Ruka Suirenji

Ruka Suirenji (水蓮寺 ルカ) is a popular idol of Aozora Productions and an amateur mangaka. She is a friend of Chiharu and is one of the few girls who kissed Hayate.

Appearance
Ruka has above shoulder length light blue hair and has red eyes. As an idol, she wears various stage dresses and costumes while performing in her concert tour. While not working, she is often seen wearing various one piece dresses or modern clothing.

Characteristics and Personality
Ruka has a determined and hardworking personality which is shown when she insisted on returning for work despite her injuries and when she told Chiharu that she would take care of her own bad luck. She is also straightforward, as seen when she confessed to Hayate and kissed him. However, she does have a playful side which we see when she teases Hayate when meeting him and Nagi for the first time. Ruka cares about her fans and doesn't want to disappoint them.

Abilities
Ruka is talented at drawing, having drawn the doujinshi Nagi and Chiharu were selling at the doujinshi convention under the pen name, Fly Dolphin. She is also a popular idol, being able to sing and dance at the same time, and has many fans.

Background
Ruka was born in to the world by her parents who where unsuccessful artists whose dreams went unfulfilled. After having opened a small performance office, Ruka was put through expensive lessons to become an idol and as a result her family was financially burdened for many years. However despite her harsh lessons and living conditions, Ruka would find enjoyment through reading manga which she would often dream of making one day.

Sometime later, after seeing her parents hopes and dreams fall into despair, without discussing with anyone, Ruka signed up to an audition for a major performance office hoping to make her parents dream come true. After giving an overwhelming five minute performance, Ruka was immediately signed up for a three year contract. Overjoyed, Ruka rushed home to inform her parents of the news, but to her surprise she found that her parents had abandoned her leaving her only with their debt of 150,281,000 yen.

Taking on her parents debt, Ruka turns to her new manager, Atsumari who informs Ruka that the company would pay off her debt, but would have to be slowly repaid from her salary over the years. Three months later, while working as an idol, Ruka interviews the mangaka Gouji Ashibashi and notices his manuscripts. Seeing the difference between a professional's artwork and her own, Ruka immediately decides to test her skills by making a doujinshi.

Introduction
Ruka first appeared at the final day of the Golden Week when Chiharu attended a doujinshi convention. She was actually the one who sold Chiharu a doujinshi for 300 yen. Although, it was not yet clear at this point who it was as she was wearing a disguise and her face was never fully shown. Ruka's name was first mentioned in Chapter 268 by Nagi but it was simply implied to be her name and this event is actually just a preview of the events to come. She makes another short appearance where she was shown holding an IOU of 150,281,000 yen.

Mangaka Arc
She truly enters the story when she appeared at the doujinshi convention Chiharu and Nagi were attending. She is told by her manager, Atsumari, that her belongings have been placed inside her locker. After getting to the lockers, Ruka changed into a costume and entered the convention hall. She overheard Nagi telling Chiharu that seven copies of her doujinshi have been sold so far. She then sees a member of Circle Maizumi put down her work and is taken aback when Nagi defended it vigorously.

Ruka Arc
Ruka is then seen at the warehouse where Hayate was fighting a robot summoned by Yozora. Presumably, she was trying to find a place to hide her costume. In the chaos, she was injured by metal pipes falling onto her. When Hayate attempted to bring her to a hospital, she refused, and thanked him for being concerned for her. However, when she was about to leave, she was struck with another wave of pain and fell to the ground. By then, she was called by an unknown person through her phone who was inquiring about her whereabouts. When Hayate tried to prevent her from going back, she silenced him by putting her hand on his mouth. After that, she tried to leave again, but collapsed another time.

Hayate agreed to carry her to her destination and she passed him a slip of paper with directions on it. Hayate carried her to the destination, passing the cosplay grounds where she mistakenly assumed Hayate is a girl.

When they reached their destination, Ruka revealed to Hayate that she was in fact an idol. She gave him a backstage pass and asked him to follow her to the changing room. As she was finding clothes for Hayate, Atsumari burst in and asked who Hayate was. Ruka responded by saying that she (still believing Hayate is a girl) is her relative, who wants to be an idol and will be following her and helping out for the day.

Later, Ruka appeared in front of a large audience, including Nagi and Chiharu. It is then that her name is officially revealed as Ruka Suirenji. When she went backstage to quickly change costumes, she undressed in front of Hayate, much to his embarrassment. She then voiced her gratitude to him for helping her out and kissed him on the cheek, all the while still assuming that Hayate is a girl.

