisted face.
Yohan wiped the sweat from his face with a rough swipe of his arm.
"Yeah."
"He's been going nuts since the start. Want me to take him out with a tackle from behind? That'll shut him up."
"Then you're the only one who loses. You could get sent off. Don't. He's a defender, right? I'll put a proper ball through for you — cut across him and put it in the net."
"There's barely any time left."
"Trust me and stay close. The second you see space, run."
"Got it."
He'd said it with confidence, but football had never once gone exactly the way he planned — not a single time. That was precisely why scoring felt so good, why winning sent that electric thrill through your chest.
So when play resumed, Yohan poured every ounce of concentration he had into the game.
After taking a few more heavy fouls, the anger had built up so thick that nothing short of payback was going to settle it.
He worked the ball around, trying to pry open gaps in the back line, but Lazio's players — products of a genuine powerhouse club — were rock solid. Their pressing was organized, and the individual quality was high enough to match.
But sooner or later, a mistake always came.
You had to spot that mistake with surgical precision, and you could never let the opening it created slip away. Only then did the goal come.
And that moment was now.
I see it...!
On the flank, Bianchi was shifting back and forth, working to create space. The Lazio fullback's attention had been pulled toward one of Yohan's teammates who'd come across to help in possession.
This was the chance.
There was just one problem.
The central teammates who were supposed to open the attacking lane had been cleverly bottled up by Lazio players, making it nearly impossible to exchange passes. A back pass was an option, but that would just leave them stuck in place.
Judging that individual skill mattered more than team movement right now, Yohan decided to force his way past the Lazio midfielder marking him head-on.
Tap.
He nudged the ball diagonally and tried to slip past the midfielder — but the Lazio player reacted instantly and chased it down.
That heavy contact came again. Not as hard as before, but with his ribs already aching, the jolt of pain was worse.
Yohan gritted his teeth and drove his weight into his lower body. The size difference still pushed him back, but he'd anticipated that too — he'd played the ball a little longer, and managed to get the first touch.
As if on cue, Bianchi seemed to trust what Yohan was doing. He opened just enough space between himself and his marker to receive a pass cleanly.
The moment Yohan saw it, he whipped a hard, low ball with the outside of his foot — and Bianchi exploded into a full sprint, meeting the deliciously arriving ball with a clean strike.
Boom—! Thwack—!
The result was a goal.
A brilliant combination play that sliced through the offside line applied from the nine-a-side format onward — and a moment where individual quality shone through.
"Yes!"
Bianchi clenched both fists, stuck his tongue out long and deliberate, and shot a look at the defender who'd shoved Yohan earlier — the same kid he'd just left in the dust — before jogging back to the halfway line at a brisk clip.
It was a provocation, plain as day. The enraged defender lunged toward Bianchi, but the referee had already read the tension rolling off both of them and stepped in before anything could happen.
Players from both sides crowded around the two of them, voices rising, and the atmosphere turned ugly. The referee calmly settled the spirited kids down, showed Bianchi a yellow card, briefly restarted play — and then blew for full time.
1–0. Bianchi's goal stood as the winner. They had beaten Lazio.
Lazio's U-11 side had posted strong results last season, and it showed — the match had been anything but easy. The pressing was fierce, the quality of the players excellent, and they'd faced more than a few dangerous moments.
But they'd won. Yohan's team had simply been better. That was enough, he decided.
"Well played."
"You had the harder job, honestly."
"I'll be having a sharp word with him about that provocation at the end."
"Kids get competitive. Can't be helped. We've got our own lot to scold as well."
The U-11 coaches shook hands with weary faces. Even in a derby, from the perspective of men responsible for managing young players, a certain kinship with the opposing coach was inevitable — all the more so when you weren't a first-team manager, but a youth coach whose job was to instill fair play.
After quickly gathering the Roma U-11 squad, the coach reprimanded Bianchi for his provocative behavior. He also praised the line-breaking run as excellent — but he made sure the criticism landed harder than the compliment.
Then he drilled the whole team on the spirit of fair play, all the while glancing sideways at Yohan, who was laughing and joking around with Bianchi.
Strong mentality.
The technical play was good, certainly — but what had truly impressed the coach was what happened in the second half, when that Lazio player committed the foul. Even a child could tell it was a foul situation. And yet, before the whistle blew, Yohan's first instinct had been to reclaim possession.
That hunger for the ball. That part had satisfied him deeply.
Yohan was growing taller, and the consistent physical training meant he was holding his own in contact that would once have sent him flying.
