Hayate The Combat Butler Chapter 483: It's Unclear If This Is The Only Neat Thing To Do -- Review and Synopsis

Maybe it's about time for me to get to that "Hina as Archer" fanart that I mentioned about a year ago.

Synopsis: Hinagiku is mulling over the scene she witnessed between Hayate and Ayumu. She commends the hamster for her aggression and it also doesn't escape her that Ayumu implied that Hayate has already kissed another girl so she steps out to stalk Hayate investigate.

Meanwhile Hayate is at loser park and he's all ready to go home when he stumbles upon Konoha who apologizes to him for some reason. He apologizes right back and tells her that he should have been better at "dodging." 

Anyway, Hayate makes it clear that he cannot go out with Konoha and so the girl says her farewell.

At that moment, Hinagiku appears from behind and surprises Hayate by asking him why he rejected such a cute girl. Hayate goes into emo mode and explains how Konoha's feelings were probably a mistake and that no girl could fall in love with him except by mistake.

At this, Hina asks him what his reaction would be if it wasn't a mistake. For example, what if it was Hina confessing to him and it wasn't a mistake... hypothetically, of course!

Hayate says that he'd probably be happy if it was her and that it would be like a dream come true (cue dreamy anime bubbles).

HAH! Totally saw this coming.

Hina entertains the thought of confessing to him right then and there, but before she can, Hayate quickly adds that there's no way that he could go out with her even if that did happen.

He explains that it can't happen because he's a butler with a 150 million yen debt and that he can't go out with anyone as long as that remains.

Since no one has actually told her that to her face in this manga, I can only conclude that she is breaking the fourth wall and talking to us, the readers.

Hayate offers to see Hina back to the apartment and along the way, she ponders what he has just said and concludes that there's only one thing to do.

Review: First of all, I have to thank Doughnut Gunso, since it was his review that prompted me to write about the particular subjects tackled in this entry.

Well, this chapter took a long time to come out, but... at least I can read the raws >D. Buuut, my Japanese is terribad, as I've mentioned before, so I won't write a review unless the English scanlations come out because I might mislead any readers who come to my blog... assuming anyone still comes to my blog, of course.

This was a rather interesting chapter for me because it shows some degree of character development from both Hayate and Hinagiku's side. Let's start with the indebted butler. 

At this point, Hayate has done something quite commendable in confirming his rejection of Konoha -- which is a big step up in character for him considering that he has been doing nothing but sending mixed signals to most of the girls with feelings for him in this series until this arc came along. Certainly, Konoha's feelings were hurt by his actions, but it's definitely better for him to make things clear rather than giving the poor girl any false hope. For once, he's actually manning up and not using his inferiority complex as an excuse to be evasive around women.

Of course, Hayate is still Hayate and at the end of the day, he still gives Hina the tired old speech about "no girl could ever fall in love with him." (By the way, you can thank "A-tan" for this false belief that he has.) Furthermore, it can also be said that Hayate was forced to be direct because Konoha's advances were just as direct, unlike the subtle advances that the girls before Ruka had been using on him.

In this chapter, Hayate tells Hina that the reason he cant go out with anyone is because he is literally an indebted butler -- one with a 150 million yen debt, but in Ruka's arc, Hayate tells Nagi that he can't go out with Ruka simply because he is Nagi's butler after all. So what does this mean? Does it imply that Hayate was lying to either Nagi or Hina? In my opinion, he wasn't -- that's because he was talking about the same thing in both instances -- just worded differently. After all, we all know that Hayate's diction is often the cause of confusion in this manga -- it's the running gag that's been running since the first chapter.

Anyway, I believe that Hayate wasn't lying at all. In my opinion, Hayate's status of being an "indebted butler with a 150 million yen debt" and being "Nagi's butler" are all the same in his mind. In other words, he equates being "Nagi's butler" to being a "150 million yen indebted butler," but what he can't put into words is that both of these actually refer not to a literal, quantifiable debt, but to a "debt of honor," one that he willingly subjects himself to (as we all know that Nagi does not care about the monetary side of the debt at all and he owes her more than that anyway... ahem... Mykonos Arc). In fact, one could even say that Hayate has anchored the meaning of his existence to being an "indebted butler," which is why he is not reluctant to say that Nagi "his life" and why he goes to such extreme lengths to protect her. 

The highlight of chapter 483 for me. The reason should be obvious.

