Tamed
by: RoyaleDeuce

Disclaimer: Ao no Exorcist is not mine.
Warning: Minor spoilers up ahead.

Okumura Rin was a fighter.

For fifteen years, every battle rooted from his unwavering sense of justice and principles. Even if the world had turned its back on him, he desperately clung to the place he called "home" because he was Fujimoto's son not Satan's, and he was his brother's protector through and through. Despite the consequences and the possibility of defeat, he was more inclined to confront his adversaries head on than take flight, his instincts far more superior than logic.

He was rash, abrasive and terribly strong.

After the initial brokenness due to his father's death, he faced the world with perpetual resolve.

His spirit was free and feral, ready to pounce on any given chance to become stronger.

Moriyama Shiemi was a coward.

For fifteen years, she had been cooped up in the confines of the Exorcist shop and her grandmother's garden; the latter ultimately giving her the reason to live a life much different from a normal girl's. The different herbs and plants were her friends, the soil and the garden shed her world. Despite her deteriorating condition, she paid no heed to her peculiarity because she was doing what she loved most, and somehow, she had convinced herself that that was what her grandmother wanted.

She was innocent, delicate and physically weak.

After the shock of her grandmother's death, she had forgotten reality and lost herself in her own world.

She was bound to isolation by her guilt and fears, her life-force dwindling until the Okumuras came along.

The first time he met Shiemi, he had an unexplainable burst of warmth coursing all throughout his body. Seeing her amidst all the flowers brought an ethereal glow about her, which consequently struck a foreign chord in his system. Despite her gullibility and clumsiness, Shiemi was every bit the lovely girl, her disposition pleasant and smile endearing.

His primary impression of her was that she was fragile and unable to stand up for herself, which was why he was always looking out for her well-being, his habit of assuming the role of 'protector' kicking in. But as time passed by, he became aware of her scorching willpower – her ability to summon the Greenman Spirit was confirmation – and his growing affection.

In her presence, his front was as robust as ever.

But in the deepest recesses of his mind, he knew that she had unlocked his greatest fear – behind his smiling façade was a cowering fifteen-year old boy afraid of rejection.

He was at the mercy of a wobbly-kneed girl.

The first time she met Rin, she had been blinded with fear. It wasn't mainly because of the metal gates reacting to his touch, but more on the fact that there was a stranger – a boy – in her garden. Apart from her mother, Yuki-chan and the nameless doctors who attempted to make sense of her disability, she had never interacted with anyone before, so Rin's appearance came as a surprise. But she quickly realized his kindness, and it wasn't long before she welcomed the thought of becoming his friend.

Ever since he had saved her from that demon, she had always watched him in the sidelines. He was her pillar of strength, the standard she wished to reach. Although she tried so hard to be more independent, his courage and determination sucked her in that she couldn't help but think that it wouldn't hurt to trust and depend on him a little more.

In his presence, she was forever the damsel-in-distress.

But there was no denying the truth that he was the reason she was more capable – to the point of even managing to tame a demon.

And possibly, a certain half-demon.

A/N: The number of Rin/Shiemi fics is devastating. I hope more will contribute to the fandom.