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The alligator-youma loomed towards Bo, cornered in the alley, long jaws snapping with the threat of power and a terrible bite. The beast was bright purple instead of green, with teeth like razor blades and a clubbed tail. Barney the Dinosaur meets Jurassic Park, where Bo might have been the main course of a decidedly unhappy meal-- if it weren't for the Senshi of Volcanoes, who heeded the cries of plebeians and patricians alike. She was watching from the rooftop of a short apartment building when Bo's screams pierced the night air, and her heart.

She followed his sounds to the alley, blood rich with adrenaline, and launched herself off the nearest ledge without a second thought. Vulcan landed on her feet between youma and prey, grit her teeth against the pain that shot up up her thighs, and did her best to act as though that particular leap wasn't one of her less brilliant ideas.

The youma stalled for a moment, black eyes reflecting the image of Sailor Vulcan as she straightened, ready for battle, hair falling around her shoulders like dark fire.

"Bo," Vanessa spoke through Vulcan to address her friend. She shot a glance at him over her shoulder. "Do you wanna power up?"

Not that Vulcan couldn't dust a silly old youma on her own.

Being a member of the Blood Moon Court had taught Vulcan how to work on a team. The years that she'd spent since then, punching everything wrong that crept out of Destiny City's corrupted bowels, had returned to Vulcan the confidence that she'd lost in the wake of Ares' departure. And in Gehenna's absence she'd taken to fighting on her own again. Remembered that she was a strong, independent woman who didn't need no man. She was a warrior in her own right, now. Still not exactly sure what she was doing, but much better at pretending as though she was.

Marginally useful or not, Bo was safer as Sailor Neso than he was as himself. Vulcan smiled to see him transformed, and was so touched by his excitement that she forgot, just for a second, about the reason she'd come to his aid in the first place.

"It has been forever!" she said, recalling all of the reasons she preferred Bo to Delphine at once, "I'm sorry I never called, I should have-

The youma cut off the end of her sentence when it snapped at Neso's legs, and forced Vulcan's heart into her throat. She exhaled with relief when Neso managed to leap out of the way, and even laughed when he ran on it's back.

Oh Bo. Vanessa loved him a little bit. Not like she was supposed to love her boyfriend, but like she loved everyone who was good.

"Don't say sorry," a sense of urgency transformed Vulcan's beaming face into a scowl when the youma knocked him over. She jumped backwards on a pair of long legs when the beast gnashed at her with its teeth, and wondered how the ******** they were supposed to kill something that might as well have been an alligator. "Just don't die."

The youma's tail slashed back and forth, aware of the Senshi of Summer, attempting to whack him with it's club.

"Neso," Vulcan said, "I have an idea! Grab it's tail!"

Easier said than done, all things considered.

Whatever Neso lacked in competence he made up for with enthusiasm. Vulcan watched as he was thrown about on the youma's tail, eyes bright with an alarm that was swiftly giving way to excitement. This was absolutely not what she'd had in mind, when she'd ordered Neso to grab the beast by the tail, but it was funny.

And Bo was still alive.

For a moment Vulcan forgot that she'd even had a plan at all, and watched the youma spin in circles, snapping at Bo's ankles-- whose face might have been turning a little bit green. Guilt swelled suddenly in Vanessa's heart, and she promised herself that she'd make this up to him.

First by making sure he didn't die. Or vomit up all of his dinner.

"Hold on, hold on," Vulcan said, a plea on her voice. She launched herself into the fray with more concern for Bo's life than her own, and accidentally kicked him in the chin when she leapt onto it's back.

"Sorry!" She shouted, doing her best to stay seated when the beast stopped spinning in circles and started trying to buck them both off. Vulcan gripped it's sides with her bare legs, thigh muscles firm and strong, leaning forwards in order to poke out the youma's beady black eyes.

One moment she was straddling a beast the size of an alligator, struggling to hold on with her hands and her thighs, wondering how in the name of the moon they were going kill it. And the next-- the youma was simply gone, vanished in the wake of a blast of heat that filled the alley and goosed up the back of her booty shorts.

She blinked, heart still thrumming to the beat of war. It was a moment before Vulcan realized the battle was actually over, and that Bo was laughing.

Laughing because they'd won. He'd dusted it. The look on his face told Vulcan all she needed to know about how good he felt, despite his bloody forearms.

"Neso!" she said, joining in his laughter, scrambling to wrap him in a hug from the side. Vulcan planted a kiss on one one of Neso's cheeks, and cheered in his ear. "I didn't know you could do that! That was so awesome!"

Blood from Neso's arms stained the white of Vulcan's fuku, but she was too wrapped up in him, celebrating what she considered his victory, to notice. She was laughing too, infected by his joy. But Bo had always been like this. Friendly, smiling, and simple. After struggling through the awkwardness that was her strained friendship with Kam, who seemed sometimes to smile for everyone but her, Vanessa thought it was lovely to reunite with someone who didn't insist on complicating the piss out of everything.

Not that Vanessa blamed Kam. She was, after all, the one who'd kissed him. Twice. Despite the boyfriend that she was supposed to love.

"I'm pretty good," she told Neso earnestly, bright eyes shining. "and Kam's... alive, at least. I dunno. He was gone for two years and he's back now, so you can probably just ask him yourself. I can give you his new number if you want."

She brushed dark curls out of her face, and turned her attention to Neso's wounds. Her cheeks were tinged pink. Vanessa could feel how warm they were. Whether it was a leftover effect of the battle they'd shared in, or a result of discussing Kam, whom she actually did love, she couldn't say.

"You know," there was a playful tone in her voice, "we should probably get you some band-aids or something before sending you to the front lines."

"Here," Vulcan said, voice soft, touched by the idea that he'd rather sit there bleeding than forfeit her company. She reached for his scarf, pried it gently from his fingertips, "let me see."

She knew better than to read more into Neso's words than he probably meant by them, but could hardly allow him to sit there bleeding, no matter how superficial the injury, while she regaled him with stories about her life. Bo was so sweet. He deserved better than that.

"Come on," she grinned, seizing Bo by the hand and getting to her feet. "If we go somewhere we can power down, I'll clean you up."

And then he'd probably be lucky if he could get away from her. The only thing that came more naturally to Vanessa than affection was talking, and Bo had done a very good job of reminding her that they had a lot of catching up to do.

"Life is pretty okay," she said, pulling him along after her, "I'm still waitressing. More of the same, really. Some guy in a fancy suit gave me his card the other day and asked if I maybe wanted to model some bathing suits for him. I dunno how legit he was, though. Couldn't really keep his eyes up here," Vulcan pointed at her face, "if you know what I'm saying."

"OH!" she added, eyes brightening suddenly with excitement, "I got my belly button pierced! I'll show you later."

It was hard for her to pick one train of conversation, when there was so much to fill him in on.

"What about you? How are things?"