Daniel's Disclaimer: I don't own anything that is set forth herein. Blame Rumiko Takahashi and JRR Tolkein (What were his first three names?).

***

The hole was dark and dismal, the air stagnant and heavy with the stench of demon entrails.

"Ssoon..."

A single pallid broken human lay, as wasted and ruined as the rest of the great terrible morass of evil that would eventually recombine into his body.

"Sssoon, sso ssoon..."

But now, in the dark, shivering and alone, the fear of flame was thick upon him again, and he could abide no lamps or torches.

Only a single thought maintained the human shred of thought. "Sssoon." It whispered, smiling maleovelently.

"Sssoon we will haveses it, my preciouss..."

In his pit, Naraku smiled.

***

This is a "Lord of the Rings" gag, obviously. Or it was supposed to be, but it came off a little too creepy, I think, for parody. Naraku on his human night is just a little too macabre.

Consider: no matter how bad any other character has it, Onigumo had it worse. The constant agony that he no doubt endured, alone, stewing in his pain, with only a single oil lamp (a rather grotesque reminder of his immolated form) to stave off constant darkness...

Up, being Onigumo would suck. No wonder he went off the deep end.