March Comes with Love - (Sangatsu No Lion, OC!MC)

Being a hardworker has its perks. Especially when it comes to living alone and having a fairly small flat despite my high position in a business in Tokyo.

Sure, my work ability was a quality that tended to clash with my lack of social skills, but that never stopped me from achieving some impressive promotions within just two years of being hurled into the world of business. It took me a lot of free time invested in more work time, yet I bore no regret for the current situation I had now.

My name is Handa Kazuo, and I am just a simple and plain guy that makes things go fine at work while also sustaining myself just fine with my own expenses.

My finances were solidly perfect, I had the bare minimum to survive, and I kept up with my promise to call my parents on a weekly basis to report how things were. Hell, I would even visit for holidays, so that wasn't exactly a lonely life. Not a full loner's one, at the very best.

However, things took a strange turn when my boss decided to 'reward' me with something that wasn't either a promotion or a raise.

"Here, this place will surely loosen you up a bit!"

The business card was for a place called 'Misaki'. I have heard of those bars that employed hostesses, but I had always shied away due to how some of those places were the field for some seedy affairs and sexual developments. Both of which were not something I looked forward.

It was clear I couldn't refuse, but the visit was something I saw as a challenge for me to 'resist'. It didn't feel 'difficult' as I had my wits over my own desires, and I was the kind of person that wished to wait to land that sort of relationship that was meaningful enough to then warrant that sort of intimacy.

I took the card, and I planned for the earliest free evening I could have it wasted upon. Delaying this particular 'duty' was only going to raise more tension for me to handle, so I decided to face this situation as early as it was feasible.

Two days after receiving this 'gift', I found myself wandering the streets and making my way to the bar. Misaki was what one would expect from a modest establishment. Differently from some of those cabarets I heard Osaka had, the bar was smaller and clearly limited to a single floor.

It was a wide room with numerous tables, but most clients seemed to favor those seats by the corners and away from fellow customers. The privacy of that sort of intimacy was something that frightened me, but I wasn't planning to entertain myself with a hostess.

Hence why I bee-lined to the counter and asked for some sake. It's been a while since I had given it a try to alcohol since I hardly drank any if it wasn't to celebrate something important for the holidays. The small cup I got still had a kick that made me cringe for a moment. It was good but...

But it was alcohol.

Still, I decided to at least get something paid rather than be there, walk about and just leave without paying nothing. The plan was to finish the cup, pay the bill, and leave as if I had done the best job of the world. Nothing that could have hooked me to the bar, nothing that could have forced me to have a reason to come back and-

"Good evening."

The polite greeting coming from the side almost made me jump. I tensed up for sure, but my head turned to the direction of the voice. I was greeted by a really gorgeous lady.

She was a brunette with her luscious hair let loose that reached down to her shoulders, a friendly pair of lilac eyes and a frame that was just as womanly and mature as I kind of... like.

Gulping nervously as I recoiled at the sudden beautiful sight, I managed a quick greeting. "E-Evening."

Her smile widened just slightly, almost into a foxy twitch that sent a shiver down my spine.

"I am Akari, would you like for me to keep you company?"

Something about her name clicked some fragments of memories, maybe I had heard that name brought up a few times but I couldn't remember if it was during my years of school or from somewhere else. I frowned, part of me still wanting to refuse but...

But I felt somewhat coerced by that natural beauty that sit beside me.

That challenge, that I thought so easy to handle, was now even more difficult to face. I blamed the alcohol.

"Sure. I am... I am Kazuo."

The woman beamed. "Nice to meet you. Would you like to seat somewhere else or-"

"Here is fine." I curtly interrupted, and my response got some surprise out of those pretty eyes. Her smile didn't falter, rather it seemed cemented by my words.

"Understood, Kazuo-san."

There was a hint of bliss at this, perhaps Akari favored this sort of spot, in the open, to avoid any potential handsy situation, but I was already planning to keep 'tiny tiny' within my seat as we started to speak. The conversation felt akin to one I would have over 'pleasantries' at work. It was all about general stuff, but neither of us was being too specific over our answers or comments.

If the topic was about hobbies, I would say: "I like to read and do exercises." That would properly be about reading history books and go to the few sessions of boxing from the club near my flat during the weekends.

For Akari, the response would be: "I like to cook and gardening."

