[9taileddemon]

I am just going to put my own personal view on the relationship between Nagi and Hayate out there as well as my ideal ending.

I still think that regardless of what happens he will remain Nagi's butler. His only real wish is that he just wants to have a life where he doesn't always have to worry about money and being followed by debt collectors. His "dream" of owning his own house is basically his way of saying that he just wants to live a life that he can control and not have to constantly worry about how he will get by for the next day.

Being Nagi's butler is a way of fulfilling that dream. He has an actual job and even though he has a huge debt, he has pretty good control of his life. He just has to continue working, learning, and helping Nagi for the next 40 years. While that seems harsh, compared to a life where he and his horrible parents were always on the verge of having no money or food it is actually a blessing.

Also, Hayate has shown that being a butler has become an integral part of his life. He truly wishes to help Nagi as much as he can. This was shown pretty well in the first season of the anime and has been shown through various moments of the manga. Even when he is given chances to pay off his debt he does not think "Oh now I can live my own life" instead he thinks "I do not have to continue burdening my ojo-sama with all the money I borrowed."

I truly do not think there will be a Hayate/Nagi ending. They just don't mesh well enough in a romantic sense. Hayate is like Nagi's main pillar of support while Hayate wishes to do anything he can to help her but still does not like her romantically. I have always felt that in a way the main character of Hayate the Combat Butler is actually Nagi. At the very least in terms of personal development she takes the award. (Hina is a close second.) Throughout the series she has slowly been pushing past her comfort zone and joining the rest of the world more often. So I feel that her final development will be finally letting go of this obsession she has with Hayate.

Near the end I think what might happen is that Hayate will decide to go out with one of the girls, Nagi will be super hurt and may even finally find out that Hayate intended to kidnap her at the beginning, not profess his love. Hayate will probably be fired (again) and Nagi will go into a depression. However after a few chapters she might finally understand that every time Hayate promised to stay with her for the rest of his life, it was not meant romantically. So even if his heart isn't turned towards hers romantically, he will still remain with her.

Then we will have a nice ending with whoever he chooses still being with him and yet he will remain as Nagi's butler.

However, the only way this would work out is if my view on Nagi's feelings are correct. I just believe that Nagi is extremely similar to Nishizawa. She doesn't NEED to be loved by Hayate, though of course she wants to be, but she feels she still NEEDS him to be a part of her life. Again, he is her pillar of support and the person who helps her develop as a character and she needs him to be there for her but she doesn't NEED the romantic feelings.

Just my 3 cents.