Are we Hunters or Partners??? I'm Confused! (Nana & Foster/Smith Partnership; So much chaos)

Friday, September 22nd
10:08 AM Local Time (PST)
School year following "It's Been a While"; Approx. a year after meeting Nana

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School had started almost two months previously, and the Foster-Smith trio seemed more than done with the whole ordeal. Jazz had finally passed her way through the basic curriculum but continued to attend classes for the sake of controlling her weapon form. Joseph had done likewise at a normal pace, for basic classes, but still needed help with the same control as his twin. To supplement the rest of his time, Joe had taken up student teaching of his own, mainly helping with classes geared more towards economics than weaponry or partnership. It also allowed him to be readily available if ever Lilian needed him. Lily, of course, did not; the DWMA was a school, just like any other, it just added to it more rigorous physical training and the need to work out a second "body" of sorts. New as she was, she was still coming home largely exhausted after weapon training sessions, but it did nothing if not make her more determined. Still, the first of the school breaks was approaching, and Joe wanted to at least get everyone out of the city, so he'd planned a shopping trip further out in Nevada for the four of them. Now, they just needed to wait for classes to end.

A lot has happened to Nana since her control unit was disabled. Most of these things were happy and lucky. Nunally was enjoying life and each morning was brighter thanks to her happy smile. The meister used the time before the school year started to learn everything a girl her age should know. About the law, about the economy and even politics. Even her A.I had never been as knowledge hungry as she was. When no one was around, Nana was practicing singing and in her opinion, she was getting better. She also has learned to cook, but if we're being honest, at the beginning she had a few... accidents... well, let's just say that the kitchen needed serious cleaning. However, she nowadays, Nana's cooking skills are on a decent level. Edible and tasty. At least in Nana's opinion.
Then the school year started. At first, Nana seemed a bit overwhelmed by everything, but then everything seemed easier. She told herself that she will never use her computer to cheat on tests. Even without her augments, Nunally's grades were great. She was also quite popular among other students. It seemed like everyone had forgotten about the "old Nana". To her surprise, she had even received a love letter from an anonymous fan, which... She read and quickly threw away into a bin, saying "Riiiight... Someone's just trying to make fun of me, I guess.".
Nunally loved spending time in school, but she preferred staying close to her weapons than making new friends. Anyway, the classes finally ended for that day and Nana was getting ready to leave the school and just go home to relax and play with Aristotle. She wanted to finally start working more with her weapons like proper meisters and weapons should do, but everyone seemed so busy with school and other stuff that she wasn't even asking them.

As he tended to, Joseph was waiting outside of his car for his two roommates when they were through with class. Less commonly, Jazz was also with him, talking to him casually and making plans for the day, which seemed to be going in one ear and out the other with them. Even with three quarters of the partnership being under the same roof, they didn't often spend time together, and Joe had every intention of changing that.

It took Nunally a while, but she finally joined her partners. The sight of the twins standing next to Joseph's car reminded her of the day they freed her from the A.I. The meister smiled as her heart started beating faster. For some reason seeing her partners was filling her with energy. "Hello there, fellow students!" Nana greeted them jokingly, waving her hand. She approached the two. "Any plans for today?" Nunally asked them, hoping they would be free for once. Nana really wanted to at least practice soul resonance with the two.

"For all of us." Joe said with a soft smile. "I thought-"

Lily appeared, seemingly out of nowhere, just when he was in the middle of talking. Her smile seemed full of energy but she look physically worn out.

Joseph laughed, "I thought we could all use a little bit of time away from the school. Weapon training has been taking a toll on Lilian, and Jasmine and I simply haven't done much outside of the school."

"Well... Maybe it won't be a training or anything but... Joseph has planned something. Finally I can spend some time with them..." Nunally thought, then looked at Lilian with worry. The girl definitely needed to rest a relax. Not only her but also Joseph and Jasmine. Nana had energy for everything, so relaxing & resting wasn't as important for her. "Mhm, you all are usually so busy." Nana said with her arms crossed over her chest. With a smile she asked- "So, what's the plan, Joseph?"

"A day out of Death City, for starters." he said, opening the passenger door for her. His sisters didn't say anything, but knew better than to try to get into their own spots in the car without him opening the door. It never went well when they tried.

Once the passengers took their seats in the car Nana started wondering; She hasn't left Death City since the first malfunction of her control unit. If her memory was correct, it happened at least half a year before. Nunally seemed excited. "So,
where exactly are we going?" The meister asked.

"Mall. Shopping. Things girls do." Jasmine punched the back of his seat and he laughed. "Mostly just out of the city and away from the Academy for a while. I thought it might help to have a change of scenery. "There is nature reserves, an amusement park or two, at least one aquarium..." He continued listing off various attractions throughout the state, freely allowing the others to choose. Honestly, he was willing to do most anything that wasn't in the heart of Vegas, itself.

