Decided to give Ichigo a different quirk than normal...one that is overpowered when used correctly. Hope everyone likes the artifact I gave her and the introduction of a certain character!
Ichigo loved living on Whale Island. It was a far cry from the cold and impersonal life she had in Japan. Here, no one cared if she was quirkless and was actually nice to her. Even Auntie Mito, who treated her like a second child whenever Inko had to leave her alone.
Gon loved having a sister he could play with, and often dragged her to little adventures in the forest. Ichigo could tell she was getting a lot stronger, as she wasn't tired by the end of it anymore.
However she wanted a little adventure of her own. To that end, she snuck out while Gon was out getting supplies for Mito to explore an area of the forest that was deemed relatively safe by the adults. Most of the predators avoided it, likely because of the odd flowers that grew around the perimeter that they disliked.
Ichigo was heading deep into the heart of that area, as she was rather fascinated by the flowers and wanted to see what else was inside. Gon disliked it because they made him sneeze every time they went near the place.
Going deeper into the odd glen where the flowers thrived, Ichigo found a strange stone formation. With the curiosity and innocence of a child who had never experienced true danger, she went in without a second thought.
Several hours later...
Inko was understandably upset when her daughter was very late for dinner and no one had seen her for hours. So when Ichigo returned a bit hungry but no worse for wear, the matter was eventually dismissed.
That is until they realized she had awoken someone rather unusual to the island.
Fairy King Harlequin, as he was once known when he was still a hunter and part of a group of heroes known as the Seven Deadly Sins...no one was sure why a group of heroes named themselves that, but ran with it...had been sleeping for the past hundred years on Whale Island after the death of his wife Diane. His sister Elaine and her husband Ban were still around somewhere, but the "sin of Sloth" had opted to nap for a while.
King, as he preferred to be called, had been very surprised to be woken up by a ten year old girl. Still, no harm had come of it and he had a decent nap.
To that end, he decided to see what the world was like after his nap.
Only to find two very eager children who wanted to learn from him, for slightly different reasons.
At least his youthful appearance kept the adults from asking pointed questions about his interest in Ichigo and Gon. Being accused of having ill intentions towards children was just plain annoying.
Ichigo was rather eager for Gon to complete his end of the deal with Mito. Auntie Mito had said that if Gon could catch the Master of the Swamp, she would allow him to join the Hunter's exam.
Inko had agreed the same, but in her daughter's case she was only allowed to join if Gon went as well. King was an unusual boy, but he was very good at training the children and he had already given Ichigo a very impressive gift.
The sacred spear Chastifol, which had been King's primary weapon for years.
What Inko didn't know, that King and the children kept quiet about, was that being chosen as the spear's owner made Ichigo the Fairy race's new Queen. Or at least she would be once she passed the hunter's exam and unlocked her full potential.
According to King, Ichigo did have a quirk...it was just extremely passive and they had yet to figure out how to use it in a combat situation. The fact it wasn't fully awake yet meant that it had gone unnoticed for years.
Seeing Gon race to the port with the massive fish, Ichigo grinned widely.
"You did it! Now we can take the exam!"
Gon beamed widely at her, though he had to look up a bit. Ever since she bonded with Chastifol, she had developed a tendency to hover all the time. It drove Inko a little crazy on occasion.
King had long since left, having taught all he could to Ichigo and wanting to reunite with his sister.
He had promised to leave a message where to find him once she took the exam, left with the hunter's chairman. It would only be given once she became a hunter.
King couldn't complete her training until after she had the license.
On the day they were to leave Whale Island, Inko made sure both children were well stocked. Gon was in charge of the camping supplies, while Ichigo had the seasoning and the medical supplies. Considering Gon's quirk, he was extraordinarily good at picking out edible plants and hunting game. However he was terrible at cooking, which was why Ichigo was the one carrying the seasoning.
Ichigo gave her mother an extra hug, while Gon did the same to his aunt Mito.
It was a tearful farewell for all involved.
"So what do you think the hunter's exam is like? I mean King said they change it every year, since it's impossible to know who's going to be the examiner..." said Gon eagerly.
"He said there was at least four stages, no more than five," said Ichigo.
"Look at you brats, trying to act all knowing about the exam!" scoffed another potential.
"Go back to your mama's kiddies!" laughed another.
"Yeah, we don't have time to watch over wet behind the ears babies who bring their security blankets!"
Gon frowned, but said nothing. Those that laughed the loudest were often the first cut, according to King. And there was often no telling who would be culling the weakest from the list of potentials.
Thousands flocked to the exam every year, but in reality the main exam was lucky to get several hundred. And the number who passed was even fewer.
Some years, not even a single candidate would pass.
Ichigo ignored them...she liked the fluffy nature of Castifol in it's pillow form, and the less people recognized it before she became a hunter, the better.
If anyone knew what it actually was, there was a high risk someone would come after her and even kill her in order to get a quick payday. Chastifol was very strong even when it wasn't bonded to an owner, but it's full potential only awakened in the hands it deemed worthy of it.
There were even people who collected legendary weapons who could afford to hire strong Hunters to take it by any means necessary.
Besides...it was easier to float when it was in pillow form and at most people would assume it was her quirk.
