What If? A Hayate no Gotoku! Alternate Retelling: Chapter 1: One Christmas Eve

Japanese honorifics used:
Oneechan/nee-chan/ Onee-sama – Literally means older sister. Generally used to refer to a slightly older female whom the speaker respects

Ojousama – Used to refer to a lady from a high-class family. May be translated as the title of “lady” or “milady.”

Story & Art by lordcloudx
Characters and All Copyrighted Material belong to Kenjiroh Hata. I am in no way affiliated with Mr. Hata.

“The words that I couldn’t say back then. The words that I’m struggling to say right now. They are all the same.” Was what he said.

He was almost as tall as her now. It wasn’t always this way. Just a year ago, she actually towered over him. Right now however, they were almost at eye level.

“The way you looked at me with those kind and lonely eyes. The way you took my hand in yours, I always knew how you truly felt.” Was her reply.

He held the palms of his hands in front of him. Looking a bit hesitant, he continued.

“You never doubted me – even though I could never say things correctly.”

She took a step forward. They were closer now. Close enough for him to hear her breathing. Close enough for him to smell the sweet scent of her golden hair fluttering in the breeze.
 
Thus, she spoke.

“I was always one step ahead of you, listening for the familiar echoes of your footsteps.”

And he answered.

“I tried so hard to hide these feelings. I never realized that this was my biggest mistake.”
These were his sincerest thoughts at that moment. There was no room for misunderstanding.

Her face felt slightly warm despite the decidedly cold winter breeze. Strangely enough, although it was winter, it was not yet snowing in this particular part of Japan.

“Do you still remember? The first time that we met?” Was her question.
 
“Of course, how could I forget?”
 
On that Christmas Eve one year ago…

An affluent young heiress had run away from another boring social get-together. That moment while she was struggling to operate a vending machine in one unfortunately named “Loser Park” would mark the start of their story together…

“Stick em up! You’re my hostage now, onee-chan!”

She turned in the direction of the thin, high-pitched voice. It was child; a young boy, pointing his finger at her as if it were a gun.  He had large, deep-blue eyes, scruffy looking bluish hair and was wearing a large coat which seemed way too large for his rather skinny frame.
 
“Eh? Oh… some kid who wants to play cops and robbers, huh?”

Suddenly, without hesitation, the young boy grabbed her by the hand. He noticed that it was ever-so-slightly larger than his own.

“Now come with me!”

He demanded.

“W-wha! Stop it! Don’t pull my hand like that. That hurts!” She shrieked.

She tried to pull her hand away, but he was unusually strong for his age,

“O-oh, I’m sorry. By the way, my name is Hayate Ayasaki! What’s your name, pretty onee-chan?”

Hayate replied without letting go of her hand – he had no intention to. Of course, he also did not want to hurt her, so he loosened his grip a little.

“ P-pretty?”

She blushed a bit, although it was a bit awkward while she was still struggling to pull his hand off of hers.

“W-well! Y-you got that right, kid! The name’s Nagi Sanzenin! Remember that name and don’t make me repeat it!”

Her haughty tone seemed a bit out of place considering that her face was now completely red from attempting to pull his grip off of her with all her might.
 
"Haha! You have such a boyish name. It doesn’t suit you at all. So… anyway, come with me!"

Before Nagi could protest at having her precious name being called boyish, Hayate had already begun dragging her along with him again.

“W-what? You’re still going with that? Didn’t I tell you that hurts? S-stop it! Kids these days…”

But he was unrelenting…

“Oh shut up! You’re my hostage now, so just be good and come along with me!”

Of course, Nagi was a rather spoiled young heiress after all and enough was enough so…
 
SLAP!
 
“Hmph! That’ll teach you to disrespect your elders, kid.”

“Wa-wah! That hurts, Nagi nee-chan!”

She was taken aback by his reaction. She didn’t hold back because he was so strong, but Hayate was still just a kid after all.

“H-huh? Uh oh! I-I guess I might have went a little bit too far… are you… kyaaaah!”   

“Hehe~n gotcha! Oooh… white!”
 
“Hey! Come back here, you stupid kid! How dare you flip a lady’s skirt like that!”

Well, boys will be boys, after all.
 
“Bleh! It’s your fault for wearing such a short skirt in winter Nagi nee-chan! Betcha can’t catch me~”

Not only was Hayate unusually strong, he was also unusually fast for his age.

