Zachary's brother had apparently told his friends that Izuku's lessons weren't exclusively for South Siders and a couple of brave souls made the trip to the district to see him the next day, Izuku's alias of "Deku-Sensei" had spread further in the wake of the SSI than he thought, he had apparently been a popular gossip topic with the street rats in the Japanese underground after the funeral.
More would have already sought him out but people were territorial and didn't want to cause any fights by entering the South Side, with this in mind Izuku decided to make a day trip and visit other local red-light districts to see how welcomed his help would be in those areas, as it turned out he was actually in quite high demand.
Understandably Izuku couldn't be in that many places at once and getting from one end of Japan to the other was nearly a three-day trip all on its own, so Izuku ran some numbers and decided he needed to make some choices, Izuku definitely wanted to reach out to other districts but it would be near impossible to spend any meaningful time in them before he'd be forced to go home.
Alternatively, he could make a schedule of which districts to visit and start traveling in mass, Japan had thirty-eight red-light districts, he could maybe visit five and hold lessons in one of them everyday after he finished his coursework for the day, Izuku could easily do his coursework anywhere with an Internet connection and his laptop and there were internet cafes all over.
The money he'd make from teaching would probably cover the expenses of travel and once he made some solid connections he could stay with his students instead of hotels, actually since he could get a car and a license that could cut down on travel time and possible expenses by just getting those, however, there was just one big problem with this idea.
It would mainly revolve around and be dependent on Izuku becoming a nomad living out of a car, his students' houses, or hotels, and as much as Izuku was excited by the thought of traveling all over Japan to help the people that needed him, that would mean Izuku would basically be moving out of the apartment and living on his own and he didn't think his mom would approve.
Inko had been very generous letting him keep working in the South Side, especially after the SSI but Izuku doubted she would be so lenient with this idea, Izuku as a legal "adult" could do it even if she disapproved, but the idea of going against his mom and the possibility of cutting her out of his life was something he was severely uncomfortable with.
He loved his mom and the thought of losing her over this was something that made Izuku feel like he was betraying every moment of support and comfort she gave him, Izuku wanted to help people and this seemed like the best idea but his mom's reaction would be the final decision on this matter.
Izuku decided to use a notebook to put together a script to explain his idea as best as he could and an ideal timeline for the transition not only to show her but give the plan some real groundwork, Izuku's nerves had gotten the best of him as he waited for his mom, he ended up doing some chores around the house to kill time and keep his hands busy so he wouldn't pick his fingernails to the point of bleeding as he waited.
His nerves didn't disappear when Inko came home from work and though a bit tired Inko had picked up on them " Izuku? Is there something wrong? Was there another hero fight?" She asked and Izuku tensed as he placed their plates on the table " Y-yeah, there's something I n-need to talk about with you, b-but it can wait u-until after dinner." Izuku said brushing it off, he was sure the topic would make eating very difficult.
As promised, once they were done Izuku got his notebook and other things he made for his travel plans and sat down in the living room with his mom " I-I've been thinking of expanding my work, actively going to other districts but it will t-take something big on my end." He told her " S-so let me explain everything first okay mom?" Izuku requested, Inko sensing the seriousness of the conversation they were probably going to have, did let him go on.
Izuku got out the map of Japan he had marked with the locations of all the red-light districts, thirty-eight wasn't that many compared to other countries of a similar size but they were spread out across Japan, Izuku explained how his goal would be to teach in one place and would visit four other red-lights districts by taking the bullet train and they would probably accept his help, Inko seemed receptive of that part and Izuku took her not immediately turning that down as a victory.
He went on to show her the travel plan he first made, where he'd leave by the train to other places but how he wouldn't make it halfway before he had to start to go home to be on time for dinner, how even if Izuku were to take a plane he wouldn't make it home on time.
" If t-this was my only option it would just be impossible, but if I got my driver's license and a car t-then I could do this," Izuku went on to explain his plan to start traveling all over Japan, visiting multiple districts by said car and how he'd be able to live fairly easily with the schedule he had made for himself.
