[ He thinks he'd rather go get lost in the mountains than wherever Maverick is dragging him out to, but maybe if he stalls enough he can get the right location by the 20th question once they're on the way and he can cheat off whatever's at the end of the bus route. ]
It's 20 questions, I ask 20 questions and you're obligated to answer them~ Truthfully, with no passes!! That's how I've always played it!
[That's a lot of effort to go through when he could have just asked him straight out instead of prattling on and suggesting a game in the first place.]
20 related questions. Don't have to be an expert to figure that one out. Next?
[ This is good; that means anywhere they go from now on that requires money, Maverick will have to treat him. Gotta save every bit of bus fare that he can. ]
Somewhere outdoors, near the edge of town, but not in the mountains... Are we... maybe... playing in traffic??
[Mm. Kind of a bummer, and now he feels weirdly self conscious about the destination and the decision to play this stupid game. It was like he was hyping up a big shitty box of nothing. But maybe there will be a motorbike there and he can take pictures of Kano pretending to ride it, or something... Mentally crossing imaginary fingers for a shitty motorbike.]
[ Oh. Oh, okay, what's a step down from a motorbike? ]
A regular bike shop?
[ Because he's never really ridden a bicycle, either, and maybe he should take his grand scheme one step at a time and learn how to balance on one of those first. ]
[ They're... kinda big and could probably kill a man with a single kick of their hind legs, but scary doesn't mean assholes. 20 questions is tough, though, when he's got so little to work with.
A gift. Outside. Traffic. Maybe the association isn't with vehicles, but the traffic lights? Traffic signs?? ]
Hm~ Did you find an abandoned stop sign somewhere, 'cause that'd be pretty cool to have! I could hang it on my door~
[ Good, good, he's in the right direction again! It's not a sign shop, though that'd be cool to find and get a whole stack of stop signs. Outdoors means Maverick's not dragging him to a hellhole that's the French equivalent of a DMV. ]
Is it a normal, everyday neighborhood and we're stealing stop signs?
[ Orihime thinks he's twelve or something??? He could probably pass off for twelve... And he's not sure Maverick ever found out how old he actually is, just as Kano never cared to dig around and find Maverick's age. ]
Did you really do that when you were fourteen? Do you have a collection of signs sitting around your room back home? If they're just sitting around collecting dust, give 'em to me~
Hey, hey, if I'm four years younger and in the same classes, doesn't that make me the smart one!?
[ Or Maverick's the dumb one... But he can't see that. Kano's only an 11th grader only by technicality anyways, and probably should be bumped down to a lower level so he can have a better chance of learning the basics and keep up, but nah, nah, he'll manage. ]
Curry arrows... Dunno what that is, but it sounds confusing! You probably prevented traffic accidents by nabbing it~ But alright! That's a large jump from three to twelve!! Is it a yard sale? That doesn't count as a shop, right?
[Hm... He doesn't know if that should count as a shop or not.]
It's not something where you'd need money to get what you want. By which I mean nobody fucking expects money in exchange, wether you use your five finger discount or not.
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[That was such a lovely job selling it to him, just...gosh. Let him go buy hiking boots right now.]
Pretty sure that's not how 20 questions works, either. Stay on task, cricket.
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It's 20 questions, I ask 20 questions and you're obligated to answer them~ Truthfully, with no passes!! That's how I've always played it!
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20 related questions. Don't have to be an expert to figure that one out. Next?
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Fine, alright... Is it some place outdoors? 'cause if it's indoors and there's an admission fee, I'm telling you right now I have no money on me!
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Somewhere outdoors, near the edge of town, but not in the mountains... Are we... maybe... playing in traffic??
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Ooh, strangely you're actually getting warmer. But no.
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A motorbike shop!!!!!!
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It ain't that grand a fucking gift.
[Mm. Kind of a bummer, and now he feels weirdly self conscious about the destination and the decision to play this stupid game. It was like he was hyping up a big shitty box of nothing. But maybe there will be a motorbike there and he can take pictures of Kano pretending to ride it, or something... Mentally crossing imaginary fingers for a shitty motorbike.]
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A regular bike shop?
[ Because he's never really ridden a bicycle, either, and maybe he should take his grand scheme one step at a time and learn how to balance on one of those first. ]
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[Just. gonna cut him off that line of thought.]
What fucking number are we on?
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[ He doesn't know, but outdoors, something to do with traffic, it's around three-ish. ]
Is iiiiiitt... a pony ride?
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[Feels like...at least twelve. He knows it's less than that, though. Unfortunately.]
Horses are assholes, so ponies are miniature assholes, so no.
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[ They're... kinda big and could probably kill a man with a single kick of their hind legs, but scary doesn't mean assholes. 20 questions is tough, though, when he's got so little to work with.
A gift. Outside. Traffic. Maybe the association isn't with vehicles, but the traffic lights? Traffic signs?? ]
Hm~ Did you find an abandoned stop sign somewhere, 'cause that'd be pretty cool to have! I could hang it on my door~
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[Question number Who Actually Knows, so it doesn't matter, but it's the principle of the thing. The next guess is encouraging again.]
There might be one. Definitely gotta have some kind of sign somewhere.
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Is it a normal, everyday neighborhood and we're stealing stop signs?
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I’m not fucking fourteen anymore.
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[ Orihime thinks he's twelve or something??? He could probably pass off for twelve... And he's not sure Maverick ever found out how old he actually is, just as Kano never cared to dig around and find Maverick's age. ]
Did you really do that when you were fourteen? Do you have a collection of signs sitting around your room back home? If they're just sitting around collecting dust, give 'em to me~
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[Which he only knows for sure because of the Pepita job.]
I was more about random knick knacks, not street signs. We did it once, though.
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[ Or Maverick's the dumb one... But he can't see that. Kano's only an 11th grader only by technicality anyways, and probably should be bumped down to a lower level so he can have a better chance of learning the basics and keep up, but nah, nah, he'll manage. ]
What sign did you pick up?
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[It would be Impossible.]
Uhh. One of those curvy arrow ones. Nothing exciting. I’m gonna say you’re at 12/20.
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Curry arrows... Dunno what that is, but it sounds confusing! You probably prevented traffic accidents by nabbing it~ But alright! That's a large jump from three to twelve!! Is it a yard sale? That doesn't count as a shop, right?
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It's not something where you'd need money to get what you want. By which I mean nobody fucking expects money in exchange, wether you use your five finger discount or not.
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