Disclaimer: I do not own the characters from the Yu Yu Hakusho series. I only own the story line and the Original Characters: The Magai and a few more to be mentioned as they are brought into the story.

The Story So Far: Bo Duchane, the Matriarch for the Duchane Clan of the Magai, has entered the Spirit World and is searching for ways to prevent a war. Her presence has shaken Koenma and gotten Hiei on the defense about the Duchane's, revealing several secrets about his own past. Another secret is divulged, only this one was told directly to Kurama when he went looking for answers. Hiei had inside knowledge about the Great Betrayal, and now that Kurama knows the truth, he and Hiei are getting closer as partners.

Chapter Summary: What happens as darker demons start to arrive in the Makai and run amok? What happens as more of Hiei's past is revealed? Will Koenma still trust the fire demon as more secrets are learned, and will he trust his OWN decisions when he really does place his life in the fire demon's hands?

Without farther adieu: I give you

~ Chapter Three ~

~ Ultimate Test of Trust ~

Yusuke groaned lightly as he sat back in a chair in the lobby, rubbing his shoulder. The teens were scattered around the office, leaving Koenma and Kurama and Hiei in the main office. The teens were tired, and each one was complaining of the overloading of their work.

Over the last week and a half, more demons have begun to move into the Makai. More and more of them were proving to be more dangerous than the last ones. Koenma and the Reikai Tantei have been working overtime to keep the other Makai residents safe. Kurama and Hiei were working around the clock it seemed since the increase of inhabitants in the Makai, and Kurama was starting to question what was going on with the demons. He had noticed that Koenma was growing a bit restless in some ways, and yet, the young Lord was growing weary in other ways. Like he was looking over his shoulder too much and it seemed to be weighing on him at last.

"Koenma... what the hell is going on in the Makai?" Kurama finally asked one night after being sent after three demons with varied skill sets. "These demons seem random... but more... purposeful than just a coincidence."

Hiei winced lightly as Kurama tightened the bandage on his arm. The angry fire demon stood up and walked to Koenma's desk. At that moment, Yusuke and Kuwabara had walked in, well, rather limped into the room. Hiei ignored them as he stared at the young Lord before him.

"This is what Bo was talking about last week, was it not," Hiei snapped. "The uprising from the prediction of the past... this is what you have been waiting for... isn't it!"

Koenma frowned. "What do you know of the past? You might have been close to the Duchane Clan... but you had absolutely no connection to the predictions of the past!"

Hiei frowned. "Ask your father how wrong that very statement is..."

Kurama swallowed the lump in his throat. This was what he was dreading. Hiei's past was going to eventually catch up to him, and Koenma was going to hate him for it.

And at that moment, realization dawned on Koenma. He stared at Hiei and the odd determination in his face that was not there before. "You... you are the one from the prediction?! This is why my father wanted you locked in prison for the rest of your life!"

Hiei frowned. "The prediction that the Matriarch gave him was wrong... she was still young and she admitted that she made a mistake!"

Koenma shook his head and stood up. He took several steps to the side and put some distance between him and the fire demon. Hiei took offense to this and growled lightly.

"Oh, come on, Koenma!" Hiei growled. "Use your head! If I was going to kill you I would have done it a long time ago! I would not have put up with your constant bickering and bullshit for three years!"

Koenma had to admit that what Hiei was saying was true. He really had given the fire demon and the fox a hard time, and he was still alive, but the Lord could not bring himself to fully trust Hiei's words. Hiei shook his head and did something that Koenma and the others never expected Hiei to do. He took several steps back and pulled his sword from it sheath at his hip. Koenma's eyes widened as he seen and heard that skinny blade slide from it's sheath. Hiei frowned deeply at the Lord as he drove the tip into the marble floor before him. He stared at Koenma as the young Lord's eyes watched the sword sway in its place. Hiei shook his head and held his arms out with his palms facing the ceiling.

"I gave you an oath, Koenma... I swore that my sword was yours," he balled up his fists and his arms fell to his sides. "I swore that I would protect you with my life. I am many things... a liar, a thief... but I have never gone against my word. I have never once made a promise that I have not kept!"

Koenma sighed heavily. "How can I trust you, Hiei... when it was foretold that you would be the one that killed me!"

Hiei growled lightly and glanced at his partner, this fire demon was quickly losing his patients with the young Lord. He looked back to Koenma and shrugged his shoulders. "You know what, Koenma... trust me... don't trust me... I don't even care anymore."

Kurama frowned and shook his head. "You don't mean that, Hiei."

Hiei grabbed his sword and slid it back into its sheath. "Yes, Kurama... I do. After all this time, after everything that I have done for this ungrateful King... I give up... He is never going to trust me... why should I stay?"

Koenma frowned as he seen the fire demon turn and walk towards the door. "Where are you going?"

