Author's note: Thank you my readers for all the reviews. I'm glad you didn't abandon me forever. Now here finally comes the next chapter. I have no excuse for it being so late except me being lazy.
A.N.2: Now reposted with less grammar and spelling errors and country names changed to follow canon.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. That should be a no-brainer, shouldn't it?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Kitchens~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
What is it? Hotaru asked in the secret sign language when Naruto suddenly stiffened and nearly dropped the plate he was scrubbing furiously.
Ninja around, he signaled back, laying the plate on the 'clean' pile, even if she could still see a spot on it. Yuuna was going to be mad, but neither of them cared.
How many? She wanted to know.
Two, he informed her. Skill unknown.
And village? That was usually the most important part so she was surprised he didn't tell her immediately.
Unknown. That was even more surprising.
Couldn't you see their hitai-ate? It was the custom to make them visible. Nobody wanted to be mistaken for an enemy by his allies.
I could, the youth answered. Symbol unknown. Now there was something she really hadn't been expecting.
What? She hoped that she had misread his signs, but his answer crushed the notion.
Symbol unknown. That was really worrisome.
You can't remember which minor village it belongs to? It would have been a convenient explanation, but despite Naruto's dislike for academic studies, he remembered important things well.
No, he shook his head. I never saw it before.
So you aren't that good on your general knowledge? Thekunoichi asked teasingly, but the manner in which she was biting her lower lip betrayed her real mood.
"Hey! You two!" Yuuna's voice interrupted their conversation. "I don't pay you for slacking off! Or do you think the dishes will wash themselves?" The two young ninja, still in the disguises of Ran and Ren, sighed and once again reached into the dirty water in the sink. After a while, when the head cook turned her attention on another poor sod, Hotaru dared to continue their conversation.
Why did you dispel your clone? Hotaru asked something that had been bothering her. Shouldn't it be better if it continued the surveillance?
Well, you see… Naruto looked embarrassed.
What is it? She prodded.
Well, one of the nobles said they never saw such a hideous bouquet and they threw me out, he admitted with a sheepish girl burst out laughing. Yuuna scolded them again.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Daimyo's compound~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Another of Naruto's clones was having more luck. It found a nice suit of armor standing in a hallway and masqueraded itself as a feather top. So far nobody remembered that the particular suit of armor should have none. So far, it had been a boring day. Only occasional servants had passed through before and most of their talking covered last-minute preparations for the arriving guests. He envied his dispelled comrade for spotting at least something important. If he could, he would have sighed. It didn't seem like he would gather any remotely useful intelligence.
But late in the afternoon, his luck turned. Two people were passing by, immersed in conversation, yet their eyes were darting back and forth, looking for possible eavesdroppers.
"I won't believe the spot is safe until I see it," the taller, leaner one spoke.
"I assure it is," the shorter man replied. Naruto recognized him as the one who hired them for the kitchen job.
"Let me be the judge of that, Kichirou-san," his companion replied.
"Of course," the head butler nodded. "Is one hour after sunset a good time for you?"
"I think my master would agree," the tall man answered.
"That's good to hear," Kichirou smiled. "Now for the other business…"
"Shouldn't be discussed in the hallway…," the other one interrupter harshly.
The voices grew weaker, as their owners disappeared behind a corner and probably behind a door as well. The clone couldn't hear them anymore. He took a quick look around. There was nobody around. He quickly turned into a cat and jumped down from his spot. He didn't land on all fours like a proper feline, but he didn't dispel either, so he decided to call it a success. He darted after the two men. He turned a corner and found himself in another corridor lined with multiple doors. He couldn't see the pair anywhere. How to tell the correct door?
Before he could come up with any idea, one door slid open and an elderly matron with a broomstick walked out. She immediately spotted the transformed clone; it was an easy task with it standing in the middle of an empty hallway.
"What are you doing here, stupid critter," she snarled. The clone tried its best cute kitten expression, but the woman was immune. "Go away before I make you!" She accompanied the threat with hefting her tool ominously. 'I can't afford to get dispelled now,' the clone thought. 'It would give our presence away.' He opted for a tactical retreat. He gave the janitor an insulted meow and backed off.
