With The Dark Hour soon coming to a close and the current operation a success, S.E.E.S., accompanied with their newfound companion, exfiltrated via the front gate.

Volunteering to carry Fuuka out for Natsuki and the rest of the team, Zack followed on, allowing S.E.E.S. to lead the way. The adrenaline having died down, he could feel some of the fatigue starting to engulf him.

A lot has happened in all the hours that he scrubbed through Tartarus after his 'arrival', if he could even call it that. Watching the team push open Tartarus' heavy front gate leading outside to a small walkway covered side to side with blooming Sakura trees, Zack replayed the moment that led him here over and over again.

"No. Not you."

"Sephiroth…"

Zack still had his declaration that he was intending to fulfill. Even if no one was in the room besides those Whispers that took him away, he said he'd find a way, no matter what.

Quelling his anxiety was his ability to switch his mind's focus from the future to what's going on now. Even if it was something little, carrying the student out of Tartarus safely was his priority in that moment.

Any other moment he needed to confront he'd deal with when the time came but for now, Fuuka Yamagishi's safety was number one.

Plus, he had to admit that the Sakura trees were tranquil to look at, even in the dead of night, surrounded by a thick veil of green light cast by The Dark Hour.

Looking at them, he recalled his time partaking in the Wutai war when he was still in Shinra.

He recalled how back then, he was always so eager to show off his skills so he could impress SOLDIER's leadership for the sake of becoming 1st Class, but never once did he ever stop to appreciate the sights since he was too busy staring down the narrow end of his sword, guiding it to eliminate the foes he was ordered to confront at the time.

But the past was the past, and he just had to make the most of his current situation, even if he currently didn't know what'd happen next.

"Where did those…Shadows, they were called?" Zack spoke up, attempting to break the silence. "Where'd they come from? Those ones in particular were different than the ones I fought up there. Is there anything more like that hiding in plain sight up there?"

"No. They didn't come from within Tartarus but rather, outside of it." Mitsuru answered.

"So kinda like what you were saying with the other two incidents you mentioned?" Zack directed his question to Akihiko.

"It would seem so." Akihiko nodded.

"Uh…" Zack continued to try and make small talk. "You mentioned this place is a school?" He asked, as they reached the school gate.

As if on cue, the green illuminations that were cast overhead began to dissipate, replaced by the light glow of a normal full moon as the sky shone with the stars on display.

Zack watched on as Tartarus began to fold into itself, the giant tower of darkness replaced with what appeared to be a normal sized building that was no more than three stories tall.

"How the…?" He murmured.

"The Dark Hour's over…for now." Mitsuru stated, acknowledging Zack's faint bewilderment. "Let's get back to the Dorm and quickly..."

"Okay…" Zack nodded. "I'll just make sure Fuuka here's safe with you guys then I'll take off, get out of your hair and sleep…somewhere."

"Do you not have anywhere to stay?" Mitsuru asked, detecting Zack's uncertainty.

"I, uh…" Zack sighed with a faint yawn. "It's a long story, but I can't say that I currently have anywhere 'permanent' to crash. And I doubt I have anyone that I know here either."

"Alright." Mitsuru acknowledged. "If that's the case, we can make a temporary exception for the next few days in our dorm."

"Are we sure that's a good idea…?" Yukari doubtfully pondered.

"Come on Yukari, he pretty much saved our asses and kicked ass all the same. Why throw him back out on the street like that? Do you not show appreciation for your heroes?" Junpei asked with a snarl.

"It's not that it's just…" Yukari huffed. "I don't think he can stay at our dorm, being an adult and all. Yamagishi, maybe, but Zack? He's an adult and clearly has nothing to do with our school."

"Nah, you're right. I don't wanna be a burden to y'all." Zack shook his head.

"Nonsense." Mitsuru objected. "Iori's right. You put your life on the line for us so it's best that one way or another, we repay those efforts fairly. I'll make arrangements for you to meet with our school chairman. Besides, one way or another, I suspect he'll want to meet with you, Mr. Fair, should you remember The Dark Hour, that is."

"There's a lot of things I wish I could forget but hey…can't live an honest life without all of my memories, good and bad." Zack shrugged.

"Then it's settled." Mitsuru confirmed. "And just to be on the safe side, before we permit your temporary stay, will you go with Yamagishi and Moriyama to the hospital and get yourself checked as well?"

