He found her. It didn't take him too long to do so either. It was like the inspector always had feelers out for potential Rune Knights that he could employ for tasks that seemed insurmountable. Although it seemed that he simply wanted to share a beverage or a meal with her, with the intent to catch up. She knew that there was no way that he had not heard of her rise and her fall, so she was rather apprehensive when he reached out to her. She was willing to give it a shot though, simply because of their history working together.

The Shimada and her partner Tsuru, had worked for, or rather, with him before. Though, back then, he drove them to do so many tasks, that for once even Tsuru had felt relief upon leaving the town of Orchidia. But while he made them work, he never sat idle and barked orders. He'd shared with them his story Akira hadn't been back since, but it seemed the inspector still remembered her well. Well enough to ask around and reach out, at the very least.  

She ruffled the pages of the newspaper, idly scanning the words and not really paying attention to the meaning. She simply held it up to avoid being addressed by anyone except the inspector she was waiting on, it was unlike him to be late, she could only assume he got caught up with work. The only reason why she didn't shy away from giving him the time of day, was because he wasn't the sort to simply reassign his tasks to lowly officers, he was always hard at work himself too. A pair of glasses was dropped on the table, she half-folded the newspaper, prepared to shoo away anyone who intended to join her.

Luckily, it was the inspector. He placed his hat on the table too and then got rid of his long trench coat, hanging it behind the chair he pulled before finally taking a seat across Akira. First thing he did was apologise for his tardiness, a concern that Akira dismissed with a wave of her hand. She folded the paper and set it on the table before motioning to the waiter. Nilan's demeanour offered her some peace and confidence. One more among the very few who sought to either look beyond her actions or find them just. Even just that much support, helped her tide through. Especially, because logistically she knew she hadn't actually lost that much, thanks to Adragna. Keeping up the pretence wasn't easy though.

They ordered a coffee each. Following the usual greetings, out of curiosity Aki asked what kept him. He was rather sheepish in answering. He clasped his hands, intertwining his fingers and setting his elbows on the table. 'Oh, just some infernal plant the newer recruits can't get rid off.' It was rather apparent that he was trying to be dismissive of his problems and didn't intent to burden the Shimada as he once had.

Whether his choice to not give her the details was out of respect for the rank she had climbed to, or simply because he didn't want her to leave with the impression that he only called her for the meeting for this, she'd never know. Regardless, Akira had been starved of jobs for long enough to actually show some interest herself. She hoped she wouldn't regret offering help, but knowing how understaffed Nilan often was, she was fairly certain taking one job would end up meaning she'd take more till she got to the bottom of things. 'Why?' she asked.

The waiter soon brought them the coffee and apparently complimentary brioches simply because Nilan frequented the place as did Akira. Of course the inspector made it point to keep account. She knew he was the sort to get the tab and pay for the brioches regardless of whether the keeper of the cafe accepted it or not. Sometimes the sceptic in her wondered if he was truly that straight laced, or was it just a front he put up for people like her and Tsuru. She knew a lot of this stemmed from her own pessimism, and no real evidence.

Finally he spilled the beans about the beanstalk and Aki merely clicked her tongue. Though she hadn't seen the structure, she was fairly certain that if the Knights worked together they'd be able to get the damn thing down. Of course, she was fairly certain, they probably went at it one at a time and all failed. The newer recruits sometimes just needed a little push. This was ironic, because when she was new, she refused to work with almost anyone. Tsuru was forced on her as a partner. But it certainly had done her a world of good.

'Let me at them, I'll get them to work together and take it down. Whether they want to or not.' she said casually. She wasn't the one to throw her weight around idly. But then, she had a bit of a reputation as the girl who killed and quit. It served her well in terms of intimidation tactics. Nilan looked wary, but didn't have the heart to deny help. Plus he made it apparent that he trusted her enough to offer her the small squad of the newer recruits. He actually appreciated her input and her idea. Just that faith was enough.

It didn't take long for Aki to locate the beanstalk, it had become something of a tourist spot after all. Just as Nilan had hoped but also feared once he realised that the plant had some toxic properties. Aki had to monitor the pages as they used each others strengths and covered for one another's weaknesses. Their job was to simply climb the stalk and take it down piece by piece and ensure that no one got hurt. Luckily for Aki, she actually managed to get them to work together and completed the deed. She carefully extracted some sap and knew a long winded series of jobs could potentially follow this. She was willing to walk the recruits through it all.