He considered what should he do now. He had just witnessed an important member of daimyo's court talking with someone, who looked like a ninja to him, despite wearing civilian clothes. Should he dispel now and inform the boss? Or should he return to his surveillance and hope he would overhear something more? There was no guarantee that the pair would return the same way or that they would say anything of importance. So what would it be? He was wary of using any more jutsu for the fear of being discovered.
In the end, he returned to his spot.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Kitchens~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Their shift was almost over, when Ren spaced out for a moment.
What? Hotaru asked in sign language.
Overheard an interesting conversation, her blond teammate explained. One probably ninja. Discussing probably some meeting.
The same as those before? She wanted to know. She was almost certain that the answer would be yes.
Another. That surprised her. Didn't have a hitai-ate.
That's bad, she frowned. But we might be onto something.
Yes, he agreed. Maybe he is actually plotting something. Who would have thought?
The other daimyo, obviously, she almost snorted. Otherwise we wouldn't be here.
Yes. And the head-cook is looking at us again. They resumed diligently washing the dishes.
Too bad we can't see the sun from here, Naruto signaled after a while. Yuuna was currently scolding some poor girl on the other side of the room, so it was safe.
Why? She was puzzled.
They're meeting an hour after sunset, he informed her.
Then we still have time, she pointed out. Where?
I don't know, the youth admitted.
Too bad, the kunoichi sighed. How do we find out? What about following them?
I lost them, he confessed with a grimace. And I'm not sure who would be at the meeting.
That sucks.
I can only hope some of my clones would pick them up, Naruto mused.
We should have a better plan, the girl suggested. Her teammate shot her a glare.
Any ideas?
Not right now, she admitted.
That's what I thought. Hotaru scowled. Naruto continued unfazed. I'll send some clones in the general area. If some of them would be discovered, it would dispel. They won't link it to us.
What's the chance of discovery? How many ninja are around? She wanted to know.
Not sure, he shrugged. I didn't get all the reports yet, but they are at least twenty, as guards of the visitors, but we expected that.
So no telling how many of them are hostile? The kunoichi asked.
Everybody who'd catch us spying would be hostile, he reminded her.
Then don't get caught, she advised.
I wouldn't have figured it out myself. It was too bad that the sign language couldn't express sarcasm.
Finally their shift ended.
"Well, that's enough," Yuuna announced loudly. "Go home to sleep and don't forget to come back early tomorrow. I want to see you here an hour before sunrise." There was a chorus of rather unenthusiastic "Yes, Yuuna-san."
"What was that?" the head cook scowled. "You have the privilege to work for the Daimyo himself and you are not grateful for it? If you don't like it, you don't have to return! There are lots of people wanting to take your jobs!" Naruto and Hotaru exchanged an amused smirk before leaving the torture-chamber, eh, kitchen. They didn't head out of the compound like they were supposed to, but instead the blonde hid in a closet and quickly created a clone, which followed Hotaru out. The original stayed hidden until the coast was clear. He had a mission to perform today.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Preening Peacock Inn~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hotaru was nearly running through the city. Naruto's clones had dispelled shortly after she had left the palace. She had to inform Hana of the latest development quickly. They had to be prepared to act swiftly, depending on how Naruto would fare. Once she entered the inn, she gave a signal to the Inuzuka, who was entertaining the guests with her dogs. She than retired to her room and waited. And waited.
Finally, her brown-haired teammate bothered to show up.
"What took you so long," Hotaru began impatiently.
"I couldn't just get up and leave, that would have been suspicious," the dog mistress explained. "I came here as soon as I could. Now what is so important? And where is Naruto?"
"Still in the castle," she answered. "He came onto something."
"What?" The Inuzuka perked up.
"There will be some sort of clandestine meeting an hour after sunset," the (not currently) purple-haired kunoichi informed her. Hana looked out of the window at the rapidly darkening sky.
"That's going to be soon," she observed.
