Author's note: First story in 3-4 years? And it's my first crossover, yay! I promise some Inuyasha characters will make their entrances but it will take a few chapters. I intend this to be a fairly long story so join me in this new adventure.

The summary limited my ability to elaborate so hopefully this prologue helps give some backstory. So it's set in the early edo period (like coming directly out of the Azuchi-Momoyama period) and if you don't know what that is then I'll try to paint a picture for you here. I had to compromise seeming Inuyasha is set in the Heian period. It's quick but let me know what you think. Ask questions in review or through message if you're confused and I'll answer to the best of my ability :)

NO STEALING ideas, thoughts, etc. Ideas original to me the author with the exception of the original characters belonging to their respective creators Tite Kubo and Rumiko Takahashi.

Rukia and her older sister, Hisana, had been refugees from the West. The mighty western Lord, Lord Daiyokai, Taisho, had waged a huge battle against southern enemies well before she was ever born. But the war went on for several decades after and due to the loss of extended family, both of their parents were forced to seek a safer way of life in the Eastern provinces.

Rukia was the youngest child of the Naito family. A clan once strong and proud in their influence over the western court. Yet, seeming her father, Lord Naito, was only one of many sons born to a new generation of Naito men, their immediate family power was limited to only what her uncles could do. Upon their death, the remainder of the Naito clan – Rukia's mother, father, and older sister- were forced east for protection in a milder community. After spending their childhood establishing good ties, and beneficial good relationships with other strong, eastern families, their father passed; leaving behind three women to support and fend for themselves in a patriarchy.

Ultimately, their mother resorted to marrying a wealthy merchantman to support them when times became too hard. But even that wasn't about to last forever. With the proper upbringing of a lady and the good looks of their kin, Lord Naito had intended an advantageous marriage for his youngest daughter, Lady Rukia- for he intended that the Naito clan should continue on through Hisana's line by adopting a male heir and uniting him to his eldest daughter. But he died before anything could happen.

As it so happened, before his death, Lord Naito had been dealing with annoying suitors for his eldest daughter. The eastern lords had begun to see just how much beauty the Naito daughters possessed. Lord Naito never again made as much income as he had once made in the West, but he was a hardworking man among Eastern nobility and they paid him fair. It just wasn't enough to feed three mouths in reduced circumstances.

One lord, in particular, was very kind to Lord Naito and his family. The lord of the East, Lord Kuchiki, Ginrei, was very impressed by Naito's skill and work. So much so that he appointed Naito's services to his son, Sojun. After one conversation between Sojun and Naito, Sojun would allow him to bring his eldest daughter with him whenever he worked a job. However, there was much more behind this façade of plain kindness, for Lord Sojun had other purposes for wishing the eldest Naito girl's presence within his father's tightly secured, controlled walls.

Now, with a steady income flowing back into the Naito home and a new stepfather, things began to feel secure once more.

Rukia had just been out in the busy acropolis of the North Eastern province of Inuzuri, running a few errands to gather supplies that were needed to keep up their modest home's appearance. When she had gotten nearer to her home, the sun was tucking itself behind the crooked horizon. Rooftops stretched on for miles in the busy city, yet Rukia knew almost every inch of it.

She returned to her home. It was a well-kept two story home that barely fit within the city's allotted plot that had been gated in to make sure that over-building never became a problem. As she unlatched the gate and closed it tightly behind her she heard the roar of laughter alongside the nice strum of her sister's samisen. It was a sad sound, Hisana's music always was. Rukia supposed it was because Hisana had had much more time alone with their parents when she was younger. Not to mention all the time she spent with their father when he went to work for the noble families of the Eastern court. It was harder for her older sister to deal with the fact that their father wasn't ever going to return home again. That and how much Naito favored his eldest daughter over his youngest; for the simple reason that Hisana was most like him, reserved but passionate, respectful yet always longing for something more.

Rukia wasn't even sure her parents had intended to have more than one child to begin with. Their marriage had been a political alliance, as were most. But where most couples found happiness and love within arranged marriages, Lord Naito and his bride did not. They were polite and very civil with one another but never affectionate. It was quite a shock that more than one child could come from such a union, but it was probably why Rukia's mother preferred her. Rukia was living proof that Lady Naito was able to cajole the handsome Lord Naito into being attracted to her for a time, if only a fleeting, temporary arrangement.

