A/N. This story is kind of being written in the background of my other stories. So it will probably see sporadic updates until the summer. I cannot commit to regular ones yet but anyone who knows me, knows I finish what I start.

Inspiration: The Book of Ruth from the bible. This will not be religious. It's AU from both story-lines.

All Cast members are human.

Chapter One

They sat in the morgue, a hollowed white shell of a room with a metallic smell and so quiet Kagome could hear the raspy breath of her mother-in-law. Two bodies lay displayed on the metal slabs, eyes shut, teeth clenched. Izayoi leaned heavily against the slanted table that ended in a drain. "It's them."

Kagome didn't want to believe it. She couldn't believe it. She fell to her knees, with tears in her eyes, staining already red cheeks. Her stomach roiled and the blueberry scone she had eaten at the coffee shop just before she and Izayoi got the phone call from the police to come to the morgue splattered on the bitter ivory tiles. Her husband's hand fell from the table, cold against her face like the last caress of the damned. She yelped in surprise, touching the cold, dead fingers.

He was gone.

She couldn't breathe, she couldn't think. They had known each other for so long. They met in high school. Inuyasha played Frisbee-golf which had somehow become a thing in his school. They married right out of high school. He was graduating college next month. They were going to start a family. They were going to do so many things.

Her vision went in and out of focus as she shivered against the freezing tiles. "I…" she coughed out.

She felt hands reach down and haul her back on her feet. "We'll be okay," Izayoi squeezed her fingers. "We'll be okay," she croaked. "We need…" but even she couldn't speak.

"I'm sorry, what?" Kagome shook her head confused as she sat at the oak desk in the mansion-like home owned by the Taishos. It was ancient and had been in the family for three generations.

Across from her sat a squat man with a round belly and a wrinkled old face that reminded her of figs drying in the desert. "I'm sorry. I know this is hard for you to understand. Toga didn't leave a will and he and Izayoi weren't married. All the assets have been frozen and Sesshomaru Taisho has already had injunctions filed to stop you from accessing any account that was under the Taisho umbrella. You can still take money out of your personal account. The joint account, his father was listed as the primary and the many deposits made over the years clearly came from Mr. Taisho's accounts."

"Those were to pay for school, they were gifts!" Kagome protested feeling sick again. He had been dead for two weeks and now this?

Myoga shook his silver wisps sadly saying, "it is what it is. I'm sorry."

"But I don't have money in that account." She slumped back in her chair and tried to wipe her eyes. "What about Izayoi?" She suddenly felt awful for her mother-in-law.

"It's confidential," he spoke mutely.

Kagome ran from the office down the stairs. She had shared the guest house with Inuyasha at the insistence of Toga and Izayoi. It was accessible past the pool where Sesshomaru sat sucking on a Mai Tai, bare chest exposed next to his slinky girlfriend. He didn't even cry at the funeral. "You!" Kagome screamed at him.

His gaze floated over to her as his lips sucked down on the straw. "Bring me another one, Rin?"

"Sure," the slender model-like female rose, baring her body in an open white coverup and black bikini.

"You can leave now," he said with a snort.

"This is my home!" she protested.

"Was," he clarified. "It was your home, now it's mine. I am demolishing the guest house in two weeks. Feel free to gather your things."

"How can you be so cold? I have nowhere to go! Where will Izayoi go? This is her house-"

"Was," he held up a pompous finger. "Was her house. Now it's mine, thank you," he tongued his girlfriend in front of Kagome as she handed him the drink and settled herself in his lap. "Why are you still here?"

"I…" she sputtered out but was stopped by a firm hand on her shoulder.

She turned to see her mother-in-law, eyes just as red as her own. They entered the guest house together and immediately they both burst into tears. "I'm sorry Kagome," Izayoi sighed holding her around the shoulders. "Inuyasha wouldn't have wanted this for you."

"What about you?" Kagome lifted up a tissue as they sat on a turquoise couch. It had been her idea to decorate in bright colors to make the space feel open and welcoming. The rugs were red, the walls were sandy yellow and the furniture was a mixture of Ikea style turquoises, purple and white.

Izayoi had no family. She was a product of the foster-care system and had met Toga in the eighties. She worked at a coffee shop across the street where he was getting his degree at night and that was how they had met. She played hard to get of course, but as she said, when they fell, she fell hard. Izayoi only pursed her lips and shrugged her shoulders.

"I'm going with you," Kagome squeezed her.

"Kagome," Izayoi cupped her chin and wiped her eyes. "Go back to your family. Go back to California. There are people to love you there, who would let you have a place to stay. I'll be fine."

"I'm not leaving you," she whispered.

"There's nothing left for me. Everything has been confiscated. There are no riches I can take, not even the jewelry. He let me keep my rings," she rubbed her ring finger. "It's okay. I'll find work."

"You're in your fifties and haven't worked twenty five years."

"I'll clean houses, I'll baby sit. I'll find something."

"No," she said more firmly.

"Kagome," Izayoi closed her eyes exhaling. "And who will hire you to work?" She touched the younger woman's belly. "When were you going to tell us?"

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