Solnus 13. The Strange Tea Offered by Raka from NAVINAYA, Helping a Healthy Life Cycle; The Olympians, a Natural Shooter

2378 days, or 6 years, 6 months, and about 1 week before the Omatsuri Circumadversum, one morning.

The Asia-Pacific Food and Beverage Expo had opened. Visitors began arriving to check out the available booths. Some came with their families, some with friends like Seira and Matsuri, and still others with their lovers.

Two people who could exemplify the latter group are Tsuhimi Kanade and Takeichi Gushiken. They are both currently sophomores at the same university. They also chose different majors at university, and their university club choices were also different.

Tshimi chose to join the music club, which would fit her surname, which is written with the kanji 奏, meaning "to play music." Meanwhile, Takeichi is active in the martial arts club, where he is arguably the most talented and diligent member. This club would fit Takeichi's given name, written with the kanji 武一, where 武 means "warrior, military, martial arts," and 一 means "one, single, alone."

Music clubs and self-study clubs naturally have different practice locations, different practice schedules, and different training styles. Therefore, it could be said that the university or university clubs are not the gateway to their relationship.

Tsuhimi was born and lived in the Japanese capital, Tokyo, a city close to the sea, from childhood through college. This would seem to align with Tsuhimi's given name, written with 都比海, where 都 means "city, capital," 比 means "comparison, ratio," and 海 means "ocean, sea."

Meanwhile, Takeichi's surname is Gushiken, a common surname in Okinawa, an island region in southern Japan. Gushiken, written with the kanji 具志堅, means "strong-willed" or "firm determination."

From birth until high school, Tsuhimi and Takeichi had never met. So, the "childhood friends reuniting as adults" route wasn't their romantic path either.

They also never met at the same gokon or dating group. So, what brought them together? The answer is coffee. Tsuhimi and Takeichi once participated in the same barista competition. They both failed to win, but that's how they first met. A few months later, they agreed to update their status together.

Coffee also became their way of expressing their feelings. They officially started their relationship by exchanging coffee cups. On the cups, they "wrote" their feelings in microfoam milk.

Coffee was the main reason Tsuhimi and Takeichi came to the Asia Pacific Food and Beverage Expo. However, despite their similarities, they also had differences in their menu preferences. Tsuhimi preferred tea, while Takeichi preferred lemonade.

The couple agreed to visit coffee, tea, and lemonade stands. They decided which stands to visit in order by using the "hom-pim-pah" (or "jan ken pon") three times. Tsuhimi won the "hom-pim-pah" (or "hook"), so she got to decide.

Tsuhimi and Takeichi were carrying out their agreement by visiting a stand selling various tea varieties. The name of the stand they were visiting read "NAVINAYA," and below it read "a member of NITI Group."

Next to the "NAVINAYA" logo on the stand was the company logo, a combination of two circles, several lines, and several dots. Below the logo was the company motto, "Help a Healthy Life Cycle."

Tsuhimi was currently interacting with one of the NAVINAYA booth attendants. The attendant was dressed in the same attire as the other salespeople at the booth. The male attendant was walking in black formal shoes.

The salesperson wore glasses with frames that matched the color of his company logo. He was wearing a tie, trousers, and a formal long-sleeved shirt. He completed his look with a waistcoat that partially covered his tie and shirt.

The NAVINAYA salesman had long hair tied back with a string the same color as his company logo. A lanyard hung around his neck, complete with some information on the lanyard card. The information included a photo of himself and a nickname written in capital letters that read "RAKA."

Tsuhimi asked, "But can something like this be called tea?"

The booth attendant replied, "I think, technically, not scientifically or biologically, yes. It can be enjoyed brewed like tea."

Tsuhimi looked at her boyfriend. Takeichi, understanding Tsuhimi's opinion, commented, "Seeing this tea change color when mixed with my favorite lemon is the coolest thing about it. You know more about tea than I do, right?"

Tsuhimi replied, "But tea isn't my favorite beverage, and this isn't considered tea like regular tea—maybe Raka-san's claim is true; we can enjoy it just like we do tea."

Takeuchi made a comment that impressed the salesperson: "It's only a few yen for a small tester cup, and a packet of dry tea isn't expensive either. It's not a robbery."

