Here we go with yet another story. I will not be making any new stories after this one, so you guys don't have to worry (pretty sure I've said that several times already). The next chapter of the seven deadly sins will be coming up hopefully soon, but I'm still editing the files. Fear the Reaper will also be coming up fairly quickly, so you guys don't have to worry about that. I won't be starting the Fated or Destined Trilogy until I've got the story down more though and have at least one book of LTSDS done. So this will be more first new story in a while.

This one takes place in a completely AU world where Digimon are considered evil by humans and vice versa. The two sides haven't crossed since long ago when there were a group of "degidestined" who were given the ability to contact digimon and create a bond with them via strange devices. These children were known as "Trainers" because it helps with the idea of part of the reason digimon went to war with humans is because they think humans enslave them. Also because of both the Sovereigns and the Demon Lord Digimon. That'll end well.

Anyway, this story involves Impmon (who digivolves into my favorite digimon if you can't already tell) and he has a different evolutionary chain than LTSDS (Impmon -Wizardmon-Baalmon/Reapmon-Beelzemon). Just because it looks cooler in my opinion. Anyway, hope you guys enjoy and feel free to leave me a review below.

Chapter One: Seeker's Soul

Kira carefully slipped through the broken streets, glancing around several times to make sure she was as alone as she thought. What she was doing right now was extremely dangerous, for several reasons. If the village she lived with found out she was out here, let alone who she was out here to search for, she'd be in some serious trouble. Who knows, they might think she was a digimon lover and toss her out like they had her older brother. On the other hand, it was also dangerous because of said digimon. If any digital beings found her by herself out here, she could be killed for basically just existing. Humans and digimon had been at war for nearly fifty years now, though no one really seemed to know why or how the war had gotten started.

Older folks talked about a time when digimon were helpful and had even helped to save the world several times, but then they said that they grew angry and spiteful for some reason. They began attacking humanity one day and created a war. Then their heroes, the human children called Trainers and their digimon partners, disappeared off the face of the planet as well, leaving them to deal with the mess. No one trusted digimon anymore, and the creatures would attack humans on sight if they could. And anyone found with a digimon partner were tossed out of their villages and left to fend for themselves in the harsh and unforgiving wilderness of the world.

That's what had happened to her brother. She had no idea what had happened to her parents, because they had apparently disappeared some time ago without a trace, leaving only their young son and daughter behind. Her older brother, Ron, knew a little about them, but Kira had been too young to remember them at all. Then, because her older brother had befriended a digimon, and carried a strange device, the adults had given them no time to say good bye and threw him out of the small area in the once much larger town that they called home. And despite herself, Kira couldn't help but keep going out here to check if her brother was okay.

Ron had a habit of finding trouble, and she just hoped she hadn't somehow managed to get his habits as well. Unluckily for her, if her older brother was around he didn't seem to have stuck around to see if anyone would attack him on sight for being with digimon. She was kind of glad for it, especially since several of the kids they had known from before were planning on going searching for him and hurting him if they found him. Kira could only hope that his partner, Kudamon, would keep him safe like he had promised. She hadn't ever known a digimon to not attack a human. It was almost weird to think that he wanted to protect her brother.

Kira, unlike her brother, had their mother's bright blonde hair. It was a bit of a mystery to the girl where her mother had actually come from because of this, or at least where she had once come from a long time ago. She disliked showing it off, so she kept it cut into a short bob around her chin, where it swayed from side to side as her eyes scanned the area. Her crystalline blue eyes, also the source of much of the teasing she'd gotten growing up, were flicking through the once far more well used streets. There were few places to hide out here, wide open spaces with cracked asphalt and broken wrecks of cars, though the girl had no words for what she was actually seeing. To the child who had grown up the in heavily fortified walls of a single district of the city, the world out here was new and strange. No electricity worked in these streets, meaning that at this hour, it was difficult for her to see except by the light of the moon and stars overhead. A little light pollution kept some of the stars hidden, but there was little else to pollute the earth anymore.

Barely visible in the light of the full moon, the twelve year old girl pulled her worn brown cloak tighter around her, made from various reused fabrics. Humanity no longer had the resources they once had, so getting this fur had been a hassle, parts taken from wild dogs and cats that had no taken over the streets. They were also feral beings, though they usually avoided humans when they saw them. Under her cloak was a worn skirt and shirt, both had at one point been a much brighter color but now they were torn in several places and had been faded an almost pastel purple. Use had not been kind on the few possessions that she did have.

