Konoha Makise

Konoha Makise (牧瀬 木ノ葉) is a former employee of Mikado Sanzenin who had worked for him to support her sickly mother and younger brother, until her encounter with Hayate Ayasaki.

Appearance
Konoha has chin-length light-green hair, green eyes and she wears a black headband underneath her hair.

She is usually seen wearing a T-shirt and black shorts.

Introduction


Konoha first appeared in Chapter 463 when Hayate Ayasaki had decided to obtain a King's Jewel from Mikado Sanzenin's vault room.

When Hayate and Linn Regiostar had reached a room with separated floors over a lava river where the next door was on the other side, Hayate noticed a door that read "Secret Bridge Control Room" and decided to enter it. Here he encountered Konoha, wearing only a swimsuit, who was trying to hold back tears of embarrassment and unhappiness. Hayate was surprised to find her and asks her what she was doing inside the room, to which she introduced herself. She tells Hayate that she is working part-time by hiding the button to the secret bridge leading to the vault.

She tells Hayate that her family is poor; her mother is sick, her brother needs food and that she needs tuition for her own. She also tells him that, if Hayate were to get the button from her, they'll dock her pay, then asks him if he could give up and leave. When Hayate says that he won't and that he needs the button, she tells him that if he were to do anything to her, she would sue him.

Hayate asks her if she does have the button on her, to which she confirms that she does and it is somewhere on her. When Hayate looks at his wristwatch to check how much time he has left, she asks him what he is looking at, and when Hayate shows her, she uses a stun gun to destroy his wristwatch, slightly hurting Hayate. When Hayate yells at her for what she did, Konoha reasons that the day after tomorrow is her brother's birthday, saying that she promised that she'd buy her younger sibling a Multipurpose Pencil Box for the New Term, proclaiming that she needs the 925 yen an hour. She then tries to once again ask Hayate to give up and leave, but he does not, saying that he can't, telling her that he also has a duty that he can't hold back on. When she asks if Hayate is gonna attack and grope her chest to get the button from her, Hayate says that he will if it is necessary to get the King's Jewel, telling her that he will grope her chest and anything else that it takes.

Konoha then decides to let Hayate take the button from her chest, telling him that he can grope her chest as much as he wants, but telling him as well that beyond the person who's chest he groped is a sick woman and a hungry young boy and then urges him to get it over with, while crying. Hayate cannot bring himself to do so and instead, negotiates with her that if she gave him the button, he will give her 30,000 yen. Later after this, Hayate tells Linn that Konoha sold him the button for 128,500 yen, which he will pay when he and Konoha meet up again.

Sometime later after she had gone back home, she talked to her mother and brother about how she had quit her job and how she met Hayate, talking to both of them about nothing else but him, which Kanta took note of.

The Payment
Konoha later reappears in Chapter 471.

Later when Hayate got the 128,500 yen he needed to pay Konoha for, she had found him to already be in her house, where her mother instantly deemed Hayate to be her new husband and Kanta's new "papa", much to Hayate's chagrin. When she told her mother to stop troubling her guest, she asked Hayate if they could talk outside.

Once they headed outside, Hayate told her that he thought of how her and her family's condition was bad but never thought that it would be this worse. He then gives her the 128,500 yen he promised, to her relief, saying that her family can live off of it for a while. Konoha then admits that when she was still working for Mikado Sanzenin, it had paid well and that all her spare time spent there gave her enough time to study, but later tells Hayate that after she had quit her previous job, she cannot seem to find a new one. Hayate says that it was his fault that she lost her job, but she assures him that it was her fault because she lost to him.

Hayate then consoles her, saying that it isn't easy to support a family alone, adding that he too had to work hard at a young age in place for his irresponsible parents, telling Konoha that he understands her while also telling her that he and her might be alike, which makes her slightly blush.

Feelings Revealed
After that, Kanta had come over and asked Hayate if his name was Hayate (calling him "Hayate-sama"), to which Hayate answers that his name is indeed Hayate. She then frantically asked Kanta what he was saying, to which Kanta revealed to Hayate that he was the guy her older sister had fallen in love with, adding that she had quit her job because Hayate asked her with his "pretty face".

