Chapter 25 Chapter 24 Towards the Sky

Omachi's body was cremated at the local Ikeda-machi crematorium.There, Kumiko learned about Omachi's life experience from Shiraki's conversation. Omachi Shinichi, whose real name is Machida Ryuichi, is a former Air Self-Defense Force jet fighter pilot.The jet fighter he was driving was hit by a thunderbolt and crashed into the Noto in mid-air. Feeling guilty, Machida resigned from his post and later searched for the remains of the Noto victims by himself. Machida was charged with professional negligence and aviation law violations.Although his trial is still going on, the court held that he would not escape illegally, so he was released on bail.He often left home, went out to search alone, and his whereabouts were often uncertain.

"Mr. Omachi belongs to that jet..." Kumiko was stunned, lost in infinite grief.Even if she knew Omachi's real name, she would never change her mind.Machida will always live in her heart as "Omachi". After a short period of being at a loss, Kumiko recalled Omachi's voice and smile one by one.The first time she met Omachi, she felt as if she had met him somewhere.It turned out that it was a photo in the newspaper that left a deep impression on her. The reason why he went into the mountain was to find the last remaining body—the body of Yucun.Later, the country and the airlines all thought that the search was hopeless, and he continued to search, because it was an accident caused by his own misjudgment!He regards this move as his duty.The shadow that hangs over him is this sense of solitary obligation.Ever since he met Kumiko and fell in love with him in Kurobe, this sense of duty has troubled him even more strongly.

Kumiko, the victim's wife, fell in love with the "assailant" Omachi.It is precisely for this reason that Omachi, on the one hand, pours out his love for Kumiko, but on the other hand keeps saying: "I am not qualified for this". The imprint of his unfinished and fierce love on Kumiko the eve of his death in the mountains is a concrete reflection of his distress. In the process of finding the whereabouts of Amamura with Kumiko, there are signs that Amamura does not seem to be on the Noto plane.If this were true, there would be no Omachi's share of responsibility, and the possibility of a lifelong love affair with Kumiko would increase.However, as far as Omachi is concerned, until this point is confirmed, he cannot escape from the state of self-restraint towards Kumiko.In order to realize the future that he and Kumiko dreamed of, he resolutely followed Dongzi and Matsuo into the mountain.

"Why do you need to find out about Yucun?" Kumiko burst into tears and looked towards the direction of the mountain.The mountain was rainy and cloudy, and the eyes were dark. Omachi filled the gap left by Amamura's departure.But Kumiko knew deeply that after Omachi left, the person who filled the void would not appear again.Even if there were, it would be too cruel for Kumiko to wait patiently. Smoke from the cremation of Omachi's body rises into the sky from the chimneys of the crematorium.As the smoke rose, Kumiko's sincere heart seemed to jump out of her chest. Machida Ryuichi's remains and relics were taken back by his parents from his hometown.Kumiko didn't want to leave any relics as souvenirs, although well-meaning parents might be happy to give her something.

"I don't need any relics, what I need is a living Omachi. I don't want to live in illusory memories. All I need is Omachi himself who holds me tightly in his arms and swears to be with me forever!" Kumiko confides her heart to Aoyama.The mountain was still shrouded in gloomy clouds, and there was no response. After Omachi was cremated, Fuyuko was sent to Tokyo, and Kumiko had no reason to stay any longer.Dragging her exhausted body, which was hardly her own, and after packing up her belongings, she suddenly received a long letter addressed to her.Turning over the envelope, she was taken aback.It turned out that the sender was Natori Fuyuko.

What did Dongzi write?She opened the envelope impatiently.On the neatly written letterhead it read: Kumiko cringed as she read.Dongzi's letter clearly wanted to reveal all the secrets of Yucun to her, but this secret was not even told to the police. Kumiko continued to read the letter. Dongzi's letter continued: Dongzi said in the letter that with the death of Natori Ichiro, her limited "quantity" of love was also exhausted.Kumiko felt that her "entity" had also been lost.Yes, at the same time that Omachi died, her "entity" had passed away.Reading Dongzi's letter only made her more convinced of it.

For Dongzi, is Yucun really just a stand-in?Kumiko put down the letter and thought to herself: Are Dokiya and Matsuo just "stand-ins"?So, what will be Omachi who sacrificed his life to rescue the "stand-in"? Omachi-Machida Ryu is by no means a substitute for Amamura to Kumiko.He is the only existence that cannot be replaced.Although it was only a short time, the imprint on her body and mind was forever indelible. On that occasion, bound by a sense of obligation, he had unnaturally refrained from expressing his love for Kumiko.He leaves a void that no one can fill.For Kumiko, this pointless self-restraint by Omachi was superfluous and unnecessary.

