Rue woke up in the middle of the night, about 12 AM. She had a disturbing dream, but couldn't quite recall what happened in it. That sadness she had earlier, still lurked. She looked around in the darkness of her room for a second, then sat thinking. "Why do I like that man...? He's so horrible, and I barely know anything about him yet." She mumbled all her thoughts, as she usually did when alone. 

At the very same time, Dazai was sitting in his own bedroom, thinking about Rue. Unlike her, he didn't speak his thoughts out loud. "Rue is an interesting woman, definitely..." He was confused as to why he felt some kind of emotion because of her. Everything was always so empty, and to be honest this was scaring him. 

Dazai made Rue laugh in between her usual (and now more) stressful days. He helped her to calm down a bit, but also feel the most tense she's ever in her entire life. She was afraid of him, because all of the emotes he would do felt so shallow. His eyes... brown, but it was like they were blacked out. 

Rue made Dazai feel some kind of thing. He couldn't identify it, much less understand. He certainly didn't want to leave her, because she was fun to play with and also because she was an opportunity to do good like Odasaku wanted him to. That woman was so fragile, pretending she could be strong for far too long. Dazai pitied her. He wasn't really interested in hurting the poor lady more, but at this point that was all he knew how to do.

This "love" growing between them was definitely strange. I guess it was like being addicted? To anything, for example: drugs, alcohol, cigarettes. It can be nice, yes, but it slowly kills you and you become dependent on it. Perhaps you could make it seem beautiful, like it's something you might want. Sorry to break the fourth wall, but there's lots of girls who watch BSD who have crushes on Dazai, and may even desire a toxic relationship with him. But in reality, their love was ugly. So very ugly... they were all tangled up, not meant to be but staying together anyway. What was this? The Unseen One doesn't even understand it herself. 

"It would have been so much easier to be attracted to anyone else. I could have liked that Ranpo, and did whatever he wanted me to all day. The man was pretty cute, it would be easy to spoil him further. But instead, I love Osamu. I hate Osamu, I hate him so much. He's ruined everything, everything!" Rue ranted, whispering to herself in the dark room. 

Eliza heard Rue talking to herself, and began to make her way to her bedroom. She was up late making toys for her shop. 

Rue's mind was racing, with a single repeating thought. She stared off into space, six words looping in her head. "I love you, I hate you. I love you, I hate you. I love you, I hate you. I love you, I hate you. I love you, I hate you. I love you, I hate you. I love you, I hate you. I love you, I hate you. I love you, I hate you. I love you, I hate you. I love you, I hate you. I love you, I hate you. I love you, I hate you. I love you, I hate you. I love you, I hate you. I love you, I hate you. I love you, I hate you. I love you, I hate you. I love you, I hate you. I love you, I hate you. I love you, I hate you. I love you, I hate you. I love you, I hate you. I love you, I hate--" The words in her mind got louder and louder, until Eliza came in and interrupted them. 

"Rue, you've awakened?" She asked, light flooding into the dark room from the door she opened. The red head smiled, coming up to her best friend. 

Rue shifted on the bed, smiling back at her automatically. "Yes... what happened?" Rue didn't like the way the light made the room look, she didn't like the nighttime. It was always frightening to her. Ever since she was a small girl, she was worried the sun would never come up. Seeing the yellowish light in the house she lived in when she was little, when the night was associated with darkness was unsettling to her. The lights in Eliza's apartment look exactly like those old ones from when she was just a girl. Rue was afraid of the dark when she was alone and things were pitch black too. When she was thinking about how she couldn't see, her mind would go on overdrive. She only hadn't been scared earlier because she wasn't thinking about how it was dark, busy questioning and regretting her feelings for Dazai.

"Oh, Dazai said you fell asleep and so he brought you home. Probably the nicest thing he's done for you yet."  She explained, sitting next to Rue on the bed. "Are you alright?" She could tell Rue wasn't feeling the best, and wanted to help. 

Rue's eyes filled with tears. "I had woken up from a nightmare, and then I was thinking about Osamu. I don't like the lighting, can you turn on my lamp?" She always needed her lamp on to be able to fall asleep, and to feel better when the lighting offended her. 

Eliza quite enjoyed the dark, so she didn't quite understand Rue's preference, but was kind about it. She turned it on, then hugged Rue in an attempt to comfort her. "It will be alright, don't think about Dazai. You can stay up with me if you'd like, but I think it may be best if you go back to sleep." 

Rue nodded. "I'll try. Once you finish up whatever you're doing and go to bed, can you come sleep beside me?" She requested. 

"Sure." Eliza replied, before walking out of the bedroom and closing the door behind her.

Rue lay her head down. "Dear Lord Jesus I pray, for you to protect everyone in this home, for you to protect Osamu, and my father as well. Thank you for everything you've given us, thank you for letting me and my sister have a place to stay. Bless the three babies inside of me, bless them, Lord. Please help me..." She prayed, before slowly drifting off into sleep. 

-

In her slumber, another nightmare came to her. This one was a memory. 

She sat there, watching her parents fight beside Suzu. They were both toddlers, small children. The two girls trembled in fear, not wanting to know what would happen next. 

Her father and mother's yelling sounded distorted, and she couldn't make out the words. At one point her father stopped fighting with her mother, and she began to have a meltdown. The woman threw things around, wrecking the house. 

"Ma! Calm down." He said, trying not to upset her more now. He was still angry, but concerned for her wellbeing. The man grabbed his wife by the arms, holding her against him. 

She kicked around, trying to break free as she breathed hard. "I can't breathe!! My chest hurts!! You want to kill me!!!" 

Rue and Suzu began wailing, feeling an impending doom. 

Their father let their mother go, rushing to the telephone to dial 911. "Hello?" 

Rue couldn't hear the rest of his words, as she plugged her ears, not wanting to hear her mother cry. "Mooommyyyy!!!" She screamed.

It felt almost as if time stopped, seeing her mother dying on the floor. Rue didn't know she was dying, but could sense something was terribly wrong. 

There was a skip to the family in the hospital, all standing around the now dead woman's bed. Rue's father wept, Suzu was being held by him. 

Rue was so very confused as she sat on the bed, looking at her mother's lifeless body. Why didn't she move? Why was she so cold? Why didn't she wake up? When would she wake up? "Mommy...?" The little girl asked, her voice breaking. "Wake up." She asked, shaking her mother. 

Her father stopped her from doing this, crying even more. "She won't wake up, Rue. She's gone." He explained quietly. 

"...She's not coming back?" Rue's facial expression changed to one of fear. 

"No." Her father stood there for a moment, then took the broach pin from his wife's shirt. He knelt down, adjusting Suzu onto his knee. "Your mommy told me that she would give this to you when you grew old enough to keep it safe, but I'm giving it to you now. Don't lose it, okay?" He said gently, pinning it to Rue's shirt. 

"Yes, Daddy." Rue replied, nodding as she sniffled. She turned to look at her mother, then waved. "I love you, Mommy. Bye-bye." 

Then, Rue jerked awake. She saw Eliza next to her, and hugged her tight. She quickly said a little prayer asking to not have any more nightmares, then went back to sleep.