So this AU came to mind rather suddenly and I decided to do a short-ish AU about it. In just about every other Ishimondo thing I write, Mondo is the more broken out of the two who's not sure what he's doing in life and Kiyotaka has to help him get his shit together. I wanted to write a reverse of that dynamic, where Mondo is the one who helps Taka figure out what he needs, so this happened! (ALSO DAIYA IS ALIVE IN THIS AU YAY)
This is completely separate from any of my other current Ishimondo stories. And if I can't fit all of my ideas for this universe in here, I'll include them in an ending note.
I'd also like to clarify that the cover is a placeholder. I want to draw one eventually (which is why this chapter has "artwork" in the title— it'll go here when I'm done with it). For now, just keep in mind that the boys don't look like their in-game selves! They're older here, in their twenties. Mondo doesn't wear a pompadour anymore and tends to tie his hair back and leave his stubble unshaved. He's also got lots of tattoos. Kiyotaka has cleaned up a little and often wears reading glasses and business attire. The picture included as the header is the closest thing I could find in fanart! :'D
Also, a note: certain parts of this story go into VERY dark territory. I will include a more specific warning over the heaviest chapter.