Now from here, we could speculate as to the reason why Hayate has anchored his existence to being Nagi's butler in the first place -- well, there are plenty of clues scattered all throughout the manga, but I'll just apply Occam's Razor here and go with the one that requires the least amount of presumptions. Yup, you know what I'm talking about.

Anyway, on to Hina's side: this chapter definitely proves that Hinagiku has come quite a long way as a character in this manga -- even if many of the moments wherein this is shown are in the more comedic or otherwise easy-to-gloss-over chapters. 

If you look at the Hina of the current manga, you'll find that she has definitely come a long way from "to confess is to lose" and is actually actively trying to take positive action in her campaign to win Hayate's heart. Her progress may be slow as molasses, but one cannot accuse her of making "zero progress" or being in a stagnant rut anymore as far as her relationship with Hayate is concerned.

This is a subtle confession! This is TOTALLY a confession!

In Ikusa's arc, she has tried several direct methods of confession, which were all amusingly thwarted (such is the choice of Hata's Gate. The Hata Attractor Field will not allow it) via Hata ex machina. However, in this chapter, she actually tries something different and this is something that seems more prevalent in the Japanese raws. Hina gives Hayate a hypothetical example of herself confessing to him -- in other words, a subtle confession. Of course, this completely escapes the oblivious butler (or he might understand and is actively in denial), but he does state that he would deem such a scenario as a "dream come true."

Of course, now the problem lies with Hayate who has, in my opinion, given her the wrong idea once again by saying that he can't go out with anyone because of his butler debt. Well, here's the question that should have been on Hina's mind and that should be on everyone's mind who is reading this manga as well -- did Hayate ever state that he was against the idea of being an indebted butler? I rest my case.

Fanart Corner: Don't have any new fanart for now since I'm actually just about to draw one and yes, it is Nagi indeed, but I'd like to show you guys some custom-made shirts that I've had made featuring my fanart.

I'll wear em too!

Guess my age! I dare you! You totally CANNOT guess my age! Muahahahahahaha!

Why Steins;Gate Is One Of The Best Anime I've Ever Seen

Now as you may be well aware of (or not) I'm not a hard reviewer to please. Pretty often, when I start watching a particular series, I'd try my best to get into it and enjoy it -- even if there are certain elements of the show that don't exactly agree with me. 

However, every once in a while, there's that certain anime series that just really clicks with me and Steins;Gate just happens to be one of those -- which is the rationale for the title of this review. Seriously, I haven't found myself this hooked on a show since AIR from 2005 -- although, you shouldn't let this color your perception of Steins;Gate since the story has zero similarities with AIR. 

I stumbled upon the series completely by chance (since I generally ignore what is/was making waves in the anime/manga community) when a friend on Facebook said that it was pretty good and I saw that there was going to be a PS Vita localization of the original source material, the Visual Novel.

Initially, I was skeptical about it and thought that it might be your typical bishoujo game complete with high-school aged females falling all over the main character and a derivative tear-jerker plot. I am glad to say that this is not the case for Steins;Gate.

Synopsis

On its face, Steins;Gate is a pretty straightforward time travel story. It involves a group of mostly university students who stumble upon a way to send messages and eventually memories back in time. They discover how they can actually influence the present and the future by sending these messages to the past dubbed as d-mails.

Of course, since changing the past also changes the present, there is really no way to confirm that any changes have been made since one's memories of the past are inadvertently tied to the future. This would certainly be the case if not for the flamboyant main character, Okabe Rintarou -- known only to himself as the mad scientist, Hououin Kyouma, who has a special ability to retain his memories across the so-called "world line changes" in the anime, which he calls the "Reading Steiner."

However, things take a dark turn when Okabe discovers that their playful inventions and experiments have been discovered by a powerful third party, who have also been researching the area of time travel and it leads to the death of his childhood friend, Mayuri at the hands of this third party.

In an act of desperation, Okabe fires up the prototype time machine which can only send a person back for a maximum of 48 hours and tries to undo the series of events that led to Mayuri's death. However, he would soon find that his attempts would be foiled over and over again because the world itself has decided that his precious friend would die -- and he would witness her die over and over again in many different ways, always finding himself just a step too late to save her.

The resolution of this dilemma and the eventual conclusion of Steins;Gate is simply too good to spoil... or at least spoil directly. Keep reading and there will be some degree of spoilers. You have been warned.

