Illegal

Summary: It's 1925, the Prohibition Era. Sosuke Aizen is the most feared Mob Boss in Japan. He rules Las Noches with an iron fist. Not even the cops can stop him. Orihime Inoue goes undercover to try and find a way to bring him down. In a world of prostitution, bootlegging, drugs, lies and secrets, will she be able to survive?

Ulquiorra stared blankly as the body in front of him crumbled to the floor. Blood pooled around the woman's head from the gunshot wound he had inflicted. Her face was streaked with tears and her mouth was still open in a silent sob. Minding the blood he walked into the kitchen and looked around. There was nothing of note in the room except for a single black and white photo on the kitchen table.

Picking it up he examined the three people in the photograph. One was the woman he had just shot. She wore a bright smile as she held a child in her lap. The child looked to be about six years old. The little girl was smiling widely with a gap between her front teeth. The man had an arm wrapped around the woman's middle. He looked proud as he held his daughter's tiny hand in his own. They sat under a tree with a picnic laid before them. He flipped the photo over and saw that the date had been scrawled on the back.

Setting the photo back down he walked into the other rooms. There were two bedrooms and a single bathroom. His shoes echoed loudly in empty apartment. Walking into the first bedroom, he looked around the clean space. The large bed was made and clothes were folded neatly on top. Clothes that would never be put away. A few other framed photographs caught his eye on the vanity. They were all photos of the man and woman from the previous picture. One was of their wedding; the couple were smiling brightly. Another looked to be during a summer trip as they were on a boat. The last one was of the woman, pregnant now, with the man wrapping his arms around her swollen belly from behind.

After rummaging through their things and finding nothing noteworthy, he continued to the second bedroom. It was obviously the child's room with stuffed animals neatly lined up on the bed. A few children's books were scattered around and some papers with drawings. An antique looking chest under an oval mirror caught his eye as it looked out of place in the childish room.

Going over to it, he opened the chest. His eyes narrowed as he pulled out a thick stack of papers. They were clipped together in a folder. A few black and white photos slipped out, and he quickly gathered them together. As he went through the papers, he knew he had found what Aizen had been wanting. They were documents written about Aizen's criminal activities, and the photos were grainy but enough to see it was Aizen doing things he shouldn't.

Ulquiorra closed the file. As he looked up, the silhouette of man appeared in the mirror. He spun around as he went for his holstered weapon. A gunshot rang out.

~o~O~o~

"You asked for immunity for Nel?" Orihime held an open book in her hands; using it to cover half her face as she peered at Grimmjow from over it.

The blue haired man flipped through a few books. "Yeah. I mean I already have immunity, but she doesn't. It was that or I don't give them anything."

Sitting in the back of the library, the two leaned close to each other in their seats. Their hushed voices barely broke the silence in the room. "That's very kind of you, Grimmjow."

He snorted. "I'm only looking out for those important to me. Everyone else can go screw off for all I care. What 'bout you?"

"Me?" She blinked owlishly.

"You wanna save Ulquiorra, right?"

She closed the book and placed it on her lap. "I….I do, but I don't know how to. He….he got mad at me, and we haven't spoken for a month."

Tossing the book he was skimming through on the table between their chairs, he sighed. "I don't know why you're even trying. He won't go against Aizen. Ever."

"I know. I just thought I could-"

"Change him?" he interrupted. He scoffed, "You can't change him. No one can. I've known him longer than you have, and I know he'll never change. Just give up before anything bad happens. If he finds out and reports to Aizen, you're on your own."

The steely look in his eyes told her all she needed to know. Grimmjow looked after his own and would not let anyone jeopardize his plans. "...I see."

Suddenly the doors to the library flew open with a deafening bang. Both jumped up from their seats and ran to the front. Orihime saw the collapsed and bleeding body of Ulquiorra first and let out a gasp. She rushed over to him and kneeled next to his body.