"Naruto is trying to get in," Hotaru added.
"That baka," the team leader groaned. "What if he gets caught?"
"He's sending clones."
"That's better, but not by much. You should have consulted it with me," the clan heiress chastised her.
"You weren't there," Hotaru pointed out.
"Yes," the team leader sighed. "You did what you could. Now we have to be prepared. Are you packed?"
"I didn't unpack."
"Good." The Inuzuka heiress nodded. "We'd go close to the castle and watch out for trouble. You'll tell me more on the way." And with the words she left again.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Daimyo's castle~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Naruto strained his ears to catch even the tiniest sound from outside. He could hear faint sounds of somebody talking, but it sounded far enough. It seemed he was alone. Good. He opened the door of his closet. It let out a loud squeak. The boy winced. He was sure it wasn't squeaky when he hid inside. Now the screech resounded ominously through the empty hallway. The youth quickly slipped out of his hiding spot. If somebody discovered him, it would be easier to explain why he was wandering the hallways than why he was hiding in a closet. But he was lucky. There was nobody around. The young chuunin sighed in relief. First part of his plan was successful. Granted, it was the easy one, but he purposefully didn't think about it. Now he had to find the right place. He headed it the direction where the clone overheard the conversation.
At first it was easy, but soon he entered a busier section of the palace. He had to duck behind a corner quickly to avoid being spotted. Now how to proceed? He wanted to avoid the use of chakra as long as he could; Tenzo had warned him numerous times that it can be detected by high-level ninja. So if you want to remain undetected, don't do it.
That presented another problem: How to remain unseen without the use of chakra? There weren't many things he could hide behind in the hallways. That left only one option: Look like you belong here and look busy, so nobody would bother you.
He quickly examined his clothes. They were simple peasant clothes, stained from his work in the kitchen. They wouldn't do. Fortunately they had counted on a situation like this. He quickly stripped his yukata and turned it inside-out. The inside revealed itself to be a sapphire-blue color decorated with orange flowers. He quickly put it on and bound with a blue belt he had been hiding in his sleeve. He looked himself over. He was still in the disguise of Ren and the colors of the garment brought out his hair and eyes nicely. He smiled. Much better. Now what to make himself look busy with?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Daimyo's compound~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kichirou was rushing through the corridor. His lord was meeting important guests and the incompetent servants completely forgot to leave any snacks there. What if the guests or Daimyo Fusutsuka would get hungry and there wouldn't be anything they could bite into? That would make them angry and Kichirou certainly didn't want his lord angry at him. Did he already say what had befallen his predecessor? He preferred not to think about it. At least the sorry excuses for servants had remembered sake, so hopefully they wouldn't crave the missing food anytime soon.
But where to get some suitable food at this time of the night? The kitchens would be closed by now.
By a sheer stroke of luck, he noticed a servant girl carrying a large bowl of fruit. Perfect! He didn't have to search anymore.
"Hey you!" he called. The maid took a look around and made two more steps before stopping. Kichirou was about to shout again.
"Me, sir?" she asked in a meek voice. He cold se now that she was really pretty, with her golden hair and deep blue eyes, but she was still too young for his tastes. Now thinking of it: didn't he see her somewhere before? Well, if she came with some noble then he probably did.
"Come with me," he commanded.
"But, sir," she objected, "I have to carry the fruit to my lady."
"No, you don't have to," he disagreed sternly. "Now you have to take it where I say."
"But milady would be mad at me," the girl said with panic in her voice. 'And my lord would be mad at me,' Kichirou thought. 'Sorry, girl, I hate being nasty to pretty girls, but my own skin comes first.'
"You are coming with me," he said in his best threatening voice. The poor little thing trembled, but he had little sympathy for her. "Now," he added with a scowl. The golden-haired child nodded mutely. "Follow me," the man commanded and the girl obeyed.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Daimyo's palace~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Naruto couldn't believe his luck. When the fat pervert Kichirou had stopped him, he had been scared his disguise had failed, but fortunately that wasn't the case. The man had only needed the bowl he had been carrying. Still, it had been an unwanted disruption of his mission, but then he realized that he was being led it the general direction he had wanted to go. Hope surged in his chest. Could it be? Could they really be going to the secret meeting? That would be a lot more luck than the young chuunin was used to having, but still it was a possibility.
