Hi!

The Varia's Hairdresser is being rewritten! There aren't any major plot changes, but I'm smoothing out the writing problems, patching up some plot holes and making it easier to read. It's less crack and more plot. Once it's all revised - which should go faster once I get past the first few chapters - I'll start posting new content. I'm looking forward to moving into the repercussions of the Future Arc, and the Simon Arc.

The new version is called Surviving the Varia: A Hairdresser's Guide. The first two chapters are already up!

So that this isn't just a notice, have a snippet from a planned work - a non-crossover for once! Also, my first time writing Skull.

"The Varia only accepts missions with a 90% or higher chance of success. The best estimates put a rescue at 50%. Besides, if he got himself captured, he obviously wasn't Quality. There's no profit in attempting to retrieve a useless asset." Only years of experience allowed Skull to read the distress in Viper's voice.

"Can't the Vongola do anything? Negotiate for him?" He knew that the Vongola was influential and powerful enough to buy back a prisoner, even one as valuable as Prince Belphegor.

"They won't negotiate. Nono refuses to start a war to get back such a damaged resource, especially one that attempted a coup against him." Now there was anger. Rarely had Nono's pacifistic ways infuriated Mammon – only when they cut into her potential profit – but this had obviously crossed a line. To Skull, it just sounded like a petty attempt at revenge for an attack that had happened a decade ago

"I bet Xanxus wasn't happy," he commented.

"The repair bills for the mansion haven't been this high since he was learning how to use his guns. He's threatening to make the 'Independent' part of the name literal. Either by splitting from the Vongola or consuming it."

Skull winced. "That wouldn't be good." He finished his drink – he could have alcohol again! Being an adult rocked - and stood. "Don't worry about a thing, Viper."

"What…" Viper choked on her strawberry milk, lost for words. By the time she had gathered her thoughts, Skull was out the door.

The Pesca Famiglia was known for its brute force method of dealing, in both fighting and politics. So when Bel had killed the brother of the leader in a routine mission, they had retaliated not by demanding sanctions against the Vongola, which they could argue they were entitled to, but by kidnapping the Prince while he was out shopping, by filling the changing room he was in with an aerosolised sedative. As well as Bel, four other shoppers were knocked out, and two were killed. The Pesca weren't known for caring about collateral damage. That was also the reason Bel hadn't seen the attack coming; involving civilians was seen as being at the very least in incredibly poor taste. At worst, it could put the Vindice on your case.

Bel had been missing for over a week. For the first three days, the expectation had been that he would free himself. After that, Varia policy was to consider him dead. For once in his life, Xanxus had been willing to disregard Varia rules entirely and stage a rescue. The Ninth had prevented that, but the situation was volatile in the extreme. With Sawada visiting in two days, the situation could go up faster than a bike leaking petrol on amateur night. Someone needed to do something. And Viper was fond of the Prince. Skull wasn't about to let his friend – and she was his friend, even if she didn't see him as such – lose one of the few human connections she had.