[It is on his tongue, for a moment, burning like a hot flame — the confession of the Sharingan. That his bloodline is special, chiefly in its promise of suffering and madness and attachment. That to awaken it costs more than one should pay. And the longer he spends with Laurent, in a blur of time crossed through dimensions, the more aware of this he becomes.]

There was an Academy for children to learn. [He says this mildly, memories of a childhood training to become a soldier some strange and unreal life belonging to someone else.] When I graduated I was assigned a sensei; his name was Kakashi. Then I left my village and found another sensei who would teach me what I needed to know. I was hunting my brother. Itachi was stronger than me, so I needed more than what my village could give.

[Tone flattened by the admission, Sasuke turns his attention to the cat, sitting on the bed in a lump of contentment. It softens him out of the dark slide of his own thoughts. Maru's diet is a conversation he bookmarks mentally; he's more interested, now, in hearing about Auguste. The life of a prince and future king.]

'Weak, tainted heirs'? [Curiosity drifts in his voice.] Is that something you can decide? Who will inherit the kingdom once you're gone? [Such a different ideology from his own world, where leaders are raised by merit and strength.

Then, looking back at Laurent, his gaze a heavy, intense weight—] Is it because of that other prince, Damianos of Akielos? You cared for him, though you hated him too.