HAYATE NO GOTOKU (HAYATE THE COMBAT BUTLER)

Plot

Hayate Ayasaki is an unlucky teenager who has worked since childhood to make ends meet due to his parents' irresponsible behavior. One day he finds out that his parents were planning to sell his organs to the Yakuza to make money, leaving behind a massive gambling debt on his shoulders of ¥156,804,000. While running away from the debt collectors he ends up meeting Nagi Sanzen'in, a young girl who is the sole heir of the wealthy Sanzen'in estate, and due to a misunderstanding Nagi ends up falling in love with Hayate. After he rescues Nagi from some kidnappers, she hires Hayate as her new butler.

Aside from performing his ordinary duties as a butler, Hayate must fight to protect Nagi from harm, a difficult task since her life is always in danger because she is the target of other individuals coveting her family's fortune, and sometimes deal with some extravagant requests from her, oblivious to Nagi's true feelings for him. In the later story, Hayate has to deal with the feelings of several other girls, Ayumu Nishizawa, his former classmate who harbors a crush on him, and Katsura Hinagiku, the student council president of Hakuō Academy who ends up growing attached to him. Hayate is also revealed to have had a romantic relationship with a childhood friend, who is revealed to be Athena, chairman of the board of Hakuō Academy.

Due to a series of events involving Hayate and Nagi, Nagi ends up forfeiting her inheritance and with the last of her savings, she moves with Hayate and her maid Maria to an old building called "The Violet Mansion" and rents its extra rooms for income, having Hinagiku and Athena

Characters

Hayate Ayasaki

Voiced by: Ryōko Shiraishi (Japanese), Muriel Hofmann (English)

The butler of the Sanzenin family, Hayate Ayasaki has had to work to support his parents' bad habits since the age of nine, always moving from job to job, before he was found out to be underage. The experience gained does mean, however, that of all the characters, he possesses the most extensive practical knowledge he has is of how the world operates. Hayate's dad has refused to get employed, while his mother is a compulsive gambler, and the whereabouts of Hayate's older brother, Ikusa, are unknown. These events led to their bankruptcy—they abandon Hayate after selling his organs to the Yakuza to ease their financial burdens (an action that disgusted even the Yakuza that bought Hayate's organs, though that didn't stop them from accepting). With not many choices left to him, Hayate conspired to kidnap someone to get ransom money. He found a girl, Nagi Sanzenin, and told her that he would kidnap her. However, Nagi mistook his words for his confession of love, so he was later employed as Nagi's new butler. In the beginning of the story, he often mentioned Nello and Patrasche from the novel A Dog of Flanders, and compared his miserable situation to the characters' life.

As a butler, Hayate is capable of all aspects of housework and can even play the violin, but it is his ability in repelling attacks from almost anything, including butlers of other families (despite his bad luck) that makes him a "combat butler". He once demonstrated a skilled use of fire-arms (capable of wielding an MG3 single-handedly) and is essentially invincible with physical prowess far surpassing any normal human being. Hayate once parried a sword thrust easily with just two fingers, and in Volume 8, revealed that doing over 350 one-finger push-ups is part of his daily routine since he was little, among other displays of his strength. At the end of Volume 6, Hayate manages to create an ultimate technique called Hayate no Gotoku (like the wind).

Hayate sees Nagi as a beautiful girl, and has a crush on the more mature Maria. It is also possible that Hayate is starting to fall for Nagi, slowly and steadily. He can go as far as touching Nagi's breasts (Episode 22, 31) rather than the regular touching, holding her hand or holding her in his arms. He has even seen her naked twice Season 2. The first time is in in Episode 5, and the second time is in Episode 16 of Season 2. Afterwards, Nagi asks Hayate to dry up her hair before he leaves. Hayate obeys, and as thanks, Nagi kissed Hayate on the cheek as a reward. Hayate's heart seemed to have moved a little towards his precious mistress after this episode, and he seems to come to understand the feelings that Nagi had harbored for him throughout the first season. He even admits to Hinagiku that Nagi is his girlfriend in Episode 6 of Season 2, (Although it is shown indirectly with pictures in his mind) but Hinagiku thought Hayate's girlfriend is Ayumu. As a result, Nagi and Ayumu have become one of the few people to successfully express their emotions towards their loved ones, although Nagi seems to be beating her rival by at least one mile as of now, because Ayumu has yet to kiss Hayate. Their feelings for each other have increased again on Episode 17 of Season 2, where Hayate saves Nagi from being sent into outer space. When he got into the UFO, he hugs Nagi instantly and they both blush, and he promises Nagi that he won't leave her again. He also makes the same vow to Yukario, that he will protect Nagi forever. Nagi overhears this and her heart is touched.

