Kiku was an excellent student once he met him the next day and Izuku enjoyed teaching him first year elementary school math, Tanaka-San wasn't the only one to approach him in the following month as the families in the building were talking about him, so he started just having a study group at that point and took various amounts of money from each of them.
During that month he became closer with said families after seeing them near-daily to the point that no one living in the complex didn't know him, Izuku also quickly became painfully aware of the living situation in the South Side, in the two months working in the district, he had only seen one or two Pro heroes patrolling the very edge of the red-light district.
He hadn't seen one inside the district despite seeing various crimes (usually drugs) and hearing multiple gunshots, there had been times when Izuku had been forced to leave early due to gang fights outside the apartment complex, there were also other times where he was late because he had to avoid sketchy things or people on the way.
Izuku couldn't help feeling guilty as he stared at his hero merchandise and knowing that the kids, he worked with sometimes had to 'play' the "Eat, shower, safe bed, pick two" game, like how the Miyakes were struggling to pay for Masao-San's schooling, or how Kiku-Kun would often search for spare change on the street every day when he was walking home.
One day when he was packing up his things after spending four hours teaching his little group to write kanji as well as some science and math, Izuku felt a hand tug on his pants and when he turned, he saw little Kaori, Kiku-Kun, and about five other kids their age had gathered around him behind him.
Izuku chuckled and pat Kaori's head "Do you need something, guys?" He asked turning around to face the group, Kiku shuffled a bit before he offered a paper to him, Izuku took it thinking it was just some work Kiku-Kun wanted him to check over.
But once he saw what was on the paper, he didn't see the math problems he and Kiku-Kun were supposed to go over, instead, he found a drawing with three figures in crayon, one of Kiku-Kun, Tanaka-San, and himself if the names were anything to go by.
Confused Izuku turned to the boy and was met with Kaori proudly showing her own drawing of her family and himself with a big blue hill and dots "Aki-Chan's Sensei said people can draw something for someone important as a thank you, so we all got together to make you these. Look this all of us on top of a pile of blueberries!" She told him pointing at the four stick figures.
Izuku's mouth fell open out of shock and turned to the other five seeing them each holding a different drawing, Izuku had been rendered speechless as he accepted each paper only half listening as the kids each took turns explaining their drawing.
Aki had just finished telling him about the drawing she made of her older brother and him at the beach with her when Izuku broke, he carefully put the drawings in a folder then proceeded to hug all seven of the toddlers thanking them for the most amazing presents he's ever gotten.
On the train home, Izuku held the folder close to his chest and once he was home, he walked to his room going through the drawings again still blown away by his gift. Once inside his eyes fell upon his expensive hero merchandise and that heartwarming feeling was thrown into conflict with the overwhelming guilt as the multiple faces of All Might stared back at him.
Looking down at Kiku-Kun's drawing Izuku's eyes furrowed before he stared at his room with a newfound determination, he set aside a box and carefully went over his entire catalog choosing only one piece from each hero or if it was special to him then put it the box, everything else was photographed and put on auction online.
He was sure the act alone probably broke a promise or two he made to himself when he was younger, he assured himself though that All Might would be supportive of his choice to sell the man's merchandise to help people in poverty. Izuku didn't have many rare items, but he did keep his stuff in good condition, so he made a good mint from most of it, roughly ¥2,886,860 per five items which was way more than he expected to get.
Once he had the money, he went to different stores to get medical supplies (rubbing alcohol, bandages, etc) and non-perishable food then got waterproof boxes to make care packages, he'd make about five every day then would be on his way to the South Side. The people at the apartment complex were definitely surprised but happily accepted his gifts, he'd give three to his students and the other two to whoever wanted them.
The way the people in the district almost warmed up to him was quite noticeable, more people would go up to him asking for help for themselves, friends, or family with varying subjects (Math, science, spelling, etc). He was happy to help but quickly realized that he couldn't keep going as he was without burning himself out and went out of his way to scope out the district, Izuku was slightly terrified as he wandered the district looking for an unclaimed territory to hold his study group.
Upon an hour after he started Izuku found the remains of a community center, it had been blown-up judging from the scorch marks and mostly crumbled building, most of the inner structure was gone leaving just a big room with most of the roof still intact. He searched the remains of the building for any gang markers or signs of anything else that could be dangerous.
Finding nothing he decided this place was going to be the best he was going to find and marked where he was on his phone, that Friday he brought a bunch of cleaning supplies and cleaned as best he could during the hours, he'd normally be doing his college courses, and that Saturday he tried to get the community center to be relatively alright to be inside for long periods. Then he told all the people he was teaching where it was and when he'd be teaching.
The first week was... shaky as there were some fights between the older people, he spent the second week setting up the rules of his study group and closely examining the dynamics of the people that showed up, Izuku was a lot more observant since he had healed from the TBI, and he put it to work to find the problems of his group so he could help them better.
Once Izuku had everything figured out he took some money to draft a laminated schedule, he tacked it up so everyone knew what he was teaching and when, the schedule also had what days certain gangs should come since they were the biggest infighters.
While he didn't approve of gang activities, he had become very aware of how hard some people had it and couldn't bring himself to ban anyone affiliated with a gang, if they wanted to learn how to write basic kanji, he would teach them so long as they didn't try anything stupid while he was tutoring.
Things smoothed out after that and he was able to keep everyone to be respectful, Izuku would collect the money upfront before the sessions and that money went straight back into the community, he'd stop at stores just outside the district to get more things for the people there.
Instead of buying individual things and making the care packages at home, Izuku would buy clothes, toiletries, food, school supplies, and medical supplies a few blocks away then bring them to the district, leaving it all in the community center for anyone who needed it.