Solid Cast Of Characters

While the main character, Okabe Rintarou and his eccentric, flamboyant ways often makes him the center of attention for the viewer, Steins;Gate definitely has a solid cast of characters who are all memorable and believable in their own right.

From Okabe's eventual love interest, the genius-girl, Makise Kurisu who falls under the tsundere archetype, to the gentle and sometimes airheaded but kind cosplayer girl: Mayuri Shiina, the part-time warrior: Amane Suzuha, the moe  moe cat girl: Faris and the androgynous Rukako (still a guy),  and even the fat, out of shape genius hacker otaku, Hashida Itaru, all of the characters of Steins;Gate are convincingly portrayed and while not many of them actually grow out of their particular archetypes, there are already so many unique points about each character per se that they don't really need to be anything else rather than who they are as they were initially introduced.


A Heart-Wrenching But Rewarding Journey

Since Steins;Gate is based on a visual novel, the story is mostly told through the eyes of the main character, who is a very uniquely eccentric character in his own right. Okabe often refers to himself as the mad scientist, Hououin Kyouma -- a name that no one else calls him except himself and Faris, who plays along with him and calls him "Kyouma."

Through Okabe's eyes, we get to know the other "lab members" who join in the "Future Gadget Laboratory," which is actually just a small flat rented out by Okabe wherein he and his friend Hashida Itaru create mostly useless "future gadgets" such as a drone helicopter camera  that can't be used for anything because the camera turns together with the helicopter when in flight.

While the show seems slightly light-hearted and even playful at first with Okabe and his lab members experimenting with how d-mails can be used to influence the future, it quickly makes a 180 degree turn when Okabe finds out that some things that happened in the established past just can't be undone.

Despite his eccentricity, it is slowly revealed in the buildup to the show's "serious business" that Okabe is a truly compassionate individual who is at times too kind for his own good -- definitely far detached from the Hououin Kyouma persona that he tries to portray so passionately.

This is why one cannot help but feel empathy for his character when he keeps trying desperately to save Mayuri until he reaches a point wherein her death becomes nothing more than a routine which he knows he can redo over and over again in the vain hope of finding a way to completely avert it.

While such a thing could drive any man, let alone a self proclaimed "mad scientist" insane, fortunately for Okabe, he is not alone in his journey. Throughout his different attempts to save Mayuri through multiple world lines, there is one constant, the emotional and intellectual support that he receives from Makise Kurisu. 

While Kurisu acts like the typical tsundere and gets annoyed at Okabe's playful jabs at calling her an "@channer (the show's equivalent for 2ch, I suppose)" a "hentai genius girl," or Okabe's favorite, Cristina (add a "tina" to "Kurisu"), it doesn't take her too long to realize that there's something different about Okabe every time he makes a time leap and downloads his memories to his past self.

Okabe himself is shown to be pretty smart, but when it comes to intellect, Kurisu definitely has him beat, which is shown pretty early in the first episode when she handily trumps him in a debate concerning time travel theory. This is why she is the only one who really believes that Okabe has made a time leap every time he does so and she is the only one who can "think things through" together with him until they are eventually able to devise a plan that might allow them to prevent Mayuri's death... which involves undoing each of the changes that Okabe and his lab members had effected through d-mails in order to prevent the sequence of events that would eventually lead to Mayuri's inescapable death.

Mind you, these are not just simple changes because each d-mail corresponds to the dearest wishes of each of the Future Gadget Laboratory's lab members. Basically, Okabe is forced to sacrifice these wishes in favor of saving Mayuri's life and just to illustrate how serious this is, one of these wishes corresponds to a lab member being able to spend years together with her father who should have died back in the past if not for the d-mail that she had sent.

What is great about Makise Kurisu's character is that while she does not possess the "Reading Steiner" that allows Okabe to retain his memories across his many time leaps, she is still consistently able to detect when the Okabe in front of her has time leaped from the future and with each time leap shown in the anime, we learn a little bit more about Kurisu herself and just as Okabefalls in love with her character eventually, which she does reciprocate, it's as if we, the viewers are also slowly falling in love with her through Okabe Rintarou's eyes.

Now... imagine Okabe's torment when he realizes that after undoing everyone's wishes, the final d-mail that he needs to undo was the one d-mail that allowed Makise Kurisu to live on in the first place? Now he has a most heart-wrenching dilemma in his hands -- to choose between his childhood friend and the woman he loves.

