And now, let us discuss why you SHOULDN'T vote for Hilary Clinton. As you know by now, I am female. I believe in female empowerment and nothing would make me happier than to see a credible female president in our white house. But that person is not Hilary Clinton. The problem with Hilary Clinton is a very clear one: Hilary Clinton is a corrupt politician who has been bought lock stock and barrel by the large multinational corporations, big banks, giant pharmaceutical companies and various other moneyed interests.

Hilary Clinton now goes through these debates pretending to some wide-eyed liberal with progressive views but it has to be noted for the record that she has flip-flopped on a significant number of liberal positions. And I think the 3 billion dollars she and her husband have managed to raise over the years has something to do with it. So for example, Hilary Clinton was a massive supporter of the TPP (Transpacific Partnership), a piece of legislation drafted by large multinational corporations and their lobbyists to give away American sovereignty for this system that is basically crony capitalism on steroids. What do I mean by that? Well the most basic way I can put it is let's say some oil company contaminates your water or causes a gas leak and you want to seek justice for your damages? American courts would no longer have the right to adjudicate those issues. The matter would be taken to an international court where they very well may decide that you DON'T get to sue them for damages and affect their profit margin. So while you and your children's lives may be forever altered from the effects of their reckless pollution, that corporation won't have to pay for it. In other words, it's just another way that democrats and republicans merrily join hands in screwing us, the people.

Hilary Clinton came out in support of it 43 TIMES on record and then when she gets primaried from the left by Bernie Sanders who has been against the TPP from the start, what does she do? All of a sudden she is against the TPP. That's just who Hilary Clinton is, a woman who will say anything to get elected and who changes her positions based on what is politically convenient for her. Now you may ask yourself, why are both Hilary Clinton and Barack Obama vehemently supporting such a disastrous policy? Look at the people who fund them and their campaigns. Well would you look at that… Large multi-national corporations, who stand to gain the most from this fucking atrocious bill, are littered throughout their donor list. What a crazy world.

And this is just one of many problems that make her such a weak candidate. To give a brief summary, her plan for getting rid of student loan debt (the issue that I pretty much care THE MOST about) is not a revolutionary one and in fact is total weak sauce. Her healthcare plan is vague and falls short of the kind of change we need. In an effort to be seen as a moderate she talks about raising the federal minimum wage to $12/hour wanting to appear reasonable among Trump who calls for lowering minimum wage and Sanders who's arguing for $15/hour, while totally disregarding the fact that $12/hour would do almost nothing to stop the disappearance of the American middle class.

The idea that this woman who brags about how she represented Wall Street and who Wall Street refers to as their "Golden Girl" would actually regulate and stop their illegal behavior that is financially destroying millions of families all over this country is nothing short of comical. And her corrupt relationship with the banks that wrecked the world economy in 2008, banks that she routinely lambasts in order to match Bernie Sanders tone, is obvious because that didn't stop her from giving them laudatory speeches to the tune of 11 million dollars that went directly into her pocket where she was "glowing" about them and talking about how they were "maligned" in this country. I mean who honestly believes she will hold them accountable? This is precisely the reason why people just don't fucking like her, me included.

So anyone who votes for this republican lite, corrupt corporatist is honestly doing so from a misinformed place. Some people want a female president so badly they don't care if we lose the core of American principles and values in the process. Please, to anyone who may read this and still be unsure, if I have provoked even one thought within you about your position, just do some proper research and keep that lying corporate sellout out of office. Trump and Cruz are not the only dangerous candidates that shouldn't be near the white house.

Disclaimer: Yeah, yeah you guys know already.

Chapter 10: Love Declaration

All conversation ceased upon laying eyes on her. Joey blinked at the casual effortless beauty of the woman before him. Saeko had been in her work attire underneath her dark brown pea coat but her black flowing hair had been let down and the dark liner brought out the prettiness of her gray eyes. One could hardly tell that she didn't get any sleep the night before. This had been the second time he had seen her face to face like this, but he was surprised that he didn't notice her looks the first time around. "Good morning." Joey said to her with nervous laughter.

