Home is Where the Heat Is

Celestia193's Author's Note: Okay, time for the trial, sentence gets passed, and we'll leave the 'fun' part for next chapter. But, we do end with some sibling fluff.

Chapter 21

Sasuke's fingers fumble a little as he weaves silver chains into his hair, just like his mother had shown him. It was much less messy than the last time, and what was messy, just looked more natural. At least, that was his opinion. Control wasn't exactly in his vocabulary when it came to those raven spikes.

Next, he slides the long black crystal earrings in, followed by the silver leaves. Lastly, a silver choker with the Uchiha crest on it, a gift from Itachi, and something that his brother had insisted that he wear today. Sasuke could pretend that he didn't know why, but he knew. It was so that the claim that Itachi and their parents had staked on him would be obvious to everyone.

And…there may have been some words regarding Sasuke's lack of visual presentation of that claim, and that wearing these pieces would help to silence those who stood in opposition to him. It sounded like a bunch of political nonsense, but Itachi hadn't really given him much choice in the matter.

As he fastens the last clasp behind his neck, Sasuke's eyes travel down the black cloth of his tunic and trousers, and that dark black and brown jerkin he liked. It was the perfect mix of composed city elf, and adventurous wild elf. At least, in his opinion.

He finishes it by tying himself a braid to hang down the left side of his face, similar to Shisui's, and ruffles up the back of his hair. He wanted to look his best, but he wanted to look like himself. And if that meant looking a little wild, then he was alright with that.

Taking a deep breath, Sasuke walks to his door, pulls it open, and stares determinedly into a familiar pair of dark eyes. "I'm ready, Itachi." He was ready to face down Deidara again. And this time, he was not going to lose.

Itachi places his hand on Sasuke's shoulder and smiles. "I know that you are. It's that bastard who should be worried about not being ready." Itachi had chosen to wear the robes of a royal mage. He wanted to make a statement as well. "Let's go." One that couldn't be misinterpreted. He was more than ready to hex Deidara into the next century.

With that thought in mind, he leads Sasuke down the hallway and towards where the trial would be held. "This will all be over soon." Very soon, most likely. Only a suicidal loon would argue with the king and queen, once all the evidence was presented. "He'll likely be punished before the next sunrise." Likely be dead, unless their mother decided to extend the other elf's demise.

The elder prince certainly wouldn't blame her, if she did. "It's not much further." The hallways were illuminated by torchlight and the entire castle was eerily silent. Everyone knew what was about to happen. From the smallest child to the eldest elf in the castle. Everyone knew and everyone was waiting with baited breath for the outcome of the trial.

Sasuke nods silently as the two of the pass through the halls, the rubies hanging from the silver chains glinting in the flickering torchlight around his face. His breath caught in his chest as they approached the courtyard, where the trial would take place.

He could do this. He HAD to do this. He would never have any kind of peace if he didn't. Sasuke knew that, and yet…it was hard. It was going to be hard to look into their eyes, Deidara's eyes, and relive everything that had happened in the last month.

Still, as they approach the end of the hallway, Sasuke grabs onto Itachi's sleeve, clutching it tightly. "Itachi, I…" He wasn't backing out. He couldn't back out. But that didn't make the anxiety go away.

He smiles at him and pokes his forehead. "It's going to be okay. He's going to be heavily restrained." Deidara would trouble his brother no more. "He won't get within a thousand feet of you, I can assure you of that."

Sasuke releases Itachi's sleeve and goes to rub his forehead. "More like he won't get within thirty feet of me." After all, Deidara was going to be there too. "But…I guess it's okay if he'll be restrained."

"He will be." Itachi nods his head at him as if that was a fundamental law of nature. "He's going to have gods and goddesses only knows how many arrows pointed at him and just as many spells. One wrong move and he'll be dead before he could even blink."

"Right…" That was the part that made Sasuke less comfortable. But he would be lying if he said that he wasn't at least somewhat prepared for the worst. It's why his hunting knives were strapped across the back of his belt. "Who's going to be questioning us?"

"Ibiki is taking charge on this one." He smiles at him. "He's very wise as you know. He is your tutor for a reason."

"Ah, so it's him." Sasuke knew that name well enough. "He's also Father's spymaster, right?" That made him qualified to do an interrogation or questioning, didn't it?

The elder prince nods his head. "Yes, he is a man of many, many talents." Tutoring was just one of them. He was capable of far more than that though.

Sasuke swallows down his anxiety, eyes drifting out to the courtyard. "Alright." He could do this, he had to. "You'll…be there the whole time, right? Watching, I mean."

