As Harata sat facing the corner, she reached toward her neck to play with her necklace out of boredom, but couldn't feel the familiar cold of metal against her skin.
Not thinking anything of it at first, she just assumed that it got tucked underneath the collar of Kakashi's shirt when she put it on, though she didn't feel it upon reaching inside the shirt.
Then she remembered she never put it back on after waking up, or taking a shower.
Becoming slightly panicked, she stood up abruptly and ran off to Kakashi's room, drawing his attention briefly.
"Bathroom?" he thought, his leg crossed over the other as he calmly continued reading.
Inside Kakashi's room, she noticed her necklace was no longer sitting on the side table, and got a bit more worried.
Where is it?! I know I left it here before I fell asleep...I think...no...no...please...it's gotta be in here somewhere!! she screamed in her head, as she checked under his bed as well.
"I know I left it there...so where is it...?" she said softly, internally freaking out even more.
She walked back into the bathroom to see if she might've left it in there, but to no avail.
"The kitchen maybe?" she mumbled, as she scurried out into the kitchen to check for her necklace, but didn't find it there either.
"Then where...where the hell did it go?!" she whispered in an exasperated tone, starting to get upset again.
Noticing her moving back and forth, he eventually called out to her, not lifting his head from his book.
"Something wrong?" he asked finally; Harata looking like she was on the brink of a mental breakdown.
"H-huh? Sorry what'd you say?" she replied, getting down on her knees to check beneath the futon.
Sighing, he closed his book and shifted his gaze down toward her, as she felt around the floor.
"Is something wrong? You keep running all over the place." he repeated, curious as to what she was doing.
"Oh, uh..." she broke off, getting up on her knees, and lifting up the futon cushion now.
"Care to finish that thought?" Kakashi prodded, hoping she would focus for one second.
"What about a dog?" she replied back, completely distracted by searching for her necklace.
"She's not even listening...guess I'll have to do this the hard way then..." he thought to himself, standing up.
The sudden sensation of being picked up by her waist was more than enough to snap her back to reality, as she blinked in a confused manner.
"Junkai? What're you-- " she stopped abruptly, upon realizing it was Kakashi who lifted her up.
"Wait...you're not Junkai..." she said nonchalantly, as Kakashi sat her down on the futon and stood before her.
"No, I'm not. Whoever that is...but now that I have your attention- is there some reason you're tearing through my home?" he inquired.
"Tearing through? Wait what'd I do?" she asked obliviously, her eyes darting past him to the corner she was sitting in a little while ago.
"Good grief, her attention span's as bad as Naruto's..." the tired looking shinobi thought, as he grabbed hold of her face, and forced her to focus on him.
"You're destroying my place. Why?" he slowly repeated.
As Kakashi's words sunk in finally, Harata's eyes focused on him only.
"Oh...I'm sorry...I'll clean it up..." she said solemnly, making Kakashi sigh again.
"I'm not upset, just please tell me what the problem is. I was at a really good part in this chapter." he said pleadingly.
Hearing the desperation in his voice, she felt it was only fair to tell him why she was acting like that.
"...my necklace..." she mumbled.
"Pardon?" Kakashi immediately replied.
"My necklace...I...can't find it..." she spoke up louder this time.
"Necklace? Where'd you have it last?" he asked, as she started fidgeting.
"No. Stay put until you remember when you last saw it." he ordered, making Harata comply instantly.
"Sir, Yes Sir!" she yelled firmly without thinking, surprising Kakashi, as he let go of her face, a bit confused.
"Well, no need to be so formal. I'm not your superior." he reminded, bringing Harata back to her senses.
"Oh sorry...guess my military training kicked in." she confessed bluntly.
"What...? I...can't tell if you're joking or not...weren't you just upset about losing your necklace?" he questioned, feeling like she was pranking him.
"Was I? Wait my necklace is lost?! But I left it on that little table by your bed before I went to sleep. Unless it fell somehow...?" she said, rendering Kakashi speechless.
"Hey, you okay?" Harata asked curiously, waving her hand in front of his face.
"Huh? Oh yes, I'm fi- " he went silent suddenly, remembering how he picked it up earlier to look at it.
"Oh okay, good. You had me worried for a second." she replied with a skeptical look on her face.
"You sure you're alright? You're sweating an awful lot." she interrogated.
"Sweating? Must be your imagination." he countered, as her suspicious gaze faded into an oblivious one.
"Oh, my apologies then." she said naively, making Kakashi feel a bit bad.
"She's...too gullible...she believes anything she's told. No wonder I don't feel comfortable leaving her by herself. She'd probably end up getting kidnapped..." he worried subconsciously, as he stooped down in front of her.
Reaching inside his right pocket, he could feel the beveled shape of something metal with a chain attached to it, and pulled it out.
