The door slammed, a direct effect of Marie's wrath. The blonde was furious to say the least. Her hysterical ramblings continued as Stein made his way to the closet. He tossed their two travel bags onto the small bed. His back was turned to her as he gathered their possessions, but he could still hear every word she said clearly.

"Justin! I just… I can't believe it! There's no way!" She stomped her foot, the dull thud echoing along the worn floorboards. The footsteps continued, back and forth, back and forth. She was pacing; the frantic movement of her legs acted as an outlet for the mental frustration. She continued muttering to herself, her quiet words periodically punctuated by what Stein could only assume were choked sobs. He continued to methodically fold his clothes and place them in the bag. He was still refusing to acknowledge the extremely upset deathscythe behind him.

Marie's head snapped up. The woman seemed to realize the complete lack of reaction from the silver-haired doctor. She stormed over to him, grabbing his shoulder and spinning him around to face her wild expression. "How the hell are you so calm about the whole thing?!" she cried. She was holding on to her meister's arm with a painfully tight grip.

"I'm not calm." Stein's cold words stopped her dead in her tracks, and he brusquely shook off her hold on him. He turned his gaze away from Marie, holding his head in one hand. He began to walk stiffly around their shabby hotel room. It bore an obvious resemblance to what Marie had been doing only seconds before. He ignored the blonde's careful expression, knowing that she was scrutinizing his behaviour for any signs of insanity. That wasn't it—he wasn't losing his mind this time. This was something else, something that Stein hadn't felt for quite some time: rage.

"I should have seen it. I should have… sensed it, felt it," he murmured quietly, more for his own benefit than Marie's. She simply stood still. Marie was unsure how to proceed during the usually stoic man's outburst.

Stein spun on his heel. "But no!" His tone was mocking, and he chuckled mirthlessly. "I was too busy trying to…" He spun the screw in his head roughly. The clicking noise caused Marie to wince unintentionally. The scientist continued, his voice growing more frenetic. "Trying to get a grip on reality! I couldn't see it…" He shook his head sadly and collapsed on the bed to stare dully at the ceiling. "And because of that, you were put through so much…" He took a sharp breath. "Pain."

Every tear, every sad smile when she thought he wasn't looking: they cut him so deeply. Marie was suffering, and it was because of his shortcomings… his complete lack of self-control. He may not have actually committed the murder himself, but… the meister couldn't help but feel responsible in some way. He covered his face with his arm, allowing his heart rate to return to normal. The bed shifted under Marie's weight. She gently moved his arm aside. Stein didn't meet her gaze, couldn't bear to see the pain in the woman's eyes.

"It's alright." She said softly. Stein slowly raised his head, surprised to see the small smile on her face. "I forgive you." Stein simply laid there for a moment before giving her a slight nod. The action sparked a larger smile from Marie, and for a moment the man saw the sunny attitude he remembered from those days so long ago, when she had just returned to Shibusen.

Stein took a deep breath before sitting up, quickly returning to the task of folding clothes. "We have a lot to do," he informed his partner. His calculating, scientific mind was already making a list. "We'll need to plan, train… and prepare for the possible situations when we actually meet Justin."

Marie nodded, zipping up the bags. Her voice was light. "Who knows? I just might let you dissect him!" Stein nodded, smiling slightly.

"Let's go."