Later on in the concert, Yozora's robot who happened to have been kicked by Hayate, had went berserk and was dragged into the stage by the backstage staff who mistook it for one of the mascots who will participate in the dance for the last song. The robot eventually went out of control and started attacking the other mascots. Due to this, Hayate was then forced to get rid of it and he did so by doing a flying kick on it. However, the attack done by the robot had drawn the attention of the audience. Ruka, sensing that something needed to be done, did a spectacular back flip before singing one last song and she successfully drew the audiences' attention back to her. Thus, the concert ended in a wave of enthusiasm from the fans.

However, Ruka fainted right after leaving the stage because of the pain from her injuries and her stunts in the concert. She was then sent to the hospital and when she woke up, Hayate had already left. Looking at the night sky from her bed in the hospital, Ruka realized that she hasn't asked for Hayate's name yet.

Violet Mansion Arc
After a few chapters, Ruka re-appears when suddenly she comes to visit Chiharu and to her surprise, she finds Hermione Hayate and jumps at him which led to them both fallling on the floor. Ruka then proceeded to questioning Hayate why he left her but was disrupted by a phone call from Chiharu saying she will be late. Therefore, Ruka decides to repay Hayate for saving her and is willing to have Hayate ask for anything he wants but nothing too expensive. Therefore, Hayate asks for a song as he thinks her voice is beautiful.

Ruka, on a side note, mentions that Hayate's favor is so easy then she started singing a song for him and was about to become good friends. However, this moment was disrupted by Maria who suddenly appears and breaks the scene, then Ruka's manager called for her through the phone which forces Ruka to leave.

That night, Ruka returned to the Violet Mansion after her work, just when Hayate was about to change back to his butler uniform. To their surpise, Ruka arrives then befriends Nagi and afterwards, Nagi goes to inform Chiharu that Ruka has arrived. After learning Hayates true name, (which she finds as a commanding good name even if she believes he is a girl) Ruka tells Hayate that if he was a guy she would have already fallen in love with him then embraces him, much to the irritation of Hinagiku, Athena, and Maria who were all watching nearby.

Later on, Ruka invites Hayate over to her apartment with Hinagiku so they could give their opinions on her manga and to help improve it. Afterwards, when Hayate and Hinagiku has already left, Ruka feels a strong pain and collapsed on the floor from being overworked. She was found near her room's door by Hayate who came back to tell her the truth that he is a male.

She awakes in a hospital after overhearing Atsumari suggesting that a health manager be brought in for Ruka's sake. Ruka asks Hayate to be her health manager as she is her relative and she can continue to work on her doujinshi. Hayate then agrees to take care of her from now on.

Back at Ruka's home, Hayate prepared a meal for her which to her surprise, the food was delicious. This made her question Hayate regarding the reason why he is doing this for her. Hayate then replies "because I care about you, Ruka-san" which made her blush.

The next few days, Hayate prepared another batch of breakfast for her. Early in the morning, Ruka decides to thank Hayate by catching up to him by the time he drops by for the food. However, she caught Hayate wearing a butler uniform which leaves her confused. On her day off, she decided to go to the Violet Mansion to personally ask Hayate if he indeed is a guy or just a girl that loves crossdressing. But when she got there, nobody is around expect Maria whom she asks the question that has been bothering her. After Maria speculated the situation, she suggested to Ruka that she should personally ask the question to Hayate and decided to give her a Hakuo school uniform so she could personally ask Hayate herself.

Ruka arrives at Hakuo Academy and is amazed by how big Hakuo is. Along the way, she is hit by Izumi who is covered in ink and gets her all dirty. Izumi, who saw that Ruka has also been covered in ink, suggested that she better go to the clock tower bath so that they could clean themselves up and change. Much to her surprise, Hayate is also in the bath and this flustered Hayate for Ruka still doesn't know that he is a boy. Thankfully, the milky water seemed to help Hayate hide his whole body so Ruka won't recognize that he is a boy. Ruka, after seeing Hayate, became happy that they met without much of a hassle and decided to also get in the bath. Without hesitation, Hayate moved away from Ruka as she was about to get in the bath. However, he wasn't able to completely get away with it by just that. Ruka then, approached Hayate while he was thinking what to do and fingers his back commenting how amazing Hayate's skin was. Afterwards, Ruka takes off the towel covering her body and revealing the front of her body while stating on a side note that, it is important to keep their skin beautiful. After Hayate realizes that he couldn't continue lying to her anymore, he makes an attempt to tell Ruka the truth but is confronted by a stunned Izumi as she sees Hayate who is in the same bath as Ruka. This made Izumi scream out loud and inadvertently reveal Hayate's true gender. Ruka who was shocked from the revelation, passed out in the bath.

