His Miraculous Tiger {AoKaga}

Aomine Daiki

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If there was one thing that annoyed Aomine, it was that story of being an Alpha. Ever since he was a kid, he'd heard from his family how special he was for being born that way. As if that was the only reason he was good at the things he did. He was good at basketball. As if having, hypothetically speaking, a dominant animal inside you made any difference.

Okay, it got heavy.

The animal wasn't hypothetical. He could feel it as if it were part of his soul. A very living part, almost uncontrollable. But undeniable. Especially on full moons.

Was it a wolf?

No. Definitely not a wolf. He'd known wolf shifters, damn controllers with an immutable, hardened sense of hierarchy. Aomine wasn't that kind of person. He was much more concerned with improving himself more and more than bossing others around.

Doubt about his beast ended up being put aside, until he had the chance to see his inner animal and discover the truth. He met other shifters, Betas mostly.
And Half-bloods.

Those were more common. Stronger than humans, of course. Not as powerful as the Born. A challenge that he soon won on the court.

Other than them? He didn't even care. Her best friend was a Beta. A girl too noisy for Daiki's taste, a little fussy. But very reliable and faithful. He bonded with her. He experienced a little bit of what adults called the Pack when referring to the alliances that naturally grew among shifters.

Even though their parents had some hope for the two, they soon realised that it was nothing more than a bond of friendship. This is how it worked among their kind. If the animal didn't accept the partner, the relationship would be tumultuous and difficult.

Daiki's inner beast didn't recognise Momoi's beast as anything more than a trusted friend. And vice versa.

In the case of shifters the recognition needed to be mutual. Unlike when a shifter fell in love with a human. Humans didn't have an inner animal that had to accept and recognise the other.

Relationships between shifters lasted a lifetime. When a human entered the equation, the future became elusive. The bonds were fragile...

Not that Daiki thought about it. He was young and full of other ambitions to waste time with daydreams and fantasies about relationships.

His focus was single, becoming the best at basketball. Beating every shifter that came his way. Whether it was Beta or Alpha. Then he met five amazing people.

Five Born who despite being Betas, were on par with their abilities. It was amazing, playing with them and not having that doubt that it was only good for being an Alpha, since each of them had a strength that Daiki needed to overcome.

He understood that this was the difference between Betas and Alphas.

Betas had an extremely strong point. Something that set them apart and made them unique among the rest. Whether it was the shots that never failed, the power to copy plays or the insurmountable defense.

An Alpha didn't need a strong point. He was absolute in dominating every point and that made him unique.

Theories applied to basketball, of course. One could never forget the personality of shifters. Off the court Daiki was not an example of a good person. Alpha's strength soon went to his head and he realised that no one could defeat him but him. He became lazy, baggy, arrogant.

Life lost its fun. Basketball lost its fun.

He played for the sake of playing, with the secret hope of finding that old emotion on the court, of a difficult victory. To fight, because overcoming the score is worth it in the end.