October 17th, 2012 
AstroNerdBoy ハヤテのごとく！/Hayate no Gotoku Chapter 381
Hayate the Combat Butler Manga Chapter 381
SPOILER Summary/Synopsis:
Hayate ponders if he’ll be able to love someone like he did Athena. Meanwhile, Chiharu figures there’s a real Rainbow Village somewhere nearby rather than just the small cabin. Chiharu enlists Ayumu to help her search, telling Hayate to get out of his butler’s uniform since he’s supposed to be relaxing like Ruka. They leave, so Hayate changes. Ruka is amused to see him in an outfit that isn’t a butler’s uniform or a cross dressing outfit.
Hayate finds lazing around doing nothing most troubling and wonders how Nagi does it. Ruka arrives, figuring that Hayate must be as eager to get back to work as she is. She tries to make a deal with Hayate, but he won’t budge. Hayate speaks of the nice weather and setting, but a sudden downburst of rain interrupts him. Ruka says this is God telling them to get to work, but Hayate disagrees and says they have to go take a nap.
They retreat to the cabin, where Hayate breaks out a towel for Ruka, only to discover that Ruka’s wet clothing allows him to see her bra and panties. When Ruka realizes her condition, she panics as does Hayate. He turns away and she tells Hayate an idol’s underwear shouldn’t be seen. He apologizes for not looking away, leaving Ruka most embarrassed while Hayate realizes for the first time that Ruka is a girl.
Thoughts/Review:
So, where’s Isumi? *lol* She is notably absent when Chiharu takes Ayumu to go look for the village. Knowing how Hata-sensei likes to write, combined with how the character of Isumi turns up when least expected, I get the sense that Hata-sensei has set the table to have Isumi appear, having not gone which Chiharu and Ayumu. We’ll see. ^_^
Anyway, this chapter is setting up a romantic situation for Hayate and Ruka. Hata-sensei has “gotten rid of all the distractions,” with the possible exception of Isumi. Hayate recalling his love of Athena further sets this up, though even if the romantic situation comes up, Athena is living in Nagi’s apartment house. (Which reminds me, what the heck happened to her since everyone else is gone?) For all I know, she’ll end up showing up too.
Funny how Hayate is only now looking at Ruka as a woman. Granted, that’s part of his appeal to Ruka. Most guys would be drooling all over Ruka while Hayate never did and has always kept a safe distance from her without making it purposeful.
Well, we’ll see how things go. In the meantime, this was a fun chapter.
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Since when did they start showing fanservice?
Since Hata-Sensei realized the apocalypse was coming soon.
Actually, fanservice has been a minor part of the manga all along. When Viz finally releases volume 21 next year, Hina gets put into a skimpy bikini for a good deal of the volume (IIRC). It’s just that Hata-sensei doesn’t do it all that often, and usually not to a great extent.
Somehow it seems a bit far-fetched that Hayate just now noticed Ruka was a woman… one would think snuggling up in the bathtub would have cured him of that, if nothing else. (^_~)
(I know, sensei’s trying to set a mood and I’m just being ornery. It’s my nature.)
You do have a point about the bathtub. There’s a surface knowledge of, “this is a woman” which is different from the knowledge which says, “this is a woman whom I could not only have sex with, but fall in love with.” Having experienced this in my youth, I could see Hayate experiencing something similar.