Minerva managed to notice the increased flurry of activity only when the murmur of distant chatter filtered into her room at the Hieda mansion.
The front entrance of the mansion was barely visible from the window, but Minerva could see a crowd of servants greeting a small delegation of important people. From this distance, she could make out a tall, white-haired man who seemed to be in charge, as well as a younger, nervous-looking couple. No children, however.
"Done," Alice suddenly said, holding up her arithmetic homework for inspection.
Minerva absently scanned through it. "You forgot to carry the two here, Alice," she said, handing the slate back. Alice grumbled something under her breath, but attacked the problem sets with renewed determination, as Minerva turned her attention back to the scene outside.
Aya was there now, greeting the newcomers. There was a lengthy bout of bowing to each other, interrupted by the woman of the couple catching Aya in what looked like an unexpected hug, judging from Aya's stiff posture. Not an unwelcome greeting, in any case, since Aya gingerly returned the woman's affection after a moment. With that done, the group entered the mansion, trailing servants and porters.
What was it Aya had said a few days ago? The rest of the Hieda family would be coming here around this time. The older man looked to be about the age Aya's father would be, but there had been something more formal in how they greeted each other than Minerva would have expected from family. Then again, she did not even need to venture beyond England if she were to seek examples of parents who ran their families more like impersonal showcases of Proper Behaviour than a warm, loving home. Minerva's own family... had not been so cold, now that she had so many years to look back upon them.
Someone was tugging on her sleeve. Minerva looked down to see Alice staring at her with a quizzical expression.
"It's nothing, dear," she said quietly, not quite trusting her voice to remain steady. "Just thinking of some old and forgotten things." She patted the little girl on the head, with a smile. "It doesn't have anything to do with the present."
Alice did not look convinced, but she did not pursue the matter further. Instead, she held up her homework slate again, this time with corrected answers.
After the lesson, Minerva wandered the halls of the Hieda residence in search of the newly-arrived members of the household. Alice had been left in their room with another set of geometry problems, slightly more advanced than Minerva remembered herself handling at that age, but certainly within the girl's capabilities. Minerva expected Alice to quickly tire of angles and trigonometry, procrastinating with far more interesting pastimes involving dolls and dresses; the problems had been set mostly as an excuse to stop Alice from following Minerva around everywhere.
Minerva's quest was resolved relatively quickly, when she overheard conversation through one of the paper screen doors, signifying her passage from the Westernized, wooden door area of the mansion, into a symbolic Orient. She edged away from the door, straining her ears to eavesdrop on the discussion.
Aya was present, her soft voice clear and recognizable. She sounded calm, almost clinical, in the tones of someone imparting information without bias or opinion. Minerva could hear her name being repeated a few times, each syllable enunciated slowly; presumably Aya was explaining the presence of foreigners in the Hieda mansion.
Feedback in this conversation was provided by a series of grunts and acknowledgements from a male throat. Minerva guessed this to be the elderly gentleman, who did not sound very happy at what Aya was telling him, but seemed resigned to circumstances. The occasional question was voiced, prompting yet more explanations from Aya.
Minerva was so intent on deciphering the quiet discussion inside the room that she did not notice the young woman behind her until the woman patiently glided forth into her field of view.
Minerva recognized her immediately as another one of the returning Hieda family: the female half of the couple, and from her actions earlier, a vivacious soul generous with her displays of affection. She held a tray in her hands, on which were the necessary containers for a serving of tea. Minerva counted three cups.
The woman wore a wide, faintly mischievous smile, which she quickly smoothed into the usual expression of passive stoicism celebrated in their culture as the epitome of elegant breeding. "Please wait a moment," she whispered to Minerva, as she placed the tray onto the floor in front of the door, and knelt down beside it. She made a quick gesture for Minerva to retreat a few paces, which Minerva obediently did. When the woman seemed satisfied, she slid open the door.
A lengthy, tedious procedure took place, involving much bowing and kneeling, before the woman finally entered the room and shut the door. The conversation inside the room trailed off into awkward silence, and Minerva imagined the elaborate motions of the traditional Japanese tea-serving ritual being carried out behind that door. This required something on the order of an eternity, before the door slid open again, to yet more bowing and kneeling. When the entire performance was over, the woman closed the door, and stood up, apparently unperturbed by her recent exertions of custom.
"We shouldn't disturb them," she murmured, bundling Minerva away, through even more hallways towards what turned out to be a sort of drawing room. Here, she bade Minerva sit, and summoned a handy servant to deliver tea and snacks. Minerva harboured a faint hope that they could at least dispense with the serving ceremony this time.
"So you're the famous youkai hunter, Margatroid-san," the woman said. "We've heard so much about you from Aya. Ah, I'm Miho, from the branch family of the Hieda." A brief hesitation. "Although I suppose we're the main family now. Aya's my cousin, from Father's side, so we've always been close."
