As Wave found himself returning home from a last minute assignment that Esdeath had taken him out on, the man walked alongside the tall woman as she strolled confidently forward in the dark forest path.

"General Esdeath? Would you mind it if I asked why you brought me out here?"

He cast a wary glance about himself as he minded the darkness of the forests surrounding each side of the road.

"I've done my best to keep my eye on you, Wave. Of all the Jaegars, only you and Run were recommended to me without being part of any specific unit of the Empire's military. Well, with the exception of Run."

Wave watched the back of her head intently as she walked forward still.

"As I've seen, you are in perfect physical condition. Your skills in combat are notable as well. But even with those achievements, you still have doubts about yourself."

"Yeah." Wave lowered his head with a frown.

"That's the reason I decided to bring you out here." Esdeath stopped, and he looked up, seeing that they had come out to the lake where she'd fought the aquatic Danger Beasts. "I will assess your skill for myself, to decide if you can truly be worthy of remaining within the Jaegars."

A wave of frost tore through the air, a layer of ice coming over the waters, Esdeath pulling her sword from her sheathe.

"Wait, what?!" Wave took a step back, even as Esdeath turned to face him.

"If you won't take the chance, then I'll cut you down here myself." She said, aiming her blade at Wave. "Take up your Imperial Arms and prove that you're worthy of it."

Seeing Wave frown, Esdeath smiled, seeing the sense of predetermined defeat in his eyes, as if he'd already lost the battle.

It made her feel nostalgic, to her days of training her troops in the past before becoming a general.

She recalled how Wave had come to her in search of lessons in how he could become a better fighter, and she felt that it would be well in her rights to mold him as her soldier.

Molding a singular soldier in her spare time would be of no consequence to her, she had decided.

Thus, when Wave invoked Grand Chariot, becoming coated in its armor, Esdeath smiled while she led him to the middle of the ring of ice she'd created for them to fight on, her gazing at him while Wave tried to steady his nerves, Esdeath swiping her blade through frozen air while calling for Wave to begin, him roaring out a battle cry as he sped forward to her.

There was the sound of coughing from Wave as he let down his Imperial Arms, an hour after his time of being a glorified punching bag for Esdeath began.

Watching him from behind, Esdeath watched as he came to regurgitate his dinner from the intensity of the damaged he'd been made to endure.

"Yes, this should be fine for now." Esdeath told him.

"What... What do you mean?" Wave wheezed, barely able to breathe, Esdeath reaching her hand out to him, helping him up to his feet.

"Come. You aren't finished yet. You've only managed to survive my initial onslaught." Esdeath told him, her seeing the bleeding coming from his broken arm, her creating a cast of ice around it. "Your arm is broken, but the rest of your body is functional. You can still be of use to me."

She walked into the forest, Wave looking after her, but not disobeying, acting according to her instructions.

His first task was completely destroying the the ice ring she'd created for them to fight in, then it was to chop down trees to make logs, before he was then being made to get fish out of the lake by swimming inside with a lance made of ice, without being allowed to take his clothes off, Esdeath partaking in many of these tasks with him, but always telling him to pull his weight.

They soon stood with their prey killed and stuck atop ice spikes, but Esdeath used her powers to freeze their clothes around their bodies before they could begin to properly dry, Wave working through it to do squats as per her instructions, minutes passing before they were finished with this exercise.

Despite this, when Esdeath tasked him with starting a fire to help thaw them out, Wave's frost ridden body shook uncontrollably, this making it far harder for him to do it, but him stubbornly try anyhow as he rubbed the sticks together to spark the fire.

In time, however, Esdeath placed her hand over his, the smile she gave, with the proud warmth of a mother seeing their child grow, confusing Wave.

"That should be enough overall for today. Allow me."

Though she was under the same conditions as him, put under the same hellish training that she'd put him through, she effortlessly acted without shaking at all, sparking the flame that soon grew to become a great, roaring fire, them getting out of their thawing clothes and soaking in the fire's warmth while sitting on some spare logs.

"Tell me, Wave, how did all of that make you feel?" Esdeath asked him.

He hesitated, looking to the woman who gazed intently at him, before looking down.

"It was... honestly pretty frustrating, and hard. But seeing how well you were doing it, it actually made me feel ashamed of feeling that way, in a weird way. I'm not really cut out to be one of the Jaegars after all, am I?"

Esdeath chuckled.

"No. You are indeed worthy of being one of my elite soldiers, Wave. That much is obvious."

"But... I couldn't even hit you, even with my Teigu. You blocked every attack I threw. And then I couldn't even start a fire."

"Oh, of course you didn't hit me. But again, it was against me." Esdeath smiled a snakelike grin. "As for the fire, I was aware that that would probably be where you would need my assistance."

"Then... how? How am I worthy of being a Jaegar, if I can't even pass your tests without help?"

"Oh Wave, you've been misinterpreting the problem all along. It was never about the physical limitations of your skills. It was about the mental limitations you've placed on it."

