Disclaimer: I don't own Rioichi nor Henriette Cooper or the Geisha. They belong to Sucker punch/Sanzaru games. I do own the plot.
Threats of the law.
It was a nice beautiful springs day in Japan, the edo era of the great dynasty. The warm sun beamed down upon the fresh, moist village as shadows stretched upon the ground where children played with each other. Inside the currently should-be-infamous Sushi restraunt, though, was where our story begins.
Rioichi was steadily chopping up some parsley to spruce up one of the many Sushi dishes he was making with the trusty assistance of his young daughter, Henriette 'One-eyed' Cooper. Henriette had received a nasty injury to her eye days after she was born when Rioichi's home was raided by the Shogun's army so they could arrest him for a crime he unintentionally committed awhile back but landed in the talons of a long-time enemy, Clockwerk. He and his daughter were hiding in the village so they could live in peace even if Rioichi knew that the Shogun's army would never give up looking for him.
Henriette's bare feet waded against the wooden flooring as she carried a huge stack full of delicate plates as she tried to assist her father with running his business. She found the plates heavy in her small arms as she tried to find her balance despite the fact that she couldn't see as the plates blocked most of what little vision she had left. Luckily, Rioichi saw this and ran to his daughter and fretfully told her "No, no, no, no! You cannot carry all those plates, Henriette."
Henriette apoligised while looking up at her father sadly "Sorry, papa. I was just trying to help you and be a good daughter to you."
Rioichi couldn't help but smile down at his little girl. She was always trying to find ways to make life easier for him even though she liked to cause trouble for everyone else in a way he knew she should be punished for but every time he tried to scold her, he found that he couldnt do it. She was a Cooper, the next to take over the mantle that meant that she was to become an honourable thief someday in the future even if the law states that she should become a Geisha when the time came which he hoped Wouldn't be soon.
Rioichi knew what Gieshas done secretly inside that house on the other side of the village and didn't want his daughter to share the same fate but he also didn't want to force her into anything she didn't want to do. Henriette was her own person and decided her own fate and she wanted to be a pirate when she got older and if that was what she desired, he was to support her with all his heart. What the master ninja didn't know, however, was that the sweet life he knew just might be snatched from him in a heart beat.
"Henriette, you do not need to help me to be a good daughter..." He crooned softly as he affectionately nuzzled her, making her giggle as she hugged him back. The two shared a nice moment until the sound of a till bell broke them up and Rioichi sighed irritably. he hated it when his time with his daughter was inturrupted but he told Henriette "Go upstairs, my young Shiroibara. I shall be with you shortly." He ran to the table but only to find a female rhino whom wore white face paint with crimson coloured lips, she wore a teal kimono and she had her ebony hair tied up into a neat bun that glimmered in the slight sunlight that shone through the windows.
Rioichi's calm, light hearted eyes met the tall rhinos almost stone eyes as he bowed respectively at her "Ah, Madame Geisha. What can I do for you?" He asked even if he silently dreaded her answer. He just hoped she was here for some Sushi and not what he thought she was after.
"I have a new sushi flavoring that should richen your taste buds if you would like to try it." Rioichi held out a small paper menu to her which she grabbed before crumpling it inside her large fists and dropping it to the floor with her mouth turned into a frown and her eyes like the hardest of stone as they almost narrowed into slits angrily at the restraunt owner.
"Well, Rioichi-San, I am not interested since I am not here for your disgusting seafood platters. I am here for the girl."
Rioichi's heart dropped like a stone into his stomach as his blood run cold and his eyes stared distantly forwards as time stopped all around him. As soon as those emotionless words left the rhino's lips, everyone eating in the restaurant ceased eating their meals and stared silently at this to watch Rioichi's reaction. Everyone in the village knew that Rioichi had a nasty temper when it came to his daughters well being and were wanting to see if the restaurateur will fight or flight.
Eventually time caught up with Rioichi and he found himself glaring up at the rhino as he stood in a defensive stance, ready to fight if he must "Madame Geisha, will all due respect I have no intent on forcing my daughter to do what she does not want to do." Rioichi's voice was chilled and everyone could note the fact that he was clearly trying not to lunge at her and whack her with his cane until she had a severe nosebleed.
