A marionette's dance (Yandere!ShalnarkXreader

When I was younger

The pipe you sat perched on provided an open view of your surroundings. Odd people from all around the world come to attempt the hunter exam and you are just one of them. The place is crowded and smells of sweat but you brush it off, instead deciding to examine the other contestants. Most people seem unremarkable but there were a few intriguing people. Number 99 was a little boy with white hair, he held a skateboard and generally stayed to himself. Number 301 had a mohawk and needles protruded from his head, you decided to stay away from him. Number 44 was a weird clown guy, he freaked you out a bit and you decided to avoid him as much as possible. The only other remarkable person was number 16, he only held any attention because he was handing out drinks that were clearly spiked. Said man, perhaps noticing your watchful gaze, approached with a smile that was meant to be disarming.

  “Hello!” he began, “I'm Tonpa, what's your name?”
You didn't respond and the silence made the opposing male shift nervously.
  “Not much of a talker huh?” He rummaged through his bag and produced a can of soda. “Here! Take this as a token of our new friendship.” He held out the can and you stared him down until he awkwardly shrunk away.

  “Hey!’ a young boy with blonde hair that reached his shoulders approached you. His smiles always seemed to warm you up.
  “Hey, Shal!’ You responded, noticing he held something behind his back.
He crawled into the makeshift tent you two had built and produced a small box from his pocket. You watched him curiously and he opened it to show a ring that was a bit too big for either of you. It was shiny and held an emerald that was chipped in a few places, you didn't mind. You thought it was beautiful and you told him just that. He gave you a closed-eye smile and grasped your left hand softly in his, placing the ring on your ring finger. “Let's get married when we get older!’ You smiled back at him, you both were so young that you couldn't understand marriage fully, but you didn't mind the idea of being with your best friend.

You were pulled from your thoughts by the sounds of screams. A man lay on the floor near the clown man, his arms turning into flowers. It was strangely beautiful but still weighed down as horrific. “
  Oh, how peculiar… His arms seem to have become flower petals.” Cooed the clown
   “No smoke and mirrors here.” He gave a bow as if in some play.
“Do take care. When you bump into someone, you really should apologise.”
He really bothered you, you must have been obvious because he looked over to you and gave a knowing smile as if he was aware of something that you werent. You quickly diverted your attention and scanned the crowd again. You did a double take at a blonde boy before your heart calmed. It wasn't him, this boy wore traditional robes and had grey eyes, he looked very different from him, but it still pulled your eyes. He was with another man who looked much older, the man had black hair and glasses, he also carried around a suitcase. A small child stood with them, he had green hair and held a nostalgic sense of joy, the kind you would get from finding a frog in a park or catching a butterfly.

  “Look what I got!’ exclaimed Shalnark. He held out a paper baggie and when you opened it, you found a sandwich. You lit up instantly, the hunger pains in your stomach becoming suddenly very obvious. Meteor City was in no way a good place for a child or anyone for that matter. Violence was common, food was scarce, hygiene was practically non-existent, education was hard to come by, and entertainment consisted of scavenging through trash piles and making stuff up. You had been lucky enough to know how to read and write. An old man had taught you that along with many of your other skills. You had no memory of your parents, as usual for children in Meteor City, and you didn't really care. Either they were dead or they abandoned you. The old man, however, had lost a child, he was close to death and desperately wanted to pass on skills to someone. He was the closest thing to a parent that you had and he taught you many things. It was thanks to him that you can sew, read, write, cook, tell the difference between poisons, and most importantly, it was thanks to him that you know nen, all of which came in handy while living there. Shalnark split the meat sandwich in half and gave you the larger one. You didn't question where the meat came from, there weren't any cattle around here and shipments were incredibly rare but you had long learned not to question what you ate.

  “Tonpa this juice must have expired” The little kid spat it on the ground and his innocence made you genuinely laugh. The two others with him quickly followed suit. You decided to draw in the dust beside you while you waited for the challenge to begin but found your eyes drawn toward the odd trio. He vaguely reminded you of yourself, at least when you were younger.
A wall opened and a weird, lanky guy with a curly moustache that reminded you of a cartoon villain, stepped out.
  “I apologise for the wait. The entry period for Hunter applicants has ended. The Hunter Exam will now begin!”
You glanced around at the full room and everyone seemed to be ready for the exam to begin.
He spoke up again, “If you are short on luck or ability, you could very well end up seriously injured or even dead.” A few of the weaker-looking people shook at that.  “ Those who accept the risks, please follow me. Otherwise, please exit via the elevator behind you.”
  It was obvious that many of the people there were severely underprepared but no one wanted to face the scrutiny of backing out. You found it foolish, honestly, if you can't handle something then you should just leave. No use in attempting a fight you can't win. But perhaps their ego was too fragile, for no one left. The man turned and began walking, his movement reminded you of a wind-up doll.
  “I neglected to introduce myself. I am Satotz, the Phase One examiner. I shall lead you to the exam's Second Phase.”
The man, whose name you now know is Satoz, made no pause to speak.
  “Second Phase? What about Phase One?” You heard someone ask.
  “It has already commenced.”