Author's Note: This is pretty short, mostly just a preview for the festival sequence, but its something to tide you over while I finish up the massive final chapter of the story. Anyone who is knowledgeable about Japanese culture, and kimonos more specifically, will probably feel that Kaori's explanations to Nao are awkward and unnecessary, but I wrote them in so that a reader unfamiliar with wearing kimonos (a safe majority of my audience, I'm guessing) will be able to follow the story.

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"This is absurd! There must be more than twenty pieces to this!" Nao picked up a long strip of silk, examining it as it dangled between a pair of pinched fingers. "What is this one for?"

Kaori smiled placatingly. "That is the 'eri'. It acts as the collar."

Nao glowered in mild resentment. "Do you seriously expect me to put this thing on?"

"Learning how to don a kimono is an important part of any girls life." Kaori admonished with a grin.

"Right... Since when are you one to keep to traditions, Mama?" Nao demanded.

"I keep to the ones that I want to." Kaori said pointedly. "You won't regret this, Nao... I promise you'll look amazing."

"I'll look like a gussied up geisha." Nao countered.

"Nonsense... I'm not even asking you to put on make up. Trust me... a kimono will look very flattering on you."

"How long is this going to take? We only have an hour before the festival starts, and we still have to drive in." Nao observed.

"Really?" Kaori looked at the clock in surprise. "Well, fine. I was hoping to use this as an opportunity to teach you the full kimono donning process, but we'll have to skip that for now." She went to the closet, pulling out a cotton copy of the garment on the bed. This one's fabric was golden yellow, patterned primarily with white floral shapes blended into the gold, with an occasional aqua blue or fiery red bloom scattered around as accents. "This is my old yukata, and almost perfectly your size. A yukata is a lighter version of a kimono, designed for wear in the summer, and much easier to put on."

Nao looked at it distastefully. "How many of these random pieces of cloth do I still need?"

"Well..." Kaori tapped her lip. "A yukata is unlined, so you don't need any of the nagajuban. That's the word for the lining." she elaborated, turning back to the closet and rummaging around. "Some of the other pieces are there to ensure it doesn't crease or fold... and to pad your figure." She turned to Nao's disgruntled expression. "Well, they're optional... you probably don't even need them. Basically, all you really need is the yukata itself and the obi." She pulled out a foot wide piece of bright orange material from storage, folded into a stack. "This thing. It goes around your waist."

"I know." the redhead objected darkly. "Just because I don't know how to put one on doesn't mean I've never heard the word 'obi' before." She lifted the yukata gingerly, as though it might bite.

"It's just... I wish I could have taught you this years and years ago. I feel like I've... failed somehow, as a mother."

Nao shot an exasperated look at the other woman. She knew she was being guilt tripped, but from Kaori, such tricks worked anyway. "Fine." she relented, stripping out of her clothes. "But if I don't like it, I'm taking it off."

Her mother half hid her smug smile, gently wrapped the cotton robe around Nao, then drew the obi around her waist in several overlapping rotations. There were several stages of smoothing before Kaori finally brought the material together into a large bow and cinched it tight. Steering her over to a full length mirror, her mother clasped her arms around her daughter's shoulders from behind and hunched down slightly to put her head on Nao's shoulder. "See? You look beautiful."

Nao contemplated, watching her mother's brilliant smile, and gazed at her own figure. The golden fabric was dazzling, and the cloth did drape over her in a flattering manner. She could see an appeal in a strange, anachronistic way. It wouldn't be her first choice of wear if she was trying to look good, or even her second or third, but...

"Alright. I'll wear it."

"Good." her mother grinned. "You're going to take Natsuki-chan's breath away."

Nao managed a weak smile. She had stopped trying to hide her feelings for the raven haired girl from her mother, since her every attempt at denial had been completely ineffectual. Kaori seemed supportive, at least when she wasn't teasing her daughter mercilessly about it. At least her mother had the grace not to ask for any details. Lately, there weren't details to give even if Nao had been willing to share them. Over the last week, her only contact with Natsuki was a short phone call to confirm that they were both actually going to the festival. Her once enemy had been deep in the midsts of studying for a math exam, so Nao let her go after a making the confirmation. But now exams were over, and they would be seeing each other again. "Thanks for your confidence, Mama." she managed at last.

Kaori pulled away, going into the closet, drawing a second yukata out. This one was an aqua blue, with a sparser pattern of white and pink sea shells. Her mother shucked her own clothing, stepping into the robe and folding it expertly. She had Nao help her put on the blazing red obi sash, then did a girlish pirouette in the mirror. "Damn. Still got it in me." she said with confidence.

Nao had to admit, her mother looked really good in a yukata. "You're really going to come to the festival too?"

Her mother faked a wounded look. "You don't want to be seen with your mother?"

"It's not that... just..."

"Don't worry. I'll give you and Natsuki a wide berth, and only stop by to embarrass you occasionally."

Nao rolled her eyes, having no doubt to the validity to that statement. "Okay then, let's go."

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Finally... my responses to my many reviewers. I'm so honored to have gotten this many reviews over the course of the story. There were so many that I can't respond to each personally... only the ones that were elaborate enough to draw a response out from me. If I didn't leave you a specific message, its nothing personal, just that I couldn't think of anything more specific to say to you besides the honest truth: 'Thank you very much for reading my story. I write for myself, but if even one person reads it and enjoys it, so much the better.'

And now specific comments. Reviewers are listed in alphabetical order.

