Chapter One: Ninja-Cats, Fate, and Family

"Yellowfang?"

She turned at the sound of her name. His voice was puzzled, and uncommonly open- perhaps even friendly- and that made the old she-cat smile just a bit, showing her yellowing teeth just a tiny amount.

"Why have you brought me here? Is the Clan in danger?"

She chuckled. Funny how the living cats she spoke to always seemed to assume that. "No, no, your Clan is fine, and will be for a while, don't worry about that." …As far as we know, anyway, she thought but didn't say.

"No, the problem right now rests very, very far away from here. You might even say it's in another world."

He blinked, his blue orbs glowing with interest. "Another… world? What do you mean? How is that even possible?"

She chuckled again. Even his smug little self couldn't take that one without batting an eye, eh? Heh. "I mean exactly as I said. It's a whole other world, where everything you know- the forest, the lake, the Tribe's lands, your Clan, everything- does not exist." Goodness, this was difficult to explain.

"Well, then how do you know about it? Can StarClan watch the skies there, too?" Ah, his spunk was back. "What are the cats like there? Is it terrible? What's the problem? Are you sure you're not just making this up to mess with me?"

"Of course not, you insolent little mouse-brain! Now quit your mindless yapping and let me explain." Her own tongue of spikes wasn't famous for nothing. "We know about it because our worlds are connected. All worlds protected by warriors are connected in one way or another. This is just one of the many we know about. As for your second question, yes, we can. Remember that, it will be important to you later. "

He opened his mouth to inquire further, but she cut him off. "Uh-uh! No more questions from you. Quiet down and let me explain it to you properly."

He shut his mouth and nodded gruffly, obviously having learned by now that arguing with Yellowfang was not a smart idea, even for him. She grinned. "Thank you. Now then. This land is at war with itself, to put it in the most basic of terms. It has… clans, but not as you think of them. Their clans are families, generally very large ones. What you would think of as Clans are called villages, and there are five of them: Leaf, Sand, Rock, Mist, and Cloud."

He blinked in confusion. "LeafClan, SandClan, RockClan, MistClan, and CloudClan?"

She shook her head in frustration. "No, no! Didn't I just tell you they were called villages, not Clans? In particular, they're called hidden villages, and are known as the Village Hidden in the Leaves, the Village Hidden in the Sand… you get the idea."

He nodded. "More like the Tribe's name, then," he muttered. "I see."

She mrrowed in amusement. "Indeed. And they are more like a Tribe, in a way. You really are a sharp one, eh, Jayfeather?"

He rolled his eyes. "All right, get on with it. You don't have to flatter me to get me to do what you want."

She laughed again, but continued. "Well. The villages aren't fighting each other, if that's what you think- they're actually all cooperating, which is rare- so that's not the problem. They are at war with a large, dangerous, and very, very skilled force. They fight together and they aren't in much immediate danger of destruction, but they need help. Warriors are dying, families are being ripped apart, and they can't stop it." She paused for effect, and then continued, "What they need is not fighting force or skill- no, they have enough of that right under their noses- but they need a… push in the right direction, so to speak."

"And I am that push?" Jayfeather guessed.

Yellowfang smiled at him. "Well… the four of you that we're sending, yes."

He narrowed his eyes. "Four of us?"

She nodded. "I think you can fill the first three in on your own."

His tail twitched and his ears flicked in interest. "Oh. I see. All right, then. Who's lucky number four? Anyone I know?"

"Well, you must get to know them. That's kind of the point." Now her tail was swishing as well… and what was that in her tone…?

"Huh?" he said simply, eyes blank.

"Well, now, little Jayfeather," Yellowfang meowed seriously. Yep, that was definitely mockery in her voice. "You simply must explore your newfound family ties!"

He blinked once.

Twice.

Three times.

And then he screeched at her. "WHAT? Him? Oh, no. Oh, no no no. No way, no how. Dealbreaker, for Lionblaze more than myself, but as he's not here to protect his interests… No. Absolutely not."

Yellowfang just grinned, showing all her teeth. "I think you're forgetting something." Lowering her head so she was nose-to-nose with the raving young medicine cat, she leered at him, dark humor in her gaze. "StarClan, remember?"

"What is that supposed to-?"

Poof!

"Ahhh, peace and quiet," Yellowfang sighed contentedly.

"You could have been a bit nicer about that, you know," a sweet voice called reproachfully.

The old she-cat turned, grinning, to face the smaller tortoiseshell femme who was stepping form the bushes. "Sorry, couldn't resist,
she chuckled, then sobered up to glance at the younger cat seriously. "So, I take it she's on her way as well, then?"

The tortoiseshell nodded fretfully. "Poor dear, she was so confused… I tried to explain as best I could without… well, you know."

Yellowfang nodded. "Yeah. He certainly had a lot of questions, heh."

"You have no idea," came a third, tired voice.

"'Lo, Feathertail! Do tell, do tell!" Yellowfang greeted the third arrival excitedly.

The pale gray she-cat shook her head, smiling gently. "Oh, you don't even want to know," she said, sighing. "Poor thing. He doesn't have much experience with messages from us, so it's only natural he was confused and curious."

After that, they all three fell silent for a while, just staring up at the moon that hung low and crescent-shaped in the sky. Finally, Feathertail spoke up. "Do you think he's doing all right?" she inquired anxiously. "He's sure taking a while."

"I'm sure he's fine," Yellowfang comforted her. "He did have the toughest case, you know."

At that, Feathertail couldn't help but laugh. "That's for sure! He's a little piece of work, all right."

"But he'll have to cooperate just as much as the other three if they hope to succeed," Spottedleaf said quietly. The other two nodded, and the trio fell silent, once again pondering the moon.

The fate of the shinobi world- and, unbeknownst to all but on old geezer of a cat, the warrior world as well- now rested in the hands of the universe's first ever cats-turned-ninjas.

.x.x.x.x.

Whew! Done! That was the longest first chapter/prologue/thing I think I've ever written. I love it though… It was a ton of fun to write. :3

Well! You now know the nature of the plot in a more detailed manner than the summary… but I still consider this a lead-up to the next chapter, though I call that one 'chapter two'; it's where the plot really takes off. Anyway, enough of my rambling! I have a little contest! Whoever can correctly guess first who "lucky number four" is gets… a hug, a cookie, and a special mention in the AN next chapter. :3 Because they'll all be in the next chapter.

Well, guess I better let you go… please review! 'Cha!

-Dawny