"Of course, I will be." He pats him on the shoulder. "We're brothers. That's what it means to be brothers. We drive each other utterly mad, but we'll always be there for each other." Itachi gestures for Sasuke to follow him.

Sasuke's ears burn a light pink, but he smiles as he follows behind Itachi. That's what it means to be brothers… And before they come into sight of the crowd, he reaches out and wraps his arms around his big brother. He smiles into the soft fabric of Itachi's robes. "Thanks…"

"There's no need to thank me for that." He smiles at Sasuke. "Come. let's get this over with."

"Yeah." Sasuke takes a deep, calming breath, inhaling the scent of spice and pine needles, before releasing Itachi from his grasp so that the two might resume their walk into the courtyard turned outdoor courtroom.

Itachi escorts Sasuke towards the courtyard, letting everyone see them together. Deidara would be put under the truth spell and that would be the end of it. After that, well the fool would wish he'd never been born.

Slightly intimidated by the hundreds of eyes on him, Sasuke refuses to balk. No, he holds his head high, well, not too high, because that would make him look like an arrogant prick, but in dignity, and with as much grace as he can muster. Which…isn't half as much as Itachi, but he was working on it.

Ibiki takes a deep breath as he sees the princes heading towards him. Once they make their way over, he knew that it was time to get started. "Thank you all for coming. As you may know, today is the trial of Deidara." Ibiki reads the scroll that had been prepared for him. "He stands hereby accused of destruction of personal property, intimidation, impersonating another through magic, impersonating a prince of Thiral, and threats and blackmail to force said prince to flee. Possibly even indirectly attempting to murder him as the young prince nearly died from exposure to the elements."

The list of charges was a long one, but from what Sasuke could see, their general reaction was one of gossip and a lot of frowning. He wasn't sure if that frowning was in his favor or Deidara's, however. There was also a lot of gasping and worried looks being thrown in his direction.

"Deidara, how do you plead?" Ibiki looks at the blond. "Should you have any confessions to make, now is the time. Once the truth spell is cast, any migrating factors will not be considered."

The blonde shakes his head. "I have no confession to make." He still had to figure out a way to escape. Once he he made a confession, there was no going back.

Ibiki sighs and turns his attention to Shisui. "Please present your evidence." He knew that the elf had some. H wouldn't be standing so far from the other Uchiha if he didn't.

Oh, he had some, he sure as fucking did have some evidence. "Yes, Sir." Shisui had scavenged an unused sheet to carry it all in, but he'd managed to wrap up each 'exhibit' and stuff them in so that he could carry them to the middle of the courtyard. He stares at Ibiki for a moment, before untying the sheet and revealing the mess of objects. "Everything you see here was concealed within Prince Sasuke Uchiha's closet, discovered by myself and my cousin, High Prince Itachi Uchiha when we searched the room a second time in our efforts to discover where Sasuke had gone, operating under the assumption at the time that he had been kidnapped."

First, he pulls out the bow and arrows, exhibiting them to Ibiki, the king and queen, and to the crowd gathered to watch the proceedings. "Sasuke's bow, snapped in half, along with every arrow in the quiver. With his love of archery, it's inconceivable that he would destroy them himself."

Second, he pulls out the torn sheets, laying them out on the ground as though on a mattress, revealing the word LEAVE carved into the center. "From his bed, which indicates that his room was broken into to accomplish this feat, along with all of the others."

Third, he pulls the letters from his pocket, folded up individually, and hands them to Ibiki. "Six threatening letters that tell him over and over to leave, among other, more unpleasant things." Then he raises another small sheet, revealing the bloodstained cloths. "These were used to remove a similar message from his bedroom wall, written in blood."

Last, he removes a small pouch from inside his leather armor, jingling it for the crowd. "In here are the remains of Sasuke's dagger, found in the location where he was last seen, which put us on the trail, at the end of which, we found Sasuke hiding in the forest."

Ibiki blinks at all that evidence. "Well that certainly is a lot." Honestly, he had expected much less. "As everyone here can witness, much evidence has been presented. Though as of yet, we can not say with any certainty that Deidara was behind this." He pauses and looks at Sasuke apologetically. "Which is why truth spells are necessary. Prince Sasuke, will you please come forward?"

Sasuke nods quietly, stepping forward and away from Itachi, approaching Ibiki with a soft, but determined gait. "Present." He stands before Ibiki, wondering for a moment if truth spells hurt.

"Do not fear." He smiles at him encouragingly. "The spell will not hurt." He blows a cloud of white cloud of dust over Sasuke, coating him in a soft glow. The dust was infused with powerful truth spells. No lie would pass the prince's lips now.