"Ulquiorra! Wake up!" She frantically looked him over to see he was bleeding mostly from the left side of his head. Her hands trembled as she moved the matted black hair from the area. There was a decent sized wound running from the side of his face and taking off a good chunk of his left ear.

"Shit…" Grimmjow ground his teeth before picking the man up. "Go get Szayel while I take him to his room." As he half carried half dragged the unconscious man, Orihime rushed off to Szayel's lab.

Not even bothering to knock, she burst through the door. "Szayel please! Ulquiorra is hurt!"

The pink haired man looked up from his papers. An eyebrow went up. "Ulquiorra? Hurt on a mission? That's new." He chuckled as he got out of his seat. After he gathered some medical supplies, they made their way to his room.

Grimmjow had set the man on his bed with a few towels under where he was bleeding. However they towels were already soaked through with blood. Orihime bit her lip as she stared at the too still man. Szayel inspected him before kicking the two out of the room. In the hallway she could only pace back and forth in worry. Grimmjow leaned against the wall not saying anything.

They waited for what felt like hours to her when Szayel finally came out. "He should be fine. I can't really do much for his ear, but I patched it up as best as I could. He had a bullet lodged in his left arm, so he'll be out of commission until it heals. I gave him some Luminal so he'll be out for a while. Did he say anything?"

Orihime could only shake her head. "He just showed up in the library passed out. Thank you, Szayel."

He waved her off. "I'm only doing my job. Aizen would hate losing such a loyal dog." Chuckling to himself, he left the two alone.

"I'm gonna change." Grimmjow looked down at his ruined clothes. "You should worry about him tomorrow. What Szayel gave him will have him knocked out for the rest of the day."

"Of course. Good night, Grimmjow." He gave her a wave before disappearing into his own room. Orihime headed to the kitchen and gathered some cleaning supplies. Going back to the library, she tried to mop up the blood as best as she could. There was still a stain on the floor that would not go away.

Finally giving up, Orihime stood up a flash of green caught her eye. Reaching under the table, she pulled out a green folder. It was bulky and filled to the brim with papers. A corner of the folder was stained a dark color. Realizing what it was she paled as she flipped the folder open. Her curiosity always got the better of her.

Eyes skimming a few documents, her brows furrowed. It was the grainy folders that made her heart stop. Aizen standing over a dead body with a gun in his hand. Aizen shaking hands with some shady looking men. All photos were of Aizen doing something incriminating. Closing the folder thoughts ran through her head.

"This is probably Ulquiorra's….but why does he have this?" she asked herself. She knew she should give it back to him. However another part of her told her not to. This was the evidence Tier had mentioned they needed. Evidence to put Aizen down for his crimes.

Chewing on her lower lip, she slowly made her way back to her room. "I'll just keep this for now. I'll ask Ulquiorra tomorrow."

~o~O~o~

Ulquiorra had woken up the next day rather late. Despite their strained relationship, Orihime brought him food and checked up on him. She all but forced him to rest despite the annoyed look on his face. He only agreed because she was right. What good could he be to Aizen injured? That and Grimmjow was ready to tie him to the bed if Nel asked.

"Are you sure you're not in pain?" she asked. She had brought a few books for him at his request.

Not being able to wear his glasses, he was squinting at the page. "I am fine. I do not need any more drugs." He ignored the ringing in his head and the dull throb in his left arm. Standing at the side of his bed, Orihime fidgeted as she wanted to ask him. Ulquiorra finally looked up from his book. "Do you have something to ask?" he sighed.

Staring at her shoes she finally found her words. "When I saw you on the floor, I was so afraid. I thought you were dead. How did you get hurt?"

"I allowed my guard to lower while on a mission for Aizen. He took me by surprise," he replied. His right hand clenched into a fist.

"Who?" She looked up. His sharp eyes were downcasted in thought.

"A journalist. He had gathered evidence against Aizen and I was sent to retrieve it…" He looked up sharply. "Did you find a folder where I fell?"

Orihime knew what folder he was speaking of. "...no. There was so much blood….I didn't see anything else." The lie settled in her stomach, heavy as a boulder.

