Hayate no Gotoku! Chapter 37:A Long Time Ago, Space Sheriff Gyaban Taught Us that Youth Is About Not Turning Back! (僕らは昔、宇宙刑事に若さとは振り向かない事だと教わった!,bokura ha mukashi , uchuu keiji ni wakasa toha furimuka nai koto dato oshiwa tta !?)
Tama remarks that the mansion is really quiet during the day, but Hayate tells Tama that he shouldn't be speaking in the first panel, since it might confuse new readers. Tama then asks Hayate about his education, since he was formerly a high school student, but Hayate says that he has no more time for school anymore, since he has to work to repay his debt. Tama calls him boring, since most ordinary people his age don't let their needs for money disrupt their youth. Tama begins to describe the rest of school life to Hayate, since there's more than just studies. However, Maria calls for Hayate, interrupting Tama and prompting him to hide. Maria asks Hayate if he has a cellphone, since not having one is inconvenient. He doesn't, and Maria gives him money to go buy one. Before he leaves though, Maria tells him that he looks tired, and she asks him to take the day off and spend time in town.
He heads to a large store, where he picks up a cellphone, a fairly modern model with a nice camera and music player. He then notices that the address book in the phone holds up to 1000 addresses, and he jokes that he would never actually use that many, but this makes him become depressed. He wonders how his friends at his old high school are doing. Since he doesn't go to school anymore, he wonders if this will be alright. While thinking about it, he realizes that there is nothing stopping him from going, since his tuition for that semester had been paid already and he hasn't withdrawn. Remembering Hinagiku telling him that if he isn't a little selfish, he'll never be happy, he decides to take a trip to the school. At the school, he finds himself amazed that he had the courage to go, but he wonders that if it would be a good idea to enter now, since classes were currently in session. Just then, someone approaches him, and he panics, wondering if they're going to treat him as an intruder, but it turns out that the person is one of his former classmates, Ayumu Nishizawa, who asks why he isn't in uniform. She says that everyone was worried about him, since he hadn't been showing up for school. Hayate tells her that a lot has happened, and he starts to tell the story of what happened to him. The story renders Ayumu speechless, and after a bit, she asks him if he's feeling sick. He says that he wasn't, but it would probably be better if he was. Ayumu then smiles and says that she's happy to have a chance to see him for the first time that year, though when she notices that this was surprising to him, she denies that it's anything actually deep. Just then, a few of his other friends show up, and they mention that they heard a rumor that he had quit school, though Hayate denies it. Souya teases Ayumu by saying that her prince had returned, angering her and making her knock him to the ground, saying that it's only normal to worry about a classmate. Souya points out that she was apparently about to cry when he mentioned the possibility of Hayate having quit school, though Hayate ignores them and thanks Ayumu for being worried.
Realizing how much Ayumu cares, Hayate says that he probably should be going to school, but then one of his former teachers comes along and tells him that he's now a dropout. Ayumu gets angry again and slaps the teacher for telling what she believed was a rumor, but he reassures her that it's true, telling that his parents had come to recover his tuition. Hayate becomes slightly depressed, realizing that he actually can't attend school. He begins wandering off, but Ayumu tries to get him to stop, not wanting him to vanish. She tells him that he could try to clear things with the board, but he knows that would only cause trouble for the teachers due to his parent's selfishness. Hayate tells Ayumu not to worry, and he says goodbye and starts walking off, but Ayumu chases him and tells him that she likes him. She doesn't want him to leave like this, so she asks him for a date. As Hayate thinks about what he just heard, an image of Nagi crying flashes in his mind. He tells Ayumu that he's sorry, but in order to hide his true emotions, he lies, saying that he's only intersted in 2d girls, shocking everyone nearby. However, he quickly admits that he's lying, and that he can't go on a date because there's someone he can't leave alone. Ayumu becomes immensely frustrated with him, and ends up slapping him and storming off. The narrator explains that Hayate thought that rejecting her in a way that would make her mad was more manly, but as the character of a comedy manga, such a thing is impossible for him. That night, at the mansion, Nagi greets him and looks at his cellphone. She takes it and adds her as the first address in the address book, asking him to mail or call her whenever he desires. Meanwhile, Ayumu looks out over the city's skyline, having not lost interest in Hayate.