Meanwhile, Nagi was extremely sheltered and physically weak. She had to struggle with all her might just to keep sight of him. Hayate saw this and slowed his pace down a bit.
 
He stopped in front of a rather large tree and began climbing.

“Huff! Huff! W-wait~ come back here!”

Looking back at his “hostage,” Hayate stifled a laugh as he saw the young girl struggling to catch up with him.
 
“Wow… you are really slow even though you’re much taller than me, nee-chan. C’mon over, hurry up!”

He beckoned her.
 
“Wait… up that tree? You’re kidding, right?”
 
“C’mon over. Take my hand.”

He slid down and reached out his hand to her.

“Sigh… why do I have to put up with this? Fine, I’ll play along. Hmff! A little bit… closer, I can’t reach you.”

And then, their hands met. His grip was firm, strong. He cradled the smooth skin of her hands, making sure not to apply too much pressure to her, long, slender, candle-like fingers.

“Right… hold on tight and never let go of my hand, ok?”

He did his best to reassure her.
“R-right!”

Although she was hesitant at first, somehow, Nagi instinctively trusted in this young boy whom she had just met. It was almost as if they had known each other, perhaps in a kindred lifetime, a reality separated by the walls of time and space… but what she knew at that moment was that Hayate Ayasaki would not fail her, this was the whisper of her heart.

Hayate gazed into her deep emerald-green eyes with a cheerful, carefree smile.

“Here we go… heave ho!”
 
“Kyaahh!”

Tightening his grip on Nagi’s hand, Hayate effortlessly hoisted her up safely right next to him onto a thick, sturdy branch.
 
“You ok?”
 
“Y-yes… you’re surprisingly strong for such a little guy, huh?”
 
“ Yeah, I’m used to carrying a lot of heavy stuff after all. You’re really light too, Nagi-nee-chan.”
 
Nagi could not help but wonder what kind of “heavy stuff” a kid like him could have been carrying, but she thought it better not to ask at that moment; partially, because there was a more appropriate question at hand.
 
“So? Why did you drag me all the way up here? Don’t tell me you really plan on taking me hostage?”
 
Of course, she was just joking.
 
“Nah, I wouldn’t do that… but look… over there, just beyond the lake. Can you see the sparkly Christmas lights?”
 
He was pointing at a familiar spot just a short distance from where they were.
 
“What are you talking about? There’s no such thing over there… oh wait, do you mean those vending machines? They kinda do look like lights in the distance…”
 
Ding! Dong! Ding! Dong!
 
The faint sound of bells carried by the wind gently reached their ears.

“Ah, the music is starting…” Hayate closed his eyes to listen.
 
“Oh, it’s a church. Yes, I’ve heard they usually have a special service during Christmas.”

Hayate was quite impressed by her knowledge. What he did not realize was that Nagi Sanzenin was a literal genius. A 13 year-old high school student whose intellect is matched only by a few in the whole of Hakuo Academy – and perhaps even the entire world – that is, if she ever feels like trying her best.

“What do you think, onee-chan?” He asked.
 
“It’s… beautiful...” Was her sincere response.

“Yes… you really are…”  Hayate muttered under his breath… half-hoping that she would hear him. But alas, a strong gust of wind drowned out his words at that exact moment.

“Hmm?”

She turned to him. Watching her under the natural glow of the moonlight, he could not help but be entranced by her beauty.
 
“N-nothing.”

He turned his face away; fully-aware of how red his cheeks had become.

“Anyway, what’s a kid like you doing all the way out here on Christmas Eve? Shouldn’t you be with your parents?”
 
She closed her eyes as if deep in thought. Her long lashes fell softly on her perfectly tapered visage.
 
But Nagi was unaware that she had hit a sensitive string on young Hayate’s tender feelings.

“Ahaha! Yeah, umm…ah… waaah!”
 
“Huh? What’s wrong now? Geez, you’re a real crybaby for someone so strong for your age, you know?”

Nagi was in a bit of a panic although definitely not at a loss for words. After all, she was an only child. She had no idea what to do in this situation.
 
“M-my parents left me! I woke up today and I was all alone.”

“WHAT? Wait a minute! That doesn’t sound right. Are you sure they’re not just out buying Christmas presents?”
 
Being an orphan herself, Nagi could definitely relate with Hayate’s problems.
 
“Here, look for yourself.”
 