Really, it's a recipe for awesome and the final resolution is nothing short of satisfying. 

Certainly, there are some people who will claim that the conclusion makes liberal use of Deus Ex Machina, but with a character as bombastic as Okabe Rintarou Hououin Kyouma in an anime that's centered on something as fantastic as time travel, I'm willing to suspend my disbelief quite a bit.

A Great Follow-Up Movie
  
There are many great shows with amazing potential that seem to fall flat as the final episode draws near. Again, I'm glad to say that Steins;Gate is not one of these shows. When I'd heard that there was a movie, I was a bit adamant to watch it since theatrical adaptations of an anime series are often abridged, alternate retellings of the same story which pale in comparison when compared to the original. 

Well, color me surprised when I found out that the movie is actually a follow-up to the TV series - and color me extremely satisfied to discover that this time, it's Makise Kurisu taking the center stage in this movie.

Unlike Okabe, Kurisu only possesses a limited version of the "Reading Steiner" ability that allowed Okabe to completely retain his memories across different world lines. 

It was great to see Kurisu in action using her wits and intellect and going through her own version of what Okabe had to undergo in the TV series, but with only fragments of her memories across different world lines that at times, even causes her to completely forget about the existence of Okabe himself.

To make an analogy, watching the movie was like tasting that sweet dessert that you so crave for after a deliciously satisfying meal -- it completes the experience. 

Definitely Reading The VN

While the PC version is available right now, I actually prefer to wait for the VN to become available for the Vita and I'm definitely reading the original source material as soon as it is available for my system of choice. 

If you haven't watched this show yet, do yourself a favor and watch it now. Don't let the slow start fool you. This is just one amazing anime series that I would recommend to just about everyone. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll want to put on a lab coat and CRY THUNDARRRR -- and don't worry, you don't have to be a mad scientist to enjoy it. El Psy Congroo!

Even Nagi agrees that this show is awesome.

 

 

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Hayate The Combat Butler Chapter 482: Committed To The Result -- Review and Synopsis

Honestly, she looks like she not only came from another era, but another manga altogether.

Synopsis: So, Ayumu asks Hayate if he'd kiss her too while she's in her school swimsuit. Naturally, Hinagiku had to pick this particular moment to come home and catch them in the act.

Hina's shocked face is too cute here.

Feeling embarrassed and out of place, she quickly turns away and tells them to continue whatever it is they were doing.

LOL! Go on, continue!

Since everything's gone awkward now, Ayumu decides to change back into her regular clothes and Hayate agrees.

Next up, we check in with Athena and Isumi inside the secret room in the Violet Mansion who are still trying to figure out King's Jewels related stuff and trying to reconcile some inconsistencies with what they now know about the King's Jewels and what Mikado said.

Since they have no leads, Isumi pulls out an iPad Mini and makes it out to be some kind of magic box wherein a robot who can solve any problems called Siri resides. Surprisingly, Athena is so out of touch with 21st century technology that she takes Isumi's word for it hook line and sinker. 

Little miss plot device doing her thing.

With Athena all excited, Isumi presses the call button on the iPad and ends up calling in Sakuya's line. Isumi asks her to put on Siri but Sakuya goes all, "lol, dunno anyone called Siri," and hangs up on her.

She really is genuinely surprised.

Athena suggests that they have someone who actually knows how to use that thing use it for them. Enter Fumi, Sharna, Nagi, Maria and Ell-chan who are now on a crusade to help people out for some reason.

I can just about imagine Hata laughing at his own work as he drew this.

Fumi presents Ell-chan to Isumi and Athena and tells them that this android can support them. Athena asks what it is exactly and Nagi explains that it's a human-looking android made by Makimura.

In the end, Isumi and Athena decide to have Ell-chan use the iPad Mini to calculate a simple addition problem for them.

Anyway, it results in a 10, which probably means that there are now officially 10 King's Jewels, for those who are interested in that sort of thing.

Having resolved that problem, Nagi says that it's time to proceed to help someone else out so off they go.

I guess she's tagging along now as Ell-chan's new recognized master.

Meanwhile, Hina is tinkering with her own iPad and asks Siri for info on "trouble with love," to which she gets a "I am sorry. I do not understand" response.

Review: Well, this was a heavily amusing chapter. Also, did I call it or what on a third-party interrupting Ayumu's kiss attack? 

