Black Widow
Chapter 6
Trifa let out a wide yawn as she checked the time on her scroll. It was just after noon; far too early for her to be up given what had happened a few nights before. The raid had taken a lot out of her mentally, and she still hadn't recovered. Every night since then, she'd found it difficult to get to sleep. Normally, she rested easy, which made sense given the fact that working for the White Fang tended to leave her exhausted by the time she crawled into bed. But ever since the raid, she'd spent a few hours every night tossing and turning, trying to will herself to sleep to no avail, and when she finally did fall asleep, that was when the nightmares came.
They were the same every night – she found herself back in the warehouse, five bullet-riddled bodies in front of her, their blood forming an ankle-deep pool on the floor. They stared up at her with lifeless, glassy eyes, silently demanding to know why – why did they have to die? Why hadn't she done something to stop them? Why, why, why? And she'd stare and try to tell them something, but no words would come, because what could she say that could possibly even the scales for five innocent lives stolen before their time?
And then, faced with her own muteness, she'd turn away in shame, only to find her parents standing there, staring at her in silence, shocked disbelief on their faces. Then she'd realize she was still holding the gun, and they were still staring at her, and the same questions would repeat in her head over and over in a sheer cacophony of sound – Why? Why? Why?
It was unbearable. Even now, in the waking world, the feeling of guilt and shame and anxiety gnawed at her. She couldn't keep this up, she realized – something had to give eventually, and she already knew what it was going to be. She no longer had any love for the White Fang, of course – the incident at the warehouse had killed what little of that she'd had left. Even if it hadn't, the others were starting to grow suspicious, if Yuma's questioning of her afterwards was any indication. The only question now was what to do.
Trifa's brow furrowed as she closed her eyes and leaned up against a nearby brick wall, a sigh of resignation escaping from her. If she stayed, she was as good as dead – the other White Fang members would find out the truth eventually, and as good as she was, there was no way she could take on a whole group of them by herself, let alone Adam Taurus himself. Even if they didn't find out before the attack on Beacon, they'd certainly find out during it, when she refused to mobilize or raise her weapon against any of the people defending it. That way marked the path to an early grave, and as riddled with sin as she was, she still had enough of a survival instinct to not want to die.
The alternative, then, was to run. Unfortunately, that wasn't much better – if she ran, the White Fang would hunt her down. They wouldn't stop hunting her until they'd found her and made an example of her. And it wouldn't take much to happen – all she needed to do was slip up once. Say the wrong thing a single time, or talk to the wrong person, or be a little slow or get a little tired… how was she supposed to prevent that long-term? How was supposed to go through the rest of her natural life not saying the wrong thing, or speaking to someone she shouldn't, or being a little slow or tired? It was impossible; at most, she'd buy herself a few months, possibly a year or maybe even two if she was lucky, and then they'd find her, and that'd be the end of it. Still, she supposed borrowed time was better than no time... or it would be if not for the big blonde elephant in the room.
If she ran, they'd go after Jaune. His friends were strong, sure, but they couldn't protect him forever. And when they finally had to leave him, and his luck finally ran out… she didn't even want to think about it. They'd absolutely go after him; she'd given them enough information on him already that they could track him and find him with little difficulty. Then they'd use him as bait to draw her out, and kill them both once they were sure they had her.
She couldn't allow that to happen, her own survival instinct be damned. They could do what they wanted with her, so long as they left Jaune alone.
Then again, perhaps there was another option, she suddenly realized with a start. It wasn't an appealing one, but at the same time, if she wanted to stay alive and make sure Jaune wasn't hurt, it was the only one she could see for herself.
She would have to turn herself in.
She had to suppress a heavy grimace as the thought crossed her mind. After so long spent fighting against humanity, throwing herself at their mercy and begging them on her knees for clemency was downright humiliating. She hated the idea – hated it to her core, even – but what choice did she have? The White Fang would struggle to get to her if she was in prison, and Jaune wouldn't be a target anymore since they wouldn't be together at that point.