However, he gets really annoyed when Nagi and Maria force him to wear female clothing, although he has vowed to protect Nagi forever in Episode 52. This in short means that he cannot choose any girl except for Nagi, and it also means that he must choose Nagi as his wife out of all girls.

In chapter 156, it is revealed that he sleeps three hours a day: studying until 2am, waking up at 5am (the reason that he gets up at 5 is that he thinks it would be unwise to wake up after Maria has done so).

In addition to looking poor and seedy, Hayate can also appear to be extremely feminine. He has a girlish face and is good at housework such as cooking and cleaning, which are usually thought to be work for women; he is also very modest and sensitive, all of which contribute to others' perception of him as feminine. This has led to him being forced to wear girls' clothing or cosplay in feminine outfits such as nekomimi, a maid and so on. In episode 36 of the anime, he cosplays as Belldandy from Ah My Goddess. Both Tama and Klaus have fallen for Hayate when he wears girls' clothing. Later on, this female alter-ego is given a name: Hermione Ayasaki, which is probably a reference to the main heroine of the Harry Potter series. Hermione Ayasaki has officially "appeared" once in each season of the anime (officially meaning whenever Hayate lies by saying his name is Hermione Ayasaki in order to hide the fact he was unintentionally cross-dressing at that time. He has been forced to cross-dress at other times, but he is not referred to by his alter-ego's name on these occasions). However, in recent Hayate no Gotoku manga popularity polls, it was seen that there are votes for two different characters, one being Hermione Ayasaki, the other being Hayate dressed as female .

Although he possesses a wide range of skills, his empathy is very poor, to the point where he often hurts the people around him because he doesn't understand their feelings towards him. He is truly a handicap on dealing with his admirers' feelings towards him. However, Hayate's attitude towards a relationship is actually very positive. Athena taught him that he must be economically strong if he wants to date with a girl.

On the other hand, he often unintentionally embarrasses others by reacting wildly at very simple requests. Such as in volume 8, when Hinagiku asks if he wants to take a bath and he thinks that she wants to take a bath together. This may be because of his innocent personality, which often leads him into trouble with other people. It seems that he also has a crush on her. This is evidenced in Episode 6 of Season 2, when he is bathing Hinagiku's bathtub, he pictures a pretty Hinagiku bathing and he blushes, not understanding why he felt that way. Afterwards, Hayate's heart beats unsteadily when Hinagiku entered Yukiji's room (Hayate's staying there for the night), it leaves the twosome alone in the room. Hinagiku has finished taking a shower and is trying to teach Hayate the correct answer for his mistakes on his homework. The scent of her shampoo is in the air, and Hayate is starting to fall for Hinagiku even more because he thought that she was a very beautiful girl. In the following episode (Season 2 Episode 7), Hayate and Hinagiku created a spark when they both accidentally touched each other's hands. They both blush, and Hinagiku rushed out of the house to buy some ice cream because she can't face her crush due to embarrassment. It seems that their feelings for each other has increased. And as Hinagiku often helps him out on more than one occasion, he ends up making biscuits for her on her birthday and White Day, as thanks for his love for her.

He also has a slight interest in Ayumu after Ayumu hugged Hayate on Valentine's Day, and their feelings have increased after Ayumu gave some suggestions to Hayate on what he should buy for Hinagiku, Maria and Nagi on Episode 10 of Season 2. and saving her from a bicycle crash for the second time. He also gave some cookies as a present for Ayumu on White Day because Ayumu had saved Nagi from being killed by the mafia on Episode 15 of Season 2. On the 22nd episode of Season 2, when Hayate saw Ayumu changing clothes, he immediately blushed, but his feelings for her have increased even though it is supposed to be embarrassing.

