"Ichiro?" Hakkai suggests helpfully, dislodging the bit of char at last and rinsing the wok out. "... I'd be thrilled if we could get him to answer to something else. And, Gojyo, if it was Shizuo, I'm sure he just didn't know what he was talking about. He doesn't have the subtlety to lie."

The few other dishes go much more quickly, needing little more than a quick wipe and rinse, and Hakkai sets the last of them into the drying rack and turns around.

"No offense meant to him, of course."