Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha in any way, shape, or form.

This is the sequel to Help Me, I recommend reading that first to get background information on the characters and the situation of the well.

Chapter 1: The Man

Sakura loved her family, but having to baby-sit her younger brother was a cruel and unusual punishment. Sakura was certain her mother asked for this favor just to get away from the little terror named Taisho for the afternoon.

"Come on, Sakura," whined Taisho, "just because you are an old maid doesn't give you an excuse to lag behind." He was currently bouncing on his toes as a silent reminder of his boredom.

Sakura bristled at the insult, her gold eyes flashing in anger. "You little brat. I am only eighteen, not an old maid. I just don't want any suitors. Mother said I could marry whomever and whenever I wanted. I decided the village idiots aren't worth my time years ago."

"You know Daddy would beat up anybody who dared to ask you to court. All the idiots are smart for leaving you alone." Taisho giggled at his older sister's expense as he skipped around her.

Sakura shook her head. "Father would respect my wishes; he may whine and complain about it, but he would. Don't go running off again." Sakura sprinted after her hyper five-year-old brother as he dashed away. Grumbling under her breath she pushed away tree branches in an attempt to find the wayward child.

"Taisho," she called, "if you really wanted to play all you had to do was ask. You know I will win, Father finished my hunting training last year." Sakura stood silently in a clearing of the woods, waiting for a clue to her brother's hiding place.

The two siblings often played in Inuyasha's forest, the unofficial name for the forest; it was the closest wilderness to their village, and the perfect setting for hunting games. Sakura stalked through the trees before she chose one and leapt up into the branches. A faint squeak signaled her victory.

"No fair," whined Taisho as Sakura carried him down from the branches. "Daddy already trained you in forest skills. I don't get to start until next month."

"It's your own fault for starting it," retorted Sakura, "I am older, but you have more demon blood. It should come more naturally to you."

Taisho pouted as he was placed on the ground. "Yeah but you have more of Mommy's priestess power, that is why she's training you now."

Sakura gently plucked leaves out of her dark hair before starting on her brother's white tresses. "True, but that doesn't mean I will forget about my demon abilities. Now let's head back home. Mother will need help preparing dinner tonight, and maybe Father will play with you."

Taisho jumped in excitement, but his gray eyes sparkled with mischievousness. "Fine, but I want to race you to the well first." Without warning he sprinted away again. Sakura laughed at his attempt to postpone returning to chores. "Taisho, get back here. You know you are supposed to stay with me. No running ahead." Sakura waited for his answer but heard nothing, until a faint voice yelled at her to come quickly.

"Taisho," grumbled Sakura, "if you have gotten hurt I will kill you." She continued muttering faint obscenities under her breath as she pushed underbrush out of her way.

Taisho stood at the lip of the well, a look of concentration on his face; he was staring intently at something at the bottom. "Sakura, I think there is someone down there."

Sakura shook her head at her younger brother's query. "Taisho, that's impossible. The smell is probably from everyone that comes here. And nobody can come through; the well was sealed twenty years ago. Mother would know if anything happened to break the seal."

"No, I really mean it, I think there is a man down there. Come look, Sakura."

Sakura mumbled under her breath about difficult brats but walked forward to peer over the edge. "Oh my goodness, there is someone down there. Wait here, I will get them out."

Taisho backed away as Sakura leapt down the well. A few swear words from the well later; Sakura appeared with someone draped over her shoulders.

Taisho shook his head at his sister's vocabulary. "Mommy will not be happy to hear that you have been listening to Daddy swear."

Sakura shot him a pointed look before dropping her burden. "Taisho, do you have any idea how little maneuvering room is down there. We're lucky I didn't break any limbs or bash his head coming back up."

Taisho seemed unconcerned about his sister's woes and instead was fascinated about the newcomer. "It's a man, Sakura. Why would a man be at the bottom of the well?"

"I don't know, Taisho. He could be from the future, like Mother was."

"Do you think he knows Mommy? Maybe he is here to bring her back. I don't want to lose Mommy." Taisho burst into tears at the idea.

Sakura reached over the unconscious man to pull her brother into a hug. "Calm down, Taisho. If Mother, the greatest priestess ever, could not break the spell on the well and return to her time, then I doubt anyone from the future could. Besides, this guy looks more like he fell down then was trying to get through."

Taisho glanced at the battered man. "Maybe we should bring him back to the village. Mommy may know what is going on, and she can heal him. Mommy can heal anything."

Sakura smiled faintly as she lifted the man again to carry him back. "Taisho, I mean it this time, no running ahead. I can't run with this guy, he may get even more hurt."

Taisho nodded at her request and they set off for the village.

Kagome was getting frustrated; even worse, she was livid. Sakura had better have a good explanation for this delay. She was supposed to be back over an hour ago with her brother. They can't have gotten too far into the forest, so what is the problem. It is not possible for them to be lost around here.