And wasn't that a thought? She was doing all of this because of him, and in the end, her reward was parting with him forever. She let out a small laugh – it was hollow, bitter, and tinged with sorrow.
In any other situation, this idea would have been untenable. But now… now, it was looking like it was the only way to get what she wanted. His life, for her freedom.
"Trifa!"
Jaune's excited voice from down the street caught her attention, and she turned to him, a smile on her face, and watched as he ran towards her. As she locked eyes with him, two words came to mind.
Fair trade.
Just as she'd expected, the questions came upon her arrival back to base, though in a different form than she'd initially thought. Experience had taught her that someone – probably Yuma – would have confronted her with pointed barbs and questions about where she had been. That didn't happen quite the same as it had in the past – this time, the questions came in the form of the occasional suspicious glance sent her way. She could see the questions on their tongues, and knew what they wanted to ask her, but refused to vocalize, because even they had to know how pointless it was by now – they didn't have anything concrete on her, and without that, their suspicions were just that. Meanwhile, she had a lifetime of experience in the White Fang to back her up, much as she'd come to loathe her time in the organization.
Of course, prepared as she was to weather the storm of doubt her so-called comrades had seen fit to send her way, she was completely unprepared for Adam Taurus himself to come barging into the room after her.
Part of her thought that was the end for her, but she was relieved to see that Adam was unarmed and unmasked – a rare moment of vulnerability for someone like him. It was out of the ordinary, but then again, so was everything, since she had started seeing Jaune.
"Trifa," Adam greeted.
"Adam," she replied. "Can I help you?"
"As a matter of fact, that's what I came to see you about." He crossed his arms. "That human you were seeing… you don't have any way of contacting him?"
Trifa's blood ran cold. "No," she hurriedly said. "Like I keep saying, he took off that night and I haven't seen him since."
"Hm. That's a shame."
She had to resist the urge to vocalize her confusion. Instead, she swallowed nervously, then gave him a confused glance. Adam uncrossed his arms, then let out a small sigh.
"We're putting the finishing touches on the plan for the Vytal Festival," he announced.
"So soon?" Trifa asked. "What happened?"
"Nothing important. We're moving the timetable up, is all – something came up, and now we're aiming to launch the assault during the finals match. As you can probably guess, the entire situation is delicate, especially since the qualifiers just ended."
"And you want me to help," she finished.
Adam nodded. "Exactly."
"What do you need me to do?" Trifa asked. The words felt like poison on her tongue.
"I need you to do what you do best," Adam commanded. "Find a Beacon student. Get whatever you can out of them – we need to know if anything major has changed before we begin the attack. We have people on the inside, but they've been busy with other parts of the plan. We need someone who can confirm that the security checkpoint locations and troop numbers are still the same as they were a few weeks ago."
"Is that why you wanted me to contact Jau- the Beacon student?" she questioned.
Adam nodded. "He'd be the easiest one to work with on such short notice. But if he's out of the question, then we're going to need someone else."
"Say no more," Trifa said reluctantly, because there was nothing else she could say. To go against Adam Taurus was to sign her own death warrant. "I'll get it done tonight."
"See to it that you do," Adam said. "Be seeing you, Trifa."
And just like that, he left, leaving her alone with her thoughts. Trifa stood there silently for awhile even after he was gone, considering everything that had just been thrust upon her. Adam was asking her to do what she had always done, sure, but now it was different. Now, she knew the full extent of the evil she'd be committing. That Beacon student she'd be seducing and killing could be a friend of Jaune's. Even if they weren't, they were still a Beacon student – someone who, for all intents and purposes, was completely innocent of any wrongdoing.
At least, that was what Adam wanted. It wasn't what he was going to get.
That knowledge brought a smile to her face, even as she sat in front of the mirror and got dressed up. Yes, she'd be going on the prowl, but not for another Beacon student – not when she already had one in mind.
