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zdbztumble · 5 years ago

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Build A Better Buu Saga

Oh, the Buu Saga...from initially getting passed over in Kai to almost getting passed over by TeamFourStar, it’s almost as if the collective understanding of all corners of the Dragon Ball community is that this is a saga that just...didn’t. It didn’t give a proper cap to the overall series, it didn’t stick the landing even on its own terms, it didn’t have the best fights or villains or character moments...it just didn’t.

For myself, the Buu Saga actually has my favorite beginning of any storyline in Dragon Ball. Gohan being my favorite character in the series, I was happy to see him take up the mantle of Series Lead (a fact that the manga pointed out in asides multiple times), and the huge shake-up in the status quo made for some exciting possibilities. Videl and Goten were wonderful additions to the cast, the current timeline’s Trunks was quite the contrast with his future self, I think the Great Saiyaman was amusing, and the lead-up to the World Tournament is some of the best material out of the entire series. The middle section of the saga, while uneven, is a fun and wild ride too, with Majin Buu being a very distinct villain from his immediate predecessors and concepts like the fusion dance giving a jolt of new energy (no pun intended) to battles. Gohan’s development as he tries to regain the power he’s lost since the Cell Games during this part of the story doesn’t get enough credit either.

Yep - the Buu Saga, in my books anyway, is a solid arc full of fantastic characters and moments...in its first two thirds. The moment Super Buu becomes Buutenks, the story rapidly deteriorates, as Akira Toriyama decides to arbitrarily reject or ignore every bit of set-up and development he’d laid down up to that point and goes on auto-pilot, ending the conflict with tired retreads of old ideas while using characters whose story this has not been. It’s not even that anything in the ending of the saga is all that bad; it’s just such an about-face, such a divorce from everything in the story up to that point - material that I really liked - that it feels more disappointing (to me, anyway) than if it had been more poorly produced.

I’m not the first, or the last, to think about how the Buu Saga might have had a stronger ending, and more coherence overall. Over on the Kanzenshuu forums a few years ago, I even wrote up some my thoughts on what I would’ve liked to see. Thanks to TeamFourStar’s release of their “Day of Fate” remix, though, I’ve been thinking about this more lately, and my ideas have changed quite a bit from the last time I wrote them down. With that, I figured I’d lay out my outline for an alternate Buu Saga, one that I think would’ve given the series a stronger cap and paid off its initial set-up.

Before we get started, I’ll make three caveats plain:

- Goku isn’t here. This isn’t out of any dislike of the character. I'm actually quite happy with Goku serving as a supporting figure, and a mentor to Goten and Trunks, in the middle third of the Buu Saga. But I think it’s ultimately detrimental to a story that purportedly follows the successor protagonist to have the original hero pop up as early, and for as long, as Goku ultimately was in the saga as-is. To see what Gohan and the others would make of a world totally devoid of Goku is a more interesting idea to me anyway.

- No Old Kai. He may be fun, he may have unique abilities, but Old Kai and his powers offer too many cop-outs. Which is not to say that there isn’t a place for a mentor figure like Old Kai in the saga, but...well, keep reading.

- I don’t care about post-manga interviews. Yes, I am aware that Toriyama retconned Buu’s origin, among other things, in interviews he gave after finishing the manga. I am ignoring these, and I’m ignoring anything from Super. What was in the manga, and the anime, back in the 90s is all the material I’m drawing from.

- You know the story, right? For brevity’s sake, I’m just going to point out where I would’ve made changes, not writing up the full series of events. I assume anyone crazy enough to read this knows at least the gist of the Buu Saga anyway.

All that said - here we go:

There isn’t much I’d change about the very beginning of the Buu saga. Gohan’s high school days and Great Saiyaman antics are both a great change of pace from the heavier material preceding them. If I were to change anything, it would be to have the manga expand on this section slightly - no more than the anime did, but just that little bit extra to mine the concept for all it’s worth.

Assuming that expansion happens, then the impression can be given that a significant number of months pass - let’s say an academic year. Thus, when Videl learns the truth about the Great Saiyaman and blackmails Gohan into competing in the World Tournament, they’re right at the start of summer vacation, with the tournament set to begin at the end of summer. This provides three months of training, not one.

Removing Goku from the story doesn’t require as big an adjustment to Vegeta’s character as you’d think on first glance. Remember that in the saga as-is, Bulma tells Gohan early on that Vegeta wants to make Trunks stronger than him, Vegeta chides Gohan for not training during peacetime, and when news of the tournament reaches him, Vegeta’s keen to enter to fight Gohan, before he knows that Goku’s coming back. Just push all this a little further, and you get a Vegeta who’s transferred his great rivalry with “Kakarot” onto Gohan - whose lack of interest in combat for its own sake or in feeding that rivalry really gets under Vegeta’s skin. The tournament, in Vegeta’s mind, is his first chance in seven years to compel Gohan to duke it out.

The extra months for training gives real opportunity for Videl. In the series as-is, her ability to learn to fly in a day is considered remarkable, and she expresses an interest in learning more about ki. With more time, she actually could. It’s straining credulity to expect her to be at Krillin or Tenshinhan levels by the time of the Tournament, but she could at least pick up the Kamehameha. As I would like her to stay action-relevant once the real conflict emerges, however, I’d go ahead and give her some unique ability too, to off-set her limited raw power. Perhaps something akin to re-directing lightning in Avatar - she could figure out how to channel and re-direct ki attacks aimed at her. I don’t think that’s too ridiculous - again, the series as-is has her figure out the basics of ki control and flight in a single afternoon, so using that as a springboard for her demonstrating unusual ki manipulation is a fair expansion on that IMO.

Videl’s curiosity about ki (and the cute dork she’s learning from) could also lead to her learning about the dragon balls during her training. This could amount to a brief, lighthearted ball hunt that doubles as as a more active training regimen, with Goten and Trunks coming along as well. It would be the four members of the new generation off on a fun-filled adventure, like the opening of this saga seemed to promise. Gohan and Videl’s bond is strengthened, Goten and Trunks’s friendship is shown off, and the dragon balls are conveniently collected and ready for use later on. And this would also be the way that news of the World Tournament spreads to the other Z Fighters - assume that each of them holds onto one of the dragon balls as a safety measure. A tad more time could be spent at Kame House and the Lookout, and through the eyes of Videl - the new human character and a great candidate for a reader/audience stand-in - we could be introduced to the new status quo for all the old cast in a (slightly) expanded way.

The World Tournament would play out largely the same, with the odd minor to adjustments due to Goku’s absence. The senzu beans would get delivered via Mr. Popo and his carpet, for example. Probably the most significant change I would’ve made would be to have Gohan’s anger at Videl’s pain cause a flash of power that, while brief, tells Vegeta that Gohan’s potential remains as boundless as ever even despite his lack of training, feeding into Vegeta’s frustrations with Gohan.

Without Goku, Yakon would be cut from the line-up of Babidi’s warriors; we’d go from Pui Pui to Dabura. Vegeta’s anger at Gohan’s sloppiness would remain, though he’d be shouting at Gohan directly, instead of at Goku about Gohan. In this case, Vegeta gives in to Babidi not to acquire sufficient power to defeat Goku in a limited time frame, but because all the preparation for the World Tournament, Gohan’s “unworthiness” as a surrogate rival for his father, and disgust that someone uninterested in fighting has the potential that Gohan has, all fuel Vegeta’s midlife crisis about finding himself settled on Earth. Basically, the ticking clock of Goku’s 24 hours is replaced with a slow burn of identity conflict and irritation.

Of course, this means that instead of a Goku/Vegeta rematch, we’d have Gohan vs. Vegeta. I would leave the immediate set-up for it largely untouched in the broadstroke, but of course the details would matter. I can’t imagine Gohan feeling so determined to fight that he’d be prepared to blow Supreme Kai’s face off, for example. I would have him ask to be brought back into the ship, to give Supreme Kai a better chance at getting at Buu’s pod. It would also give a backdrop for the fight other than Generic Wasteland #47. The fight itself would naturally have a different character. I imagine Vegeta being more unstable and manic while Gohan remains evasive, trying at all times to minimize the energy released. As in the series as-is, Vegeta’s words spur Gohan to realize the price to be paid for not staying prepared for danger in the seven years since the Cell Games, but in this case, Gohan’s evasiveness keeps shooting Vegeta’s anger and irrationality higher and higher, and it’s through this process that his motives come out. At a moment when Gohan’s pleas to look at the big picture fall on deaf ears, Vegeta calls Gohan “Kakarot.” Hearing that name, and fully appreciating how much Vegeta has projected his old rivalry, Gohan snaps for a second, gets the drop on Vegeta, knocks him out, and heads deeper into the ship to help Supreme Kai.

From there, things would largely play out as they do as-is, with minor adjustments. Vegeta would come to inside the ship, get a sense of what’s going on up above through ki detection, and have a quiet moment of realization of what he’s done before he heads up to try and make amends. And when he sacrifices himself...that’s it. That is the end of Vegeta’s character. This is a point I feel strongly about, because nothing that’s been done with Vegeta since justifies undercutting his sacrifice here IMO. To fully appreciate what he’s done, to recognize the one tactic he has left to try and set things to rights, and to be aware (thanks to Piccolo) just how total the price to be paid will be, and still go through with it for the sake of his loved ones, is as fitting an end to Vegeta’s character as I can think of.

Instead of Bulma summoning Shenron, she collects the balls from Chi Chi’s house with the intent of summoning Shenron, until someone in that group - possibly Yamcha, possibly Videl, possibly even Master Roshi - perceive that they might be needed for an even greater emergency, and the decision is made to retreat to the Lookout to try and get news of what’s been going on. They bring the balls with them, sparing the need for the radar incident later on. Piccolo and Krillin are tasked with filling everyone in.

Without Goku, how is the Fusion Dance brought up? Well, Namekians practice a form of fusion (more like assimilation), and Piccolo has (in the anime, at least) demonstrated knowledge of Multi-Form; what if it’s a technique he and Dende have devised in the seven years since the Cell Games, making use of natural Namekian abilities and Earthling ki manipulation techniques? “But wait!” you say. “What about Piccolo’s embarrassed reaction to the dance in the series as-is?” Simple - don’t have him be embarrassed. I never found that “gag” to be all that funny anyway - it’s not like the dance looks that ridiculous. To whet Buu’s appetite for the fight the way Goku did, Piccolo could just communicate the promise of a fighter telepathically.