The party that was apparently going on within their home, was one of the many that their stepfather was beginning to throw on the regular. Each becoming crazier than the last. His friends were not civilized company and it drove their mother into herself with each passing day. It must've been humiliating for a former, refined and powerful lady to have fallen so low and all because of a man who never properly loved her.

Rukia kicked off her shoes in the narrow doorway and dropped the home goods off in a small broom closet. She shuffled in her nicely designed robes to the room her mother usually spent her evenings. She announced her presence before sliding the doors open, bowing, and going to her mother's side. She was an aging woman. Her proud brow had wrinkled and her hair was turning a powdery gray.

"Who has he invited over this time?" Rukia asked, as she went to clean out her mother's chamber pot.

"Some old friends that he met wandering around his shop." Lady Naito sighed. Rukia said nothing in response but went quickly to check in on her sister.

Hisana was smart enough to be sitting outside the room of the party, out of sight and mind to the uncouth company they were hosting. She was already dressed for bed, and her velvety, raven hair had been brushed out and loosely tied at the nape of her neck. Her pale skin was almost too pale; dark circles had etched their way beneath her heavily lidded eyes.

"You can go to bed if you'd like." Rukia whispered as Hisana's nimble, slender fingers plucked at the three strings. The sound her fingers made as they slid across the strings filled the gaps of the musical notes. Hisana looked at Rukia before giving a thankful smile.

"I appreciate it," Hisana began, pausing as a particularly loud burst of laughter shook the paper walls. "But it's best if I stay here. Go keep mother company before she sleeps." Hisana whispered gently. Rukia gave a hesitant glance at the screen which blocked her and her sister from the men's view. Without any forewarning, the screen shot open and slammed against its frame with a smack of wood against wood. Hisana stopped playing and joined her sister in looking nervously up at a large, brutish man with a forehead that came too forward on his thick, leathery face.

"I thought I heard you two speaking. You're disturbing my guests." Rukia scoffed but with one sharp look from Hisana, she bit it back. Their stepfather noticed Rukia's scoff but was momentarily distracted by one of his guests.

"What made the pretty one stop playing?" Their stepfather turned on Hisana.

"Well, girl?" He said to Hisana as though she was dumb.

"She's so tired. You know how hard she works in your shop during the day, let her rest!" Rukia blurted, snatching the samisen from Hisana's grasp. Their stepfather narrowed his already small eyes. His large, calloused hands snatched a fistful of Rukia's own black strands and knotted them as his fist closed around them. Rukia remained calm but Hisana's eyebrows slanted upwards and she hurried to their mother's room. Their mother gracefully made her way down the hall with Hisana trailing tiredly behind her. Their stepfather looked up from his stare-off with Rukia, and stared at his wife.

"What are you doing?" Their mother asked calmly.

"Teaching your daughter a lesson of her place in my household," He stuttered, unable to look his wife in the eyes. He was drunk. He often drank the more he realized that his wife really only cared for his money and not him. He used to do everything to please her but once he took to his alcohol his personality changed to domineering, a man who exercised his household power with force.

Their mother, even more exhausted than Hisana from her older age and tireless daily work, slowly shuffled to her husband's side and gripped his hand, leading him carefully away from Rukia.

"Come, love," She spoke so fragilely that Rukia wanted to cry. Their mother, before walking further with their stepfather, placed a frail hand on Hisana's shoulder saying, "Take care of our guests and make sure they leave safely." She spoke sternly before closing herself within her bed chamber with their stepfather. Rukia helped round up the drunken idiots and after she and Hisana managed to get them all outside the gate, they hesitantly turned to one another, neither of them wishing to go inside the house.

Hisana and Rukia both collectively gave a loud sigh before Hisana gracefully took her little sister's hand and gave it an assuring squeeze. They braved their way back into the house. But the grunts, and thumping that shook the walls of their home was too much to ignore. Rukia slid her fingers into her ears to tightly block out the sounds as she hurried for the steep, wooden stairs that led to the second floor. There she dove into her shared bedroom and pulled her quilt up and over her head tightly. Hisana came in moments later and shut the door behind her.

Rukia's sister dropped onto her own bed that had remained rolled out on the hard wooden floorboards from the night's sleep before. Hisana was too tired to care about any awkward situations and was asleep almost immediately. Rukia had to endure the sounds of copulation that came from below their floor with each agonizing second before it finally crescendoed and ended.

Afterword, Rukia allowed her grip on her quilt to loosen and she slumped face first into her bedding, willing herself to sleep. She would need all the energy she could muster for the upcoming day's strenuous schedule.