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As the clock tower struck noon at Hakou Academy, the students started to pour out from many of the buildings at the school, tired and hungry. Nagi and Hayate went about their usual lunch routine, just like any other master butler pair would do at one of countless pristine wooden benches.
"Tea, mistress?" Hayate offered her a white china tea cup.
"Thank you Hayate." His master gladly accepted it. Before a delicious lunchbox usually prepared by Maria or Hayate on some occasions could be served, a slightly unwelcome figure approached the two.
The welcoming tone was equally unfriendly. "What do you want John?" Nagi eyed the man who disrupted the sanctuary of lunchtime.
John was startled, his smile disappearing, "Such hostility. What have I done to you yet?"
A moment of silence was accompanied by Nagi and Hayate giving a blank look at each other, searching for an answer.
John's smile returned, "Just thought we might want to have lunch together, that's all." John took a seat beside Nagi, regardless of response. She inched away from him immediately.
Hayate took a look around. Besides from several figures in the distance, there were only 3 people in their area. Hayate took notice of it, "Where's your butler?"
"Butler? I'm here alone. I find having one following me all the time to be very troublesome."
"That's odd."
Before either Nagi or Hayate could press further on with more questions, John changed the subject, "I guess this is a good time to break the ice a little. I already know a lot about you, so it's only fair if you get to know a little something about me. So ask away."
Nagi didn't lower her guard, "Who are you?"
John chuckled, "So harsh and straight-forward. My name remains John. That does not change. TO put it shortly, I guess I am the son of a very successful business man, just like about every other male student here. Either that or a butler to another rich person."
John flashed a smile at Nagi, whose attitude towards John did not change. Before either could continue, a limousine drove in from the distance accompanied by a swift breeze redirecting everyone's attention.
Hayate watched as the limousine parked at the bench across from them, "Since when did they allow cars to drive in here?"
The trio continued to watch as a random female student rather young in age exited from the car along with her butler who almost towered above her in height. It was clear that she was in a rather foul mood, "I'm hungry. Give me lunch now."
"Yes mistress."
A panicked look was obvious on the butler's raced to the oversized trunk of the car. To the audience's amazement, he was setting up some kind of kitchen. When he finally completed the assembly of the kitchen, the butler tried to face his master with a smile and afraid that he had taken too long, "What shall it be today?"
"Anything, just get cooking already."
"A few cold cuts for appetizer and foie gras for entrée?"
"Fine."
John shook his head in disapproval, "Some people can really flaunt their wealth. More than they actually have. " He continued to watch for a moment before continuing, "You know, there are very few who would be humble enough to not show the entirety of their wealth. Really, if you had realized that you truly have, you would make everyone look like slaves in comparison."
Nagi took notice of that,"What was that?"
John turned back with another smile, "Nothing. Where were we? Oh yes, the true reason Im' here is because…"
John bowed deeply, "I need your help."
"What?"
"You see, I got this assignment for the weekend. Apparently I have to write this report regarding anime. Something which I, unfortunately, know nothing of. However, I do know that you're probably the biggest anime fan around."
"Why would I want to help you?"
"Can't we be friends?"
At the same moment, voices are heard in the distance shouting, "John-sama!"
John stood up, already preparing to surrender, "Looks like my fan club found me." He took a step backwards before allowing himself to be carried away by the surging crowd. "Meet you at the school gate straight after school."
With John and the crowd out of sight, Hayate immediately checked the teapot that was in his hand. They have completely forgotten about lunch during their encounter and conversation with John. "Tea's getting cold. You don't mind mistress?"
"What do you think Hayate? Should I help him?"
"It's good for you to make new friends once in a while. So I guess you should help him out."
"What do you think of him Hayate?"
Hayate seemed surprised at the question, "Him? He seemed like a nice guy. He hasn't really threatened us yet, but I have a bad feeling about this. But don't worry mistress, he if he poses any kind of danger, I will be there to protect you."
Hayate's face curled up into a smile, "Now, tea mistress?"
John pondered the situation while the group walked away from the school area, "So how are you going to help me with this? Thanks for the help; I guess I owe you one now."
Nagi answered, "I figured that the best way for you to learn about anime is to actually watch some. I have a friend who runs a video rental store. I'll take you there."
"Video rental huh? Getting really rare these days."
It was a usual day for Wataru, proud owner of a video rental store. The sky was cloudy, and business was slow as he sat fiddling at the register, trying to make an impossible dream come true.
"Hey! It's not impossible!" Wataru shouted to the void.
Sorry. Anyway, things seemed to pick up when a regular customer arrived.
"Hey Nagi, what do you need today?"
She walked through the store door with the rest of the group. Wataru turned his attention to each of the two males, "Nice to see you Hayate and…" He stared long and deep at John, "Who are you."
John laughed, undeterred at the hostility, "Is this how you treat a customer? No wonder your store is failing?"
"Why you!" Wataru lashed out for a moment, with only the computer preventing a physical strike.
Nagi stood between the two, interrupting any hostility, or rather one-sided violence. She said "Anyway, my friend here is looking to borrow a few anime DVDs."
