This isn't the best written first chapter, but please look past it. I tried to blend the chapter title in with the story so it doesn't seem out of place, so just for reference, it's the all caps segment.
"Come here," said a voice seductively. A dark-haired women with blue lipstick gave a smile to match here voice. The target of her words immediately obeyed her command. He stared at the women at first, and then Maria's work began.
Her eyes shot open to a rising sun in the sky peering through a window. She sat up, and immediately felt her stomach churn as a black wig fell off of her head. Maria had taken over again, and she had no control of it.
That wasn't entirely true. She'd managed to convince Maria not to return to where she lived in the day, and Maria had continued not to.
Hirumi Chono observed her surroundings. She was in her old apartment. This building was one of the few rebuilt the same as it was before the Lil' Slugger incidents, and for two years, she continued to pay rent on it. Through some miracle, her husband hadn't caught on.
Her husband.
What had she told him last night? She had to think. Then she remembered,
"I have a student early in the morning, so I won't be there right away when you wake up," Hirumi stated.
"Okay," replied her husband, and Hirumi gave an inward sigh of relief that he had believed her. "What time will you be back?"
"Noon," she said calmly. Her husband nodded, and they continued watching TV.
Hirumi looked at the alarm clock she had set on her side table, and saw it was six A.M. Plenty of time to get ready and freshen up before she went home. She turned on the TV, and stepped into the shower.
Fifteen minutes later, she was out and staring at the cloths in her closet. It was the same as old times. She kept her cloths on the left (a few dresses and such she brought to change into the next morning when Maria took over.), and on the right was short skirts, tight dresses, and silk cloth. Maria's brand of kinky wardrobe hadn't much changed.
She took out the green dress that buttoned down the middle. It was a little old, but it still fit. She put on her glasses and sat down at the make-up covered mess of a stand to brush her mess of hair as TV report continued.
"Has anyone ever insulted you on things you can't change, like your looks, or your height, or the way you act? We call these things a personality attack, and you can do things to stop them."
"PERSONALITY ATTACK"
Hirumi grabbed her handbag and walked out the front door, locking it behind her.
As she walked down the streets of the new Tokyo, she was careful to avoid all of the shops and snack shops her husband liked to shop at. She carried her bag in front of her with both hands, and tried to blend in with the crowds.
This by itself wasn't the easiest of tasks, considering she was wearing a light green dress. She was noticing how people occasionally stared at her, but didn't let it bother her. She was too worried about her husband learning of Maria to worry about what people have been thinking of her.
Why won't she leave, Hirumi thought.
She did leave, remember? said another thought in her head.
When Lil' Slugger attacked, she recalled. Then I was calm. I was at peace, living with my husband. Then she returned. She came back. But when I was attacked, a sound was filling her ears. All of the people seemed to have disappeared. It was the sound of skates on cement.
When I was attacked I was fine. When Lil' Slugger was here, all anyone had to do was call out. The sound was getting louder.
Then Maria was gone. I was happy. I could live, until she came back. Her thoughts were racing. Her heart was beating at a seemingly impossible rate.
If I can just be attacked, just feel relief!
Hirumi turned around, and her heart skipped a beat. She saw what looked like a grade school kid wearing grey clothes and green shorts and a pair of golden skates racing towards her. There was a flash of metal, and Hirumi gave a sharp cry as-
-As her cell phone pulled her back into reality. It rang loudly, and Hirumi looked around. The crowd was still surrounding her, and nothing had happened. It was her imagination.
She reached into her handbag, and saw a black cell phone ringing. Her eyes widened. How did this get in her bag? She ducked down a side alley away from people. No one could here Maria's voice answering the phone.
"Hello?" said the seductive voice.
"Hello, Maria?" asked a man's voice. "This is Double Lips. We're re-establishing the business. Care to join again?"
"Same pay?"
"Yes, Maria,"
"Of course I'm willing to join again," Maria responded casually
"I knew you'd come back, so we put out your ad already. Your first client responded, and requested the Moonlight hotel. Is tonight at midnight alright?"
"It'll be fine," She hung up the phone, and Hirumi came out of the alley, looking confused.
Hirumi wasn't sure how she knew, but she could tell she'd need another excuse tonight. Luckily for her, her husband provided one for her.
"Do you have another early lesson tomorrow?" he asked.
Hirumi smiled. "Yes. The mother requested an extra day tomorrow morning."
"That's alright. I'll see you at noon again?"
"Yes," Hirumi smiled innocently, and wished she hadn't been imagining Lil' Slugger.
A man sat on the edge of a bed expectantly, and smiled every now and then. He'd heard from a friend the Double Lips girls were the best, and jumped on the opportunity when he learned they were reformed.
A soft knocking on the door was all the man needed to jump up and yank it open.
"Where do you want me?" said a seductive voice of a women wearing blue lipstick.
Hirumi stood in the shower. She had been right. Maria controlled her every action that night. She stared up at the shower head, and felt the hot water roll off of her smooth skin.