He frowned and looked away from her. "I have failed Aizen." The pain from his wounds had hurt more than he wanted to admit. He was blinded by pain and only managed to get back to Las Noches by the skin of his teeth. Perhaps, he thought, he had dropped the folder somewhere. If so it was most likely already gone.

"It's okay, Ulquiorra. You've been through a lot. It's not your fault" What more could she say to him? She knew this 'failure' was a black mark on his reputation. Having spent so much time with him, she knew that for him this perceived failure meant he was not good enough.

He sank back into his pillow. His eyes closed and he let out a weary sigh. "I will accept any punishment Aizen sees fit. I wish to rest now."

That was her cue to leave. Orihime quietly closed his door before heading to her room. Finding where she hid the folder, she could only stare at it. Her hands shook as she thought of the man she just left. He was resigned to his fate. Failure was not an option in his eyes. Yet he had failed. Or at least he believed he had. Her heart had pounded as she lied to him; she was half afraid he would see right through her. But he hadn't.

"I'm sorry…" she whispered aloud. Leaving her room, she quickly made her way to Tier's room. Knocking she waited a few seconds before lifting her hand to knock again. The door flew open just as she touched the door.

Tier glanced down at her with a raised eyebrow. Half dressed, she looked to have just rolled out of bed. Orihime handed her the folder without a word. The blonde went through papers silently. Her expression did not change once as Orihime watched her. Closing the folder Tier nodded once before closing her door in the younger woman's face. Standing there she wasn't sure what to do, but the door opened again. Tier was now dressed and led Orihime down the hall. She gave a single knock at Starrk's door before continuing her trek to the hidden room.

The hidden room looked the same as before. Tier took a seat and set the folder on the table. Orihime kept glancing at the entrance to the hideout every once and awhile. Finally the door swung open with Starrk walking in and Grimmjow following behind. Once the door was closed and everyone was seated, Tier opened the file and started spreading out the files and pictures.

"These are written accounts of Aizen's activities and who he met with. The pictures, though grainy, are of Aizen during his illicit activities." She pointed to one photo. "I recognize this as a mission Starrk and I went on with him. I wasn't even aware we were being photographed."

Starrk was examining the pictures. "These were most likely taken by an Aeroscope. In order for one person to take a photo while also keeping themselves hidden an Aeroscope is the only way." He peered at one photo with narrowed eyes. "That's Grimmjow in the far right."

"What?! Where!" The blue haired man grabbed the photo and glared at it. "Where'd you get these?" He set the photo back down.

Gesturing to the other woman, Tier said, "Orihime brought them to me."

All eyes turned to her. She kept her gaze glued to the table. "I….I found them in the library under a table. Ulquiorra was on a mission to bring back some incriminating evidence against Aizen. He dropped it when he collapsed yesterday."

"Well shit…" Grimmjow muttered.

"These will be extremely useful in order to take Aizen down. Good job." Tier looked approvingly at her. Something of a smile formed on her lips.

Orihime flipped over one of the photos. The time, date and location was scrawled on the back. "What about Ulquiorra? If he doesn't bring Aizen the information…."

Grimmjow snorted. "Aizen isn't gonna kill him. Ulquiorra has never failed a mission, and failing one won't make him useless. He might get some physical punishment, but that's not new to anyone in his gang."

Physical punishment didn't sound any better either. Would Aizen have Ulquiorra beaten for failing his mission she wondered. Sure it wasn't death, but being beaten within inch of your life could be worse than death. He was also injured so any further injury could be detrimental to his health.

Tier shook her head. "Aizen may punish others like that but not him. Ulquiorra will take any physical punishment without a word. However a verbal punishment may be adequate enough. He won't die, I can tell you that. Aizen would never waste a tool like Ulquiorra for something so minor."

Orihime nodded slowly. "...that's good." A small sense of relief washed over her. She hated lying to Ulquiorra, but this was more important.