In embarrassment, she tries to tell Hayate that she had only quit her job for the money Hayate promised her, but Kanta opposes what she just told Hayate, saying that his clear eyes were staring at her's, making her heart race but she had still tried to negotiate because they would be in trouble if she just quit, much to her complete denial. Kanta continues on by saying that Konoha had wished Hayate actually groped her, but she still tries to deny it, but Kanta counters her words by saying that all she could ever talk about was Hayate, to which made Hayate feel a bit embarrassed himself, blushing while the two were arguing.



When Hayate tries to stop their argument, having grown completely embarrassed, she tries to tell Hayate once more that she did not say those things that Kanta just said and promises that she did not at all, but accidentally calls him "Hayate-sama" herself, completely exposing her true feelings for him. She then reasons that she is weak to pressure, but then Hayate tries to change the topic, saying that it was because of him that she lost her job and so he decides to help her find a new one to make up for his fault to her. Hayate tells her that he would feel really bad if he left her now without helping her.

Finding A New Job
Konoha makes another reappearance in Chapter 472.



The next day, Hayate takes her to the Violet Mansion. She helps Hayate with the laundry and, to Ayumu's surprise, realizes that Konoha has feelings for Hayate as well, to which the other girls already figured out before she did.

When Ayumu learns from Hayate that she is looking for a part-time job, Ayumu quickly decides to give her one in Wataru's store in Akihabara, to which she happily thanks her, shedding a single tear in the process.

All three of them arrive in Akihabara and when they arrive at Wataru's store, she learns that Ayumu is also in love with Hayate, after Wataru had accidentally blurted it out after he found out that Hayate is the guy Ayumu likes. Later on, both she and Hayate leave.

Asking Hayate to go Out With Her
As they are walking through Akihabara to find her another available part-time job, she asks Hayate if he is dating Ayumu, to which he says that he isn't. Then afterwards, she asks him if he is after her body, but he quickly denies that. Hayate says that right now he is Nagi's butler and that he can't be in a romantic relationship with any girl for now. She then grabs Hayate and tells him that it doesn't have to be romantic, saying that if they could keep getting along together then maybe they could make it work.

Later at night in a park, she thanks Hayate for finding her such a nice job, and Hayate says that he didn't do much. When Hayate tries to say goodbye to her, she stops him, telling him that he already knows that she loves him and asks him if he could go out with her. After a two second pause (as advised by Aika), Hayate turns around and tells her that she should save her feelings for the one true person she will truly fall in love with and to deliver them a kiss. Hearing his words, she kisses Hayate to his surprise and then leaves.

Saying Goodbye to Hayate
Konoha makes another appearance in Chapter 483.

She goes to Akihabara to look for Hayate and fortunately finds him walking in the streets. In the park, she apologizes to him for what happened yesterday. Hayate shyly says that he should have done a better job at dodging. Hayate then clearly tells her that he cannot go out with her or any other girl for now as he is currently an indebted butler and he apologizes to her thereafter. She thanks him for everything once again and then later says goodbye to him as she runs back to her house, leaving Hayate alone in the park.

Etymology

 * The name Konoha means "tree, wood" (木) (ko) and "leaf, plane, lobe, needle, blade, spear, counter for flat things, fragment, piece" (葉) (ha).
 * "Konoha" means "leaf" (though never really specifying any sort of leaf directly) in Japan. A maple leaf symbolizes determination, change and patience. This would probably be true to her nearly fragile character and the fact that:
 * She is very determined to support her family, going through any part-time job that is available for her to care for them.
 * After she had met Hayate Ayasaki, her life changed from bad to good.
 * Konoha's surname Makise means "shepherd, tend cattle" (牧) (maki) and "swift current, rapids" (瀬) (se).

Trivia

 * Konoha is one of the girls to have kissed Hayate Ayasaki.
 * It is never made clear as to whether or not Konoha started to work for Wataru Tachibana at his store or looked for another part-time job with Hayate while they were in Akihibara.