Anyway, Hina's face was too cute and funny just when she stumbled upon that scene. With that said, looks like Hata managed to resolve that pretty quickly without anyone getting too deeply hurt.

You'd think Siri would bring up a picture of Hayate or something.

Over-all, this chapter also brings all the elements of this arc to a full circle much faster than one might expect. Nagi and Maria are now with Fumi and Sharna and Ell-chan and they're going on some wild goose chase to become "lifesavers," and they even meet up with Athena and Isumi.

We can probably just about (see speculation corner) say goodbye to Konoha indefinitely since Ayumu's already resolved the misunderstanding involving her and Hayate's found her a part-time job, it seems.

I had a lot of laughs at this chapter, although I did feel that the Siri jokes were a bit trite. Hata does go the extra length of having Isumi and Athena have exaggerated reactions though.

Speculation Corner: With this arc seemingly drawing to a close, I'd say that the one needing Ell-chan's services right now (healing a broken heart) would probably be Konoha herself since Hayate's just flat-out rejected her. I wouldn't be surprised if Nagi's party bumps into her in the next chapter.

Also, I have to wonder about Athena's musings about "the 21st century," she makes it seem as if she doesn't belong in the current time period -- which would not be a surprise given how the Royal Garden seems to work and the elements of time in the series such as the Kurotsubaki and even how Hayate leapt through time in Radical Dreamers.

Anyway, that's it for now. See you in the next chapter!

Hayate The Combat Butler Chapter 481: This Is What Happens When A Normal Person Tries -- Review And Synopsis

That looks like a rather painful pose.

Synopsis: When we last left our unlucky indebted butler, the hamster AKA Ayumu Nishizawa was apparently seducing him by inviting him to take a bath with her while they were alone in the violet mansion. 

Hah! Didn't see this one coming.

In this chapter, Ayumu takes off her towel completely only to reveal that she's actually fully clothed underneath with some very short, shorts and some kind of tube top.

Hayate's like "wtf did I get myself into now?"

Still, while taking her bath alone, Ayumu ponders Hayate's reaction and she is pleased that he does think of her as a girl and that he actually blushed when she made the offer.

You are, actually. Although your face looks more like Nagi.

She decides it's time to go on the offensive. Having finished her bath, she dons her middle-school and goes up to greet Hayate. Of course, this being Hayate, he immediately gets evasive and tells her that he'd prepare her iced latte.

Ayumu is perplexed at Hayate's reaction and thus, she decides that she needs to get even bolder. She changes clothes again and this time, she returns wearing her school swimsuit.

Hmm... seems hamster's been putting on a little bit of weight.

Hayate tries to keep his cool and offers Ayumu her iced latte. At this point, she starts thinking about why she's acting this way in the first place and she realizes that it was all because of that scene that she saw with Konoha kissing Hayate in the park.

Instead of beating around the bush, she just directly asks him why he kissed her in the first place. At this, Hayate explains that Konoha confessed to him at that time, but he turned her down.

She asks if he enjoyed the kiss and Hayate replies that not even he would want to do that with just anyone.

Ayumu then asks Hayate if he'd kiss her too.

Review: I have to admit that I didn't see Hamster's move coming wherein she takes off her towel and is actually fully-clothed underneath. With that aside, I really liked this chapter for two main reasons:

Good job, hamster!

First of all, it's great that Ayumu was actually quite straightforward in getting to the root of the problem and just directly asking Hayate about the kiss with Konoha. I like how this problem's resolution wasn't drawn out like the kind you'd expect from every other love comedy. It's also quite consistent with the hamster's personality since she's always been the one to ask directly rather than pussyfooting around the issue. For example, not too long ago, she just goes up to Ikusa and asks him if he owns a shirt (he owns two lol... and his own 5-star hotel) when the others start wondering if he even owns a shirt since he's walking around showing off his 8-pack abs all the time.

Hayate looks like he's almost about to cry here.

I like how Ayumu didn't actually emotionally break down and have her own version of "silky heart" like Nagi did because a plot idea does get old if you use it three times in a row in the same story.

Secondly, I really like Hayate's response to Ayumu when she asks him about the kiss. This is one of the few rare moments where the indebted butler actually gets some character development. It's also a rare moment wherein he's actually thinking of himself and not just being obliviously nice to everyone. (not to mention that this scene is great foreshadowing for kissing a certain someone voluntarily... even if it's not on the lips ;D)

Not gonna happen.

