[He'd wondered, occasionally, if he'd mishandled the situation at home. And that same feeling had come back much more powerfully when Sorrow had been revived. Near has done many unpleasant things in his life but has regret for only two events: killing Mai, and not collaborating properly with Mello.]

Before he posited it, I hadn't considered it a legitimate possibility. [He has no shame admitting this much. The idea they'd all been raised with is that only one could succeed L. That had simply been their upbringing and he had accepted that. The idea that they could be a team had been a revelation and one he'd very much liked for multiple reasons.] But I would not have agreed to share something so important with someone whose ability did not meet my standard.