"Guess it can't hurt…" Zack groaned. "Ah man…"

"Not too fond of doctors, Mr. Fair?" Mitsuru asked.

"Well…eh, no, not REALLY?" Zack squinted, remembering that he'd lost four years beneath Niebelheim. "No, no, nothing against them, of course, it's just that I…hate wasting time, that's all."

"If it's expenses, you're worried about, worry not." Mitsuru assured with the assumption of what Zack was truly anxious about. "Our chairman will make sure to remedy any medical expenses for both you and Yamagishi."

"Alrighty then…" Zack contently acknowledged.

"Ahhhh man…" Junpei yawned with a stretch. "I dunno but everyone else but I'm ready to catch some Zs. This night was way too exciting."

"Junpei having a limit on what he considers exciting? Huh. That's a first…" Yukari remarked.

June 9

Morning

Tatsumi Memorial Hospital

After what felt like a good night's rest, Zack had awoken to the faint sight of sunlight pouring in through the thin curtains, sitting up in his hospital bed, the clock reading 1PM.

The night before, Zack recalled being escorted by Mitsuru to check in with Fuuka and Natsuki, but not before being asked to leave the Buster Sword with S.E.E.S. when they arrived at the dormitory that night.

Zack only protested for a moment, but it was only fair that the weapon was kept in good hands and they didn't want any problems when walking into the hospital.

Thankfully, with the hospital only a short distance away, things went much smoother as Mitsuru was there with him. Something told Zack that this wasn't the first time she'd needed their help urgently. And judging by how fast they could process his stay, along with Fuuka and Natsuki's, it seems like she shared history with the staff employed there.

Zack was thankful that, at the very least, he had a good bed to sleep in, and he was out of his SOLDIER uniform, albeit only temporarily replaced with a hospital gown while the cleaning was done for his normal clothes.

"Argh…" Zack groaned, clenching his hands at the back of his neck as he stared at the ceiling. "Welp, I'm bored." He declared, rushing out of bed on his feet, beginning a regiment of squat exercises.

Getting through at least twenty, he hadn't paid attention to the knock he heard on the door, nor the voice he heard from the doctor and another man.

"Uh…sir! You really shouldn't be moving around!" The doctor yelped, walking into the room. "What are you doing?!"

"Uh…I was doing a few squats?" Zack murmured.

"It's alright…" The other man walked into the room, taming the doctor's concern. "I'm told he's very resilient."

"I can't have him do anything rigorous while we do our checks on him, Ikutsuki…" The doctor protested.

"Ikutsuki…?" Zack murmured.

"Oh, my apologies." The man with the light brown suit interjected, walking up to Zack. "Ikutsuki. I represent the board of Gekkoukan High as Chairman. You must be Zack Fair."

"Yep…that's me!" Zack nodded, shaking his hand. "So, YOU'RE the one that Mitsuru was talking about."

"Correct, and if you don't mind, Mr. Fair, I'd like to ask you a few questions. I promise that it'll be worthwhile for the both of us." Ikutsuki pitched.

"I don't see why not?" Zack shrugged.

"Doctor, would you excuse us? I promise that I won't be long." Ikutsuki requested.

Without any further objections, the doctor slid the door back open and shut it gently, walking away slowly as the sound of his footsteps grew faint as he walked further and further away.

"How are the other two doing?" Zack asked, sitting back down on the bed.

"Yamagishi and Moriyama?" Ikutsuki clarified, sitting on the stool. "Oh, those girls are doing just fine. Doctors tell me that they should be released within the next few days." Ikutsuki confirmed.

"Oh, good…!" Zack sighed, relieved. "I just thought that during this 'Dark Hour' that they'd have been messed up pretty badly."

"Oh, good! That answers question one. You DO remember what happened last night. Now, if you don't mind," Ikutsuki paused momentarily, taking out a clipboard from his briefcase. "I'd like to ask you some more questions. Nothing too crazy or complex, just think of them as an ice breaker or two. So, I guess we'll count this as question two…how old are you?"

"Well…I was eighteen four or five years ago so that'd put me at…twenty-three?" Zack answered.

Ikutsuki, not paying any mind at the comment or how Zack felt unsure about answering, quickly scribbled his pen across the board.

