Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Of Power and Fools ❯ One-Shot

Yes, well… Uh, what to say…? ^^; One song by Maija Vilkkumaa was stuck in my head and then I got this thought that I could use it in a fic… What? You don't know Vilkkumaa? That's strange. ^^ Okay, just kidding. I'm Finnish, I sometimes use Finnish songs, and my translations suck. -_-;; Usually, that is. This time I got great help from Rayne-Jelly in translating the lyrics.

Anyways, the song is Satumaa-tango (Fairyland-tango). Satumaa is an old Finnish tango, kind of a classic, it tells about a wonderful place somewhere over the ocean. I had a little problem with the lyrics because of this; 'Satumaa' is mentioned in them few times, but it doesn't really fit this fic too well… I mean, how many Japanese listen to old Finnish tangos…? Anyway, I just put the translated name there, and ignored it… ^^

Hmmm… I don't think that I have any other comments for this one… Except that I don't like that title. Not at all. But I guess it's better than 'Untitled'… ^^;;

Disclaimer: No, I don't own it. Anything. Nothing.

~*~*~

Of Power and Fools

One more day over. One more day, full of work with incompetent, plainly put stupid people… finally over.

I could almost thank god for that… that is, if I believed in him. If one more of those idiots had come to ask me how to do their work, I don't know what I might have done… Why do they think I've hired them in the first place? It's a little wonder they get anything done without checking with me first.

I walk to my drinks cabinet and pour myself a glass of Scotch. I really need it today. With the glass in my hand I walk to the balcony and sit down by a table, watching the darkening city.

Then there are those, of course, who don't ask anything, who think that they know what is the best course of action in every situation…

Idiots, all of them. Why does it have to be so difficult to get competent employees these days? It shouldn't be too hard just to keep quiet and do what you're told to do - and nothing more.

I take a slow sip of my whisky. Oh well, they do learn, most of them, with time… but in the beginning they just drive me mad. And if they don't learn…

Another sip.

I can always get rid of them, one way or another. There's no room for fools in my company.

Wait quietly, close your eyes

I have authority, connections to the police

The night is confined, the sea is steaming

You are impudent and lecherous

You have to be silenced

Fired one of those fools today. The rest can be glad they didn't follow him straight away… I just hope that they'll remember this… 'example', and take heed of it.

That boy might have had potential. At least, he was full of new, progressive ideas. He just didn't have the right kind of personality for business world. All too trusting, sympathetic and… simply naïve. I kept an eye on him from the beginning, I knew that he might cause problems one day. Good thing I checked through, every now and then, everything he did and found out about those projects of his in time… All his ideas weren't that bad, but the way he was handling things…

I shake my head as I pour myself a new glass. That boy's never going to be anything.

Anyway, even if he had handled everything right, he exceeded his authority to a great extent doing it all on his own… He tried to explain something, of course, when I fired him. I think that the fool had wanted to surprise me with a successful new project…

I can't help but snort amusedly. I've been a CEO for a long time, and lived even longer, and I've always hated surprises.

Don't say anything, I'm not interested

I read your diaries, put you in jail

I have home by the sea [1]

I've lived so long I can do anything I want

I stretch out my hand and grasp the remote control from the table. Flipping the music on I lean back on my chair and close my eyes as I listen to it. Old classics, there's nothing like them, and will never be. It is strange, how the capabilities of mankind seem only to be reducing as time goes by, in every area.

I turn the volume a little louder and the music fills the air, drowning under it all the noises that come from the streets. Just me and the music… if I could decide, nothing else would be needed in the world.

All those... parasites... Yes, I think that that word describes them perfectly. Vermin, in the all meanings of the word; vultures, flocking around those who are prosperous, trying to get a chance to snatch something for themselves… and when they are chased away, they raise hell about it.

I don't have patience for them. I do what I can with those who come to me, but if there are those who cannot be helped, they can leave right away. I don't have time for them.

And every night I listen the Fairyland-tango

And sometimes it feels like someone's shouting help by the sea

I turn the volume up

I have power, I train others

When they shout under my window 'stop this'

I go back to sleep

Those people… they'd want to get as much as they can without doing anything by themselves.

Fools, fools, fools…

Impudent fools.

I clench the glass tighter in my hand.

That they dare…

They cannot accomplish anything on their own, but still they want to gather the fruit of other's labours… and when they are put back to their place they start complaining. Hn. As if it were possible to complain… not to me anyway. If they were smart, they'd just stay quiet when they're dealt with, but then, of course… If they were smart, they wouldn't end up in problems in the first place. Being fools, they cannot stop their idiocies in time, and so…

Oh well, they have just themselves to blame. If they get too troublesome there are always more… permanent ways to deal with them. Ways that will keep them quiet, that's guaranteed.

You want much; you won't get anything

It's pointless to shout, impossible to complain

The night distorts the world

And cases like this don't get any attention

I worked my way to the top. And believe me, it was hard work. Combine a war-disabled, bitter father and a mother, who works every day in a little shop with five kids, and you will not get a very high standard of living. Everything I've gained, I've gained on my own. Of course, when I started from the bottom, I had to do my share of crawling, but at least I did it with intelligence, so that it was fruitful. …I'm not still proud of it, though…

I…

"Kaiba-san!"