If it was about family, my response was: "I live alone, but I still keep in contact with my family once a week."

She would comment with: "I tend to take care of my family since I am the oldest sibling."

It was a peculiar spar, one that usually felt so disgusting to entertain with people that just wanted to dominate others in the workplace, but that now felt somewhat refreshing as there were no stakes. I was not bartering my weight within the place since I was just a normal customer and the hostess was just there to make conversation.

Despite that mindset, I wouldn't say that Akari did a bad job. I expected her to coerce me to drink more and spend more than it was needed but... all in all, she didn't do much but ask once if I wanted to drink more. For three lengthy hours, it was just us talking and nothing else. Between smiles and giggles, time went fast to the hour which I should be sleeping in my bed.

I was lucky it was Friday, but that didn't mean I wasn't going to feel a bit hammered from the sake I drunk. Akari was a bit tipsy herself as she got herself a cup too, but none of us was drunk by the end of that surprisingly refreshing talk.

Before leaving, I decided to pay her service with a tip. Not much, but just enough to make her still smile and hope to see me again quite soon. I 'promised' her that I would, but I was already slapping my inner self out of that blissful meeting and reminding my own 'doubts' that I couldn't make this a habit.

As pleasant as things have been, this place was pricey and I couldn't afford to make frequent visits that could ultimately sink my current financial situation. I made it back home without any issue, deciding to sleep without changing my clothes and leaving all those problems this may lead to for the me of the next day.

And with Saturday came a minor headache and a sluggish morning. I didn't have to do much early on, or that was what I was aware of until I got a call from my parents. The family truck had engine issues, and my father asked me if I could be the one using my car to get some boxes from a wagashi owned by a family friend.

It was pretty much the bane of my slow morning, and forced me to push through the sleepiness to get ready to complete that chore. The location wasn't too far from where I lived, Sangatsu-cho (March Town) being one of the few 'small' districts in Tokyo that I had heard briefly about but that found too distant from the workplace to buy a house in.

It was lovely for families, but it was overall an area that held no major importance to me. It took me a while to get accustomed with its streets and I was soon parking near the entrance of the wagashi. My parents owned a bakery, so it made sense that a cooperation with someone that produced confection-themed food.

"Good morning," I greeted as I walked up to the counter of the shop and I saw an old man walking out of the backroom with a box.

"Morning, how may I help you, young man?"

I blinked. "My father asked me to retrieve some boxes for the Handa Family. Their truck is having issues so-"

"Handa?" The old man interjected, leaning by the counter and frowning at my face, finally smiling as he seemed to realize something. "If it isn't Kazu-chan. How are you?"

...Kazu-chan?

I remember that this was a common nickname my mother called me when I was a child, and that other people did call me as such but did I know this old man? I felt his face was familiar, but I just couldn't pinpoint where I knew him from.

"I am doing fine."

"Glad to hear that, still, those boxes..." He turned back. "Akari, we need the Handa boxes and... there's a friend of yours here too!"

...What?

I heard footsteps coming from the backroom, and a familiar young woman emerged while holding some confectionery boxes. Right as she stepped out, I saw her freeze up as her lilac-eyed gaze found my face. She recognized me, but then frowned.

It was her, the hostess from Misaki!

"A-A friend, grandfather?" She asked, stuttering for a moment as she struggled to find the right words to comment on the matter.

"Hmm?" The old man turned to give a confused look to Akari. "Akari, did you forget Kazu-chan? You know, the boy you tended to nag at when we were visiting his family, the Handa."

Akari's frown slowly shifted into a brilliant and beaming smile. "Oh, Kazu-chaan~!"

The way she toned that honorific with my name finally returned the memories I had forgotten about. Kawamoto Akari, she had been a girl around my age that I met and played with for two years when we were very young. Rather than call me '-kun' as many girls would, she just decided to stick with '-chan' after hearing my mother using it to refer to me.

What truly cemented that moment was when she went around the corner and, almost reminiscing of the past, pulled me in a tight and overbearing hug that squished me up a bit.

"It's been too long~!" She delightfully proclaimed, giving up what maturity she had been blessed through her normal life and as a hostess to give me back those horrible memories of teasing, pranking and bear hugs.

The nightmare was thus back to haunt my ass... I just didn't know how this would be the beginning of far more than a mere friendship.

AN

I think this will be a single-pairing story. Akari deserved this much!