Hiei glanced over his shoulder and smirked. "To keep my word to the one person that seemed to actually believe that I was not capable of such an act... the same person that vowed to spare my life..."

Koenma's frown deepened as those words came from Hiei's mouth. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

Hiei turned slightly and shrugged his shoulder slightly. "She foretold one more thing when she looked into your father's future. That the moment your Life Blood hits the ground... the war will begin, and the Magai will have no choice but to act. Your life... your death... YOU are the key to whether another war between the Magai will begin."

Koenma looked at the other members of the team and then back to Hiei. "What are you saying? If I die... the war will begin."

Hiei nodded. "So you see why it is imperative that you start to trust me... with your life."

Suddenly, there was a ground shattering explosion to the side of the building. The movement knocked everyone to the ground. After a few moments, Koenma looked up and seen George, the blue ogre, come stumbling into the room, the rubble from the explosion causing him to trip several times. He grabbed onto the door frame of the office and choked out.

"Lord Koenma... Sir..." he bumbled. "There is a large group of demon approaching the castle from the East... What are we going to do?! Our defenses were outside when that explosion happened!"

Koenma froze... this was the start of it all. Kurama sat up and shook his head, groaning as the rocks fell from his hair. The redhead turned and looked at Koenma, seeing that though he was being spoken to, nothing was actually getting through to him. Kurama stood up and looked around the room, Yusuke and Kuwabara were groaning a few feet away. The redhead shook his head again, his vision still cloudy from the dust around the room. He walked to the window and looked outside, seeing the large group over the horizon.

Kurama turned to Hiei and the others that were slowly getting to their feet, groaning and coughing through the debris that littered the once polished marble hall. The shaken redhead looked at Hiei and suddenly knew what he had to do. He walked over to the two teenagers as they finally gained their footing.

"We have to defend the castle... If they get through those doors, the world as we know it is going to change," Kurama said to the pair. "Yusuke... I need you and Kuwabara to be the first line of defense. Gather as many survivors outside as you can find and hold the demons back for as long as you can..."

Yusuke nodded and the pair turned and walked out of the destroyed hall. Koenma finally stood and winced as he felt a sharp sting on his arm. Kurama seen him grabbing his arm. The redhead smirked lightly as he took Hiei's scarf from around his neck and wrapped it around Koenma's arm. Hiei frowned at the fox and shook his head as the redhead tied it tightly, earning a sharp hiss from the young King.

"Those idiots are not going to be able to hold them back for long..." Hiei stated. "Ten, maybe fifteen minutes at the most..."

Kurama turned and looked at the fire demon. "And I can personally give the two of you at least another ten or fifteen myself."

Koenma looked between Kurama and Hiei and shook his head. "Are you out of your mind, Kurama!? I am not going anywhere... This is MY castle!"

Hiei shook his head and looked at the fox, knowing exactly what he was doing. "Are you sure about this, Kurama? You are not the same old fox as before..."

Kurama smiled lightly and nodded. "I only need to hold them off long enough for the two of you to be clear of the castle."

Koenma shook his head again. "Are neither of you hearing me? I am not going to leave my castle to those demons!"

Kurama growled lightly, "Our job is to protect you, Koenma... not the castle. We are clearly outnumbered and outgunned. Flee and live to fight another day!"

Hiei smirked lightly and turned his back to the young King. He walked to the back of the room and pulled an old rug to the side. He seen the old trap door that was meant to be an escape route out of the castle in the event of a takeover. He reached down and pulled at the rusted old doors. They did not budge. He growled lightly as he tried again, this time not letting go until they finally opened with a loud screech. He pushed the door to the side and waved the dust to the side. He looked back to Koenma and sighed lightly.

"Koenma, please," Kurama said lightly as he pushed him towards the escape hatch. "You have to trust him! Now go!"

Koenma sighed heavily as he stood over the stairway that lead under the castle. He glanced at Hiei that stood to the side. Koenma shook his head one last time before taking the first step into the ancient tunnels. He continued down the staircase until he hit solid ground. He turned and looked up at the two demons above him. Hiei said something to Kurama and the fox nodded in return. Hiei then turned and walked down the staircase. Above them, Kurama closed the hatch and returned the rug to its original place. He then walked into the hallway before the room and prepared himself.

Inside the tunnel, Koenma stood nervously, hearing Hiei moving around beside him. However, being surrounded in darkness, he could not see a thing. Until all of a sudden there was a blazing torch in front of him. He gasped lightly at its sudden appearance. He took the torch and turned to Hiei, who also held a blazing torch. Hiei looked down the two paths of the tunnels and sighed lightly.

"Koenma..." Hiei said softly. "If you just trust me long enough to get you through the tunnels... and maybe a little bit longer than that, I swear to you that you will understand everything soon enough."

Koenma looked at the fire demon and frowned. "I have told you before, Hiei... After all the lies... I cannot bring myself to fully trust you."