"Good afternoon." She corrected him.

Joey's brows raised in surprise. It really was past noon, he hadn't realized it had been so late. "Ah. So it is." Joey noticed that her gaze fell upon a forming hickey on his neck. He quickly covered the kiss mark with his hand as another crushing wave of guilt came over him. Kaiba said they were broken up but still, what they had done still felt wrong to him. "I'm glad you're here. I didn't think you would take my advice so seriously."

"Your advice?" She was confused at first as to what Joey was referring to. If I were you I'd leave this fucker and never look back.

"Yeah, it's been making Kaiba strange… he– "

Joey was cut off by the sound of Kaiba clearing his throat, reminding them both that he was still in the room. "Wait for me in the car, Wheeler. I need a moment alone with Saeko."

Joey gave him a face that looked like he wanted to protest. After all, if it had been his fault that they had broken up, Joey wanted to help. Joey thought that he should be the one to fix it.

"Go." Kaiba reiterated.

Joey sighed giving her a polite smile before walking past her and out the door.

Upon hearing the door shut behind her Saeko then redirected her attention back to Seto. "Well that didn't take long, did it?"

"What didn't?" Seto asked.

"It's only been one night and you've already started announcing our breakup to the whole world," she said ascetically. "But why do I get the feeling that he doesn't know that you're the one who broke up with me?"

Seto Kaiba should've expected this confrontation coming soon, but the contact between Joey and Saeko just then made him astoundingly uncomfortable. "What do you want, Saeko?"

Saeko was in no mood for his nonchalance. She couldn't sleep at all last night between crying and being angry. Going between stark depression and throwing a fit, she had become so wired. "Was it really necessary to not come to work today just to avoid me?" Saeko asked. "Don't you think I deserve some answers? For example, this woman you say you're in love with, who is she?" Saeko had racked her brain all night and could not think of a single woman who had gotten close enough to Seto to make him give such a strong description.

"I wasn't avoiding you." Seto gave a blank reply, without any particular emotion attached to it. "And I have no obligation in telling you who that person is."

"Obligation?" Saeko voice rose slightly due to the unbelievable backhanded comment. "Seto, we were together for a year, I never saw you with anyone else. Were you seeing someone behind my back? That's not like you at all. What did I do to make you turn from me? I was so sure we had something special, that it was leading somewhere…"

"Haven't I done enough already?" Seto asked. "You should be grateful I stopped the two of us from living a lie. It's better this way." He insisted.

Saeko let out a sharp sigh that turned into subtle laughter. "I feel like an idiot, loving you for more than a year of my life only to have you call it a lie, and tell me I should thank you for it! And you don't think I deserve an explanation from you? Are you trying to make a fool out of me?"

Kaiba was silent for a while. "You know I would never do that." Kaiba replied softly. "And I know you want an answer from me but I just don't have one for you right now, at least one I can accept."

"But I love you!" Saeko said abruptly at a raised tone. She had tried so hard to hold it together but she couldn't stop the tears from streaming down her face. "I just didn't want to pressure you into saying it back, so maybe I never said that enough but it's true. I love you, I love you so much. I can't even imagine what my life would be like without you anymore. I can't just turn my feelings off like a switch and pretend they don't exist!"

That was the blatant difference between Seto and most people. Most people couldn't, but Seto had spent the majority of his entire life pretending his feelings didn't exist. When he and Mokuba were left at the orphanage, he pretended not to care in order to get through it. When he was adopted by one of the most evil men who ever lived, he pretended he didn't mind so as to give Mokuba a better life. When he fell in love with a boy so different from him, he pretended to hate him so he wouldn't have to face it. And by doing so he believed his deception would become the truth. His pretense ran so deep that he couldn't even tell what was real anymore.