"What do you mean?" He asked slowly.

"Why was it that you couldn't start the fire? Was it because your hands were too cold, so they kept shaking?" Esdeath asked, to which he nodded sheepishly. "That's where you're mistaken. A soldier is not to be limited by the world around him. No matter the elements that conflict against them. The body you inhabit may try to resist your will, but you must be the one in control, Wave." She stood up, taking up one of their large fish and held it over the fire. "In the end, the body is naught but a tool, no different from a weapon, or an Imperial Arms. As such, I see in you the makings of a perfect warrior. Your mind need only conquer your body, and from there, you will flourish, with mountains being no more than stepping stones, armies no more an obstacle than insects on the ground."

Wave was left stunned into silence by this, then looked to his Grand Chariot.

"Conquer my body...? If it'll make me stronger, then I'll do just that." Wave nodded. "Thank you, General Esdeath— er, Esdesu?"

She looked back at him, then shook her head with a smile.

"No need to worry about it. I've grown fond of both names. As for the training, thank you for being honest about your insecurities. It's honestly made me quite nostalgic."

"Really?" Wave's eyes widened.

"Yes," she whimsically pulled her fish away from the fire, "back to my days of training my troops... no, I think it's even further back than that."

Sitting back on her log, she minded the stars above them and smiled gently.

"I wonder if this is how my father felt, sending me out to hunt animals as a child."

"What was your father like?"

She hummed in thought.

"He was a man that taught me the values of strength. How the world could set out to claim the people inside it and assert its dominance, and most of all, how most people's illusions of strength can be shattered when they aren't prepared, with them paying for it with their lives. My father regrettably was far too weak for this world, as were my Three Beasts. Such is why potential such as yours must be brought to fruition."

She looked at Wave once more, and the words formed in her head.

"I wonder if this is what having a son is like."

"Well, uh, don't take this the wrong way, but... you DO kind of remind me another parental figure I had."

"Is that right? Pray tell."

Wave explained it to her, telling her of how his master had been the one who'd ultimately guided Wave to join the navy after training him.

He recounted how he had nearly been killed in his hometown when a wave of Danger Beasts had arrived, but his mentor had been strong enough to cull the wave and cut the majority of them down.

He had always admired that person for their strength and initiative in being able to protect the things that Wave loved and cherished, and when his mentor took him under their wing, that was when years of training gradually led up to him joining the navy itself.

"That's really been what I've been wanting since the beginning. The power to protect the people I care about from either the Resistance or monsters that hurt others. I get that same feeling of admiration watching you, General Esdeath, because you're honestly amazing. You might hear it all the time, but that's really how I feel."

At the sight of Esdeath smiling at him, warm and caring, Wave flushed, the woman reaching up and rubbing the man's scalp.

"... that being said, it kind of feels weird to think of you that way." He added.

"Oh? Why is that?"

"Aren't you just a couple years older than I am?"

"Perhaps. But what of it?"

"Wouldn't it make more sense to say you're like a big sister to me, or something?"

"Hmm... would that be preferable for you?"

Wave internally thought of referring to her as such.

"... Nope. That'd be even weirder." He found himself laughing, and Esdeath joined him.

"Well, now we should be able to enjoy a decent helping of fish before we head back home. Let's eat."

A/N: To answer the question of what Wave was off doing while Kurome was snuggling with Seryu.

Speaking of which, the following is another variant of the aforementioned Discord rant I did that started this fic in the first place, and I quote myself: "I just want to watch the gayest yuri bait scene of Kurome and Seryu snuggling together because Kurome had a nightmare and wanted to sleep with someone, give me my sick jailbait yuri fuel manga!"

Provided that context, here's what part of me wanted that scene to be:

The sight of the youthful glow returning to the girl's face, flushed and panting under her as she writhed under her fingers made a warmth fill Seryu's heart that she only felt around other, much younger children who bore similar expressions when they played with her.

"Say "uncle", Kurome~ Only then the tickles will cease!"

"Uncle, u-uncle!" Kurome giggled, and Seryu stopped as promised, Kurome looking up at her in an embarrassed way, pouting, before it grew into a smile.

Seryu's own smile only grew as Kurome gazed up at her, before Kurome reached up, gently stroking Seryu's cheek.

"... thanks for making me feel better, Seryu." She said, softly, gratefully, and Seryu felt her cheeks grow hot.

"A-Anytime." She stammered, minding the way her heart raced briefly, suddenly aware of how they stood in a comprising position, with her pinning the younger girl down on her bed.

She made to get up, but Kurome grasped her shoulder, pulling her down, eyes suddenly pleading.

"Can I... sleep here tonight?" She asked, soft smile dropping with vulnerability, and all internal resistance withered away inside of her.

"Of course." Seryu said without thinking, entranced. "Anytime."

Kurome guided her, laying her down atop of her, resting her head atop her chest, Seryu closing her eyes after a few moments, relaxing under the gentle strokes of Kurome's soft hand through her hair.