A/N Plot finally starts to truly establish itself, enjoy

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters, there are owned by kishimoto-san

Summary: One fateful night in Konohagakure, the Yondaime Hokage chose his village over his only son; only time will tell if he made the right choice. Feral!Naruto, Pairings to be voted on.

Key: Normal, "Speech" 'Thoughts' "Demon Speech" 'Demon Thoughts'

Chapter 3

I Chose to Listen

Unknown Location

Numb…it was all numb…his body…his mind…his soul…all numb, and soft, and vulnerable, deep within its cage a wicked grin split open like a festering wound.

'Yes…the kit has been broken…kukuku…all that's left…is to pick up the pieces…'

Naruto awoke silently, his movements soft and hesitant, hoping against all reason that he was somewhere safe, that it was all a dream, that he was still back in…

'No…' His mind thought defiantly. 'I'm not going back'

'Never go back, never return'. The voice was hardly more than a whisper, a dark, seductive whisper. He felt he would do whatever that whisper told him to do.Slowly he opened his eyes, two dim pits of blue and black exposed to the world, where once they seemed to illuminate his surroundings, now they sucked in all the light, leaving only darkness.

'Where am I?'

'Away…safe…free'

'Yes…free' He struggled to stand up, only to fall down again. He looked down at his legs; they where thin and brittle, no longer capable of supporting his full weight on their own. He tried to rise again, using his arms to support him as well. Once he was stable he tried to stand up again, only to collapse like the first time. After several minutes of fruitless struggle he decided to simply remain on all fours. He began moving slowly, only to be painfully reminded of his overbearing hunger.

'food'

'Need food…fresh food'

'Fresh food…good food'

'Warm food…fresh meat'

'fresh meat…'

'Prey! Hunt! Kill! Eat!'

'Prey. Hunt. Kill. Eat. Prey. Hunt. Kill. Eat.' The mantra went through his head over and over as he moved slowly. For the first time he looked around, and took in his surroundings. He was in a field, his clothes torn, shredded, and stained with blood. He was surrounded by grass that was taller than he was, when he inhaled he cold smell trees and flowers, when he listened he could hear birds chirping, the wind flowing through the blades of grass, he could hear the rustle of a rabbit moving through the grass. He could feel the snap as he broke its neck, he could taste the glorious blood as he devoured it flesh, he…

'Did I…?' He looked down at the dead animal in his hands; his blood coated hands, however these weren't the hand he was born with. He was sure he didn't have claws before.

'I…killed it…' I painful feeling of guilt washed over him, gnawing at his conscience

'It was food for the stronger, it died so you might live, if you didn't kill it something else wood have, just at a later date. '

'It is…'

'…Food'

'I…'

'Predator'

'I…'

'Eat prey to go on living, that is the way this world works' The young fox boy seemed satisfied by the whispers explanation, his conscience pt to rest on the matter. He returned to eating, ignoring the smears of blood spread across his whiskered face. Tearing off small chunks of meat and swallowing them whole.

"Crunch"

The kitsune jinchuuriki's head snapped up at the noise, he knew it didn't come from him. He flattened his body out against the ground and waited, preparing to fight or flee.

'Predator? Prey? What do I do?' His eyes darted back and forth, trying to locate the source of the noise.

"Hey Toyoshi? Did you see something?" I gruff voice spoke somewhat irritated.

"Nah, just my imagination" A second, younger voice said. This one was carefree and seemed to be amused by something.

"Whatever, lets get back to camp, our shifts over anyway". More crunching could be heard as they walked away from the child's still-form. Once he was sure they where gone he moved, emerging from the blades and looking towards the direction where they left.

'More prey?' He licked his lips in anticipation.

'Strong prey…caution'. Moving silently he quickly sped after them, a look of mad hunger in his eyes. No conscious thoughts passed through his head while he moved, just several hundred subconscious ones, taking in every sound, every scent, leading him towards his new quarry. He was getting closer, he could feel it, he was almost there…

'NO!' He slammed his hand down and stopped moving; barley hidden by a bush, his body shaking, his eyes trembled with fear. In front of him, just past the bush, a clearing, and inside the clearing was over a hundred humans, all moving and talking and shouting and laughing, the laughter, it was that same laugh. Memories flashed unbidden before his eyes, angry faces, vicious shouting, pain, blood, and that sickening, vile laughter, they always laughed, every time. He cowered, praying that he would remain unseen, painfully aware of the difference between they and he. He knew he couldn't even hope to take on a single human the way he was, let alone a whole pack.

'These, to them I am prey' He quietly turned and skulked away, keeping his senses open for another rabbit, and making sure to avoid any of the 'humans'

'But someday, once I am stronger…' His eyes flashed red and an animalistic grin found its way onto his face. 'THEY will be the Prey'

If someone had been watching him, they would have seen he was moving faster than he was before, although that could have been explained by his earlier meal.

It wouldn't have explained his now slitted eyes however…

Several years later

A young blonde man woke up to find himself lying, naked in an empty field, his skin was deathly pale and he had to struggle to move.

'What did he mean…what deal did I break?" He thought to himself, confused. Slowly, painfully, he began the process of moving limbs that felt like they'd never even touched a day's work, and a body that had never seen the light of day. He was as feeble as a new born. He opened his eyes cautiously; they however, had seen more than their share of events, plenty more…

Japanese

Kitsune-fox

Jinchuuriki- lit: power of human sacrifice, a demon container

Toyoshi-random name I made up may or may not mean something.

A/N And…cut, great work everyone, the focus is going to go off Naruto for a little while and back too Konoha, you've got 3-4 more chapters before I close the polls, at the moment…

NaruHina 4

NaruAnko 4

NaruTen 4

NaruKur 1

NaryHana 2

NaruShizu 1

Along with 2 votes of NotHinata, and one vote for KillHinata. Keep in mind I'm ignoring these, I just find them amusing,

For the record, the following are NOT options

Anyfiller girls

Temari

Ino

Anyones Mom

Any non-ninja

Any guys

FemHaku

FemKyuubi

Tsunade

Ayame

Tayuya

Kin

Rin

You (I'm serious, stop voting for this)