"Don't my feelings matter to you at all? Don't I get to be happy?" she asked as her footsteps neared him and she slowly put her arms around his shoulders. "Don't you want to try to be happy, with someone who will do anything and everything in their power to love and honor you, with someone who will be there for you no matter what?" she asked once more as her lips were brought closer and closer to his.

But Seto turned his face away from her. There goes that word again. Happy. He didn't know what it meant to be happy, but he realized last night that happy was not being with Saeko. That was not the feeling she gave him. Seto had finally noticed that he was nothing more than a pretender. Whenever the situation made him the slightest bit uncomfortable, he'd formulate a situation that suits him and live that out to the best of his ability. And this time the great pretender had tried to tell himself that he loved Saeko. He believed that by acting that way he eventually would but that too became obfuscation. He didn't know that doing this, by using her love for him to hide from his own personal demons would hurt her greatly but he saw her tears and knew instantly that that had been the outcome. It had finally dawned on him. He cared for her but he knew one thing that stood out to him more than anything else… "I never said it back." That he couldn't let it continue. He couldn't do that to her anymore, it wouldn't be right.

"What?" She was taken aback by the sharp realization.

"I had wanted to. More like, I wanted myself to want to say those words to you. I always thought that I couldn't find the right time or place to show you those feelings but it's more than that. I never had those feelings to begin with."

Saeko exhaled sharply suppressing a sob. "What are you saying?"

"I never fancied myself as someone who would play with a woman's heart. It was never my intention." Seto said with an emotion that was almost unrecognizable but the closest thing Saeko was ever going to get to remorse. "I treated you as someone I could love for the rest of my life because I wanted it to be that way. But the truth is I do not love you. I don't think I ever did and I don't think I ever will."

The words cut her like a knife. Saeko raised a hand to strike him but he gave her a look that stopped her right in her tracks, the look of someone who honestly didn't give a damn about her or how hurt she was. She would be so happy over them finally having their first fight, if she didn't think it would be their last one. How dare he waste her time? How dare he make her waste a year of her life only to tell her that she wasn't lovable? She had wanted to give Seto time to rethink his decision, but her feelings wavered when she saw Seto's unchanging expression and his words were just making her more and more angry. Let him just try to live without her. She pulled out a white envelope putting it on the table next to them. On the very top reaching down from one end of the envelope to the other was the word 'resignation' on it. "I'm sure you have no problem with this, right? You always praised me on how professional I was, but I am human after all. Surely you didn't think I could keep working for you like nothing ever happened, right?"

Seto was silent for a while and then responded with a slight nod. Seto knew it wouldn't be fair to ask her to wait for him. "I do hope that you can find someone better than me, someone who suits you better than I do."

"No…" Saeko was upset at how easily Seto had accepted her resignation. She knew who Seto Kaiba was. She would've yelled, screamed, cried, clung to him and begged him not to leave her if she thought it would change his mind, but she knew it wouldn't help. She grabbed him by the collar and slowly brought her face to his as if she were to kiss him however she was stunned to see Seto turn his face away from her. "This isn't over." she whispered, "I'll never give up on us. Never."

Seto watched as she briskly walked out the door.

Mokuba had just finished a gig the night before in Tokyo and was getting on tour bus ride to the next stop. Mokuba was busy the entire day prior, signing autographs at meet-greets and taking pictures with the fans. He checked out of the hotel only to find that the bus had been surrounded by fans some of which hands he shook when he boarded. Blowing kisses to them from the window, Mokuba and the rest of Thermo drove off pretty much without incident. That is, until their manager Sugita called all the band members into the back room.

