I have such a hard time discerning Near's true feelings for Mello. He speaks flippantly about Mello at times, and before Page 77, I was operating totally under the conception that Near didn't care about Mello at all. Their parting comments in the chapter made me think differently though; if Near cares enough to take part in Mello's "race," then there has to be some area where their "feelings" toward each other align or overlap.

    If Near really wanted Mello totally out of the way, he also wouldn't have had Hal give Mello information in Page 83 about Mogi and Aizawa returning to New York. When I was looking back at the chapter, I thought that Near might have just been trying to manipulate Mello into doing something, or maybe just giving Mello something to run with and see what he would do. However, at that point, I think Near's plan to expose Light as Kira was already starting to take root, and I don't think he would have wanted an unknown factor like Mello jumping in and doing his own thing. In the end, I really don't know why Near indirectly gave Mello that information. Maybe he figured if he kept Mello on the same track as himself, he could better predict or understand what actions Mello would have taken in the future. However, in later chapters, it seems like Near has no idea what Mello is doing, or is even highly concerned with it. I really think he was done using Mello as a tool after Page 77.

    I guess in the end, I just don't get Near. I understand the whole "everything is a toy" mentality, and maybe I just need to take that at face value and apply it to everything. But I want Near to feel something for Mello that he doesn't feel for others. He disregarded Mello's death really quickly in Page 100, but part of that could be attributed to him being utterly focused on his big honkin' ol' plan to beat Light. I didn't expect Near to dissolve into tears, of course, and I know it's perfectly plausible that he may feel nothing, for no one. At the moment, Mello was a kink in everyone's plans, and for Near, if death was the only way to solve that problem, then so be it. I doubted he would have gone so far as to kill Mello or order him to be killed, though. Also, I think Near knows that sitting and mourning someone's death is not going to bring them back or help anything. Though their paths diverged, Mello and Near had the same goal, and getting emotional over Mello's death isn't going to achieve that goal.

    But dammit, it still hurt to read about how they found Mello's remains at the scene, and that they haven't been identified yet.

    I feel bad for Hal. It's my personal belief that she loved Mello, or cared for him pretty deeply. Her not wanting to believe Mello was dead doesn't jive with her normally aloof personality. I wonder if Hal's feeling a bit guilty for handing Takada over to Mello? Then again, I wonder if they even suspect that Takada was the one who killed Mello? I also wonder why Hal just didn't just tell Mello that Mikami was X-Kira. It seems she was telling him everything else, and I do agree that what Mello was trying to do by kidnapping Takada was find out the identity of X-Kira.

    But in regards to the actual plot in Page 100, I think Aizawa might be up to something with Near. At least, I hope so. It makes me damn nervous that both Light and Near are confident that they know each other's plans. I don't think either of them knows quite as much as they think. Hang in there, Near. >_>

    Heh, that reaction pertained almost entirely to the characters, rather than the plot.