Chapter 9

"What do you mean?" Nagi asked, confused.

"Nagi-chan, think about it. Do you love Hayate, see him as family or an older brother or are you in love with him?" Elena murmured quietly. Conflicting emotions crossed Nagi's face as she tried to work them out.

"I-I love Hayate; and I get angry whenever other girls like him… and I like to spent time with him and I look up to him but…." Nagi trailed off, unsure.

"But when you think of him, you don't get heady or excited, right? Well, a little because he's a boy but is there anything else there? Do you feel your heart beating harder when you see him, a fuzzy feeling in your chest?" Elena pressed, touching a hand to her own chest to add emphasis. Nagi shook her head slowly; and sadly as she came to realise.

"No… no. Hayate's my butler and I want us to be more; but not like that. At first I had those feelings; but then they stopped and I'm not sure now… Elena, what do you think?" Nagi looked to Elena in desperation. The older girl looked at that face, so young and innocent, unsure despite of her faster upbringing and apparent mature and cold mask.

"Nagi-chan, I think you want you and Hayate to be family. You don't have any siblings and you want someone to be there, to protect you. Someone you can spend time with, trust with everything." Elena touched a hand to Nagi's shoulder. "You're still learning, Nagi-chan. It's good to be unsure of your feelings and to work through them. That way when you find someone you do really fall in love with, you know what your own feelings are."

Nagi nodded uncertainly and Elena smiled softly. She bent down onto one knee so that she was at Nagi's level and made level eye contact.

"Just remember, Nagi-chan, there will always be others until you find that one person. When you find them, don't ever let them go. Hold onto them tight and love them all you can, keep a hold of those feelings and eventually you'll get through to that person." Nagi nodded again, more confidently although there were tears in her eyes. Elena stood up and turned to the lift door as their descent slowed.

"Elena, how did you find Himura?" Nagi asked curiously. Elena smiled sadly.

"I found him half dead in a hospital bed, I nursed him to health and we never let go of each other from that moment on." She said, recalling the moment that had changed her life.

"You and Himura have a lot of hardship, don't you?" Nagi asked as the doors opened and Elena nodded.

"Yes; and I'm afraid we're not done yet."

"What is it, Hinagiku-san?" Hayate asked again with a smile. Secretly inside him his heart was beating wildly and he couldn't control the blush coming to his cheeks, hoping against hope.

"I didn't want to say it at first. I told Ayumu that I'd support her; but I felt terrible from then on. I couldn't tell her, it felt like I was betraying her so I said nothing; but what Ellie said to me made me think so I've made up my mind." She looked up, her cheeks red but her eyes determined, although wavering with nervousness. She clasped her hands in front of her as she finally summed up the courage to say it.

"I love you, Hayate-kun."

Himura climbed the steps up to the mansion's front door and pushed it open. Maria entered the hall and greeted him with a smile.

"Ah, Himura-kun. You're back already?" She asked as Himura made his way to the foot of the stairs.

"Yeah. We managed to draw the goons out and the police arrested them, it's all over now so I came back." He stopped as he began to climb the stairs. "Oh; and things may change between Nagi-chan and Hayate from now on; but for the better."

"Oh?" Maria asked expectantly.

"Ellie's talking with Nagi-chan, helping her to sort out her feelings. She's at that age where she's still unsure of herself, confused by her feelings. Being surrounded by those older than herself probably just worsens that as she tries to unconsciously reach out to someone and mistake her own emotions."

"And how do you know all this? You're not much older than Nagi; but you seem to be able to understand her better than she does herself." Maria's tone wasn't angry but curious. Himura smiled sadly, just as Elena had to Nagi's questions.

"Ellie and I have been through a lot… we've learnt hard lessons all too quickly. Besides, Ellie was Nagi-chan's age herself once; although her situation would have been very different she can understand Nagi-chan's confusion." Himura turned to go and began to walk up the stairs.

"You look like you try to carry everything upon yourself, Himura-san." Maria remarked quietly. Himura didn't stop but his reply drifted down to her.

"It's what I do."

"Hinagiku-san…." Hayate could feel the blood pumping in his ears. His heart felt like it would explain. Hinagiku stood before him, her eyes hopeful and determined. He took a step forward, his body thinking on its own. His mind was trying to take control but he couldn't stop himself, his feelings taking over. His mouth opened and closed as the two parts of him struggled for control; but in the end his own feelings broke through.

"You don't have to answer. I just wanted to say it, not keep it pent up and secret." Hinagiku said, taking his indecisiveness for rejection.

"No, Hinagiku-san, I… I'm happy." Hinagiku spun around, her hope growing to bursting point. Hayate was staring right at her. "The truth is… I didn't want to say anything either. I thought milady might be angry and I don't want to hurt her; but now… now I'm not so sure that she will be angry or sad, I think perhaps she knew. Himura-san and Elena-san both knew; and I've only known them for a few days." Hinagiku's eyes opened wide. She hadn't expected this; she had expected the classic 'Can I think about it?' line.