So, we still have the Z Sword, but no Old Kai. What to do about Gohan’s power then? Well - what if the Z Sword was sentient? Similar to the Byakko from Dairanger, it can talk once drawn. I imagine it having a cantankerous and impatient personality, but in addition to being heavy enough to serve as a training tool, it can also bond and manipulate Gohan’s ki, letting it serve as a power-up device and a mentor. Part of that mentorship involves helping Gohan through his hang-up at not keeping his strength from the Cell Games. As Old Kai does as-is, the Z Sword could feel that the strain of transformations isn’t worth the power boost, and could also conclude that relying on saiyan rage and battle lust isn’t the best course for Gohan. So as they train, the Z Sword works to rearrange Gohan’s ki to bring all his power into his base form - so yes, there still is an Ultimate/Mystic power-up.

The Z Sword could also suggest a strategy for defeating Buu, and here’s where it becomes necessary to ignore Toriyama’s later statements. To go just off of the original manga, Bibidi created Buu. So if Buu is a magical creation, a force of chaotic evil energy - roll with that. Don’t treat him as a flesh and blood creature who can be killed. Treat him as negative ki manifested, that can be manipulated and dispersed. Videl’s ability helps Gohan grasp the concept, but it’s the Z Sword that will be key to him being able to pull the same manipulation on Buu.

The process of Gohan’s training would involve taking a look inside his own head. Imagine scenes where, while Gohan’s body performs fencing maneuvers, his inner self communes with the Z Sword and reviews and experiences these concepts in visually interesting ways. Besides being more dynamic than sitting on the ground while an old man holds his hands out, this could also sell the idea that this process would take a while.

Things on Earth would play out largely the same once Goten and Trunks are taught the dance. My one change would be to have Videl unaccounted for along with Dende during Buu’s candy attack.

Nothing against Goku, but when Gohan returns to Earth, I’d have him keep the Kai get-up; I really like that costume on him. Gohan’s demeanor would be more cold and silent in fighting Buu than brash, and instead of just treating Buu like a punching bag, he’s focused on catching Buu’s attacks with the Z Sword and turning the blade on Buu. When he does this, the wounds don’t regenerate. Buu finds this horrifying, and it’s this realization that triggers his self-destruct feint.

Videl’s with Dende. They got away together. Why? I’ll tell you why: I like Videl. But there is actually a reason, that we’ll get to in a second.

Buu absorbing Gotenks and Piccolo is less to do with getting stronger than Gohan (though there is that); it’s on the calculation that, if Buu absorbs people that Gohan loves into his being, then Gohan can’t channel ki to disperse Buu. Remember, that isn’t the same as being killed, so who’s to say the dragon balls could revive them? Gohan essentially has no choice but to get into a conventional fight with Buu - a much more even fight, but one he knows is ultimately fruitless. To make things worse, the grouchy, insensitive Z Sword keeps insisting that they finish Buutenks off anyway, and Buutenks keeps targeting Dende and Videl. That’s partly a distraction tactic, but he’s also looking to neutralize the dragon balls. Dende is protected in part by Gohan’s efforts, and in part by Videl’s redirection abilities. This would also open up comic moments, with Mr. Satan gaping in shock at his daughter’s skills. But a hard limit on those abilities becomes quickly apparent, when dealing with that much raw power at her level starts to destroy her body. Eventually, it proves too much, and saving Dende causes Videl to pass out - and in the second that Gohan is distracted by that, Buutenks seizes the Z Sword and breaks it.

The heroes look screwed now, but when the fusion runs out, Buu starts to react strangely, as if he’s getting beat up from the inside. Cut to inside of his body and, sure enough, the fusion running out has caused Goten and Trunks to be freed from Buu’s control. They wreak havoc inside of Buu in an attempt to find away out, and end up finding Piccolo and Fat Buu. Severing Fat Buu sets off the chain reaction leading to Kid Buu, and the kids make it out with Piccolo just in time.

Kibito teleporting in is how the heroes get off of Earth once Kid Buu decides to blow it up. And he actually saves everyone. Without Goku there, that bit of faux drama and guilt is even less justifiable, so don’t bother with it. The entire planet being lost is enough of a gut-punch to the heroes as it is.

As Kid Buu rampages through the universe, Kibito restores Videl and Piccolo. As bleak as things look, a conversation happens that triggers memories of Namek, and Gohan and Piccolo quickly devise a plan. They ask Kibito to bring King Kai to the Sacred World of the Kais, to facilitate communication, then send him to Namek. Those dragon balls (which cannot suddenly revive as many people as you want and still grant three wishes) are gathered. Gohan wants Porunga to restore the Z Sword, but that is a feat beyond the dragon’s power. Instead, he restores the Earth (and other destroyed planets) and, with the second wish, assembles Earth’s dragon balls at the Lookout. Kibito returns to the heavenly realm, takes Dende back to the Lookout, and Shenron is used to revive everyone (who Shenron can still revive) killed by Buu. Shenron also can’t mend the Z Sword, but Gohan and Piccolo expect that Babidi was revived with the first wish. They have Kibito track Babidi down and bring him to them. Both dragons are kept on stand-by.

Gohan wants Babidi to cast a spell to get rid of Kid Buu - not seal him up again, but to decreate him entirely. Unfortunately, Babidi doesn’t know any such spells - if they ever existed, they went to the grave with his father Bibidi (again - forget the later interview retcons. All we’re told originally is that Babidi was Bibidi’s son.) What Babidi can do, however, is reforge the Z Sword with his magic. Not unlike Buu’s awakening, it’s a spell that requires a tremendous amount of energy be released, and meanwhile, Kid Buu is laying waste to worlds. To gather the energy, and to keep Kid Buu from destroying anything else, Gohan, Goten, and Trunks all power up to lure him to the World of the Kais. While Piccolo stands guard over Babidi and the others watch, Gohan and Gotenks keep Kid Buu occupied. The effort doesn’t go as smoothly as Gohan and Piccolo had hoped - partly because Kid Buu is so violent and unpredictable, and partly because Gotenks gets carried away yet again, resulting in far more damage to the planet than necessary.

At a certain point, Videl has to re-direct a blast, and Mr. Satan yells at Kid Buu for endangering his daughter. Kid Buu targets them both, but can’t bring himself to attack, and expels Fat Buu. Just in time, too - Gotenks’ carelessness gets Gohan seriously injured, and the fusion wears off. Goten (and, after some hesitation, Trunks) continue to fight on with Fat Buu while Dende tries to heal Gohan. Babidi, meanwhile, has one last bit of treachery up his sleeve. He tries to take control of Gohan in a moment of anger. A lot happens all at once - a fierce blow by Kid Buu that puts Fat Buu down for the count, Gohan reacts to Babidi’s efforts, Piccolo slays Babidi - and the Z Sword re-forges. Kid Buu, recognizing the re-forged blade, panics, but Goten and Trunks keep him distracted, and Gohan is able to disperse Buu’s energy, finally ridding the universe of him for good.

Everyone returns to the Lookout, where unfinished business remains. Vegeta, Krillin, Roshi, and Chaotzu (and technically, all the people who were killed by Cell) are still dead, and for Krillin and Chaotzu, there's bad news: no dragon can ever grant the same wish twice, so even with Porunga around, they're still dead. Roshi sends word through Baba that he's ready to move on; Vegeta’s spirit has already met its final judgment. So, with the last Shenron wish, the memory of Buu is taken from the world; with the last Porunga wish, someone gets something stupid (Goten gets an ice cream sundae? Something comedic.)

Gohan has a conversation with Piccolo that basically summarizes his journey through the arc: that even if he doesn’t like fighting for its own sake, power like his carries a responsibility, and he has to be prepared for future threats. Fast forward to the same year that DBZ ends, only instead of another Tournament, there's a reunion at Capsle Corp. Some new threat comes, and the new lineup of Z fighters, led by Gohan, go into action. End of show/comic.

#z's crits #dragon ball #son gohan #buu saga #dragon ball z #headcanon #critique #commentary

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mysterylover123 · 6 years ago

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My thoughts on Izu/Ocha: Meta

cue frustrated shipper screams

by mysterylover123

At the end of the day, irrespective of any shipping wars, I just want HeroAca to have a good ending. Many manga/anime/franchises have been utterly destroyed by a bad ending, while others are elevated by a great one. And a very consistent element in Bad Endings is poor handling of romantic subplots. Exhibits include: How I Met Your Mother, Naruto, Bleach. Horikoshi has listed both Marvel and Shonen Jump as his major influences, and BNHA is published in the latter. Both companies have a history of terrible Romantic Subplot decisions: Selling Spider-Man’s marriage to Mephisto, the IchiHime vs IchiRuki debate, the awkward Staron and Brutasha subplots in the MCU, and the fiery pit of controversy that is the Naruto ending pairs - all of it ultimately harming the narrative’s integrity and preventing audiences from enjoying the story. While a badly handled romance subplot doesn’t have to tank the ending of an action series, it’s still a thin line to walk.

On the surface, BNHA’s main pairing of Izuku Midoriya/Ochaco Uraraka, or Izu/Ocha as it’s called, seems to avoid the obvious problems. There’s no More Important Girl in Deku’s life, there’s no coding on his rivalries, and no melodramatic love triangle to annoy people. In fact, I can even say that Izuku and Ochaco’s dynamic is pretty fascinating. But not yet as an endgame pairing. My feelings on Izu/Ocha are complicated. I simultaneously ship it and don’t. I ship it because I enjoy them both as characters, I think they’re good friends, and they seem to like each other; I don’t ship it because the execution so far has been rather awkward, the romance lopsided on Uraraka’s side, and the nature of their relationship struggling to get to the levels of intimacy I’d expect from an endgame pairing. I’m afraid, in short, that Horikoshi will do what other Shonen manga have done: have a supporting female character become defined by her love for the Lead, have the lead spend the whole series ignoring them to obsess over their rivals and villains, and throw the two together at the last minute without properly developing their romance, leaving both fans of the pairing (because of the lack of onscreen development) and non-fans (because of the weak storytelling) alike disappointed and frustrated.

There are several options for what could happen besides that terrifying prospect. Izu/Ocha could spend lots of time developing their romance, correcting the problems I’ve spotted and outlined in this meta - I’ll mention a few areas where I think they could change these problems as I go along - and become a great Official Couple, like some of the success stories in Shonen romance writing (Ed/Win, Vegeta/Bulma…erm, that’s all I can think of). Alternatively, they could grow away from their crushes on each other and set them aside, ending as friends instead of lovers, possibly with no Official Couples (One Piece, and in the west, Gravity Falls, do something like this). That could work too. They could both end up with other people. They could end up having a tragic falling out and become enemies. At this point, anything’s possible. But what I do know is that they need to change something about their dynamic, and change it fast, or else the story is going to go barreling into the problems of it’s predecessors - the flaws in Shonen manga the series is so well known for avoiding, like pacing issues or Power Scaling. And I don’t want that.