Omachi does not take any responsibility for the disappearance of Amamura.In order to make up for the mistakes he made, Omachi took the initiative to find Amamura and unfortunately died, but he did not achieve the purpose of making up for his mistakes at all.His death only threw Kumiko into the lonely darkness. "Cruel, so cruel!" Kumiko let out a long sigh.I remember she lamented the same thing when she went to Mt. Zhenmu to find Yucun's body.Back then, climbers chattered and laughed as they walked past the blurry, unrecognizable remains of the victims.Under the extremely sharp and strong contrast between life and death, Kumiko was moved by the scene, looking up at Xia Kong flying through the chaotic clouds, she couldn't help shouting "cruel!" Now, only death surrounds Kumiko.Amamura, who spent so long looking for him, is indeed dead, and my beloved Omachi has also passed away.

What meets Kumiko's empty eyes is the green mountain swallowed by dense dark clouds.Deep in the dark clouds, Omachi lost his life.He gave his life in vain for the relief of fallen men. Natori Toko once apologized to her for taking Amamura away.But how did she know that what was forcibly taken away from Kumiko was someone more precious.For Kumiko, only Omachi is her soul, her life, her everything. Kumiko still doesn't know how Omachi died.What Dongzi said to the police, she just heard something.In Dongzi's mind, Omachi is not even a double, but a veritable traveler who meets by chance.That evidence was the details about Omachi saving Fuyuko with his life, which was not mentioned in the letter at all.

"Cruel! Too cruel!" Kumiko looked up at the green hill and couldn't stop sighing.The other side of the mountain was getting darker and darker, and there was not even a ray of hope that could be seen.The office phone rang. "Ma'am, it's time to leave!" In order to vacate the room as soon as possible, the waiter was urging her to hurry. "Let's go!" Kumiko stood up with a heavy heart.The car has been waiting in front of the hotel for a long time. "Please drive to the station!" As soon as Kumiko finished speaking, the car drove away.

When they came, it was Kumiko and Omachi, or it was Fuyuko, Matsuo and Shiraki detective, a total of five people, but now she was the only one left walking back, towards the terrible city. Walking in loneliness and emptiness... When the car drove near the station, Kumiko suddenly turned around and looked towards Takayama.This is the last glimpse of Reluctant.Although it is only for a short moment, from the gap in the clouds, you can see the towering, tall and straight peaks among the mountain ranges. Kumiko suddenly felt that her beloved Omachi was calling her warmly. "Would you please drive to the cable car station?" Kumiko said to the driver. "Aren't you going to the train station?" "Changed my mind temporarily!" Kumiko wanted to climb to the summit that she had seen for a moment.It may be difficult to climb up with her own legs and feet, but she still has to work hard to climb up, wherever she goes. Omachi is waiting anxiously there!Kumiko gradually discovers this ultimate purpose. "In weather like this, even if you go up there, you won't see anything." "That's okay!" Kumiko replied.This is not just for mountain climbing, but to meet Omachi!The driver quickly turned the car around. Neither the cable cars nor the lifts were empty.Kumiko had been there before on the distance from the Heiling Plain to the first cairn, and the road would be unfamiliar if he went on.The cloud gap I saw from the foot of the mountain just now was no longer visible when I came here.Layers of clouds and mist that swarmed along with the plum rain front blocked her vision. Kumiko turned around and looked towards the foot of the mountain she had just left. There was a world of chaotic fog. It wasn't fog, but something was moldy and rotting there.In retrospect, wasn't the past two years spent in corrosion?This society is constantly corroding.Either I corrode you, or you corrode me.Be it Earthenware House, Matsuo, Amamura and Toko, Natori and Nakahashi, they are all part of this corroded structure.They are rolling, corroding, and destroying each other, but they are also intertwined together.What kind of world is this, and what kind of world is this! In Kumiko's view, whether it's atomic energy science, corporate power struggles, or "stand-in" love, until now, they all exude a suffocating stench of corruption. All she wants is true, pure love.Omachi was the only one who poured out this kind of love on himself.Omachi was not drawn into this corruption, but made a self-sacrifice in order to make up for his mistakes.Around Kumiko, Omachi was the only one who resolutely resisted the attack of corrosion.He is flawless and radiant.He is strong and rational.He did not even hesitate to give his life for the fulfillment of his established obligations. Kumiko looked up, thinking: ——Continue to walk along this road... ——Through this corrosive cloud, you can lead to the deep blue space that Omachi is waiting for! Kumiko felt as if Omachi was leading her into the endless clear sky. In her field of vision, there is a road like a silk ribbon, which stretches around the mountainside to the other side of the cloud and mist.That is the road leading to the sky connecting the sky. Kumiko never wanted to go down the mountain, and she continued to climb higher without looking back.A cloud of dense fog surged over, swallowing her whole body in an instant.So far, her figure walking towards the sky has changed from near to far, and she can no longer be seen. About a month later, that is, on July 12, Showa 40X, the innovative experiment of enriched uranium production conducted by the Chief Engineer of the First Research Office of the Central Research Institute of Material Research and Development was a great success.This is another new breakthrough after his colleague Masao Amamura achieved success a year ago, and it is an important research achievement with epoch-making significance. In the face of the continuous demand for nuclear fuel, all the efforts made by Amamura were in vain.