What worried her more than thoughts of the digimon around her though was the silence. The creatures hardly ever left humanity alone, constantly harassing them. Some of them, far lighter than others, frowned upon their existence but wouldn't go out of their way to harm humans. Others, darker beings, seemed to enjoy inflicting pain and that no one tried to stop them for it. It was oddly quiet though, and that's what made her shiver so, unsure what it could possibly mean. She continued to walk along the path, casting nervous glances around her to the ruined glass of store fronts and light poles. It almost seemed too quiet.

Out of an alley to her right stepped a stranger, dressed in a dark cloak that nearly hid them from view. They appeared to be human, given their shape under the cloak that they wore as well as their size, which was about the size of a fully grown person, but she knew little other than that. The person, their face obscured in the shadow of their hood, stepped out to turn to the girl, simply watching her. Unsure what to do or how to react that wouldn't get the stranger to react negatively, she just froze. Kira could feel beads of sweat forming on her brow in her nervous anticipation of what might be coming, but she was completely unsure what she was supposed to do in this situation. For a long while, nothing happened, and then the figure reached up and removed their hood.

It was a woman, or at least it appeared to be. She looked to be about in her early twenties, and she also had short hair. Her hair was the color of obsidian, yet seemed to shine under the moon light as if diamonds had been hidden in the ore. Her ears were black, deep and dark enough to fall into without ever knowing if you'd hit the bottom. They made the girl shudder but captivated her enough that she couldn't look away either. There was something highly unnerving about the stranger who looked human, yet did not. There was something too calm, too unearthly about her. Her porcelain skin was flawless and pale, as if she had been etched into being as the most beautiful creature that could ever walk the earth.

The only thing that broke up her otherwise somber attire was a single earring, dangling from her left ear. It was long, blue in color with swirls of other colors that Kira wouldn't be able to make out until she was right up next to her. It was shaped like a crescent moon, with a sapphire star in the center. The shape seemed incomplete almost, as if there was something missing. Kira quickly shook the thoughts out of her head though as the figure raised her hand, beckoning the girl closer. Everything about this stranger was odd, and Kira knew that she should be running as far away from her as possible. Yet it was as if instinct warred and won against her own mind, because she found herself drawn towards the woman waiting there for her.

As she drew closer, a smile graced her face, and she reached out, running her hand gently through her hair. Kira started at the contact, unsure what to do with it. However she didn't feel afraid, not really. Something told her that this woman could be trusted, and so she stood there awkwardly instead. For a long while the woman was silent, before turning and walking away. Unsure what else to do, or why another person was out here at all, Kira just let out a surprised yelp and dashed after the woman into the alley way. It had once been boarded up at one end, keeping people from trespassing through more dangerous areas of the world that had been here before. The boards had long since fallen, leaving the area open to travelers. Walking through it revealed hazy red crystals reaching in tall spires behind the buildings, having thrown wreckage and debris everywhere. Within the red, Kira could make out a humanoid shape and shuddered, turning her attention away from the unfortunate soul. The woman kept walking, out onto another street, and Kira followed.

"Why are you here?" the woman asked suddenly, surprising Kira and making her jump.

"H-Huh?" she asked. "I-I don't know. I'm looking for my older brother but..."

"Not here, exactly," the stranger said with a patient smile in her direction. "but here, on this world? Every single person, be they real or digital, has a purpose. You must ask yourself why you are here before you answer me. There is more to this question than it appears."

Something about this question made Kira want to back away, before it was too late. She didn't know this woman, who had yet to even ask her name or give hers either for that matter. They had never spoken before, yet she talked as if she knew her. Then to ask why she was here? Did anyone really know the reason to their own existence? You could come up with hundreds of thousands of answers and none of them could be right. There really wasn't a way in knowing, was there? She turned helplessly to the woman, not knowing what to say. What was there to say? That things were just going to be okay and work out? That she knew why her whole life was one big mess?

"Perhaps that is too broad," the woman said to herself, as if knowing this would be the problem they encountered. "Maybe I should ask instead, what are you looking for?"

"Um," Kira tried, trying to ask herself what she was really looking for. "I-I think…"

Here the girl faltered, just letting herself follow the stranger without any real reason for knowing why. What was she looking for? Why was she even bothering herself with following this stranger? She should be running back home and knowing why it was far too dangerous to wonder off alone at times like these. But really, where did she have to go back to? She didn't have any friends. She didn't have any family besides her brother, who was out here and lost in the world somewhere. She didn't even know why the digimon were fighting or humans hated them. She had heard stories, but none of that could compare to learning it herself. Since she had been small she had been trying her hardest to read, to learn everything she could about the wide world and know the things that couldn't compare to the tiny world she had grown up in.