I wrote this meta mostly to contextualize/analyze the Izu/Ocha dynamic for myself. I find their relationship interesting, and most meta on Izu/Ocha barely scratch the surface of their relationship, only going so far as to say either “I don’t like it” or “I like it, and you all are stupid for not liking it”. My feelings on Izu/Ocha are complicated, and I wanted to do a meta on them. Both their relationship, and as two of my fave characters in BNHA. What I want from a storytelling, meta-narrative perspective is a good story. What I want from a character loving POV is for my faves to be happy. If the series shows me they’ll make each other happy, I’m good. It’s just that so far, their relationship doesn’t seem to work that way.

So I’ll go through each arc of the series, and try and detail their interactions from both Deku’s POV and Uraraka’s. I’ll highlight the moments I like and find shippy, and the things they need to work on as a couple. Hopefully this’ll be an enjoyable read (it ended up really, really long), and I’m sorry if Izu/Ocha fans reading it get mad at me - I have nothing against it as a ship, I just want more from the relationship in canon.

Without further ado:

Entrance Exam Arc:

Deku’s POV: Deku’s first impression of Uraraka is great. She’s a cute, kind girl who stops him from tripping over his feet.

He does, however, think of her as “a girl” (“I just talked to a girl!”), which is a pattern with how he often reacts to her - as “a girl”, rather than “Uraraka”, later on down the line. When Deku shows attraction to Ochaco, it’s to her as an exemplar of the female, rather than as a person.

Compare Deku’s attraction to her uniform and costume, or responses to talking to ‘a girl’, to say, Naruto saying he likes Sakura’s “large charming forehead” or Darcy in Pride and Prejudice thinking of Elizabeth’s “fine dark eyes”. Big difference in terms of how romantic the attraction comes across.

Iida stops Deku from talking to Uraraka before the test, saying he’ll just distract her. Take a shot every time someone frames Ochaco’s potential interest in Deku as being a ‘distraction’ that she has to do without.

Deku notices Uraraka pinned under rubble and jumps to save her. He compares this mentally to doing the same for Bakugo in the previous arc, from the sludge villain. But there’s no All Might here to save Deku, and when he jumps he breaks three limbs. His decision gets him into UA, but he thinks he failed. For weeks, Deku feels miserable about this, wallowing in despair because he threw away his chance to get into UA. He gets the news from All Might, and learns that Uraraka went to offer up some of her points for him. Now this is sweet, but let’s look at what we know of Deku’s character now and talk about why I don’t think he appreciates this all that much, and why it wouldn’t have been good for their relationship if that was what got him into UA.

Deku doesn’t believe in himself. He has huge issues with personal security and confidence because of his past. He wants to be there for other people, to be “able to smile, while doing something good for them”. Deku wanted to get into UA on his own merit. So had Uraraka actually been the one to get him in, out of gratitude, it really would have done a number on Deku’s self-esteem. It would have told him that he wasn’t good enough to get in on his own, that someone else had to sabotage themselves to bail him out because of his mistakes. Fortunately, that’s not what happened - he got in because Rescue Points - but from an Izu/Ocha standpoint, it doesn’t seem calculated to cause Deku to fall in love with Uraraka. He doesn’t want someone to take pity on him and sabotage themselves so he can do well.

That’s why he doesn’t seem all that moved by Uraraka’s gesture here - we could have had many close-ups and reaction bubbles of him thinking about how wonderful she was for doing this, how generous and kind of her it was, but nope, nothing like that happens. Deku is only ecstatic once he learns that he made it in on his own merit. As he should be, of course, but ultimately this first encounter doesn’t do a lot to set up Izu/Ocha.

Ochaco’s POV. Ochaco is a nice girl who saves people in trouble. She’s also very, very insecure. I’ll get into that more later, but despite Uraraka’s cheerful exterior, she’s even more insecure than Deku is. She saves him when they first meet, then walks off after talking at him for a few minutes.

He doesn’t respond to her at all out loud and she quickly moves on. This is a small microcasm of their entire dynamic: Ochaco often talks at Deku rather than with Deku, and he rarely talks to her about anything. We’ll get more into that later.

Ochaco gets saved by Deku during the exam, saves him in return, and later on offers him her points. When she brings him up to Mic, she calls him “plain looking” and “didn’t stand out at all”. Lovely first impression. Of course, it’s not impossible for a romance subplot to start with the love interest not finding the hero attractive. The aforementioned Pride and Prejudice, for instance, starts with Darcy calling Eliza “tolerable, but not handsome enough to tempt me.” But within two chapters he’s gushing about her “fine eyes”.

200+ chapters later, and Ochaco still hasn’t said a word about finding Deku more attractive now. Now, she could, hopefully some day, realize that she no longer finds him plain, and that she’s grown to find him attractive. Say something about those big green eyes or his fearless smile. Something personal, like he has yet to say about her, to express that she finds him appealing. But nothing yet.

Uraraka giving Deku her points, from her POV, is I think motivated just as much by pride as it is by gratitude. She got into that scenario because she was pinned down, and she probably feels like it was her fault. It would be kind of creepy, actually, if she was willing to throw her own chances under the bus for someone she just met because she liked him or was in love with him - Misa Amane levels of love-at-first-sight co-dependency. Uraraka doing this because of her own pride seems more fitting to me, more in line with the character we get to know later on.

EG:

She feels she messed up, and took someone else down with her, and as such has to make things better. Thankfully, Deku pulled through on his own. This is one of many sweet scenes where Uraraka offers Deku a great deal of love and support. But sadly, it’s a very lopsided bond in that regard. Outside of this moment, Deku never does anything crazy to protect Uraraka again, and rarely shows her the same kind of support. Not because he doesn’t want to, per se, but because she won’t let him (if you want the full details on that imbalance, skip to the Sports Fest arc section).

Quirk Apprehension Test Arc:

Uraraka’s POV: We continue the pattern of Uraraka’s crush on Deku being something she’s told to drop here, with Aizawa telling her if she’s “just here to make friends” she can go home (take a shot).

She’s happy to see Deku and supportive of him when he does OK, worried for him when he’s hurt, and in general a good friend. At this point in the series, we’re not privy to her inner thoughts, so there’s not as much to say about her feelings here. The only thing of note is the other general pattern of their relationship, wherein Uraraka gets to be supportive of and worried for Deku, but not him for her. Her revising of the name Deku is more important from his POV.

Deku’s POV: Deku shows continuing attraction to Uraraka here, thinking that she “looks good in her uniform” and blushing around her. However, he quickly moves on to overcoming the Quirk App Test and doesn’t think about her much throughout the rest of the arc.

She comes up to him later and calls him ‘Deku’, like Bakugo did, and reframes the nickname as a positive thing. The setup seems clear: Ochaco is to be the friend to Deku that Bakugo never was, the kind and supportive ally he lacked back in middle school. This scene makes me smile.

Which would be fine if that’s what they went with, but…

Battle Trial Arc:

This arc starts out so well for Izu/Ocha, then goes down hill fast.

Deku on Ochaco here: Deku thinks she looks good in her uniform, blushing around her, and expressing a desire to impress her when they’re put on the same team.

They’re up against Bakugo, and he’s nervous. When Ochaco asks, he starts talking about how Greatamazingawesomesuperspecialwhatever Bakugo is and how he wants to beat him.

He then apologizes to Ochaco for getting her caught up in his problems, indicating that he doesn’t see her as being part of them. Even though Ochaco proclaims them to be a team, he doesn’t do much strategizing with her ahead of time. He gets very caught up in his match with Bakugo, and doesn’t bother working with her until Bakugo has him cornered and nearly drops him with the MegaBlast. Then, he calls her and comes up with a plan - but imagine if he’d actually worked together with Ochaco to beat Bakugo.

If he’d guessed, as he says, that Bakugo was planning to “come at him first”, then why not get Uraraka to grab Bakugo while he’s distracted and zero G him out of the building?

Because Deku wants to beat Bakugo to prove himself, plain and simple. He’s known Bakugo longer, so it’s only natural he’s more interested in beating him than working with Uraraka. But this could have gone so much better for him if he took the time to work with Ochaco instead - if they’d tag-teamed Kacchan, Deku might not have had to break his arm.

He does salvage this a little by taking the new version of his name Uraraka came up with. But then Deku spends the rest of the arc ignoring her instead of working with her.

There’s even an oddly placed panel sequence where she blows off a flirtatious Kaminari to worry about Deku, and he then blows her off to go chase after Bakugo and clear up their misunderstanding. It’s probably just a coincidence, but it’s still a weird parallel.

And speaking of this scene, let’s talk about a bigger concern with Izu/Ocha (from Deku’s angle) that I have. Deku has a secret identity. He has a past as a quirkless kid, a history of insecurity, and a secret chosen one destiny that burdens him greatly. He needs his future partner to be someone he can talk to about all this. If I were him, and I had to choose among the kids at UA who I’d tell my troublesome secret ID to, who I’d want to confide in, I’d probably say 1. Uraraka, 2. Iida, 3. Shoto, 4. Literally every single other character Deku is friends with and finally, bottom of the list, Bakugo. Yet Deku chooses to tell Bakugo his secret identity, not Uraraka or anyone nicer who would be presumably more trustworthy. Now, in hindsight (SPOILERS IF YOU’RE NOT CAUGHT UP YET), Deku doing this has paid off. Bakugo knows his secret and he’s kept it. He’s been a supportive friend to him since then, especially post JTA, everything a good secret keeper should be. But Deku - and especially the audience - didn’t know that at the time. (SPOILERS DONE).

And Deku can’t be with Uraraka if she doesn’t know his secret identity. That’s one of the Laws of Superhero Romance Comics. Spider-Man could never be with Gwen or Black Cat, for instance, because they hated his alter ego. He married MJ because she liked both. And Horikoshi is a big fan of Spidey, so he must know this. Deku has to tell Uraraka about OFA if he’s going to be with her. But he hasn’t, and he hasn’t shown any inclination to.