As the sea began to churn from the yearly storms, Ichigo helped to ration the sea sickness medicine she had on hand.
Considering she was floating the entire time, she wasn't affected and Gon had a strong stomach anyway.
Many of the jerks who mocked them for being young or because they dismissed Chastifol were laid up on the ground, sick as dogs and miserable. They were unable to handle the seas at all.
"Wimps," said Ichigo.
"That's not fair. You're floating after all," said Gon.
"Considering the number of people tossed around like dolls, it would be even more foolish to be on the ground. I don't fancy being crushed by grown men who's egos are bigger than their skill level," Ichigo shot back.
Gon conceded her point. The adults were being tossed around a lot, and Ichigo was smaller than them. It wouldn't take much for her to be pinned by one of the adults being thrown around and hurt.
As the storm began to subside for the moment, the captain came in. He found Ichigo lazing about on Chastifol, reading while Gon helped a few of those who were sicker than most.
At the Hunter's exam area...
Ichigo was rather glad she had Gon with her. She didn't think she could have passed the preliminary exams without his help. He had a natural charisma that seemed to endear him towards the people cutting down the number of applicants.
That wasn't to say she was lacking charm of her own...she was able to convince King to train them and tell them things about the actual exam after all. It was just that most dismissed her because she didn't seem to be taking things seriously.
Not even Kurapika or Leorio took her seriously because she had been floating most of the time and to all appearances let Gon do the bulk of the work.
Perhaps now that they were in the main exam she could finally show off her own skills.
Ichigo put her numbered badge into her satchel, after confirming that it didn't need to be visible at all times. She had the worst feeling she'd lose it if she wore it.
She had to grin when she realized the first part of the exam was to follow the proctor without falling behind.
The only other kid their age, a silverette with a mischievous and slightly worrying aura, grinned as he rode his skateboard rather than bother running.
"So is floating part of your quirk?" he asked.
"I'll let you keep guessing," said Ichigo. "I'm Midoriya Ichigo, and that's my cousin Freaks Gon."
"Who names their kid Freaks?" he asked. "I'm Killua."
"It's a habit of hers from before she moved to Whale Island. My name is Gon," said Gon amused. "Apparently on her birth island it's considered polite to introduce yourself with your surname first and your given name second."
"What island does that?" asked Killua, interested. He was amused that Ichigo was floating with her body facing backwards and she didn't seem to be taking things seriously at all.
"Japan," said Ichigo.
"Huh. So what's the deal with the pillow?" asked Killua.
"She got it from a former Hunter. Apparently it has a few unique skills only someone bonded to it can use, and it like Ichigo," said Gon. "Wait until she has a chance to actually show off her skills...so far she hasn't had a proper chance to actually do anything."
"Wait...you mean she's been holding back?" said Kurapika, having heard that comment.
"I want to be a hero, but because my quirk is very passive, the only way I'll be able to join the ranks of heroes is to become a hunter. No hero school would let someone with a relatively passive quirk join their ranks, much less one like UA," said Ichigo slightly annoyed.
"What's a hero hunter?" asked Killua.
"Since Hunters were prevalent before the emergence of Quirks, the budding Pro Hero class made a deal with the hunters association in order to avoid conflicts of interest. Namely that those who obtain a hunter's license don't need a hero license in order to interfere during events such as villain attacks or natural disasters. In exchange the hunter's association was to insure that the Pro Hero class never ran the risk of going to far...such as a hero suddenly turning villain or believing themselves to be a god due to their quirk and fame," said Kurapika. "It's not widely talked about or known, because in general hunters either avoid getting involved or are mistaken for pro heroes and don't bother to correct the assumption."
"Pro Heroes are considered above several laws, but the hunter class remains the elite of the elite," said Ichigo. "According to the hunter who trained me, hunters outrank pro heroes by a wide margin due to the requirements of being one. Having a hunter's license means I don't need to join schools like UA to be a hero, even if I had no quirk at all," said Ichigo cheerfully. "To date, there's only a handful of known hero hunters out there, and only one is still active. I hear he's been keeping the heroes on their toes, since most have become complacent due to the rise of All Might."
"All Might?" said Killua.
Gon suddenly groaned.
"Please do not get Ichigo started. She's a complete All Might fan girl who knows entirely too much and has this weird habit of mumbling statistics and other facts that are relatively pointless. Just hearing her go into ramble mode makes my brain hurt," said Gon quickly.
Ichigo stuck her tongue out at him.
"You hate it because I make you actually think, rather than rely on instincts all the time. Didn't Auntie Mito throw a party when your grades went up and consistently stayed there?" said Ichigo.
"A C average is perfectly acceptable! I didn't need to do better than that!"
"Your father maintained a straight B average growing up. There is no excuse for you to slack off, and even Mama said that your mom was always in the top ten of the class at your age," Ichigo shot back. "Not everyone is a wild child and at least thanks to me you have something to fall back on."
Killua was highly entertained by the byplay. He wondered if this was what it was like to have a normal family spat. The two were clearly close.
"Hey, I see daylight again!" Ichigo called out.
Sure enough, they were at the end of the tunnel.