"Planning ahead" may be akin to getting a raincoat from an old bake-neko before walking headlong into the driving rain. It is said that when a bell rings while it's pouring, this must be an old acquaintance coming uninvited — Tanuki Historical Commentary
The Tale of Granny Ame
After leaving Osen's house, I turned left, then right along a winding alley to a damp courtyard, and arrived at Granny Ame's home.
In the elegant courtyard, even the cicadas' chirps were silenced. There was only the quiet trickle of water droplets in the suikinkutsu, accompanied by the rhythmic thumps of the shishi-odoshi.
Long ago, in the mountains and forests where youkai could lead carefree lives, the lady who could turn mist into rain was a good friend of the tanuki and kitsune.
Naturally, us youkai are vastly different from mortals. We don't have complicated troubles that plague us, nor do we have things like status or class. But in the mountains shrouded in mist and rain, the soft-spoken Ameonna always managed to gain more respect and adoration.
It was later, when everyone had submitted to the Great Gongen. Good times came for mortals, and youkai either lived in seclusion at various places, or were subjected to destruction and suppression... It was then that Granny Ame moved to Toki Alley. As a token of sympathy, the Kitsune of Grand Narukami Shrine, Lady Guuji, gave her this mansion.
What kind of loss and sorrow led to Lady Guuji takins special care of Granny Ame? I'm really curious.
Stopping briefly in the courtyard, I watched the crescent moon swaying in the pond, as her voice rang gently in the cool night breeze.
"My apologies to have kept you waiting for so long."
When I turned around, I saw Ameonna standing by the door. She was bathed in pale moonlight, her long white dress shone with a dewy sheen, but her young and slender figure exuded a melancholic aura of a bygone era.
So, I looked down and hastily handed over the raincoat that Osen passed to me, not daring to look directly into her pale gray eyes.
It is rumored among mortals that the eyes of the sorrowful Ameonna will take on the marble gray-white hue of a drowning person. Those who dare to look directly into these woeful eyes will be lost forever in the incomprehensible fog of rain.
Of course, that's just a silly legend among mortals, but the basic etiquette like "Don't look into the eyes of the sorrowful Ameonna" is indeed an unwritten rule among youkai.
"Thank you."
Granny Ame's voice was as soft and gentle as ever, like morning dew in the mist.
She didn't invite me in, nor did she share her story.
All I was handed was a wooden box, but that's all I needed to know.
So, while the moon was bright, I quietly left the courtyard.