The setup is there for him to tell others; Todoroki asked about his powers, Tsuyu compared him to All Might. They could figure it out, they could tell Deku they know, or he could tell them, like he tried to tell Kota his personal stories, to make them feel better. There’s a mechanism in place for him to tell either one of them. But not Uraraka. She’s never asked about it, he’s got no interest in telling her. And as long as she doesn’t know the Secret, she can’t be with Deku. This isn’t, BTW, me making a manifesto for any of those ships over Izuocha. I don’t think for a second that any of those pairings will happen in the series. Only that if Deku is to be with Uraraka, he has to find a reason to tell her about OFA, or their relationship will be all kinds of messed up.

Also, FYI, Tsu, Todoroki, Bakugo, and even Iida have looked at and noticed enough about Deku to guess at least this, the most fundamentally important thing to know about Deku: That he’s close to All Might and his powers are similar. But not Ochaco. Does she honestly know anything important about Deku? Like how he grew up quirkless for so long, how All Might inspired his dream, how he wants to live up to the expectations of others and save people with a smile? No, not yet. He’s never told her anything personal, outside of this one little anecdote in this arc about wanting to beat Bakugo.

Uraraka’s POV:

Uraraka is happy to be working with Deku, but initially not all that excited about winning the fight. She just wants to relax, and is surprised to see how stressed he is.

Then Deku talks about how he wants to beat Bakugo, and she becomes more proactive. Nonetheless, she still basically just follows his lead this arc.

She takes no initiative on her own: She doesn’t go to grab Bakugo when he’s attacking Deku, she stands around giggling on the phone while trying to sneak up on Iida, and Momo criticizes her for it.

She thinks to herself about Deku wanting to win when Iida outfoxes her. She doesn’t seem like she wants to win the Trial for her own sake, just Deku’s. And this is a problem for Uraraka. (take a shot)

Momo criticizes everyone but Iida in this match, and all three characters who messed up did so because they were too fixated on someone else. Deku on beating Bakugo. Bakugo on beating Deku. Uraraka on impressing Deku. Iida, for instance, also admires Midoriya - but he’s able to concentrate on the match and fight Uraraka anyway. That’s why he’s MVP, as Momo and All Might put it.

So we set up Uraraka’s over-fixation on Deku as being a problem she has to overcome, a flaw - like Bakugo’s obsession with beating Deku, Iida’s obsession with killing Stain, Todoroki’s obsession with hurting his father, or Momo’s feelings of inadequacy next to Shoto, it’s framed like a flaw she has to overcome to do better. Of the dynamics here, only Deku’s admiration of/determination to beat Bakugo is not framed as a flaw per se, since he still has it to this day and seems to benefit from it. I’ll elaborate on why I think that is later on in the essay - it has to do with the “Imitation is the Sincerest Form of Tragedy” theme - but overall, this doesn’t paint a good picture of Ochaco’s feelings for Midoriya. They’re framed as something she has to put away in order to do well. (take a shot)

Class Rep mini-arc:

This is another score for Izu/Ocha. Ochaco voted for Deku as class Rep. She never tells him about it, though. I’m not sure why. Iida told him. Todoroki tells Momo later on that he voted for her. Ochaco could be gearing up for telling Deku herself, dramatically, later on, but what would that prove?

Deku already knows she admires him, he turned down the class rep role later anyway. This isn’t like Momo and Shoto, where Momo stayed Deputy Rep and never heard a compliment from Todoroki before he told her he voted for her. In that case, the Class Rep thing showed Momo Shoto believed in her, helping her get her confidence back. But Deku already knows Ochaco believes in him. Iida telling him also helped him out - it showed him he had friends who believed in him. Ochaco’s given reason for keeping her vote to herself is Bakugo’s little temper tantrum about it. But Bakugo wasn’t at the table when Iida told Deku the truth, so why couldn’t she have told Deku then? I really don’t get why she keeps her vote to herself; I don’t see how this will do anything for Deku later on down the line, or for Uraraka. It shows she’s supportive of him and admires him, but we already knew that. I’m just not sure how to parlay this into future developments with them.

USJ Arc

Deku and Ochaco don’t talk to each other at all during this arc. They get separated quickly and don’t reunite. They don’t worry about each others’ safety during the battle. After it’s over Ochaco asks after Deku because he broke his limbs, but during the fight she doesn’t worry about him or look for him. There’s only one moment I find noteworthy for Izu/Ocha during this arc: Deku wondering “What would Kacchan do” before jumping off the boat. This type of remark, like Iida’s “What would by brother or Midoriya do” during the class rep arc, is about a platonic friend (well, rival in this case), not a love interest. So Uraraka’s “what would Deku do” being code for “I like him” doesn’t really add up. I’ll get to that later.

Sports Festival Arc

Deku’s POV: Deku asks Uraraka about her motivation at the beginning of this arc, in Chapter 22. Uraraka admits that it’s for the money, and while Deku mentally thinks that this is admirable, he doesn’t say anything complimentary out loud, or anything other than “it’s surprising”. Contrasted with Iida’s loud, uproarious applause of Ochaco’s motive, this doesn’t come across as all that supportive of his friend, even though he does not, in fact, think the less of her for it.

On top of that, Deku at this point in the arc is struggling to get motivated himself. Later on he’ll call Todoroki out for not trying his best, and he’s clearly thinking of people like Uraraka, Shinso, Bakugo and Iida when he does so. But at this point, he does the same thing towards her that he calls Shoto out for.

He doesn’t get inspired by her words, or All Might’s, or anyone’s, until he overhears Bakugo make an offhand comment about ‘aiming for the top’. Then he gets into the competitive spirit. This kinda creates the impression that Deku is more inspired by his rivals than his love interest. Common issue in Shonen romances, of course; a higher emphasis on the importance of the hero’s main rivalry than his Official Girlfriend.

He’s overjoyed when she joins his team, but not because it’s Uraraka - because it’s anyone.

Deku is the person no one wants to team up with here. He would have teamed up with anyone who asked him. It seems odd, knowing Uraraka’s capabilities and quirk, that he didn’t just go up and ask her himself to join his team (Like he does with Iida, and then Tokoyami).

(Edit: I’ve recently rereaed this chapter and found I made a mistake: Deku does say he was planning on asking her. I was just reading a weird translation. Sorry for the mistake - good on Deku!)

During the battle, while he mentally thinks that Uraraka is great, he doesn’t say anything out loud to her. He does, however, loudly compliment Hatsume and Tokoyami, in front of her. This hurts Uraraka’s feelings, but I’ll get to that in her section.

Deku gets busy with his rivals for a while until his first match is over. While watching the rest, he mentions to Uraraka that he wrote about her Zero Gravity in his notebook. But he doesn’t say “I think your Zero Gravity is cool too” or anything complimentary, just “I wrote about it” like everyone else’s.

To Deku’s credit, he seems to realize that he hasn’t been very supportive to Uraraka. The anime cut this from the Manga, but the manga has a scene where Deku notices her leaving, and her pensive expression. This leads to him going to the prep room to offer her his strategy to beat Bakugo.

I think this is a big deal for Deku, because at the end of the day, this is his entire motivation. Helping people. Being there for others. Deku is a wonderful, supportive friend, used to feeling weak and inadequate and wanting to help others the way they helped him. He needs a partner he can support and compliment, someone he can help, someone who needs saving.

But Uraraka denies him this. He offers her his help and support, and she rejects him - for her own reasons, but this still leaves Deku feeling lesser.

“She’s the one supporting me,” he muses before his match with Todoroki. He wanted to be there for her. He wanted to help her break down the wall that is Bakugo - even if she didn’t use his strategy, she could have listened to his knowledge of Bakugo, who he’s known his whole life, to pick up some tips on his weaknesses.

But she doesn’t. She also refuses to let Deku be there for her when she loses. He can tell that her cheerfulness is just hiding her disappointment. But since she’s refusing to let him in, he can’t be the shoulder for her to cry on. He wanted to. He was willing to be that person for her - to be the friend she can talk to about her issues, to cheer her on when she fought and help her up when she’s feeling down.

But she rejected his support, just like everyone else does.

Bakugo rejected his helping hand as a kid. Iida rejected working with him earlier that same day, and rejects his support later on with his brother. Todoroki declares he ‘isn’t here to make friends’ and spends most of the sports Fest rejecting Deku’s attempts to help him (“You’re helping your opponent? Now which of us is screwing around”).

Deku clearly wants to be that friend. He wants to be there for the people in his life and offer his boundless love and emotional support for them. And I think he needs a partner in life who will let him be there for them. If Uraraka is to be that person, she has to let him in. She has to put aside her pride (yes, I think it is pride) and accept Deku supporting her, just as she supported him. She has to open up to him and cry in front of him. The others I mentioned have - Bakugo cried in front of Deku twice, Iida accepted his help during the Hero Killer arc, Todoroki accepts him in the very next episode. Three characters far crustier, prouder and more antagonistic towards Deku have all put aside their pride and let him help them with their issues. It’s Ochaco’s turn.

Speaking of: From Uraraka’s perspective. When Uraraka admits her motivation to Deku and Iida, she’s looking away, scratching her head, and apologizing. She says, in the dub “You two have such admirable motivations. I hope you don’t think less of me now.” Uraraka feels ashamed to admit her motivation to Deku and Iida.

When the obstacle race ends, she announces “I’m so jealous of you!” to Deku, after he comes in first. And I think she is - jealous of him.

She teams up with Deku for the Cavalry Battle, and later admits that she “Might have been relying on (him) to get by”, meaning that she sees Deku as being better than her.

She gets very jealous of the attentions Deku gives Hatsume - as I noticed before, Deku compliments everyone but Ochaco. He even found the time to compliment Bakugo in front of her during the Battle Trial arc - but to her face, nothing. And this plays on Uraraka’s insecurities. Deep down, despite her cheerful demeanor, Uraraka isn’t very self-confident (at least, not yet). She doesn’t believe in herself, she doesn’t have faith in herself to succeed. She’s even more insecure than Deku, and often tries too hard to be “just like him” to her own self-detriment. Watching everyone else’s matches, she admits to being ashamed of herself. She realizes she needs to try and succeed on her own, not by relying on Midoriya. (take a shot)

But at the same time, her goal is still essentially to be “Just like Deku”. What’s the one thing Ochaco knows Deku wants to do, besides be a great hero? Beat Bakugo. No coincidence she was fighting him in this tournament. To be just like Deku, she has to beat his rival, who she’s seen him fight before. Uraraka wants to be good enough, she wants to beat Deku - in a way, her motive and behavior here is not that different from Iida’s, Bakugo’s or Todoroki’s. Deku makes her insecure, so she tries to do better than him.