A quick exchange of messages, and it was set. Trifa stared one last time at the last message he'd sent – some cheesy stock photo of a cartoon heart, because of course it was – and let out a heavy sigh.
If everything went according to plan, this would be the last time. But she'd make it worth it.
And so, she set off, intent on milking it for everything it was worth.
"You know, when you told me you wanted to start the night like this, I didn't know what to think," Jaune said as he stepped into the cheap motel room. "I always thought this kind of thing happened at the end of the night."
"I thought we'd mix things up a little," Trifa said absentmindedly as she followed him into the room. Her voice came out soft, almost muffled, due to the pain.
Jaune realized was wrong, and instantly turned back to face her, concern etched across his face. "You alright? If you don't want to-"
"I do," she insisted. "Please, Jaune. I need this – need you. Don't deny me this."
His expression softened. "Do you… want to talk about it? Whatever it is-"
She shook her head. "All I want is to feel you, Jaune. Please."
She expected him to blush at just how forward she was being, but he didn't. Instead, he stepped forward, took her in his arms, and kissed her. Trifa leaned into the kiss, closing her eyes as a low, happy moan forced its way past her lips.
She was going to miss this – miss him. All the more reason to make the most of it while she still could.
They held the kiss even as she guided him over to the bed, only breaking it so she could push him down onto it. He laid there as she began to rip off her clothes, uncaring of how she manhandled the nice dress Deery had gotten for her.
"Easy," Jaune said softly as she threw her dress down on the ground, then began to work on unclasping her bra. "I'm not worth tearing your clothes over."
"You're worth that and more," Trifa insisted as she pulled her bra off and dumped it on the ground, leaving her in just her black panties. "So much more. More than you could ever imagine."
She fell upon him once more, pressing her lips against his as she began to fumble with his belt. His clothes soon joined hers on the ground, and then she was positioned over top of him, her panties pulled to the side. The two of them locked eyes, and she slowly lowered herself down onto him.
It felt like the very first time all over again, and as much as that hurt her, it also made it feel so much more real.
She wasn't going to let anyone hurt him. Even if it cost her freedom, she wouldn't allow that to happen. He was worth every type of hell and humiliation to her.
She just hoped he'd understand when he finally learned the truth.
Once they'd finished at the motel, the two of them got dressed again and set off into the night. When she'd first brought up the idea of an impromptu date, Jaune had been quick to ask what she had in mind. Her response was… less than dignified, but she didn't care.
This was the last she'd ever see of him, and so, she wanted all of it.
"I figured we'd start with something simple," Jaune said as they walked. "We've done dinners, and movies, but we've never really done the simpler stuff – ice cream, just walking through the park… I think that'd be nice."
"Mm," Trifa said, almost absentmindedly. Next to her, Jaune blinked in surprise, then turned towards her.
"What's wrong?" he asked. "And don't say it's nothing – I can tell something is bothering you. You know I'm all ears if you want to talk about it."
She stared into his eyes, that same azure blue she'd come to know and love boring into her soul, all but demanding to know her secrets. Part of her wanted to lay it all bare for him then and there, to let him know everything she'd been hiding, if only to get the pain over with. And yet, she couldn't bring herself to do it – not before she'd had one final night with him.
"...I'll tell you later tonight," she promised. "For now, I just want to enjoy the night with you."
His expression softened. "If you're sure."
"I am." She reached out and gently placed a hand on his cheek, then gave him a faint, sorrow-filled smile. "Come on; we don't have all night."
Jaune nodded, and she pulled her hand away and followed after him. Together, they moved down the streets of Vale, passing in between crowds of people. Light from the shattered moon reflected off the rain-soaked asphalt, mixing with the neon lights of the city to coalesce into a collage of scenery that shrouded every step she took. She'd walked these streets before, but not the way she did now – she'd been a predator back then, but now she was prey, and moreover, she was prey that had resigned itself to its fate.
