Chapter Text
2:00 p.m.
White hair spread across the pillow... all white sheets...
Xeno opened his eyes... saw the sight of electricity poles on the road...
There was a T-junction there... grassy land and sandy mountains with hard rocks
(sighing)
(he faintly hears the sound of a glass being moved...)
Xeno lies on his side... there are black transparent silk stockings up to his thighs on both legs...
“Ehm,”... that's Stanley Snyder's voice.
Xeno is a little surprised... he turns around... sees a blonde-haired man... standing in front of the study table...
There was a bowl of fruit there. “These are grapes and melon, with honey.”
Xeno nodded...
Without lifting his body at all, he shifted like an eel. Oh, the dress he was wearing was the palest pink and bone white with alternating horizontal stripes.
He lowered his right leg... three-quarters of the way, just letting it hang there...
His palm almost touched... the moss green carpet on Stanley's bedroom floor...
The cotton dress was three centimeters above his exposed knees, which were slightly raised... Xeno stared at Stanley's face... who was still looking at the hem of his clothes.
Stan looked up. He glanced briefly at the ugly fan. Then he pulled out the chair and sat down casually... the cushion was made of rubber...
Xeno got up from the bed... approached Stanley... sat down beside him...
There was a short tube-shaped object in the middle of the table.
Stanley picked it up. (Shaking his head) “Want to restart it?”
Xeno rolled his eyes (sighing). Stanley suddenly smoothed Xeno's long bangs that had fallen out a little. The other person picked up a cell phone and started eating fruit with a small fork.
Stanley had been watching Xeno all this time. Then he gave him a bottle of water.
“Can you help me check something, Stan?”
“Hm?”
Xeno turned his head, stood up, and walked to the bed..
He sat on the edge.. “Come here”
Stanley looked serious..
“Here, Stan,” the white-haired man pointed.. The area 10 cm above his knee... behind the cotton dress... Xeno frowned, “Is it red? Quick, help me check it!” He panicked.
“Be quiet, Xeno,” whispered Stanley...
The two boys had looked at the open door three times... .
“Hm...” . The blond-haired boy was crouching down. Both of his hands touched the white-haired boy's knees.
He opened it slightly, Xeno pulled the fabric until the edge of his stockings was visible. There was white skin above the edge of the black fabric. Stanley leaned forward. No longer crouching. His knees pressed against the carpet, he... used his thumb and the other four fingers to press the soft spot... Hm... there wasn't a single trace here. Ah, Xeno's super mini shorts... which were actually red...
Stanley's left hand felt the round can with the citrus logo on it. There was cold jelly inside. The boy sank his fingers into it...
Xeno looked out the window. “Let's go to the secret base.” He turned his head because of the cold. And looked down... finding... another boy, resting his head on his knees... while carefully rubbing...
“We have to change clothes.”
“I don't want to, Stan.”
Stanley slowly walked towards the door.. And took two pairs of army boots. “Wear these.” He grabbed Xeno's feet and put them on..
Standing up again, he opened the closet. He quickly put on a parka jacket, then opened a small drawer at the bottom of the closet.. There was an identical parka, but embroidered with an X logo. “Put this on too.”
Stanley took a green army baseball cap from the hanging closet.. and a sun hat. “Come on.”
The two boys headed to the garage,
(CREAK.) Stanley pushed the door open, there was a modified mountain bike..
**
(Ring-ring)..
The blond-haired boy pedaled his bicycle with all his might..
Xeno behind him was still playing with his cell phone. Xeno clutched Stanley's sky blue shirt around his waist..
His arms wrapped around Stanley's waist from the front to the side..
Oh, Stanley hummed..
(a black sedan passes by)..
Xeno tightens his embrace.. his cheek rests on the blond-haired boy's back. while scrolling through a series of short abstracts from a dozen articles from Google Scholar .. (Krittt..)
“Xeno...” the person straightens up..
(HAP.)
He jumped off the front basket of the bicycle..
**
Xeno bent over.. he was panting...
Damn, (in Xeno's heart) ..
Stanley watched him from five steps away... without saying anything. .
Xeno looked up.
There was a small space three meters away, with a tin roof and wooden walls...
The door was made of curtain fabric! It was a half-finished kiosk or... a makeshift shelter to mark the area of an ancient tomb...
There were many buildings like this, scattered throughout the mountain.
The children of the housing complex had claimed each one as their personal headquarters.