The priestess paced around the inside of her home. Dinner is ready, no thanks to my procrastinating children. Someone had better be hurt; if it's another kidnapping I'll just sic Inuyasha on the perpetrators and sit back to watch the carnage. An injury can be explained; leaving me here to worry is inexcusable.

"Inuyasha," she called as she exited the hut. "Any sign of our wayward children?" Inuyasha bounded down from his perch on the roof to comfort his distressed wife.

"Kagome, I can still smell remnants of them. They are still in the area; and there are no unexplained demon scents."

"I know, Inuyasha, I haven't felt any demon presences either. But something still could have happened."

Inuyasha smiled at his wife of nineteen years. "You still look the same," he murmured. "Just as beautiful; no wonder Sakura scares all the village boys, she is way out of their leagues."

Kagome swatted affectionately in his direction. "That is a good side effect to being a half-demon. But no trying to distract me, I am still worried. And those village boys are just scared of how you and Sakura could kill them in your sleep without trying."

The tender moment was broken by an energetic bundle of energy. "Mommy," squealed Taisho, running up to jump on Kagome, "Sakura and I found a man. Well I found him, she just carried him."

Kagome hugged her youngest tightly. "You are late, mister. No excuses, that means extra chores tomorrow to make up for the ones you missed tonight." However, she ruined the severe punishment by giving the scolding with a smile and a kiss. She paused in her ministrations as the full implications of what he said sunk in. "Wait a minute, do you say you found a man?"

Taisho nodded and pointed at Sakura coming down the road. "I followed my nose liked Daddy says and there the man was." Sakura was carrying a body carefully as to not jostle him. Kagome turned to Taisho for explanations. "And where did you find this mystery man?"

"Inside the well, Mother." Sakura answered as she brushed past her family to deposit the man inside the house. Inuyasha pulled out a spare sleeping mat so Sakura could carefully drop the unconscious body. "He was just lying there at the bottom of the well. I think he may have come through like you did."

Kagome swiftly set about cataloging the many injuries and treating the more serious afflictions. Inuyasha began questioning the man's origins. "What makes you think he is from the future?"

"There were no other recent scents to identify anyone that could of pushed him in the well. He was lying as if he fell instead of jumped; he probably hit his head falling, that explains the continued unconsciousness." Sakura answered concisely.

Kagome nodded at the assessment. "He does have a concussion, and a most likely broken left arm. I will need to set that, but not until he wakes. The cuts and bruises are mostly superficial. It is the head injury that worries me."

Inuyasha squinted at the man's face. "Does he look familiar to you, Kagome? Maybe he is someone from your time."

Kagome shook her head. "He is dressed like a shrine caretaker. My grandfather was our caretaker, however, it has been twenty years since I last saw anyone in that time. Our guest would probably have been about ten when I left." Her voice trailed off as her face paled.

"Mommy, what's wrong?" Taisho asked from his father's lap.

Kagome stared at the mystery man. "He looks like my brother, Souta. Or at least how Souta could have grown up to look like, and he is around the same age."

"He smells like you, Mother." Sakura added. "It is different, but he may be a relation."

Inuyasha nodded at the revelation. "It could be your brother, but how did he end up through the well? I thought it was permanently sealed."

Kagome responded. "The well has never been totally predictable. The only way to know for sure is to ask him."

"So ask, Mommy, the man is waking up." Taisho pointed at the now groaning man. Kagome rushed over to assist him in sitting up so that he didn't hurt himself any more. "You should not overexert yourself," she scolded, "your body has been through a lot recently."

The man blinked rapidly at her face, confusion evident. "Who are you? And how did I get here?"

Inuyasha sighed. "It's never easy is it? My name is Inuyasha; this is my wife, Kagome, and our two children, Sakura and Taisho. We were hoping you could tell us how you got here."

"We found you at the bottom of a well." Taisho exclaimed. "You are really lucky we came by."

Kagome placed a calming hand on her overexcited son's shoulder. "Do you remember what happened?"

The man nodded his head. "There was a building, I was inside with at least two others. One of them reached out towards me, he pushed me. Why would someone push me into a well?"

Kagome shrugged. "Who knows? Do you remember anything else?"

The man closed his eyes. "It was dark, there were lamps hanging. The air was musty and stale. The one that pushed me had glowing red eyes, and he laughed right before I fell. He said something, goodbye I think."

"You were probably attacked by demons, they broke your arm and tried to kill you. It looks more natural if you die from a fall than from multiple claw slashes. That means demons would not be blamed for your disappearance." Inuyasha interjected.

Kagome reached over to whack Inuyasha on the back of his head. "Really, do you have to discuss things like that in front of our impressionable five year old?" Inuyasha snorted but did not reply.

The man started out of his thoughts. "My name is Mouse; the one that pushed me, he said 'Goodbye, Mouse'."