She was a dead woman walking, and if not, then she might as well have been. The thought made each step heavier than the last. The city passed by in a blur as she followed after Jaune. Of course, he'd been the one to make things so complicated. It should have been so easy – she'd done it so many times before that she'd damn near lost count.
Thunder rumbled overhead. It had stopped raining just before they'd come out of the motel room, but now it seemed that it was going to return before long. It was fitting, she supposed – a natural baptism to wash away the sins of her past as she took the first big step towards her redemption, assuming someone like her could even be redeemed in the first place; she wasn't entirely sure, herself. A simpler crime was easy to find redemption for, but the things she'd done demanded reprisal. She'd be throwing herself at the mercy of the penal system and praying that they only gave her life in prison rather than a death sentence. Perhaps that was too good for her, she didn't know, but her survival instinct encouraged her to seek it, unfair as it may have been. Still, it wasn't like she could control it.
Her gaze focused on Jaune, walking a few steps ahead of her, carefree as ever. Her brow furrowed as she watched him, and for the briefest of moments, her face contorted in a wince of pure suffering.
How would he react when she told him everything? Would he hate her? Perhaps he'd even try to attack her to attempt to bring her to justice – Jaune was certainly the man to do it. She wasn't sure if she preferred that idea to the alternative of turning herself in or not.
It didn't matter, she supposed. She had to tell Jaune; it simply had to happen. If she was going to end things, then she was going to do it on her own terms. If Jaune saw fit to attack her, or try to capture her, or kill her, then that was fine, she supposed – hell, it was probably what she deserved for everything she had done. Whatever happened, she didn't care; she'd made her choices, and there was no going back now.
Finally, they reached the ice cream parlor. Trifa only realized they were there when Jaune suddenly into a shop on the sidewalk and held the door open for her. She nodded in appreciation and stepped inside. They were the only ones there, she realized – aside from the young ginger-haired man behind the counter, there was nobody else there.
To her surprise, though, Jaune and the young man locked eyes, surprise etched across both their faces.
"Cardin," Jaune said, his tone indicating that the two of them had history, though Trfia couldn't tell what it was.
"Jaune," came the response, in the form of a low, embarrassed grunt. "What can I do for you?"
"...You work here?"
"Yes, I work here," Cardin said tiredly. "Gotta pay my way through school somehow, right?"
Jaune blinked. "You, uh… didn't seem the type."
"Yeah, well, not many places are hiring this time of year." His gaze slid over to Trifa, and she could feel him staring at her up and down, checking her out, but she didn't care – she only had eyes for Jaune, and despite the fact that Cardin clearly wasn't nearly as much of a gentleman as Jaune was, he at least seemed to recognize that.
"Who's she?" Cardin asked.
"She's my-"
"Girlfriend," Trifa interrupted. She grabbed hold of Jaune's arm and gently pulled him close. "I'm his girlfriend."
This time, Cardin was the one who blinked. He nodded in understanding after a moment. "Right, right… well, congrats, man; wasn't sure if you had it in you."
"What do you mean?" Jaune asked.
Cardin shrugged. "You always seemed more interested in school than anything else. Anyway, you're both here, so what can I get you?"
"Rocky road," Jaune said.
"Mint chocolate chip," Trifa added.
Cardin nodded and went to go get them set up. As he did that, Jaune playfully elbowed Trifa and gave her a smug sideways glance. "Mint chocolate chip, eh? Not sure if I can date a girl who likes mint ice cream."
He wouldn't need to worry about that for very long, Trifa noted to herself.
They grabbed a table and waited for Cardin to come back with their ice cream. Trifa stared at the window once they were settled in, watching the people go by. Everyone was so carefree; it almost defied belief, given the crisis she was going through now. She must have looked like quite the character, not even making eye contact with her boyfriend. Mentally, she cursed herself; this was her final night with Jaune, there would be time to wallow in self-pity later. For now, she had to enjoy the time she was spending with him.
Cardin came back a few seconds later, two big bowls of ice cream in his hands.