Realization that Hayate is a Guy
Ruka later wakes up in the school infirmary but is still confused from earlier. In Chapter 326 She questions Hayate about his gender but is interrupted by Risa and Miki who accused him of crossdressing in order to see other girls naked. Feeling embarrassed by the truth, Ruka is called to work and leaves. Later at work she is scolded by Atsumari for spacing out while on stage which made her remind Ruka of the debt her parents left her with which is still being dealt through her work. She Later thought to herself about her parent's debt and her promise that nothing will get in her way in dealing with it. Afterwards, Ruka passed by two thugs who attempted to harass her after recognizing her as the famous idol. After running away from them, she is saved by Hayate from almost being hit by a truck. Hayate then, took the chance to apologize to her for lying to her and Ruka agreed to forgive him only if he'd grant one of her wishes one day. With a smile on Hayate's face, he tells her that he'll do it even if it costs him his life and Ruka, who became touched by his words, agreed to trust him once again.

Preparation for Comisun
After a few days pass, Hayate asks Ruka if she could help Nagi with her manga since both of them are manga authors. Ruka who agreed to Hayate's request, decided to visit the Violet mansion to help Nagi with her doujinshi. Seeing that Nagi was nervious being with her, Ruka pulls out a PSP and offered to play Monster Hunter with her. After opening up to each other, Ruka tells her dream to Nagi about wanting to be a Mangaka that sells a trillion copies. After Nagi realized that they have more in common, she agrees to let Ruka help with her doujinshi. After working very late, Hayate decided to take Nagi to her futon and Ruka, who witnessed such an act, asks him whether renting a room there would make him treat her as good as that. After being asked such a bold question, Hayate replied that he would do his best for her but Nagi was a bit of a special case and upon hearing those words, Ruka goes back to work on Nagi's doujinshi with a disappointed look on her face.

Comisun Arc
As Comisun draws near, Ruka asked for help from Hinagiku on coming up with an ideal Manga for readers to sell and Hinagiku was able to give precious advice in improving her work. At the Comisun itself, Hayate and Hinagiku personally helped her sell her manga. All 30 copies sold out within the hour. Later she went to the Tokyo Big Sight where Nagi also headed after departing from the Comisun. In Here, Nagi encountered Ruka and declared that she would overtake her at the doujinshi event that was going to be held there 2 months from then, to which she replies that she won't wait for her to do so and would leave Nagi behind.

Moving into the Violet Mansion
After being found out about the doujinshi she sold at Comisun. her manager Atsumari bans Ruka from drawing anymore doujinshi. With Natsucomi drawing nearer and wanting to focus more on her manga, Ruka left her apartment after skipping out on her job and sought to live in the Violet Mansion for the time being. It is revealed she has feelings for Hayate as well, When she asked Ayumu whether Hayate would become her boyfriend if she confessed her feelings to him.

Later, after noticing that everyone is working on their summer vacation homework and then revealing to Maria that she doesn't go to school in order to focus on her job as an idol, Ruka realizes that she casted aside many things in order to become an idol and now shes done the same to her job in order to focus on her doujinshi, Later in night with the thoughts of her debt and failure on her mind, Ruka begins to cough up blood.

A few days later after writing a bucket list and conversing with Nagi and Chiharu, Hayate receives a phone call from her manager Atsumari, who reveals to him that Ruka suffers from Gastritis due to all the stress shes been through, Hayate asks Ruka about her health and slips up and tells him that shes been coughing up blood for the past 2-3 days, Concerned about her answer, Hayate takes Ruka to the hospital were he is advised by the doctor to take her to a calm place like a beautiful forest with a stream where she can rest.

Resting at the Rainbow Village
After being recommended of "that place" by Maria and Nagi, Isumi takes Hayate, Ruka, Chiharu and Ayumu to the birth place of the Saginomiya family The Rainbow Village much to their skepticism. Wanting to continue working on her doujinshi, Hayate takes away her storyboard for her doujinshi and asks her if shes ever actually taken a proper break before. After answering his question and then being reassured by him that the world wouldn't leave her behind if she took a break, Ruka tells him that he too is like her and has been working his whole life and asks him to take a break from being a butler. Still doubting that they were lead to the right place Chiharu, Ayumu and Isumi search for the real Rainbow Village leaving Hayate and Ruka behind.

Both unable to relax due to the calmness of nature, Ruka tries to persuade Hayate into working so she can work on her doujinshi before getting caught in a sudden downpour. Taking shelter inside the cabin that Isumi lead them to earlier, Ruka asks Hayate on why he became a butler. She then listens to his story about how he was sold to the Yakuza after being abandoned by his parents and how he was saved by Nagi when she took on his debt with her pocket money. After seeing Hayate smile once again, Ruka reflects on her feelings for him then calls his name before catching him off guard by kissing him.

