The last chapter I upload today. I need to go to sleep, its 11:25pm and I have school tomorrow... Fail x_x

Again, I do not own anything other than the plot twists and the character Tristis Memoria/Nix Somnium. Final Fantasy VII character's and the game itself belongs to Square Enix.

Enjoy!

Chapter 3 - A Hero's Promise

Gongaga was a place with pleasant warmth from both the people and the jungle air. A backwater village, although hotter than the icy cold Nibelheim which was situated near high mountains. Perharps that is the reason why most of the children were so much more tanned then that strange girl with travelling parents.

When Zack had first met her, he felt a strange liking towards her. Even as a young boy, he knew that she was considered far more prettier than most of the girls and he wasn't afraid to admit it because he knew it was true. He felt his heart quicken whenever he saw her and he had told his mom, which resulted her in dropping a plate. "My boy is hitting puberty much faster than most boys..." His mom mumbled, shaking her head.

He was sure whatever this 'puberty' thing was, it was not the case of his strange feelings. He felt protective of her and excited to see her... Almost like... Almost like a sister. He always wanted to be a big brother, no matter how many of his friends complained about having bratty younger siblings. The pale girl seemed to fit the role perfectly.

Tristis was much more smarter than any child in the village too. She didn't cry about someone ripping her dolls, she would hold her head up high, smile pleasantly and fix it with a needle and thread. She also enjoyed playing in the mud with him, unlike the other girls, that was bonus points. He thought they were the greatest pair in the world because he was so much more daring (although his mother repeatedly sighed and said that he was just stupid or silly) and outgoing than anyone else. He wanted to be a hero and she'd rather be his side-kick... His heroine rather than a princess in need of rescue.

"What's it like to travel the world?" He asked her once.

They were lying on the ground with dirt and ferns within their hair. They had just defeated an evil man that Tristis named Hojo.

"It's fun, but it can be scary." She answered softly, reaching out her smooth hands to ruffle his spiky raven hair.

"Scary? How is it scary?" He asked, rolling onto his side to look into her eyes.

He noticed how pretty her eyes were. They were sparkling like stars... But they weren't the same color as stars. It was his most favourite shade of green, much more beautiful than any fern in the jungle... And he knew a lot of ferns from roaming around there throughout his years.

His thoughts disappeared when he waited for her answer. At first, he could only hear her steady breathing with her eyelids slipping over his favourite pair of green eyes as she began to think deeply. Then, she smiled, though her eyes were still closed. "Because it's like this... Everything is so mysterious and you don't know where you're going or who you're going to meet. Try it, Zack. You'll know what I mean."

He did so, listening intensly for anything familiar. He realised just how foreign things seemed. Even as a bee buzzed by, he thought it was a fly until Tristis told him differently.

"I get it. But what makes it fun?" He asked.

She giggled childishly, yet Zack could somehow detect a familiar tone to it, almost reminding him of a young woman's laughter.

"Meeting new friends like you Zack."

He grinned, showing his pearly whites, "Really?"

"Uh-huh." She nodded and rolled over to fully face him.

Again, his heart quickened again. It was hard to explain, it was almost like he was connected to her... A connection he knew was his alone. He reached out to hold her hand which was smooth except for the parts smothered with crusting mud. "You're my best friend, ya know?"

She nodded, gripping tightly onto his in return, "I know."

"And that no matter where you go, I'll be with you." It seemed right to say that, even though logically, it didn't make any sense.

She nodded again, resulting in him scrunching his face. "You're not even going to ask how?"

Tristis giggled, a wonderful musical sound that was carried away easily by the wind. "Do you want me to ask you?"

He frowned, big brown eyes widening to give her the best puppy eyes he could muster. It worked countless of times on adults and other children his age, older or younger. He never tried it on his best friend though, but he was confident it would work. He pursed his lips to pout and tried to muster up some alligator tears. "Okay. How will you do that, Zack?" She asked sincerely, without a hint of sarcasim and accompanied with a warm smile.

He puffed his chest out in triumph, "I'll give you something very important to me. So you can always think of me like how best friends should."

Her smile seemed to widen, "Can I give you something too?"

He nodded eagerly, "Sure!"

"So, it's like a promise, right? To never forget eachother as long as we have those things, right?"

He thought for a while. It did seem like it. Now that he thought of it, heroes were meant to keep their promises. So if he swore on it as a hero, that meant he couldn't take it back nor break it. That was the perfect reassurance for his friend!

"I promise as a hero!" He grinned, holding out his pinky, waiting for her to intertwine them.

"Un!" Their pinkies connected and his heart swelled with pride, happiness and many more emotions, "I promise as a heroine!"

They stared into eachother's eyes before letting peals of laughter escape from their lips. It was so exciting for Zack! He had just made such an important promise it made him feel so much more cool like a real hero!

True to his word, a month had passed by since the promise and Tristis was packed to go back to exploring the world. Zack had hurriedly over to the outskirts of the village and to the rocky, dusty main road. "Triss!" He shouted at her, gaining her attention.

He ran right into her arms, almost tipping them over if he had not tipped slightly to the left to regain their balance. "I... Hah... I came as fast as I could... Hah..." He panted.

He heard her giggle and pulled back from their hug to see her smiling sweetly. "You didn't need too. I would have waited. We have a promise to keep, remember?"

Zack reached into his shorts and pulled out a bracelet. It was a colorful beaded bracelet with two white feathers attached to it, as well as silver bells. He heard her gasp and he grinned at her awed expression, "I-It's so pretty, Zack."

He helped her put it on without any hesitation and proudly looked at his work (as well as the help of his mom). Yes, he was right about using so many different colors. Every color suited her just like how she could go anywhere and make a friend. The only thing that didn't turn out quite as right was the size. But it was fine, it meant that when she was older, she'd still be able to wear it. In turn, she pulled out her small trinket for him. He didn't get a good look at it because she had already hooked it around his neck. The chain was very loose and dangled at his chest. It was a necklace with a silver pair of wings as it's pendant. "Look at the back." She said.

He did so and got a great surprise. On the back of the wings, there was words engraved into it, almost messily but he knew it was hard to write on metal- or whatever material she used to make it. Zack Fair, The Hero.

They shared a smile before giving eachother one last hug. "I'm going to miss you." He whispered.

"Don't be silly, Zack. We'll see eachother again. I promise you that."

He laughed at her confidence, but then again, this was Tristis he was talking about. Of course she'd kept her promise. "A heroine's promise?"

She nodded, placing their foreheads together, nose to nose.

"Definitely."

Ugh, too romantic again? I dunno. I tried to make it seem more like childish friendship or even brother-sister feeling. I'm a bit sleepy now, I might edit later.

See you later, thank you for reading!