Dead. He was really dead. The Death Note... it was [i]real[/i]. 

Lyra scuttled away from the music room along with a group of girls with faces drained of blood. As she pushed past gossiping students, making way for the algebra classroom, Lyra felt bile rising in her throat. The music teacher was dead... and that was only because she had written his name in that notebook. Did that make her a [i]murderer[/i]? Cold sweat ran down her cheeks as she took her seat, fighting to maintain a mask of calmness. The police were being notified - would they be looking for her? Her house was prison enough - she couldn't live in a little cell, shut away in the darkness forever. The Death Note was sitting on the floor of her room, among a bunch of library books. She couldn't run to get it now - that would look far too suspicious. But, when she got home, she would go to it. She would write her own name if she had to. Better dead than locked away.

She released a deep breath, and only then did she realize she'd been crying. But that reaction had been silly. The police would be investigating natural causes of death - not looking for weird notebooks with supernatural powers. Though she'd had a disagreement with the victim the day of his death, she had a solid alibi. Her brothers and parents would vouch for her.

But still... what if someone figured it out? It would be best to have the notebook with her all the time, just in case. She didn't want to kill again, but if they forced her to, she would. The dead teacher's life already weighed heavily on her conscience, but if it was to save herself... yes, she could do it again. But she [i]couldn't[/i] carry around the whole Death Note with her. That black cover and the instructions written within... they were way too obvious. But... what if she tore out a page? Would it still work? There was only one way to find out. But could she kill again just to learn?

She bit her lip as the teacher began his lesson. Absently, she scrawled a few of the symbols into her normal notebook. Yes... if it was to guarantee her freedom, Lyra could stomach one more use of the notebook. She was a princess - more important than anyone else. For her, sacrifices could be made. They were [i]justified[/i]!