Izuku was even able to make it so he could be with his mom every Sunday and even be able to pop in whenever he got close to Musutafu, he carefully detailed his plans if they were going forward his idea and how he'd replace the money to pay for just about everything by teaching his students every day like he already was.
Inko had remained mostly silent as Izuku told her all of this which he wasn't sure if it was a good thing or a bad thing, Izuku had been expecting a lot of tears by this point, when he finished off he was just kind of rambling the minor things and just trailing off.
She reached out for one of the papers and simply stared at it with a sad, tired look on her face as she did " Y-you've really... Thought this out... " she mumbled putting it back down and turning to him " Y-yeah, well this is going to be a serious change. If I-I was going to d-do this I wouldn't do it w-without a real plan." Izuku told her nervously shrugging.
Inko smiled sadly and softly nodded then after a few minutes she sighed " Izuku... D-do you remember when you first told me why you w-wanted to be a hero?" She asked, Izuku blinked surprised and confused by the sudden change in topic " Uh, yeah. That I w-wanted to help others?" He replied waiting for her to continue.
" I know, I'm proud t-that the only thing you've e-ever wanted to d-do is to h-help others... But when you d-decided you wanted t-to go into h-heroics, I-I was scared." Inko admitted " The i-idea of my baby f-fighting villains, i-it terrified me but I-I tried my best to be supportive of y-your dream." She confessed eyes tearing up.
Izuku wanted to say his mother's words didn't sting but he couldn't stop the twinge of hurt that briefly constricted his heart, though he quickly argued with himself that there were worst things than his mom being scared for him.
" A-and if I'm being t-truly honest... When you t-told me you w-were going to the South Side to t-tutor people, I w-wanted to make you stop." She said and Izuku couldn't help feeling a bolt of fear course through him.
* S-she not saying what I think she's saying... I-is she? S-surely mom's not going to make me stop altogether r-right? S-she wouldn't... The worst thing that could've happened from this talk was supposed to be mom saying no. Not making me stop altogether. S-she can't right... She j-just can't... *
He was ripped from his thoughts when Inko suddenly took his hand " Izuku, I have never in my life been so glad I didn't listen to common sense that day." She told him with a wobbly smile " W-what?" Izuku sputtered having lost track of where this was going and if he should be worried.
" The day we learned you were quirkless, y-you might not have given up your dream, b-but you shut down... I-it's so hard to describe it but you just w-weren't you anymore after that day." She morosely went on to explain " When you told me about t-the bullying, you opened up a bit but y-you were still... Closed off." Inko added averting her eyes.
" But after you started g-going to the South Side, y-you didn't just open up a-again, you started thriving. And when that t-terrible night in January happened I t-thought you were g-going to shut d-down again... But y-you didn't." She said voice trembling with unspoken emotion as tears finally started falling from her eyes.
" I-I know t-t-that night hurt you, that i-it's still hurting you even now, but instead o-of it stopping you, y-you used it to go e-even further then b-before. Izuku, y-you've always been v-very mature for your a-age, but I've s-seen you grow so m-much in these couple of years." Inko told him glimmers of pride poking through her tears " I-I've always thought of y-you as my baby, but s-seeing you flourish these last months, it's h-hard to deny t-the adult y-your becoming." She said gently cupping his face.
" I've n-never seen you s-so... Alive before and that's a-all because of your work. S-so, if y-you think you n-need to do t-this... " Inko paused from speaking to take a deep breath " T-then I w-w-won't stop you, a-and I'll t-try to t-trust your decisions e-e-even if they s-scare m-me." She confidently told him, a wobbly smile back on her face even as she silently cried.
Izuku's eyes had long since started watering and he wrapped his mother in a hug
" T-thank you mom." He whispered as he cried with her, the two greenettes cried for a few minutes before separating " B-but your not g-going anywhere until w-we make a more solid plan." Inko insisted as she wiped her face, Izuku nodded, his utter joy that she had agreed overshadowing just about everything at the moment.