I was not the type of person who easily let their guard down. As one of the top mercenaries in the world, the once Super High School Level Marksman, you'd had to be very skilled or lucky to overtake me. Yet...it happened, but how long ago it was unclear. Only now I could sense my consciousness returning, feeling my body laying on a cold, hard floor.

Ugh...damn it. How could I've been so careless? One second I was alone in my apartment, coming back after finishing my latest job. The next thing I knew the lights go off and I feel someone grab me from behind and drug me. I had no time to fight back, it was as if they were waiting the exact moment I would relax that they would strike.

...But they did not kill me, only kidnap me.

I slowly opened up my sapphire-blue eyes, blinking several times. Quickly, I noticed that I was in a very dark room, lit by a few torches with an earthy smell all around me.

"...What is this?"

Once my head was cleared up, I sat up. I...was in a ruin of some kind. Pale stone walls, moss and cobwebs all around. I stared blankly at my surrounding areas. I could feel a headache forming over how unbelievable this situation was. Whoever was responsible for this, they must be so far off from reality to take me to such a remote place. Seeing that there were absolutely no guards, and a clear open doorway, I slowly stood up to try and search for an exit. I felt very stiff, taking it easy as I walked.

The hallway was very straight and narrow, torches lighting the way every few feet. It was tight, but it did give me some ease to know that it would be impossible for someone to sneak up on me again. In the distance, I could hear the sound of water flowing in the distance, as well as the smell of wet earth. With my throat feeling parched, I picked up my pace towards the sound. The hallway eventually ended, leading into a much larger room then the empty one I was just in.

Before entering right away, I decided to place my back against the wall and look inside, taking no chance of getting capture again. There was a lot more vegetation in this room, as in the far back there was a fountain with water slowly pouring into it. The room was deserted, having many hallways that lead into it with torches around all the entrances. From my position, I could see that there were a total of at least eight entries. Aside from the fountain, it was dead silent in there, and after waiting a few minutes, I finally found it safe for me to enter. I took a few steps in, noticing something very peculiar about the fountain. It was hard to see further back, but not only did it have the water flow back into the wall, but there was a mural right above it.

In a mix between ancient Egyptian and Greek art styles, there was what appeared to be the design of a man and a woman standing side by side. They appeared to be twins, dressed identical in robes that were half black, half white, holding hands with each other. Between them, what looked like a matching king cobra had wrapped itself between their connecting limbs, its head positioned to where it was staring straight at the viewer. My eyes locked onto the cobra's. A cold sensation flowed through me as if it's red and black eyes were staring into my soul. This was unlike any mural I've ever seen, but it was definitely old considering how cracked and faded the paint used for it was.

"...You have been standing there a good five minutes."

My heart stopped at the sound of a deep, monotone voice. Tensed, I swiftly turned to the sound of the voice, ready for any sort of attack. My eyes grew wide, for who stood before me was a tall, blonde man wearing a white t-shirt, black vest, and blue jeans.

"...Sebastian?" I asked, our eyes meeting. "What are you doing here?"

Sebastian Walker, the once Super High School Level Kinetic Vision. A former school acquaintance of mine and a fellow rival mercenary. A man who was absent of all emotion, someone who was a merciless killer and could almost match my skill with a gun. A dread feeling formed inside of me, taking a few steps back in case he turned out to be an enemy.

"You may relax, Rianna Forgen," Sebastian said, revealing both his hands to show he was unarmed. "I am not your enemy here, and judging how distressed you seem, you are not my enemy either."

I narrowed my eyes, forcing my muscles to relax. Yet...he appeared to be right, as I sensed no hostility from him. And by judging the bruises on his face, it would seem that he was brought here against his will as I had.

"...I guess you were kidnapped as well?" I finally said. "How long have you been here, do you know?"

Sebastian shook his head.

"I've only just woke up. I do not remember being kidnapped or getting here. I would not come to a place like this voluntarily, so I assume I was kidnapped just as you say. " He turned his gaze to the mural. "...How unusual. Though what is more unusual is why we were taken to a place like this."

"...Yes. Those are my exact thoughts."