If his development didn't stall, it almost seemed like they could skip him up a level next season alongside Bianchi, who was already growing at a dazzling rate this year...
But in his current state, moving up to U-13 would make overcoming the physical gap nearly impossible.
Bianchi would be fine. He was already much taller and bigger than Yohan.
Yohan was not. He still needed more time to grow.
Watch him one more year, then decide. Even if they stepped him up at the normal age, Yohan had the talent to become something great. Neither the club nor the player needed to rush.
"Gio, when I come back, will you still play games with me?"
Aiden's voice wavered on the edge of tears. Yohan squared his shoulders, flashed a grin, and put on his best tough-guy act as he nodded.
"Of course."
"Promise?"
"Yeah. But no finishing the campaign by yourself while I'm gone, okay?"
"Okay. I'll play something else."
"Good."
Where there was a time to meet, there was also a time to part.
After two months of genuinely wonderful days spent with Yohan in Italy, Aiden said his goodbyes with a face full of reluctance.
Olivia and Caroline watched the two of them from a distance, murmuring between themselves.
"Tell him to come visit us in America sometime. If he comes with Hailey over the next break, it'd be perfect."
"I already asked. The kid loves football so much he doesn't want to leave even for a little while."
"Does that football club not have holidays?"
"It's not that. They run things a bit looser during breaks, but they'll still train anyone who wants it. Yohan goes to the training ground almost every day."
"Isn't there anything we can do?"
"We can't just think about it from our side."
"I know... I'm just saying it because it's a shame. I don't think I've ever seen Aiden take to someone like this."
She wasn't wrong. Aiden looked up to Yohan like an older brother. They'd spent so much time stuck together that closeness had come naturally, and Yohan had a knack for steering conversations toward topics that would catch Aiden's interest mid-game. Watching him, you'd almost think he was a seasoned babysitter.
And it wasn't just staying home, either. Whenever Aiden got restless, Yohan would drag along a grumbling, stubborn Hailey and take them out to nearby restaurants for something to eat. The conversations over food must have been fun enough that Aiden had started suggesting they go out and grab something himself.
Normally he only ever got scolded by Hailey and quietly avoided being around her. Now, thanks to Yohan as a brilliant mediator, he was changing.
"That's true."
"Hailey's temperament seems a bit calmer too. That's Yohan's doing, isn't it?"
"Yohan's share of the credit is big. She's even made a few friends lately — I bet that's thanks to him as well."
"He's just naturally sociable. People from the old country really are good-hearted."
"And when was it you used to complain about how cliquish hometown people are?"
"Oh, come on, that was ages ago. Anyway, keep working on him. Talk to the convent too."
"I told you, we can't just think about it from our side. Mom, your problem is you're selfish."
"How is this only thinking from our side? Traveling around different countries broadens your horizons. It's good for him."
"I'll handle it myself. Just give Dad my regards."
"And call more often while you're at it?"
"I'm just saying it. Running out of things to talk about."
"This girl..."
Olivia laughed off her daughter's cold reply and looked across the living room, where Yohan was tugging on Hailey's arm.
"Hailey. Let's go out."
"No."
"We have to see Aiden and Great-Aunt Olivia off."
"Do we have to? We'll see them again anyway."
"It's snowing, too."
"So?"
"Wouldn't it be nice to go out and see the snow?"
"Why would I look at snow? Open a window and there it is."
"I've never once seen snow since coming to Rome... and in February, no less."
"It comes every year in New York."
"Come on, just go with me. This isn't New York."
"Ugh... you are so annoying...!"
Grumbling, Hailey let herself be pulled to her feet by Yohan's hand and trudged over.
Watching her granddaughter, Olivia chuckled quietly to herself. In the old days she would have thrown a full tantrum and told him to get lost. She really had changed a lot.
Had she grown fond of life here? Hard to say — Hailey had talked often enough about wanting to go back to America for good. The boredom she'd felt when she first arrived had largely faded once Yohan and a few friends entered the picture, but from Hailey's point of view, she must still miss New York, her hometown.
Truthfully, the only people she'd see there were family and relatives. It was a strange thing.
"Grandma, when are you leaving?"
As Hailey came closer, Olivia stroked the back of her neck.
"We're heading out now. Why? Wish we wouldn't go?"
"No. If you're going, just go already."
"....."
That knack for making people feel awkward hadn't changed one bit. She was the spitting image of her mother in her school days.
With that thought, Olivia gladly accepted Yohan's suggestion that they all go to the airport together.
"Oh, for real..."
And as a bonus, she quietly handed off the irritated Hailey to Yohan with a request to look after her.