Prologue:

I tried to make this a short and sweet prologue, but substance is no good without the filling

Do you all remember who the main character of this manga is? Yes the boy who looks like a girl, he's Ayasaki Hayate, otherwise known as Hayate Ayasaki in the western world, the butler whose job is to fight for and protect his master Nagi Sanzenin in order to repay a 150 million yen debt. In the western world, that's roughly around 1.5 million dollars, so you could either work for 30-40 years at a decent paying job and pay it off in increments, or possess great luck and win the lottery and pay it off very quickly. But unfortunately for our butler-in-debt, he has to be considered to be one of the unluckiest people to ever walk the face of the Earth.

"Hey, you shouldn't say stuff like that before the story starts!Plus this seems to be a very wordy introduction so far!" – the butler in debt

Excuse me for being right. Besides after all this time it's important for the reader to be well-informed of the futility of your situation and how with your job as a poor butler it will take you your entire lifetime to pay it off. No matter how far you go, the same path lies in front of you. There's also the possibility of you getting killed off protecting your master. Where is your life's meaning then?

"Don't you have better things to worry about? Like howthe story is supposed to take place within a few months after the Christmas of 2004, yet we hear stuff about the Xb*x 360 or Blu-ray discs when they don't come out-"

I believe that brings our special guest appearance for the opening monologue to a close. Now as I was about to say, even though the butler-in-debt considers himself to be very unlucky, he doesn't quite pick up on the feelings of those surrounding him. It's not to say he's completely insensitive, but he lacks a certain tact that most boys around his age should have developed when it deals with members of the opposite sex, especially when he has a gaggle of girls constantly around him who bear feelings towards him. Boys of his age would die to be in his place, but then again not every high school boy has to protect someone's life from kidnappers, robots and the like on a daily basis.

"Unless you count that one guy who fights in a M9 for the secret mercenary group M*thrill!" – the young lady of the Sanzenin family that he must protect

Indeed. But at this point, the butler's life for the past few months has been built on nothing but misunderstandings so I suppose it can't be helped.

But what if the butler's life was different? What if he possessed the tiniest bit of the ability to read the situation in front of him without it leading to a misunderstanding? Would he finally realize that there have people who have deeply cared about him all along and choose one, or would he be like a certain gal-gamer and try to go for the harem end? Yes, that will happen when the three idiots all pass a test without just barely making the cut-off mark.

"Hey, we're not that dumb! It's just that we've been investigating a lot media art lately and haven't had the time to study lately!" – the blue haired one

"Yeah, we're not like Hayata-kun who has Nagi-chan and Maria-chan to help him out! We barely get by with the remedial lessons we get from Katsura-sensei, when she's actually teaching!" – the purple haired one

"Fufufu. These matters don't concern me anymore, as I have found out the perfect way to do well my tests!"- the brown haired one

"No way!"

"Tell us your secret, Risa-chan!"

"Well remember when I said marking every answer for "C" was the best solution? I was mistaken. After some consideration I realized my folly."

"And?" *in unison*

"The obvious answer is… THAT YOU MUST MARK EVERY ANSWER "A"! THAT WAY YOU WILL GET THE GRADE THAT YOUR LETTER CHOICE REFLECTS!"

"I see, with that kind of logic it has to be right!"

"You're so smart Risa-chan!"

"Aren't I?"

I wonder if they'll end up setting the record for repeating grades. Anyway the story should actually start soon, so put away your limited edition Hayate the Combat Butler trading cards and pay attention. At certain times it may seem some scenes are familiar to those in the manga or anime. In which case, it is perfectly acceptable to take a break from the story and either catch up on the manga or the anime. With 250+ chapters in the manga and two seasons of anime plus an OVA, you might feel the urge to go out and buy some HnG merchandise. Please do so, to support the manga and anime industry.

"Ne, Hayate?"

"Yes, what is it, Ojou-sama?"

"Do you ever get the feeling that we aren't alone and some ethereal being is commenting on our each and every action? And that he sounds like the guy who voiced the evil warlord Oda Nobunaga from that one anime which was based off a game by the same guys who did Dyn*sty Warriors?"

"Eh, I guess. Oh! I almost forgot I have to do the introduction!"

"Hayate, you were in the introduction."

"No not that introduction, Ojou-sama. THAT introduction."

"Oh…OH! I get it!"

"*Ahem* When reading this Hayate the Combat Butler story, make sure to read this from a decent distance away from the computer screen in a well-lit room."

"Got it?"

I believe we have arrived at a good place to stop the introduction. For those who managed to stay focused during this giant wordy mess, I praise you for your saint-like patience. Oh, also for future references just refer to me as the VFH, or just Viewtiful Heaven if you like.

Hayate the Combat Butler starts now… on the next chapter.

AN: I will probably hide a few references throught the story so keep an eye out. Some are easier then others.