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I think it's the other way round: Hata could afford to lift Athena up so much, way beyond what the other girls succeeded in, BECAUSE he always knew - in advance - that he'd take Athena out of the story afterwards, at least for the time being. And he added the "or I'll return to claim him" twist to throw a bone to the A-tan faction.
If she were to return, he'd either have to go for an ending soon, or he'd have to reduce Athena to the level of the other girls (which would certainly not please the A-tan fans). So I doubt that we'll see her anytime soon.
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I agree. Athena was created with a particular story in mind, and now that's she's served her purpose, she doesn't have any real place in the story. When she does return, I imagine it'll be to kick off another serious arc or even the end of the manga.
I really don't expect her to show up anytime soon and be reduced to another girl chasing Hayate around in the background. It would end up being banal and out of character for her, I think.
On a different note, I find it very interesting that Ayumu's birthday story ended up focusing more on her relationship with Nagi then with Hayate. I know they bonded pretty strongly over Golden Week but it was nice to see that affirmation (Nagi-chan dai suki! *glomp*) It goes both ways of course--Nagi was the one who wanted to do something special for the Hamster to begin with. I'd love to see Ayumu become a tenant somehow.
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When you have characters like Hina and Ayumu who have had a lot of romantic development for the entire manga, or like Athena who have been introduced almost purely for that purpose, you can say there's also other side to this manga.
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I don't know that I'd say they've had a
lot of romantic development. Hina especially has felt like she's just been spinning in circles for ages now. She had a lot of internal anguish during Golden Week, but it was all very self contained. Her biggest moments during the arc kept going back to the theme of self-sacrifice--Sacrificing her "weak" image (In her mind anyway) to win the Volleyball game, telling Hayate to go to Athena instead of confessing herself, and going to help Hayate save Athena despite her massive jealousy. It never came back around to her getting any kind of serious attention from Hayate.
I'm not sure what to expect from Hina anymore. She's still got that confession card, but it's quickly becoming more of an emotional burden then her secret weapon. Her confession early in the series could have been very powerful (Which is probably why it didn't happen) but unless something changes it's going to be more about Hina letting go then anything else.
Ayumu's story is all about love, empathy, and friendship, and I adore her for that. She's got the opposite problem from Hina, where she's been completely straightforward and awesome with Hayate but as she says herself states a number of times "He still won't look at her."
Hmmm...When you consider that Ayumu and Hina were introduced at roughly the same time in the manga, it's probably not a coincidence that their personalities and problems are almost completely opposite. Those two were always meant to be a pair, I think. (I don't mean that as a couple, just that their stories were meant to be intertwined from the start.)