He had a girlfriend named Athena, who was responsible for teaching him cleaning and swordsmanship, as well as for building his strong body. They had a falling out after his parents pawned an "engagement" ring she gave him. In chapter 239, after being asked by Hinagiku how he feels about Athena, Hayate describes Athena as "Not like the others," and ultimately tells Hinagiku that he is in love with Athena. Following her advice to meet her, he goes to her mansion and confronts Machina, who nearly kills him and steals his King's stone before Athena brings him in and treats him. After these events he rescues Athena and they express their feelings one another as they still love each other. At the end he tells her that she is the one he loves but he comes to deciding he must first protect Nagi.

Nagi Sanzenin

Voiced by: Rie Kugimiya

Nagi Sanzenin is the only heir to the Sanzenin fortune. She is short-tempered, spoiled, immature and disruptive. (She can go as far as destroying things and hitting people if she's frustrated) She has an otaku-level hobby with manga, anime and video games, and draws her own manga, which is called "Millennium Legend: Magical Destroy" whose main protagonist is a magical girl named Britney who is voiced by Rie Kugimiya and Ryōko Shiraishi for Nagi and Hayate's version respectively. Many of the characters in the anime think that Britney is very ugly and that Nagi's manga sucked. (Hayate and Maria included) Only Isumi understands and enjoys her manga. Sakuya has shown her hate on Nagi's manga by throwing it into the trash can when Nagi was only a child.

She has a large crush on Hayate, and she thinks that Hayate loves her since they first met. She sometimes tries to make him take an interest in her in many ways, and sometimes, she succeeds. She has successfully kissed Hayate 2 times in total. She gets really jealous when Hayate makes some good statements on other girls, and then punches him into the face. However, Hayate never understands why Nagi is mad at him. Only Ayumu, Kazuki, Mikado, Maria, Wataru, Isumi and Sakuya is aware of Nagi's crush on Hayate.

Nagi's only surviving family is her grandfather, whom she greatly dislikes. She regards Maria as an older sister figure, but gets ultimately jealous when Hayate is out with Maria or is alone with her. She has a pet white tiger, Tama, whom she regards as a family cat. Her mother is shown in volume 12 of the manga. She cares for her family and friends, but she doesn't want to show her concern directly, she usually shows her concern with "formal words".

Because of her pampered existence, she lacks any worldly knowledge and is even incapable of looking after herself. In one episode, in the absence of both Maria and Hayate, she was shown to be incapable of even making tea on her own, wrecking the mansion in the attempt. Nagi is mortally afraid of the dark (due to an incident with Isumi), and so shares her bed with Maria at night. Since going outside is very dangerous because of her status, Nagi favors staying at home, not liking company in general. (With the exception of Hayate being around) She also dislikes sports, especially swimming. However, Hayate managed to convince Nagi that sports is good for her body, and she is able to get into 2nd place on the Hakuo freestyle marathon due to Hayate's absorbing training and her huge amount of love for him.

Nagi likes to do what she likes to do, but mostly what she likes to do is not so good for her future. She is hard to control, even Maria who has lots of talents can't control her. But Hayate, her average educated and insensitive butler, who saved her from the kidnappers and the mafia, is able to convince her to go to school, do exercise, have many friends, etc. He helps Nagi to be a better person. He saved both her life and her lifestyle. While Hayate always reminded her to go outside and gather experiences on the outside world, she always thought that will be boring or she will always get lost and risk being kidnapped. Maria always states to her that without Hayate she will always get lost or in danger.

Nagi spent most of her younger years living outside Japan. Because of her family's wealth, she became the prime target of the Sicilian mafia and other criminal organizations. Nagi disliked being a target and spent most of her days indoors playing video games and watching TV and hence slowly becoming a hikikomori. Hayate, Maria, and Klaus worry about her well-being because she likes to play games until late at night and skips school so they encourage her to leave the house or invite guests for a party. She begins to go to school more often after Hayate transfers to her school. Despite her laziness, Nagi is a highly intelligent student. She skipped grades and is currently in the first year of high school and in the same class as Hayate.