And if it indeed was true, what did it mean for him? The upside was that he didn't have to search anymore. The downside was that it was the real him walking there. If he got discovered, he'd get caught. He didn't want to pursue that avenue of thought any further. And he'd have to leave the room once he'd drop the bowl off. If he could only stay there, or leave a clone… He didn't want to use jutsu for fear of being caught, but it looked like he'd have to take a chance here. He'd have to bet on them not having good chakra-sensing abilities. Besides, if they had a chakra-sensor type there, he'd be recognized as a ninja even before he'd walk into the room.
They were nearing a turn in the corridor. Naruto spotted his opportunity. He slowed down a bit, falling a few steps behind Kichirou. He waited until the man disappeared behind a corner and then stopped abruptly. He set the bowl on the ground and quickly created a clone, having it transform into a lemon. He put it into the bowl. Surely nobody would bite into this. He picked the bowl and rushed after Kichirou.
"What took you so long?" the obese man snapped at her.
"My sandal was slipping," the blonde lied smoothly. "I had to adjust it or I might have stumbled and dropped the bowl."
"Hn," Kichirou growled. He sure didn't want the bowl broken. "Just hurry now."
"Yes, sir," the maid nodded and followed him.
Soon they left the palace and entered the gardens. Kichirou walked on a wide path paved with light-colored stones, Naruto thought it was sandstone. They navigated through various groves and orchards until they reached a small garden pavilion. Two guards stood at the entrance. They looked like Frost Country samurai, not shinobi.
"Open the door," Kichirou commanded.
"We're under orders not to let anyone in, sir," the guardsman on the right replied.
"Don't you know who I am?" the head butler preened.
"We do," the soldier answered evenly. "You aren't exempt from the orders."
"But I have to get there!" the pompous man protested. "The servants forgot to bring any food there! What if the honored guests get hungry?"
"Not our problem," the samurai shrugged.
"Then I'll make it your problem," Kichirou scowled.
"Oh? How?" The guard was completely unperturbed.
"Who do you think is in charge of the provisions you get?"
"Somehow I don't think it's you." The soldier looked at him questioningly.
"Well, no," Kichirou admitted, "but it's my cousin. He'll do anything I tell him." The guard commander seemed to consider it for a moment.
"And do you know what the captain would do if I disobey an order?" he retorted.
"Well, sergeant," the other guards said.
"What?" the sergeant barked.
"They could give the bowl to us and I'd bring it in," the second guard suggested.
"Well, I suppose we can do that," the first soldier agreed.
"That's acceptable," Kichirou said. He motioned for Naruto to hand the bowl over. The boy complied. They stayed long enough to see the guard carry the fruit bowl inside before leaving.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Garden pavilion~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Naruto's clone was congratulating himself on his success. He had gotten unobserved into the room where daimyo Fusutsuka was meeting with two people he didn't recognize, but who had distinctive aura of importance around them. It seemed he had dropped in the middle of a conversation.
"So as I was saying before the interruption, I trust you have no problem with that?" a tall dark man asked in a rhetorical tone. It was obvious he didn't really care about the answer, but was pretending for the sake of appearances.
"You still haven't convinced me, Kei-dono," daimyo Fusutsuka replied.
"What is there not to like about our offer?" the third man added his two bits to the conversation. He was a short man of a completely ordinary appearance, but Naruto felt like there was a wild predator hiding under his skin. "You'll be only profiting from it. It certainly is much better than the alternative."
'Is it just me or did he really just threaten the daimyo?' Naruto's clone thought. 'Sure, Frost Country is small, but just who are those guys that they can get away with it?'
"I am well-aware of it, Katsumi-dono," Fusutsuka replied. He was hiding it well, but the chuunin could detect the strain in his voice anyway. He sounded like a man who had been backed into a corner and didn't know what to do about it. "But this wasn't what the original proposal offered."
