As stated in the summary, this is dedicated to Kenbu. Go have a look at her fics, her chapter:review ratio is unbelievable! Much better than mine, which leads me to believe that her writing is much better as well, so go, now. I command you! Back? Good, enjoy!

Disclaimer:...I haven't posted one of these in so long I forget what I'm supposed to say. Some witty, sarcastic comment about how I own the characters and series while craftily informing you that I definitely do not own Spiral? Sure.

Warning: Omg, none yet... should that be a warning in itself? With me, sometimes I think so.. XD

A/N: Excuse the blatant D N Angel reference with the Kaitou thing, it just fit well with the fic. XD, sorry I'm so corny.

The Players:

Ayumu Narumi

Age: 20

Occupation: College Student/ Criminal Investigation Major and Culinary Arts Minor

Status: Active (attending college)

Kousuke Asazuki

Alias: Kaitou

Age: 21

Occupation: Professional thief

Status: Active (building himself quite the reputation under the pseudo-name Kaitou)

Hiyono Yuizaki

Age: 21

Occupation: College Student/ Journalist Major and Criminal Investigation Minor

Status: Active (attending college/working for the local newspaper)

Eyes Rutherford

Age: 21

Occupation: Professional Pianist

Status: Inactive (currently spending a month away from touring for thus far unknown reasons/living with his mentor's younger brother)

Kiyotaka Narumi

Age: 26

Occupation: Lead Detective in the Osaka district/ professional pianist (retired)

Status: Active (currently away on business)

"I'm back!" Ayumu shouted, looking around the dimmed apartment. He sighed and threw his school bag onto the kitchen table, heading into the kitchen, "They must be out," he thought, referring to his two roommates, a honey-haired girl named Hiyono and an up-and-coming sensation, Eyes Rutherford. "And...Hiyono ate all the food again." He sighed to himself and closed the fridge, standing up straight once more and stretching. A glance at the clock told him that it was only quarter after six and that plenty of stores would still be open.

"Looks like I got out a little early tonight," he muttered to himself, heading back out the door. College courses weren't as rigorous as he had expected, even going into the detective business like his brother had. If the elder Narumi were still around, the schooling process would be a laugh. Kiyotaka could put in a good word for an untrustworthy criminal and the police force would hire him, no question. However, his brother had been gone for what felt like forever (when in fact it had only been a couple years) on a particularly tough case. Ayumu had heard from him, over the phone, that he was tracking a particularly slippery thief and that it might take him some time to catch the man.

The brunette locked his apartment door and headed outside into the warm night air. Spring had sprung and even though the air smelled of the city life, the feeling of spring was always a pleasant one. He turned a corner and made his way down a forbidding-looking alley. It didn't seem to phase him, however, as it was the quickest way to the supermarket that he knew of and the only thing on his mind at the moment was food.

---

"Heh, that was easy, just like every other time," a boy thought as he leapt from a fifteen story window across the narrow alley and latched onto the building across the way. He shifted his position and slipped a golden-plated knife, the handle adorned with gems, into a small, black bag which he slid over his shoulder. The black-clad figure made his way around the side of the building where he paused momentarily, panting slightly. He glanced the way he just came and grinned as a couple of uniform-clad officers stuck their head out of the window he had jumped from not a minute ago. Shouting could be heard inside the building 'search everywhere! Don't let him escape!' Sirens from cars racing down the street below and the loud whirl of helicopter blades soon turned the quiet street into a crime scene. Green eyes sparkled with excitement. The chase was on.

---

"This should be enough," Ayumu thought, checking the couple of bags full of food he had purchased from the store. He paused at the curb before crossing the street, tilting his head as the whine of sirens reached his ears. Moments later, three squad cars raced past him, causing him to jump away from the street and look in the direction they were heading. "The museum?" he wondered, "Wonder if it got robbed." Shrugging it off (and checking to make sure he wouldn't get plowed down by any other cop cars), Ayumu crossed the street and headed back to his quiet, normal apartment.

As he turned into that same forbidding alley, the detective-in-training paused. He listened carefully to the water from the morning shower drip down from escape ladders and landings, pooling in cracks and potholes along the broken ground. There was another sound mingling with the steady drip, drip, drip. It seemed, at the moment, he wasn't the only one traversing down that particular short cut. After a moment, he deemed it safe to continue forward, and began walking (albeit at a slower and quieter pace than before).

