The Fruit of Desire~ Even a Bullied Gardening Club Member like Me Created a Harem~ - Chapter 16
The fruit, influenced by Mizuki, took on a deeper hue. When affected by Risa, it had shifted to a reddish pink, but this time, Mizuki’s influence gave it lavender and pale violet tones. Somehow, it felt like Mizuki’s wish and Ren’s wish were harmonizing perfectly.
Ren took a bite of the fruit. Not only was it sweet, but the increased tartness gave it a new depth of flavor.
“This is delicious…”
Later, a plan to help Mizuki was shared in the group chat with Ren, Haruka, Risa, and Mizuki. Each of them held their own hopes as they looked forward to this new attempt.
Mizuki summoned her courage once more and returned to school the next day. While the previous day, sharing space with Ryuji had paralyzed her with fear, today was another story.
“Today will be fine!” Mizuki reassured herself as she stepped into the classroom.
There wasn’t as much surprise or reaction as the day before, everyone acted as usual. Mizuki gave brief greetings, sat at her desk, and mustered her courage to send a message to Ryuji.
[I need to talk to you during lunch break. Please come to the counseling room next to the nurse’s office.]
Mizuki hesitated before pressing send, but she made up her mind and sent the message.
Until lunch break, it was a trial for Mizuki. Every time she felt someone watching and turned to look, she saw Ryuji smirking. The sight made her stomach churn, and she felt nauseous several times.
Still, Mizuki believed that if today’s plan succeeded, she’d be free from this torment. No matter how painful it was, she endured the lessons, her heart focused and steadily moving toward freedom.
As soon as lunch started, Mizuki rushed out of the classroom. She sent Ryuji a message: [I’ll be there shortly, so please go to the counseling room first.]
Ryuji replied: [Try anything stupid and I’ll upload it to a video site lol.] That one sentence alone made Mizuki feel physically sick.
She calmed herself, mentally preparing for her confrontation with Ryuji, and walked toward the counseling room.
Mizuki slowly opened the counseling room door. Inside was a simple, uncluttered space, with a central table and two sofas facing each other.
It felt like a private, quiet space, shielded from peering eyes and the sounds of the nearby nurse’s office. Ryuji sat across from where Mizuki entered, his gaze fixed on her. She braced herself and met his eyes directly.
Ryuji had been grinning smugly up until the moment Mizuki entered. But as soon as Ren followed behind her, his expression turned sour and his voice sharp with irritation.
“Finally arrived… Oi, who’s that guy behind you?”
Slightly nervous, Mizuki replied, “Th-this person is Ren-senpai. He’s my boyfriend.”
Ryuji, looking even angrier, shot out, “Oh, so he’s your boyfriend, huh?” and glared at Ren. Though he was in the second year of middle school, he was taller and bulkier than Ren, a first-year high schooler.
Ren felt fear rising at Ryuji’s tone, but repeating in his head, “He’s younger, he’s younger!”, he summoned his last drops of courage to face him. He’d decided to be strong for Mizuki.
“Please let her off with this!”
Ren desperately bowed his head while holding out the fruit assortment; Ryuji, stunned, burst into laughter.
Ren looked so pathetic, Ryuji couldn’t believe he was older. The thought that he could be Mizuki’s boyfriend was absurd. But if he was groveling like that, fine. Ryuji figured he must’ve been dragged here by Mizuki against his will.
Picking at the fruit, Ryuji felt a sly thought cross his mind. A guy like him might be easy to control using Mizuki as leverage. Getting money out of him might be fun, but why not enjoy the game even more?
“Ren-senpai, was it? Trying to buy a video with something like this? Selling Mizuki’s pretty cheap, aren’t you?”
“Don’t say that… This is actually quite a luxury fruit. It’s rare, you know.”
Hearing that Ryuji popped the fruit in his mouth. Indeed, as a luxury product, it was astonishingly delicious.
Seeing Ryuji eat it, Ren pressed his plea even more.
“S-see It’s good, right? So please, don’t upload Mizuki’s video.”
Ryuji found Ren’s behavior so pathetic he couldn’t hold back a laugh.
“I can’t believe Mizuki likes someone so pathetic. Hey, Senpai are you actually strong or something? Doesn’t look like you do martial arts. What club are you in?”
“S-Senpai’s in the gardening club! Not some barbaric brute like you!”
“Hahaha, gardening club? Whatever, Senpai. If you sit there and behave, I’ll go easy on you.”