Hiei growled lightly and shook his head. He held out his hand and tried a different route. "Fine... you do not have to trust me with your life, nor do you have to trust me in any other way... But if you AGREE to trust me until we are out of the tunnels... I will tell you everything that you want to know about my past."

Koenma looked at the fire demon. Free answers about the mysteries that were Hiei? How the hell could someone pass that up. He took Hiei's hand and shook. "Deal... on one condition."

"Name it," Hiei said.

"You start with telling me EXACTLY why you are so defensive of the Duchane Clan," Koenma said sternly.

Hiei smirked lightly and shrugged his shoulders. "I will give you that one for free. I defend them so much, because they gave me a purpose to life. It was not an attack from a Magai that they had healed. My wounds were all self inflicted. My mother had just died, I lost track of my sister, and I had no clue who or what I was. What did a kid like me have to live for?"

Koenma frowned. "Self inflicted wounds? Like what?"

Hiei held out the torch in front of him and shook his head. "I gave you one answer for free. Your trust will gain you more. That was our deal."

Koenma nodded and gave in. "Alright, Hiei... One problem... I have never been down here. How the heck do you suppose we are going to get out of here?"

"You will see," Hiei said softly and looked around the tunnels again. "Light of Day, guide my way."

Koenma sighed heavily and shook his head. "Great... I have to lay my trust in you... and now we are lost."

Hiei frowned and shook his head as he seen exactly what he was looking for. Koenma jumped as the illuminated little red bird chirped lightly before landing on Hiei's extended finger.

"Koenma, this is what I meant by you will see," Hiei said and turned the little bird of glowing red energy towards the King. "This is called a Spirit Guide." Hiei lifted a talisman from around his neck and showed it to Koenma. "The Duchane Clan give them to everyone that they believe in. The talisman will guide those who are lost. I have never been down here either... But I do know that this will show us the way."

Hiei let the little bird fly and it fluttered in front of him chirping lightly before turning and flying down one of the tunnels. Hiei followed after it and Koenma followed after the fire demon.

"Great... I am following a Fire demon that is following a fire bird..." Koenma groaned lightly, but followed nonetheless.

The journey was silent, as Hiei was listening for the little bird's chirping in the dank tunnel system. Koenma had to admit that he did indeed feel safe at that present moment. Hiei had him below ground, all alone, and had yet to make a move to strike and kill him. However, Koenma did find it quite unnerving that Hiei had so many different connections with the Duchane Clan. First it was just the Matriarch healing him, then she protected him... and now he learns that all of Hiei's wounds were self inflicted. Why would he have done such a thing? Koenma could not imagine what was going through Hiei's mind to make him want to end his life. But there was something about his admission. It was as if it was not true. Hiei had given it to him so EASILY. Hiei never did anything the easy way. And he was so aloof about it. Almost sarcastic about it. He decided that he would question him further about it.

What seemed like hours later, Hiei pulled back two dried out wooden doors. Koenma flinched as a bright ray of sunlight flashed and blinded him momentarily. Hiei stepped through the doors and turned back to Koenma. He held out his hand to the young King and Koenma looked at Hiei's hand. With a sigh he took Hiei's hand and the fire demon pulled him from the dark tunnels. Koenma looked around and frowned.

"Where the hell are we?" the young King asked. "I don't recognize this place."

Hiei turned around and seen the little bird chirping as it fluttered in the air. Hiei nodded and looked around. The bird fluttered to the right and Hiei pointed in the same direction. Hiei nodded and turned back to Koenma who had the look of utter confusion on his face. Hiei smirked lightly as the little bird landed on his shoulder.

Koenma shrugged his shoulders. "I guess the bird was right. So... where are we?"

Hiei pointed behind Koenma causing him to turn. "We are about ten miles outside of the castle. If we continue to go north, we can reach the portal to Genkai's temple. She will be able to help us until the others arrive. After the others regroup with us, I will take us all some place that is safe."

Koenma nodded. "Alright, Hiei. I will trust you. But if you even think about betraying me, I will destroy you and send your soul to hell."

Hiei nodded and held out his hand to Koenma. "Deal. And in return, I will explain everything to you."

"Start talking," Koenma demanded.

Hiei shook his head. "Explanations are best left for later. I suggest we get to Genkai's first. You will have your explanations. I promise."

The End of Chapter Three: Ultimate Test Of Trust. And so... it was just a little chapter that was meant to get Hiei and Koenma alone so that Hiei could BEGIN to prove that he was not a threat. I hope that you all got that from this chapter. If not... well then, that is where I was going.

Hiei's secrets are starting to come to the surface. What happens when his biggest secret comes out? How will the others take it? Will they trust him still? Or will they all walk away?

Find out next time on The War Of The Magai Chapter Four. In the meantime, please leave me your comments and your reviews, I appreciate them all. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on my work, so please, do not be shy. I appreciate any and ALL comments. Until next time.