The residents of the South Side gratitude became clear as they stopped eyeing him like an outsider, not everyone was welcoming him warmly, but he started getting nods or waves from a good portion of them, others were so taken by him they would give him food. He tried to refuse at first but eventually gave in and would just give the food either to the people that came to his sessions or a shelter.
Having become a routine part of his life he began to easily recognize the people he passed by on his walk and they probably knew him in turn, it was probably after one of his students helped him carry the fluffy winter coats, he bought that he realized that he no longer felt any fear as he walked the roads of the old Musutafu.
That he had gotten so used to the roads and the people there that he knew them so well he knew them like the back of his hand, with that knowledge he found it hard to be afraid of this place anymore even when the occasional firefight happened, the previously held fear of the district having long since faded even if he was still well aware how dangerous these roads were.
The confidence he had when he walked past the local gangs was utterly surprising, the fact he could walk the streets of one of the most dangerous parts of Japan without a hint of fear was slightly... empowering after spending so long forcefully ducking his head.
The gangs that lived in the red-light district held a certain amount of... respect for him, not because he was powerful or anything like that, but a lot of them had members or family whom he taught, that had given him some, wiggle room to wander the South Side as he saw fit so long as he kept his nose in his books.
Reaching the third month since he started going to the South Side, he had to come clean about where he was going to his mom, he hadn't lied about where he went or what he was doing but Izuku had been purposely vague about certain details and with how big this had grown he didn't want to hide it anymore.
So, one Sunday he sat his mom down to fully explain, Inko, the loving but anxious mother she was, lost it when he told her he had been regularly going to the South Side for his job, he had to subsequently calm her down before they could continue talking.
"I-it's really not t-that bad there mom." Izuku tried to reassure her sweat dropping, Inko blew her nose "Izuku, it's a red-light district on the other side of Japan!" She exclaimed, "Y-yeah, I know." Izuku admitted rubbing his neck and averting his eyes "There are all sorts of gangs there!" His mom cried "Y-yeah... " he confirmed letting his head hang "A-and you've been going there all this time without t-telling me!" Inko choked out through her sobbing.
Izuku got her more tissues, he swallowed the lump in his throat waiting for her sobbing to die down before he continued.
"I'm s-sorry but I knew if I told you, you'd m-make me stop." Izuku shamefully apologized "Because the South Side is dangerous!" Inko told him and Izuku nodded, as safe as he felt in the South Side that didn't erase the danger of the area.
"I-I know... But after spending s-so long looking for any job, Miyake-San was t-the only person that didn't c-care I was... " Izuku tried to explain although his words died on his tongue just as quickly "No one i-in the South Side c-cares I'm... " he trailed off again fiddling with his sleeve, Inko's sobbing died down as she tried to rein herself in.
"M-mom, please just let m-me tell you about them first," Izuku pleaded but Inko didn't want to hear one more word of Izuku going to the South Side, Inko had wanted to outright forbid him from stepping one foot outside Musutafu and wrap the boy in bubble wrap the second he told her he had been sneaking off to the South Side.
But as soon as he began explaining how he met the Miyake siblings Inko saw a spark of something she hadn't seen in Izuku for ages, so... reluctantly she continued to listen watching as Izuku slowly came out of his shell with every word he spoke, a passion that had once been reserved for his dreams of being a hero freely flowed as he elaborated on every decision he made.
Izuku showed her all the drawings he got from the younger kids and showed her pictures of them, excitedly explaining what he taught each of them with the barest hints of pride in himself, as Izuku told her more and more Inko came to the conclusion of just what she was seeing and why it was so earth-shattering.
Izuku was... happy, not the porcelain smiles that threatened to crack the moment he dropped his guard but pure, genuine, happiness, it was only after seeing him gush about his work in the South Side that she could see how utterly fake his act from before she found out about the bullying was in comparison.
Inko could hardly remember a time when she last saw Izuku so alive, the twinkle in his eyes wasn't there even when he spoke of heroes or quirks, it was sparkling so bright she would have mistaken Izuku for the sun itself from how brightly he beamed.
The only time she could ever recall Izuku being this passionate had been before he was declared, quirkless... before his dream of being a hero had been crushed by the harsh reality of the world.
Her mind flashed back to her five-year son practically begging her to support him, to tell him that even if his dreams weren't possible that he still had her support, and she remembered the only thing she could think of was blaming herself for being unable to give him a quirk so that he could a chance at his dreams.
That when her son was vulnerable and needed help, she had let herself be crushed under the weight of her guilt and how she failed to support him when he needed her most.
People frequently brushed off hindsight, but she couldn't this time... Izuku was sitting in front of her with small blossoms of hope over his work, fragile hope held together by a string. She physically couldn't separate this moment from when he was five, she had seen what happened the last time that hope was crushed, and she wasn't sure either of them would survive it a second time.
So, despite knowing this was a horrible, awful, no-good idea, she wasn't sure she could outright forbid him, so with trembling hands she took one of his "A-are you being s-safe?" She asked interrupting his rambling, Izuku paused blinking "Of c-course I am!" He replied, Inko bit her lip then said, "Does t-this make you h-happy?"
Izuku again paused before smiling shyly "Y-yeah, I t-think I am." He answered seemly just as amazed by the fact as he said it, Inko stared at him for another minute before she came to a decision "O-okay." She muttered nearly regretting it, Izuku blinked looking confused before it hit him what she meant.
Izuku burst into tears of joy and hugged her, repeatedly thanking her over and over practically clinging to her.
She had already broken her son once before and she couldn't do it again. Even though what he was doing scared the living hell out of her she would support him.
No matter how much it hurt her.