Sasuke blinks, almost certain that some of that got into his eyes. He was also pretty sure that he was glowing like the moon. Weird. "Okay, I…ask whatever you like, I guess." He'd try to answer, even if his head felt a little strange now.

"When were you first made aware that someone desired for you to leave the palace?" Ibiki couldn't believe that things had come to this. "What was the first sign of harassment?" One of his own students had very nearly died and while technically under his care in an indirect way. He would get to the bottom of this.

Biting his lip, Sasuke's eyes fall on the torn sheet. "The night of my introduction to the court. I returned to my room to find the word LEAVE carved out of my sheets." And he hadn't slept at all that night.

"What happened after that? How long of a period passed between the first note and the second incident?" He detested making the child live through this again, but it had to be done.

"The next incident happened after dinner, less than a day later." Sasuke clenches his fists. "I came back to my room to find that my bow and all my arrows had been snapped in half. So I threw them in the closet with the sheets."

That wasn't very much time between incidents. "I see and what happened after that?" This was all rather disturbing, even by Ibiki's standards.

Sasuke closes his eyes, remembering the next incident with vivid clarity. "A couple of days later, after I was done training with my bodyguard, Jugo, I returned to my room to find a message on my wall. It was painted in blood, from what I could tell." And he hadn't called for help, not once. "I spent the afternoon and evening scrubbing it from the wall." And rubbed the skin from his hands until he bled.

Ibiki was aware of some gasps from the crowd, but that didn't stop him from continuing. "Were there any incidents after the bloody message on the wall?" This was certainly not what he had expected to happen when Ibiki agreed to be Sasuke's tutor.

The prince nods. "I guess he must have run out of blood, because then messages were being left on my pillow. It started a few days after that, after Itachi finally dragged me out of my room for some fresh air." Before then, he hadn't left his room, so there'd been no opportunity for someone to sneak in and vandalize anything.

"What happened after you and High Prince Itachi left your room?" Ibiki swore that there was going to be nothing left of Deidara at this rate, after the trial was over.

"When I got back, there was a threatening letter laying on my pillow. I burned a couple of them, but they kept coming whenever I left my room, so I just tossed them into the closet as well." And there'd been little sleep, lots of anxiety, and more than a little stress. "They kept telling me to leave…that I didn't belong here…that I wasn't wanted."

The poor boy. "You are wanted here. Was that the end of it or was there more though?" Something must have provoked him to run. Was that it?

"…There's one more thing." The most damning piece of evidence, really, and Sasuke knew it. "I wanted to get out of the palace for a bit, have some time to get away from everything and breathe. So, Jugo and I went out into the city to go to the market." He takes a deep breath. "That's where I ran into Deidara outside a shop. We'd met in the library, and he offered to show me to a shop where I could see books that weren't part of the library's collection."

The words just started to spill out. He couldn't stop himself. "So, I followed him. He knew Itachi, at least in passing, and had helped me in the library, so I didn't suspect anything. But when we left the market, he led me away from the city, and out into the forest, separating me from Jugo. I still didn't suspect anything, because in a city where the buildings are made of trees, it's difficult to tell where the city ends and the forest begins. That's…where he attacked me."

Silence. Complete silence. No one dared to say a word. "What methods did he use to attack you? Was his intention to kill you or to scare you away?" These were important factors that everyone wanted to hear.

"Magic, I think. For a little while, I couldn't tell what direction we were going, and my head felt fuzzy. Then there was…fire, and an explosion that slammed me against a tree." And words, a lot of terrible words. "He said the same things as the letters and then…he pulled a blade on me." And then, Sasuke frowns. "Then…he was on the ground. I don't…know why, but it gave me a chance to pull my dagger on him. But he used magic to shatter it. He was yelling at me, and he was going to shoot another spell, so I just…ran. I ran and found a place to hide…" And expected to die out there, even as he struggled to survive. "Then, a while later, Itachi found me and brought me home."

Difficult to say if that was an attempted assassination or merely Deidara getting overly aggressive in his attempts to scare the prince off. "I see. Is there anything that you would like to add before I begin cross-examining Deidara?" The elf was as good as dead, but it was proper to give him a chance to defend himself.

Sasuke tightens his shaking fists, glancing up to look Ibiki in the eyes. "No. That's everything." Everything that mattered, anyway.

"Very well." He turns his attention to Deidara. "At this point, I'm not certain that anything you say will reduce the severity of your sentence, but you do have the right to speak on your behalf."