Sousuke Sugita was a pretty young guy relatively speaking in terms of managers. He was in his late 20s and had only been part of the label for two years before he was assigned Thermo. As a former member of a band himself, he liked putting various different colors in his hair and dressing in punk rock styled attire. He discovered them by chance, having heard them while passing a small time bar when he had visited Domino on business. Sugita had a lot of experience in music, in fact had he not hadn't gotten a significant hand injury a two years back, he'd probably still be playing bass guitar for Nevaeh, an intensely popular Visual Kei band from a quite a few years ago while he was still in high school. As such, he knew that Mokuba's music had a special flair to it that was worth polishing. He knew he could harness the young man's raw talent. But although he had defended their sound to his superiors after their audition, he had no idea that Thermo was going to become and overnight sensation and garner as much success as it has worldwide. VK Basic was now fully invested in the band, throwing a lot of money behind supporting Thermo, which included giving into Mokuba's ridiculous demands from time to time.

Tired and exhausted they all trudged to the back room. "What's this all about?" Mokuba asked upon entering.

Seated there, right next to Sugita was a blond-haired girl with opal green eyes hidden behind subtly studious glasses. She looked up, closing the book she was reading with a small smile. Yuuki yawned before tilting his head in curiosity. "And who is this?" he asked.

Sugita cleared his throat before explaining. "Given that Mokuba is determined to kill us all, by working us to death, I had to hire someone to assist with this crazy schedule."

"Wait a minute. Did you just say… Mokuba?" The blond girl asked in surprise, her brows furrowed in perplexity.

"Rebecca?" Mokuba warily inquired. Her flinching at the sound of his voice confirmed his suspicions.

Rebecca's complicated history with Mokuba stretched all the way back to Jr. High. Both of them had attended Okabe Jr. High School, a top private school among the elites. The rich and powerful spend a lot of money sending their kids there for quality learning. It was the type of school that paved the road to Toudai, a university where people would eventually become pillars of the country. The sort of money required to spend even one quarter at Okabe was the sort that the Kaibas didn't even blink at but Rebecca was only able to go there because of a scholarship she had received for being the top mind in her primary school.

As such, she was the subject of a lot of ridicule among her peers. Though she became recognized as the extremely intelligent brainiac with her nose always buried in a book, Rebecca was constantly bullied by her classmates and arbitrarily made into an outcast. Even so, she endured and laughed in the face of challenge, determined to make her family proud by becoming number one in her class.

Mokuba even from back then was a ladies' man. He could always be seen with a pretty girl beside him and he was friendly towards everyone. He had a great disposition and was quite popular. Girls wanted to be with him, and boys wanted to be him. But there was one thing different about Mokuba which is that he really couldn't understand the mindset of the other rich kids around him. Maybe it's because he was adopted, but he really didn't understand why they valued people by how much money they had or by how much money they spent. As a result, he befriended Rebecca, one of the few people he found that he could have a good conversation with. Though he had been cordial with everyone else, he actually was very close with Rebecca the first two years of Jr. High.

Part of the reason Rebecca could be cheerful and fearless in her hostile environment was because of their friendship. At times she would tutor him in math and help him with his homework. And he taught her all about duel monsters, something that her archeologist grandfather was happy she became enthused about. Sometimes she would have lengthy debates with Mokuba about the world in general. Sometimes Mokuba would make her laugh with his outlandish tales of implausible happenstance or purposefully act out to make her laugh or seek her attention.

Of course this led to every girl in Okabe Jr High into hating her guts and it merely amplified the bullying. In various ways she increasingly found that school harder and harder to breathe in. At times Rebecca would arrive to find her desk and chair moved outside with obscene remarks scribbled all over it. She would find her books and other precious belongings tossed out the window or torn to pieces. Garbage was found in her desk and one time she even found a dead frog in her locker. But they always played nice in front of him and Mokuba hardly knew what they were doing because Rebecca never said a word to him about it. She didn't want him to feel like the type of treatment she was receiving was his fault. She didn't want to turn him into an outcast as well. That was until one day Mokuba was approached by a female classmate and asked a very relevant question.

"Why are you always with Rebecca? Do you… like her or something?"