Akatsuki – Ahh... you flatter. But I'm glad to hear of another convert. I wonder if I get some sort of credit for this in the afterlife?

Astarael00 – Yes, Nao is rather predisposed towards violence, isn't she? But thank you, I'd like to think the pairing is believable as well. Your threatening my lack of updates with punishment by Nao, Natsuki and Shizuru was more tempting than anything else, but I tried and keep a solid update schedule none the less.

Conri – I'm glad you enjoyed the format of the story. I certainly prefer stories this way, though one shots are enjoyable too in their own way. The other characters have faded away I came to focus more on NaoNatShiz, but I'll be using the rest of the Mai HiME cast more, I promise. To elaborate on why I skipped the cooking scene... I tried to write it, but it was too difficult. I don't know how to cook worth a darn, so I couldn't come up with enough entertaining material to make a scene.

CrazedChakra101 – I was extremely touched by the effort that you went through to get me to write more during my long silence. For those who are reading this... CrazedChakra101 wrote an extremely good continuation of my story after it seemed I had abandoned it, hoping that it would prod me into continuing. Unfortunately, plot is never my tripping point, and I already knew where I wanted the story to go, but I still had so much fun reading it over.

DarkFenix – Yay! You stuck with me from the beginning, always gracing my review list with volumes of text, and every word was a joy to read. I can trust you to be frank, and let me know when you disagreed and thought I was drifting into a dangerous spot or nearing OOC. Somehow, that makes the compliments all the sweeter. Truly... thank you so much for your patience, perseverance and honesty.

doesntmatter – Nao never has sex with any of the men she 'entangles'; she directly says so in the anime, and God help the author who changes that fact. As Firefly's Shepard Book would say... 'If you (make lesbian characters straight), you're going to burn in a very special level of hell. A level they reserve for child molesters and people who talk at the theater'.

Icarium – I'm afraid I can't forfill the request of Nao beating up Shizuru, but Natsuki smacks her pretty good (zomg spoilers! No wait... I hope you're past that part if you're reading this). That's almost as good, right? Mayhaps better, I guess. But Shizuru is here to stay, I'm afraid. I hope you'll be able to stand her.

Lang – I don't suppose it would be creepy if I accepted your marriage proposal here? Oh well. Blush Its sort of a strange feeling... to get fangirled by a girl you've been fangirling for a while... there's some strange sort of recursive metatruth about the universe in there somewhere. I'm just happy to have created something you enjoyed.

Hoppy-chan / Naolin – You learned to be open minded rather quickly (over the space of three chapters, if I'm reading the reviews correctly). I like that in a person. I'm currently enjoying your Pirate AU fic as well. If my musings as Nao have graced your consciousness and inspired you to write her into a deeper character, then yay! I'm honored by your praise. We continuity writers have to stick together, right? Good luck with everything, and thanks for reading.

Nagumo – While the mental image the scene creates is incredibly tempting, I'm afraid that Nao and Shizuru both simply have too big of egos to ever share Natsuki. That says nothing of Natsuki's issues with the situation. Why am I explaining why it wouldn't work, when you clearly illustrated the point as a joke rather than a serious suggestion? Probably because I'm more of trying to talk myself out of it than anything else. Darn tempting mental images. So... yeah. I'd never do it, but... I'd read a one shot of that, probably multiple times.

p0lythene girl – Thanks for your kind words. Everyone says I write Nao the best... should I be scared that I'm best able to place myself in the role of the most bitter and murderous of the HiME? (To answer my own rhetorical question... no)

sakuraharunosrival – I was pretty mean with the cliffhangers there, wasn't I? Sorry! Anyone who says the world needs more NaoNat fics is a friend of mine

Shigan – I remember you from the animesuki boards! You and Kieli had the greatest interactions. I enjoyed both of your stories immensely, and I'm honored by your comments.

Sumiregawa Nenene – Of course you can be my fangirl! The honor is mine, I assure you. I look forward to your reviews, as each one is so energetic and full of delightful emotion. Your recent flaming in the defense of NaoNat was not only heartwarming, but also made me giggle quite loudly in the middle of my philosophy class, and earned me some odd looks. Thank you for sticking with me the whole way, and I hope you enjoyed the trip as much as I did planning it.

TheDisruptiveOne - Ahh... TheDisruptiveOne. What can I say? Every single one of your reviews was an absolute joy to read. You certainly don't live up to your name... you contributed much more than you probably realize to the creation of this fic, in critique, speculation and simply boosting my motivation by showing that you cared. I simply cannot thank you enough for the tomes you've written about my work, but here's an attempt anyway: Thank you so very much. If you ever need anything: be it a beta, someone to bounce ideas off... I'd gladly be at your service.

Wolfmon – Legal action may be a bit extreme for your defection, but the NaoNat camp is always happy to have another member, even if you only have one foot in.

xMing Yue – I wholeheartedly agree with your observations about life and how it relates to my title. So much of the experience of life is about enjoying the blundering, rather than stressing over how you didn't end up where you wanted. Smile

youneverknow – Your prediction of a Nao versus Shizuru confrontation turned out to be right, though maybe not quite in the way you had expected. I hoped it lived up to your hopes! And I'm glad the hug scene gave you a fluffy feeling... it was really a fun scene to write. There's just something special about an emotionally shattered girl's first hug... ya know?

And that's it, until I get the final chapter out. Don't worry... its not the end of the adventures of Nao, Natsuki, Shizuru, Kaori, and the rest of the Mai HiME gang. You'll understand when it comes out... my lips are sealed for now.