Stanley turned around. He approached the entrance, pulled back the curtain, and stood there... until the white-haired boy managed to enter, panting heavily... (srtt...) He closed it again.
Shady... a little dark... (Sreengsit...) The blond-haired man struck a wooden match and lit the wick... (Ckit...) Xeno turned the gas lighter. He lit the modified candle, its light bright... exactly like an LED. The scent of citrus wafted through the stuffy room... coming from the lamp oil... thankfully... a gentle breeze softly swayed the headquarters' curtains... thought the two boys.
“Stanley Snyder, it's quiz time!”
The blond boy took his cell phone. He sat down on a slightly high wooden bench that ran along the edge of the headquarters wall.
(crunch crunch)
(aluminum foil opened)
There were three cookies there and five avocado coffee candies. Stanley took the cookies.
Xeno glanced at the other person's mouth movements... his small red tongue... touching his not thin lips... hmm, Xeno stood on a flat piece of wood...
Stanley looked up... He was still chewing while watching the white-haired boy tiptoe around, feeling his way through the storage space between the attic and the top of the wall...
Xeno peered outside the headquarters from a zinc hole. (Dreettt) He slid the mud-patterned iron box. Then he brought it down.
The boy in the stocking jacket crouched slowly, then sat politely on the flat wood.
"Stan, the rules of the game this time are a little different. I'm sure you'll lose—“ Stanley frowned. ”I mean, I want you to lose..." Stanley's eyes looked down. He took a second cookie...
“Stan! We're going to crack the strangest code ever. The winner gets to make the loser their dog for a whole day...”
Stanley raised his eyebrows.
He leaned against the wooden wall. He took a carton of milk, pierced it, and drank normally. Then he scrolled through thousands of photos of past codes that he and Xeno had solved. He swiped the screen to the right. He typed something.
The boy Xeno was busy copying certain codes on his tablet from an anonymous online forum.
**
(sshrrrt...)
A transparent liquid was sprayed on a small animal. It was an instant preservative.
Stanley wore latex gloves. There were wet traces on the floor of the headquarters. Xeno's hair was still a little damp.
“What's the hidden message in this secret code, Stan?”
Stanley pushed the trash can... past the front curtain...
(the sound of wheels turning on sandy ground... moving away) .
(the sound of rustling cans) ....
(the sound of wheels turning closer) ...
Stanley pulled back the headquarters curtain... the boy sprayed his hands with a lot of hand sanitizer...
“This isn't a code about ancient animals or any events in the past. It's a clue about someone's identity, Xeno...”
The blond-haired boy grabbed another boy's hair... he wiped the wet tissue on the white hair...
“Ishigami?” he said...
Xeno clicked his tongue... “Stan... who do you think are the most important members of the forum?”
“I suspect one person with a 70% probability.”
Xeno turned his head,
“I even met him at the district supermarket last night,” added the blond boy...
Xeno's eyes lit up... "But, the master is not obliged to tell his dog everything, Xen- (PLUK.)
A frozen beetle stuck to the blond boy's cheek. Xeno got up... he was about to run out... his elbow was caught. He was pulled back a little and pinned between the edge of the wooden seat and Stanley's body...
“I didn't mean to! I didn't do it on purpose, Stanley! Little boy!” he cursed.
“Liar!” replied the blond boy.
Xeno bent his knees slightly and climbed onto the flat board.
Stanley stepped forward... pressing the edge of the wood!
He pressed both of Xeno's palms against the wall, spread wide apart from each other...
He pressed Xeno's palms against the wall, spread wide apart from each other.
Xeno brought his knees together but spread his calves apart! Because Stanley Snyder's thighs were wedged between them! “Don't be a pushover! Get rid of that ladybug, Stan!”
“Heh!” replied Stanley. He stacked Xeno's palms together, gripping them tightly but not pressing hard, so they stuck to the wall together.
Then he used his other hand to grab the stiff ladybug and bring it close to Xeno's soft cheek! “Aa... don't do it! Don't, Stan!”
“Heh!” he said again. (sreeeenggtttttt) (PUH.)
The headquarters curtains opened.. Selina Snyder stared at the two boys with a blank, bored expression! ...
Outside, the sky was very gray and cloudy.. Selina had three umbrellas in her hands..
**
(clink-clink)
(the sound of stirring orange syrup, the clinking of ice cubes with a stainless steel spoon) ..
(the creaking of wooden chairs being moved).
The two boys are staring at a 24-inch computer screen.