"This one's on the house," he said as he set them down on the table. "In exchange for you not telling anyone about where I work."
"Are you really that embarrassed about it?" Jaune asked.
"Embarrassment has nothing to do with it. I did a lot of dumb shit early in the year, alright? That brunette with the handbag still wants my ass on a platter for it. If she catches me on my way to or from work, I'm fucked."
"So you're buying my silence with ice cream?"
"At least until I've figured out a way to make it so she doesn't want to kill me, yes."
"You could try apologizing," Jaune said, incredulous. "Have you tried that?"
"If only it were that easy," Cardin lamented.
Trifa was inclined to agree. If only it were that easy.
Cardin walked off, and the two of them grabbed a spoon and dug in. Trifa didn't even bother to go for her own first; instead, she stole a spoonful of Jaune's ice cream. He stared at her, looking almost scandalized by it.
"Did you just steal my ice cream?" he asked.
"We're sharing it," she specified. "You can have some of mine."
"Some of your mint, you mean? Now you're just being cruel."
She smirked at him. "You want it so bad, then come get a taste."
Jaune blinked, but didn't hesitate, instead leaning across the table to kiss her on the lips. They held the kiss, long enough for them to taste the ice cream on each other's lips. It was like something out of a bad romance movie, but Trifa didn't care; if anything, this was exactly what she wanted for her final night with him.
They broke the kiss soon after – too soon after, she corrected – and then went back to eating, though they certainly weren't silent as they ate.
"Everyone's been wondering where you've been," Jaune said through a mouthful of chocolate and peanuts. "They want to see you again."
"They do?" Trifa asked, surrpised.
"Yes, of course. They like having you around, you know. Yang says you and her still need to go clubbing together sometime."
At that, Trifa fell silent. She'd never really considered her feelings towards Jaune's friends. They were supportive of the two of them, which was definitely worth a lot in her eyes, of course, but beyond that… she'd never considered Jaune's friends to be her friends, and to hear that they were so interested in getting to know her despite how off-putting she was had taken her by surprise. They were all good people – far too good for her – but then again, so was Jaune, but she hadn't let that stop her.
Genuine friendship… It was just another thing she'd be missing out on due to her choices – or rather, her mistakes. The thought was bitter, even more so than the mint ice cream she'd just been eating. She'd denied herself so much in pursuit of a cause and a sense of belonging, and in the end, where had it gotten her? Inside a cell, most likely, and if not that, then on the flat end of a slab, or the shallow part of a grave.
Jaune wanted an answer, she realized with a start. She looked up to him and met his gaze, then swallowed her mouthful of ice cream. Somehow, it burned the whole way down.
"That would be nice, Jaune," she said.
He seemed to sense something was amiss, but he didn't push it, thankfully. Instead, the two of them kept eating in silence, Trifa's mind doing its best not to focus on just how much she'd lost when she'd signed on with the White Fang.
She already knew she'd made a big mistake; it wouldn't do to dwell on it more than she had to. But that didn't make ignoring it any easier.
The two of them finished their ice cream, then said farewell to Cardin and left the shop. Mother Nature had mercy on them, thankfully – it hadn't started raining just yet, which meant there was still time for one last thing, something Trifa had wanted to do for weeks now, but had never gotten the chance to.
Jaune took her hand in his and led her over to the nearby park, and together, they walked through it, simply enjoying the sights and each other's company. A small sigh of contentment escaped her as they walked by a bed of fresh sunflowers. It was all so mundane, and out-of-place for someone like her. She didn't belong in this world, she knew, but that wouldn't stop her from enjoying it while she still could.
They walked together for several minutes, Trifa holding tightly to his hand the entire time. They didn't stop until they came to a park bench in front of a lake. When they did, they both paused and turned towards the lake in surprise. The shattered moon reflected on the rippling water, casting a faint glow through the area that mixed with the far-off flickering street lights. Trifa reached for his hand again, and they turned towards each other, then both of them leaned in for a kiss. Trifa made sure to savor it, because she knew it was the last time.
