Based on the song "Hungry For Another One" by JT Machinima ft. Andrea Storm Kaden (yes, I know it's a Little Nightmares song, but I felt like it really fit the theme of this oneshot).
See the end of this story for notes!
Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon Ball, it belongs to Akira Toriyama! I only wrote this oneshot! Enjoy!~
Despite what others might say, there were certainly perks to being forced onto the sidelines. Sure, most of the time it wasn't fun. After all, who in their right mind would enjoy missing out on something that they love, all because they were considered 'not good enough' by people they thought of as their closest friends?
Sure, anything sounded stupid when you put it like that. But now, surprising even himself, Yamcha found himself beyond grateful that he was no longer on the front lines as a Z-Fighters.
Not after what seeing what it had done to his friends.
It was no secret that Saiyans were gluttons for power and battle. He had seen it in Goku since the days following the 21st Tenkaichi Budokai; that drive to train and fight his way up the latter of power, no matter the cost, it couldn't have been more obvious to the ex-bandit. It was there in Vegeta as well; it practically slapped Yamcha in the face when he heard from Future Trunks that Vegeta had allowed Cell to reach its perfect form, even purposely attacking his future son to quench his thirst for a stronger opponent.
When it came to fighting, even when the battle had nearly cost them everything, in the end, it didn't matter. The Saiyans were always hungry for another one.
It was never enough for them. No matter how strong they were, it was as if their own powers disgusted them, only wishing to find an opponent whose power they hungered.
His human and hybrid friends had similar desires within them. They were driven to become stronger, training themselves to the bone, proving themselves to the Saiyans that sat near the top of the impossibly high latter of power. It wasn't exactly the same as the Saiyans—there was also a desire to protect the Earth and those around them. It was one of the main reasons they continued to train and fight.
The desire had once been in Yamcha as well. He remembered the feeling of it all too well. Before the Saiyans had arrived on Earth, he had felt on top of the world in terms of power; sure, he acknowledged the gap between himself and Goku, but he refused to let it damper his spirits.
He remembered how he had started to grow bored with the battle on Earth not long before the Saiyans had arrived. He had been silently begging to Kami or whatever gods were up there to give him a battle that he honestly wanted to fight, fed up with the mock fights and humiliations that he had been stomaching for so long.
Vanity had hooked its claws into him; he didn't even check to make sure he had killed the damn Saibaman; the battle for the Earth's fate had quite literally blown it out of him.
He now considered it a blessing in disguise, actually.
It had saved him from becoming a victim of the same power gluttony that plagued the Saiyans.
He had continued to train after that, his desire for strength no longer driver by vanity, but by wanting to help his friends and protect Bulma. She was unable to defend herself in situations like this, despite what she might say; he loved her to death, he still did, but in the end, it was all wasted. She flung herself all over Vegeta, someone who didn't give a damn about her, and less than a year later, bore his child.
Sometimes Bulma still talked with him about it over a bottle of wine, but only when she wanted to vent about it whenever Vegeta went off to train for the umpteenth time. She constantly complained about him not being there, not appreciating her genius, only coming home for food and sex and the gravity room, and the list could go on for days.
And—she only admitted this when her cheeks became rosy from her inebriated state—the only reasons she was still with Vegeta was because of three things: their children, sex, and protection from dangers. That was it. Not because of love for each other, but only because of what they could get out of the relationship.
Whatever drive Yamcha had to fight alongside his friends started to diminish after that, and quickly became cold and dead after his encounter with Androids 19 and 20. He no longer cared, and after the Cell Games, finally gave in and threw in the towel.
He didn't mind the power gap between himself and all his friends. Hell, to this day, he still didn't give a damn about it.
His friends didn't think twice about it either, he knew.
Yet he couldn't help but wonder…
…Was it worth it?
Maybe it was the fact that Goku was their close friend. Maybe it was the fact that they'd all be dead if it wasn't for him, feeling like a debt they wanted to pay back to him.
But was it worth the constant humiliation in battles that could've easily been won if the Saiyans hadn't selfishly screwed around? Was it worth being forgotten by them for long periods of time and then suddenly being remembered only when it was convenient for their gluttony for battle, not because of their friendship?