Afterwards Ruka confesses her feelings to Hayate and asks if he'll become her boyfriend before coughing up blood. After resting for awhile, Ruka asks Hayate if he had an answer to her question from before. Hayate then tells her "I'm only interested in 2-D girls," (which he used before on Ayumu). Unable to fool her, Ruka asks Hayate for his real reason to which he tells her that he is a butler and there is a girl that he must protect so he cannot be her boyfriend or anyone else's either. After hearing his reason, Ruka offers to help pay off his debt along with her own before proclaiming her love for him once again.

After resting some more, Ruka is greeted by Chiharu and Ayumu who came back to take her to the real Rainbow Village. Taking the opportunity, Ruka asks Chiharu if Nagi was Hayate's master. Being told that she was, Ayumu asks Ruka on why she wanted to know and much to Ayumu's shock, Ruka reveals to them both that she confessed her feelings to Hayate but was turned down because he was a butler. Feeling the tension in Ayumu, Chiharu opts for them to head to the Rainbow Village.

Deciding to take a bath in the hot spring at the Rainbow Village, Ruka sees Nagi there and reflects on how she has the person that she loves and cannot allow herself to lose to her. Awkwardly staring at one another, Sakuya suggests for them both to sit down in the water, breaking the tension. Ruka asks Nagi on how shes doing on her doujinshi, which Nagi claims that its going well and she'll be the one to win in the competition between the two of them. Confidently Nagi suggests that they both wager something in the competition, telling her that they can wager anything in the bet. Ruka asks Nagi to allow her to take on Hayate's debt if she wins the competition. Taken aback from what she said, Nagi asks her why she would take on his debt and Ruka then admits to her that she is in love with Hayate.

After resting for a full day at the Rainbow Village, Ruka continues to work on her doujinshi, after receiving a foot massage from Hayate. Ruka asks him who he wants to win at the doujinshi competition. Unable to come up with an answer, Hayate tells her he hasn't thought that far yet. Ruka realizes that even if she won the competition, Hayate would still remain as Nagi's butler and she would still be turned down in the end.With no other choice Ruka decides to use the wish Hayate promised to grant her one day. After asking if she could make her wish now, Ruka tells him her wish: "If I win the competition... then... marry me!,". Shocking him with such a request, Hayate questions her on what she meant and Ruka points out to him how he felt like nothing was on the line in the competition for him and that he'll be a winner at life for getting to marry a teenage idol. Embarrassed, Hayate tells her to quit joking. Nerviously shaking, Ruka looks him in the eyes and tells him that she isn't joking. Seeing how serious she is, Hayate reflects on his promise he made to her and tells her that he would keep his promise, even if it costs him his life.

Kyoto and Ise Arc
Later, after returning to the Violet Mansion and learning that Nagi had left for Kyoto in order to improve her manga by having an interesting experience. Ruka assembled a headset device called the "I am the butler and the butler is me", hoping to have an interesting experience herself. She explains to Hayate that the headset of the device would display images viewed from a pair of glasses that had a microphone and a camera built into them. After explaining to him that as an idol she couldn't go out to have an interesting experience herself she sends him out in her place. As she viewed the world through his eyes while he wandered through town, Ruka noticed a few abnormalities such as mysterious figures appearing then suddenly disappearing and strange creatures. Concerned on what she was seeing she tries to bring the abnormalities to Hayate's attention, but is quickly told by him that there is nothing out of the ordinary.

After moving to a neighborhood park, Hayate is greeted by Izumi, whom Ruka immediately recognizes from when she was at Hakuo Academy earlier. While watching Izumi compliment Hayate's clothes and Hayate suddenly asking her if she wanted to play with him, Ruka asks Hayate to wait, but is reassured by him that Izumi is a troublemaker and that something interesting would be bound to happen. Ruka immediately sees a ghost of a samurai behind Izumi. Ruka informs him that there was something behind Izumi. Hayate asks Izumi to turn around, but he saw nothing. After coming to the sudden realization that she was only able to see them through the monitor on her headset, Ruka takes the headset off, while trying to convince herself that Hayate had overlooked everything. But to her surprise as she looked up, she saw all the various creatures from earlier standing in front of her. Ruka was unaware that the whole "interesting experience" was set up by Linn Regiostar.

Later in the day, after learning that Nagi had gotten lost while in Hokkaido, Ruka finds Hayate sitting alone in the backyard of the Violet Mansion at night. Seeing that he is worried about her, Ruka suggests to him that he should leave her to save Nagi, but is told by him that Nagi would get upset with him if he did. Immediately, Ruka asks him if he would remain as Nagi's butler forever, but is told that he doesn’t think he would. Hayate mentions to Ruka that he promised to protect Nagi in both the past and the future and the day might come when she would no longer need his protection. Once he has repaid his debt to her and she is able to live happily on her own, that is when he'd quit his job as a butler.

