After what felt like an eternity, Akifumi finally arrived at their apartment building.
Thankfully, not many people were coming home from work yet—otherwise, he was certain some strange rumors would start spreading.
'Ding.'
The elevator doors slid open with a soft chime.
Still carrying Yor in a princess carry, the same way he had brought her from the taxi—Akifumi carefully stepped out.
He had tried giving her a piggyback ride earlier, but that had nearly ended with Yor accidentally choking him half to death.
He sighed as he made his way toward Yor's apartment, which was on the left side of his own.
Just as he passed his own door, he noticed something unusual in front of the apartment on the right—flattened cardboard boxes from a moving company were stacked neatly by the door.
'If I remember correctly… hasn't that place been empty for over a year?'
'Is there a new tenant?' Akifumi wondered in surprise.
The usual tenants in this building were either students or foreign tourists.
In a country like Japan especially Tokyo where efficiency was king, most young working adults in Tokyo didn't even bother renting full apartments unless absolutely necessary.
With the sky-high rent in the city, many people would rather stay in internet cafés, capsule hotels, or share house to save money for their futures.
'Well… I hope they're a friendly neighbor,' he thought. 'But knowing my family, I'd better check with my parents first in case this turns out to be another 'Yor situation'...'
If this was yet another "bodyguard" his parents had secretly sent, he needed to prepare his heart for it now that he knows about Alan a little.
Standing in front of Yor's apartment door, Akifumi gently shook the sleeping woman in his arms.
"Yor-san, we're here. Can you tell me your PIN?" he asked softly.
Yor's eyelids fluttered as she slowly opened her eyes, rubbing them clumsily with the back of her hand.
"Eh? PIN…?" she mumbled, her voice gentle but still dazed.
The lingering effects of too much alcohol were obvious—but to Akifumi, she seemed at least a little more sober now. Or so he thought.
"Wha' are you shayin', *hic* Mugi-sama? You open m-mister door by turning the handle~!" she slurred, grinning like a fool.
"You don' need any magic PIN to open a door, hic, tha's so silly," Yor said, giggling as she swayed in his arms with a goofy smile.
'…Never mind. She's still totally drunk,' Akifumi sighed inwardly.
"Looook~! Like this, Mugiho-sama!" Yor chirped proudly, reaching for the door handle.
"Wait, Yo—!"
Before Akifumi could finish, Yor gave the sleek black handle a sharp yank and promptly tore it clean off the door.
"Eh? hic Mister door handle is...?" Yor blinked in confusion as she stared at the handle now sitting in her hands.
"I broke mister door handle…" she mumbled.
"Wh-wh-wh-what should I do, Mugiho-sama!?" she cried, her voice rising in panic.
Like a child who just shattered her favorite toy, she grabbed onto Akifumi's shoulders and shook him violently.
"I broke someone's hand again~!!"
'Why does she act like a little kid when she's drunk?! Don't tell me that sake was actually poisoned or something…' Akifumi groaned silently.
"Yor-san, please calm down! It's the middle of the night—you're going to wake our neighbors!" he urged in a low voice.
"I killed mister door, hic, Mugi-sama! I killed it!!" she wailed dramatically.
"As I thought… I'm just a good-for-nuthin' woman anyway… I should just quit life…!"
"GODDAMN" Yor whimpered as she tightened her iron grip on his shoulders.
"Yor-san! My shoulders! My shoulders! You're going to break my shoulders!!" Akifumi gasped, wincing as her crushing strength bore down on him.
Seeing that reasoning with her was impossible, Akifumi let out a quiet sigh.
"Yor, Yor, it's okay. Calm down, alright?" he said gently, rocking her body up and down in his arms like he was soothing a child. "It's fine. We can call someone to fix Mister Door, okay?"
He forced a smile, trying his best to ignore the dull pain growing in his shoulders.
"Sniff... sniff... r-really?" Yor whimpered, her teary eyes staring up at him like a lost puppy.
"Yes," Akifumi nodded quickly. "I'll call someone to fix it in the morning, okay? So please... stop crying, alright?"
Yor stared into his face for a long moment, as if searching for the truth in his words... before finally giving a small nod.
"Hmmm..."
She slowly relaxed in his arms, her death grip on his shoulders loosening at last. Just as Akifumi let out a relieved sigh—
"Mmmgh... Mugi-sama... I don' feel so good..." Yor mumbled, covering her mouth with her hand, her face turning pale.
Akifumi's eyes went wide in panic.
"W-wait, Yor! Please! Hold it back!!"
"I can't— Hmph!"
"Yes you can! Just a little longer—please hold it in!!"
Realizing the danger level was critical, Akifumi abandoned all thoughts of opening Yor's apartment door.
He spun on his foot and dashed toward his own apartment instead.
Frantically, he punched in his PIN code, threw the door open, and rushed inside.
'SLAM!'
The door shut behind them with a loud bang, he didn't care about breaking his door, all he care now is to avoid this new crisis.
But what Akifumi didn't know... was that someone else had been peeking to the entire commotion from the shadows.
A door down the hall creaked open, just a little.
A beautiful young girl with dark-purple hair and bright pink eyes peeked out curiously, her gaze sparkling with excitement as she witnessed the scene.
"Is this... what they call a shuraba?" she muttered aloud—the word meaning 'love battlefield.'
Unfortunately for her, the distance and the dim lighting in the hallway made it impossible to catch exactly what the two had been saying.
But the juicy drama unfolding right outside her door was more than enough to spark her interest.
She had only ever heard about such situations from gossip or magazines—never had she actually seen or experienced one in real life.
But now, right before her eyes, was a scene straight out of those scandalous articles: a drunk older woman being carried bridal-style by a younger man.
Her mind immediately jumped to all those tabloid stories about bored housewives sneaking around with the guy next door while their husbands were away.
"Is that what people called... adultery?" she wondered.
But before she could let her imagination run wild any further, the sound of a baby crying echoed from inside her apartment.
"Ah—yes, yes, hang on just a second," she said softly.
She stood up from where she'd been crouching behind the door, giving the closed apartment door outside one last glance before gently closing her apartment door behind her.