Another funny thing about Nagi is that she always forgets the everyday life of an ordinary person. For example, she once rode on a subway train with Ayumu in the 1st season, but she seemed to have forgot what a subway train is like when she is with Kazuki in the 2nd season.

"Nagi" means "windless" or "calmness", which seems to be the contrast of Hayate, which means "gust of wind" or "squall".

On the other hand, in Episode 52, Hayate got summoned back to the past when he jumped into the sky to get Nagi's hat back. At that time, Nagi feels uncomfortable going outside, because the mafia is after her. However, Hayate manages to defeat the mafia but he made a few holes on Nagi's hat. Nagi doesn't mind and said that the holes are proof that Hayate saved her life. After this incident, Nagi falls for Hayate even more because he has vowed to protect her in the past, present and future. Both Nagis (The one in the present and the one from the past) fall for Hayate deeply.

Maria

Voiced by: Rie Tanaka (Japanese), Candice Moore (English)

Maria is Nagi's maid and is the one of the few people who understands the relationship between Hayate and Nagi. She appears to be the one in charge of everything in Nagi's manor, since everyone from Klaus (head butler) to the SP either obeys or fears her (or both in some cases). She is highly intelligent, somewhat devious, good at general housework and likes games of all kinds, though she is deathly afraid of cockroaches, which she refers to as "the dark life-form that exists in the kitchen and other places". She has also proved capable of self-defense techniques in times of need. She is, however, poor at disguises, as seen multiple times when she tries to spy on Hayate and Nagi and is recognised instantly.

She has no surname and she doesn't have records of her biological parents. She is found in front of St. Mary's church by Mikado as an orphan, where she got her first name. Not knowing anything about herself, her birthday was decided as December 24, the day she was found. She is the unfortunate one who always has to clean up everyone's messes. She has seen Hayate naked multiple times (and has been seen naked by him once), and she sees the effect he has on other girls, many of whom are attracted to him for his kind nature. Her own feelings for Hayate are very clear, and she blushes whenever Hayate saves her from danger. (Episode 19) Also, when Hayate accidentally tripped on her, they both blush as well. (Episode 22) Although she has chosen to put any feelings for Hayate aside in order to support Nagi's love for him, she has been shown to be curious about love. However, there are countless cases that Maria is unable to control her own feelings for Hayate. One example is that on Valentine's Day, she keeps telling herself that she isn't in love with Hayate, but eventually She ends up making some chocolates for Hayate. However, she smashed it because she is jealous of Hayate's skill at making chocolate. At the end, Hayate ended up making chocolates for both Maria and Nagi. Both girls enjoyed the chocolates.

Maria is also legendary throughout Hakuō Academy for having graduated high school at the age of 13 in just three years while maintaining the position of Student Council President for all three years. Because of this, she was able to recommend Hayate to Hakuō Academy despite him narrowly failing the entrance exams. Due to such unusual experiences, she both appears and acts in a manner more mature than people typical of her age. Because of this, even people near to her speak of her as if she is older than she really is, a pet peeve for her. She commonly responds that she is still a fresh 17-year-old girl and remains 17 years old (according to this phrase) throughout the entire six-month-span of the series. She may have met Athena as a child.

Tama

Voiced by: Jūrōta Kosugi

Tama is a white tiger from Africa, who was rescued by Nagi as a cub, and was raised on Matsuzaka beef and expensive tuna fish, making him incapable of going to the zoo or back to the wild. He can speak the human language, though he does not reveal this to Maria or Nagi because he doesn't want to shatter the girls' dreams. He will lay his life down to protect Nagi, as Nagi saved his life and raised him herself. To him, Maria is the highest power there is, followed by an impassable wall, Nagi, then himself, and everyone else is below him.

Despite the fact he is a white tiger, he was found by Nagi while she was exploring Africa. The manga artist admitted that he made a mistake when fans wrote to him pointing out there are no tigers in Africa. Because of this, when Nagi first finds Tama, she becomes convinced that he is just a cat. Usually when Tama is speaking or involved in a comical situation, he looks rather cartoon-like and, when standing on his hind legs, is about human size. He appears this way in most of his appearances, although he will occasionally be drawn in his actual size and appearance. He has been known to imitate other people's voices, and has done a perfect imitation of Nagi once.

