Mr. Kitagawa was in his early thirties—a calm and collected man from Japan who rarely spoke more than a few words.

Heath Accardo knew that Mr. Kitagawa was a very strong fighter. Heath’s father, Frank Accardo, had hired him to participate in the SCBA’s fighting competition that would take place in half a month’s time.

This meal was Heath’s way of welcoming Mr. Kitagawa. Since Frank wasn’t in California, he asked Heath to represent him instead.

It was a great thing that Mr. Kitagawa stepped fo