Hey! Here is chapter two of Too Late and like one of my reviews has stated, yes there will be a flashback. And I will try to make this a bit longer.

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~The Promise~

Ramirez's cold smirk instantly vanished, replaced by a look of shock.

"The promise…"

For an instant he just stood there looking bewildered towards his opponents. Suddenly a vision flooded his mind as powerful as a physical blow, and he was brought to his knees.

"Ramirez" Fina cried out in anguish, clearly not knowing what was going on inside the Silvite's mind. Of course none of this reached the pale swordsman, for he was too engrossed by a sudden memory that he had buried deep down

*Flashback*

Inside an extremely strange building sat a young girl of about 7. She was quietly humming to herself, a blissful expression on her face as. So content she didn't notice that another Silvite had approached and sat himself next to her. When she was done, she opened her eyes and to her immediate surprise, found that a boy around 9 years old was sitting there, smiling at her.

"Oh Ramirez…I did not notice you were there…" she said timidly, her eyes downward, a crimson blush beginning to form on her cheeks. Ramirez said nothing, just smiled a big, goofy smile one would expect Vyse to sport and said "Don't stop, you have such a beautiful voice…It calms me and makes me forget all of my concerns…"

"So how was sword practice today?" She glanced up at him, her naïve smile returning.

"Well…" he put his hand on the back of his neck sheepishly, "Today the combat simulator we had to go up against Loopers…" He said, his voice laced with amusement. (A/N: I like loopers -_-…don't ask).

Fina quietly laughed, knowing loopers and their odd, evasive ways.

"How did you do against them?" She said, still with a hint of laughter still on her voice.

"Well…" the snowy haired boy replied, "It was er…interesting."

Ramirez told her how he had to go bounding after each one of them. Every time he'd get close, they'd dart away to the other end of the room. Fina listened happily, occasionally laughing when he told her about a particularly unruly Looper.

When he finished, he looked at her and asked, "What do you want to do now before meals?"

She thought for a second, thinking of something fun to do to pass the time away

"Hmm… Oh I know! We can go play in the Arcadian simulator." She said excitedly.

They always had a good time there, whether Fina pretending to be a distressed Yafutoman princess, while the jade-eyed male Silvite would be her rescuer in shining armor, fighting great beasts and overcoming perilous obstacles to save her. Or when they pretened to be brave explorers, lost in the deserts of Nasr, searching for the lost temple of Pyrnn.

Ramirez always loved being in Arcadia, even a virtual image, so he agreed at once. His face lit up with a mischievous grin and said "Come on I'll race ya!" And they bounded down the halls of the Silver Shrine, their happy cries echoing throughout the shrine.

This time they pretended to be Blue Rogues, sailing around the mid ocean, making many discoveries. A few minutes before they had to go eat, they decided to sit on a tree in Sailor's Island, watching the sun go down. They stared happily for a while, just content to be there, when suddenly Fina cast her eyes down, he smile fading. Her companion noticed this and his smile also faded, replacing it with a look of concern.

"What's wrong?" the young white haired boy said, worried about her sudden mood swing.

The young Silvite girl looked up at him thoughtfully, studying him for a second, then looked down again.

"Ramirez…" She said looking up at him pleadingly. "You…you'll always…. you'll always be there for me, won't you?"

Clearly confused by his friend's last statement, Ramirez looked at her and said, "Of course Fina, you're my best friend." He chuckled uneasily. Of course he would be there. It wasn't like there were any other children their age in the Silver Shrine. A slightly relieved look swept her face as she leaned closer to him, the young boy too caught up in the majesty of the sunset to notice. The pair enjoyed the sunset going down, stars twinkling in the night; star gazing until they had to leave the simulator

*8 years later, still flashback*

In the gigantic halls that belonged to the Silver shrine, walked a pale haired teen carrying a sword by his side. The Silvite Swordsman had a curious expression on his face, one of an undying determination, a little further you could see childlike excitement like you'd find on a boy who was first learning to sail. With these happy feelings came a twinge of sadness.

He stopped at a door, reaching his destination. The snowy haired swordsman knocked softly twice, asking, "Fina, may I come in?"

There was a sound of movement, when the door opened, revealing a pale girl of about 15. She smiled when she saw who her visitor was and happily exclaimed, "Ramirez"!!

They talked for a while, about anything really. After about an hour, Fina studied him "Ramirez, what did you want to tell me?"

Ramirez's normally happy expression suddenly saddened. He was quiet for a while, lost in thought for a few minutes. "Fina…" he finally said, lifting his eyes up, "Let's talk about this in the Arcadian Simulator."

When they got there the sunset had began setting, filling the skies with a red, orange, and blue radiance. It was quite a spectacle; this time they viewed it from the lookout on Pirate's Island. The Pair were content to sit for a while, when Ramirez finally spoke up. "Fina…tomorrow I leave for Arcadia to go on a mission for the elders… I may not see you for a while" The Silvite girl looked at him with awe.

"Wow, you're really going there." It had always been their dream to go to Arcadia, and now one of them would have his dream fulfilled. Then Fina remembered the end of his sentence and she cast her eyes down. Ramirez, noticing her sadness reached out and put his hand on her shoulder and said, "Don't worry Fina, as soon as I complete the mission, I'll come back and tell you all about Arcadia. Maybe even the elders will let us live down there." His childlike enthusiasm showed at those last words, dreamy with the possibilities.

The two Silvites sat there for a while, watching as the sun went down, similar to how it did those years ago. Fina was the first to speak again. "Ramirez…" she said sadly. "Don't get yourself hurt ok?" The pale swordsman nodded convincingly, wanting to console her. "And Ramirez…?" She asked again, softer this time.

"Don't… Don't ever forget your promise." She whispered as she pulled the surprised the Swordsman into a tight embraced. She held him for a few minutes; tears streaking down her face, before she let go. They looked up to see that it was well after nightfall. The pair shut off the simulator, and parted ways.

Both wishing desperately hoping that it was not goodbye…

*End Flashback*

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Well, here's a longer chapter for you! Here I'll address some issues about Ramirez

The reason I had him so happy and carefree was to symbolize just how bad of an influence Valua had over him. So don't be going of accusing me of placing him OOC. You don't know how he was like so :-P. Please R&R, and look forward to the conclusion of the story, hopefully  being here by next Thursday or Friday!