43. Library
"Where are we going?" Syaoran asked as his father towed him down the street.
"To my favorite place in the world."
The boy cocked his head to the side. "But the ruins are on the other side of town."
Father shook his head. "My other favorite place."
Syaoran stared in confusion, but followed his father up the steps to a regal white building. They stepped through a pair of glass doors and into a high-ceiling room, as Syaoran marveled at the towering bookshelves around them. "What do they this place?" he asked, awestruck.
Father smiled. "They call it a library."
44. Shell
The most wonderful thing about being a sociopath was that he didn't have to feel the pain he might've felt if he'd been sane.
If he'd retained that fragment of a soul the Original had given to him, it might've been different. He might've regretted ripping out that wizard's eye. His dreams might have been haunted by the desert princess's horrified face. He might have regretted betraying the ninja who had trained him.
Instead, he felt nothing. Nothing at all. As if he was just an empty shell, with no capacity or desire for emotions.
He was fine with that.
45. Camera (200)
Syaoran looked warily at the device sitting on the table. "What's that?"
His father looked surprised by the question. Though Syaoran had been soaking up the language of Clow at an unprecedented rate in the months since Fujitaka had found him, he'd never encountered the strange device before, and its purpose eluded him.
"This is a camera," the man said, touching the device. "You use it to take pictures."
"Why don't you just draw the pictures?"
Father smiled. "Here, I'll show you. Stand right there."
Syaoran stood as his father picked the device off the table. When the man hit a button on top, a flash of white filled the room.
"What was that?"
His father plucked a piece of paper from the device. "The flash. You use it at night, or indoors."
He rubbed his eyes. "I don't like it."
Fujitaka knelt down beside him, displaying the picture. "Look."
Syaoran looked, wondering why his father was so fascinated by a beige sheet of paper. Gradually, the beige faded, and more defined shapes appeared. Syaoran recognized himself in the crisp lines. "I can see why you'd use a camera," he finally said. "It can draw much better than I can."