A peaceful evening breeze drifted through the streets. The warm glow of streetlights reflected on the pavement as a young man, clad in his favourite anime hoodie, strolled toward the convenience store. The world was quiet, save for the occasional car whizzing by. He sighed, stretching his arms. "Man, I can't wait to get my hands on that limited-edition ramen..."
Then, boom. Truck-kun struck.
A flash of pain. Darkness. Silence.
Fast forward five years later.
A 10-year-old boy sat cross-legged on a futon, arms folded, expression utterly unimpressed. He stared straight ahead, eyes filled with boredom. Then, breaking every conceivable rule of storytelling, he grinned and spoke directly to the reader.
"Wassup, readers? I'm guessing you want to know who I am. I'm Akuma Beelzebub. Yes, my last name is Beelzebub. And before you ask, yes, that makes me part of the Beelzebub clan. But—plot twist—I'm only half-demon. My dad? A mysterious yokai knight who peaced out before I was born. Mom? A side-branch Beelzebub and a certified succubus. And me? I'm a half-breed freak of nature stuck in hell. Oh, and also... I know this is a fanfic."
Akuma stretched and yawned. "See, in my past life, I was an otaku—binged all of Demon Slayer, anime, manga, fan works, you name it. So when I woke up in this demonic toddler body, I put two and two together. Honestly, it's kind of sick. Except, you know, for the whole 'live in hell' part."
He stood up and peeked outside. The infernal landscape was... surprisingly scenic. Rivers of lava, floating islands, and cherry blossom trees that rained petals of burning embers. Hell had aesthetic.
"Oh yeah, today's a big day! My Demon Awakening Ceremony. Sounds cool, right? Hah! It's basically 'kill your elder and take their power' day. Where do their souls go? Either they get erased from existence or, if they're really 'lucky,' they get sent to limbo to fight some cosmic horror called the Great Devourer for eternity. Fun times."
A knock at the door.
Akuma turned. "Oh? My teacher's here! Let's see which poor sucker they sent to train me."
He swung open the door, expecting some generic demon instructor. Instead, standing before him was a towering man with a lean yet muscular build, rough skin, maroon eyes, and long, spiky red-tipped hair. A jug of sake in one hand, a wooden sword in the other, he radiated an aura of overwhelming power.
"Who are y—?" Akuma started.
The man shoved him aside and strolled in without a care, making a beeline for the cherry blossom tree in the garden. He plopped down, took a sip of sake, and rested his wooden sword beside him.
"Oi, brat, shut up," the man said, grinning like he owned the place.
A long silence followed. Then, out of nowhere, the man spoke again.
"Yoriichi Tsugikuni."
Akuma screamed, jumping so high his head hit the ceiling. "WHAT?!"
And thus, hell got a little more interesting.