Books of course, were forbidden. Because there were plenty on the subject of Digimon and the Digital World they inhabited, of creatures who weren't evil and bloodthirsty beasts who began a war with humanity for no reason. There was knowledge that was considered to be taboo, and most people couldn't read so they just burned every book they could find. There were few people who knew how to read, like Old man Nanashi, who had taught her how and given her any books he could find. The old man was thought mad by many in the village, but Kira had thought him brilliant. To their minds, they were the only people left and they had to survive because of that.

So Kira had learned all that she could, absorbed the information that she could be given and yet never satisfied. Part of her was jealous of her brother, perhaps. Jealous that he had a digimon and could no longer live in the village with them. That he could leave and be free of the burdens of that world and reach out into another that was unlike any she had ever seen. She wished that she could go out and never return to that place unless she wished, that she could be free. But more than that, she wished to see places with her own eyes. She wanted to see seas and mountains, canyons and rivers and all the things that were hidden from her sight there in the gathering of broken buildings walled off from the world that they called a village.

"I want to know," she said quietly, timidly. She was afraid this stranger would laugh at her or scorn her like the rest. "I want to see things with my own eyes, to learn everything I can." It seemed like this was the correct answer, because the woman smiled.

"I see," she said. "I was correct then. I knew when I met you that you had this trait, but I had to check you see."

"T-Trait?" the girl asked, unsure of the woman.

The woman stopped, making Kira yelp and stumble a bit to keep herself from running into her in surprise. The woman just smiled though, turning back to the girl and smiling again. Kira paused a moment, looking around. They had left the confides of her village a long time ago, and the comforting sights of the flame lanterns were long gone from view. In fact, Kira had never dared to venture so far away from her village for fear of what she might end up finding there. She wasn't entirely sure where she was going or what she was supposed to do now. She was somewhere she didn't recognize with a woman she didn't know.

A huge building and many more wrecked cars indicated that this had once been a place where many people had gathered. But now the chaos that could clearly be seen here clearly showed that there had been some tragic event. Many of the vehicles were crashed together and their crumpled masses were discarded there. Spires of red rock erupted everywhere, casting the world in its hell-fire glow. These were all words that meant little to the girl other than the fact that she had read them once. She knew "cars" had once been transportation and "streets" were what these vehicles traveled on. Mostly, her world was dark and little could impress into her young mind the state that things had once been in, before the war.

"You carry within you the Seeker's Soul," the woman said patiently. "With this trait, you continue to search for the things that elude you and reach for the stars. It is with this answer, that we can find the soul that matches yours. I already knew this, but I had to know that you too realized this. Because of this, I can give you the partner that reflects your soul. Together you will be able to unlock the sleeping power within you, and then you will find your purpose. Follow me." The woman turned, going faster down another side street and past the crystals that housed unfortunate souls caught there in the early days of the war.

"W-Wait," Kira cried, dashing after her. "What do you mean? I don't even know your name!"

"You may call me Destiny," the woman replied with another smile, not pausing her pace in the slightest. "That is who I am, as well as the duty I uphold. Come. We're nearly there!"

"Nearly where?" Kira called, confused and unsure what to do with the woman who continued to talk to her in riddles.

There shouldn't be a reason she was following this woman. She didn't know her, and strangers were dangerous. Even humans would attack other humans if they saw them alone. So why did she keep following her? Kira couldn't have really said, except something told her she knew this woman, like a familiar friend she hadn't seen in so long that she couldn't put the face to the name. She felt called towards her, like something in the back of her mind pulled her forward and told her that yes, everything was find and she needed to do this. Kira couldn't have told her what "this" was, only that she was going to do it.

Trees loomed ahead of her, some broken and blasted, others frozen into crystals with people inside of them. Others were standing tall and proud despite the years, and others were new, having grown wild over paths that had once been walked well. Concrete broke in places under roots and the strain of the now wild grasses, but the girl didn't hesitate to plunge into them with Destiny, walking ahead as fast as she could manage towards whatever goal she had set in her mind. Kira didn't have any clue where she was going or why, only that she was. And for once, she didn't really mind not knowing. She figured she would find out soon enough.

The path led through the wild woods, revealing grass having grown around metal spires and wooden ones, place where children had long ago played and laughed happily. It had long since become abandoned and left to rot away while humanity hid from the creatures that had once destroyed their homes. Kira wasn't sure how much of it was true, but Destiny walked, undaunted, through the park. Finally, she seemed to find what she was looking for and hummed thoughtfully as he reached the end of the path, stepped to the side where the grass had been flattened by something, as if it had come falling from the sky and crashed painfully.

