Zaraki and his close comrade Hirai had heard of Zion from the previous traitors they were instructed to apprehend, and while the rest of the Elites didn't take it seriously, it never ceased to boggle his mind.
His covert missions of assassinating corrupt politicians helped shed more light on the validity of his suspicions, as the number of corrupt leaders who were undercover supporters of the Zion conquest was getting exposed from time to time.
So whenever he had the chance to take down a traitor, whether by a volunteer or under strict commission, he would go with all earnestness just to get more information on Zion, as he was one of the few that knew it was not something to be taken for granted.
That was why he chose to join the Mia squad on a temporary basis, knowing that it would be a chance that he did not want to miss, regardless of Mia's preceding reputation of being difficult to work with.
He needed information and was hoping to get just that from the deserters, either by force or by negotiation, if possible.
Unfortunately, the mission was the rare type of mission in which the target would defend himself or herself by all means necessary, including the use of forbidden techniques such as the Blood Mist if the situation called for it, and in situations such as these, he was to quickly eliminate the target, especially if the lives of junior operatives were on the line.
So the mission was ultimately a failure for him, as his ulterior objectives were not accomplished.
A couple of months earlier, in the previous year, on a casual day off, when he was trying to enjoy a peaceful day, he came across an interesting personality he knew to be "Akira."
Akira introduced himself as "a tourist" who came to witness the glories of Langford in person and was looking for a reliable tour guide whom he could trust.
Zaraki wondered why he would choose him of all people out of the blue, given the fact that neither of them knew each other.
To Zaraki, Akira seemed to be a naive tourist who would easily get duped by anyone without a conscience.
Though it was a month with no religious holiday on the horizon, the beautiful Basilica and artistic structures were still sights to behold regardless of the time of year, so tourists were always present in Langford.
He was to live in Langford as a visiting tourist for about three weeks, as he always elaborated on how daily sightseeing always brought inspiration to him as a writer.
His latest project was a commentary on the Dominican (Kristene) religion, and what better place to go for guidance and inspiration than the city with the largest Dominican church in the known world?
Zaraki was well versed in his religion and had an encyclopedic knowledge of the stories and legends of the Holy Canon, so it was no wonder they both got along very well, especially when Akira's interesting personality was taken into account.
Every day after every mission, they would meet at the tavern to talk for hours before Zaraki remembered he came to get dinner.
Then, on a leased mission to neutralize an underground Zion cult, came Zaraki with two beautiful young women who were also elite operatives, along with his closest friend Hirai.
Zaraki had managed to get some information on Zion from the mission, as was the trend with all missions related to the Empire, even though it was merely hints and signs, as no one among them was willing to give him the information he required.
During the mission, he was almost killed by the enemy but was saved by the two female operatives who were with him—Yuzu and Rangiku Tachibana—who came right on time to stop the killing blow before killing the culprit.
Because of this, Zaraki insisted on at least treating them to a meal of their choosing at the tavern.
Akira was also there, as they met there every night to hang out and chat as usual, except for this time, he forgot.
Inevitably, they both met there, and that was when he met the love of his life, Rangiku Tachibana.
Zaraki, of course, sensed their almost instant affinity for each other but gave it no thought, as he rightly assumed she was well aware of the strict rules of the organization on things such as this.
Members of the Sukunaku were not allowed to have any kind of sexual relations throughout their serving time as operatives, until their middle ages, when they were deemed no longer fit for regular operations.
At this point, they are given special training that would rank them past the Elite level. This training spans almost a year, after which they are allowed to live "free" lives as honorary veterans in service to the kingdom.
That is when they are granted the choice of having sexual relations or settling down to have a family and whatnot.
Perhaps that was why female operatives were often advised to erase all thoughts of getting married or starting a family, as very few men would consider marrying a woman approaching her forties.
Akira and Rangiku seemed very close at the time, giving Zaraki reasons to be concerned, but he ignored them, as he didn't deem it unnecessary to advise his fellow Elite operative on fundamental issues such as this.
Akira also knew the nature of Zaraki's work as an operative, as he had gotten the gist of it from their numerous conversations at the tavern.
One way or the other, he must have known that starting a relationship with an operative was a recipe for disaster and would at least consider calling it off if he cared about her.
By the next week, Zaraki was not meeting with Akira at the tavern as he used to, and from the information gotten through Mikan Katsura (the agent in charge of the approval and assigning of missions for the Sukunaku), according to the records, Rangiku was not going on missions as frequently as she used to.
It felt unusual, as Rangiku loved going on missions with her sister. Just like Mia, she loved fighting (though without Mia's annoying personality) and her work as an operative. According to Mikan, some days she would attempt to embark on three missions in one day, which was outrageous!
Mikan had to put her on a strict routine of six missions per week to prevent her from hurting herself unnecessarily—and her sister, who also had a similar work ethic to the Sukunaku.
But now over four days had passed, during which she only went on one mission, which wasn't by volunteer but by commission. It was odd and worth investigating.
The next day he managed to get to her sister, Yuzu, who said that Rangiku had been under the weather recently and was recuperating.
It had been over a month since Akira arrived at Langford, and it was odd, as Akira always clarified about his need to return home in three weeks after his arrival for good reasons.
Now a whole month had passed with no hints pointing to him leaving anytime soon.
Now Zaraki was fully convinced that he had to get involved in this, as his gut was no longer at peace with "the tourist."