Truth be told, Zack still had to put in effort to think about how much time he'd lost after Niebelheim and he had to continuously accept that those birthdays that he didn't get to celebrate weren't coming back. The image of a laugh and smirk of Shinra's head of R & D made him shudder, but he brushed it off, not letting it get to him.

"Okay, and where are you from? Though judging by what I've briefly been told, I might get a slightly puzzling answer that doesn't fit anything on our maps." Ikutsuki commented.

"Me? Gongaga." Zack answered. "Let me guess…? You don't know Gongaga, do you?" He frowned, reading the Chairman's facial expression.

"Apologies, but I don't believe that exists anywhere on our maps in this country, or the world for that matter." Ikutsuki sighed. "But that leads into my next question, or rather a two-parter: To my subordinates, you'd mentioned something called Shinra. Additionally, I've taken the liberty of trying to do a quick search of the engraving on your uniform and yet it matches no group that I'm aware of. Can you enlighten me on the two? I'm afraid they don't exist either…"

"Well…where I'm from, Shinra's pretty much top dog." Zack began. "They own almost everything and have almost complete control over the whole world. Back then, I left pretty early to join up with them intending to get into their SOLDIER program. And I did…"

"Mhmm…mhmm." Ikutsuki nodded, continuing to write. "And how far into this 'SOLDIER' program did you get?"

"I had to start from the bottom, of course, as a 3rd Class, after going through some...let's just call it a grueling 'enhancement' & 'training' program with tests. Then I moved my way up to 2nd, eventually becoming 1st and that's as high as anyone can go." Zack replied. "You seem to be taking this well…" He noticed.

"As are you." Ikutsuki noted back. "Based on your combat abilities that you displayed last night, from Kirijo's account anyway, I think I can buy that you're not exactly of our world, am I correct?"

"I guess…" Zack murmured. "Nothing here in this city seems to resemble anything that I know anyhow."

"Worry not." Ikutsuki insisted. "Rest assured that we've got your covered during your stay. Ah speaking of which, the sword that's currently sheltered in my students' dormitory. It has a very unique yet sturdy design to it. From where did you obtain that piece of weaponry? Or did you make it yourself?"

"Can't say I'd take credit for it…" Zack stared up at the ceiling. "It was handed down to me from a mentor and…a friend."

"Protect your honor, always…"

With the last words of Angeal Hewley echoing in his mind as he gave his answer, Zack had to rub the back of his head as hard as he could as a distraction, but noticeably stomped one of his feet on the ground as a result.

"Mr. Fair…?" Ikutsuki looked on with concern.

"I'm okay. It's just that when he died, he gave that sword to me."

"Oh, my apologies-"

"No, I probably should have clarified. My bad." Zack huffed. "That sword was probably the most important thing to him though he'd always go out of his way to say that I was a little more important…but just a little." He chuckled, then continued.

"Honor, dreams, the will to go above and beyond…he's the reason why I'm the SOLDIER I am today."

"Alright! I think we've made some excellent progress in a short amount of time." Ikutsuki triumphantly declared, placing the board and his pen down. "Final question, Mr. Fair, I'm going to be upfront with you. Would you be interested in joining us?"

"Joining…you?"

"Yes…would you be interested in a spot among my S.E.E.S.?" Ikutsuki asked.

"Uh…"

"You provide us with much needed man-power, and we can provide you some shelter in return. But if not, we'll gladly hand you back your sword and you can be on your merry way." Ikutsuki proclaimed. "It's alright. You don't have to answer me right now, but I'd like for you to consider this an opportunity for us to help each other." Standing up, he slipped the clipboard back into his briefcase clicked it shut.

"Why don't you come by our dormitory after your release? That way you can give your answer to the whole group instead." Ikutsuki stated, walking towards the door.

"Sounds like a plan…" Zack nodded, standing up as he watched on.

"I bid you farewell for now, Mr. Fair." Ikutsuki bowed. "We'll speak again soon."

"Right…Ikutsuki." Zack waved, watching him leave. "WELP…now what?" He pondered, crossing his arms as he looked around the now vacant hospital room.

"Eh, screw it."

Shifting over to a wider part of the room, he restarted his squatting regiment, without a care in the world as to whether or not the doctor would scold him again when he came back.