Four days later, at Marine Headquarters.
Bam!
A fist the size of a sandbag slammed mercilessly into Loa's face, sending him flying.
The crash came from him smashing through the perimeter wall.
Arudo and the others swallowed hard. They huddled like frightened chicks, too scared to look up. Their teacher Zephyr was furious, and whoever caught his attention would suffer for it.
The rule held true in any world: one of a student's three greatest fears was making eye contact with a teacher.
As for why Zephyr was angry, Loa had brought it on himself.
The mission had not gone perfectly, but it had ended well. From eliminating the Pirates to rescuing the civilians, Loa had organized everything methodically. His strength had earned recognition too. As a member of the Elite Camp, he had not disgraced Zephyr.
But!
"Do you remember what I told you to do first after landing?"
Zephyr turned toward Loa, who had returned using Soru.
Loa's cheek was swollen and his back teeth felt loose. At Zephyr's question, he mumbled, "After landing, gather firsthand intelligence, draw up a plan, then act."
"Mm. You can recite it perfectly!" Zephyr folded his arms and nodded, then threw another punch. "But what did you actually do? If Mingde hadn't given me your battle plan, I wouldn't have believed my own student was such a reckless fool!"
Loa dodged this one. Using the Kami-e he had just learned, he drifted behind Mingde, hooked an arm around him, and viciously ground a knuckle into his temple. "But Teacher Zephyr! Beard and his men held the high ground. They would've spotted us the moment we landed, no matter where we came ashore. What else could we do but charge in head-on?"
*Ow, ow, ow, ow! Say what you want, but could you