In the My Hero Academia fandom, there's one factor that's just as important (if not even more critical) than finding out which hero will win at the end of the day -- who's gonna end up with who! The shipping wars in the MHA fandom are pretty intense, especially when it comes to fan-favorite characters like Bakugo, Uraraka and Todoroki. With so many incredibly written characters in the franchise, there are thousands of popular and likely pairings for fans to ship. But when it comes to protagonist Deku, at the end of the day there's really only one ship that legitimately works: Deku and his hospital bed.
It's a universally acknowledged fact that Deku gets hurt a lot thanks to his tendency to listen to instinct over rationale. His heroic spirit is certainly admirable, but it often leads him into dangerous situations that leave him badly injured and in need of immediate medical attention. And who's there to support him when he is in need of some serious rest and recovery? That's right: his hospital bed.
And while some fans have to struggle to find moments between their two shipped characters (sorry Bakugo x Uraraka shippers...), Deku and his hospital bed have gotten plenty of screentime together over the anime's four seasons. In every season, Deku has ended up in one at least once over the course of the arc, so the two are definitely more than acquainted with one another.
Some might argue that Deku has already been paired up with other characters in the show, like Uraraka. Her introduction in season one made it clear that she was going to be a crucial part of Deku's life at UA, and the two have been naively flirting with each other since they first met. However, while Uraraka's sweet personality is adorable, she can't do much to stop Deku from getting into dangerous situations, much less help heal him when he's severely injured.
Another popular ship pairing in the MHA fandom is Deku and Bakugo, as many fans think the two could play out the old "enemies to lovers" trope, especially given how much the latter has matured over the course of the anime's four seasons. However, this pairing would be even more harmful to Deku's physical health, especially considering how Bakugo's hot temper would probably encourage the former to get involved in even more dangerous situations and potentially injure himself further.
At the end of the day, Deku is the current and only possessor of "One For All" and therefore destined to become the next No.1 hero. Sure, maybe that means he can't afford to take any breaks because of his unique and important Quirk; but he needs to be a symbol of peace who people can rely on no matter what, not a well-meaning hero who recklessly ends up injured all the time and can't save the day because of his constant injuries. Besides, his classmates and friends can always handle things if he needs to take some days off for a little R&R.
Whoever Deku decides to dedicate his life to has to be someone who will always be there for him and support his healing process without fail. And the only person (or thing?) that has proven to do that time and time again has been what? His hospital bed.