Tama is often seen relaxing or doing human-like activities. However, he seems to enjoy reading male model magazines in his free time, which only goes to show Tama's odd behavior. He once fell in love with a tiger on a picture of a magazine advertisement for Brazil, and tried to machinate a plan involving Klaus' retirement just to get to go see her, before being reminded by Hayate that there are no tigers in Brazil.

Isumi Saginomiya

Voiced by: Miyu Matsuki

Saginomiya Isumi is a girl who always wears a kimono and, sometimes, a stole. She is Nagi's best friend; they met at a party a long time ago. When all the other children, Sakuya included, laughed at Nagi's first attempt at writing her own manga, Isumi took interest in it and asked Nagi how it ends. Nagi then asked Isumi (in a childish sense) to marry her. As a result, Nagi has always asked Isumi for ideas for her own manga, but it proved that Isumi's ideas were even more retarded than that of Nagi's.

Like Nagi, Isumi is very rich; however, Isumi is soft-spoken, kind, and a good cook. While she does not have an awful sense of direction, she constantly gets lost because she is apt to forget her destination and believes herself to be reliable and independent (a belief further enforced by the flighty nature of her mother and grandmother); the fact that she can disappear from people's eyes instantaneously only complicates the matter. She also has a habit of saying, when she doesn't understand how to use a machine such as a cellular phone or a vending machine, that the machine is broken. She displays a high level of empathy for Nagi's feelings, yet she does not recognize Wataru's love for her, a fact that Nagi, Maria, and Hayate comment on. She has, however, seemed to have developed a crush on Hayate.

Although what Isumi actually did on Episode 24 was to decurse Hayate's pendant, she did confess to Hayate afterwards. Hayate, as always, misunderstands it as something else.

In volume 5 of the manga, it is revealed that she can perform exorcisms. Humorously, she calls this power "hand soap", though Hayate assumes she means "hand power". She loves Hayate and does not wish to see him sad.

Isumi is the inheritor of the secret mystical power called Jutsushiki Hachiyo, the spell of the eight leaves. This power is only inherited by a chosen female child in the Saginomiya family. In volume 11, she loses this power, which causes some slight distress to Hayate as he would have to literally bleed through grueling trouble in order for her to regain it, but she rejects his help, saying that she does not wish to cause other people harm for her own ends. However, in volume 12, when Hayate is on the verge of tears thinking of a way to save Nagi from being blasted off into outer space, she kisses Hayate on the cheek (while he is bleeding profusely after being struck on the head by Ginka) and regains her power, sending Hayate speeding towards the UFO to save Nagi.

Later in the story, Isumi has a prominent role regarding the events about Athena and Hayate's past, by aiding Hayate in several ways during the fight against King Midas. It is also revealed that her hair temporarily pales whenever she overuses her power.

Hinagiku Katsura

Voiced by: Shizuka Itō

Hinagiku Katsura is the current student council president, and kendo club president at Hakuō Academy, the school that Nagi, Isumi, Wataru, and eventually, Hayate attends. She is 15 and is an expert with swords, specifically kendo. Her family is also quite wealthy like most of the other girls at Hakuo, but they do not have a butler because Mrs. Katsura prefers to do the chores herself. She can also speak as many as 17 languages, and is an expert linguist. She first meets Hayate when he is lost on the huge Hakuō campus and ends up rescuing her. She had been helping a baby bird who had fallen out of its nest, but due to her fear of heights, had become stuck without her realizing it. Hayate ends up helping her down the tree, and then promises that he will help her should she ever call for him. In gratitude, she invites him to the top of the school's clocktower, where only student council elites are allowed. She allows Hayate to call her by her first name and also seems to be infatuated by Hayate and his attractive personality. Her family, while shown to be well off in volume 8 (chapter 76), does not show any signs of being rich in comparison to much of the cast.

