Masked Rider, but kindhearted

Chapter 27: Longing for Heaven to Make Her Bloom

"Ms. Yuka, if the threatening letter was not written by you for revenge, then... do you have any evidence that Saotome is involved in this?" Tendo Souji sat back on the sofa, keeping a little distance to avoid the other party's physical attack.

Under the dim light of the cheap apartment, Yuka Ozawa did not answer his question directly. Instead, she picked up the exquisitely packaged dance shoes on the coffee table, and stroked the outline of the shoes with her fingertips through the dust bag, her expression full of nostalgia.

She lowered her head and said in a sad tone:

"Mr. Tiandao, let me tell you my story—the story of a down-and-out dancer and a useless daughter..."

Ozawa Yuka gently took off her suspenders, completely exposing the memory port. "I lost my father when I was young, and it was my mother who raised me single-handedly."

"He's plain-looking, has no special skills, and has a woman with him as a burden... No one likes him."

"But I had a happy childhood. I never had enough to eat or wear warm clothes. My mother was willing to spend money for me to learn dancing..."

Tendo Souji listened quietly. He looked at the woman opposite him who was saying "happiness" while tears kept flowing silently on her face. He took out a tissue and handed it to her.

"My mother's health was not good to begin with, but she worked so many jobs to try to be strong that she eventually fell ill due to overwork... Fortunately, I was already a famous dancer by then, which was enough to cover the high long-term medical expenses." Ozawa Yuka smiled self-deprecatingly, but the smile on her pretty face was uglier than crying.

Yuka Ozawa took several deep breaths, but still couldn't control her sobs and burst into tears.

Tendo Souji frowned and wiped the tears from her eyes with a tissue: "Ms. Yuka, there's no need to force yourself... The most important thing is the future."

"What do you know?" Ozawa Yuka's mood became even more broken. "That's my mother! Because I was framed and retired, I had no money for treatment... She died in front of me!"

She even threw her cherished dancing shoes to the ground and slammed her hands on the table, completely shedding her previous disguise. She was like a rose that looked beautiful from a distance, but had thorns when she looked closely.

"Mr. Tiandao... do you know the sound when a dialysis machine stops working?" She smiled sickly and imitated the sound. "Beep—does it sound like the final bell at the end of a stage performance?"

"My mother's last wish was to see me dance one more time, but I could only take her to the funeral home in a wheelchair!" Ozawa Yuka became more and more excited as she spoke. She pulled out a green memory stick from her chest and kept repeating, "I must kill them, I must kill them..."

Tendo Souji felt something was wrong and reached out to grab her wrists, preventing her from using her memory immediately.

"Ms. Yuka, please wake up and don't let your memories get to you!" In order to regain her sanity, he locked eyes with her. "Ms. Yuka, who are you referring to by 'they'? Aren't Saotome the only one who framed you?"

Tendo Souji frowned. He felt a tingling sensation in the dark green memory, as if his legs were being broken one by one.

With the power of this memory, he seemed to be able to briefly empathize with some of the pain that the other person had experienced.

Hearing 'Saotome', Ozawa Yuka was stunned for a moment, and then became even more crazy.

"If you want revenge, you can't be controlled by this power... I will help you." Tendo Souji endured the severe pain, followed his instinct, released his grip on her hand, stroked her head with a smile, and answered her calmly and affirmatively.

It seems to be effective...

Yuka Ozawa was still holding on to the memory stick, but her face showed signs of struggle.

"Ms. Yuka, you didn't entrust me with the task just to start a fight with me... We should be in a cooperative relationship." Seeing that she was confused, Tendo Souji took the opportunity to intensify his verbal offensive.

The pain like a thousand needles piercing her heart receded like the tide, and Yuka Ozawa stared blankly at the thorn memory in her hand that was glowing with a faint light.

Tendou Souji leaned over to pick up the dancing shoes she had dropped, dusted off the bag, and gently placed it on her lap. He said softly, "Ms. Yuka, your mother probably wants to see you continue dancing for your passion...not completely ruin your dancing career out of hatred."

"But Mom..." Ozawa Yuka's fingertips, painted with light green manicure, dug deep into her palms, and the memory interface on her collarbone felt faintly hot. "My legs hurt every night. Every night I dream of being surrounded by thorns. Mom is in the audience, wanting to see me dance...but I can only squat behind the scenes and cry."

"You haven't used this power to harm anyone yet, which proves your soul hasn't been consumed by pain." Tendou Souji approached her, sitting so his thighs were almost touching hers. He held up his dancing shoes to show her, "Look, they're brand new, and your body is back to health. You've been waiting for an opportunity... to seek revenge with real dance moves, not monster power."

Yuka Ozawa shuddered all over, tears wet her collar, she looked at her dancing shoes and stammered but couldn't say a word... This was clearly what she had always dreamed of, putting on her dancing shoes and dancing again - but she was afraid that she was no longer qualified to dance freely.

"If you let your memories eat away at your mind, you'll end up becoming the next Saotome... Would your mother be proud of such a daughter?"