"Wasn't it?" Kei raised an eyebrow. "I think you might have misunderstood some part of it, daimyo-sama."
"Don't use that tone with me," Fusutsuka puffed.
"I apologize, Daimyo-sama. I was out of my place." Kei didn't seem the slightest bit repentant. The Frost Country daimyo realized he wasn't going to get anything better from him, so he grunted in acceptance.
"Let's talk business again," Katsumi suggested.
"That's what are we here for," Kei added.
"Of course, honored guests," Fusutsuka nodded. "So as I was saying, I can agree with the first point but not the second one." 'Crap,' thought Naruto's clone. 'Must they speak in code? I'd like to hear what this is all about sometime today.'
"You heard our offer," Kei said. "Are the terms acceptable to you?"
"As I said before," the daimyo spoke, "this isn't what your original proposal was about. It was supposed to be one-time only, not for an indefinite time period."
"Oh, sorry for the misunderstanding, daimyo-sama," the dark-skinned man spoke. "What meaning would the right of free passage have if it was only for one time?" 'Finally!' Naruto's clone rejoiced. 'This sounds like I'm actually going to learn something today.'
"But surely you see the trouble allowing it would get me into," Fusutsuka pointed out.
"No, I don't see it," Kei shook his head. "If somebody called you on it, you can deny everything."
"I don't think they would be interested in hearing it," the daimyo scoffed.
"But think of the benefits," Katsumi interjected.
"I'm not sure they outweigh the risks," Fusutsuka retorted.
"I think you're being overly pessimistic," Katsumi pushed. "You are just a step away from achieving your ambition."
"Or a step away from a complete disaster," the daimyo mumbled, but to Naruto it sounded like he was less averse to accepting their proposal than he had been before. Now if they only said what it was all about…
"You know, daimyo-sama," Katsumi spoke with deliberation, "some things are going to happen regardless of your decision and there's nothing you can do about them. But what you can influence is whether you would profit from them or not. It's entirely up to you."
"Well said, Katsumi-dono," Kei nodded. "You can gain a lot from this while you venture little."
"Still, this can turn terribly wrong," Fusutsuka objected.
"Nonsense," the dark man smiled, "the chance of the operation failing is low. And think about the benefits. New land means new riches." 'Yes!' Naruto's clone thought. 'More information! And what did they mean about land gains? Was the paranoid daimyo what's-his-name of Hot Springs Country right and they indeed were plotting against him? Who would have thought?'
"I still want some guarantee," Fusutsuka said.
"Isn't what we already offered enough?" Kei asked. "Think about it carefully. Join us and you'll be victorious. Don't join us and… well," he let out a meaningful sigh, "the war will get here anyway and you'll be in a lot worse position."
'That doesn't sound good,' Naruto thought. 'The war is bad enough without anyone else joining in and something tells me those aren't our allies. But who are they? I wish they said it.'
"I think such issues shouldn't be pressured, Kei-dono," Katsumi spoke. "I think it would do the negotiations good if we took a short recess now so our dear friend Fusutsuka could think about our offer in peace. All the talking made me parched. I'd like to drink some tea now. I'm sure the talking would go much smoother if our throats aren't sore. Don't you agree?"
"Excellent idea," Fusutsuka replied. "I think we all can use some tea now." He motioned for a servant that had been patiently waiting in a corner. Naruto wondered what she was doing there. If he were attending a secret conspiracy meeting, he wouldn't want any unnecessary witnesses, least of all some random maids. So was Fusutsuka so spoilt and stupid or was the girl something more, like an undercover trusted bodyguard? He watched how she moved as she poured the tea from a kettle, but he couldn't determine whether she had any combat training or not.
"Excellent tea," Katsumi commented after taking a sip, "but it's still missing something. "I have come upon an interesting custom recently in my travels. Did you know that the natives of Sea Country use lemon juice to spice their tea? It's really good, you should try it."