Mokuba gave the girl a very bewildered look. Like? Rebecca? He had never even considered that. After all, she was Rebecca. His feelings toward her had nothing to do with her dorky glasses, blond pigtails, or uniquely questionable fashion sense. "No way, I don't like her like that. There's no way I could. I don't even consider her a girl. She's-"

Mokuba was interrupted by a shattering sound behind him. Rebecca was standing there wide-eyed with a broken pot right in front of her feet. She didn't mean to hear it, but she did. And man did it hurt to hear what Mokuba truly thought of her. So much so that she lost her grip on the plant she was bringing to the science lab. Liking Mokuba was something she never thought about either, but hearing that he didn't even see her as a girl made her realize something she never noticed before; which is that on some small level, she had wanted him to. She didn't know what that proved but she could feel that the statement had broken her heart. Mokuba wasn't bullying her, he was doing something much worse; he was pitying her.

"Sorry…" Rebecca started. "Sorry for not being a girl to you!" She brushed past him leaving him calling out for her to come back. She left them unanswered, not wanting to show anyone the tears streaming down her face.

Mokuba hadn't seen her for a whole winter after that. He had tried reaching her by phone, but she wouldn't pick up his calls. And with the classes Gozaburo would have him do over the break, he never really had time to go see her. He didn't see her until the following year and their dynamic had changed very much. Rebecca had lost all of her vibrant charm and was now gloomy and despondent. She largely ignored Mokuba, and even the times they were seen together they were fighting about one thing or the other. Because of that people didn't bully her as much so she resolved to never get close to him again. Mokuba sensed that distance she was putting between them and became angry over it. The two of them became something between friends and enemies that was separated by a very fine line. It was like this until they parted ways for good, both having attended different high schools. They had all but forgotten each other until this very moment.

"What are you doing here?" Mokuba asked her surprised but for some reason happy. The feeling of seeing an old friend washed over him. Rebecca had changed quite a bit since last he saw her. No long the short little blond girl with pigtails she was now a pretty young woman whose wardrobe was updated with slightly darker colors.

Sugita cleared his throat. "She's my new assistant, weren't you listening?"

Rebecca was now at a crossroads in her life. In high school she had joined orchestra, having learned the violin from a very young age. She was on her way to Toudai to study botany, but a part of her had always wanted to explore music. She'd figure that she'd use the next six months working in the music industry before going to Toudai. Classical music had always an escape for her. It calmed her, made her feel like she was lost in a different world and ruler of that world. However there were no agencies that specialized in classical music were available to her. She never had any interest in rock and roll but this was the only thing she could find. She didn't pay attention to popular music. She had no idea that she'd be working with Mokuba. If she had, she would never have taken VK Basic up on their offer. Her heart started racing. History would repeat itself. When she thought of how fans would treat her because of Mokuba, when she thought of everything she would be subjected to again because of him, it was enough to her stop breathing.

Rebecca gave a polite bow to Mokuba, as if she were meeting him for the first time. "Hello, I'm Rebecca Hawkins. Please take care of me."

"Hey, Rebecca!" Mokuba protested at her acting distant, watching her walk away from him.

Yuuki raised a brow. "You know her, Mokuba?"

Mokuba didn't bother to respond with anything other than a light nod.

"So there you have it. She will be helping me manage you guys and this crazy schedule. She's a rookie, so treat her well." Sugita repeated.

Mokuba eyed Rebecca once more. With her back turned to him, he had no idea what kind of thoughts she might be having.

The ride to Joey's house was a little bit tense. Kaiba had entered the car looking somewhat pissed off but Joey couldn't tell whether it was his ex what was making him look that way of if that was his face's default position. At the very least he could assume Kaiba was minorly stressed about something but he was wondering if he should even ask.

"So… what happened?" Joey asked, curiosity finally getting the better of him.

"With what?"

Ah… Two worded curt replies. That did not sound good. "What happened with uh… your girlfriend?"

"My ex." Kaiba corrected him barely after the sentence was even uttered.

"Well yeah." Joey responded. "I was kind of hoping that you guys would work things out."

Kaiba raised a brow in irritation. "Why's that?"

