Zerith

"I have 23 tiny wishes, but you probably don't remember them all. So, I put them together into one: I'd like to spend more time with you."

- Aerith to Zack, FFVII Crisis Core

Zerith is the het ship between Zack Fair and Aerith Gainsborough from the Final Fantasy fandom.

Canon
Both characters debuted in Final Fantasy VII. In the game, Aerith was a major character and a party member. Zack was a minor and hidden in the game. His story has since been expanded on in as sequels and prequels to FFVII have come out.

Zack Fair grew up in a backwater town, Gongaga. At a young age, he became endeared with SOLDIER, a superhuman organization and a branch of the military of the Shinra power company. He travels to the city of Midgar to apply and is accepted as SOLDIER. The talented young man quickly raises to 1st Class.

Aerith was the daughter of Ifalna, the last of the Cetra, and Gast Faremis, head of the Shinra science department. However, Gast was killed by Hojo and mortally Ifalna wounded. Ifalna entrusted Aerith's life to Elmyra Gainsborough who raised her as her daughter in Midgar. Growing up, Aerith took a liking to a local Church and spent time growing flowers there.

Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core
In April 0001, while on a mission form Shinra, Zack falls off the upper plate of the city, crashing through the roof of the church, startling Aerith. After the first impression, Aerith agrees to a date with Zack. The two spend a lot of time thereafter and become intimate with each other. Zack also suggests she sell flowers and they sell flowers together later on at the playground in Sector 6 Slum as he builds a flower wagon for her. In September 0002, Zack is on a mission to Nibelheim with Sephiroth when things go from bad to worse and Shinra declares them legally dead. Aerith doesn't believe them dead but never figure out what happened. As he doesn't come back, she writes letters to Zack hoping she could reach him. After writing 89 letters in four years, she loses hope of ever seeing Zack again and has to let go.

The truth is Zack was severely wounded after the Nibelheim Incident and is captured and experimented on by Hojo for over four years until finally on December 16, 0006, Zack eventually escapes with his comatose friend, Cloud Strife. Now an enemy of Shinra, who is trying to coverup the truth of what happened in Nibelheim, spends months on the run. When he finishes his confrontation against Genesis Rhapsodos in Banora, he received Aerith's 89th letter. He screams out to the sky due to his realization of four years passing and the mention that it's her final letter; make him determined to return to her only tragically in a few days later, he is gunned down and killed by Shinra Army on the outskirts of the city. Aerith, who is tending her flowers in the church, senses his dying moment because of her Cetra blood as she gasps to the sky. Meanwhile, Cloud survives and heads alone to Midgar. It's happened in late September 0007.

Final Fantasy VII
On December 9, 0007, Aerith meets Cloud when she is selling flowers. Meeting again as Cloud falls to the church as Zack did, Aerith asks Cloud for one date payment the same Zack did to her. At the same playground where she first dated Zack and sold flowers with him in their last meeting, she asks Cloud if he knew Zack because both are in the same rank in SOLDIER. In the end, Aerith doesn't get closure of why Zack dies or that his death is part of the reason behind Cloud's fake persona.

During her journey with Cloud and the others to pursue and stop Sephiroth, they pass across Gongaga and meets Zack's parents. She feels hurt that his parents mentioning his letter sent to them 6-7 years ago. In the letter, Zack mentioned that he has a girlfriend and Aerith is asked if she was his girlfriend. In Gold Saucer, as she's dating Cloud, she confesses that he reminds her of Zack and that is part of the reason why she felt attracted to him at first. But she also learns that things are different and wants to know the real Cloud, indicating that she's trying and wanting to move on.

Unfortunately, Aerith is slain by Sephiroth while trying to save the planet and it just happened three months after Zack's death,

Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children
In FFVII: Advent Children (or Advent Children Complete as revised edition), she and Zack appear occasionally in the Lifestream to aid Cloud; both separately and being together. Cloud sees them back to where they belong, smiling. At some times around the year 0009, he moves Buster Sword, the sword Zack passes his legacy onto, from being Zack's grave marker at the hill to Aerith's church. Meanwhile, at the spot of his death, yellow flowers symbolizing reunion are blooming naturally although it's deserted land.

Final Fantasy VII: Remake
In the highway where the party confronts Sephiroth, Aerith gets a vision of Zack's final battle against Shinra Army. He didn't die in his last stand and continues to drag Cloud headed to Midgar. Deciding to set a journey to pursue and stop Sephiroth out of Midgar, Aerith and Cloud walk pass Zack with different Cloud which implies two different timelines. Here, Aerith stops walking for a while under the rain and gazes at the cloudy sky. What happened to him after that, and whether he reunited with Aerith alive, are still unknown.

