Work Text:
Walking around Kamurocho with the boss, heading out for dinner. Bright lights and laughter all around. I can almost taste the crispy duck. We're having a great time as always, talking and sharing stories. Then the boss says we'd better hurry, it's getting late and the shops are closing. And he's right. The crowds are disappearing, the lights blinking and going out one by one. Suddenly he's not walking with me, but far ahead. I call out, but he doesn't hear me. I try to catch up, but he just keeps getting further away. No matter how loudly I shout or how fast I run, he doesn't turn around. Then the last light goes out, and I can't see him at all anymore. I'm just standing there, alone in the dark.
Ichiban's eyes open with a start, seeing only the grey cement ceiling of his prison cell. He sits up and shakes the remnants of that disturbing dream out of his head. There was no time to waste. Today was release day, and the boss was waiting for him.