Tsuhimi agreed with her boyfriend, "Right. It's still within a reasonable range for students like us. It's worth giving it a try."

In the end, Tsuhimi and Takeuchi tried a small tester cup of the tea. They also bought a packet of the smallest dry tea each. The couple's opinions about the color-changing tea were unanimous: it wouldn't become their favorite drink and make them want to drink it regularly, but it wouldn't be considered unpleasant either.

So, in a sense, they would declare the tea offered by Raka from the NAVINAYA company "not my anathema, but also not my daily cup of tea."

(000)

2378 days, or 6 years, 6 months, and about 1 week before The Circumadversum Omatsuri, one late morning, just before noon.

“So you’re not coming to the expo, Kyuritoo-kun? You usually like to experiment with food, right?”

Yuukyuritoo shook his head in response to the girl in front of him. The woman speaking to him was his childhood friend, Niki Kotegawa. They were both now around twenty-one years old, the age of majority, with students soon to graduate from their colleges.

Niki asked again, “Has anyone leaked your privacy to the point where you’re reluctant to get involved in the crowd?”

Yuukyuritoo answered with a shake of his head, “Not really.” The privacy they were talking about was the information that Yuukyuritoo was one of the sons in line to inherit a massive corporation.

Yuukyuritoo added, "I have to go somewhere today before nightfall. Besides, if there's any interesting food, I can ask Kochi-san, who's attending the expo, for information. Her tastes are mostly the same as mine."

Niki then walked over, making her sit next to Yuukyurito. It was mid-morning, and they were at the campus stadium. Niki continued the conversation, changing the topic, saying with a smile, "You seem to have changed a lot since you failed to win the Olympic gold medal."

Yuukyuritoo retorted, "Look, Princess Niki. How many times do I have to congratulate you on your Olympic gold medal in diving? How many times do I have to admit that the pose of holding the medal with your thumbs crossed and your other fingers flapping is a cool one?"

Nike smiled as Yuukyuritoo continued his claims, "I'm officially going to call you 'Nike,' the Goddess of Victory in human form. You, like your name, seem to possess two spirits or two forces, a goddess and a human. How was my compliment just now?"

The pronunciation of "Nike" in English is almost the same as the pronunciation of Niki Kotegawa's given name, written with the kanji 二気. The kanji 二, read as "ni," means "two." Meanwhile, the kanji 気, read as "ki," means "feeling, spirit, or force."

Niki laughed, "Hahaha... Don't be offended, Yuukyuritoo-kun. I was just joking. I know, and I admit, your water polo team is actually good. You only lost in the final by a narrow margin. You just lost luck."

After a few seconds, the conversation between them died down. Then Niki reopened the dialogue by asking, "But is your decision to quit the Olympic team final?"

Yuukyuritoo answered confidently, “Yes, that's for sure. I'm confident I'm a good player. But I'm not the Messi or Ronaldo of my team. I believe someone can replace me.”

Niki asked, “And yesterday you said in a chat that you were going to focus more on academics?”

Yuukyuritoo confirmed, “Yes.”

Niki asked, “May I ask, is that because of your mother, who is a kyoiku mama?”

Yuukyuritoo denied, “Huh? Definitely not! You know that since I was little, I've been competitive in academics, sports, and the arts. I think now is the time for me to focus more on academics.”

Niki asked again, “As your childhood friend, I think I can guess that someone is influencing you. If not your mother, who is that someone?”

Yuukyuritoo didn't answer immediately. One second, two seconds, three seconds, until finally, on the fourth second, he mentioned a name, “Daan Batra Mizuguchi.”

Niki asked, "That Japanese-Turkish-Surinamese shooter who plays for the Dutch team? The one who claims to be a "natural shooter" and shoots without special equipment yet still wins a bronze medal? The one who allegedly joined a jet ski racing team but chose shooting?"

Yuukyurito nodded and commented, "Furthermore, he chose engineering as his major for a graduate like me. I think he's an interesting person. What are his life choices? What is his philosophy?"

Niki asked, "The one you call an "interesting person," to me, seems like someone worthy of being your rival."

Yuukyuritoo responded with only a smile.