However, in volumes 9 and 10, it is revealed that Hinagiku suffers from a past nearly identical to that of Hayate's – she, along with her sister, had also been abandoned by their biological parents, who left them with a debt of 80 million yen (approximately 1 million US dollars) shortly before Hinagiku's sixth birthday. Following this, her sister, Yukiji, managed to pay off the debt (albeit through what the manga depicts as rather dubious means) and the two of them went to live with the Katsura family, as Mr. Katsura had been Yukiji's elementary school teacher. When Hinagiku finally sees the beautiful view from atop the clocktower on the night of her 16th birthday with Hayate's help, though, she finally realizes that she actually loves him. She had been afraid of admitting this to herself because she was scared that she would forget about her past if she fell in love with him. She likens her feelings to the scenery atop the clocktower: she had been unable to see them because she had been too scared to. When Hayate asks her if she's still scared, she replies that while she is, it's not a bad feeling, which is a possible response to both her fear of heights as well as her fear of abandonment. Hinagiku's problems are not over yet, however; in Volume 8, when Ayumu and Hayate were staying over at Hinagiku's house, she promised Ayumu that she would support her in her relationship with Hayate. Now, having fallen in love with Hayate herself, she must come to terms with her feelings of betrayal as she tries to find a way to tell Ayumu about her feelings. As such, she publicly tries to help Ayumu get closer to Hayate, but finds herself feeling saddened whenever she does so. She also helps Hayate get closer to Ayumu, taking on an almost motherly role as she feels exasperated by his slip-ups time and time again. Although Nagi seems convinced otherwise, Hayate himself doesn't seem to think that Hinagiku could have feelings for him, which leads him to say things that hurt her as well (such as in volume 12, when, after Hinagiku said that a good White Day gift would be biscuits, he remarks cheerfully that he could buy the basket of biscuits on display that Hinagiku had been eying to give to Ayumu). Later on in the series, after many interruptions, Hinagiku manages to confess her love for Hayate to Ayumu in order for her to help clear her conscience. Upon hearing the news, Ayumu cheers up Hinagiku, leaving her confused. She explains that although her feelings may not be returned, she is content to be with Hayate nonetheless and encourages Hinagiku to try her best, provoking a competition between the two friends.

Hinagiku is sometimes referred to as being rather masculine for a girl by other characters in the series. This is exemplified on Valentine's Day in volume 7, where Hinagiku is given a lot of chocolates by female admirers. Miki suggests this is because Hinagiku is seen as being "cooler" than the boys, and the fact that she was rather domineering at a younger age. Her athleticism, competitiveness, and leadership position all also probably contribute to this view. This is similar to how Hayate is seen as being rather feminine, and wound up giving chocolates to girls on Valentines Day when it was supposed to be the other way around. In addition, on Valentine's Day, she had considered giving Hayate chocolates as well, but ate it herself because she didn't want to add to Hayate's troubles after Nishizawa had already given him chocolates as a way of confessing her feelings to him a second time. Thus, on White Day in volume 12, she regrets not having given him any chocolates, as he would feel no obligation to return the favor as a friend.

The anime has given her pink hair, which corresponds with her hair color in most of the manga, except on the color page cover of chapter 37, where she has strawberry orange hair. The hair clip she is always seen wearing was a birthday present from her real parents. She met Athena prior to meeting Hayate a year before.

When Hinagiku tries to confess her love to Hayate, he surprises her with his feelings, telling her that the one he loves is none other than Athena and that he needs to confess his feelings to Athena. Hinagiku advises Hayate to pursue his feelings and not be hesitant. When she goes back to the mansion she's staying at, Hinagiku breaks down in tears, whilst trying to accept the fact that Hayate loves someone else. In later chapters we see that Hinagiku has decided to help Hayate and the others when King Midas made his move and attacked the hotel where the others were staying. She goes to Athena's mansion to help Hayate defeat King Midas and rescue Athena. Once Hayate and Athena are reunited (while displaying great signs of affection for each other), Hinagiku leaves in tears trying to give them some privacy. The next day, after the Athena conflict is resolved, she learns from him that Athena turned him down, but Hayate escapes before she is given a chance to pursue the topic.

Wataru Tachibana

Voiced by: Marina Inoue

Wataru Tachibana is Nagi's fiance, but they have no feelings for each other. Wataru claims that his parents arranged their future marriage entirely for money. He lives and runs a video-rental store in the city, the last store owned by the Tachibana group, which lost all their assets and is on the verge of bankruptcy due to the recession. His dream is to make his store great and acquire a fortune greater than Nagi's. Wataru is in love with Isumi. He initially hates Hayate for accidentally stealing Isumi's affection, but later he looks up to him and strives to be like him. Despite this, he still calls Hayate by his own personal nickname for him, "Butler In Debt" or "Bankrupt Butler" (or a variation thereof), and doesn't hide his usual irritation.

