First things first
I'ma say all the words inside my head
I'm fired up and tired of the way
That things have been
While finding out what that posse was up to, was of utmost importance, she would resort to burdening her former mentor, only when there was no other way. She settled for the next best option. The very old and very wise defender-of-holy-texts, by the name of Benedetta. The title was essentially a more glorified way of calling her a librarian for the Church's vied collection. The Shimada was certain that the woman would have more insight on the matter. She certainly didn't want the lady, known as to suspect her of anything, so she merely described the mask to the old woman, under the guise that she'd heard a suspect talking about it while she was still more solidly amidst the Rune Knights. The librarian was almost too quick to establish that it was these fabled cultists that haunted the lands. She went out of her way to show her inscriptions upon inscriptions of accounts that corroborated her deduction... It was a little too... perfect and easy.
Maybe Akira was thinking zebras when she heard horse hoofs, but things were adding up way too neatly. Upon closer evaluation, she began wondering if the church had collected this much knowledge, what was to stop them from using the mask as a ruse? It could in fact be someone from within the church that had orchestrated the episode that she and Kazi had interrupted. If so, they'd really taken quite a few measures to keep the blame off of the religious institute. No surprises there. After using the prayer time to ponder some more, the Shimada left the grandiose abbey, with a puzzled mind. Now going as far as to wonder if they'd left the mask there intentionally to send anyone who chanced upon them on a wild goose chase.
She'd taken a few days already, she didn't want Kazi to think she'd betrayed him, nor did she want him to deem her incompetent. So despite not having the concrete answers she had promised, she'd beckoned for him to join her, so they could discuss the matter further. She wasn't too keen on letting him know of her unverified suspicions yet, especially because it was in the interest of her mission to aid the Church, should her suspicions be true, to gain their trust. For the moment, she decided it was safe to repeat what she'd learned from Benedetta.
She decided to test Kazi's mettle once again, by choosing to meet at the famous church, despite, or rather because she was aware of LeeAnn's discomfort. She wanted to know if he'd have what it took to put duty first. The Shimada made that sacrifice everyday... It was time someone shared that burden with her. Not only did it aid in learning more about his inclinations, it made her new affiliation clear to him. While it was a risk to be seen in association with another Rune Knight, Kazi was hardly established enough yet. It could be seen as a gesture made out of habit.