She declares herself a rival to him. She refuses his help - seriously, a few pointers on how to beat Bakugo couldn’t hurt, she even thinks about Deku’s earlier moves while fighting him anyway! - and tries to win it all by herself. And although her plan is great, it doesn’t work.

The minute she thinks “I’ll be just like Deku” is the moment she fails. The moment Bakugo blows up her debris and beats her.

Uraraka is devastated by this. She was crying for so long and so hard that her eyes swelled shut. She could have really used a friend, someone to talk to about her family problems - someone outside of her family drama, a kind and understanding ally like Deku, who can commiserate with her and tell her things’ll be ok.

But she hides her feelings from Deku and pretends she’s fine. I think she doesn’t want to look weak in front of him - she wants him to think she’s cool, to compliment her like he compliments Hatsume and Bakugo, and she’s deeply insecure about appearing anything other than strong. So she shuts him out and cries on her own, with no supportive friend to help her. If she is to be with him, she needs to be able to let him into her life and her heart.

She has to cry in front of him, like all three of his other rivals have done despite their immense pride and far less amiable relationships with Deku. Even Tsu has cried in front of Deku and confessed her feelings (to him and the whole Rescue Squad), and she’s not as close to him as Uraraka or Iida. Why doesn’t Uraraka confide in Deku about her feelings? Again, I think the underlying problem is her hero-worship of him. She thinks he’s amazing, she won’t admit to his flaws (she sees him, one ep/chapter later, destroy his body and lose his match helping Todoroki; you’d think she’d cotton on to his lack of utter flawlessness then, but nope), and she’s still essentially insecure about herself. She needs to learn to believe in her own strengths and admit Deku’s weaknesses. Then she’ll be willing to cry in front of him and listen to his ideas.

But until then, she’s just like all of Deku’s other rivals: Too proud and too envious/afraid of him to accept his love or friendship.

No wonder she was so easily able to spot why Bakugo is insecure about him and guess how he’d feel about being rescued; her complex about Deku is rapidly becoming just as debilitating as his is.

Difference being, Bakugo had his “Deku vs Kacchan 2” moment ,where he and Deku talk out their feelings and move on, recognizing that Deku isn’t looking down on him and never has been, etc. Ochaco needs that moment too (probably without the big fight scene, though).

Hero Killer Arc:

From Deku’s perspective, he chooses his hero name based on Ochaco’s advice. This is something we see with other characters too - Eraserhead and Mic, Mirio and Tamaki - who are friends, so it’s all good. It seems to have a nice spin: Ochaco taking Deku’s flaws, the traits Bakugo mocked, and turning them into a positive. Ochaco supporting Deku. Nice. She smiles about it.

He seems surprised that she took an internship with Gunhead, confused that she’s more into action now (I guess he’ll have to revise his notebook!).

He talks to her on the phone after the Incident goes down, having texted all his friends for help and worried her. He again (for the last time) get’s excited over her in a sexual/romantic way, and once again it’s “I talked to A GIRL on the phone” instead of “I talked to Uraraka on the phone”. He’s attracted to her as a girl, but not excited about talking to the girl he has a crush on. Following this arc, Deku stops responding to Uraraka romantically, even when CamieRaka loses her clothes. I’ve got a theory about why he stops, I’ll discuss it next arc.

Uraraka, for her part, looks pleased when Deku takes her name. She interns with Gunhead because of her match with Bakugo, to get stronger, which is good for character development - I like that this isn’t because of Deku, because I don’t want her arc to revolve around him solely.

She calls him, concerned, after the Stain incident, and tells Gunhead that they’re “not like that” when he teases her about it being a boy. This is the first of many people telling Uraraka that she has something going on with Deku, rather than Uraraka figuring it out herself. Uraraka’s denial is not really defensive or Edward Elric Style “She is NOT my girlfriend” levels, so honestly at this point I believe her. Up until this arc, she doesn’t see her feelings for Deku as romantic. She sees him as a friend who she admires and is often jealous of.

Final Exams:

This is where things get weird. So far, Izu/Ocha has been pretty nicely built up - but then the series decided to go for it in a way that I personally find rather strange and confusing.

So first, let’s take this arc from Deku’s POV. The scenes of Izu/Ocha watching the fights are Anime Only, so we’ll skip those. In the Manga they all take place at the same time. After Deku and Kacchan v All Might, Deku goes to watch the other battles, including Uraraka’s. He doesn’t have any onscreen reaction to Ochaco’s fight, even though we get to hear him mentally exclaiming about how awesome Iida is, or Tsuyu is. Ochaco’s his friend too, why can’t he spare a moment to fanboy over her martial arts skills?

Anyway, later on they’re left alone at the mall, though not by choice. Deku starts making small talk and Uraraka runs away from him, saying “Have to keep the pests away” or something like that. Deku asks “I’m a bug?/“You mean me?”. So from Deku’s POV, Ochaco flat out called him a pest right here. To him, it must have sounded like she was rejecting him, rejecting the idea of hanging out with him one-on-one (which in the Manga they haven’t done before).

He’s immediately attacked by Shigaraki; when she returns he does his best to prevent her from getting hurt. Nothing really advances, from Deku’s POV, in their dynamic at this point. The only real notable thing is the “I’m a pest” line. Since Deku never reacts romantically to Ochaco after this, I’m assuming that he thinks she’s not interested in him that way. That right here, she shut down the idea of dating him, and he just accepts it.

Of course, it’s Ochaco’s POV that’s important here. As she’s about to get sucked up by 13, she’s thinking “What would Deku do?”

Now, we’ve heard these lines in a non-romantic context before. Iida wondered what Deku or Tensei would do when he helped disperse the crowd. Deku wondered what Kacchan would do during the USJ arc. He wondered what a “hero” would do when he saved Bakugo from the sludge monster. This sentiment is not exclusive to romance in the show.

But Aoyama then chooses this moment to ask Ochaco if she ‘likes him’. This is completely out of nowhere. Aoyama is later revealed to have a bit of a friendship-crush on Deku, but why is he asking this of Uraraka, in this situation? It’s not like her girlfriends later on teasing her about liking Deku, it’s a guy she doesn’t know who doesn’t know Deku very well either, all of a sudden asking her if she has feelings for him. I don’t, for the life of me, understand what his purpose was in doing this. How does this help them win? Why is he painted half-in-shadow when he says this? It feels like it happens because we need Ochaco to realize she likes Deku, because the audience needs to be shocked, not because it makes sense for the characters. Which is so strange, because it’s one of the only times that ever happens in HeroAca. For the most part, the characters always act in ways that make sense, no matter how extreme they are.

Uraraka freaks out, and thinking about liking Deku nearly gets her killed fighting 13 (take a shot). It isn’t until she re-focuses, on something she attained free of Deku’s influence, that she gets to win. Trying too hard to be like Deku, for Uraraka, leads to nothing good.

Then, at the mall, she runs away from him. She refuses to spend time with him - which seems strange if she’s meant to fall in love with him. If she wants to be with him, why doesn’t she want to, you know, be with him? Well, because she does’t want to be with him. If she did, she could easily ask him out (they are friends, after all), spend time with him, see if there’s something there. But she doesn’t.

She runs off, almost horrified at the mere thought of having a crush on Deku. Of having a perfectly harmless, cute crush on one of her best friends. That just seems strange to me. Yes, love can be intimidating, but this is so extreme.

Another odd thing about this sequence is that it’s juxtaposed with Shigaraki holding Deku hostage. We flip back and forth between the Big Bad nearly killing the Hero, and the Romantic Subplot.

Imagine if that scene in Fullmetal Alchemist where Winry realizes she loves Ed was crosscut with scenes of Ed fighting Gluttony or something, and you get the idea. It’s a tonal mishmash. Unless - unless you theorize that the idea of liking Deku is as terrifying to Uraraka as being nearly murdered by Shigaraki is for Deku. But if that’s the case, I don’t want her to be with him! I don’t want her to be in a relationship that scares her that much. (I also don’t get why it would scare her that much - like, girl, Deku’s a sweetheart, what do you have to be afraid of?). The series could salvage this, but it already kinda tainted their romance in my eyes - and to many readers as well, since it seemed like such an odd way to introduce the love story into the occasion. Instead of a joyous moment of romance, this is what we got.

Training Camp Arc:

There isn’t a lot in this arc between Izu and Ocha. Izuku includes her in his list of classmates he’s worried about, popping up in the anime second after Bakugo (who is immediately in danger because of kidnapping) and along side Todoroki.

He works with her and Tsu to save Bakugo - or at least try. Other than that, there’s nothing (the scene of them blushing is only in the anime).

On Ochaco’s side, nothing happens until she fights Toga. Toga starts interrogating her about her crush on Deku, in her Hannibal Lecture style - villain getting into the hero’s head and provoking them with their insecurities. Himiko Toga is Uraraka’s villainous foil - her counterpart, the evil version of her.

Both do develop a crush on Deku, which is very disturbing if Deku and Ochaco are meant to be a couple, as well as her adoration of Stain. It’s not like Toga is going to marry Stain or whatever; so the comparison of their two brands of love is odd (at least, if Izuocha is meant to be endgame).

Toga’s words are right on the money: Uraraka admires Deku and wants to be just like him, but to be just like someone you have to do as Toga does - kill and replace. This gets to Uraraka, because it’s true. Her crush on Deku then, is not being framed as genuine love, but as a similar obsession to Himiko Toga’s - a desire to be just like someone she admires, rather than be together with a good friend she adores. Which is frustrating, because the latter is the kind of relationship I want from Izuocha, not the former. I don’t want Ochaco to get with Deku because she hero-worships him and thinks he’s amazing - I want her to get with him because they’re good friends and she loves him. But that’s not what the series is doing with them, and with the parallels to Toga, it’s starting to really creep me out.

One route they could take with all this foreshadowing, of course, is perhaps one similar to what happened in Gravity Falls, with Dipper and Wendy. In that series, Dipper like Ochaco has an evil villainous counterpart Yandere - Gideon Gleeful. Toga and Gideon both stalk and harass their crush, who clearly says no and means no. Dipper and Ochaco both harbor a crush on someone who’s a close friend, but who seems to be for whatever reason romantically unavailable to them. (Wendy is older, Deku is…I’m not sure why, Ochaco just won’t ask him, it’s frustrating). Dipper eventually reveals his crush on Wendy, who lets him down easy and stays good friends with him. Dipper later uses that understanding of himself, and of Gideon’s obsession, to tell Gideon he can’t make someone like him. This helps Gideon reform. The whole thing is beautifully healthy and positive.