Joey took a deep breath. "I mean… you guys kind of looked good together. It wasn't right for me to come and wreck that."

Kaiba stopped the car abruptly at those words, earning him the ire of everyone on the road. "So what? You already wrecked it. Why do you care now?" It was Joey's fault, in a way. Though it wasn't the way Joey understood it. The fact that he actually believed his two sentences to her could cause the end of their year long relationship showed how simple Joey truly was. But the truth is, ever since they met again, nothing in his life had been going right. He kept thinking of him constantly. This caused him to lose interest in his relationship even to the point of almost complete impotency. As if that weren't enough last night he… Kaiba just wanted Joey to feel a little bit of regret for throwing his life into havoc.

Joey lurched forward almost hitting his head on the dashboard. Kaiba seemed to be unbothered by the screeching tires and loud horns behind them. Joey looked around them shocked as a Nissan narrowly missed them from behind and quickly picked up that this was Kaiba's unique way of telling him to mind his business and not to even go there. "All right! All right! I'm sorry! I got it, go!"

The rest of the ride was virtually silent and uneventful. Joey was twiddling his thumbs stealing guilty glances at Kaiba. Joey had hardly realized when they arrived at his shop. The familiar scent of oil was what brought him out of his trance. "So, um, see you around?" Joey said awkwardly.

Kaiba scoffed before crossing his arms.

"Argh!" Joey said scratching his head. "I can't leave you like this. Is there anything that I can do to make the situation better for you?"

"Wheeler."

"I mean if I could convince her to leave you I'm sure I can convince her to stay."

"I lied." Kaiba said

"I mean, even if it's an asshole like you, I'm sure that– Wait, what?"

"Saeko and I have nothing to do with you. I just felt like blaming you." Kaiba concluded. It would be easier for him if Joey never found out the real reason they broke up. "If you get that then go."

Joey silently rose from the car, closing the door behind him. He was about to walk away when he turned back around. "Look. I've already forgotten about last night. It was a mistake. One that you and I won't be making again." Joey looked away from him. "I know you hardly feel guilty about anything that happens in your life, but if that's what's stopping you from getting back together with her then don't let it. Even a bastard like you, deserves to be happy some time."

Before Kaiba could respond, Joey had walked away leaving Kaiba only to watch him go. Joey was the third person who told him to be happy. Lately, Kaiba couldn't help but notice when that word came up in conversation. Why was everyone so obsessed with it? His eyes narrowed at Joey's reference to last night. Last night was… the night he had lost his mind. The lust… the desire… it caused him to do the most unthinkable things. The sounds… he could still hear them ringing in his ears. The taste of his lips… The touch, the feel of Joey's body against his, he could almost still feel him underneath his fingertips. Last night was not a mistake to him. It was the first time in a long time that he had actually felt… warmth. Joey's heat still lingered within all of his senses. It may be a night Joey may never again wish to remember but for Kaiba, it was a night that he could never forget.

Kaiba was about to drive away but he noticed something strange in Joey's movement. He saw Joey stagger forward in surprise before launching himself towards the door that had been eerily ajar. A minute later, Joey had darted back out running away from the shop. Kaiba beeped at him to get his attention. Joey looked back, holding his chest as if he were hyperventilating.

Joey held his hand over his chest trying to keep his heart from exploding. The shock was enough to leave him give him shortness of breath. He looked around frantically before he heard a car horn behind him. He saw that Kaiba was still there and ran towards the car.

Kaiba rolled down the window. "What's wrong?"

"My father… my father is missing." Joey said, chest heaving while trying to catch his breath. "I have to find him…" His tone was ominous enough to cause Kaiba some mild concern.

Meanwhile, underneath Little Bridge right along the edge of the water… a body floats just above the surface.

12 Pages: Can't remember what I wanted to discuss, so I guess we'll just leave it at that. I told you it would be a short one ;) Oh and mandapandabug, you are not the horrible author I was referring to, no worries. Read and Review! Bye