Anyway, both Hayate and Hamster won some points in my book with this chapter, although she did present him with a new problem now. I'm pretty sure it's time for a deus ex machina to save Hayate this time though. It looks like we're also nearing the final resolution of this mini-arc. Hopefully, we'll get back on track with the main plot as soon as Nagi's scheme with Ell-chan is finished.

Fanart Corner:  As promised in the previous chapter review, I'm going with a Nagi fanart this week. This time, it's Nagi with disheveled hair and not giving a **** about it. This piece was inspired by PinocchioP's Slow Motion featuring Hatsune Miku. This week's fanart also comes with a PS Vita wallpaper version.

Haters gonna hate~ and that's just the way it goes~

This is a PS Vita wallpaper. Feel free to use/rehost, but do give me credit for the art if you plan to rehost. The character belongs to Kenjiro Hata, of course.

Hayate The Combat Butler Chapter 480: Being A Girl Is Tough -- Review and Synopsis

Can anyone can tell me what that "heal people's hearts" is a reference to? Astro Boy maybe?

Synopsis: Having stuffed herself with an expensive rice dish courtesy of Fumi and Sharna, Ell-chan declares that she's now fully recharged and ready to do her master's bidding... as soon as she's fully dressed. Fumi offers to give her some of her own clothes, but she calls them hand-me-downs and Sharna points out that she doesn't seem too happy, so Fumi buys her some new clothes instead.


After that, Ell-chan declares that she is now really ready to serve her master, but her stomach starts growling indicating that she's hungry again.

For some reason, Fumi and Sharna decide that it's a good idea to go to Nagi's place and ask her for help regarding the energy efficiency of their android. Nagi makes some obscure reference to some jdrama that I totally don't get and then proceeds to scrutinize ell-chan. She says that she's really well-made and asks her about the number 5 on her arm. Ell-chan replies that it means that she's the fifth humanoid model. The first one was scrapped and the other three ran away when they saw what happened to him.

Is it just me or is Nagi looking at her breasts when she says that she's well-made?

Maria notices that the number is actually just a sticker and without it, Ell-chan looks completely human. Nagi asks what makes her different from a human and she says that she doesn't need sleep as long as she has a source of energy and thus, she would never lose to a human in an electronic game and she can monitor 2chan 24/7.

Finally, she says that robots are meant to heal people's hearts, at that, Nagi says that it's time to put her to the test to which she declares "yes master." Fumi is flabbergasted that her new android has now switched allegiances. 

Meanwhile, back at the Violet Mansion, Ayumu is still concerned about the scene she saw with Hayate and Konoha. Upon returning home, she catches Hayate cooking and suddenly realizes that she's alone with him. She decides that it's time to make her move.

She says that it's really hot and Hayate offers to make her an iced latte. She says that she's all sweaty and wants to take a bath so Hayate prepares the bath for her, but just as he calls her out, Ayumu barges in with only a towel covering her body and asks Hayate if he wants to join her.

Review: Man, this scanlation came out pretty late, fortunately, I'd already read most of it via the raws. I say most because my Japanese is terribad, so I didn't get some of the things going on such as why Fumi and Sharna came to Nagi for help... to be honest, I still don't get it.

Anyway, I was amused at how Ell-chan turned out to be a pretty picky and demanding android extorting food and clothes from Fumi and then proving herself to be pretty fickle when she starts calling Nagi her "master" for no apparent reason. Her reaction at Fumi's initial offer to give her some of her own clothes was also pretty funny.

Also, I like how quickly Ell-chan started interacting with the manga's mainstay characters. So it appears that Nagi's cooking up some weird scheme with her... I wonder if Ruka will be involved? I can't think of anyone else whose heart needs healing at the moment... unless she predicted that the hamster would have her own "silky heart" moment real soon. I laughed at how Nagi just casually commandeered Ell-chan for her own purposes.

You CAN NOT refuse, Hayate

With that said, the highlight of this chapter would be Ayumu's bold move in inviting Hayate to take a bath with her... well? What do you think this will lead to? Is Hata setting the stage to snipe this long dormant and presumably dead ship? Well... probably not. I have faith in Hayate's ability to be evasive so I'd be surprised if this set-up leads to anything.

Anyway, that's it for this week, so see you in the next chapter. No fanart this week because I drew Miku instead. Dun worry, I've already got a new Nagi fanart lined up for the weekend.