Later on in the manga, it is revealed in an off-hand conversation that Wataru's store is actually starting to do well and is making some profit. However, he has yet to retain a fortune that can match Nagi's. It is also shown that he cares for Saki, although in a different way from how he feels about Isumi. This is implied through the great means he often goes through to make her happy, or to otherwise make up for wronging her. This includes a time where he believes she is downtrodden because he had forgotten her 20th birthday, when he had also promised to buy her a furisode (a long-sleeved kimono used for coming-of-age ceremonies). In order to make up for this, he goes as far as to buy a 200,000 yen (roughly $1,650) yukata for her because the furisode was too expensive, and even rejects a chance (as he sees it) to win Isumi's heart. Later on, he realizes his love for Saki when he saw her face in his mind just before confessing to Isumi.

Surprising, Wataru also has a crush on Sakuya in Episode 51. He expresses his feelings for her by thanking her for giving a spot in Hakuo, and would pay her millions back for what she did when he gets rich.

On the ninth episode of Season 2, Wataru is beginning to fall for Sonia when he kissed her in exchange for saving Saki, and he constantly blushes when Sonia says some romantic stuff to Wataru.

Sakuya Aizawa

Voiced by: Kana Ueda

Sakuya Aizawa is Nagi's cousin and from Kansai. Like Nagi, Sakuya is very rich and has a similar personality — loud, arrogant, abusive of servants, and unwilling to accept defeat in anything; Nagi is one of the few people who can stand up to her wrath, Sakuya is the one who has known Nagi the longest. Sakuya is the eldest daughter in her family with three younger sisters and one younger brother. Her illegitimate half-brother Gilbert is one of the people who is constantly harassing Nagi for her fortune. Sakuya is obsessed with stand-up comedy, especially Manzai style. She encourages Hayate to become a comedian because she believes that Hayate's life up to now is nothing more than a comedy. She is quite well-endowed for her age, easily surpassing Nagi, Hinagiku, and Isumi, and a match for the normally developed teenagers like Ayumu or Chiharu; so far only Athena and Maria are the ones amongst the "minors" of the cast to clearly surpass her.

Sakuya can often be seen hanging around with Isumi: she is usually present when Isumi performs exorcism, although she doesn't have any special powers. When Isumi disappears after seen in Greece with Nagi, Sakuya flies to Greece to look for her. She's not all bad though, since deep down she does care for her cousin.

Sakuya develops a crush on Hayate in Episode 32 when he saved her from the demon monsters, evidenced by blushing. Her crush on Hayate is further evidenced in Episode 40. Hayate is supposed to fix the blackout problem for Nagi, but then meets up with Sakuya. After arriving to the Sanzenin hot spring for cover, Sakuya then kicks Hayate into the hot spring and hugs him tightly, telling him that she is older than Nagi, and therefore should not be treated like a kid. However, Hayate doesn't understand Sakuya's feelings for him. On the 5th episode of Season 2, Sakuya falls deeper for Hayate when he tidies up her clothing. However, she can't quite express her emotions, and thinks that Hayate is making fun of her instead. On the 19th episode of Season 2, she expresses her love for Hayate indirectly winking her eye after Hayate made her laugh on the 29th of March. On the 24th episode of Season 2, she expresses her love for Hayate again in another indirect way. He asks Hayate whether or not she can call him "Brother Hayate" instead of "Bankrupt Butler. She did this because her feelings for Hayate has grown.

On the other hand, Sakuya also develops a crush on Wataru in Episode 51. Her heart was touched when Wataru thanked her for giving him a spot in Hakuo. She also stuck herself close to Wataru on the 23rd episode of Season 2 when she thinks he did a good job on the gag show for the audience, as a sign of love for him. However, Wataru doesn't want her to stick that close, and pushed her away. Wataru then fell on top of Sakuya, making the both of them blush. Their feelings for each other has increased after that.