ハヤテのごとく！/Hayate no Gotoku Chapter 414

SPOILER Summary/Synopsis:

Sakuya arrives at Ise thanks to Isumi’s emergency call, but is not happy to learn that Isumi’s emergency was to get on board a battered helicopter and fly with Isumi back to Tokyo.

Back in Akihabara, Hayate has just knocked out Kotetsu while wearing the maid uniform to help Wataru’s doujinshi shop. Hayate isn’t happy that Risa is filming him, but when Izumi tells him it is for a Koshien contest, Hayate is even less happy about being recorded.

Risa sees Ruka in a facial disguise and maid uniform, so she tells Izumi and Miki that they should leave and not film Hayate’s amusing appearance. Risa tells them she has a new idea, citing how videos showing a battlefield are the best. She cites an example of coming home and finding a guy you like embracing another girl while speaking words of love. As such, upon seeing Ruka, Risa figures that she is in love with Hayate, pointing out that an idol wouldn’t be helping Hayate otherwise.

Izumi is chosen to be the assassin for their battlefield. She’s given glasses like Hayate wore while Risa wears an electronic visor like Ruka had invented and worn. After sending Izumi on her way, Miki wonders if this will work without planning. Risa is sure that it will work because it is Izumi.

Izumi comes up to Hayate and Ruka just as they are about to take a break and decides to act normal by asking Hayate to strip for her. Izumi says she wants to try Hayate’s maid outfit.  Ruka recognizes Izumi as the girl Hayate encountered when Ruka wore the visor to see things from Hayate’s perspective.

The trio go into the upstairs residential area of Wataru’s shop where Hayate leaves to make tea. Things get awkward between Izumi and Ruka, so Risa tells Izumi via her earpiece to press the Battlefield button on the glasses if needed. Just as Izumi is about to do so, Ruka suddenly tells Izumi that she’s in a doujinshi competition and wants to marry Hayate if she wins. Izumi clicks the button in surprise, where her glasses loudly demand to know what the thief (Ruka) said, much to both girls surprise.

Thoughts/Review:

Heh!heh! I wonder if Isumi gets Sakuya on the helicopter anyway, where it crashes, but said crash is recorded by Risa and company for their video entry.

Anyway, I didn’t think we’d be going back to the exact point where we left Hayate and Ruka before. I guess I figured that things would pick up at the end of the day.

Ah, but leave it to Hata-sensei to come up with nuttiness at the hands of Risa, Miki, and Izumi.  Also, I have to laugh at how Hata-sensei set the stage for this chapter by having the “Somy” tech that Ruka supposedly invented come back here and in the hands is Risa.

It seems unusual to me for Ruka to suddenly blurt out her being in a doujinshi contest and that marrying Hayate is the prize for winning. I’m guessing Hata-sensei did this for new readers of the manga to let them know of a key plot point here.  Otherwise, there’s no reason for Ruka to tell a stranger, even one of Hayate’s friends, anything.

It seems like commenter mr.poneis may have been on target last week.

…if I´m guessing right, Ruka and Hayate are encening [sic] some scene for another of the Ryuka´s [sic] works and Nagi will misunderstand it all…

Well, it may not be Ruka’s work, but even if it is Risa’s work, the outcome of Nagi misunderstanding is still there.  Hata-sensei really went out of his way to point out Nagi’s reaction and the entire scene of Hayate embracing Ruka from the previous chapter. That almost seems to indicate a red herring, but with Hata-sensei, who can tell for sure?

Never knowing what Hata-sensei will do is half the fun of this series, at least for me. I look forward to whatever other nuttiness he has in store for us.