this took me far longer than i thought it would bc i insisted on stupidly doing both colorings on the same layers ft. the magic of clipping masks 😭

WE ARE DONEEEEEEEE AT LONG LASTTTTTTTT

Our first introduction to little Tsukasa is way back in Chapter 75. In this chapter, he actually uses zero kanji! Which is significant, because if you recall he has a lot of dialogue here.

This use of kanjiless speech continues into Chapter 76 where it abruptly changes. Mind you, Tsukasa speaks quite a bit during this time! There is plenty of opportunity to use kanji, especially simple kanji that a child like him would know. Yet, he only starts using kanji after... ... ...

BOO! Creepy baby jumpscare!

This switch-up is kind of awesome to me. Perhaps I'm reading into it a bit, but I think this was a bit of intentional deception on Tsukasa's part. This happens only after the house has already kidnapped Nene, and when Kou and him are alone. If nothing else, it certainly helps drill in the fact that there's more to this kid than meets the eye, and perhaps he knows more than he lets on... (it's hard to ignore his completely black eyes, too. This is the first time his eyes go black like this as well!!!)

For a bit of proof that he uses kanji he must have known when he wasn't before, here are screenshots from before and after Nene was taken:

If you squint, you can see how the kana Tsukasa is speaking in the first image is similar to the text in the bubble on the far left in the third image... おこら and 怒ら! He knows that kanji, yet he didn't use it. That's just... strange, isn't it?! I think it's exactly that feeling of unease, that something isn't right, that AidaIro wanted to convey here.

Anyway, after this he uses kanji regularly enough (for a kid anyway) that I don't feel much need to elaborate. But I do want to make a quick note that he doesn't use kanji for his personal pronoun, "ore", unlike his more grown-up versions. Despite starting to use kanji when he talks, he still says "ore" in hiragana. (Note: baby Amane also uses "ore" like this. Cute!)

Interestingly, in Chapter 78, where we see a flashback to their 4th birthday, Tsukasa only uses kana. But upon further investigation, this is contradicted in 81 when it shows Tsukasa liberally used kanji in his speech before their 4th birthday. The important thing to take away from this is that the earliest iteration of Tsukasa we've seen uses kanji in much the same way that the Tsukasa we see in the Red House does.

But because he is so young, he doesn't use kanji as much as older characters do. Which makes it all the more surprising when he uses kanji that's rather... grim.

Here, he uses 殺 as in "kill" when Kou tells Tsukasa that Amane murders him. Um... wow! It almost seems to imply that Tsukasa has a deep understanding of what killing is. He isn't just a kid echoing back what Kou says in confusion - he knows exactly what Kou is talking about. Just... wow.

Anywho, remember how I mentioned that Tsukasa's earliest iteration used kanji? Well... You know who DOESN'T use kanji?! You know who doesn't use kanji and is really, REALLY interesting?!

THE PIT BASTARD ITSELF.

You might remember this so-called god mimicked Tsukasa's speech in 81 and spoke backwards at times.

You might also remember that Tsukasa-kun speaks backwards in Chapters 115-116. I can confirm that he speaks without kanji in these chapters:

And when the pit bastard possesses Kou, he also only uses kana (and speaks backwards):

Now, if you're like me, you might be asking... what about Yugi-sensei? You know, the one that does all that Pit Bastard's dirty work?

.. Yeeep, that's kanji all right! Given the stark contrast between Sensei and Pit God's speech in these chapters, it really drives home the fact that Sensei is still Amane, at least partially.

And notably, when Tsukasa returns home at the tender age of 4, he is shown using kanji:

Hmm... 🤔

However, I just realized that the Pit God uses kanji in its first appearance! In chapter 78, it uses the kanji forms of 対価 (equivalent value), 代償 (price), and 贄(sacrifice). Like Tsukasa knowing 殺, I think it's very interesting that these are the only kanji the Pit God has used so far.

Another thing that's interesting is that its speech is a lot more perfected now. It's almost talking like a normal human! That said... there is a tiny imperfection. You see, it originally was flipping the characters backwards, as if it didn't know what to do with them. But here, the writing characters are simply lopsided at points, and rarely at that. Despite mastering certain complex kanji, the Pit God hasn't fully mastered kana, it seems.

...It does make you wonder if the Pit God existed before the kana writing system was invented, haha. But maybe I'm reading into it a little. Either way, its use of Japanese is still pretty unusual in comparison to other characters. I presume this could've been remediated through spending time with Tsukasa in the Red House, before all that progress was undone in the new timeline? But now it's back to flipping the characters around at random... ohhh well.

We're also told by Tsuchigomori that the future is fundamentally impossible to change - which, given the current Clock Keeper stuff in the manga, I'm not so sure about.

At the very least, it's possible for Tsuchigomori to change the future, but he won't bc he'd be erased if he did. But regardless , he's never seen it change before.

With one notable exception.