Destiny followed the path until they reached a small area where it looked like the something had finally stopped to rest. Pausing, Kira looked around the area but she couldn't see anything that really stood out to her at all. It wasn't until the tall grass rustled and she thought she caught a glimpse of green eyes disappearing into the grass. Kira started in surprise, but Destiny just smiled and held out her hands, one towards Kira in a placating manner, and one towards the grass that surrounded them. The silence that continued was honestly one that surprised Kira. The thing hiding away was watching her, just silent. As if it too realized Destiny was no harm.

"This is the soul that reflects your own," Destiny said calmly, still smiling to the girl. "Don't worry. He's no danger to you. And look, does she look like she can hurt you?" There was a moment of silence where Kira just stared at the woman with wide eyes, as if wondering who else she was talking to and afraid to find out.

"I guess not," a voice with a heavy accent that Kira couldn't name replied. More startled to hear the voice than anything, the girl jumped. "She looks kind of weak ta be honest. So what's all this about a soul?"

"Your souls match," Destiny continued calmly and patiently. "But you can tell that, can't you? You feel drawn together, despite the pasts between you. You don't remember now, I'm aware, but you one day will. I know that you seek. You seek justice for what was done, power to seek that justice, and you seek the truth. She too seeks, answers for the questions about the world, knowledge to face herself and a reason to fight. You both carry the Seeker's Soul. It binds you, and makes you partners."

"But this," the voice protested. "this is a human!"

The words that left the other being's mouth surprised her, and then filled her with a sense of unease. Did that mean this wasn't human? The only being she had ever met that wasn't human and could talk had been Kudamon, a digimon that had been intelligent enough to speak. Did that mean this was a digimon? She was unsure what to do with the idea, as much as the digimon was at sharing a "soul" with her. She knew why. She wasn't strong and didn't look smart or powerful. She looked small and unassuming, the least likely person to carry the "seeker's soul" as possible. She looked plain and ordinary, like she had been dropped off in the wrong place at birth. She wasn't what other people here would call "pretty" let alone "beautiful". What did she have to offer a being that was so much more powerful than herself that he could summon elements to battle for him? Destiny seemed to frown a moment, as if chastising the creature.

"She is your Trainer," the woman said, then continued as if sensing either of them willing to protest. "And that doesn't mean she tames you and makes you her slave, if that's what you're thinking. Remember that I am one of the Precursors. Before Digimon existed, Digital Beings like me once did. There are few of us left, but we are the instruments of the Sovereign's will, as well as those who shape both destiny and fate. You were destined to be her partner, long ago, chosen for that very purpose. And she was chosen as well to be yours. The two of you are a perfect match. Her very nature will allow you to become more powerful faster than ever before, to reach new levels you had never dreamed of. But in return, you must guard her, for she holds the key to that which you seek."

Kira and the digimon were completely silent, both seemingly trying to absorb the information that they had been given. The thought of being one of the "Trainers" that Kudamon had talked about made her nervous. What did Destiny mean, she had been chosen? How did they choose? What did they know about her? If Destiny wasn't human and was one of the "Precursors" that came before digimon, then what exactly was she, and how long had she lived? How could someone just determine what someone else did with their lives just like that? The thought of not being in control, of having someone else tell her what she had to do, was terrifying.

"And what do I get outta this?" the voice asked, sounding reluctant.

"I have told you much," Destiny replied with a sigh. "A partner. Power. The ability to gain that which you seek, once the time is right. But more than that, you will find that piece of you that you have felt you are missing. You will have the chance to seek your justice, and no one will be able to stop you from doing that. You will finally be free of your burdens."

For a long while there was silence, and finally the grass seemed to shift, allowing a small figure to step out. Kira was a little surprised to find a creature as tall as a toddler standing in front of her. Purple fur covered most of him, though his three clawed fingers twitched nervously under the red gloves he wore, matching the bandana on his neck. A tail and strangely shaped ears, all twitching, gave him the look of some sort of prankster, a jester perhaps. The fanged smiley face on his chest did little to make her think otherwise. A black button nose was clearly visible on his white face, but it was his eyes that held her attention. The pools of emerald on his face seemed to make him look older, as if he had seen much more than his tiny form let on.