So if that’s where we’re going with this - an ending where everyone’s just friends, and Ochaco’s crush on Deku is being used to develop her character a bit regardless of romance, then this would make sense. If not then I don’t get it.

Hideout Raid Arc:

There are two interactions between Ochaco and Deku (indirect ones) during the Hideout Raid Arc. One is Kirishima relaying Uraraka’s worries about saving Bakugo, the other is Uraraka getting the Rescue Squad to apologize to Tsuyu. Both of them are really bad warning signs for their future relationship.

The simple reason is: Uraraka thinks Deku and co did the wrong thing, Deku thinks he did the right thing. Deku has never apologized for or expressed any regret for breaking the rules to save Bakugo. Uraraka, however, objected to them doing this. This is very interesting for both of their relationships with Bakugo, and their thoughts on heroism. But let’s talk about why this is a problem for Izuocha. Uraraka didn’t agree with Deku’s decision here. She has her own reasons for it - “Bakugo wouldn’t want to be rescued” -but she doesn’t bring them up in front of Deku. The thing is, Deku was on the fence about going. If Uraraka had brought up her objection, I think Deku might have actually listened to her. It’s the best objection to persuade him, because it takes Bakugo’s needs into consideration. But Uraraka didn’t bring it up to him. She didn’t say anything to Deku. From Uraraka’s POV, that’s a problem for her relationship with him, because it means she doesn’t want to say something that will upset him. She’s never had a serious argument with him, never objected out loud to his choices, even when she disagrees with them, and never had an argument with him where they came to a compromise or understanding about an important issue. Instead, she brings up her objection out of Deku’s hearing, and he hears about it secondhand. Uraraka doesn’t want to upset Deku, even about something important to her.

From Deku’s perspective, even though he knows Uraraka, his love interest, disagrees with what he’s doing, he does it anyway. He doesn’t care. He keeps Uraraka’s objection in mind, but only as it pertains to saving Bakugo. He never thinks about how Uraraka will feel about him going against her wishes, never considers her at all. He does consider his mother’s objections, even Tsuyu’s. But Uraraka’s objection, ultimately, only affects him insofar as it means he thinks of Bakugo’s feelings when saving him. And he never apologizes for doing so.

Later on, when Uraraka gathers everyone together to apologize to Tsu, Deku is the only one of the five who never actually says sorry (going by the anime here, since the manga is ambiguous about who’s speaking). Uraraka’s speech makes it clear that she didn’t agree with their choice and thinks they screwed up, but just wants to forgive them and go back to normal. But Deku doesn’t apologize for what he did. Iida, Kirishima, Momo, Todoroki - all people Uraraka is less intimate with than Deku - all apologize to Tsuyu, as Ochaco asks. But not Deku. Because Deku doesn’t agree with her. He doesn’t think he was wrong.

The question of whether or not to go charging in, even against the rules, to save someone, is a big one hanging over the heads of all these characters. It’s Captain America Civil War style big. Something that could split people apart permanently if they can’t agree about it. And not only do Deku and Ochaco not agree on this issue, they haven’t had any conversation about it with each other. They need to be able to discuss this and find common ground before they become a couple.

License Exam Arc:

This one is obviously important for Izu/Ocha. It ends with Ochaco deciding to ‘put her feelings away’.

So let’s start with this Arc from Deku’s POV on Ochaco: He talks to her casually at the beginning before Hatsume explodes out of the shop, but focuses entirely on crafting his ultimate move from there on out.

We don’t see Uraraka inspiring his move, that’s Hatsume and Iida, or his realization that he’s imitating All Might (that’s All Might himself).

Deku does, however, recognize TogaChaco as not being Ochaco, showing that he knows her well.

He rescues TogaChaco because she’s a person in danger, thinking about his inability to rescue Bakugo from the villains and his general motivation, not how much he cares for Ochaco.

He knows Ochaco well enough to tell the difference, but this is Deku we’re talking about - he’s very attentive to details about others. I fully believe he would be able to tell a TogaIida from the real one, or Todoroki, Bakugo, Tsuyu, Hatsume, All Might…the list goes on, but there are very few characters who Deku doesn’t take detailed notes on or amass details about, and therefore couldn’t recognize the difference. What I’m saying is that Deku would do the same for any friend; he doesn’t distinguish Ochaco here.

He works with her and Sero to win the day, and spends the rest of the arc focused on his goals, with no thoughts to spare for Ochaco, and no interest in the cute girl pursuing him (Camie) outside of her quirk for studying. It comes across like Deku has put away any interest in romance in the name of pursuing his goals. He doesn’t distinguish Uraraka at all, as anything more than just another one of his friends.

From Ochaco’s POV, she becomes jealous of Hatsume once more - but fails to notice, for instance, that Hatsume’s behavior is making Deku uncomfortable. She’s jealous of Hatsume for being more confident, driven, and demonstrative than she is, but if she was paying closer attention to Midoriya, she’d probably notice that he’s freaked out by Hatsume feeling him up; there’s no real reason for her to be jealous of Mei in regards to Deku, because Deku isn’t any closer to Mei than he is to her. But Ochaco, here and many other places, doesn’t really take the time to observe and notice Midoriya, outside of a surface level. That’s why she hero-worship’s him so badly.

I’d recommend any HeroAca fan to check out this fascinating fan essay, “Imitation is the Sincerest Form of Tragedey”, (link: https://www.reddit.com/r/BokuNoHeroAcademia/comments/5n21a9/imitation_is_the_sincerest_form_of_tragedy_a_boku/ ) to get a good understanding of what’s going on with Ochaco in relation to Deku, without ship bias getting in the way. It’s an excellent read, touching on many characters and plot points. The key takeaway about Uraraka is that she has a pattern of imitating Deku, and screwing up because of it, without getting that narrative punishment that will act as a kick in the pants to motivate her to stop hero-worshipping him.

I think that, since we do see Deku imitating Bakugo and Gran Torino’s moves for Full Cowl with no problem, and other smaller instances, the secret is not that you can never admire someone and strive to learn from them - but rather that you can imitate someone, as long as you don’t hero-worship them. Ochaco’s issue, along with Deku’s, Shoto’s, Iida’s, etc, is that she sees the person she wants to be like as perfect and refuses to acknowledge their flaws. Ochaco admires Deku and wants to be like him - even though she’s seen first hand how Deku’s brand of heroism lands him in the hospital more often than not, how Deku can be overly analytical, deeply insecure and makes mistakes like anyone else - but we don’t see her acknowledge this. She thinks Deku’s amazing, perfect, like he admires All Might, Iida Tensei, Shoto his mom, etc. The reason Deku is able to imitate Kacchan and Gran Torino’s moves without being harmed, like every other imitator, is because he thinks Gran Torino is kind of weird, but skilled, and Kacchan is a jerk, but awesome. He can admire their strengths, and acknowledge their flaws. Therefore, he can imitate their moves without striving to be Just Like Them. Uraraka needs to recognize Deku’s flaws, if she wants to imitate his strengths without feeling bad about herself.

Once again Ochako’s feelings are brought up to her by someone else, and cause her a lot of distress. This time it’s Mina, who acknowledges that she wants to MAKE it be about love.

Just like with Gunhead and Aoyama telling Ochako her feelings for Deku are romantic in nature. Mina admits she’s trying to make a romance happen, rather than just letting one develop on it’s own. Her words cause Uraraka a lot of distress, and Momo and Tsuyu point out that this won’t help her (take a shot).

As she watches Deku from a distance, (the anime adds the Admiring All Might music track to this scene), her feelings for him are paralleled with Midoriya’s admiration of heroes, specifically Iida. Keeping in with the Imitation theme, Ochako’s feelings for Midoriya are once again paralleled with admiration of famous heroes people want to imitate, not romantic love. It’s Mina, Aoyama and Gunhead who are telling Ochako she likes Deku, not Ochako figuring it out for herself.

Uraraka once again gets jealous of a girl who Deku doesn’t want. Deku gives lots of signs that he’s creeped out by Camie’s attentions - when Kaminari and Mineta ask him about it, he says firmly that he found it creepy. If Uraraka was really paying attention to Deku’s feelings, she’d realize that he’s not interested in Camie.

Imagine, for instance, this scene with the genders reversed. Our heroine is getting felt up and creeped on by a male villain. Her fellow superhero boyfriend arrives on the scene; the male villain leaves, speaking ominously about the connection between the two of them. Later on, other girls get jealous about the hot male villain waving at our heroine, and she makes it clear that she’s uncomfortable about it.

The boyfriend ignores her discomfort and gets jealous and possessive about her being around another man. Doesn’t something seem wrong here? It’s the setup we see from many ‘Nice guy’ narratives, but gender flipped. The guy seems to see the girl like a possession that belongs to him, angry that she’s daring to be touched by another boy, not that another guy is refusing to respect her space. Uraraka’s jealousy is not routed in love for Midoriya, but insecurity about herself. She feels less than, when she sees other girls around him, and doesn’t bother to observe whether she’s actually in danger of losing him to them.

This scene is more than a little weird, since it seems like Camie is setting up her future to prey on the trust between the two to her own advantage. Again, Izuku and Ochako’s bond is being framed in a negative light.

Uraraka decides, upon seeing Deku psych himself up to win, that she needs to put away her feelings for him. This is part of the pattern in Uraraka’s story. (take a shot) Focusing on Deku leads to her losing. Uraraka says here, that she doesn’t think she can have a relationship with Deku and be a hero. She puts her feelings away, because she feels they don’t help her. Unlike other duos in the series, other romantic parings from other narratives, Uraraka feels that her feelings for Deku don’t benefit her goals. If they’re to be a couple, then, Uraraka needs to feel like she can be a better hero by being with Deku, than by being away from him.

Internship, Culture Fest, Pro Hero arcs:

From the time Ochaco ‘puts her feelings away’, until recently in the JTA, Ochaco’s crush on Deku is not mentioned. The internship arc teams up Tsuyu and Uraraka with Deku and Kiri to save Eri. But instead of letting Deku and Ochaco fight and bond together over this shared experience - we’re given nothing. Deku doesn’t tell her anything about his issues with Mirio and Nighteye. Or even Eri. Ochaco doesn’t talk to Deku, outside of group scenes with exposition, about much of anything.

