Being told not to worry, Shuzo learned, was something worth worrying more about. It was something layering the truth, hiding it from plain sight. Though, he sometimes wondered if it was obscuring the eyes from the truth, or the other way around.
The assurances he was used to hearing, as he grew up; that 'No, Shuzo-kun, everything will be alright' and 'Just don't mind anything, you'll be okay' and 'We don't care about your status' were all lies. Lies, lies, lies, lieslieslies—
It was a lie when he was thirteen and had been told that his father had been hospitalized; though that wasn't the lie, despite how much he wished. No, when the doctor had calmly patted his back with a drawn out sigh, telling him not to worry, Shuzo had believed him, not noticing the thinly-veiled pity in his eyes. And when his father told him the same thing, warm smile etched onto his tired features, he hesitantly made the decision to go to America for his schooling.
He finally came back a year later, but it was a year too late, and he had to say both his greetings and goodbyes to a corpse buried six feet underground.
It was a lie when he hit 17, the year of decisions and was pronounced a Beta by the doctor. 'Don't be disheartened,' the doctor had said, annoying, fake smile plastered to her features, 'Betas are still good enough.'
But he wasn't upset, he was, in fact, happy because at least he could play basketball with no problems, at least something in his life could be seamless, with no transitioning and awkward processes involved. Of course, that wasn't meant to be either, was it? Not when he was curled up at home (was it even his?), sweating and shaking and wanting to die because everything hurt so much.
And it was much later, when he laid exhausted among the twisted, spoiled sheets, sweat glistening against his flushed skin, that his aunt came inside, wearing that misleading smile of pity all adults did.
'I think' She had said that day, 'It's for the best if you leave, honey.'
Her husband and son were Alphas, while she herself was a Beta, apparently. And Shuzo didn't have the heart to protest when she reasoned that his scent would stifle the house, despite knowing he was going to take the suppressants.
It was, once again, a lie when he was taken into a foster home immediately after his...disownment and told he was never going to regret it. Because he did. Immensely. Days became weeks became months and he still couldn't find people who wanted to take care of him, an overgrown orphan— still couldn't find a home. And, perhaps that's when something in his life decided to go right, because finally, finally, someone came for him.
And they didn't lie.
Shuzo knows, now, that he probably wouldn't have survived another month's worth of torture if the man didn't swoop in, like a knight in shining armor, and save the day with a warm smile and a calloused, outstretched palm.
'You remind me of someone I used to know, kid.' The man had said, and it wasn't till later that Shuzo learned that he was his mother's best friend, ages ago, in high school. Shuzo should have felt angry that the man was raising him in pity, but he was too exhausted to protest kindness.
He even learnt martial arts from him, to 'protect himself from dumbass Alphas', as said by his mentor, and quickly grew more focused toward studying and, more importantly, basketball.
'Remember, it's in your blood.' The man had reminded him one day, after an intense round of training, 'You shouldn't ever lose sight of it.'
It was—no, is—his dream.
And when the day came, when he needed to move out at the tender age of 16, the man clapped him on the back and said 'I believe in you.'
And Shuzo had believed him.
It took 3 months exactly for him to assume the position of captain for Teiko High School, and he wore it with pride. There was envy, of course there was, but Shuzo didn't care about that, more preoccupied with revamping the team, making it better, making it more than the best. But it wasn't an easy task, and what he needed was a miracle.
He got 7 of them.
They didn't show it often, but Shuzo could see they were just as unsure as he was, just as childish on the inside (not that he was, not anymore) and unsteady on their feet. He tried to be the right type of senpai for each of them, though it was easier said than done, with Seijuro's perfectionism, Atsushi's binging, Daiki's brazeness, Shintaro's intolerance, Shougo's attitude, Ryota's airheadedness and Kuroko's complete lack of presence.
But he managed to reign them in, all of them, uncaring of his limitations and schedule. None of them knew he was an Omega to begin with, and he didn't plan on telling them either. He had learned, from earlier, not to trust most Alphas, regardless of how normal they seemed. It was biology.
Regardless of that, Shuzo was happiest the most when he was with them, even more than when he was surrounded by his year-mates. Their love for basketball was what united them, he thought wryly; and could it only be coincidence that he, Nijimura, was supposed to control the tiny sea of rainbow? It made for an interesting aesthetic, he supposed.
So, it wasn't a lie when they professed their love for the sport, and Shuzo couldn't have been happier, surrounded by people he actually liked, despite not showing it often, and being able to sweat and hope and dream alongside them.
No more lies.