Spoiler Alert! This article or section contains details not covered in the anime. Do not proceed unless you wish to be spoiled.
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—Ai to Kaguya, Vol. 19. Chapter 186, Page 15-17 | ||
Ai Hayasaka (早坂 愛「はやさか あい?」, Hayasaka Ai) is a supporting character in the Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai series. She is a second-year student at Shuchi'in Academy and a former employee of the Shinomiya Group, serving as Kaguya Shinomiya's valet.
Origin
Ai is based on the celestial envoy from The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter who was tasked with returning Kaguya-hime to the moon.[1] This was reflected in the star pattern that can be found on most of her personal belongings.
Appearance
Ai is a beautiful, young girl with blonde hair that is usually tied up at the left side of her head with a blue scrunchie and blue-eyes. She alters her appearance and choice of clothing to suit different roles and carry out her duties as Kaguya's valet.
She wears a maid outfit when tending to the Shinomiya household and as a student at Shuchi'in Academy, she wears a modified high school uniform to match up with kogal fashion and a sweater wrapped around her waist. As Haysaca-chan, she dresses up in a Firis Girls' High sailor uniform with her hair down and a small braid tied on the right side, while as Haysaca-kun, she sports a butler uniform and a short, black hair wig.
During the class trip, she cut off her ponytail to prevent one of Un'yo's men from continuing to hold on to it. She ends up styling it into a bob with a star and crescent moon hairpin on the left side, her old scrunchie now being used as a wristband on her left hand.
Personality
Despite her young age, Ai has the ability to quickly shift to different types of personalities to suit various kinds of situation and scenario. She has four distinct personas which, aside from having a specific purpose, has its own unique background and upbringing.[2]
As a maid, she is level-headed who carries out duties flawlessly and while she occasionally give her mistress grief over her absurd demands, she still loves her deeply.[2] In her school camouflage version, she is a fashion-conscious schoolgirl with a penchant for rule-breaking and her liveliness is her trademark.[2] The anti-Miyuki version, Haysaca-chan, is a doe-eyed maneater who picks up men in Roponggi and Azabu and leads them around by the nose.[2] Haysaca-kun exists to counter the unpredictable Chika Fujiwara and has the backstory of an Irish orphan who later graduated at Harvard then ended up as a butler who becomes a crybaby when remembering his past.[2]
In reality, she is just a kind, simple teenage girl who deeply loves her mistress, whom she considers a sister and is willing to go against the Shinomiya house within reason like sneaking Kaguya out of the main house to see the summer fireworks.
She is also known to be very sensitive about the fact that she never had any experience of dating a guy.
History
The Hayasaka family was once prominent, but lost their conflict to the Shinomiya family and, noted for their fine bloodline, were absorbed into it. Ai was born in the Shinomiya family's main house as a thoroughbred servant and was given a special education. She was born into and grew up in an isolated world like Kaguya Shinomiya was, but Ai is less sheltered.
Ai's father is Kaguya's godfather and her mother was Kaguya's wet nurse. They were raised together for a short period after their births, but Kaguya was moved to the Shinomiya main house on her second birthday, and they were only reunited at the age of seven when their status as master and servant was made official. Their master/servant relationship is only on the surface, however, their true relationship more resembles that of inseparable sisters. Kaguya gave Ai a scrunchie while asking to be her friend. While Ai refused, she did use the hairtie and it is a main accessory of hers.
After her traitorous loyalty to Kaguya's older brother is revealed, Kaguya tries to forgive for the first time, due to the positive change the SC has had on her and her closeness to Ai. Currently, the servant-master relationship between Ai and Kaguya was severed and the former is now free after forcefully resigning from her post.
Trivia
- The name Ai means "love, affection" (愛).
- Ai's surname Hayasaka means "Fast, Early" (早) (haya) and "Slope, Hill" (坂) (saka).
- Ai puts a deck chair in the bath when soaking.[3]
- Ai uses the alias Haysaca A. Smithee when she was hiding her identity from Miyuki Shirogane while trying to seduce him on a dare.[4]
- AI is shown to have a wide array of technical knowledge, such as being able to build her own computer and being up to date with the specs of the latest smartphones,[5][6] apparently able to build in devices into her beret and other clothing.
- Ai is the second person to describe Miyuki's singing like a sea cucumber's intestines.[7]
- Ai is the daughter of Shinomiya's group manager.
- In Chapter 102, Ai is listed on Miyuki's phone as "Haysaca", and is shown to be texting him "Ok, Good Night."[8] She has a good friendly relationship with him after getting rejected under an alias, and seems to admire him for his kindness and trust, though many of their classmates think their relationship is something more.
- Ai is considered the snarkiest member of the main cast, but this is to her own detriment.
- Ai seems to have a mother complex.[9]
- Technically, Ai is the wealthiest out of the main cast, with a disposable income of up to 40 million yen. This is due to the fact that she had stable employment as Kaguya's valet for ten years.
- Ai is one-quarter Irish.
- Ai wears corrective lenses.[10]
References
| Karen Kino • Erika Kose • Ai Hayasaka | |
| Main Family | Gan'an Shinomiya • Nayotake Shimizu • Oko Shinomiya • Seiryū Shinomiya • Un'yo Shinomiya • Kaguya Shinomiya • Kaguya's Sister-in-law |
|---|---|
| Branch Families | Makoto Shijo • Maki Shijo • Mikado Shijo |
| Servants | Masato Hayasaka • Nao Hayasaka • Ai Hayasaka (former) • Yakumo Amano |
| Other | Shijo Corporation • Shinomiya Zaibatsu |