As Sasuke stumbles quietly over to his family, Shisui shook his head. Deidara was a dead elf walking. There was no way he was going to get away with what he'd done to Sasuke. Itachi was perfectly still beside him, an obvious sign that he was seething with pure rage. His face betrayed nothing, save for his eyes, which were burning with a vengeful light.

Deidara nods as he silently waits for Ibiki to proceed. He had to find a way around the damn truth spell, but the time was running out and Sasuke's testimony had doomed him. Unless he could say someone had cursed Sasuke to frame him maybe.

Ibiki takes the pouch of dust, resisting the urge to upend all of it on the elf before him. However, he simply takes a handful of it, blowing it in a cloud over Deidara, and whispering an extra truth spell for good measure under his breath. "Deidara, with what intent did you attempt to have His Highness leave the palace?"

Damn it. "He doesn't belong here. Sasuke has no idea what it means to be a Thiral Elf, let alone a prince of Thiral." He was doomed. He might as well state his case. "I just wanted to scare the brat off. I had hoped to take his place."

Usurping Sasuke's position as a prince, that wasn't going to win the fool any points, and Ibiki was all too happy to make him squirm. "You desired a higher position, and therefore, you turned your aggression on a child barely a third your age." Utterly dishonorable. "Did you share similar motives in using potentially lethal spells on the prince when chasing him off? Or was your blade supposed to finish him?"

"At first, I just wanted to scare him off." Deidara twitches. The truth spell was going to get him killed. "I was gonna let him run off, but he was so damn stubborn." Infuriatingly so. "I would have killed him with the spells, if I could have. He ran off though. I figured exposure would kill him."

So, no matter how they looked at it, Deidara had intended for Sasuke to die, one way or another. And the magical battle, which had NOT been part of the evidence, pointed to attempted murder, on top of all the other charges. "Do you deny any of the crimes you have been accused of?"

"I can't deny anything." The stupid truth spell had sealed his doom.

Ibiki purses his lips, appearing grim-faced and stern. "I see." He turns to his king and queen, bowing slightly. "Is there anything further that you wish to know?"

"Would he prefer to be buried or cremated?" Because Mikoto would do the opposite.

The hardened spymaster felt a chill shoot up his spine at the queen's tone. It was decided, then. The young man would die for his crimes. "I see." He looks to his king. "Your judgment?"

Fugaku stares at the young elf restrained and slightly terrified. And he felt…nothing, at least, nothing that would spare Deidara's life. No sympathy for his plight, no concerns regarding his youth, not even his understanding of Deidara's ambition was enough to sway him. And while his general recourse would have been to have his head taken off quickly, his wife would never let it go if he allowed the crime of treason, of treason against their son, to be punished with such an easy death. "As King of Thiral, and head of the House of Uchiha, my judgment is thus. He will be stripped of his noble title, his name stricken from the records of his house, and face execution before dawn."

There was a stunned silence. No one could seem to believe what had happened. Though no one could argue with the truth spells either. Mikoto merely nods at her husband in approval at his decision and everyone else was too shocked to do even that.

Sasuke's eyes find Deidara, blue topaz meeting onyx, and looks away. It was decided. Deidara would die. He would be safe, but in obtaining that safety, he had condemned another to die. He might as well have said the words himself.

Ibiki nods, turning to Jugo and Suigetsu, who he knew could handle the task ahead. "Escort the criminal to the sealed magical chamber within the palace. He will await his execution there."

Jugo and Suigetsu nod as they escort Deidara off. The blond had gone immobile. He was in shock. He didn't protest being carried off at all.

Sasuke watches dazedly as Jugo and Suigetsu drag Deidara away, leaning into his brother as the blond menace disappears. "…It's…over?"

"It's over." Itachi sighs and embraces Sasuke. "He will not trouble you or anyone else, ever again."

He nods, closing his eyes tiredly. "What are you going to do to him?" Sasuke knew that Itachi wasn't at all happy about his advocating for Deidara's rights, and neither was their mother, for that matter. But the idea of what they might do to Deidara frightened him. They were both extremely capable of doing quite a lot of damage.

"I honestly, don't know yet." The elder elf shakes his head. Why Sasuke was showing that cretin any mercy was frankly beyond him. "Don't trouble yourself over it."

"…Could you come to my room later?" Sasuke tries to push Deidara's predicament out of his mind, focusing solely on his big brother. ""It's…still kind of hard to sleep."

"Of course." Itachi smiles at him, trying to reassure the other elf. "Though there are spells to help you sleep. They're dreadfully useful."

"I know. But you're better than a spell." And Sasuke knew that he sounded like a spoiled child. But right now, he just wanted to have his big brother nearby.