It took a moment for Naruto's clone to register the meaning of those words and then panic set in. Before he could thing of anything he could do, he was lifted from the tray by a calloused hand. A second later he disappeared in a puff of chakra when a knife cut into him. The three conspirators stared speechless.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Gardens~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The original Naruto had found himself a comfortable spot in one of the trees near the outer wall of the garden. He was well concealed and if worse came to worse and his clone was discovered, he could jump over the fence and run quickly. He didn't do it yet only because the lookouts on the wall seemed alert and he didn't want to be discovered unless absolutely necessary. If everything went right, he'd spend the night here and in the morning return to the kitchens to meet with Hotaru.
Suddenly a rush of memories assaulted him. 'Oh no,' he groaned inwardly, 'somebody wanted lemon in their tea.' He had completely forgotten about that possibility. 'What now?' The conspirators had already noticed that something was wrong. They might not realize what exactly it was, but they'd probably quickly come to the conclusion they had an eavesdropper. And then they would search for him. Naruto might try to claim ignorance, but he doubted it would help him. No, the best option was to get lost and do it fast.
He peeked through the foliage. The guards on the wall were patrolling dutifully, but their attention was focused outwards. He could do it if he was fast enough. He had already turned his garb the ugly side up, so the bright colors wouldn't give him away. He concentrated on remaining unseen. It was often enough for people not to notice he was there. He never figured how did it work, but it often helped him remain undetected. And sometimes it failed utterly, most often on the occasions when he really needed it.
He looked at the sky. The full moon was shining today, but there were clouds drifting across the sky, occasionally covering it. And it looked like one was heading there right now. The young chuunin considered his option. He could take one long jump over the wall, but that would cause the leaves to rustle and give away his position. Nobody had sounded the alarm yet, so he figured he still had a little time before they would come looking for him. He opted for stealth instead.
He quietly dropped to the ground and ran towards the wall, flattening himself against it. Now the guards would have to look straight down to notice him. Now he only had to wait for the cloud to cast its shadow over them.
"Intruder!" shouted a vaguely familiar voice from the direction of the garden pavilion. 'Probably one of the samurai,' Naruto thought. The lookouts on the wall turned to face the voice. 'Crap, they'll spot me anytime now,' thought the disguised boy. There was no more time for stealth. With one chakra-powered leap he reached the top of the wall. The soldiers turned towards him in surprise. Before they could do anything else, he jumped again, landing a good way from the wall.
"There is he!" somebody yelled. Naruto didn't bother to turn around. He just ran like his life depended on it, mostly because it did.
He took a moment to survey his surroundings. There was nothing but grass where he was standing. To the right of him, there was the steep drop with the river somewhere deep below. In front of him and to his left was more of the grassy hillside. There was nothing to hide behind. It made him feel like a practice target. In no time now the guards will take out their bows and try to shoot him into his back. He pumped more chakra into his legs and ran faster.
He heard an officer giving an order. He couldn't hear the bows being pulled back, but he certainly imagined it. He joined his hands in a series of seals. As the arrows sprang forward, he turned around. 'Fuuton: Daitoppa' flew against the projectiles, swiping them away from their trajectories. The blast went on, reaching the wall and the soldiers. Its strength was dissipated over the distance, but yet the men had to brace themselves. One of them was caught off-balance and fell.
Startled shouts reached Naruto's ears. Most of them were merely expletives, but there was several "It's a ninja!" as well. The young chuunin paid no heed to it. He continued running. Soon he would be out of range and they wouldn't be able to touch him again. They weren't what worried him. He was more concerned about the shinobi that were sure to come after him soon. Now the only question was where to go. Should he head to the city and warn the girls, simultaneously putting them in danger, or should he head to the wilds, hoping to lose pursuit there? He had spent better part of the evening deliberating on it and couldn't come to a conclusion. Then he grinned. When in doubt… He created ten Shadow Clones and had them spread in different directions. He himself headed for the town. He was almost at the outskirts when he noticed his pursuer.
And that's it for today.
Next time: Who knows? I got bitten by two plot bunnies simultaneously and now they have a battle over which one should be written.