The following day, Ruka learns that Hayate was going to help out at a doujinshi shop and accompanies him. Upon arriving at the store, Ruka is immediately recognized by the owner of the store Wataru who suggests that she wear a maid uniform in order to gain business for the failing store. Seeing the poor sales of the store, Ruka agrees to help by opting to have Hayate wear the maid uniform in her place. While waiting upstairs, Ruka attempts to work on her doujinshi and realizes that Wataru and his maid Saki where financially troubled after having noticed the food that Saki bought earlier was half off, sale announcements, low-budget receipts, stamp cards and stickers. Remembering that Nagi had gone to Kyoto to gain an "interesting experience", Ruka puts on an extra maid uniform and decides to help Hayate attract customers for Wataru's business while under the masked alias "fairly creamy Mami".

After having handed out flyers for sometime, Hayate is greeted by Izumi "who was helping Miki and Risa with their video koshien project". She suddenly asks him to strip before adding that she wanted to try on Hayate's maid uniform. Immediately Ruka notices that Izumi was the same girl she saw in the headset the previous day and then comes to the conclusion that she had feelings for Hayate as well. Later, after having conversed with Izumi inside Wataru's store, Ruka tells her that she'd marry Hayate if she won the doujinshi competition against Nagi in the upcoming week, leading to a misunderstanding after Risa had called Ruka a thief through Izumi's glasses. Immediately Ruka questions Izumi if she loved Hayate, to which she tells her that Hayate has helped her study after school before Risa once again intervenes by saying that their relationship was purely physical leading to another misunderstanding.

After questioning Hayate about Izumi's relationship, Hayate tells her that he has given Izumi hands on lessons after school much to Ruka's disbelief. Once again, Ruka asks Izumi if she loved Hayate causing her to embarrassingly say that she couldn't say it in front of him. Taking Hayate's hand, Ruka tells her that she could while looking at him in the eyes. Risa once again intervenes by asking Hayate what he liked about Ruka to which he responds by saying that there are a lot of things but if he had to choose one it'd be the time he first met her when she was on stage before adding that she looked as lovely as a goddess, much to Ruka's embarrassment. Hayate then receives a phone call from Atsumari who informs him that a concert was scheduled for Ruka to appear in the following day and that she couldn't cancel it. She then adds that a lot of Ruka's fans would be attending the concert and that she wanted Ruka to make an announcement to the fans if she wanted to continue as an idol or retire.

Later, after arriving to the company office to rehearse, Ruka is greeted by Atsumari who informs her that if she wanted to remain as an idol then during the final song of the concert, she'd have to make large-scale announcement to her fans of an upcoming concert held in Las Vegas in September. If not then she'd have to announce her retirement and walk off stage. Afterwards, after having performed effortlessly during her rehearsal in front of him, Hayate questions Ruka if she truly intended to quit her job as an idol, putting her in a standstill between choosing to remain as an idol or quitting.

The following day at the concert, while performing on stage, Ruka reflects on her life about how she was trained to become an idol to take revenge for her parents after they where forgotten in the world of show business, but how later she was left with their debt of 150 million yen after being abandoned by them. She then questions herself about what she'd have left if she quit, before thinking of the time she spent with Hayate, Nagi and the residents of the Violet Mansion and is reminded of what she has gained through those experiences she had shared with them.

During the final song of the concert, Ruka comes to the decision to announce her retirement to her fans, but to her surprise she notices tears running down her cheeks and stops singing. Almost instantly, Ruka receives overwhelming support by her fans. Seeing them give her support, Ruka decides to remain as an idol by making the announcement to her fans of the upcoming concert held in Las Vegas. After the concert, Ruka walks past Atsumari who thanks her for continuing as an idol, but Ruka doesn't respond to her. Later at the Violet Mansion, Hayate compliments Ruka for her performance at the concert before noting that he thought that she was crying earlier because she didn't want to quit singing. Ruka then reveals to him that she was crying earlier because she couldn't quit due to her debt. With tears in her eyes, Ruka tells him that she had planned on quitting her job as an idol, but she couldn't. Seeing her upset, Hayate gently embraces Ruka from behind and tells her that he would make her happy.

Preparation for Comiket
The following day at the office, Atsumari tries to discusses the outline of the Las Vegas concert and upcoming schedule to Ruka who was more focused on her upcoming competition with Nagi. Having noticed that she wasn't paying attention, Atsumari asks her if she still wanted to continue as an idol, to which Ruka informs her that she had to settle something with someone else first.

Later at the Violet Mansion, after the place lost power due to a sudden rainstorm, Ruka catches Nagi's attention as she was standing outside in the rain. Ruka then tells her that she needed Hayate because both of them shared the same pain after having been abandoned and being left with their parent's debt. Ruka then scornfully tells Nagi that she would take Hayate from her if she won the competition, to which Nagi tells her that she wouldn't let her because he is her butler. Afterwards, Ruka tells her that she would bring Hayate's life as a butler to an end after having won the competition. Nagi tells her that she would win, before revealing to her that she had drawn a good storyboard while she was in Kyoto. Upon hearing her, Ruka accepts Nagi's challenge before telling her once again that she'd be the winner of the competition.

