Disclaimer- I don't own Inuyasha.

Their's is an unspoken bond.

They do not speak, do not talk. For them, words are meaningless.

After all, lone wolves do not need communication.

There is no acknowledgment, no movements to approach the other.

She is ever present, always moving, always among people. She laughs with the children, cares for the sick, nurtures the babes, and advises the adults. The warmth, the heart of the village.

To the villagers, the priestess Kikyo is more than a protector, more than a spiritual leader, more than the keeper of a jewel.

She is the mother to them all. She is their pillar of strength.

He is quiet and silent, a shadow that dogs her every movement. He wanders the darkness of the wilds, always searching for acceptance.

To the world, he is a loner, full of that quiet rage that only an outcast can know. To them, he is lower than dirt, rejected even by murders, rapists, and monsters for his blood.

Somehow, unknowingly, he is drawn to her taciturn suffering. Perhaps it is because, for the first time, someone treated him differently.

No more outright hatred, or mockery. No more taunts or jeers.

Just... understanding. Unconditional, save for the fact that it can never be spoken.

Inuyasha has never known that... not since his mother.

And even Kikyo has never truly known that... not even her sister has ever seen beyond the proud, quiet grace she holds.

Two lonely souls, attracted by mutual pain. Physical attraction is unimportant... to them, acceptance of what they truly are is all that matters.

They cannot call it love... perhaps it is fear or ignorance. They do not touch, do not speak.

He follows her, watching her steps, the shadows his home.

Something about her entrances him. A quiet shout that only he can hear, an invisible wound only he can treat. He cannot tear his eyes away from that silent agony. Everything she does makes him lose a little more control, puts him under her spell.

He does not know what he wants...

But knows that she is the answer.

That was why he came to her, why he has become her shadow.

Because to not know why she suffers so, is to never know how to heal himself.

She knows that the half demon is omnipresent, knows that there is something that compels him to stay around her. She knows that she should tell him off, drive him away, but he cannot.

And somehow, it is comforting to know that someone is there.

She is not alone anymore... not as long as she has this shadow.

It does not matter if she is alone in a field, or among the villagers, or caring for her sister...

Only the presence of this shadow chases away the harrowing loneliness. He is her strength, her totem against all that is awful with the world.

Sometimes, she wants to touch him, to reach out and make sure he's real. To hold him.

Sometimes, he wants to come closer, hold her to him and protect her. To save her.

But that isn't allowed in their strange, unspoken bond. To touch is forbidden.

After all, he's only a shadow. A creature of moonlight shadow, only appearing at the corners of eyes in the darkest night.

After all, she's a mother to a village. A paragon of grace and beauty, untouchable and unbreakable.

Something that can be glimpsed but never touched.

Much like their bond.

It won't last, they know. Such a thing is forbidden. And even beyond that, it is impossible.

But they have now. Though their touches are at best fleeting and ethereal, shadows glancing one another in the midnight hour, they have the present.

And for now, this passive comfort is all they need.

Author's Notes

Personally, I'm not a fan of Kikyo/Inuyasha. But I suppose that's why I made it... to prove to myself that I could write a story without my favorite pairings. I hope you enjoyed my offering to the Kikyo/Inuyasha pile.

And Kagome/Inuyasha shippers... don't kill me. I'll just laugh if I see ship flames.