The ending of the arc has a good setup for an emotional bonding scene with Izu/Ocha - Ochaco was the one to rescue Nighteye, but he still died, and he’s Izuku’s mentor. We could have had a scene of them bonding over losing this guy, which Ochaco blames herself for and Deku blames himself for. Similar to like, Deku and Bakugo fighting over feeling responsible for All Might’s End, or Iida and Deku bonding over Stain. But, you know, more romantic in nature.

But nope, we get nothing. Ochaco angsts over Nighteye dying, and goes on this emotional journey without Deku’s input. She chooses to confide these feelings in Aizawa and Tsuyu, but not in Midoriya. Deku, at least, has the excuse of being unable to talk about OFA with other people, but Uraraka could have told him about her problems, and he an abbreviated version like he did with Kota about being quirkless. But instead, we get nothing. No bonding between our official couple at all.

The other thing of note in the Internship arc is Toga!Deku. Toga impersonates Deku and decoys Team Ryukyu into the fight. If Toga’s intentions had been harmful, instead of getting revenge on Overhaul, this could have been really bad for the good guys, and for Ochaco in particular. She doesn’t realize that Toga! Deku is not the real Deku, even though Toga does give her a clear ‘tell’ - calling her ‘Uraraka’ and not ‘Uravity’. But unlike Deku, who realized Toga!Chaco wasn’t the real Ochaco, Ochaco can’t tell the difference.

If I were to read this as deliberate, it seems to be implying that Ochaco can’t tell the difference between her idea or image of Deku, and the real thing. But since they’re supposed to be a couple, it’s just plain weird. It’s a brief moment, but if Toga had been trying to hurt them, Ochaco’s feelings for Deku might have gotten her in trouble - again. (take a shot).

Then, from the end of the Internship arc to the Joint Training Arc, Deku and Ochaco don’t talk to each other at all. They go to Nighteye’s funeral with the internship kids - and no conversation about their respective issues with him at all.

They’re in the group hanging with Eri during the Culture Fest - but no one-on-one interaction at all. He hangs with Mirio, she with Tsu and Nejire. No interactions during the Pro-Hero arc.

At the start of the JTA, one quick reminder that Ochaco is jealous of Mei still, which she punches herself to get rid of. That’s it.

Joint Training Arc: So Close Yet So Far

Reading this arc, I thought “Finally, we’re finally getting the ball rolling with putting these two together.” It’s such a familiar setup, so common to action romances, straight from the ATLA playbook: The hero’s powers go out of control, the love interest is the only one who can reach them, and with a cute hug they calm the hero down. When Ochaco grabbed on to the out of control Deku, I was expecting something like that in the next chapter: Ochaco saying something like “Come back to me” or “I know you’re in there somewhere” or “I’m with you to the end of the line” or something like that. Ochaco reaching Deku when no one else could, establishing her as his love interest and showcasing their romance.

But that didn’t happen. Ochaco grabs onto Deku, sure, but then she asks Shinso to snap him out of it. It’s Shinso who grabs Deku’s attention, Shinso who does the ‘important trigger phrase to snap hero out of superpower meltdown mode’ thing.

Shinso, who has talked to Deku like 3 times before this scene, not Ochaco, his official love interest and close friend. Once snapped out, Deku protects her briefly before they split up and go their separate ways again, to fight on different turfs.

Afterwards, it looked like Deku was blushing at Ochaco holding him, like she was after Mina’s comment. But on closer inspection, I find that nope - he’s not blushing in the panel after this comment, but does go red when Shinso compliments his prowess. And Ochaco doesn’t get self-conscious about holding him until Mina points it out to her.

She wasn’t thinking about how much she loves Deku when she held him, she was thinking about her parents and her failure to save Nighteye, and her “Who watches the watchmen” ideas.

So instead of a great big Izuocha ship moment, that finally set the romance in motion, we get…I guess, a Shindeku moment? It’s all very confusing. For Uraraka, this moment does seem to show that she’s now capable of being around Deku in battle, without thinking about him or obsessing. It comes across like Ochaco is trying to put her crush away (Like she said before), like she’s gone on this whole personal journey outside of Deku and changed as a person on her own. We have this recurring idea that Ochaco fights better as a hero without Deku around, or without fixating on him, which isn’t promising for them as a couple. (take a shot)

Compare with Todoroki and Momo vs Aizawa, for instance, where they work brilliantly, together, to overcome an opponent neither could face alone. Or the insistence on Deku and Kacchan putting away their rivalry and Deku reaching 8% by competing with Bakugo or helping him. Or Ochaco and Tsuyu making a perfect team fighting others. The narrative is angling Uraraka away from Deku, if she wants to be a good hero, not towards him.

Also, once again, her romantic feelings for him are something she’s told she has by someone else, instead of something she figures out on her own - Mina again.

But earlier this arc, we saw Mina assume that Midnight and All Might were a couple, because they were standing together. Earlier, she said it could be Iida or Deku, because Ochaco hangs around them. I love Ashido, but she’s not the world’s greatest expert on romance, or particularly close to either Uraraka or Deku. So her words, like Aoyama’s, can’t be taken as gospel truth. It really feels like Ochaco is being pushed into feeling romantically for Deku, regardless of her actual feelings towards him, by other people instead of her own heart. I mean, I’m rooting for them, but I want Ochaco to realize she likes Deku because she likes Deku, not because Aoyama and Mina are telling her she does.

Deku shuts Ochaco out of his personal problems - he won’t confide in anyone but All Might and Bakugo about OFA - and doesn’t explain to her anything about his quirk going out of control. And she doesn’t ask. Even Todoroki asked Deku about his quirk going out of control, as did Aizawa and Bakugo. Todo and Baku are Deku’s rivals, but they both asked about his quirk meltdown. Uraraka didn’t. She’s supposed to be his friend, she’s supposed to be in love with him, so why doesn’t she ask about his problems?

Same with her personal journey towards becoming a hero who saves people, the Who Watches the Watchmen hero - Deku isn’t privy to this. She only told two people, Aizawa and Tsuyu. Uraraka has also had this whole personal journey, outside of Deku, which she won’t tell him about or confide in him about. And she doesn’t show any inclination to do so.

Final Review:

The series isn’t over. There’s probably still time to fix all these problems. But the series needs to get started on it right away, because so far we’re just not seeing the elements we need to get Izu/Ocha together.

On Ochaco’s end: We need her to be attracted to Deku, to let him be as supportive to her as she is to him; to see her crush on him as a motivator to be a better hero instead of detrimental to her success, to stop hero-worshipping him and acknowledge his flaws, to talk to him about her problems and cry with him, let him be there for her; let go of her desire to be just like him, see him romantically on her own unprovoked by other people teasing her, enjoy spending time with him one-on-one, have a fight with him that gets properly resolved, defend him from unwanted attentions from girls instead of getting possessively jealous of him, and show at least some curiosity about his life, his secrets, the real him beyond the Great Hero.

On Deku’s side: He needs to show attraction to Uraraka as Uraraka, not just ‘a girl’; to work together with her as a great team to take down an opponent side by side, to loudly admire her for her skills and capabilities like he does for his other friends and rivals, to tell her about his past with OFA and being quirkless and such, to be inspired by her to do better as a hero, to show the kind of crazy, unconditional concern for her he shows everyone else in his life, to actively seek after a romantic relationship with her, talk to her about his problems, to distinguish her in his life from his other friends.

If all that stuff happens, I’ll be happy. If some of it happens, I’ll be ok, but not thrilled. If they stay in this status quo, they’ll fall apart, because this is not the stuff good romance is made of.

#my hero academia #IzuOcha #meta #izuocha meta #midoriya izuku #uraraka ochako #midoriya x uraraka #ochako x izuku #relationships #ship #relationship meta

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sarahw-world · 8 years ago

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My first fanfic: “A Dark Heart“

Chapter 17: An Innocent Kiss Summary: Bulma and Vegeta wake up in bed together...

Notes: I'm back again! Sorry for the lack of updates, but this next chapter got too long and heavy and I've decided to split it in two, so here's the first part...

I've also been dealing with a bit of a "writer's crisis", so I hope this chapter turned out alright...

He awoke to the sight of blue.

At some point during his slumber he’d buried his face in his woman’s silky hair, bringing her even closer to him. He could feel Bulma’s soft breath against his neck, the warmth of her body enveloping him, one arm lazily wrapped around his waist and a long leg intertwined with one of his.

It felt incredible.

This, this is what he’d feared since day one, ever since he’d first laid eyes on the beautiful woman and, later on, when he’d taken her for the first time, finally making her his. He’d always known she’d end up becoming an addiction, and yet, he’d been unable to resist her charms…

It’d been hard enough leaving her immediately after he’d found out she was with child, and it was even harder abandoning her and the boy for a second time, but now, now he had no clue about what to do and he feared the grief they’d both go through when they’d separate for a third time.

He kept holding her against his strong body with one arm, incapable of letting her go, inhaling her sweet feminine scent and gently caressing her cheek with the other, feeling the hint of a smile touch his lips when he saw that little pout she made in her sleep that once again reminded him so much of their son. He could tell she was sleeping soundly, something he suspected she hadn’t done very often judging by how exhausted she’d looked when she’d been taking care of him earlier. Vegeta recalled their first encounter on this planet, when the heiress had mentioned how tired he looked and assumed he hadn’t had a good night’s sleep ever since he’d left the Earth.

She’d been right, of course.

His lonely nights had been plagued by nightmares, horrible visions that consumed him even after he’d wake up and that had changed and evolved the further he’d removed himself from Bulma.

At first, his own father had been the main protagonist, mocking him and haunting him, calling him a disgrace to his race, proclaiming what a failure his own son had turned out to be. Such images where the ones he’d shamefully shared with his mate in the embarrassing message he’d left for her back in that frozen planet…

What the hell had he been thinking, baring his soul to her like that?

And yet, at the same time, he felt a sense of relief at having been able to reveal his thoughts and fears to her, the only being in this goddamned universe he knew wouldn’t judge or laugh at him.

Lately, the humiliation of his defeat during the Cell Games had become secondary in his hellish dreams, and the poisonous imagery invading his broken mind at night was that of Bulma. In the most recurring one he saw her dying at the hands of one of his past demons, usually Frieza, and at times, his own child would become a victim too.

And sometimes…

Well, sometimes torture took the shape of his woman’s bold sensuality, seducing and tempting him, arousing him agonizingly and, just as he was about to touch her, to possess her, her luscious form would vanish and he’d wake up in the middle of the night in cold sweat, alone in his cold king-sized bed, his body begging for the release and comfort only she could provide.