Ryuji pushed Ren’s shoulder, and with that, Ren lost his balance and collapsed onto the sofa.
“Calling me to this private room, it feels like an invitation, Mizuki. Want me to show your boyfriend a thing or two?”
As Ryuji moved in toward Mizuki with that line, she rejected him in a firm tone.
“Not a chance! There’s no way I’ll accept anything from someone like you, even if I die!”
At Mizuki’s outcry, Ryuji clicked his tongue and pulled out his smartphone.
“Please! Delete that video!”
“Shut it, Mizuki. Stop messing around or I’ll seriously upload it to that video site.”
Saying that, Ryuji fumbled with his phone and found the video. As he prepared to upload it… he suddenly deleted it by mistake.
“Huh?” Ryuji froze, not grasping what he’d just done.
“Sh1t, I accidentally deleted it!”
“I-If that’s the case, I’ll never have to listen to you again!”
“Don’t underestimate me! I have a backup of the video. Your fate’s still in my hands.”
“If that’s the case, I want you to delete the backup too. And stop threatening Mizuki or laying a finger on her,” Ren said calmly, no longer panicked.
“I told you, don’t get cocky!”
“And while you’re at it, I’d rather you didn’t yell at me either.”
“Ah… …right…”
Ryuji’s words trailed off, and he just stood frozen. Ren’s request had been shockingly effective.
“Why would you do such a thing? Didn’t you like Mizuki?”
Ren asked Ryuji with a serious expression.
Ryuji, forcing the words out, said, “That’s what my Senpai said: once you sleep with a woman, she’s yours. And if you’re worried, just film it.”
“Mizuki was almost developing a fear of men!”
Ryuji asked in shock, “What? Why?”
“Because of you!”
Unable to hide her anger, Mizuki snapped. Ryuji fell silent, a guilty look creeping onto his face.
“I didn’t mean it like that. But because I liked her, I wanted to have her. You know how guys are, the more you like her, the more you tease her. And I thought what Senpai said was right…” Ryuji grinned and made excuses.
“Enough. Don’t speak anymore.”
“It wasn’t that big a deal, you know? It was only a joke, a joke!”
Mizuki frowned and cut him off with, “That’s enough.”
“Hey Senpai, what have you done to me?”
“I’m sorry, would you not question that part?”
Ren’s words caused Ryuji to instantly forget what he was about to ask.
“Ren-senpai, could you ask Ryuji not to lay a hand on other girls anymore?”
“Alright. Ryuji, no more chasing girls. Live honestly from now on. That’s a promise.”
“Yes! I understand, Senpai!”
Ryuji’s answer felt unnervingly off to Mizuki, despite sounding polite.
“Alright. You can go now.”
Ryuji cheerfully left the counseling room.
Ren and Mizuki exchanged relieved glances and stepped out of the counseling room. This event deepened their trust and strengthened their bond. Even Ryuji began to reflect and change his behavior.
–
In the end, their plan wasn’t all that elaborate. Just act humbly and feed him some fruit.
The fruit had changed as if responding to Mizuki’s wish. Its effect was male-specific, it didn’t grant wishes but blocked them.
In the end, it was activated with Ren’s desire to dominate.
It had been uncertain how much the fruit would do, but in the end, Mizuki’s problem was solved and she kissed Ren with tears in her eyes.
“Ren-senpai! Thank you so much! I love you♡ I really love you♡!”
Saying that, Mizuki kissed Ren over and over again.
That day, an unexpected commotion broke out in Mizuki’s class. During homeroom after school, Ryuji suddenly stood up and confessed to having bullied Mizuki. While he didn’t go into specifics, he admitted to orchestrating everything that had turned the class’s hostility toward her.
The confession left the classmates both shocked and regretful as they became aware of how cruelly they had treated Mizuki. They apologized one after another, and though Mizuki smiled and accepted their words, she did so with a cold heart.
Characters in this chapter:
Hayama Ren – First-year high school student, member of the Gardening Club. Has secretly been bullied by Shinichi since middle school. Became intimately involved with Haruka, Risa, and Mizuki. Gets excited when his desire to dominate is fulfilled.
Asakura Mizuki – A second-year middle school student and Misaki’s younger sister. Fell hard for Ren after he saved her. Right after her first experience, she was made to engage in the advanced play of exhibitionism.
Ryuji – A 2nd-year middle student. He used to be a violent bully who threatened Mizuki. Now, he’s turned into a serious and respectable young man. He’s become more popular, but for some reason, he can’t make a move on girls.
Chapter length 4290 characters.