Minerva mentally filed away the information received from this brief introduction for further study and speculation. "Charmed, I'm sure. Er, I should be welcoming you... or rather, welcoming you back to your home?"
Miho flapped a hand impatiently. "It's a bit complicated now, yes," she said. "I got most of the story from Aya, although it's going to take a little longer before Father can accept it. I don't mind your staying in this house, though, if it helps. And neither does Ryotarou too. Probably."
"Thank you," Minerva replied, for lack of anything more cogent. Miho bore a marked physical resemblance to her cousin, now that Minerva could examine her up close, but their personalities diverged. Miho did not so much speak as gush, much as a brook would, words tumbling over each other in a bubbling flow. A marked contrast to Aya's calm, quiet authority; Minerva was not quite sure which one she would have preferred. At least Miho hadn't started on the snide insinuations yet.
Further information was provided after the requisite pleasantries, and allowing for a brief interruption when the tea and snacks arrived, eliciting a happy exclamation from Miho. Ryotarou turned out to be Miho's husband, only recently wedded, and more than a little bewildered by the baroque intricacies of the family he had married into. Ryotarou was currently attending the alleged conversation between Aya and the Hieda family patriarch, and Minerva could envision him rigidly staring at a point a few inches beside Aya's head in sheer social terror.
"He's such an intelligent man, really," Miho assured her, through steady consumption of the snacks. "He's just shy, most of the time. But I'm sure he'll open up soon enough, and then you'll be great friends. He's very interested in the world beyond Japan, you know. Father approves of this, and so he's been trying to encourage that in Ryotarou... except sometimes Father can be kind of overbearing. But he means well, really! Father's just not good at expressing himself, and Ryotarou's still so nervous around our family, so it gets really-"
Minerva held up a hand in an effort to stem the tide of gossip. "Forgive me for being rude, Miho-san, but I am still unclear about the role that Aya-san plays in the Hieda family. She is... a person of influence?"
Miho stared at her. "Aya is... I'm sorry, I forgot that you've just arrived in Gensokyo. Um. How should I explain it? Aya is the reason why the Hieda family is important, and she is the most important person in the family, but it's more about who she is than who she is, you know?"
Minerva cocked her head to the side. "That one might need a little more elaboration, Miho-san."
"It's just... Aya's my cousin, so it's hard for me to think of her as anything else. It's not really the sort of thing that's easy to explain, Margatroid-san." Miho looked especially uncomfortable. "It's... complicated. Really, really complicated."
Minerva pondered the frequency of assurances that she could never understand certain concepts, without anyone ever explaining what those concepts even were. Then again, Miho's reluctance appeared to be based on something more personal than assumptions on the mental capacity of foreigners. There was something about Aya's position in the hierarchy of the Hieda family, and the society of Gensokyo as a whole, that people did not want to talk about. It was just something they knew, as though they absorbed the knowledge through the air they breathed.
"Margatroid-san?"
Minerva started, jarred out of her thoughts. "My apologies, Miho-san. I was thinking about something unimportant." Except it had been important, even though Minerva could not begin to guess what it was. Something about the air in Gensokyo? Not the air. Something about Gensokyo itself, that would answer the questions she hadn't even known about, and lead her to the truth about this haunted land...
But it was lost now. Minerva would have to try again, and hope the insight did not wriggle out of her grasp next time.
She fixed a polite smile onto her face. "You are not part of the discussion involving, er, my lodging in your household?"
Miho shook her head. "It's for Father to decide. Well, not really; it's for Aya to decide, and since she's already decided, it's for Father to nod and agree. There's no point in my joining in, not while Aya's all grumpy like that. She's no fun until she cheers up."
Minerva tried to imagine a cheerful Aya. She was not quite certain she succeeded. "What has Aya-san told you about me?"
Miho tapped the biscuit in her fingers thoughtfully. "It's kind of weird," she admitted. "We were taking care of business in the capital when Aya just ran off without warning, and when she came back, she said she had to pick up a foreign youkai hunter from Yokohama as soon as possible. We tried to arrange for someone to help her along the way, and Kamishirasawa-san... have you met him, by the way? Oh, good... Kamishirasawa-san did most of the arrangements in Nagano. Um, the next thing we knew, Aya was telling us that you were staying here, along with... oh, that's right! I'd love to meet little Alice!"
Minerva gave up on her information gathering for now. "I'd be happy to introduce the two of you, but I must warn you that Alice is a tad wary around strangers."
"Oh, don't worry about it," Miho said airily. "We're all living under the same roof, right? We have plenty of time to get to know one another. I know Aya said we shouldn't interfere with whatever it is you're busy with, or whatever youkai hunting you're doing, but it can't hurt to play with Alice when she's lonely, right? Did Aya put you in the Western-styled room?"
"Er, yes..."