"Hinagiku-san. I feel the same way for you." Hayate finally blurted out. Hinagiku took a step forwards, stopped, hesitated and then threw away her caution, her feelings were in overdrive, her emotions in control and she rushed forwards into Hayate's open arms.

School ended and the class picked up their bags, placing books inside and slinging them over shoulders before leaving the room chattering to their friends. Nagi was fidgeting, unsure of how to approach Hayate and she looked pleadingly at Elena who gave her a calm smile and tapped the butler on the shoulder.

"Hayate-kun, Nagi-chan would like to talk to you about something. I'll wait with Hina by the gates for you." With that Elena wandered over to Hinagiku and said something to her. They left the classroom together, heading towards the gate, Elena talking to Hinagiku who blushed at first but then the embarrassment faded. Hayate turned to Nagi; they were alone in the classroom.

"Milady, is something wrong?" Hayate asked and Nagi shook her head.

"Hayate! I want you to be my butler… but I want you to be my friend too. I know you have all those jobs as a butler to raise me properly and protect me but… can't you do that as… my… brother?" Nagi looked from side to side then down at the floor as she blurted the words out in phases. Hayate was stunned for a moment before he smiled.

"I'd like that, milady." He said. Nagi looked up, her eyes bright.

"Hayate! Oh; and you're allowed to get involved with other girls now, just not Maria!" Nagi said, as if she were giving a permission of law.

"Milady?" Hayate asked, confused, unsure what to make of this seemingly random revelation.

"You can be with Hinagiku, okay?" She blurted out loudly. Hayate reddened suddenly.

"H-how did you know, milady?" He asked, stunned again. Nagi shook her head.

"Hayate, everyone knows; and Elena didn't give talk to me for no reason." Nagi said, making her way to the door. "Come on, let's go. Hinagiku's waiting for you." She smiled, the first truly happy smile in a long time; and then she was through the door with Hayate rushing to catch up.

At the gates Hinagiku and Elena stood chatting and laughing as they waited for the mistress and her butler to arrive.

"I can't believe this all turned out how it did." Hinagiku said, turning serious. Elena shrugged and grinned.

"If you're not confident enough in yourself you'll never get happiness. Hina, you're very successful at everything; but you strike me as someone who's unsure about her own feelings. You need to think about them a bit more. See what happens when you let them speak for you this time?"

"Yes but I don't know what's going to happen now. I mean, we're not going out or anything so…." Hinagiku trailed off when she saw the mischievous grin on Elena's face.

"Oh; but didn't I tell you? Nagi-chan and I are going shopping for some things. You and Hayate-kun are heading back to the mansion together."

"What?!" Hinagiku demanded. She was confused, nervous and angry at being manipulated; but there was an underlying feeling of joy.

"Ah, here they are. Nagi-chan, come on, we've got shops to go to!" Elena called as she waved her hand to Nagi and Hayate. The two joined them at the gate, Hayate and Hinagiku settling into an awkward silence.

"Okay then, Nagi-chan and I are going shopping. You two go on ahead!" Elena said grabbing Nagi by the wrist and the two girls ran off, Elena almost dragging Nagi behind her to leave the awkward lovers by the gate.

"Why do I feel like we've been set up?" Hayate asked after they had stood for several moments staring after the disappearing dots in the distance.

"Probably because we have been." Hinagiku answered back. Then they suddenly seemed to take notice of each other and looked the other way, embarrassed.

"Well, shall we get going then?" Hayate asked and Hinagiku nodded her head a little too firmly.

"Yes, let's."

Back at the mansion one of the family limousines pulled up at the gates which opened automatically, allowing the vehicle to drive up the path to the front of the house. Elena and Nagi climbed out of the car and walked up the steps.

"Elena, is it a good idea to leave those two alone?" Nagi asked but Elena just laughed.

"Nothing bad will happen, Nagi-chan. The worst that will happen is nothing. Some people take their time; some people know what to do instinctively. We'll just have to wait and see how things work out."

They pushed through the door into the main hall. Himura appeared at the top of the stairs and glanced down to see them. He smiled tightly and held up a phone and pointed to it. Elena nodded that she understood and then the boy continued on across the landing and out of sight.

"What does he mean?" Nagi asked.

"He means that we have to go soon."

"Hayate-kun… what are we going to do now?" Hinagiku finally asked, breaking the awkward silence. Hayate seemed shocked by the sudden noise even though it was only a quietly asked question.

"I-I don't know." He stopped and so did Hinagiku who turned around to face him. "I think perhaps the first step would be… will you go out with me?" He asked. Hinagiku was flustered; although in truth she had expected the question and had tried to brace herself for it.

"Y-yes, I will." She managed to respond and they both relaxed a little, this first hurdle cleared. They smiled at each other a little unsurely and continued on their way to the mansion. Somewhere along the way their hands began to drift closer to the other and then enclose, almost subconsciously. They made their way to the mansion, hand in hand.