When they broke the kiss and pulled away, she damn near burst into tears then and there, but she held it in, because as painful as that had been, what came next was going to be even worse.
Jaune, for his part, had finally had enough. Seeing her on the verge of tears pushed him over the edge.
"Trifa?" he asked, concerned. "What's wrong? Please, talk to me."
He reached out to rest a hand on her shoulder, but she pulled away, tears still stinging at her eyes. She bit her lip, then shook her head as she averted her gaze from him.
"...I'm sorry," she offered, even though she knew it wasn't nearly enough to atone for everything she'd done. "I'm so sorry, Jaune."
"Sorry for what? What's going on?"
"I… haven't been honest with you. I'm not who you think I am."
"What do you mean?" Jaune asked. "Trifa, you're not making any sense-"
She wanted to tell him everything, then and there – to make it clear what had happened. All she needed to do was tell him that she was in the White Fang, and then the rest would fall into place easily enough. And yet, she couldn't bring herself to do it, and she didn't know why. Maybe it was the thought of him hating her for it, or the reality of having to come face-to-face with exactly the kind of monster she'd become, but whatever it was, she soon realized that she couldn't say it.
So instead, she said what she could.
"You're in danger," she managed to get out. "You, your friends, everyone at Beacon… all of you, you're in danger."
Jaune's eyes widened. "What? What are you-"
"There's going to be an attack," Trifa specified. "The White Fang are going to attack during the finale of the tournament. You and your friends need to leave the city, now."
"We can't just leave," Jaune emphasized. "And how do you know this, anyway?"
"Because… because I just do, okay?" Trifa said, desperation creeping into her tone. "I just… I can't do this, Jaune."
"Do what?"
"I'm so sorry. My time with you… it meant the world to me, more than you can ever imagine. But I can't do it anymore – not with all this looming overhead."
"What are you talking about?" Jaune asked, growing desperate. "Trifa, please, if something's bothering you, you can talk to me about it. It'll be okay."
That was the breaking point. Tears began to stream down her face, and her shoulders heaved with silent sobs. "It won't…" she said. "Don't you get it? I've done so much – so many things I can't take back. I'm a monster, Jaune. And you don't even realize it."
"How are you-"
"Just… stay away from me," she insisted. "You're better than I deserve. Get your friends out of town and don't look back."
"I can't just leave you!" Jaune protested. "Trifa, please, don't go."
She bit her lip again, then met his gaze one final time. "...I'm sorry, Jaune."
And with that, she took off running through the night, leaving him there alone at the water's edge.
On a nearby rooftop, a pair of gray eyes narrowed as their owner watched the entire scene unfold before him. Disgust and betrayal coursed through him. He reached into his pocket for his scroll, only to stop himself at the last minute.
Adam would take care of it, for sure, but he'd do it in the simplest way possible. No, this called for something a bit more personal. Trifa had forgotten where she came from, and it was his duty to remind her of that. He would handle this himself.
With that in mind, he took off into the night, searching for his prey.
What is up, everyone? It's been far too long, but I'm back, back again, for another few chapters to hopefully finish up this fic sooner rather than later. Shout out to the Guest who dropped a few different reviews on my fics asking if this story was dead - legitimately, unironically, thank you for that, because I actually didn't realize it had been like a month and a half, and that made me kinda realize that this fic really needed an update, already.
Anyway, we've only got a few chapters left after this one - maybe three, I think? Somewhere around that number; I always envisioned this story as being on the shorter side more than anything. I've been kinda gravitating towards shorter fiction/chapters, around 4k-5k per chapter, in preparation for writing original fiction, and I must say, it's harder than I thought, no lie. But anyway, yeah, we've got maybe three chapters left in this fic, if my estimate is accurate. Something around that number.
All that aside, it's late and I've got work tomorrow, so I'm gonna call it there for tonight. Hope you all enjoyed the chapter, and I apologize for the delay. I hope to see you all next time!