A few hours later, Ruka struggles on her storyboard while reflecting on Nagi's words from earlier. After having spent more time on it, Ruka reaches a point where she needed Hayate and Hinagiku's opinion on her work but was unable to get one with the both of them gone. Having been left in a standstill, Kayura under the guise of "Comic Master K" offers to help her, before revealing to her that both her parents where once assistants to a famous mangaka. She also said that they had drove their skills onto her hoping that she'd live their dream that they where never able to of becoming a mangaka. After having realized that both their parents had done the same to them. Ruka asks Kayura if she was trying to become a mangaka, to which Kayura tells her that she might one day but at the moment prefers reading them before telling her that she shouldn't be fixated on one thing and that her objective in life should be being happy.

Afterwards, Ruka asks Kayura to read her storyboard. After having read through it, Kayura tells her of a time from her childhood of when an idol performed a mini concert celebrating the reopening of a super market. Kayura noticed that the concert was pathetic, that the stage was made from scrap wood, the backup music was from an old cassette and that the audience consisted of just a small number of senior citizens who had nothing better to do. Kayura then adds that the idol gave her best despite the conditions and was moved incredibly by her performance, but after the concert had ended and having shook her hand, Kayura noticed the idol's smiling face was mixed with bitterness. Kayura then realized that the idol wasn't able to keep it professional to the end and that she was terrible at lying. Having finished her story, Kayura tells Ruka that she shouldn't draw lies as it was a skill that the idol Ruka Suirenji didn't have. Ruka then asks Kayura what she meant, to which she replies that it was something that she can't let go of, as she returned the storyboard to her. The following day, Ruka goes to the Rainbow Village with Kayura to finish her doujinshi.

Doujinshi Competition at Comiket
After having borrowed a mask from Isumi to conceal her identity with, Ruka meets Nagi at Tokyo Big Sight on the day of the competition. Ruka then states the rule of their competition to her: each person will have one hundred copies of their doujinshi and the person who sells the most by the end of the day would be declared the winner. After having finished stating the rule of the competition to Nagi, Ruka puts on her mask and goes inside the convention center and sets up her sales table behind Nagi's.

Seven hours later, after having sold every copy of her doujinshi, Nagi learns that Ruka had sold all of her doujinshi ten minutes before her. Having lost, Nagi congratulates Ruka on her victory before telling her that she had learned a lot from the experience and tells her that she has no regrets. Accepting her defeat, Nagi walks away from Ruka before she reminds Nagi that the rule of the competition was "the person who sells the most wins". Surprised, Nagi tells her that it can't end in a tie, to which Ruka sheepishly reveals to her that she actually had one unsold copy making Nagi the winner of the competition.

After revealing that she had lost the competition, Ruka congratulates Nagi and tells her that she did her very best in the competition and like her, she too had no regrets. As Chiharu and Ayumu congratulate Nagi for her victory, Kayura asks Ruka why she thought that she had lost. Ruka tells her that it was a difference in their feelings and that Nagi's passion was one copy greater then hers. Having said that, Ruka is approached from behind by her father who asks if he could buy the unsold copy from her.

Surprised that both her missing parents have appeared in front of her, Ruka asks them why they have appeared before her, to which her father tells her that they came to apologize to her before explaining that they where involved in a major car accident in Hokkaido right after they had abandoned her. Her father then says that he and his wife believed that they where going to die and that it was divine punishment for what they had done to their daughter, until a passing traveling doctor tended to their injuries, saving both their lives. Having said that, her father then tells Ruka that while both he and his wife where recovering from their injuries they had felt terrible for what they had done until they learned from the news that their daughter was taking a break from her job as an idol due to poor health. Concerned about their daughter, but unable to travel, Ruka's parents asked the doctor who saved them earlier to visit the Ise Grand Shrine in their place to pray for their daughter's health.

Ruka then questions her father as to why he was there, to which he tells her that right after they had recovered, he and his wife couldn't decide if they should see their daughter again as they didn't know how to apologize to her. They then met a young butler, who shared his story to them about how he was abandoned by his parents and tells them that if they truly felt sorry for what they did to their daughter, then they could start over from the beginning.

Having finished his story, Ruka's father and her mother formally apologize to Ruka and inform her that they had found a way to pay off the debt and that they would be starting an idol office once again. Relieving her from their debt, Ruka's father tells her that they would support her no matter what she does. Ruka then shows them the doujinshi she was selling. Seeing the similarities between the character in her book and their daughter's life, Ruka tells her parents that she loved singing and would continue working as an idol. She then thanks them for apologizing and for giving her what she loved: music. Afterwards, both her parents are left in tears, overjoyed from hearing their daughter's words.