I went down the edge of the fountain, getting onto my knees. Taking my black gloves off and lowering my red scarf away from my face, I dipped my hands into the cool water and took a small sip. Relieved to find out it was fresh water, I drank till my thirst was satisfied. I took a moment to catch my breath before I said, "...I suspect that are kidnappers are people who are not too fond of our work. They most likely want something from us, but why trap us in a tomb like this is something I can't comprehend."

I returned to my feet, patting away the dust and dirt off my torn jeans before placing my gloves and scarf into place.

"You may be right, but there is no evidence to support that," Sebastian replied nonchalantly. "Though given our situation, most likely our captor wants us to-"

"Hello? Is someone else here?"

At the sound of a soft, female voice, both Sebastian and I turned to our left. We heard footsteps, coming from the hall that was next to the one I came from. Soon enough, we could see a woman walking towards us with no hesitation for her safety. She appeared to be twenty two, slender figure with long black hair and golden eyes. She wore a white lab coat with a beige turtleneck sweater and black pants.

"Are you prisoners as well?" the woman asked, her gaze moving between me and Sebastian. "If not, you two must make the worse guards."

I narrowed my eyes.

"...It would seem that we are. Did you wake up to a room all by yourself too?"

"Oh! Why yes I did." The woman's eyes glowed with interest. "And only recently." She winced slightly, rubbing her left hip gingerly. "Err...sleeping on the cold hard ground was very much uncomfortable. I wouldn't be surprised if the person who did this to us had some antisocial issues who spent most of their time alone..."

"That's a likely conclusion," Sebastian commented. "I would also categorize them as someone who has a very strong sense of justice to capture a bunch of trained killers such as ourselves."

The surprisingly calm woman's eyes grew wide.

"'Killers?' What are you saying?"

She rapidly moved her gaze between me and Sebastian, where he in return gave her a blank stare.

"Are you not an assassin?" he asked, though his voice was so monotone it was hard to tell if it was a question.

"Ah...I see," the woman replied. "That would explain your strange clothes."

Without warning, she came up towards me and took a hold of my scarf. Too close for comfort, I shooed her hand away.

"If you're not a mercenary or assassin, what is your profession then?" I questioned, my tone icy. "What reason would anyone kidnap you?"

The woman met my gaze.

"Oh...I can think of a few reasons why someone would want to kidnap me and take me away from society. But that isn't important right now, clearly."

A slightly off tuned laugh escaped her, immediately sending a slight chill down my spine. Just by the way her voice sounded, the way she presented herself...I felt there was something very wrong with her.

"I do believe proper introductions are needed at this point. My name is Masuyo Etsuko, a psychiatrist at a local insane asylum." She gave a small smile. "Pleased to meet you."

Despite my uneasiness, I remained stoic and gave a small nod.

"I am Rianna Forgen, or Ri for short. And this is Sebastian Walker."

At the mention of this name, Sebastian blinked in recognition.

"Now that the pleasantries are out of the way," I continued. "We need to find a way out of here before our kidnappers know we've woken up."

I turned my gaze to the fountain, watching the water flow further back into the wall.

"Ah, I see that the water is flowing back that ways," Masuyo said, coming close to my side. "I wonder if it leads to a larger body of water." She paused, her eyes glowing with curiously. "Just how big is this place?"

"It would have to be a fairly decent size," Sebastian commented. "We have yet to meet any of our captors, meaning logically they must be further in."

"Right," I replied. "Though while I don't like it, it would appear we have no choice but to move forward."

And with each other.

In a situation, the last thing I wanted was to not only have the dead weight of two companions, but ones that I couldn't trust. Who knows why we were taken here. However if I could remain in the leadership position long enough for us to find a quick escape, this imprisonment could end easily. With that piece of hope in mind, I told Masuyo and Sebastian to follow me, going through the hallway that paralleled the water on the other side of the wall.

Author's Note:

Hey everyone! I hope you all enjoyed the first chapter to Shadows of the Heart and our first set of introductions. In my opinion, they are always the weakest part of any Danganronpa SYOC, so I'm hoping that I can finish all the introductions with a minim of three chapters. In the meantime, I do hope I do a good job of writing all the OCs, especially our 'hero,' Ri.

Anyways, this concludes the author's note and I look forward to seeing your thoughts on the story so far.