This was originally in the chapter I'm currently writing for Hound's Release but I decided it really doesn't fit. Because of that it's not really a complete story, but I liked it anyway so I'm posting it.

o0o

Iruka mustered up a small, bemused smile. "Raidō, why are you doing this?"

He was kneeling before a low table in the special jōnin's living room that was heaped high with food. Baked goods, to be exact. And Raidō, covered head to foot in flour and what may or may not have been cocoa powder, was in the kitchen baking more. Iruka didn't think he'd ever seen so many cakes and sweets at one time in his life.

"It's PMS," Genma said helpfully, spearing a small star-shaped cookie with his senbon and taking a bite out of it.

"PMS?" Iruka repeated. "Isn't that what females get?"

Raidō tipped his current tray of cookie onto the table and whacked Genma on the head with the now empty tray. "I am not a girl."

Genma rubbed his head and looked put out. "I wasn't saying that. Oh, wait, it's not PMS. It's PMSR. Post Mission Stress Reduction." He looked inordinately pleased with himself for remembering. "Raidō's been stressed lately because of your Pervert Boy, right Rai-baby?"

Raidō crossed his arms over his chest, looking thoroughly ticked off. "I'm not stressed."

Genma danced an elaborately iced gingerbread man in front of his face, grinning. "Hokage-cookie says differently."

Raidō's expression took on a murderous quality. Iruka decided it was best to step in before Genma lost a limb or three. "Baking's a pretty good stress relief, as far as they go. A lot healthier than Asuma-san's smoking, anyway."

"Or Genma's violent sexual tendencies," Raidō spat, then seemed to deflate a little. "Sorry, Gen."

Genma shrugged. "What do you do, Iruka-sensei? I guess you don't take a lot of missions but you've probably been more screwed over than all of us put together in the last couple of months."

Iruka rubbed his scar thoughtfully. "Well, I guess I usually just do more work to keep my mind occupied until I crash."

"Pssh, that's not very entertaining," Genma said, taking a bite out of the Tsunade cookie.

"That's not for you," Raidō snarled, snatching it out of his hand only to notice that the honourable Hokage no longer had a head. He handed it back with a sigh. "Never mind. Just don't eat any more."

Iruka looked thoughtful. "Wait, you weren't baking last time you were stressed."

Raidō sighed. "That's because Genma thinks it's amusing to lie to you. I don't have any post mission stress issues."

"And if he does he gets rid of them by pounding me into the mattress, right Rai? Or the wall, or the table," Genma offered helpfully. "Or the shower, or the kitchen bench," he added. "He's not picky."

Iruka's cheeks tinted the slightest shade of pink, and he decidedly ignored the long-haired jōnin. "But then why are you baking?"

"Kurenai's set up some sort of bake sale thing to raise money for the orphanage and she roped me into helping," Raidō explained. "I was poisoned on my last mission and I have to stay in the village for the next two weeks just to make sure it's all gone from my system, so she's exploiting me while I'm down."

Iruka's eyes widened. "The orphanage! I was supposed to -"

Raidō held up a hand. "No, you're not supposed to do anything. You had other things to worry about."

Iruka bit his lip. "But I was the one who organised for that to happen. I can't not help." It felt like a lifetime ago that he'd asked if the school could do something for the children in the orphanage. They'd decided to collect baking and old toys and books and the like to sell, and the profit would go towards feeding and clothing the children. What they didn't sell would go directly to the kids themselves.

"Iruka, you can't do everything by yourself." Raidō frowned at him.

"Let me help," Iruka begged. "I need something to do." To keep my mind off Kakashi.

Raidō looked over him carefully, reading what he didn't say with a defeated sigh. "I suppose you could help me box them. Genma's useless at precision folding."

Iruka smiled. "Thank you." If he couldn't help Kakashi then at least he could help someone else.