Realizing he absent-mindedly stuck it in his pocket when she came out of the bathroom before, he gave a friendly smile as he presented her treasured necklace to her.
"Might this be what you're looking for?" he questioned in a gentle tone, as her face lit up.
"Where'd you find it?!! I was sure I lost it somewhere else!" she squealed with delight, as Kakashi handed it back to her.
"Well...there's a funny story behind that..." he said with a guilty, sheepish look on his face, but was tackled to the floor without warning.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!" she beamed, hugging the bewildered jonin tightly.
"I'll do anything to repay you! Just name it!!" she continued, as she looked up at him with a childlike happiness in her eyes.
Unable to stay silent any longer, Kakashi merely patted her head, and gave her a warm smile, as she blinked innocently.
"You're quite the unpredictable one. Don't worry about repaying me. You already cooked dinner. That's enough." he said in a gentle manner.
"You liked it? I have an idea then! I'll cook for you everyday!" she replied with a look of sheer bliss.
"You don't have to- " he tried, but was shut down by the excited young swordswoman.
"Make a fuss about it, and I'll jump on you every morning to wake you up instead." she quickly cut him off.
"Since you put it that way..." he chuckled nervously, knowing she wasn't joking about the second option.
"Good! It's the least I can do after everything you've done for me." she countered.
"I haven't done anything special. But I'm really grateful you feel that way." Kakashi said modestly, making Harata frown up.
"Haven't done anything special? Are you aware of how many times you saved my ass? I'm the one who hasn't done anything to help you. So cooking for you is the least I can do." she corrected.
Pausing for a moment to take in her words, he simply smiled warmly at her.
"I don't expect anything in return when it comes to a life. You only get one. It should be protected with care." he explained, as Harata listened intently.
"I'm not doing this out of obligation, but because I've wanted to find some way to repay your kindness for a while now. So this is perfect!" she said eagerly.
After thinking of how nice it'd be to have someone else preparing meals for him, he gave in and agreed.
"If that's what you really want to do. But you know that would require you to stay here, right?" he questioned, knowing she hadn't thought it through.
"Yeah I-- wait...here...? At your place?" she mirrored back.
"I had a feeling you didn't think about that aspect. How about you hold off on repaying me, since you're so adamant to do so." he suggested, as he started to sit up, making Harata get up off of him.
"Ha, my bad. I didn't hurt you did I?" she asked apologetically, rubbing the back of her head.
"Hurt? It would take far more than that to hurt me." he reassured, as Harata bowed deeply, still feeling bad for jumping on him.
"Oh good. Sorry again, guess I got a bit too excited." she added nervously.
"That's fine, I understand why." he said without thinking.
"You do? Well I'm glad then." she replied with a mischievous grin.
"Because this is something I greatly treasure. My best friend Soohyeung bought it for me as a symbol of our sisterhood and friendship. The broken hearts represent all the trials we both overcame in our lives...
...she has a matching red locket on her choker with the same pictures of us inside." Harata continued, coveting the golden necklace in her palms.
"Goodness, I figured there was a history behind it, but I didn't realize it meant that much." Kakashi replied upon hearing her finish.
As it set in just how much she had said, Harata immediately stopped talking.
Noticing her sudden silence, Kakashi stared at her in utter confusion.
"Is there a problem?" he inquired, rather puzzled by her random mood swings.
"Oh no, sorry...just thinking." she lied.
Sighing and standing up, Kakashi reached over to grab his dishes and take them to the kitchen.
"She's terrible at lying. I hope she knows that..." he thought as he turned the faucet on, and prepared to wash the plate and bowl he ate out of, until Harata came running over.
"Wait! I'll do it! I dirtied them up anyway!" she said with a determined look on her face, making Kakashi pause and stare at her with a baffled expression again.
"You don't have to clean up after me too." he tried, but was opposed by Harata.
"I dirtied them up. I should clean them. You go rest and enjoy your book." she retorted in the best motherly tone she could muster.
"No really, it's oka- " he started but stopped again upon seeing Harata's determined face.
"Alright, I'll let you handle it. But it won't be too much will it?" he double checked.
"Course not! I work at a restaurant as a chef back home, so I'm used to this!" Harata said gleefully, as she rolled the sleeves of his shirt up to her shoulders.
"Oh? Really? Well I expect nothing but top tier quality cuisine now." he teased.
"No problem!" Harata replied immediately with an enthusiastic thumbs up.
"Hold on, it was a joke. You don't have to do that." he admitted, hoping she would back down.
"Hmm? Oh I know, but I don't mind." she said with a warm smile, as she washed the dishes.
Silently accepting her answer, he simply returned to the living room, sat down, and resumed reading.
"If that's what she wants to do..." was all he thought as he got lost in his book once more.