God, Matt, if you only knew the half of it... He didn't want to talk about it. He didn't, because that would mean he accepted it. And if he accepted it, he had to accept the implications, the knowledge of just how thoroughly he had been used.

He wasn't supposed to care. Wasn't supposed to care about Matt's opinion of him. That was why his natural tendency to detachment had been encouraged.

It had, he realized. Thinking back, he'd been subtly encouraged to isolate himself since earliest childhood. The idea sent a sudden, uncharacteristic spark of rage through him.

"I... heard a few things from Mello after he arrived here," Near said quietly. "Some things he's seen. He has some suspicions about Wammy's."