Afterwards, both Ruka and Nagi reflect on the events of the day, until Nagi asks her if she had lost on purpose. Ruka then jokingly tells her that the reason why she lost was due to people avoiding her because of the creepy mask she was wearing earlier, before adding that the quality of her book was better than Nagi's. Having aggravated her with her words, Nagi challenges Ruka to another doujinshi competition to which the latter accepts but with the condition that it will take place in ten years. Ruka then tells her that she'd focus on her career as an idol and she would start drawing again once her career as an idol settled down in the next ten years. She then tells Nagi to do her best and in the ten years after Nagi would become a mangaka that she would later join her. Touched by her words, Nagi tells her that she wouldn't wait for her and that in ten years she be a greater mangaka than Ashibashi. After having said that, Chiharu joins the both of them and learns of their promise to have another doujinshi competition and agrees to help the both of them in ten years.

Summer Fireworks Festival
Later, Ruka and Hayate head to a fireworks festival. She thanks him for everything that he has done, while he is glad that he could help her and her parents. Ruka tells Hayate that because she no longer has her debt and to show her gratiude, she'll buy him whatever he wants. He takes her up on her offer, with Ruka concealing her identity using the same mask from earlier. Hayate later comments about how the two of them could never do these sorts of things when they were little. After saying that she worked hard while looking away from those shining things, he tells her to make up for lost time.

After having enjoyed the festival, the two of them sit down on a bench. Placing her hand on his, Ruka asks Hayate for a request, which turns out to simply be wanting him to buy her ice cream. She tells him that when she collapsed before, she made a bucket list and that eating ice cream was one of the things on it. Hayate then takes her list, wondering what else is on it. Ruka shouts at him not to touch it, saying that she'd rather let him see her breasts, before asking him if he wanted to see them. Hayate declines, but Ruka wonders if he really wants to see her breasts. She then says that she'll let him see them, before revealing that it was only a joke. Hayate shouts at her to stop teasing him like that, with Ruka asking him what he'll do if she doesn't stop teasing him. Hayate is unsure how to answer her.

Ruka then closely leans against him, with Hayate telling her that she shouldn't if she was returning to being an idol. She tells him that she could throw everything away and they can... But she is interrupted by the start of the fireworks. Ruka sadly looks at Hayate for a moment, before smiling and commenting on how amazing the fireworks are. She then asks him to keep looking at them, as she writes down something on her notepad. Ruka tells him how unlucky he is for not being able to marry a lovely idol like her, before slipping a piece of paper and putting it in his pocket. They both agree on how pretty the fireworks are and that it would be nice if it could last forever. As the fireworks carry on, Ruka walks off leaving Hayate all on his own. He takes the piece of paper out of his pocket and sees what Ruka wrote: "Goodbye". He then turns it over and sees something else that she wrote: "I hope you regret not marrying me for the rest of your life!", along with a picture of her smiling. Hayate tells her to not worry and that he already regrets it.

Later, Atsumari greets Ruka as she was returning to her apartment. Atsumari asks her if she had settled everything, to which Ruka confirms that she has. Ruka then tells her that she'll focus on her career as an idol and go all out from now on. Hearing her words Atsumari bows to her and says: "please do", while giving her a small smile.

Heaven is a Place on Earth
Two weeks after her competition against Nagi, Ruka is later seen on a large TV screen in Akihabara, as she performed in a live concert at the Budokan arena. Ruka is later shown in Nagi's flashback, as she declined Nagi's invitation to go to the countryside with the residents of the Violet Mansion, after having told her that she had a live concert to perform on that day.

CAN'T TAKE MY EYES OFF YOU
Later in September, before the start of her concert at the Starside Hotel, Nagi loans Ruka her mother's wedding ring for her to wear during her TV interview promoting her concert, with hopes of luring out her father who had disappeared after his soul was put inside Hayate's body. Later at night, Ruka is seen performing on stage at the Starside Hotel.

Cuties
Sometime later, after her return from Las Vegas, Ruka briefly stops by the Violet Mansion and gives Hayate a DVD of her concert in Las Vegas. Afterwards, she notices that he looks under the weather and offers to give him a ride to school, which he then declines as he didn't want Nagi to know he had caught her cold after she had told Ruka that he wouldn't succumb to catching a cold.