He scanned the straight shot to the civilized city ahead of him, and felt as he always did when walking down this alley. That this small space in between these two building walls was in a completely different world. Regardless of how much noise and life there might be on either end, the alley was always deathly silent. Anything could happen in this alley and the world around it wouldn't change for even a moment. It was as if time stopped here and everything that might happen while one was in it wouldn't affect daily life in the slightest. It was a place of horrific dreams and fantasies, and even the most fantastic things could and would happen-- but it would all just seem like a dream when one emerged on the other side.

Just as that familiar feeling of being separated from his city was sinking in, the footsteps that had only been faint before now echoed loudly around him. Ayumu stopped once more and blinked. He glanced over his shoulder, but (as he knew it would be) no one was there. No one was ever there-- after all, that feeling of this being a magical place not of this world was only a feeling. Ayumu sighed to himself, shaking his head and turning back to head out of the alleyway.

As soon as his head snapped back to attention, his chocolate eyes met vibrant green ones. A small shout left his mouth as he stumbled back, nearly tripping over his own feet at how close the other person had been to him. Once he composed himself, he looked the stranger up and down.

The man in front of him looked to be about his age, perhaps a little older, and a few inches taller. He had a lot of hair, but its color was indeterminable as he wore a black ski mask, which was folded up to reveal his face and not much more. He wore all black: black long-sleeved shirt, black pants, black boots (that appeared as though they might have been steel-toed), and black gloves. To match his attire, he had a black, drawstring school bag slung over his shoulder with something in it. The only color on the man at all was his emerald eyes, which stood out like nothing else ever had before. For sure, this was one of those wondrous things that could only ever happen in this alley.

The two broke their locked gaze when police sirens echoed through the alley walls. Something from that busy city was crashing through into this fantasy world, and Ayumu knew (without really knowing at all) that it was all because of this man in front of him.

"Who...are you?" It was the only question that raced to his mind. He had to know who this guy was.

The green-eyed mystery man stared at him for a second longer before flashing him an all-too flattering grin, "You want to know my name?" he asked in a smooth voice. He tugged the ski-mask off completely, his hair as bright and vibrant a red as the lights now blaring on the far end of the alley's walls. The police were here. "Just call me Kaitou." And before Ayumu had a chance to respond, one lovely green eye winked at him and the man was gone. Brown eyes watched as his mystery encounter climbed an available escape ladder and easily made his way up to the building roof and out of sight.

"Kaitou?" he wondered, slowly sinking back into reality.

"Sir...sir!" The brunette was snapped back to attention as two policemen ran up to him.

"Huh?" he asked, oh so intelligently.

"Sir, did you see a man come down this way dressed in all black and carrying a school bag?" one of the officers question, flustered and sweating a bit. It looked like he had just ran a marathon.

"Kaitou..." So the mystery man was now a mystery thief. Ayumu numbly shook his head, "No." After all, he hadn't really seen the man now named Kaitou, right? He had seen him in this alley, and things in this alley didn't stray to real life, which these policemen were clearly from. After all, he was Ayumu Narumi, aspiring detective and younger brother of the famed Kiyotaka Narumi. There's no way he would help aid a thief's escape.

"Are you sure?" the officer questioned again, though he didn't look as unbelieving as he did unsure. He seemed a bumbling fool more than an officer, "We saw him come right down this alley, I'm sure of it."

Ayumu just shook his head again and the other officer, an older and wiser-looking man spoke up, "Wataya," he spoke in a gruff voice, "If this gentleman says he saw nothing, then he saw nothing. He wouldn't lie to us."

"If you say so, Kanzaka, sir," the one known as Wataya commented.

The older officer, Kanzaka, sighed, looking to Ayumu, "Mr. Narumi, I apologize for the trouble, but you should get home. This alleyway isn't safe at the moment."

"You...know me?" Ayumu asked, tilting his head and looking the greying man up and down. The cold gaze and clean-cut look told him that Kanzaka was a formal and strict man. Ayumu wasn't sure he knew anyone like that.

"I knew your brother, Kiyotaka," he informed idly.

"Oh...oh, right." Once more, the messy-haired boy shook his head, finally ridding himself of most of the daze the previous events had put him in, "Yeah, you're the commissioner, right?"

"Exactly. Now, go on home."

"Boy, isn't he friendly?" Ayumu nodded and walked past the two towards the edge of the alley. He crossed the threshold and was once more thrust back into reality. Without looking back, for fear of what he might see, the brunette headed back to his quiet, normal apartment. "Kaitou..."

A tad longer than my first chapters normally are, I think, which is surprising for me. I hope this interests you enough to keep reading. If it does, review, it'll inspire me to write another chapter sooner!