MHA: TITAN

Chapter 22 - Growing Up XIII

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Ikiru and Mikasa camped for the next week. They had brought food and water to drink. So they spent their time building huts, exploring the forest and enjoying the peace and quiet. Making a fire for dinner and chatting with each other in the evenings were the things they enjoyed the most this week. When they returned to the mansion, they were both full of energy. Mikasa always wanted to be by Ikiru's bedside, but last week she realised something. If she wanted to be useful to Ikiru in the future, she had to train herself more. Ikiru, on the other hand, had been thinking about his life for the past week.

Although he had learnt a lot through training and exercise, he had realised something he had been missing. He realised the importance of experience. Camping for the past week had made him feel alive. He felt it when he was fighting to the death. However, he was impressed that such a calming activity could be so much fun. Also, the time he had spent with Mikasa last week had given him a better understanding of her. Mikasa was obsessed with him. However, Ikiru didn't want Mikasa to be blinded by his presence. Therefore, he pushed her a little and asked her to train herself more. This was so that Mikasa could become a little more normalised to be useful to him.

Ikiru had realised something else after talking to Mikasa last week. In his conversations with Levi and Mikasa, they always talked about the future, but Ikiru didn't know what he wanted to do. It was his duty to be a hero, after all, they were planning to take the side of the heroes in the war they believed would happen. Ikiru, however, was not sure he wanted to be a hero. While the career had many benefits, it also came with many responsibilities. More importantly, he would constantly have to act out of character. Although Ikiru was still young, his character had already begun to settle. And Ikiru was not a human lover. He also knew that he had ambiguous morals. Although he did not know how he was in terms of social communication, he believed that he would not be bad thanks to his intelligence.

The only appeal of heroism for him was that he would get a new experience. Besides, he had thought deeply about heroism last week. He had thought about his view of heroes and what the ideal hero should be for him. The answers he had found were interesting. For Ikiru, the profession of a hero was more like a politician than a hero. 'Hero' as an identity was nothing more than a propaganda tool. The people he saved were a tool for the heroes. The people who were affected by their actions were the ones they used to promote and build their image. This was only the beginning. The responsibility side was darker. As far as the safety of society was concerned, the court, justice and the judiciary were the heroes, as long as they were authorised to do so. The Hero Public Safety Commission was a good example of what heroism encompassed. They did their positive work in public and their dirty work in the dark.

This point of view was something Ikiru could accept. Being such a hero would not make him unhappy. Ikiru's view of the ideal hero was a little different. He and Levi had studied the history and meaning of the concept of 'hero'. For Ikiru, a hero was more like an 'Emperor'. Although the public had created a more ornate and acceptable image, the heroes in history were individuals who aimed for authority. The fact that emperors received love and respect from the people during their rule reminded Ikiru of today's concept of a 'Hero'. For this reason, the ideal hero should be more like an emperor.

When he analysed the current heroes, Ikiru was disgusted. He couldn't believe how so many useless people had appeared. When he evaluated All Might, he felt ridiculous. How could it not bother people that the man who was the Symbol of Peace was so incompetent? Ikiru admired All Might for gaining the trust of the people and for his extraordinary success in doing so. However, All Might had only power apart from his image. How could he do nothing but save people? It was obvious that he cared about society. He was risking his life for human life. But he did nothing for the development of society en masse. It didn't seem like a conscious choice, but not seeing this was a level of stupidity that Ikiru could not understand. All Might, with its power and human support, could gain political power and ensure the development of society. Thus, he would have saved not only the people of today but also the people of the future. But what All Might did was save people by running from place to place. He was nothing but a clown. For Ikiru, All Might have no achievements that deserved his respect, except for the success in the image he created and the support he received from the public.

When Ikiru discussed his ideas with Levi, Levi said that Ikiru needed to think more thoroughly. "The All Might issue is a bit complicated. As you said, he could use his influence to lead the change in society. The problem is that heroes other than All Might are useless. All Might need support to realise what you say. To maintain his image, he has to keep saving people. That already takes up most of his time, the rest of the time he uses to rest. To achieve what you're saying, one person is not enough. He needs a team. However, the current heroes are useless. A group deluded by stupid ideals is useless. Even leaving aside their intelligence, their performance sucks," Levi said.

"I realise that what I don't understand is the Hero Public Security Commission and the government. You know better than I do that they are not useless. But for what reason are they more interested in the erosion of order than its improvement? Can't they see that the order provided is temporary?" Ikiru asked Levi. "It's not a matter of not seeing, Ikiru. It's ideals. The change of opinion brought about by All Might's restoration of the order has brought those who favoured his ideas to power. But they are not only incompetent intellectuals, they are powerless. This has led them to shift all responsibility to All Might. The Hero Public Safety Commission is a completely different story. This organisation was founded by a more radical group that embraced the ideals of All Might. Although this group includes more intellectuals, they are powerless. For this reason, they are focused on the preservation of the existing order rather than the direction of society. Because they don't have the power to achieve more," Levi told Ikiru, explaining the basics of the existing order.

"Endeavour and the remaining useful heroes keep the order alive by filling their gaps. Thus, the order pioneered by All Might is accepted by the people. However, the minority, which is pressured to maintain order, grows as time passes. For this reason, maintaining order is becoming more and more difficult. Of course, the AFO has a hand in this. All this is not only about having power. Social change is also related to the harmony of the people. Like people in the city can accept people with mutant-type Quirk more easily. The sum of all this makes the plot of All Might be complicated. Since he can't do it all alone, he needs a team of skilful people. But that's meaningless to us. The change that will take place in the future will have enough impact to change the perspective of society. It's your wishes that matter," Levi said as he handed Ikiru a glass of cocoa milk.

"Frankly, heroism is interesting. The fact that I can use my Quirk in public leaves me no other choice. Although I'm not likely to be detected if I use my Quirk, but the impact on society will be very useful in the future. I haven't made up my mind yet, but a decision is slowly forming in my mind. In any case, I want to make my decision together with Mika," Ikiru told Levi. By the end of the conversation, Ikiru's daily training with Levi was over. He then went to the training grounds outside the mansion to train his Quirk.

Mikasa was waiting for Ikiru near the training ground. After returning from the camp, Mikasa stopped attending all of Ikiru's training during the day. Although she participated in combat and Quirk training, the rest of the time, Mikasa was training herself. Since Mikasa was at her physical peak, her training was more about her career. Mikasa knew her son. After the conversations at the camp last week, she understood what Ikiru would choose for his future. Ikiru cared about the future of the Ackerman clan, despite his claims to the contrary. He also wanted to make an impact on society so that his future with Mikasa would be secure. In the current world, there was only one job that fits what Ikiru wanted. Mikasa was not surprised that her son wanted to be a hero. Mikasa also wanted to be a hero in the past. However, due to the clan situation and the characteristics of Mikasa's Quirk, she had been unable to pursue that career. Ikiru, on the other hand, was born at the right time and had the right Quirk for this career. All this made Mikasa realise what Ikiru would choose. And to help her son in the future, she wanted to take over the management of the agency he would establish in the future.