Later, Ruka is informed by her manager Atsumari that she was booked to star in a bicycle commercial for a huge beverage maker. Ruka goes to the Violet Mansion on her day off and informs Hayate, Nagi and Maria of her amazing opportunity. Tactlessly, she doesn't know how to 'ride' a bike so she intensely asks Hayate to teach her how since he's a professional at riding a bike. Ruka first practices in the yard but ruins Maria's garden. It soon gets dark, and Chiharu suggests for Ruka to try practicing on Hakuo Academy's grounds. With motivation from a water gun, Hayate strictly trains Ruka to ride a bike down a steep hill. He pushes her down the hill and catches her before she falls, hoping it would help her overcome her fear of falling. At the end of her training session, Ruka takes away Hayate's water gun and then playfully shoots him with it, getting even with him for when he had used it on her earlier on. Later, Hayate, Hinagiku, and the Hakuo Three Amiga, were invited to see Ruka's next concert. Hayate receives an urgent call from Ruka and Atsumari asking him to act as a backup dancer in a maid outfit on the stage. Ruka also wishes for his service because she isn't feeling well. The concert begins with Ruka singing through sheer willpower. Before her last song, Gilbert shows up and battles Hayate. The staff members mistakenly put Gilbert's robot on stage, causing it to go on a rampage. Hayate quickly kicks the robot off the stage. He then joyfully dances with Ruka, and the concert ends in success.

When Chiharu and Nagi held a barbecue at the Violet Mansion, Ruka shows up as well. She resolves to declare her love for Hayate, even going so far as to contemplating just kissing him to show him how much she cares for him. However Ayumu manages to talk her out of it. When Ruka asks Hayate what he would do if a girl declares her love for him, she and Ayumu are taken aback when he mentions that Chiharu had asked him the exact same thing just a short while ago, with both of them thinking that Chiharu confessed to Hayate. Before the barbecue started, Ruka and Ayumu reflect on how hard it is for Chiharu to act around Hayate, still thinking that Chiharu had actually confessed to Hayate. During the barbecue, both she and Ayumu give Chiharu their kebabs, much to her confusion.

During the last two episodes, she is one of the girls that Hayate was given the option to kiss before midnight arrived. While she was on set, she accidentally hit Hayate with her bike as she was riding, which sent Hayate flying into a nearby stream. She gives him one of her outfits, which seemed to be a Maid Star outfit. She asks him about the favor he was talking about before, but then asks if it was about the dream she had earlier, which was the same one the other girls had experienced. After Hayate asks her if it was the same dream he had along with the other girls, she confirms it by mentioning that Hayate did try to kiss her in the dream. As Hayate is about to explain what the dream was about, she shyly tells him that, if he wanted to kiss her, she won't mind. Hayate says that he hasn't begun explaining the details about it to her, but she says that she doesn't need an explanation. She tells him that he wouldn't be troubled by such 'silly reasons', saying that she is alright with it. As they are about to kiss, Kayura intervenes, telling Hayate that he can't do it and to stop, knocking him down in the process. Hayate asks Kayura why she stopped him, and Kayura explains that he can't kiss Ruka because she is an idol. After that, Ruka leaves, telling Hayate that she'll bring back his clothes to the Sanzenin Mansion later, once they're done.

She later meets up with the other girls at a cafe. When they ask her what she is doing, she tells them that she stopped by the Sanzenin Mansion, looking for Hayate to give him back his clothes, which surprises them as they haven't seen him all day. She then explains what happened earlier. About thirty minutes before midnight, they are informed by Kayura that Hayate is at Underdog Park, to which they then all go to. Once they arrive there, meeting up with Alice and Chiharu along the way, they find Hayate at the lake in the Park, where Ruka gives him back his butler clothes. She and the rest of the girls present then asks him who he'll kiss between all of them. After Hayate had kissed Nagi on the forehead, she and the rest of the girls were left in confusion about the kind of kiss Hayate was going to give one of them. Ruka claims that she knew what kind of kiss Hayate meant from the very start, but fails to convince everyone. When Hayate asks them what kind of kiss they were all expecting, Ruka, Hinagiku and Ayumu nervously try to answer, but Hayate immediately asks if common sense wasn't so common now, to which they all ask him if he's talking seriously.

Fairly Creamy Mami
In Chapter 406 Ruka used this alias while she was a masked maid helping out at Wataru's new store.

Trivia

 * Ruka sang the opening song for the movie, Hayate no Gotoku! Heaven is a Place on Earth. Her appearance in the movie is limited to singing the opening song as well an additional scene (added in the Heaven is a Place on Earth +99 edition). She is not part of the actual movie plot.


 * It is revealed in Chapter 362 that Ruka's pen name Fly Dolphin was originally the name of the performance office her parents used to own.
 * It was also revealed in the same chapter, that Ruka was abandoned by her parents the very same day as Hayate was.
 * It is revealed in Chapter 371, Ruka's least favorite foods are vegatables such as carrots, asparagus and bell peppers.