Quotes
Crisis Core

"I have 23 tiny wishes, but you probably don't remember them all. So, I put them together into one: I'd like to spend more time with you."

- Aerith to Zack

"Are you doing well? Where are you? It’s been four years. This will be the 89th letter I’ve written, but I don't know where to send it anymore. I hope that this final letter gets to you. Zack, the flowers are selling very well. It makes everyone happy. Thanks to you."

- Aerith's 89th letter to Zack

"Four years? What do you mean final?! Aerith, wait for me..."

- Zack scream out, after reading Aerith's final letter

Final Fantasy VII

"Dear Dad and Mom, How are you guys? Sorry for leaving town so suddenly. I just really wanted to become a SOLDIER. I bet you're worried now that I've told you... But now I'm fulfilling my lifelong dream, and I'll do my best in SOLDIER. P.S. I have a girlfriend."

- Zack's letter to his parent

Final Fantasy VII: Remake

"Do you know I used to sell flowers here? Weird, you were in the same rank as the first guy I ever loved."

- Aerith to Cloud about Zack, Chapter 9

Advent Children

Fanon
Zerith is a popular ship in the Final Fantasy fandom. But the number of fans was never big until the release of FFVII: Crisis Core (2007) that shows their past relationship.

Different from their Clerith rival that many oppose the idea of Zerith being canon because Crisis Core comes out 10 years later despite canon prequel, many Zerith fans can accept the idea of Aerith loving Cloud genuinely in the period of her trying to move on after Zack's death. Evidence supports that Aerith loves both men described as her "koibito" that is, "lover/boyfriend" for Zack (in Crisis Core Complete Guide Book) and "beloved/more than a friend, for she had loved him" for Cloud (in One The Way to A Smile Novella: Case of Lifestream White). Out of the ship's own fans, Zerith has supporters from the extremely popular Cloti ship and many Cloti fans ship Zerith since it does not conflict with Cloti.

Zerith fans feel Zack and Aerith's personalities complement each other. Some are drawn to the tragedy of the ship and pictured being together in death. Both Zack and Aerith's deaths separately are considered to be among saddest moments in the Final Fantasy franchise. Their tragic fate is contrasted with the perky energy of the pair exhibit. The two are optimists in a world of cynics.

With the release of FFVII Remake (2020) that shows Zack's survival against his tragic fate, there is hope that Aerith would follow the survival pattern and both could reunite when they are alive. Despite the opportunity of Zack and Aerith able to live happily ever after, many believe that both still have to die for plot sake.

Fandom
FAN FICTION
 * Zack/Aerith tag on FanFiction.net
 * Zack/Aerith tag on FanFiction.net

DEVIANTART

TUMBLR

Trivia

 * Zack's Japanese voice actor, Suzumura Kenichi, is married to Aerith's Japanese voice actor, Sakamoto Maaya, on August 8. 2011. The two had dated since 2004 after voicing Gundam Seed Destiny as Shin Asuka and Lunamaria; which means they have been voicing Zack and Aerith since FFVII Advent Children (2004) to FFVII Remake (2020-...) always as a real couple. In FFVII 15th Anniversary Stage Event (held around 2012), Cloud's Japanese voice actor, Takahiro Sakurai, teased Suzumura Kenichi that Zack and Aerith are eventually married, referencing Advent Children ending.
 * In FFVII Remake ending, Aerith said "The sky, I hate it." (EN localization: "I miss it, the steel sky"). The phrase is similar to one of her lines in her farewell monologue in FF 30th Anniversary Exhibition with the full sentence is "I hate the sky because it carries away everyone I love." Tetsuya Nomura mentioned it in FFVII Remake Ultimania Book, that it refers to Zack and her mother, Ifalna, as people dear to her taken away by the sky (metaphor of people die and go to heaven). This matches Crisis Core ending, as Zack is showed being picked up to the sky by Angeal, his deceased mentor.
 * The developers revised FFVII: Advent Children with some adjustments of FFVII: Crisis Core become Advent Children Complete (2009). Zack's scene is added more to give Cloud's equal guilt as well as Aerith's death as described in ACC Post Card Book that both are his unforgivable sins and the people he could never forget. Aerith's appearance showing her watching Cloud riding motorbike is also removed in credit roll and two new scenes heavily implying Zack and Aerith's togetherness in death are added post-credit roll.
 * Aerith's dialogue that mentions she and Zack weren't serious in Final Fantasy VII (1997) is removed in FFVII: Remake (2020), following how their relationship is portrayed in FFVII: Crisis Core (2007).
 * Zack and Aerith were mistranslated as "Zax" and "Aeris" in early English material due to the direct romanization of their Japanese name in katakana "Zakkusu" and "Earisu".