The bedroom window is tightly shut. The room is lightproof.
The whole room is brightly lit... the atmosphere is bluish...
There is a 24-hour supermarket display on the monitor, monitored via the Google Maps website...
“I saw her here,” Stanley points to the tiles on the Indomarket terrace.
“Wearing a lavender sweater, matching pants... and rattan flip-flops,” adds Stanley...
“Did you take a picture of him?”
Stanley nodded. He reached into his army green cotton pants pocket and took something out.
Xeno leaned down... his forehead touched Stanley's.
There was a picture of a boy with asymmetrical bangs on the cell phone. Xeno frowned.
“I contacted him three days ago, he was very interested in the same topic as me. So we—” Xeno glared at Stanley. “What topic, Stan?” The blond boy grinned! He grabbed Xeno's cheek... rubbing their cheeks together! “Anyway, it's a topic!” he replied... Xeno turned to the side. “But I want to know, Stan...” he whispered... and kissed Stanley...
Stanley's breathing slowed. He seemed to think for a moment...
“Ishigami... um...” he said softly... The blond boy raised his hand. “Ishigami Senku. That's the full name of the person who posted the code on the forum.” He stroked Xeno's hair.
“I'm not sure, but I think this kid likes Senku,” added Stanley.
Xeno raised his eyebrows.
"He said... Senku has green hair... and, yes... Ryusui has blond hair..."
“From the forum too?”
Stanley nodded...
“I see...” Xeno muttered.
“And, and...” Stanley grabbed the white-haired boy's cheeks. “I propose a jitsi meeting... and this boy is willing to be the host, Xeno...”
Xeno blinked several times. “What should we call him? Does he know Stanley's name?”
The blond boy muttered, mm mm... “He knows Xeno's name too...”
Xeno chuckled... and sighed.
Stanley observed Xeno's soft lips...
“STAN! BOY!”
Xeno frowned.
It was Snyder, Selina Syner, shouting from the dining room of Stanley's house.
"BRING XENO OUT, LET'S HAVE DINNER AT THE CAFE! BOBBY HAS PICKED ME UP—Darkness. . . Selina's scream echoed throughout the house. . . Sudden power outage!
Stanley grabbed Xeno, .. nowhere to be seen, “Cell phone..” said the white-haired boy. Stanley tapped it twice, the screen lit up. . touched it for three seconds..
“Turn on the flashlight”
The white light shone straight onto the curtains..
(sigh).
Xeno stood up, grabbed Stanley's wrist... they passed through the bedroom door...
“AAAAAHH” (Xeno's scream...)
Selina appeared suddenly!
“Xeno... this is Selina...” said the short-haired girl... She glanced at Stanley briefly.
“Maybe the fuse blew. Bobby is checking it.”
Selina tapped her phone screen. It was 7:00 p.m.
“Do you want to ride with Bobby in his car, or take a taxi together?”
“Just order delivery, there's a Jitsi meeting.”
(drrtt... drrttt..)
The three of them glanced at the name *Natalia* on the phone. Xeno blinked. Selina immediately ran toward the kitchen. “Bob, Bob... Natalia... she's waiting!” she shouted anxiously. The two boys looked at each other.
**
“How long will the lights stay out?” Xeno sat down and slumped limply on Stanley's bed.
“Until Bobby fixes the fuse. We could do it ourselves, but Selina would definitely get mad,” Stanley said flatly.
“Haaaaa ahhhh!” Xeno sighed dramatically.
“Does Selina really care about that girl Natalia?”
Stanley tensed up. He rubbed his thumbs together.
“Bobby always comes here, isn't he jealous?”
Stanley blinked. He ruffled his hair, then stood up and walked over to the bed.
He sat down next to Xeno, who was lying on his side facing him.
“Natalia came here once...” he said suddenly.
“Crying.”
“Hm?”
Stanley bent down slightly. He grabbed the white-haired boy's shoulders, making him sit up. Oh, Stan is looking at him nervously? thought Xeno.
The blond boy brought his face closer... both hands still on Xeno's shoulders, but had moved closer...
“And hugged Selina...” Oh... Xeno let Stanley hug his neck...
Stan posed very stiffly...
He tried to find a comfortable angle...
Xeno lifted his leg, now sitting fully on the blanket. And bent his knees.. so Stanley could get closer..
Still not close enough... (in Stan's heart..)
“They're kissing on the mouth, Xeno..” Stanley whispered..
“Mm”