He nods and embraces him more. He couldn't imagine what Sasuke was going through at the moment. "Are you ready to head back to your room? I'll stay with you." It was a wonder the prince was even standing at this point.

"Yeah…I'm ready." Sasuke was so tired, just exhausted by the day's events. It wasn't really a long day, but it had felt like it dragged on forever. "I just want all this shit to be over…" He wanted to get on with his life. He wanted to be here with Itachi, with their parents. Was it too much to ask to want to be happy? He didn't think so.

"It's over, Sasuke." Itachi nods at him as he guides the other elf back towards his room. "Don't let it trouble you anymore."

As if he could really just ignore it… "Yeah, you're right." Itachi was right, but Sasuke's mind was still in a whirl. He pushes open the door to his chambers, seeing the familiar sight of the softly lit room. His fingers go first to his leather jerkin, unbuckling the firm leather and sliding it from his shoulders. He pauses as he reaches up to the silver chains in his hair. "…I can't believe that I've only been here a few months…"

Itachi nods at him sympathetically. "Time is a funny thing." He pokes Sasuke's forehead, trying to calm him with the familiar gesture. "It can disappear in a blink of the eye or feel like an eternity."

"Yeah." Sasuke smiles slightly as his hand reaches up to rub at his forehead. "Thanks, Itachi."

"You're welcome." The High Prince of Thiral was relieved they were back in Sasuke's room. "Remember, you don't have to worry about anymore unwanted guests coming in. The room has been spelled." It was important to make Sasuke feel as safe as possible, after everything that had happened.

"Yeah, I know, I can feel it." In fact, what Sasuke was pretty sure was magic, was so powerful that it made his hair stand on end. Speaking of hair, he abandons trying to take out the chains for a moment, opting to take out his earrings instead. Those were easier.

"Good." Itachi shakes his head at Sasuke. "Next time, please tell us when something is troubling you."

"Because you'll take care of it?" Sasuke huffs a little. "I do have to be able to take care of myself at some point, you know."

"This is beyond being able to shoot an arrow or wielding a sword." Itachi sighs at his foolish little brother's stubbornness. "I believe that you know that."

"…I guess so." Sasuke fumbles with the chains again, detaching one side successfully. "So does this mean that I should mention all of the nasty gossip about me? Because I'm pretty sure you could make a few nobles squirm with that."

"If you wish." The elf tries not to look too guilty at that. "Though I wager, I could make a few guesses as to which ones were the most likely to be engaging in such gossiping." He had truly failed Sasuke as an older brother. He should have realized what was going on. They all should have.

Sasuke shakes his head, pulling the chains out and laying them down on the nearest table, next to the earrings. "It's not your fault." Itachi hadn't even been there at the time. "I'm used to gossip, it wasn't as bad as it used to be." It still hurt, but he'd grown partly numb to it. Besides, he had permission from his mother to make their lives extremely…unpleasant.

"I'm not sure I want to know how bad it used to be, if you consider that somewhat normal." Itachi shakes his head. It didn't matter how many times Sasuke told him that, the truth was the truth.

"It's okay…" Sasuke kicks off his boots, leaving himself in just the soft black clothes he'd picked out earlier. "It doesn't matter, I'm here in Avalon now." And the desire to return to where he was born was an afterthought that was slowly fading away. "I'm going to be okay, right?"

"Of course, you're going to be okay." Itachi smiles at him. That much he would make sure of.

Smiling, Sasuke throws back the blankets of his bed and snuggles his way into them, glancing up at Itachi with a shy smile. "Are you coming?"

He chuckles and gets in the bed with him. "Of course." The last thing that Itachi would do at this moment was leave when Sasuke wanted him around.

The younger prince smiles, his ears burning a little as he tucks his head under Itachi's chin. "Thanks…" As he closes his eyes, he sighs softly. "Hey…Itachi?"

"Yes, Sasuke?" he looks at him curiously.

He snuggles into his big brother, feeling the soft silky material of Itachi's robes against his cheek. These words…these were words he hadn't said in a very long time. "I love you."

"I love you too." He smiles and holds his brother, trying to comfort him. "Never forget that."

"Mm-hm…" Sasuke's smile softens and he sighs softly, relaxing in his brother's arms as a small tear beads in his eyelashes.

Itachi sighs as he watches his sleeping brother, running his fingers gently through Sasuke's hair. "Never, again." He'd never allow something like this to happen to his brother ever again. Next time, he'd see the warning signs. Well hopefully, there wouldn't be any next time though. One could only hope.