Wataru calmed down, "A few anime DVDs huh?" He cried out to his assistant, "Saki!"
John peered down the corridor, interested in who this 'Saki' might be, and he saw a green-haired beauty beyond expectation.
Saki, who had been busy shelving returned DVDs greeted her master, "Yes, what is it?"
Before anyone else could say or do anything, John was already before, holding her hand and made his best handsome look, "I did not expect to see such beauty in a run down place. You must be Saki, please call me John."
Nagi stood unamused at the unfolding drama, "Do you have a maid fetish?"
John turned and shouted at Nagi, "I do not!"
Saki stood blushing for a moment before her usual 'freakout when guys touch me response' kicked in and left a bright red hand-shaped mark on John's cheek.
Wataru continued, trying to ignore what had happened, "Saki, can you please lead them to the anime section. I need to keep watching the front door."
Many minutes later, John finally had a selection of 4-5 DVDs to borrow from the original list of 20. Nagi had difficulty narrowing down her recommended list down to just a few. It was obviously impossible to go through dozens of DVDs in a single weekend.
Wataru, after finishing scanning the bar codes, asked, "I doubt you have a membership card."
John shook his head.
"Fill this form out." Wataru said with a feeling of boredom, not helping the feeling of hostility that was already there.
John wrote his first name out, but pausing on the blank box after it. "Do I really have to fill this out?"
"What's the problem? You write your first name and your last name, address and so on. How hard is that?"
"It's just that I…"
Nagi interrupted, "Just use my card." She did not want this to drag on further.
"Thank you for coming." Wataru said as the group exited the store.
John smiled at Nagi, "Thanks for the help. How about I get you and your butler coffee?"
Hayate responded for the both of them, "That would be nice. Thanks."
Hayate turned to his master as John ran off, "That was interesting wasn't it."
Nagi said, "Weird guy, definitely, with a maid fetish too."
Hayate laughed briefly, "Yeah." He stopped and said, "But why would he hesitate to write his own name?"
"I don't know."
John returned with three cups of coffee a minute later and beckoned them to a public bench. Again, John was the first to initiate conversation, "Now that I think about it, you never really explained the DVDs we rented. You were just like 'get this, get that'" He picked up one of the DVD cases, "So mind telling me why we picked this one up?"
Nagi took a look at the DVD case, "I pretty much recommended the most popular anime from a year or two ago. I also tried to pick up a variety of genres so you would have a more diverse view once you are done watching them. That one is about a guy gaining mind-controlling eye powers and proceeds to attempt to take over the world. I'm sure you'll like it."
"Sounds interesting."
She picked up another DVD case and showed it to John, "I don't know why we picked this one either now that I think about it. It's a bout a master butler pair, the butler has great misfortune and pointless comedy ensures."
"Okay…"
John's stare rolled from the back of the DVD case he was holding and onto Hayate. He said, "By the way, your butler has been really quiet lately. He's done nothing but stare at me also. Is this usual behavior for him?"
Hayate responded for Nagi, keeping a professional look, "I'm just doing my job that's all. There is no point for me to interrupt a conversation between you and my mistress."
John accepted the answer, "Alright." His attention turned back to his cup of coffee.
Nagi suddenly stood up, for little or no reason.
Hayate expressed concern, "Something wrong mistress?"
Nagi struggled to speak the next few words, and when she did it was with great embarrassment, "I… need to go to the toilet."
John laughed, "Too much coffee?"
Hayate said, "Let's find a public bathroom shall we? We'll wait outside."
The group proceeded to search for one which fortunately only a few blocks away. Nagi ran inside immediately, leaving the butler and John outside.
Hayate wasted no time, and immediately confronted John, "What are you planning?"
John was still occupied with his coffee, "What am I planning? Well, I guess it's straight to watching these once I get home."
"No, I mean what are you planning?"
"I don't know what you are meaning butler."
"I know it's not like me to do this but, I can feel it. You are up to no good. I won't let you harm Nagi."
"Is this a threat? I guess this is part of you doing your job. I admit I know more than I say I do. Like Old Man Sanzenin's offer, and what fortune that brings."
"Nagi's fortune? What do you want with it?"
"Like hell I want it!" John calmed down and eye the area around them as if to make sure no one else was listening, "I'm aware that you've probably already been chased by Gilbert Kent?"
"That fake foreigner?"
"It's only been him so far mostly, but I fear… that they make be others on the move now. Others that want that fortune, perhaps…"
A scream echoed from the women's bathroom. It took only a moment to recognize that it was Nagi's cry for help. John immediately dashed off in the direction opposite to the direction of Nagi's scream shouting, "I'll find police! You save her!"
"Wait!" Hayate cried, but it was a moment too late. John was already out of sight.
Hayate dashed towards the women's bathroom, but stopped at the door. Like any other male, he hesitated to enter a normally taboo place for males to be. Luckily, Nagi ran out the door the very next moment. Hayate immediately grabbed her further away from the door. "Are you alright?"
She nodded positive.