Hanako - that is, Yugi Amane.

Important things to note from these panels. Tsuchigomori doesn't just know the information in the library, he has to check out the book and read it for himself. He has to go and actively look for the information

And in Amane's book, it said he was going to be a science teacher, and one of Tsuchigomori's coworkers. The book recorded this, despite Amane having already graduated and grown up, because he was going back to teach at the school. His future was relevant to the school.

But that's not what happened. Amane killed himself, and changed the recorded history in the book.

I've been wondering why, exactly, that is.

My first thought was, "What about Tsukasa? Did Tsuchigomori ever look in his book?"

Because, well. Amane is a troubled teen he's worried about, and it seems like his home life isn't the best. Even if Tsuchigomori read Amane's book, it's still from Amane's perspective, and there could be gaps missing

So the logical conclusion would be to look at Tsukasa's book, right? Fill in the gaps?

And even if Tsuchigomori never considered the idea of looking in Tsukasa's book when he was alive, Amane murdered his own brother in an act that defied fate. Maybe he'd want to check out Tsukasa's to see if his changed too, or if things didn't line up, or something

But there's absolutely no point in the story where Tsuchigomori and Tsukasa interact at all. Neither even mention each other or acknoledge the other. The closest is when Tsukasa is listing off the Yorishiros.

So. Why?

Here's my theory.

Tsukasa has had the Pit God inside him since he returned to his family, at 4 years old.

Kako says that it's still inside him as an Apparition. That's why they wanted to erase him from existence.

Outside god's powers don't work inside the Red House.

The 4 O'clock Library is controlled by a different god, just like the Clock Keepers' powers.

Could the Pit God have shielded Tsukasa from it's prying eyes? Could it have hidden the suspicious things in his and Amane's life, keeping them from being recorded in the books?

Could it be that it kept Tsukasa from being noticed by Tsuchigomori?

And on that note-

The Pit God is known for granting wishes, in exchange for a sacrifice. Tsukasa and Hanako are both ghosts who grant wishes in exchange for payment. It's entirely possible that both Tsukasa and Hanako have been influenced by being in the Red House, and that's why they have the ability to grant wishes.

Tsukasa, because he has the god in him. And Hanako, for being cured by the House, due to Tsukasa's wish.

And, assuming Amane was, in fact, going to die if it wasn't for Tsukasa making that wish - that means that the House has already defied Hanako's fate once.

(But Tsuchigomori wouldn't be aware of that, because it happened before they went to the school, and so it wasn't recorded. And even if it was, it would be from Amane's perspective anyway, and, as far as we know, he doesn't know what Tsukasa did for him.)

Could the reason why Amane was able to change his fate be because he's been touched by the Pit God's power once already? Does he have some of that power as well, just less concentrated than with Tsukasa?

And - it seems to me that Tsukasa has more power regarding wish granting than Hanako (he was able to call upon Mei Shijima in her dreams while she was still alive, and send No. 4 and Yashiro to her, for example).

Is it because he has the Pit God in him, or because Tsukasa grants more wishes on average? Meaning more payment (sacrifices)? Bc the Pit God gained power through sacrifices. Hanako actively tries to avoid granting wishes that would cost the other party too much. (Plus, there aren't that many people who can call upon him anyway)

In addition to all of this-

Amane has had doubts about Tsukasa really being Tsukasa since he returned from The Hole.

You can tell that this really ate at Amane/Hanako for years, because he can't tell if the person he loved truly returned or not. Their mom didn't even believe Tsukasa was really Tsukasa, and we have no idea how much her hysteria and desperation could have escalated over the years.

(which, side note, I believe Tsukasa is actually Tsukasa, just influenced by the Pit God.)

This might be the source of Tsukasa and Amane's strained relationship. Amane wants to love his brother so badly, and he does, but what if that isn't Tsukasa? What if all this time, it's been an imposter all along?

Meanwhile, Tsukasa truly believes his brother hates him, and Amane's struggle only solidifies that. Even if he says it's fine, it's clear Tsukasa wants his brother's love. And he's okay with sacrificing himself multiple times for Amane.

And then we have Amane murdering Tsukasa - the pinnacle point in their history that changed their fates forever. it's heavily implied that Amane stabbed his brother to death in the chest.

What else is consistently shown to be in Tsukasa's chest?

The Pit God. The thing in the Red House. Whatever you want to call it.

Maybe Amane wasn't aiming to kill his brother. What if he felt the Pit God's presence in Tsukasa, and, combined with his anxiety about who Tsukasa really was, and whatever other stress he had at the time, he just snapped and stabbed Tsukasa exactly where he felt the "Wrongness" most centered at. His chest.

Cue immediate regret for his actions. Cue Amane killing himself (which he seemed to have been planning anyway). Cue Amane asking for forgiveness and to repent for his sins, becoming Hanako.

Because one of Hanako's goals was trying to save Tsukasa. Save from what, exactly? Idk.