Nunally listened carefully, nodding once Joseph stopped listing off the ideas for things they could do during their little trip. "Mhm... Sounds like a lot of fun. So... Where do we start?" She replied as countless little windows appeared on the HUD of her cyber lenses. Nana was going to do some research about the attractions in their area.

Lily shrugged, still so new to the area that she wasn't sure what would be interesting in the states. Jasmine, meanwhile was contemplating the options. "Well, it depends; do we want to go on rides or see animals or what?"

By an accident, Nunally found pictures of Las Vegas on a popular search engine. Hotels, casinos, all of them looked so expensive, so luxurious. The meister's jaw dropped when she saw a mini Eiffel Tower and a Sphinx. "Hey, can someone explain...What's the point of Las Vegas? I mean, does it exist only to serve entertainment?" Nana asked and she wanted a serious answer.

"Yes." The twins said, all too quickly, in perfect unison with one another. They both seemed a bit uncomfortable, Jasmine even flinching a bit in the back seat. Lily didn't dare to ask about the topic, instead looking ut the window and pretending to not hear the conversation at all.

"Gambling, sex, drugs, rock and roll... If you can name a vice, Vegas has it. It is popular for vacation spots and bachelor parties, but there's a reason it's called "Sin City.""

Nunally needed a moment to think. Not only Las Vegas sounded like a place she would prefer to avoid but also the twins seemed to know even more bad things about the place. The Meister did a quick research which proved that the place deserves to be renamed as "Sin city". In the end Nana sighed. "Yeah... That's definitely not the place I'd enjoy visiting... Too bad... The mini Eiffel tower and Sphinx look absolutely fantastic..." The Meister commented as she stared through the window. She had a feeling they will just end up window shopping somewhere away from Vegas

"It only does you any good at night." Joseph clarified, easing himself back to a sort of calm while he drove. "Nothing's on or active until night time. Besides, the crowds make it nearly impossible to get a good view of most of it."

Jasmine gave him a curious look, though even she wasn't sure why.

Nunally stared at Joseph, frowning slightly. He seemed to know a lot about Las Vegas. Which for some reason woke a yet another wave of curiosity in Nana's soul. "Have you... ever been there?" The Meister asked, as she titled her head to the side slightly. To Nana it seemed like Joseph has experienced something unpleasant which made him dislike The Sin City a lot.

"No. Well, technically. Maybe?" He shrugged, seeming disinterested in the topic. Soon, he was shooting a glare that could freeze even Jasmine back at her, through the rearview mirror. She shut her mouth, though she'd barely opened it.

Nunally just sighed quietly and closed her eyes. She felt the uneasiness mixed with a strange ache in her heart. Working with Jasmine and Joseph sometimes reminded her of being stuck between a hammer and an anvil. They were her friends, of course, but often she had troubles with understanding them. Seemingly, many topics were like a taboo around them and sometimes she just preferred to not talk at all to not say something that would make any of the siblings angry at her. Nana was bad at hiding her own feelings, so it was usually quite easy to read what was on her mind. This time, the meister just looked away and at the window.

Lily, meanwhile, was busy trying to figure out some games on her phone. As a result of such, she ended up ping!ing Nana's phone with a game request. It was one of those many word games that were advertised everywhere, with different modes for crossword puzzles, word searches, and every variety of word game one could think of. There was even hangman. The younger girl began mumbling to herself as she continued to try to figure out how to get the game to play. It seemed to not like her commands.

Because Nana's phone was directly connected to her computer and her cyber lenses to the device's screen, ping!ing it, opened a window on the HUD system, which blinded the meister for a second. Nunally rubbed her eyes, then looked at Lilian. "Want me to play with you..?" The meister asked, then she noticed that the girl apparently had some sort of problem with the game. Nunally raised her brow and asked- "Do you need help?"

"That.... would be appreciated." Lily said, handing the device over. It was a free game, so she'd managed to stick herself in a maze of advertisements when she tried to return to the home screen. It hadn't quite occurred to her to close and restart the app.

Nunally took a look at the device and shook her head. "Right, it's one of these apps..." The girl commented before simply killing the game's process and restarting it. "Let's see if it works correctly this time..." Nunally started scrolling through the game's options to make sure the app was usable, then she returned the phone to Lily. "Try now." Nana told her.

Lily took the phone gratefully, maneuvering to one of the word games once more and sending an invite towards Nunally. "Did it work?" She inquired.

Nunally had to set the app up on her phone though. It took her a few moments. She then proceeded to simply use her cyber lens as a display. The girl made sure everything was okay, before accepting the invite. "I think so... I've accepted your invite" Nana told her, smiling.

Giddy, Lily waited in the game's lobby for the server to catch up, instantly bringing them to a game akin to scrabble. Grasping the basics from the "Help!" options, Lily quickly began trying to form words out of the pieces she'd been given. The game set Nana up with the first turn.