All of a sudden, the Prince felt her little toes move as her leg stretched above his own, and her breathing changed, announcing she was about to awaken. Before he could remove his calloused hand from her cheek, she moaned softly and set her gorgeous blue eyes, which were now blinking lazily, on his dark ones. There was a brief silence as the heiress seemed to be trying to remember where she was, but soon she smiled shyly, imitating his actions and caressing his cheek too…

“Hey…” She whispered.

The sensation of her kind little fingers on his skin was enough to leave him hypnotized.

“How are you feeling?” She finally asked, slightly unnerved by his silence and the mysterious way in which he kept staring at her.

How was he feeling?

Better than he had in a long fucking time, that’s how…

He felt well-rested, not being able to recall when was the last time he’d slept that well. Sure, his body was still sore, a consequence of his thoughtless stupid behavior earlier, but his leg barely hurt, and the pressure and tightness he’d been experiencing on his ribs earlier had decreased considerably, reminding him once more of his mate’s many talents.

He kept staring at her for a few moments, entranced by those gentle eyes full of concern, and he decided he had to say something, anything, to make her get away from him before he lost control and avidly kissed those plump lips…

“Thirsty,” he finally replied in a hoarse monotone voice, immediately removing his rough hand from her cheek.

“Oh? Right…” The heiress replied imitating his actions uncomfortably.

Vegeta could see the tinge of disappointment adorning her features now; clearly that hadn’t been the response she’d been expecting from him, then again, what did she truly expect? Love? Romance? That had never been his forte, had it? Before he had time to overthink things too much, he felt the woman carefully separate her body from his and sluggishly get up from the small bed.

“Let me check…” She whispered, stifling a small yawn.

She walked through the room, kneeling in front of the little fridge in the corner and examining it sleepily. She looked so beautiful with her messy hair, which was now longer than he recalled, and wearing his black shirt, so large for her frame that it offered him the view of her cute pink lacy bra underneath.

Bulma Briefs was one hell of a woman…

“Mmm… You have no sports drinks left…” She said thoughtfully, finally grabbing a bottle of cold water and walking into the bathroom, only to come back carrying the bottle and a little pouch.

“Here…” She said, opening the pouch and dissolving the orange powder it contained into the water, closing the bottle and shaking it again. Bulma stood by the bed, offering him the now orange liquid.

“They’re electrolytes, you’re probably dehydrated. It’ll make you feel better…” She explained sweetly.

The Saiyan sat on the bed slowly and grabbed the bottle, grunting in acceptance and drinking it greedily, while Bulma hopped on top of the desk by his bed, swinging her legs like a little girl, expectantly waiting for the warrior to make his next move. One look at the tiny spots of blood that still stained her lingerie told him that the first thing he had to do was get her out of there and make her take a shower; the sight of his woman tainted by his blood made him sick.

“We’re going back to the palace,” he finally said. “I have matters to attend to…”

“What matters?” The scientist curiously asked.

“Matters that are none of your concern, woman,” he replied gruffly.

Bulma rolled her eyes.

So, that’s how things were now?

It was so frustrating… As if they were taking one step forward and two steps backwards… But she kept reminding herself that she needed to be patient with her mate, given his current state of mind. Still, the fact that he was treating her much better than he had during their first encounter gave her some hope.

“Do you want some clothes?” She offered, noticing the man was naked underneath the bed sheets.

Vegeta nodded silently, avoiding eye contact with the blue haired beauty.

“Alright… Let me see what I can find in here…”

Bulma jumped gracefully from the table and took a look inside his small closet, quickly observing there wasn’t much for him in there, not even a single piece of armor.

“You have no armor, are some shorts and a t-shirt okay?”

“Whatever, woman, I just don’t wish to fly naked to the palace. I have more clothing available in my rooms…”

“Right… Well, there you go…” The heiress said, softly placing the items on the bed and turning around shyly in order to give him some privacy as he got dressed. She grabbed her thin belt full of capsules and walked to the door.

“I’ll wait for you outside,” she whispered, quietly closing the door behind her.

Vegeta smirked at her sudden coyness, as if she’d never seen him naked before and done despicable things to his body when they’d shared a bed. For Gods’ sake, they even had a child together!

Still, he found her timid behavior oddly charming…

He got dressed quickly, only having some difficulty when he had to bend down to lace his sneakers, and he left the room, not without cringing when he took a final look into the bathroom and saw Bulma’s clothes bathed in his dried-up blood. Knowing how much his little mate worried about him every time he got hurt, he couldn’t help the rush of guilt he experienced all of a sudden. And the guilt didn’t go away when he found the woman waiting for him behind the door, her back against the metallic wall of the ship, uncomfortably rubbing one of her arms as she tried to avoid the sight of the old puddle of blood that still stained the floor. He couldn’t stand seeing her like that, so he simply held her hand and swiftly walked her towards the exit door, masterfully avoiding the blood-soaked spot. When he finally left the gravity room he felt her stop and let go of his hand, making him turn around inquisitively.

“What is it?”

“I… I just don’t have any shoes on…” She muttered timidly, signaling at her bare little feet, which were nervously fidgeting on the floor.

Great, just as he was trying to keep his distance from her…

“Alright, come here…” He said, extending his strong arms and picking her up. She was light as a feather, and he felt something tighten in his chest when she instinctively wrapped her legs around his hips and held on to him in a fierce embrace.

“Thank you…” She whispered in his ear.

He nodded silently, feeling his face burn. That damn woman was the only being in the entire universe that not only thanked him for every little thing he did for her, but could make him blush because of it…

“Hey! There you are!” A cheerful voice yelled, making the couple turn around and finding Krillin and Yamcha walking out of a small Capsule Corp. house they’d been staying at while they’d waited for their friend to leave the GR.

“We were a bit worried about you two, are you alright?” Krillin asked.

“What do you mean?” Bulma asked back, still being carried in her mate’s arms.

“Well, um… You know… It’s been like eleven or twelve hours since you two got in there…”

Vegeta’s eyes widened. Had they really been asleep for so long? He couldn’t recall the last time he’d gotten more than three or four hours of sleep. Did his woman’s presence truly have such a comforting effect on him?

“Really? Wow… I guess we were both a bit tired… Sorry to make you wait that long, guys…”

“Aw, B., it’s okay… We decided to stay in the little emergency house you gave us, thank Dende for air conditioning, right?” The bald man happily replied.

Yamcha remained silent, quietly observing the scene. He couldn’t help but notice the way Vegeta was holding his ex-girlfriend, and how he looked in much better shape than he had before, not only when he’d been bleeding out on the floor of the gravity room, but even when the warrior had visited them early in the morning. Bulma seemed to have an extremely positive influence on the Saiyan Prince, so he decided to run a little test…

“So… What’s the plan?” The scarred faced warrior finally questioned.

“Um, Vegeta needs to go back to the palace, there’s some stuff he needs to take care of, apparently…”

“Right… Do you want me to fly you there?” He enquired casually.

“I don’t think so, weakling.” Vegeta interrupted. “Your useless ass would probably drop her and then you’d have no one to fly that ship for you when you go back to your backwater planet…”

Before Bulma had time to give her opinion, the Saiyan took off towards their destination, clutching her possessively against him. Her human friends closely followed behind and when the woman peeked at Yamcha, she saw her ex-lover knowingly winking at her, making her smile playfully.

Oh yes…

Her mate’s jealousy couldn’t be a bad sign after all, right?

She buried her face on the Prince’s neck, nuzzling his musky skin, savoring every minute of it as she silently wondered if Vegeta’s body experienced such a powerful reaction to her nearness as well…

What Bulma didn’t know was that powerful wasn’t quite the right word to describe what was going on inside her mate’s head in that moment.

It was maddening…

Feeling her hot little body pressed tightly against him, her cute nose and lips lovingly caressing his skin, was driving him absolutely insane with desire for her. He’d never even been particularly jealous of his woman’s ex-boyfriend, not even after they’d bizarrely managed to remain friends after their break-up, however, the thought of the human male, of any male really, holding or touching Bulma made him feel physically ill.

Why?

Wasn’t that what he’d wanted?

Hadn’t he known all along what would happen anyway at some point when the heiress finally realized he wasn’t coming back to Earth? The Prince was no fool, and he knew damn well that Bulma was practically royalty herself in almost every way possible. Certainly, one of the best females her splendid planet had to offer. So, he knew there would be no shortage of men aspiring to take his place and woo the woman, perhaps even try to convince her to engage into that social convention humans knew as ‘marriage’ and even offering to bring up his child as their own.

It was sickening…

The image of another man fucking his woman and raising his son was absolutely revolting, and yet, he wouldn’t be able to blame Bulma if and when she eventually chose to move on with someone else. Where was this possessiveness coming from, then? And was he really going to do something about it? Could he actually consider going back to her planet and raise their child together? The idea was becoming increasingly tempting the more time he spent with the striking woman in his arms…

“Gods… It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” She whispered in his ear, her warm breath making his body shiver and his pulse speed up. He looked at her curiously, quickly realizing she was referring to the view of the majestic sunset offered by the two suns the planet orbited. The sky’s soft oranges, pinks and purples reflected on her skin gave her an almost ethereal quality, and he wished he could stop time right then and there and stay in that moment forever. He grunted in agreement to her statement and she smiled, kissing his cheek and making him blush again like a goddamned fool.

“Thanks for flying me…” Bulma murmured again.

“Mph... I wouldn’t trust that idiot to fly anyone…” He gruffly replied feeling self-conscious once again by her words of gratitude.

“Well, I would… But I trust you even more…”

Trust him?

That was a good one…

“Woman, you are absolutely insane…” He mumbled without any real malice or anger in his tone.

Bulma giggled and shrugged.

“Mmm… I think you like me that way Lord Vegeta…” She replied cheekily, still smiling and nuzzling his blushed cheek and laying another innocent peck on it before finally going back to hiding her face in the crook of his neck to protect herself from the harsh winds.

The last thought Vegeta had before he gently landed on the grounds of his immaculate palace was that his woman would be the death of him…

So... It seems Vegeta is already asking himself a few questions...

In the next chapter we'll finally find out what his mysterious mission will be...

Thanks a lot for reading!

In case someone is interested in my other works, you can find them here:

http://archiveofourown.org/users/SarahW/pseuds/SarahW

https://www.fanfiction.net/u/8599955/SarahWDBZ

#vegebul #fanfic #fanfiction #vegeta #bulma #sarahw-world #bulma briefs #yamcha #krillin #dbz #dragon ball z #apocalypse now #writing #angst #love #kissing

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