A.N. Hey guys! Thank you so much for the reviews, especially those from Namna-dono (i lovelovelove Bisuke!) and Almiaranger!

Now, this chapter is kind've a filler, but it's my fav so far! and now, because i know hardly anyone reads the author notes...

ENJOY!

Three

Kakashi nudged the door to his house open with his shoulder, and once again stood back as the pack of dogs pushed past to enter his home. "Stay off the bed!" Kakashi called after the retreating canines, shaking his head slightly as they scattered through the rooms.

Looking down at the boy in his arms, Kakashi frowned slightly at all the mud and crap that was sticking to him. A clean up was in order, he decided, moving forward into the room and kicking the door shut behind him.

Walking through the house, Kakashi rolled his eyes at the way his dogs had staked their claim in front of the fireplace, even though it wasn't on. The thick, soft rug before it was wonderful to lie on, as Kakashi well knew.

Entering the bathroom, Kakashi paused and looked critically at the clothing on the boy. It was disgusting, all muddy and torn, and it didn't look like it had been in great condition even before he had taken the dive into the river.

"I suppose you won't mind me getting rid of them, eh?" he murmured, shifting the boy a bit higher up. The boy's face fell back and his lips parted, and Kakashi felt the tiniest breath of cool air brush over his cheek. He chuckled softly and moved forward, carefully lowering himself to sit on the edge of the oversized bath tub.

As he rested the smaller person on his lap and leaned forward to drop the plug into the bottom, he felt a sudden shudder wrack the small body. A nearly silent whimper startled him, and he pulled back to eye the body cradled against him. Though the boy's eyes were still closed, his lips were twisted as though he was in pain. Kakashi automatically reached a hand up and gently pushed his hair off his face, revealing a ragged slash running parallel to his hairline. Luckily, it wasn't bleeding, but Kakashi frowned as he eyed the jagged edges of the nasty little cut. He ran his finger across the unmarred skin belong the cut, and smiled softly as the boy relaxed under the gentle ministrations.

"There's a good boy," he said softly, smirking as he recalled multiple incidents when he spoke to his dogs in the same tone. Leaning forward, he turned the taps on and fiddled with the dials, running his hand through the flow before he was satisfied with the warm water that began to fill the tub. Sitting back, he waited until the tub was half full before switching off the taps and turning his attention back to his unexpected charge.

Eyeing the simple tee shirt the boy was sporting, Kakashi found a rather large tear near his left shoulder, and reached for it. Steadying the smaller body against his chest, he carefully gripped the torn edges before firmly wrenching them apart. He smirked slightly as the edges of the shirt stretched out, parting to reveal a painfully thin and filthy torso. Kakashi ignored the bare skin and set about slipping the destroyed shirt over the shoulders and down the arm not currently trapped against him. Once done with that arm he pulled the rag off the other arm and dropped it on the tiles, grimacing slightly at the wet 'plop'.

Kakashi leant the boy back so he could undo the jeans, popping the button and sliding the zip down. The jeans hung loosely and Kakashi carefully lifted the boy to drag them down. He paused as he spied the boxers, but with a glance at the unconscious face he shrugged and dragged them off as well.

Not bothering to look at the naked body reclined in his arms, Kakashi turned and carefully lowered him into the warm water. He cradled the back of the boy's neck with his right hand and began to gently wash the small body. His frown deepened as he saw just how many of the dark marks on the boy's body was actually bruising and not mud as he had first thought. As the once clear water began to resemble the river he had found him in, Kakashi turned his attention to the youth's face and hair.

Dipping a face cloth into the now lukewarm water, the tall man set about removing the mud and who knew what else that was caked to the boy's face. As more patches of skin were revealed, Kakashi came to the conclusion that the textured line running over the boy's nose was not, in fact, a particularly stubborn strand of muddy reed. Kakashi eyed the clean face before him, gaze running over the rather large scar that bisected the otherwise unblemished face.

"Hmm..." he hummed, running a finger across the slim line. "I bet you've got some stories to tell," he murmured, absently flexing the hand that was keeping the boy's head out of the water. But as he did so he felt his fingers become tangled in the still matted hair. Frowning slightly, Kakashi leant forward.

How could they get stuck in his hair? It's barely past his ears...

As he inspected the matted strands of hair, Kakashi spied something that looked a bit too... thick to be hair.

A hair tie? Interesting...

Carefully untangling his fingers, Kakashi set about removing the piece of elastic. After a few minutes, he gave a frustrated growl and gave it a sharp twist, snapping it with ease.

Yeah, take that you worthless piece of rubber!

Smirking happily, Kakashi pulled the broken hair tie from the tangled strands, letting them fall down to their natural length. Kakashi gently tilted the boy's head back, watching in near fascination as the now rather long hair floated in the water.

"I always did like long hair," he said softly, smiling at the long, filthy lochs that were begging him to wash them. At least, that's what he told himself as he gave into the urge and lowered the boy's head back into the water, submerging his hair completely.

Kakashi began scrubbing at the boy's scalp, grimacing slightly as the almost black filth began to permeate the water. Lifting the dripping strands from the water Kakashi inspected them.

A brunet, huh? Makes sense. I couldn't tell under all that mud...man, this is pretty soft hair, even when it's filthy...

Letting go of the hair, Kakashi reached down and pulled out the plug, waiting patiently as the filthy water began to recede down the drain, revealing the naked body he was currently in control of.