Sometimes it felt like a nightmare. There were times when Yamcha silently wondered if he was actually dreaming when these moments came up. But if he was being honest, he'd much rather have constant nightmares instead of dreams.
Because he'd rather wake up relieved, than wake up disappointed.
And yet they didn't seem to mind, not one bit. One could argue that it was just the way Saiyans were, and that there was nothing that could be done about it, which Yamcha could somewhat agree with.
But still, he quietly asked, why did they, including the rest of humanity and even the other damn universes, need to bend over backwards just to convenient them? As if everything else was nothing more than a profanity under the Saiyans' watchful eyes?
He sometimes wondered if Chi-Chi had the same frustrations as Bulma; he had actually never asked her about it. Not exactly the same, of course. Yamcha knew that Chi-Chi truly loved Goku, he could see it in the way she looked at her husband. But did she feel like Goku only came home for what he could get out of it, just like how Bulma felt about Vegeta?
Yamcha would never know what went through his friends' minds.
He wanted to pull them out of these humiliating acts, to tell them to just let the Saiyans take care of that stuff. He wanted to tell Goku and Vegeta how destructive this gluttony had become. He wanted to tell all them so badly.
But what were the odds that they'd actually listen to him?
They'd just wave away his concerns, just say that there was no problem, and then continue the same behaviors without a second thought…
…Behaviors that were always peaking on the front lines of the Z-Fighters.
It was that feeling of helplessness that Yamcha hated the most.
It was going to come back and bite them in the ass sooner or later, just like it did with him all those years ago.
He really hoped that at the end of it all, the sun would rise and they would find a way to resolve all of this. Sure, it might be through ways that were, for once, inconvenient for the Saiyans and could take a long time, but he just wanted what was best.
But until then, he could do nothing but sit back and watch the destruction unfold, silently grateful that he was on the sidelines as it all went down.
Alright, hold on, I can explain XD
I guess this is the only healthy and non-destructive way I could get my frustrations for the Dragon Ball series out X'D (warning: long rant ahead!)
My main frustration, just in case is wasn't already obvious, is with Goku and Vegeta in Dragon Ball Super. In the original DB and DBZ, I liked Goku and I was (for the most part) neutral towards Vegeta. But in Super, I don't really like Goku; I like Vegeta a bit more, but it feels like both of them (along with Bulma) are constant shoved down our throats, to the point where I don't even want to see them on my screen anymore.
I was frustrated with Goku's actions throughout Super, especially in the Tournament of Power Arc. Goku put countless lives (not just his universe, but also most of the other twelve universes) in danger of being permanently erased...just so he could fight strong guys...and he didn't without hesitation or a second thought. I've also strongly disliked the way both Goku and Vegeta treats their 'friends'; at this point, they're pretty much fair-weather friends, with the way they only remember the other Z-Fighters' existences when it's convenient for their love of fighting.
Another frustration I got out with this is my issue with VegBul. I've always viewed Vegeta and Bulma's "marriage" as hollow; they only got together to create Trunks the plot convenience, and I always saw them as just using each other for sex, security (for Bulma), and a place to eat and train (for Vegeta). Please respect my opinion about this; I will respect you as long as you respect me.
I got the idea to write this while I was listening to it for the umpteenth time this morning, and when I started writing, I wasn't sure how I wanted to structure it and it just became word vomit that I later edited, so sorry if this feel like a complete mess X'D
Also, holy crap, I don't think I've ever really written a oneshot with no dialogue before
And now for the elephant in the room: why did I use Yamcha as the focal point of this oneshot? Well, aside from him being my favorite character, I felt like he would have the most grounded perspective in all of this. He knows what it's like to be a victim of his own vanity, and I'm pretty sure he wouldn't want the same thing to happen to those around them, but would also acknowledge that he can't force them to stop their destructive and humiliating behaviors. So before I started writing this, I had to ask myself: just how would he react to the actions of his friends?
Anyways, I had a lot of fun writing this. Leave a review and let me know what you think! Have a great day!