A/N: And we are on to Chapter Five! Woot! Sorry for not updating last week but Jess and I went on a church retreat thing and didn't have access to an internet connection! So I'll try to make up with a longer than usual chapter…..Key word is try. And don't expect too much because Katsucon is coming up soon and I have to finish my costume

DISCLAIMER: All proper pronouns do not belong to me…..*pout*

Kurogane trudged up the skimpy trial that was leading him towards the building. His feet were sore, he was terribly hungry and thirsty. But most of all he was lonely. It was funny to admit it to himself but he was beginning to miss the annoying chatter that normally followed him when he traveled with Sakura, Syaoran and Fai. Heck, he was even beginning to miss the mere presence of that white fluff ball, Mokona. The forest was quieting as the sky above began to dark with the coming of night. Forest creatures began to settle down and prepare for the sleepiness of the approaching dark.

Kurogane began to slow down. It wasn't smart to travel at night. That's when the dangerous things crept out and prowled under the moon. And in this strange place, those things were bound to be much more perilous then anything Kurogane was used to. He began to examine his surroundings, searching for a suitable resting spot. He came upon a hollowed out trunk of a tree, eaten away by termites and other insects. There was just a big enough crack in the rotting bark for him to slip through. Inside the tree, it was dark and rather cozy. Kurogane settled himself down and leaned his head back and soon fell into a deep and dreamless sleep.

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Sooner then he liked, Kurogane was awoken by the sounding of running footsteps. He scrambled out of the tree, brushing the dirt and grass off of his clothes and body. He ran up to the path just in time to see that damn bunny boy turn around the bend in the road. What the hell? Hadn't that kid been ahead of him? Kurogane sprinted after the boy. He turned the bend and ran smack into a white wall. He landed flat on his butt, hands cradling his bruised head. He looked upward and realized that the wall wasn't actually a wall but instead a gigantic picket fence. He got to his feet and walked around the post, gazing up at the towering house that lay beyond the fence.

He stared at the humongous building, wondering how on earth he was going to get there and how going there was going to help him find the White Rabbit. He took a few steps forward and immediately tripped over a stone, landing against the unmercifully hard ground. The package that Ashura had given him skittered away from him, the brown paper ripping slightly. Kurogane picked himself up, quickly examining himself for injuries and satisfied that nothing was harmed, retrieved the box. Bright blue packaging peeked out from the plain tan paper and Kurogane curiously tore away the rest of the concealing wrappings.

It was a sweets box. White, glittery font declared the inside content to be Celes's Size Changing Candy: Guaranteed Results. Confused, he popped open the box and peered inside. The box was divided into two compartments: on the right side there were green candies that each said in small print Bigger and on the left side were the same type of candies except that they had a blue hue and stated Smaller. Kurogane looked back up at the unrealistically sized mansion and then back at the box.

Oh what the hell, he had already changed sizes several times, and eaten several mysterious food items. What's one more? He picked up one of the green tablets and placed in gingerly in his mouth. He grimaced, squeezing his eyes shut, oh how he hated sweets. The candy dissolved in his mouth and he swallowed hard, shuddering. He blinked open his eyes. The mansion was still huge but this time he could tell that it was proportionally correct with his size. Tucking the box of sweets back into his apron pocket, he walked up to the front door of the mansion and pulled the rope that connected to a bell.

Moments later a rather harassed looking maid answered the door. Kurogane almost fell backward with surprise, "S-Soma?"

Soma tilted her head to the side, a confused expression marring her normally placid face. "Sir, do I know you?" Kurogane paused; things were making a little more sense. This was another world. And this wasn't his world's Soma but another with the same face.

"Um, I've seen you around before…." Kurogane lied, hoping that this Soma wasn't as bright as the original. The girl looked unimpressed but let it slide, "Can I help you?"

"This is going to sound a little strange but a guy, his name was Ashura, told me to come here for help. I'm looking for a short guy with bunny ears. I have reason to believe that he passed this way."