If he had seen those things though, he had either forgotten them (leaving them boiling just beneath the surface), or they had done nothing to change him. He childishly crossed his arms as he glared at her, silently sizing her up as she had just done. She fidgeted a little under his gaze, her finger reaching up to twirl her hair around it without thinking about it. The darkness in his eyes only seemed to darken to her eyes and she quickly looked away. She almost missed the hurt look that flashed across his face for a moment, before he seemed to realize it and shook his head, returning to frowning. Destiny just smiled and stepped over to Kira, holding out her hand.

"Give me your hand," the not-woman said to the girl.

Hesitating a moment, Kira reached out and laid her hand on Destiny's offered one. Her smile widened as he gripped Kira's wrist, gentle enough to allow movement but forceful enough to keep her from spooking and dashing away. Taking a step towards the creature, she smiled and tugged Kira along after her. Kira reluctantly followed, wanting to turn and run. This was a digimon! One of the creatures that had been torturing her kind since long before her birth! Yet she also thought of Kudamon, the creature that had treated her brother like a long lost friend and had been so kind and gentle despite all the things that had happened between their races. Before she knew it, Destiny was pulling her into a kneel in front of the tiny creature.

For a while, the two blinked and seemed to have a silent battle of wills, neither willing to look away in fear that the other would do something they would miss while they did. Kira found herself curious of the creature long before Destiny removed her hand from her wrist in an encouragement to reach forward however. Was this thing really her "reflected soul"? What would happen if she decided to just reach out and touch him. She could see her confusion and curiosity reflected in his eyes, and she slowly reached out towards him. For a moment, he just stood there, before reaching towards her silently as well with more reluctance.

His tiny claws brushed her fingers, and she could feel the fabric beneath her fingers. She marveled at it for a moment, surprised that such a creature could exist. It didn't seem real, as if they had missed so much history that she had never even been aware of. For a moment, the creature's eyes widened, and then narrowed again. It wasn't until a spark seemed to flow between them that the two started. A light seemed to glow between their fingers, drawing both crystalline and emerald eyes down to the strange occurrence. Between it formed a strange object.

The digimon seemed confused at the device, but Kira sucked in a breath as she remembered seeing it before. It was like a small box, filled with a large screen that depicted the digimon standing in front of her on it. Words flashed across the screen, showing what must have been stats of some kind. Unlike the one her brother had carried however, it wasn't white and gold. This one was a dark purple color, with three red buttons set into it at the bottom. It was just above the screen however that she paused in surprise, noticing an odd symbol. It was like a rectangle that had been cut in half, the bottom half shrunk and rotated up to cross the opposite way of the top half.

"Impmon?" she read the largest letters at the top, struggling a little with the words.

"That's my name," the creature huffed. "Don't wear it out."

"Oh," she said, realizing to herself that all digimon's name must end in "Mon", which could be confusing. "My name is Kira."

Impmon just huffed, turning away and leaping into the darkness surrounding them. He disappeared easily into the background and left the startled girl alone with Destiny. The digital being just sighed, before smiling reassuringly and turning back to the girl. She held her hand out to Kira, who slowly took it and allowed her to pull her to her feet. Destiny turned, setting off with a new destination in mind. After hesitating a moment and clutching the device in her hand, she turned and began to run after her to catch up, not really wanting to be found by any other digimon. She was a little upset that Impmon had just blown off her introduction like that, but she was glad that he wasn't hostile towards her at least. It was a small blessing.

"Don't worry," Destiny said. "the two of you are drawn together, a feeling that will grow stronger as your bond closer. He will never be far behind, even if you can't see him. But come. Your journey lies ahead. We have much to discuss."

Kira just shivered as she followed a woman, unsure what else to do. She couldn't return home now, not with a digimon and this device that would surely get her thrown out even if her digimon could apparently disappear into thin air. And calling him "hers" felt wrong in a way, especially if they were supposed to be partners. Despite her unease at the situation, the unknown that lay ahead, Kira truly felt free in the first time since she could remember. She could leave. She could see the world. She could learn. Having her life chosen for her, that wasn't a pleasant thought. But for now, knowing that she was no longer tethered to her home was enough.

Now, if only her company were more willing.

So there's the first chapter. I know, probably not the best. But anyway it helps to set up the rest of the story. What happened with the crystals as well as some of the rest of the plot will begin to be explained in the next chapter, though I definitely won't give away all of my plot at one point. What fun would that be? Don't worry. Kira and Impmon will definitely grow closer as time goes on, but of course nothing is easy with an unwilling digimon around.

I hope you guys enjoyed, and feel free to leave me a review below.