Tendou Souji held up the back of her hand with his palm and said earnestly, "Ms. Yuka, look, these are a pair of hands as beautiful as flowers. They shouldn't be stained with blood."

"Then what should I do..." Yuka Ozawa looked up at the ceiling and cried, closing her eyes in pain.

"Live." Tendo Souji held her trembling wrist with his right hand, and with his left hand he naturally took the memory from her hand and placed it on the other side of the coffee table.

The corner of his mouth twitched, and after adjusting to the pain, he said seriously, "Use your proud dance to defeat them squarely."

"As for those sins that cannot be seen in public—I will cut them off."

After Ozawa Yuka was freed from the influence of the memory, she suddenly became much more sober. She slowly opened her eyes and stared at the man in front of her, and vaguely saw the withered but gentle smile of her mother on her deathbed.

After a long time...she took the memory stick on the coffee table and put it into his pocket without waiting for Tendo Souji to say anything.

Tendou Souji breathed a sigh of relief. He thought that all his advice just now had gone in one ear and out the other by this woman.

——Before he could relax, he tensed up again because of the delicate body that crashed into his arms...

"Mr. Tendō..." Ozawa Yuka practically threw Tendō Souji onto the small sofa. She was clearly dressed simply, her face bare of makeup, yet she looked incredibly charming, her peach blossom eyes sparkling. "Can you teach me... how to make flowers bloom from this thorny bush?"

Soft dumplings, warm breath, ambiguous words...

Tendo Souji, a man who is proficient in everything from life to battle and who thinks he can do anything... is now in chaos for the first time in his life.

......

......

Chapter 28 Shotaro didn't understand, but was greatly shocked

"Mr. Tiandao... your heartbeat is disturbing me."

On the tidy and warm single bed, Yuka Ozawa used Souji Tendo as a pillow, but because of the difference in body shape, she looked like she was curled up in his arms.

Her fingertips stroked the other's tense chest. The dancer who had taken off her disguise was like a thorny vine, trapping Tendo Souji in the light green bedding.

He couldn't bear to watch the other person's shoulder strap slipping down, so he reached out to pull it up for her... Because the clothes were a little tight, she even moaned softly?!

Tendo Souji turned his face away to avoid seeing more exposed parts, but Ozawa Yuka puffed up her cheeks in dissatisfaction, feeling embarrassed and annoyed:

"What?... You pretended not to notice when you were comforting me yesterday..."

"Ms. Yuka, it's normal that you can't sleep well in this position." Tendo Souji gently pulled away her fingers that were hooked around his neck, got up from the bed and straightened his wrinkled clothes.

The good news is that after his guidance, Miss Yuhua temporarily gave up the idea of ​​violent revenge.

The bad news is that after his guidance, the other party seemed to want to "eat" him.

last night......

He also had the responsibility to protect the client's safety, so he originally wanted to sleep on the sofa - but Miss Yuka claimed that it was too tiring, and if he wanted to get a good rest, he had to go into the house with her, as her bed was very big.

After a friendly discussion, and with him drawing his Thunder Sword, Miss Yuka reluctantly agreed to sleep with him with her clothes on.

In order to fall asleep, he forced himself to hypnotize himself and pretend that his sister and brother were sleeping.

In the end, as expected... he still couldn't sleep well - Miss Yuka was as clingy as an octopus when she fell asleep.

"Mr. Tiandao, don't you want to sleep a little longer?" Ozawa Yuka rested her face on the place where the man had slept last night, feeling his remaining body temperature, and felt very subtle in her heart.

This man's physical reactions were all that a normal and healthy man should have, but his behavior was so proper that she even doubted her own charm.

......

"Cover your ears quietly."

"Keeps you away from hurtful noises."

"I will always be by your side."

"In this wonderful world, we gaze at each other."

......

The sudden ringing of a cell phone broke the beauty of the early morning. Tendo Souji looked down and saw that it was Shotarou.

This song was highly recommended by Shotaro to him. It was said to be the famous song of a very popular radio host in Fuuto named Sonosaki Wakana - Shotaro was her loyal fan.

No matter how good a song is, you will get tired of it if you set it as an alarm or ringtone. Tendou Souji has heard this from his sister Shuhua. Fortunately, it still sounds pleasant at the moment, especially in this kind of atmosphere that he is not very good at dealing with.

While answering the phone, Tendo Souji turned around and walked into the living room, closing the door of Miss Yuka's room.

"I see...I'll be right there."

Shotaro and his friends followed Miss Saotome's investigation at the Fuuto Grand Theater and found a place that was suspected to be the Gaia Memory Factory. Uncle Narumi had already sneaked in alone and asked Shotaro to keep watch.

Shotaro thought that the uncle felt that he was unreliable, so after much thought, he found another reliable person to help the uncle, that is, his 'Tendo brother'.

"What's wrong?" When Yuka Ozawa saw that Souji Tendo had just come back from a phone call with a frown on his face, she sat up and looked up at him and asked.

