Disclaimer: I don't own Deathnote nor its characters, no matter how much I wish I did. However, Payne and Arisk (who comes into play later) and the other few minor ones are all mine.

Author's Note: Here the second chapter. Sorry but I have to get the boring parts over with now but I promise it get much better later on. I just need to explain a bit more in order for the story to make sense so please bear with me.

Chapter two: Listen and Learn

Payne knew that she should pay attention to what her physics teacher was saying, but she found it nearly impossible to stop her eyelids from sliding over her emerald green eyes and staying closed. She stifled a yawn as she let her mind wander away from the classroom and towards the events of the previous night. Payne thought back to the man who had appeared on the pathway that lead through the forest. It hadn't startled her when he had emerged from the forest's undergrowth. No, she had known he was there because she could see his name clearly floating above his head.

It was one of the perks to having shinigami blood running through her veins. It could also be irritating at times. Everywhere she looked was a sea of names and numbers. Sometimes Payne found it hard to focus on one individual alone. It was even harder knowing the date that they would die. A little part of her felt somewhat sorry for the ones who died young.

She fingered her headphones as her train of thought traveled farther and farther away from the workbook in front of her. Surprisingly enough her teachers had believed the note that she had forged at the beginning of the year that stated she needed to wear the head gear at all times or she would receive extreme migraines from any noise. If only they knew the real reason that I wear them is to stop from changing into a rotting corpse she thought to herself.

"Miss Sabina! Care to join me after class?"

Her thought bubble popped at the loud protest from her teacher. He had finally noticed that she hadn't been paying close attention and had felt the need to correct the issue. She refocused her thought back the the numbers on the blackboard though she already knew the solution to the complex equation written in white dust. Angled her body so that she could see both the board and the clock, she was certain that the time device despised her by how slowly the hands moved, she waited for class to end.

Loud laughter rang through the narrow hallways as students of Davidson High School headed their separate ways. Some made plans to get together over the weekend while others rushed to meet their dates. The biggest news that was traveling the halls today was that Joey Gate was throwing a party at his house while both his parents were away on business. Word was that he had invited the entire student body though Payne had no urge to attend. She was as antisocial as a seventeen year old girl could get choosing to stay at home then to go out partying.

Payne inwardly smiled as she eavesdropped on a group of girls as they headed towards the front doors of the school. They were so carefree, Payne envied them. They didn't possess the knowledge that one of them wouldn't live long enough to graduate. She sighed as she leaned against the somewhat white walls of the school waiting for her teacher to call her into the classroom. As she waited she allowed her gaze to travel around the quickly dissipating crowd reading names and numbers out of sheer boredom.

Seconds turned into minutes as she silently waited. What was taking him so long? Usually by now most would believe that they had been either forgotten or forgiven and leave, but Payne refused to think this. By now the halls were eerily quite and empty. She could hear the janitor start up the floor polisher. With a loud bang, one of the cafeteria staff dropped a metal tray on the tile floor. The headphones helped to soften these sounds, but Payne still struggled to not shiver. Her senses had been heighten, especially her hearing, since she had taken on the role of being a death god. Though it had never really been her choice.

Across the hall from where she stood was the teacher's lounge. Their voices drifted towards Payne who would have just tuned them out, like the rest of the world, if not for them going quiet on their own. Out of curiosity Payne stuck her head through the already opened door to see what had got their attention.

"Shh it's on again!" said an aging man from over where the television stood. So this was where her physics teacher had been hiding. He reached towards the remote to increase the volume. Payne looked at the screen to see a female news broadcaster reporting from what appeared to be a pathway surrounded by trees. A serious looking police officer stood beside the reporter responding to their constant stream of questions.

"That's correct." stated the officer. "An anonymous phone call was received done at the station around three o'clock last night informing us of someone laying face down on the west bound Grett Walking Trail. Once we arrived on the scene the paramedics were already there and pronounced him dead."

"Do you have any idea of who he is?" the reporter probed then quickly aimed the mic back towards the officer for the answer.

"We located a driver's license on the body identifying him as one James Dwight. We searched his name on our database only to discover that he was wanted for grand theft auto on several charges."

"Do you have any idea what might have caused his death?" It was clear that the reporter was hoping for an answer along the lines of foul play. Her body tensed as she waited for the answer.

"According to the autopsy he died of a heart attack that may have been caused by the large quantity of alcohol he had consumed prior."

"Thank you for your time officer. Now to Nancy with the weather."

Payne's teacher turned the volume back down as the long range forecast began to scroll across the screen. He turned to face the other teachers that were sitting on a well used red sofa. "You know," he started, "another body turned up last month over in Abbotville." He stroked his chin thoughtfully, something Payne had noticed he did a lot, then continued on with his train of thought. "You don't suppose that they're connected do you?" He looked pointedly at Mrs. Keen, the law teacher.

"Now Paul Trent, I'm sure that the police would have said something if we had a serial killer on the loose." She said reassuringly. "Besides, how who someone induce a heart attack? Jump out of the bushes and shout 'Boo'? Be reasonable." She smiled. "You're just over thinking things again."

"Yeah." stated Mr. Dinh. "You always over think things."

"Unlike you." Mr Trent muttered under his breath. Payne had to quickly cover her mouth in order to stop from laughing out loud. Mr. Dinh ,AKA "Mr. Dim", was known for his muscle not his brains.

"Still" Mrs. Keen continued giving both men a cold stare, "Those trails go on for miles. It would be almost impossible to get help if you did get hurt and a heart attack isn't something that most people survive even if they do."

"I guess you're right." Mr Trent said dropping the subject though Payne knew that he could go on for hours if he really wanted to. The topic quickly changed to test preparation and grading. Payne quickly retreated from the lounge with some much helpful information. So the police knew nothing, though she had expected as much. What kind of killer would go through all the trouble of inducing a heart attack when a knife in the back worked just as well? Besides no one knew or less believed that a notebook could kill. Payne decided to leave the school without see the physics teacher. He had all too quickly seen the connection between the two deaths.

'Rough' would be the first word to come to mind when describing the part of town that Payne lived in. Many of the buildings were old brick apartments that were run-down and in disrepair. The same went for the building that she was currently staying in if not more so. Hers was the last on one of the many side streets that led away from the hub of London. The smog was thick today and the sky was over casted. She quicken her pace as she headed down one of the many dark alleyways that she used as a short cut. Had it been a normal day she would have traveled home along the trail, but she didn't dare risk it when it was surely swarming with the police and search dogs. If they caught her scent they would question her and that would lead to different complications. No it was safer to head the way she was now.

Upon reaching her "home" she dug around her cluttered black and green book bag for the key to the door. Eventually she located it and inserted it into the keyhole, turning it to the right and wiggling the knob at the same time. She then entered her one bedroom apartment. "I'm home." She called out into the dark room not expecting anyone to answer. She merely did it as a precaution in case anyone had broken in and was still around. Tossing her book bag in the general direction of the couch, she turned her attention towards the fridge. Inside was the ham sandwich she had made that morning. She began to eat it as she lay back on the couch that also served as her bed. Adjusting the headphones so they didn't dig into the back of her skull, she let her thoughts wonder. She felt somewhat bad that she had killed the man, but if she didn't the shinigami part of her would start to act up. Sometimes she would partly transform even with the headphones on. Payne, after a great amount of testing, had learned that she had to kill one human every month to prevent this from happening. Sighing deeply she took another bite of the sandwich. Never had she asked for the curse of being half human half god. Rather it had been thrust upon her. As she lay there Payne thoughts turned back to that fateful day when she had first met Arisk.