The maid raised an eyebrow and opened her mouth, probably to send him away with a curt good-bye but was interrupted by a harsh child's cry from behind her. She whipped around and disappeared into the house, leaving the door wide open. Kurogane was about to follow but paused, what he was about to do couldn't be considered breaking and entering, could it? He hadn't been invited but neither had he been turned away. Besides he reasoned with himself, he needed an answer of some sort.

He entered the home and followed the sound of the crying which was now being accompanied by a shrill shrieking that sounded vaguely familiar. He soon found himself in a rather crowded kitchen. There were pots and pans cooking, flour flying in the air while Soma bustled around, checking the overflowing items in their various stages of cooking, all the while yelling instructions at a rather small girl in the corner of the kitchen who was holding a shrieking baby bundle.

"Duchess, please! Do something about your child! I need to finish this in time for the Queen's party!"

The girl whipped her head side to side, dark hair flying in ringlet waves, "My darling is sick, Soma, and all you care about is the Queen's stupid party! And you know I have no idea what to do with him!" The Duchess caught sight of Kurogane in the doorway and stared at him. Kurogane blanched and couldn't stop the cry escape from his lips, "Your majesty!"

He should have seen this coming, in all the other worlds he's been too, where Soma was, Tomoyo wasn't far behind. The young girl stared up at him silently and then, "You there, warrior!"

"Huh? Me?" Kurogane asked as Soma glared daggers at him but continued with her preparations for the party.

"Yes, you! Where are you bounded?"

"Well, I'm actually looking for a person and was wondering if you could help me find him."

"Such a bold quest warrior, very courageous indeed. I fear I cannot help you as I have never set foot outside my humble home but I plead with you, will you take my child with you? He is cursed with such a sickness that I cannot cure and I fear for his life! Please take him to some doctor won't you!" The girl had marched up to him and stood, eyes pleading and Kurogane could sense that she was on the verge of tears.

Soma dropped a plate and cursed as it shattered on the floor, ignoring it as she grabbed Kurogane by the ear and hauled him to the front door, Tomoyo trailing behind, wailing like the child that she was still carrying.

"Soma, I demand that you let him go!"

"Duchess, you're not making this any easier! Obviously this man is a trouble maker and I refuse to let you give him your child!" Soma almost roared as she bodily thrust Kurogane out of the door and slammed it shut behind her. Kurogane was still standing there, blinking in stunned silence when the door burst open again and Tomoyo appeared and shoved the baby into Kurogane's hands. She crashed the door closed again and there was an audile click of the lock as well as Soma shrieking her head off.

The noises ceased and Kurogane attempted to open to door but to no avail. He knocked a couple times as well, each thump louder then the last. He even rang the door bell again. No one came to answer; it was as if the mistress and the maid had disappeared. He cradled the child carefully, pulling back the blanket to get a good look at his new charge. A small kitten-ish creature blinked dazedly back at him, mewing slightly. It started to squirm and wriggle in his arms. Kurogane tried to keep it still but it got some leverage under its legs and bounded out of his arms, the cloth wrapping falling to the ground. It landed lightly on its feet and dashed away from the mansion.

"Shit!" Kurogane cursed as he chased after it. Soon they were back on the trail that Kurogane had previously been wandering along the night before. Right before they reached a fork in the path, two tiny, fragile looking wings appeared on the creatures back and it took off, disappearing straight into the woods.

Kurogane slowed down, huffing from the chase, and gazed disappointedly through the brush. As bad as he felt for failing a request from Tomoyo, that thing could take care of itself with wings like those. He stood up straight, turning his attention to his new dilemma: which path to take.

"Lose something?"

A/N: Ah, a semi-cliffy! Guess who's coming up next! I really wanted to use the Alice in Wonderland 1999 version of that last line but I couldn't find my copy of it and Youtube wasn't helping me. So you guys know the drill hopefully if you read Fanfiction as much as I do: read and review! Next chapter should be up next week!