Frowning, Kakashi ignored the bruises and eyed the boy's physique critically. He was much too skinny, considering his height and... physical development. But that wasn't the current problem, he reminded himself, dismissing the thoughts of possible malnutrition and turning his gaze to the network of bruises. Pausing, Kakashi carefully reached forward and ran his hand over a particularly nasty looking bruise that had taken up the lower right side of the boy's rib cage. Gently pressing, Kakashi gave a small sigh of relief when he encountered resistance.

Well, at least he hasn't got any broken ribs. All these bruises, though, are gonna give him a tonne of pain if he doesn't take it easy, Kakashi thought to himself, mentally cataloguing the multitudes of bruises covering the overly thin body.

Leaning forward, Kakashi grabbed the bottles of shampoo and conditioner tucked against the far wall. Squirting a decent amount of the shampoo into his palm, Kakashi set about lathering the boy's hair, making sure he got it worked right into the scalp. Paying special care to not getting any of the lather into the cut on the boy's forehead, Kakashi turned on the tap to rinse the soap from the hair. Repeating the process with the conditioner, Kakashi turned off the tap for the last time and looked at the body lying in his bathtub.

Standing, the silver haired man moved towards a cupboard set into the wall, and opening it he grabbed one of his overly large towels. Shutting the door, he moved back over to the bath and contemplated how he was to go about getting the wet youth out of his bathtub and dried. Humming softly, Kakashi kicked the still soggy clothes into a corner and laid the towel down flat on the tiles. He then reached down and slotted his arms under the boy and lifted carefully, balancing with ease as he slid forward and fell against his chest, further dampening his already wet shirt.

Kakashi chuckled as he carefully set the boy on the towel and wrapped the ends around him snugly. He looked so small! It wasn't just the fact that it was one of his many over sized towels, but the way in which the material encased him brought to mind a small infant nestled in his crib. That is, if the crib were made of near black tiles, and the infant scarred with a full head of hair...

Now he was getting off topic.

Shaking his head to dispel his wandering thoughts, Kakashi grabbed another towel off a nearby hook and quickly dried the boy's hair, before tossing it over to join the growing pile of dirty washing. Scooping up the boy, Kakashi stood effortlessly, and moved back into his living area. He paused in the middle of the lounge room and eyed the couch critically, then glanced towards the bedroom.

The bed is bigger... but the couch is closer to everything... but the bedroom has the med kit... much more important. I can always move him if I need to, he's not really heavy.

Nodding decisively, Kakashi turned and headed towards the bedroom, ignoring the curious gazes of his dogs. Nudging the door open with his foot, Kakashi moved forward and set the boy down on his bed. Standing, he contemplated the towel-wrapped form for a moment, before turning and moving to the small cupboard. Opening it, he reached it and took hold of the rather large green canvas bag that was taking up a good quarter of the floor space.

Kakashi set the bag on the bed and opened it, immediately digging for where he kept his bruise balm. Pulling out a surprisingly large earthenware pot, Kakashi set it beside the comatose occupant of his bed. A pile of stretchy bandages soon joined the pot.

"Okay then, time to treat those sores of yours," he muttered absently, reaching over and carefully exposing the abused body once more. Frowning slightly, Kakashi began applying the ointment to all the bruising he could find, liberally smearing it on the darker skin. Once he had finished the front, paying especial care to the ribs, he placed one hand on the boy's shoulder and the other on his hip and gently eased the boy onto his front. A pensive frown came to his face as he eyed the damage.

He looks like he went a dozen rounds with a cement wall, he grumbled, when his gaze fell on a particularly nasty looking welt on the boy's lower back.

"Damn," Kakashi murmured, running his finger over the raised, angry looking flesh. It was dark, almost black, but the lumps he could feel were what caused him to worry. "I hope you didn't manage to damage your spine, kid. That's a bit out of my league." He then carefully smoothed a large dollop of his cream over the bruise, gently massaging the abused flesh. Through sheer willpower and a desire to let the boy have a semblance of modesty, he only did a cursory job of applying the cream to the boy's ass and upper thighs. As he worked his way down the boy's legs, he spied a difference between his ankles. One was rather small and relatively bruise free, but the other had nearly doubled in size.

Kakashi quickly but carefully ran his hands over the swollen joint, he let his shoulders sag in relief. It wasn't broken, but it was quite possibly one of the worst sprains he had ever seen.

Leaning over the bed, he grabbed a pillow and placed it under the foot, deciding to let the swelling go down before he did anything with it.

Finally finished, Kakashi ran his gaze over the frightfully small body passed out on his bed, and nodded slightly. Standing, he carefully pulled the sheets and doona over the form, tucking it around him to keep him warm.

Turning, Kakashi pulled the curtains closed and switched off the light, enveloping the room in darkness. Leaving the door half open so he would hear if his unexpected guest were to wake up, Kakashi headed to the kitchen to see what he had in his food supplies.

After all, it had been a while since he checked. It wasn't to make something nice for the guy. It really wasn't.

A.N. Hi! So what did you all think? personally i liked the part where kakashi breaks iruka's hair tie :P

now, im really sorry to say this, but i probably wont be able to update for a little while. I'm getting the results of whether or not i get accepted into the uni course on thurday, and on the same day two of my nephews and my niece are coming to stay for a few days, and they're all under seven! argh, this next week is gonna be a nightmare...

but you could cheer me up by reviewing ^.^