Another work originally from my ao3. Written around October of 2013.
She doesn't know what she expects. Perhaps it's hatred. Maybe that's what she wanted to see, because she knows it's how she would have felt. She would have been angry, she would have given the cold shoulder, and despite knowing him well enough, that was what she had expected. She had not expected to see gratitude and warmth in his eyes.
Makoto Naegi was a strange boy, at least, to her. After she had condemned him to death, Kyouko Kirigiri had thought he would resent her. After all, he was given the chance to call her out on her bluff. However, she has not seen even the slightest flicker of anger. And, in all honesty, that shocks her more than anything else. She herself had held a grudge for years, but Naegi had seemingly forgiven her the moment he saw her. In fact, and this perplexes her most of all, he doesn't seem to blame her one bit.
As she aids him, unlocking the huge, heavy door and beginning to ascend the ladder, he still confuses and interests her, as they engage in conversation. Something about him has completely caught her attention. Certainly, she had definitely been curious about him before, and had interacted with him to the point of becoming admittedly fond of the luckster, though never as much as now. Something had shifted in that trial that drew her inexplicably towards him and she wasn't sure if she was very comfortable with that fact.
Frankly, it's a little frightening. The last time she had gotten too close to someone, she had been harmed badly, and not just physically. And now, she was drawing closer to him. She pauses on the ladder, clenching the bars tightly for a few moments, before continuing, her thoughts still swimming in confusion.
She somewhat fears harming him. She's already done quite enough to him and she can hardly imagine allowing herself to make another mistake like that. She'd hurt enough people and one more would still just be too much. Still, there was a lot more to be done here at Hope's Peak. After this last investigation, perhaps she would have time to think some more, and sort him out in her mind just a bit more.
This work is also on archive of our own under the user perhelion.