"I am sorry, Raccoon, you know the law and besides you cannot keep both yourself and her financially safe." Rioichi could tell by the smile on Madame Geisha's face that she wasn't sorry in the least. Rioichi wasn't doing so well this year somehow and he was barely keeping both himself and Henriette well fed and not even clothes was an option anymore.
It could be the fact that Madame Geisha was blackmailing him and starting rumours.
The two had a bitter rivalry towards each other and Madame Geisha hated that Rioichi stole most of the costumers away from her.
She done whatever she could to melt the red panda raccoon's business and if it meant taking his grubby daughter away from his custody, then so be it.
Every customer in the restaurant whom sat at their tables all gasped and muttered silent chatters across to each other, clearly interested to know if a fight was going to start. They watched eagerly for Rioichi to lunge at her but instead he glared daggers at the white rhino and was fighting back as not to lose his control even if it was dissipating fast each moment Madame Giesha stood at the till.
The ninja master pulled up his hood over his head as he fought the overwhelming instinct not to pull his cane out from behind his back "Get out of my restaurant." He demanded with poisonous disdain dripping from his voice like the purest of venom that dripped from the ivory tips of a snakes fangs.
Madame Geisha could see that if she didn't leave then it would start snapping something inside the Sushi chef master's mind. Even though she wanted to snap that part of him; she wouldn't risk starting rumours about her being a children kidnapper even if thats what she was. She would do anything to uphold the law even if it meant prying the little raccoon girl out of Rioichi's from his cold, dead hands.
Madame Geisha spat a menacing grin at the owner of this establishment as it was clear that the raccoon was seething on the inside as he stood as still as a statue even if he blinked his glaring eyes at her. She gave a snooty whip of her hips and turned to walk out the door, leaving Rioichi's russet fur to jingle as she made each unintentional enormous step towards the door.
So she stomped out of the Sushi house with a devious grin curled on her lips as she began to depart, clearly satisfied with giving Rioichi a startling day. Every step she made shook the shop slightly as her weight was whopping and nobody was afraid to let her know it. Actually, according to rumor, if Madame Geisha jumped then it would shake the entire continent!
"Just beware, Raccoon. This battle has only just begun..." On that account, Madame Geisha smugly left the scene with an evil cackle that made everyone shudder in a way that was visible to the raccoon even if he didn't bother to pay attention.
Rioichi continued standing in an offensive position behind the counter and Henriette rushed to her father and jumped into his arms, clearly afraid as she heard every word that was said. Rioichi ran a hand up and down his five year old daughter's back to soothe her as he told her reassuringly "Worry not, Henriette. I will never allow her to take you away from me."
Henriette peeled herself away from her father with eyes full of fear. Was Madame Geisha really going to take her away? Her little heart hammered inside her chest as Rioichi held her close against his own chest. Henriette was confused and worried about the matter as she knew that the rhino would not give up even if it did break the girl's heart to leave her father. She refused to go with the devil woman and followed her father's gaze as Rioichi cast a hard glare at the doors where Madame Geisha had departed and he muttered one thing as he refused to give up his daughter so easily "Sore wa, akuma no rainodesu..."
A/N: Ooooh! Rioichi is in danger of losing his daughter: Henriette! Encase your wondering what Rioichi said in the last thing, I'll tell you. He said: It's on, Devil rhino, in Japanese. I used Google translate to help me with that. Anyways, I had the idea of a bitter rivalry between Rioichi and Madame Geisha when I noticed that both of them are basically restaurateurs but are very separate to each other. I also had the idea of this from 'Tales of the Cooper clan- Rioichi' which I adore as its a unqiue fanfic and its about Rioichi and if anything is Rioichi Cooper related, its labeled as 'awesome'.
That and I also think its the reason behind Madame Geisha assisting El Jefe arresting him. It would seem logical, wouldn't it?
I will make this a very short story but unlike my One-shots, this will actually be an actual fanfic instead of a one chaptered story. If you have any reccomendations for me then please let me know and what I mean by that is, feel free to give me suggestions and other stuff if you please. I would be highly happy. Especially by reviews.
Theres a chance I may update this today but I don't know...Please review!
-Chloemcg