Still sniveling in tears,  after fumbling around in his oversized coat’s pockets for awhile, Hayate produced a crumpled piece of paper and handed it over to Nagi.
 
The letter read:
DEAR HAYATE,
WE ARE NOT COMING HOME TODAY… OR EVER!
PLEASE WAIT FOR THE VERY KIND PEOPLE TO COME AND TAKE
YOU WITH THEM
LOVE,
MOM AND DAD

P.S. This has absolutely nothing to do with a debt of 156 million yen or anything to that effect, none at all!
 
“Ehehe… somehow, this note is kind of irritating, isn’t it?”
 
The note was so outlandish and so ridiculous that Nagi was not sure whether to laugh or get angry at Hayate’s irresponsible parents.

“Yeah, hahaha! A couple of deadbeat parents.”
 
She smiled. Even though the laugh was obviously faked, she at least managed to cheer him up a little.
 
“You said it, Hayate! Forget about them! DISOWN THEM!”
 
Nagi was definitely not kidding when she said this. She saw no reason to defend such lowlife parents.
 
“Haha! I don’t think it works that way. I’m just 10 years old after all. I… I…”

And just like that, whatever bubble of enthusiasm that Hayate was riding on, burst quickly into melancholy.

Hayate stared deep into her eyes – desperately trying to hold back the tears which were threatening to overflow.

“Eh? Don’t look at me with those eyes, kid. I just turned 13 a few weeks ago after all. I wouldn’t know what to do.”

She tried her best to cheer him up, but only words of rejection and farewell reached his ears.

“So in the end…” she’s just like them, were his thoughts at that moment.

Nagi no longer knew what to make of this situation and to top it off, she had her own troubles to attend to, so she decided that now would be a good time to take her leave.

“Anyway, I need to get back to that party. Maria might be missing me. Thanks for a fun time, Hayate. But, onee-chan has to go now. Goodbye!”

But for some reason, something inside of Hayate Ayasaki told him not to let go of this moment – not to let go of the hand that he now held firmly in his.
“…”

“Eh? Let go! What do you think you’re doing, Mr. Ayasaki!”
He could only respond with a single word.

“Hostage…”

“W-what?”

Nagi was more shocked than confused at this point.
“Nagi-oneesama is my hostage now, so you can’t ever leave me! We’ll be together forever!”
He stared her down with sharp yet lonely eyes. Almost pleading her to play along with him.

Nagi was clearly flabbergasted at his outlandish statements. Even for a kid’s game, this was clearly crossing the line.

“WHAAAAT!? You let go of my hand right now or I’m going to scream so loud they’ll hear it in Greece, mister!”
 
Of course, what Nagi had failed to take into account was that if she screamed while a little kid was holding onto her, it wouldn’t exactly work out the way she thought it would.

Hayate loosened his grip on her. Her hand was so delicate and soft that it was already starting to bruise from his vise-like grip… but still, he refused to let go of her.
 
“N-no! Don’t scream… b-but please, don’t leave me alone, Nagi-oneesama!”

He was clearly begging her. At that moment, the look of intensity on Nagi’s face drained away. Yes, beneath her cold, haughty exterior, Nagi Sanzenin was kind, good-natured girl after all.
 
“Oh for… what am I gonna do with you?”
She scratched her head with an annoyed smile on her face.

She looked sweetly into his innocent cerulean eyes.

“Sniffle…d-don’t leave me alone…”

At that point, she knew that she could not leave this desperate, kindred soul behind tonight.

“Sigh… how can I leave you alone when you look at me like that? Hmm… but what to do…” She pondered for a moment.

“Oh, I’ve got it!”

Her eyes suddenly lit up with a flash of an inspiration.
“You do?”

His voice was filled with hope.

“As it happens, there’s actually a job vacancy in my mansion right now.”

“O-ok?”
“Therefore…”

She stretched out her hand in front of him as she proudly declared:

“From this moment on, I am no longer your Nagi-oneesama. From now on, you may refer to me as milady, or Nagi ojou-sama… but only if you accept. So I’ll ask you this only once: Hayate Ayasaki, will you be my butler?"

And as he reached for her outstretched fingers, he knew that at that moment, he had seen the future.
 
“Yes, definitely! Nagi o…jou-sama!”

And so it begins… their story… from this day forth…

To Be Continued...
Proceed to Chapter 2