Maya clapped her hands together once, trying to shift the attention of the others back to the whiteboard. "Alright, enough with the jokes, now that we're done with all of it, let's move forward."—she said as she glanced at Leon, who winced back at her. "Let's now go back to our plan."

Arthur gave a small nod as he leaned in his seat a bit. Ryan followed the situation and got serious, eyes fixed back onto the whiteboard.

Maya pointed her marker back at the map which she drew earlier. "So, now that Leon is here, we can now move more effectively. So, as planned Leon will be taking on the back alleyway. If things go wrong for me and Ryan, Leon will help us. He's the backup plan."

Leon tilted his head slightly as he looked at Maya. "Basically, I'm the one who is there to save your asses, right?"

Maya didn't shift her eyes from the map, voice came firm. "Pretty much, yeah."

Maya's lips curled up into a small smile. "Don't get full of yourself. You're the backup plan, the main unit is Arthur."

Leon let out a small chuckle, voice flat. "Backup or not, I'll not make it look less flashy than Arthur."

Arthur sighed quietly, shaking his head a bit, voice came out flat. "As long as it works, I'm fine with it."

Maya continued explaining the things to them, her voice started to grow more serious. "So, seven days from now we'll regroup in here with all the information we could gather. We'll need to confirm the guard rotation, how many members West High actually has, and where they store their supplies."

She turned to Ryan. "You've already taken one of their side hideouts. That means they'll start moving. Try to keep track of any activity you notice. If they're relocating, we can hit them while they're unstable."

Ryan nodded. "Got it, big brain."

Arthur spoke next, his tone was steady yet firm. "We should train harder than before." He looked at Ryan then Maya. "You two need most of the training. You need to be prepared for the real fights, not just the drills. Streets have their own rules which are way deadlier." He said with his usual serious look on his face.

The grin on Leon's face widened slightly. "Finally, something interesting."

Maya looked at him as her voice came. "You're way too excited for this, Leon. Take it seriously."

"Of course, they both have to," Leon said as he stretched his arms. "I get to fight the people who deserve my attacks, and maybe even get them back for the things which they have done in the past."

Arthur looked at him, eyes scanning Leon down. "You also have a history with them?"

Leon didn't look at Arthur, he yawned as he said lazily. "Well, once when you, me and those two fought the West High Crew and one is a bit..." He took a small pause as his behavior shifted suddenly, his eyes went serious. "It's a bit personal."

Arthur didn't push it more, but his eyes softened a bit—like he understood what he meant.

Ryan looked at them one by one—Maya was full of determination, Arthur with his quiet authority and Leon with his restless energy, and he felt a quiet warmth in his chest, this was it. It was his crew.

It wasn't perfect or something too big, and it definitely wasn't normal at all, but it was his.

He looked up at the board once again, at the messy lines and scrawled notes, and finally said. "Let's meet here again after the seven days. By then, we'll all have something to bring to the table, no one will come empty-handed, bring at least a bit of information."

Arthur simply just gave a small nod. "I totally agree with Ryan on this one."

Leon leaned back in his chair as his lips slowly curled up in a smile, kicked one leg over the other. "Seven days, huh? Fine by me, I'll bring you something nice. And, try not to get killed before that, leader."

Ryan smirked faintly. "Same to you, newcomer."

Leon laughed. "Touché."

Maya slowly clicked the marker closed and stepped away from the whiteboard. "Then it's finalized, we'll all meet here after a week—same time, same place."

The room suddenly went silent for a brief moment, each of them had their own thoughts dwelling up in their minds—plans, fears, hopes and the weight of what was about to come up ahead.

Ryan stood first, slipping his hands into his pockets. "We'll win this and that's the only option for us." he said softly.

Arthur stood beside him as he dusted his pants off, his tone low but sure. "If we don't be reckless then sure."

Leon gave a small salute as his grin returned back on his lips. "Can't wait to punch those guys up."

Maya smiled, the fire in her eyes matching the spark in Ryan's. "Then let's get ready to start a war."

The meeting ended there. Chairs scraped against the floor as they stood, the sound echoing faintly in the small room. As Ryan walked toward the door, he glanced back one last time — at the whiteboard, at the rough map, and at the people who now stood beside him.

He let out a slow, deep exhale as the fight wasn't coming up anymore, but it had already begun. And this time, he wasn't fighting alone, he had comrades.

He took a breath and said, quietly, "Okay. Let's prepare. Train, gather intel, and meet again with what we have."

Arthur nodded once, the small movement like a coin dropped into place. Maya clicked her marker closed and put it back into her pocket.

They all left the room together, the system echoed in Ryan's mind.

[Quest Update: Prepare for Occupation. Objective: Recon patrols, gather intel, confirm extraction team.]

He slowly looked towards Arthur and Maya, the weight of the leadership slowly settled up on his shoulders—not heavy enough to crush him, but enough to put the pressure on him to change himself for good.

"Let's not get anyone hurt," he said. The words were simple. The meaning was everything.

Maya's smile was quiet but sharp. "We'll do it right."

They stepped into the hallway together. The world outside Room 212 felt the same as it always did — crowded, indifferent. But for Ryan, it had shifted; it now had edges and a plan. The war with West High Crew had begun, and they had just drawn their first lines.

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