There is an old argument that a lot of characters in the Hayate no Gotoku! world know about the mutual attraction between Ayasaki Hayate and Katsura Hinagiku. Of course, whether the readers agree with this argument depends on whether they ship Hayate and Hinagiku.
“Just how many is ‘a lot’?” you may ask. “A lot”, “almost everyone” and “a good portion” are the most common answers, but sadly none of them are definitive. As such, on Valentine’s Day 2012, Doughnut Gunso attempts to go through the whole cast to pick up hints on how sure a particular character is on Hayate’s feelings for Hinagiku, and vice versa. A “certainty index” would follow the list of incidents through which the character shows hints about their knowledge of the possible Hayate-Hinagiku relationship.
Do remember that the assessment below is fairly subjective – it is almost impossible that you would agree to everything I say below. I personally have a feeling that something is missing in this list. I may come back from time to time to add things to some more things to this list, so it might be a good idea to come back to this article from time to time.
Okay, enough of the speech. Let’s go!
Nagi
Hayate on Hinagiku
- She heard Hayate saying that he wanted to learn an ultimate move in order to impress Hinagiku.
- She imagined Hayate choosing Hinagiku as his girl.
- She hinted Hayate not to try to seduce Hinagiku while taking her out on dinner.
- She was mad at Hayate bringing Hinagiku and Izumi to the Violet Mansion.
- She heard Hayate saying that Hinagiku was a charming person.
Hinagiku on Hayate
- She was worried that Hinagiku might fall for Hayate as he gave her a birthday present.
- She saw Hayate and Hinagiku teaming up nicely to help Ruka with her doujinshi.
Certainty: 
Maria
Hayate on Hinagiku
- She asked if Hayate liked Hinagiku.
- She knew that Hayate went after Hinagiku to give her White Day biscuits.
- She suggested Hayate to talk over his relationship with Hinagiku – although it stemmed from a misunderstanding.
Certainty: 
Hinagiku on Hayate
- She said that there was no way Hinagiku would fall for Hayate.
- She heard Hinagiku talking about “her friend’s” love problems. It is unknown if Maria knew that “her friend” was actually Hinagiku herself.
- She could see Hinagiku enjoyed Hayate’s company.
Ayumu
Hayate on Hinagiku
- She was of the opinion that Hayate would fall for someone like Hinaigku.
- She heard Hayate said that he wanted to remain in the good graces of Hinagiku.
- She thought that Hayate would be happy to hear Hinagiku’s confession.
Certainty:
Hinagiku on Hayate
- Hinagiku admitted to her that she loved Hayate.
- She encouraged Hinagiku to confess to Hayate.
Certainty:
Athena (Alice)
Hayate on Hinagiku
- She saw Hayate dealing with Hinagiku’s temper with patience, and appeared to be in thoughts about it.
- She heard from right behind Hinagiku that she loved Hayate.
- She blackmailed Hinagiku into living with her with this “secret”.
Certainty:
Mrs. Katsura
Hayate on Hinagiku
- She suggested Hayate to repay his gratitude towards Hinagiku on her birthday.
Certainty:
Hinagiku on Hayate
- She suggested Hayate to resist should Hinagiku attacked him.
Risa
Hayate on Hinagiku
- She asked if Hayate wanted “Hinagiku’s body”, but Hayate did not answer the question properly.
Certainty:
Hinagiku on Hayate
- She witnessed Hayate making Hinagiku’s heart beat with his words.
Certainty:
Izumi
Hayate on Hinagiku
- She asked if Hayate loved Hinagiku, but Hayate answered that it was not time for him to be in love.
Certainty:
Hinagiku on Hayate
- She suggested Hinagiku to make dinner for Hayate.
Certainty:
Miki
Hayate on Hinagiku
- She was alert that Hayate wanted to give Hinagiku a birthday present.
- She asked if Hayate had anyone he wanted to confess to, and Hayate answered that he didn’t.
Certainty:
Hinagiku on Hayate
- She became suspicious when Hinagiku asked for her opinions on Hayate.
- She was aware that if Hinagiku celebrated her birthday alone with Hayate, she could fall for him.
- She appeared to have some knowledge about Hinagiku failed attempt to confess to Hayate.
Certainty:
Kaoru
Hinagiku on Hayate
- He witnessed Hayate making Hinagiku’s heart beat with his words.
Certainty:
Aika
Hayate on Hinagiku
- She witnessed as Hayate and Hinagiku were in close body contacts on the cliff.
- She named the restaurant for Hayate to take Hinagiku to.
Certainty:
Chiharu
Hinagiku on Hayate
- She was of the opinion that Hayate was quite close to Hinagiku.
Certainty:
Isumi
Hayate on Hinagiku
- She suggested that Hayate could fall for someone who was closer to Nagi than she was, and speculations are that the “someone” could be Hinagiku.
- It is highly possiblethat Isumi was there to witness Hayate blushed at Hinagiku several times in the old school campus.
Certainty:
Hinagiku on Hayate
- It is highly possible that Isumi was there to witness Hinagiku crying into Hayate’s chest in the old school campus.
- She witnessed Hinagiku showing her temper when Hayate took Nagi and Ayumu’s hands, but not hers.
- She thought that Hinagiku was crying when Hayate and Athena reunited.
Certainty:
Tama
Hayate on Hinagiku
- He was literally beaten up by Hayate in order to protect Hinagiku.
- He was there to witness Hayate suggesting to call Hinagiku “Hina-tan”.
- Hayate threatened to kill him after he forced Hayate to make Hinagiku angry.
Certainty:
Hinagiku on Hayate
- He could see that Hinagiku was embarrassed for being kissed indirectly by Hayate.
- He could see that Hinagiku was jealous of Athena.
Certainty: 
Shiranui
Hayate on Hinagiku
- He heard Hayate suggesting to give Hinagiku a birthday present.
Certainty:
Hinagiku on Hayate
- He heard the girls’ talk between Hinagiku and Ayumu on Hayate’s preference of girls.
- He suggested to the cat spirit to make troubles for Hayate by possessing Izumi and attacking Hayate in front of Hinagiku, so to create a scene of “love triangle”.
Certainty:
Cat Spirit
Hayate on Hinagiku
- He was of the opinion that Hayate was flirting with Hinagiku.
Certainty:
Hinagiku on Hayate
- He pointed out that Hinagiku loved Hayate.
Certainty:
Father Ghost
Hinagiku on Hayate
- He advised Hinagiku on how to face her love dilemma.
Certainty:
Conclusion
It could easily be seen from the above list that there are simply many more “Hinagiku’s faces” than “Hayate’s faces”. This is more or less reflective of the real world, as every reader knows that Hinagiku loves Hayate, while nobody really could be sure if Hayate loves her. While Hinagiku tried hard to hide her feelings from everyone, she was able to hide it from no one.
Whether the above list makes up a good proportion of the whole cast is debatable. It could easily be pointed out that characters like Sakuya, Wataru and Ginka are not on the list, so indeed not everyone knows about their possible relationship. But then, with at least 15 characters knowing that Hayate could have feelings for Hinagiku and vice versa, their mutual attraction isn’t exactly insignificant either.
Knowledge of the possible Hayate-Hinagiku relationship doesn’t mean that they would do anything about it. However, if the characters around them would do something about their relationship in the end, prior knowledge about its possibility is of course preferable.
Hayate Report 
