Hayate Ayasaki is an unlucky 16-year-old boy who has worked since childhood to make ends meet due to his parents' irresponsible behavior. On Christmas Eve, he finds out his parents have run away from home while shouldering him with a massive ¥156,804,000 ($1,048,164) debt. The Yakuza (from whom the money was borrowed in the first place) plan to settle the debt by selling his organs and various other illegal means such as selling him away as a slave. While running away from the debt collectors, Hayate meets Nagi Sanzenin, a 13-year-old girl and the sole heir of the wealthy Sanzenin estate, and her maid Maria. At first, Hayate plans to kidnap Nagi and acquire a ransom of over ¥150 million but due to a misunderstanding, Nagi thinks Hayate is confessing his love to her. After he rescues Nagi from actual kidnappers, she hires Hayate as her new butler.