"Then let's go! Oh, does Alice speak Japanese? I know Aya said she doesn't talk very much, but maybe she's just shy, right? Anyway, it's not good for children to be so quiet, so..."
-----
Alice took to Miho with a swiftness that kindled odd feelings of possessiveness in Minerva. It did not seem quite fair or natural for the little girl to latch onto someone else other than her self-appointed guardian, but Miho had utterly charmed Alice, and vice versa, within moments of their meeting. Minerva had to stop herself from reaching out to claim her ward. Jealousy was not an attractive trait to display.
True to prediction, Alice's geometry homework was undone; Minerva had allowed herself a knowing smile directed at Alice, which seemed to embarrass the child far more than any scolding would have accomplished. Miho idly browsed through some of the lesson plans Minerva had drawn up, her lips moving silently as she read the unfamiliar languages.
"Isn't this all too much for a child of Alice's age?" she asked. "It's not like you have to teach her everything all at once."
Minerva shrugged. She had endured enough of Miho's bubbly enthusiasm to know that she was far more intelligent than her airy gossip would suggest. Miho was perfectly capable of matching even Aya in erudition; she just chose not to bother with it most of the time. "It helps keep Alice out of trouble," Minerva said. "And she's certainly bright enough. Even so, I suspect the demands on my time will only increase in the immediate future, and I may not be able to spend as much time with Alice as I should." She gave Miho a meaningful look. "If I could find a suitable replacement tutor, however..."
Before Miho could respond to this blatant hint, a quick series of knocks on the door heralded Aya's entrance. For someone who had effectively been dictating terms, Aya looked as though she had been on the receiving end of a particularly intense interrogation.
She did look nonplussed at Miho's presence, particularly when Miho threw her arms around her cousin for a hug.
"I thought I told you that you need not cross paths with Margatroid-san," she said weakly, after they disengaged.
"Exactly," Miho said. "I didn't need to, but I wanted to. Why'd you try to hide our guests from me, Aya? Including this lovely girl?" She ruffled Alice's hair, causing the little girl to duck away in surprise, hands flying up to pat down the mess.
"If... if that is what you wish, then I suppose I have no objection," Aya said. "Your husband is making arrangements with Uncle right now, regarding the disposition of what was discussed during our trip. Or rather, he is driving a hard bargain with Uncle. I suspect this is possibly not one of Uncle's better days."
"I know," Miho said happily. "Ryotarou can be amazing when he gets going. It's why I married him, after all. Oh, Alice, come here for a minute..."
Minerva looked back and forth between the two. They truly could pass as sisters, with Miho being the elder, but acting younger. Where were Aya's parents, though? Was it another of those topics which were carefully danced around in conversation, being no business of ignorant foreigners?
Aya sank into the chair at Minerva's desk. She glanced down, and shifted herself a few more inches away from the large leatherbound tome on the desk, surrounded by notebooks and scraps of paper, scrawled with notations and sketches.
"It's not going to bite, you know," Minerva pointed out.
"So you say," Aya replied blandly. "There are a few matters to report. Uncle is, of course, willing to let you stay in this house as an honoured guest, although you must forgive him if he seems stand-offish. He agrees in principle with your stated goals, but the thought of a Western magician under his roof, with your strange Western and magical ways, is not an easy thing to become accustomed to for a... traditional old man. But there will be no interference, and you will have a patron."
Minerva nodded her thanks.
"We are also building a... I suppose 'shack' is a suitable word, even if it seems overly grandiose for the result. Whatever it is, it will be located behind the mansion, close enough to shuttle back and forth as needed, but far enough away for any unfortunate explosions or fumes to be limited in scope. We will transfer your alchemical equipment to that shack when it is finished in a few more days." Aya held up a delicate finger before Minerva could respond to the verbal jab. "And the Hakurei shrine maiden has consented to a meeting."
"Consented?"
"It is complicated," Aya said, so quickly that it may have been a reflex. "Everything in Gensokyo is complicated. Once again, it is best to see for yourself, rather than speculate through second-hand sources. The meeting will not take place immediately, but the Hakurei shrine maiden has suggested next week as a possibility."
Even second-hand sources would have been better than nothing, Minerva thought sourly. What was it about Gensokyo that made it impossible for people to speak plainly?
The two of them watched Miho and Alice chat animatedly for a moment. Miho did most of the talking, while Alice listened eagerly.
"Little Alice seems to get along well with my cousin," Aya noted.
"Good. Do you know if she will agree to take over Alice's lessons?"
"Quite likely. Miho loves children. Are you seeking a dedicated tutor?"
"A companion," Minerva said. "A babysitter. A nanny. A governess. And yes, a tutor. Someone to take care of Alice when I am not around, and make sure she does not get into trouble. Someone who can replace me if need be."
"Why?"
"Because I'm going to start hunting youkai, and I would much rather Alice remain behind while I do so."