"I might need you to come with me. My companions are in need of support." Tendou Souji took the Thunder Sword from the table and put it back into the scabbard at his waist. "But as your client, Miss Yuka, I can't just leave you here."

"Mr. Tiandao, are you... worried about me?" Ozawa Yuka lazily combed her long hair that was messed up by sleep with her fingers, took off the hair tie from her wrist and tied her hair up simply, quickly put on white stockings, and then got out of bed and changed her shoes.

Tendo Souji breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that this woman was going to cause trouble again... He pushed open the door and was about to walk out, but his left hand was held by the woman who was catching up with him in small steps.

"Mr. Tiandao always looks so serious..." Ozawa Yuka remained calm, as if she was not the one who took the initiative to hold hands. She calmly used her left hand to tuck the loose hair behind her ears, "But I like it very much..."

"Miss Yuka, it's time for us to set off." Tendou Souji tightened his grip on the Thunder Sword slightly, and the scabbard rubbed against the leather belt, making a crackling sound.

He turned his head to avoid the other person's hug, pulled out his hand that was being held, and pulled up the other person's collar that had slipped down to cover the white skin that was exposed on the side, then naturally put it in his pocket to prevent the other person from having any chance to tease him.

"What a boring man..." Ozawa Yuka rolled her eyes at him in reproach, but a smile appeared on the corner of her mouth.

Business was more important, so she decided to let him go for now and followed him obediently.

Seeing that the woman had become obedient, Tendo Souji led her downstairs quickly. As he walked, he took out the motorcycle keys and recalled the map of Fuuto and the location that Shotarou had just sent him.

......

"Brother Tiandao!" Zuo Xiangtaro waved from a distance, and Tiandao Souji stopped the car and walked over.

After the three of them met, Zuo Xiangtaro saw that the usually invincible Tiandao was holding hands with the client. He didn't understand, but was greatly shocked: "This, this...what is this?"

Tendo Souji felt helpless looking at the woman beside him - he had thought she would be quieter when she was serious... but just now in the car, she said that her leg injury was very painful and she couldn't walk by herself without someone holding her hand.

"Hehe," Ozawa Yuka showed a playful smile of success, took the initiative to let go of her hand, and said generously: "I'll wait here for you to come back, I won't hinder you."

"Mr. Tiandao, please come back safely and protect me well~"

Tendo Souji nodded and turned away without hesitation: "Shotaro, Miss Yuka is in your hands. Stay away."

"Eh, me?" Shotaro was still in a daze, pointing at himself in disbelief, "I'm here to protect Miss Yuka?"

Yuka Ozawa took a few steps away from him in disgust, and squatted down in a corner that she liked - she didn't lie, her legs did hurt a little... She didn't know if it was a side effect of recovery, or if her body had simply not adapted to the pain after being paralyzed for too long.

......

The place where Tendo Souji parked his car was already a rarely visited path. A few dozen meters further was the outermost part of the factory where Shotaro was keeping watch.

After walking for a few hundred meters, Tendo Souji saw the 'abandoned factory' that Shotarou had mentioned.

He bent down to hide in the weeds beside the wire fence and peered inside through the wire mesh:

The rusty iron wall is covered with vines, and the mottled crimson paint is painted with "Do Not Approach Dangerous Building"

The faded sign of "Fengdu Frozen Seafood" hung diagonally at the door, precariously, and the iron chain wrapped around the door lock was covered with cobwebs.

A gray light shone through the broken glass windows, with countless dust particles floating in the halo, as if it had been vacant for many years without maintenance.

Tendou Souji walked along the wire fence to the back of the factory and found a small path trampled out among the weeds, leading to a small door.

......

......

Chapter 29 Why is this Kamen Rider so evil?

Tendo Souji lowered his body and half-crouched, hiding behind the small door and pushing open a crack to look inside.

Teams of two took turns patrolling. All of them wore black suits and carried pistols, and you could vaguely see the patterns of memory interfaces on their palms.

After calculating the patrol intervals, he sneaked inside without any danger.

Contrary to its dilapidated appearance, the inner floor of the factory is separated by a metal door through a dark corridor.

The pungent smell of refrigerant and disinfectant filled the air. Wherever you looked, the mottled wall paint peeled off, revealing the embedded metal pipes, and the indicator lights flickered dimly in the shadows.

More men in black were walking around the corridors with guns in hand. Although they were still a team of two, the patrol frequency was higher, there were many surveillance cameras, and the security was much stricter than the outer perimeter.

Tendo Souji leaned against the wall and held his breath. Taking advantage of a break in patrol, he slipped into the corner from a blind spot in the surveillance camera. Suddenly, he saw a familiar white figure, which was particularly eye-catching in this dim area.

Ming Hai Shouji put his finger to his lips, made a gesture of silence, and indicated with his eyes that the enclosed area in front was the target.

Tiandao Zongsi nodded and moved closer, and the two of them leaned against the pipe and exchanged information in a low voice.