11 Detour

"How is she?" Shujinkou asked. He was barely able to keep himself composed, but he had to in front of everyone. If he lost to his emotions, then how could he expect the others to win against theirs?

The doctor sighed and turned back to Shujinkou with a sorrowful expression on his face, giving the boy the answer he didn't want.

"We tried everything we could, but… the damage was too much," the doctor reported. "She's… She's gone…"

"I see…" Shujinkou said.

He slowly bent down on one knee over the coffin that held the corpse as a single tear traced the right side of his face.

"Forgive me for not being there for you," Shujinkou wept. "I should have been there…"

He stood back up and turned back to his men. They were ready to follow any orders he would give.

"Do it," Shujinkou ordered.

His fellow soldiers surrounded the coffin and sealed the lid over the corpse. Words couldn't express the grief Shujinkou felt over the whole ordeal. He almost didn't want to watch what happened next, but he knew if he did that then he would be disrespecting the fallen.

He forcefully kept his eyes trained on the coffin as his men carried it to the edge of the base. They turned back to their boss and all he could muster was a silent nod. They slowly tipped the coffin over the edge and solemnly watched it descend towards the calm sea. After watching the mighty blue swallow its latest gift, Shujinkou sorrowfully closed his eyes to reflect.

"Goodbye," he whispered. "Goodbye…"

"Shujinkou?"

Shujinkou opened his eyes and realized that Sayori was staring at him with an expression that he doesn't usually see from her: true worry.

"What's wrong, Sayori?" he asked.

"I should be asking you that," Sayori responded. Shujinkou wasn't sure what she was referring to until she pointed to his right cheek. He cautiously traced the right side of his face and followed the trail of a tear from his eye all the way down to his chin.

"Oh this? I was just thinking about a very tearjerking moment from a video game I played," Shujinkou calmly replied. "Don't worry about it."

"Oh," Sayori replied.

The two continued to continue their daily journey home until Sayori noticed something interesting from the corner of her eye.

"Hey, Shujinkou…" Sayori said.

"Yeah?" Shujinkou replied.

"Let's make a detour!" she happily suggested.

"A detour?" Shujinkou repeated. The two of them never really went anywhere after school, so the suggestion really took him by surprise. What could she have in mind?

"Yeah! This way!" Sayori grinned. The excited girl took off and immediately tripped over her feet, causing her destination to change to the ground. Shujinkou quickly ran his fallen friend's side and helped her back to her feet.

"Was that your detour?" he chuckled.

"No," she also chuckled. "That is."

Shujinkou looked towards the direction Sayori pointed to and was surprised to spot an empty playground.

"We haven't been there in awhile," Sayori said.

"Yeah… But why would you want to go there now?" Shujinkou asked.

Instead of answering his question, Sayori simply giggled and skipped to the nearby swing set. He curiously followed her over to the swings and watched her plop into one of them.

"Haven't been on one of these for the longest time," she happily stated.

"Neither have I," Shujinkou added.

"Think you can still give me a push?" Sayori asked.

Shujinkou nodded his head and walked to the other side of the swing. As he reached for her back, his mind suddenly took him back to the childhood days they spent playing on this very playground.

"Shujinkou, what should we play today?" Sayori beamed.

"Um…" Shujinkou has been pondering that very question all day. "How about we race against the monkey bars?"

"Let's do it!" Sayori agreed.

The two eagerly jumped up a pair of steps and stopped at the edge that leads to the monkey bars.

"Whoever gets to end or hangs on the longest wins," Shujinkou instructed.

"Mm-hmm," Sayori muttered.

"On your marks… Get set… Go!" Shujinkou announced. The two kids jumped towards the monkey bars and Shujinkou latched onto the first one he could reach. Sayori, on the other hand, wasn't as lucky. Her worried friend quickly dropped down next to her and noticed a small scratch on her left arm.

"Sayori… you're hurt," he solemnly stated.

"It's no big deal," Sayori chuckled in response. "No need to worry."

Shujinkou took her arm and watch a small trail of blood trickle down it.

"No need to worry, huh?" Shujinkou dug through his pockets and pulled out a small napkin. He used it to wipe away the blood and then pulled a band-aid out for her scratch.

"You carry band-aids in your pocket?" she queried.

"Well, it's just in case you hurt yourself," Shujinkou smiled. He gently applied the band-aid over her wound and was surprised to see her cheeks turn bright red. "Are you feeling okay?"

"Mm-hmm!" Sayori nodded her head with a smile. "So what should we do now?"

"Um… How about we go on the swings?" he suggested.

"Okay!" Sayori beamed.

The two raced to the swings and plopped themselves firmly in them.

"Let's go!" Shujinkou said. He started to swing back and forth, gaining more height with each swing. The rush of the wind hitting his face and ability to see things from a higher point of view was something Shujinkou loved about swings and it was something he knew would never go away. But that feeling of excitement would soon go away as he noticed Sayori wasn't gaining any height herself.

He stretched his feet and used them as anchors to stop the swing from doing its job.

"What's wrong, Sayori?" Shujinkou asked his struggling friend.

"Can't… get… any… higher!" Sayori said between each struggling breath. She continued to struggle to push herself forward until she felt a pair of hands place themselves firmly on her back.

"Let me help," Shujinkou smiled.

"Okay!" Sayori nodded her head in agreement.

Using all his strength, Shujinkou pushed Sayori forward and caught her when she swung back to him. He continued this process again and again until she was able to go as high as the swing can take her.

"Hey Shujinkou…" Sayori said.

"Yeah?" Shujinkou answered.

"Do you think you'll be like this forever?" Sayori asked.

"Like what?" Shujinkou asked.

"Happy-go-lucky," Sayori answered.

Shujinkou couldn't help but laugh at Sayori's description of him. He knew that if anyone was "happy-go-lucky," that would be her.

"I don't know," Shujinkou shrugged. "Nothing really last forever. Though people do try."

"Can you try?" Sayori asked.

"Try what?" Shujinkou asked back.

"To stay happy," she answered.

"I guess…" Shujinkou shrugged. "I mean with a friend like you, that doesn't sound too hard to do."

"I'll do my best!" she beamed.

The memories of that moment caused a small smile to creep up on Shujinkou's face.

"You're smiling," Sayori giggled.

"Well, I was just thinking about you," Shujinkou said, giving her a strong push.

"Eh?" the flustered girl replied.

"I was just thinking about the past," Shujinkou said. "Back when we used to play here."

"Oh," Sayori grinned.

"It feels… surprisingly nice," Shujinkou grinned.

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