I frown a little when I hear the voice from under the balcony. Competent security… that would be something, too.

"Kaiba-san, I know you're up there! Please, I have to speak with you… Please?"

I suppress a sigh. What the hell's taking them so long?

"Please, I need this job, Kaiba-san, I… I'm sorry of what I did, just give me another chance and I promise it won't happen again. I didn't mean any harm…"

No, of course you didn't. Do you really think I didn't know that? In one gulp I empty the glass. Hmmm… I'm drinking fast tonight… Already a second glassful down… For a moment I stare at the glass in my hand. Beautiful work, handmade. And old. They don't make glasses like this anymore.

"Kaiba-san!"

"Okay, you there, turn around and keep your hands where we can see them…"

Finally.

I turn the glass a little, examining it from a different angle. Beautiful, how the light reflects on it…

"Kaiba-san…!"

With a sigh I place it on the table. Fools, they never know when the game has ended.

Don't say anything, I'm not interested

I shoot you with a rifle, shut you in jail

You don't know anything, your father hasn't been in a war

I've crawled so long I can do anything I want

I turn the volume of the music even louder and concentrate on it. The guards take that young fool away, I think he's still shouting something, but I ignore it as I am absorbed by the music.

Beautiful music, it lets me imagine that I am somewhere far away from this craziness, in some another time, when men were still men, not mice… nor rats, lice or fleas…

And every night I listen the Fairyland-tango

And sometimes it feels like someone's shouting help by the sea

I turn the volume up

I snap my eyes open as I realize that my head's starting to nod and that I'm about to fall asleep. Hmmm… Third glass of whisky sounds quite tempting, but I think it's time for me to go to sleep. Otherwise I might end up falling asleep here, and sleeping out isn't good for my health. I'm not that young anymore.

Luckily. Young people are always such fools. Young…

Oh, damn, I almost forgot him totally. With a yawn I take a glance at my watch. Quarter to midnight… Yes, sleeping is a good idea for all of us. I get up and walk inside.

Now, that boy… he has potential. Lots of it. Unlike those second-raters who flock around me… The thought that I might have had to leave my company to someone like them is enough to make me shiver. The boy has potential, he can be something. And he'll get it all - not free, of course not, he has to earn it - but at least he'll get it without having to crawl through that shit I had to. I will teach him never to crawl.

I'm a little surprised when I realize that I'm already standing behind his door. I guess I was so deep in thought I didn't notice where I was walking. Quietly, I push the door open.

As I enter the room I see the boy sitting by the table, still tied to his chair - of course, how else? - bent over a book.

I frown a little. "Haven't you finished yet?"

He gives a little start as he hears my voice and my frown gets deeper. Never show your surprise. Never be surprised in the first place.

He turns to look at me, dark circles under his blue eyes. "Yes, I have, Gozaburo-san. I'm reading it again."

I nod. "Good. And have you understood what you have read?"

He nods again. "Yes, Gozaburo-san."

"Good." I release him from the chair and he gets up stretching himself a little. "Come to my room tomorrow at six thirty, and we'll see what you've learned before I go to work. Now, go to sleep."

He nods once more and I turn to leave.

"Anoo…" I hear his quiet voice behind me and I glance at him over my shoulder. "What?"

"I… Nothing, I'm sorry." He drops his eyes to the floor, but for that short moment I met his gaze I saw the tired question in them. Why…?

I turn again and leave the room. You'll understand one day.

Now it is time to sleep.

I have power, I train others

When they shout under my window 'stop this'

I go back to sleep

It is really annoying.

I am tired, I really am tired, but I just can't sleep.

Once more I think how much I hate the night.

It makes me feel small. Lying alone in my bed, staring at the ceiling, knowing that somewhere above there is the vast space… is, has always been, will always be… I am nothing more than a little moth compared to it.

I hate feeling small.

And this silence… I hate this silence, too. I'd want to fill it with music, but… No. I'll just deal with it.

It is beautiful in its own way, this silence, so peaceful… but in it everything can be heard so clearly, all the sounds, both real and imaginary… All those voices, echoing in these walls, silent at daytime. I'm glad that the wind is silent tonight, at least… It always carries even more voices with itself… angry, pleading, desperate… all circling around the house, trying to get in…

I hate them.

But I can deal with them.

They will not get me down, never.

Morning will come, once more, as it always has, and bring again a new day… a day, in which I am not small.

It will come…

If only I could sleep…

So beautiful is this silence

And the cold wind that will never reach me

So great are the night and the space

And the fear that forces me to trust into the morning

~*~*~

[1] Literally translated this line would be 'I have home where you can see to Tallinn', in other words, home in the better parts of Helsinki, but I decided to change it a little for this.

Please, be nice and leave a review. I'd really like to know what you think about this… ^^;;