Her assailant eventually revealed himself from the darkness beyond the door. "Look who we have here." He patted his weapon, a metal rod. "A butler guarding his little mistress."
Hayate maintained his composure, "What do you want?"
A second voice, another thug was behind them already. "It's simple. The boss needs the money."
"Boss?"
"Can't tell you kid, sorry."
"We don't have any money on us right now."
A third voice responded, "It's not the money you have right now. It's the money that brat is going to earn.
"I won't let you harm her."
A fourth voice, "I'd be more worried about yourself if I were you. Four on one, good odds."
When Hayate took a look around, the thug was right. He and Nagi were surrounded on four sides. The thugs were all armed with melee weapons, and were quite well dressed. It was clear they were either mafia, or professionals for hire.
The first thug spoke again, who seemed like the leader of the group and wore red. "I'd take his suggestion kid. We've dealt with butlers before. They're just a minor nuisance to us, you included. Just surrender quietly, give up the girl, and we'll try our best to not cripple you."
Hayate stood his ground and said nothing.
The leader smirked, "Can't say I didn't warn ya."
He charged forward with a downwards blow with his metal pipe. Hayate caught the attack, grabbing the wrist and proceeded to disarm and throw him to the ground. However, a second attack by another thug was already following and Hayate managed to deter him with a kick. A third was already behind Hayate though, and he struck Hayate on the back and a fourth delivered a coup de grâce to the back of Hayate's head who slumped to the floor.
The leader, angry, stood up, rearmed himself and joined the others in beating Hayate on the floor.
Amidst the pain, the butler yelled, "Run! Save yourself!" Nagi watched as the thugs pounded on Hayate, who were entirely focused on him. No one was watching her. Perhaps she could run and find help, but that would mean abandoning Hayate. She could continue watching, hoping that Hayate would somehow reverse the situation. Moments seemed like hours as Hayate faded before her. What could she do?
A figure drop-kicked the leader in the face, dropping him to the floor a few meters away and distracting the others enough to stop them pounding on Hayate who backed off to help their leader.
John sighed, "I seriously hate fighting. You owe me one."
He helped Hayate up from the ground, "You okay?"
Hayate examined himself, "Yeah."
"After all that? She must have really given you a strong body."
"She what?"
"Never mind. I couldn't find police in the area, but I've called and they're on their way."
"Who are they?"
"Looks like guns for hire. They're probably extorted quite a few millionaires in the past. Watch the girl, I'll handle them."
The leader regained consciousness and promptly stood up and rearmed himself again. He examined his face and found it bruised and his nose was bleeding, "You'll pay for this!"
The other thugs resumed and surrounded the two.
The leader looked at the two men facing him, and was still confident, "Four against two. You're still surrounded."
John said, "We'll see about that. Unfortunately you are not dealing with an ordinary butler here as you might have before. He took your best beating and is still standing strong here." John smiled, "As for me…"
Within a moment he was already in front of the thug next to the leader, with a first buried in his stomach. The thug reeled away and collapsed as the rest stood watching.
"He's fast." Hayate thought.
The thug nearest to Hayate hesitated to think for a moment, after seeing what had happened. He charged forth away to avenge his fallen teammate. He was quickly dispatched with a roundhouse to the head. A third rushed forth blindly at Hayate. The butler's hands met clothing quickly and he was thrown against a nearby wall before he could strike.
Only the leader was left standing.
John taunted him, "There, we're not surrounded anymore. Rather, it is your who is outnumbered now."
The remaining thug refused to give in, "Where did you learn to… Never mind, I'll defeat you both!"
John relaxed and ignored the threat, "That won't be happening." A finger pointed straight at the red suit-wearing thug. John shook his head, "You are already defeated."
The leader stood in disbelief, "Defeated? You haven't touched me yet…" A sharp feeling of pain coursed through his body, originating from the abdomen. "When did you…" He collapsed afterwards."
"Too slow. Too slow."
Sirens, police finally arrived who proceeded to arrest the four all lying unconscious on the pavement.
Hayate quickly turned his attention to Nagi, whom he was protecting, "Are you okay mistress?"
"I'm fine, thank you. But what was that?"
"I don't know. I couldn't see it either.
They noticed a black limousine driving in quickly from the distance. A familiar license plate indicated that it was one of their own. The car proceeded to park nearby and Maria the maid emerged from it. She immediately took Nagi to the car, "We heard what happened. We'll take you to the mansion right away."
Before she could say anything more, John was already in front of her and flirting, "Hello love, what's your name."
Hayate shouted at him, "Now's hardly the right time!"
"Sorry." John backed away.
Maria turned to Hayate, "You did a great job today. Why not take the rest of the day off."
"Wait!" It was too late, the limousine had already driven off leaving Hayate and John.
John picked up his bag of DVDs and prepared to head off. Hayate stopped John to thank him, "Thanks for earlier. I don't know what could've happened if you didn't help us."
"Your mistress helped me, so it's only fair that I should help you."
John waved goodbye, "Take care of yourself. There's plenty more headed your way."
Hayate was left alone as the sun hovered above the horizon ready to set as the daylight faded.