Huh. I know it is a pretty important matter, but I find it almost amazing how Lord Death manages to run this school, deal with whatever else problems and see me the morning after he gets a report of my condition from Spirit. "So, Lord Death, you wanted to see me?" Stein asked in his usual monotone voice.

"Yes, Stein." the tall grim reaper stood up straight. "You know why you are here, so I suppose we should just skip the whole matter and press on to what we are going to do about it." A few moments passed as Stein went over his plan for what seemed the millionth time to make sure he had it all in check. "Obviously you cannot go on teaching for a while given your condition. I believe I have come up with a plan on how we could treat you, but knowing that you are Dr. Stein, I presume you have already come up with something."

"Yes, I have." Stein responded almost immediately. He took shallow breaths as his eyes casually fell around the Death Room, making sure he knew what he was going to say for the last time.

"Well?" Lord Death now seemed quite curious as he was leaning to his left with his head tilted.

"I have theory. I just hope it is correct." Stein paused a moment before he continued. "My madness has been spiking as what some believe to be spasmatically. I, however, have noticed a pattern. Whenever I am within about thirty foot diameter of Crona, I can feel the madness trying to claw its way out. I presume this is because I digested Crona's blood, thus it spreading through my body. I don't really understand how it only needs to be digested to transfer, but I will think about that later. Now the reason I believe this is the pattern is simple. The blood reacts to its origin."

Lord Death gave a questioning look from behind his mask. "Oh? How so?"

"Crona himself said he can no longer harden the black blood and he can't really feel his madness anymore. Of course, he admits it is still there. Insanity cannot just go away; It lives with you till the day you die. But for him, it is so supressed, it is almost like it isn't even there. The black blood within Crona seemed to have lost its properties a few days after he left Medusa, the blood's origin." Stein pulled a cigarette out of his stitched lab coat and placed it between his lips before he lit it with a match. He then put his hands in his lab coat pockets.

"So are you saying you need to stay away from Crona? If so, I don't know if I can do that. This is now Crona's home, just as it is yours. Plus, he needs to attend this academy so I can continue to monitor him." Lord Death's point was valid, but it was not what the doctor had in mind.

"Actually, no. I was thinking the exact opposite." Stein stated casually, smoke coming out of his mouth. "I was thinking I should spend a small amount of time around Crona each day, every day increasing the amount of time."

"Why? You just said the black blood reacts to its origin. Why would you want to be around Crona every day?" Lord Death's mousy voice was now completely quizzical.

"Although I do not believe in luck, I believe there is such a thing as will power. If the blood is around the origin every day, I will have every day to fight back and get stronger."

"So you're saying you can just build your will power and hope for the best?" the grim reaper was doubtful, but he knew that if Dr. Stein had a theory and an experiment, things would probably turn out as planned.

"I am." A few moments passed as both men pondered Stein's plan. "I just need a safe place to perform the experiment. I doubt the lab would be sufficient given it is easy to escape. Plus..." An odd silence filled the Death Room before Lord Death's curiosity bested him.

"What, Stein?"

The tall doctor took a moment to respond. "I was just thinking... Marie needs a break from me..."

The grim reaper stood straight but his head was tilted to the side a bit. "Why would you say that?"

Stein's once monotone face soon shadowed to be what Shinigami thought was sadness. "For all of the pain and suffering, both physical and psychological, I have caused her, I need to stay away from her. She needs time to heal. Perhaps her entire life. I don't know if she will ever truly heal from what I have done to her, truth be told."

"Stein! You can't honestly believe that!" The doctor frowned curiously and waited for the reaper to continue. "Marie Mjolnir is a Death Scythe of the DWMA. She is not weak."

Stein raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, but she is also human. Every night I hear her cry because of her pain. I constantly give her painkillers for her wounds, yet she still cries and it is because of me. I can see the fear and pain in her soul everyday..." Stein's voice trailed off, leaving him to sulk in his guilt.

Lord Death sighed. "Stein, Marie may have fear, but I am sure is not because she is afraid of you. She is afraid for you."

"Yeah, yeah. She told me that already. But what of the pain she is constantly suffering from? Huh? Who's fault is that?"

"No one's, really. She feels pain for you. She hates to see you go through so much. Come on, Stein, I'm sure you've figured this out already." Lord Death implied as the doctor only looked down and slowly shook his head. "She loves you, Stein."

Stein eyelids dropped about halfway and he stared at his grey boots. "She shouldn't though."

"But she does. So really, forcing her to stay away from you will only cause her even more damage." Several moments passed by as Stein tried desperatly to regain control of his emotions. He needed to if he wanted to focus on figuring how to control his sanity. "Anyway, Stein, I believe I know where we can keep you whilst performing your experiment." My, my. "Experiment" is such an odd word for me to use in a case like this, but I suppose I should use Stein's choice of words so he is comfortable.

Stein raised an eyebrow. "Somewhere in the academy I imagine?"

Lord Death nodded his head. "Yep. You remember the holding cells that we kept Crona in after he left Medusa?"

Images of the dungeon-like cells filled Stein's head, making him think of insane asylums. His heart began pounding at the thought of it, but he did not allow any expression to be shown on his monotone face. "I do."

"Well we can keep you in one of those. Every day Crona will sit by your doorstep without speaking to you. That way you can get used to him just being around. Then after that, he will come into your room and just have a short chat. Every day, you two will spend enough time in the same room till you can completely manage the madness. Pretty simple, huh?" The grim reaper drew out the first syllable of "pretty", and Stein nodded in agreement.

"But then what of Marie? You said forcing myself out of her life would only cause her more damage." Although his voice was casual and plain, there was still a hint of worry in Stein's last words.

"Hrrmm..." Lord Death put his giganctic thumb and index finger on his mask as he thought of an answer for the meister's question. "Ah! She will come by every day after Crona leaves. I have noticed that her presence has a calming effect on you."

"Yes... And after I am able to be around Crona and hold back the madness with more ease, I will need Marie's visits to cease."

"Why is that?"

"I need to make sure I can stop my insanity without her." Stein stated simply.

"Ah. Well I suppose I should start preparing your room then. Come back tomorrow afternoon and we will get you situated."

Stein nodded and put his hands in his pockets as he turned from the reaper and made his way down the guillotine hallway. This is not going to be easy, but if I want to make it out with my sanity intact, I need to do this. Now I just need to tell Marie what is going on...Stein gave a heavy sigh as he reached the end of the hallway, pulled open the Death Room door and entered another hallway of the academy, the same spot where he last encountered Crona. I wonder how this will effect Marie. I presume she will not enjoy the fact of me staying in the underground cells of the academy, but this needs to be done. She might even be relieved to know that she won't have to worry about me anymore. Stein began walking down the hall to go back to the laboratory, and a smirk spread across his face. But knowing that woman, she will worry regardless. Oh, Marie. You never cease to astound me.

Hey guys, I need you all to come up with a big event that will occur in the end of the story. I will pick the one I like best, so technically, this is a contest! So hurry and tell me what you think the event should be. Thanks :) -Mikshizels