"Little Slugger," she whispered. "Where are you?" Hirumi closed her eyes.
When she opened her eyes, she was at her student's house. They had scheduled a lesson that afternoon at two o'clock, and Hirumi was there right on time. The front door opened.
"Mrs. Chono! Good to see you!" said the voice of a fifth grader.
Hirumi looked downward to see a young girl with black hair tied back in a pony-tail, and the rest messed around carelessly on top of her head. "Good to see you, too, Yamiaka Owaki,"
The lesson began same as usual, and everything was fine. Yamiaka talked casually as always about how she was upset she had been grounded. Yamiaka looked up at Hirumi with a wide grin, "Thank you, Mrs.Chono. You're great at listening and you're so smart,"
Hirumi smiled. "You're welcome, and thank you, too. Now, about this problem,"
"Are you ready?" asked a man.
"Oh yeah," responded Maria. It was night out, and Maria was working. This client paid well, and Maria didn't argue. Hirumi hadn't even remembered going home before Maria snuck out of the house at night to work. Hirumi was also running out of excuses to tell her husband. How often could she use "I have a student early in the morning,"?
When Hirumi regained control, it was seven in the morning. She was lying on her back still dressed as Maria, and realized she wasn't in the bed alone. She turned over and saw her husband, sound asleep.
Hirumi's eyes widened in horror at his sight. Maria had returned to Hirumi's home.
Without thinking about anything but the fact she couldn't let her husband see her like this, she grabbed Maria's bag, and ran into the bathroom. She didn't relax until she had turned the shower on, and stepped into it.
When she was finished, she shoved everything belonging to Maria in the bag, and
zipped it shut. How could Maria go to Hirumi's home? Too many things were happening, and Maria was getting out of control again.
Maria ended the call with Double Lips, and smiled at the place her next client had chosen. It was a quiet hotel that wasn't at all run down. It was a rather nice place.
Maria brought herself back to focus. This was a client's stop, not her time to enjoy her surroundings. She stepped into the hotel's elevator, and picked the right floor.
She casual walked down the hall, and stopped in front of room 743. She knocked, and waited.
Hirumi Chono's husband answered the door.
Maria stared blankly at her 'client'. Hirumi was fighting to gain control of the situation. Maria was just staring and ignoring Hirumi standing next to her.
"He's my husband,"Hirumi told Maria
"I don't care, he's a customer," Maria argued.
"But he's my husband," Hirumi protested.
"Oh, are we role-playing?" smiled Hirumi's husband. "Yeah, I'll be your husband,"
Hirumi grabbed Maria's arm, and ran out of the hotel. Maria immediately protested, and tried to resist, but Hirumi was winning.
"Wait! Where are you going?" called a voice behind her, but Hirumi didn't look back. She just kept running, and taking Maria with her.
She didn't stop until she got to Maria's apartment. She went in the shower, and Maria was gone.
Hirumi lost her balance, sat down, and just cried in the shower. Maria was destroying her life, and it was getting difficult for Hirumi to regain control. She sobbed to herself, "How could he do that? I need Little Slugger. I need that salvation! I want to be myself."
Hirumi was sitting right next to her husband on the couch, but she felt a mile away. She felt betrayed, and scared that Maria would completely take over, and she couldn't stop it.
"The mail's here. He's late though. It's already night!" said her husband, and got up to get it from the pile on the floor where the mail-drop let it out. He didn't even feel bad about what he did the other night. He didn't realize Hirumi had seen Maria open the door.
"What is this?" he asked the air. Hirumi looked up, and saw him holding a rent bill for Maria's apartment. Maria changed her mailing address. "Hirumi, it's addressed to you,"
Hirumi stared in horror as he read the address. "This is your old address. Why are they billing you for it?"
"I-I don't know," Hirumi didn't realize anything she was saying. The words escaped self-consciously.
"I'm going to take a shower," said her husband. "You should call the landlord and straighten that out.
"What's happening?" muttered Hirumi. Her husband didn't notice, and went into the bathroom.
"What's happening? I'm destroying your life," Maria was sitting next to her.
"Why!" asked Hirumi.
"So you have no reason to fight me." Maria grinned sinisterly. "Like I said before, I want to be free."
Hirumi felt her pulse quicken as her husband came out with a navy blue bag from the bathroom.
"What is this?" he asked pulling out a black wig, and gasped. He stared at her in shock and surprise.
"No!" shouted Hirumi. "Stop it!"
"Shut up!" Maria yelled. "You are finished,"
Hirumi burst open the front door, and ran into the vacant night street.
"Stop it!" she yelled again. "Little Slugger! Please!" She held her head in her hands, and didn't here the sound of skates on cement. All Hirumi Chono saw was a flash of metal, and she collapsed on the ground.
Please review! Again, I know it's not the best written first chapter in the world. Most of that is probably because I found it difficult to show Maria and Hirumi. I will explain why Little Slugger/Shonen Bat was there, but not for a little while, that's the whole point of the story. Thank you for reading, and please review.