Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Juana looked around. 

This was not the island.

In fact, it didn't look like an island at all.

How did she end up here in the first place?

The last thing she remembered was taking a boat ride to a dungeon with her dad, Uncle Roier, and brother Bobby, but nothing else came to mind after they arrived. 

So why was she standing in the middle of what seemed to be a road, in a city full of buildings, lights, and humans?

There were several possible reasons why she ended up here. Maybe she fainted and is having a weird dream, or they simply encountered an illusionist and she is trapped in a very realistic illusion.

Or maybe she just traveled out of nowhere. 

She took a look around and felt the crippling sensation of fear building up inside her.

Even if she had a gun, Juanaflippa wasn't the strongest egg out of the clutch. It didn't take a genius to figure out that Chayanne and Dapper were stronger, and she was probably at the same level as Tilin and Trump. But now, more than ever, she needed to be strong.

She couldn't sense her dad around, either of them. But if she doesn't find them soon, she will lose her final life.

The dragon looked around once again, fixing her glasses over her small snout. It was a peaceful city, maybe finding them wasn't going to be as hard as she thought.

Before she could start walking down the road, an explosion stopped her. Debris flew way too close to her glasses for her comfort, and as she stepped back in sudden shock a large creature appeared as the dust settled down.

The creature, a large humanoid-like turtle, was injured. Juanaflippa took several nervous steps back before tripping on her finned tail. 

She was trembling, she had never seen something like that before in her short life, not even the weirdest island residents could compare to what was standing in front of her.

"Damn you heroes, no one has ever managed to break Master Turtlelini's shell!" The creature looked around, shaking his body to get rid of the dust. A couple of rocks fell from his gigantic shell and almost hit her, and unfortunately for her, he focused his big pair of eyes directly on her.

"Oh? What do we have here?" The giant turtle turned around to face her, but Juanaflippa couldn't move her body anymore. "Hey weakling, this is my new territory, if you want to compete I'll destroy you after I finish these heroes off" 

Huh?  

She froze in place. What did he say? 

If Juana heard correctly, this creature wanted to fight her too.

Did he think she was like him? A giant and destructive creature? 

She was only a couple of weeks old dragon. They were both green and non-human but outside of that, they had nothing in common. 

Was he stupid?

Once again, she didn't have time to move when a blast of fire came right through the hole the turtle made. This time she could sense the heat even from meters away. 

The strong hot wind fogged her glasses just before they flew away. My glasses! She thought, no longer being able to see. Why did she have to inherit her parents' bad eyesight?

Juana forced her body to move, a lot was happening at once but her priority was finding her glasses and hiding away. She tried sniffing for her glasses, but the dust only made her sneeze a couple of times.

This was bad.

But it wasn't the end for her.

She couldn't die in a place like this, away from her dads, on a strange land inhabited by giant turtles and strong hot winds. There was so much she still needed to do. 

Another blast came through, this time closer, and a sharp pain pierced through her long tail as she jumped to avoid it. It hit her, the large fin that was at the end of her tail was probably burnt, but without vision or scent, she was as disoriented as a newborn. 

When the third blast came through, she did see it coming. Even without vision, she could see the giant fireball coming directly her way. She closed her eyes and prepared for the pain.

Maybe this was her end after all.

"Who left their dog here?" 

Something, no, someone has picked her up before the fire could hit her. The mysterious person held her in his arms, probably a man from the sound of his voice. 

She opened her eyes slowly. The first color she saw was yellow, a very familiar yellow. The man's arms had a red she also found familiar, maybe gloves? She looked down, his feet were red as well and his back was covered by a white sheet.

Yellow body, red arms and legs, and a white cape.

Dad Mariana! 

Finally! She rubbed her face against his suit, relieved she finally found a familiar face. Or blur, for now. 

"Sensei, the target has been incinerated, the only other monster around is the one you're holding" A new voice, deeper but younger, sounded close to her. 

Wait, did he say monster? 

"I thought it was a dog" The man who held her repeated, this time looking down at her. "It's rubbing against me, but I don't think it's a cat either"

She looked up, without her glasses she couldn't make out his face, but it looked human and she could ignore the lack of a brown blur on his head. 

This had to be her dad. When did his English get so good?

"Allow me to eliminate it, sensei" 

The other voice got closer and once more Juanaflippa saw the same red blur she saw before. This man was the one responsible for all the destruction and the loss of her glasses.

There was no way she could escape this one.

Juana hid her face on her dad's chest, she couldn't help but tremble even more than before, why wasn't her dad screaming in Spanish at this guy? 

"Hey, don't rip my suit" 

"Want to dispose of it yourself?" The deeper voice asked. 

"It's ok, I don't think this is a monster either way" 

The man took a few steps and kneeled to place her on the floor, but Juana didn't let go. 

He sighed. "Come on let go" He shook a couple of times, but Juana persisted. "Someone left their glasses here, did you hit any civilians Genos?" He commented, turning to face the other man.

Her glasses! 

Juana let go of her dad's suit just enough to look around until she saw the blurry shape of her glasses. At a moment like this, she was thankful her body was long and flexible because she could still hold on to Dad while also getting her glasses back on her face.

She held on again and looked up at him, everything was fine now!

Except this wasn't her dad.

Just some bald dude dressed like him.

Juana chirped in confusion, had her dad gone bald to follow Uncle's Fit path? He wasn't bald when they boarded the boat. 

She slowly let go of him and backed down. 

"It seems like the glasses belong to this monster" 

She turned to face the deeper voice. The other man, Genos, was younger. A weird blond human whose body was made out of metal, was he even human at all? 

"I guess so" The bald man stood up and lazily scratched the back of his head. "It's getting late, let's have miso for dinner" 

"I'll prepare it as soon as we get home" 

She blinked once, then twice, and then she registered that the two men were leaving her behind as if nothing had happened.

Maybe he wasn't her dad, but he saved her from a scorching death, that had to mean something. She was taught to be wary of strangers, but between unnatural creatures called monsters and a bald man dressed like her dad she was inclined towards the second option. 

Before losing sight of them, she ran trying to catch up, but tripped on her front paws and only managed to roll until she hit the bald guy's leg.

Still, he didn't stop.

She stood again and ran, this time grabbing his leg and using her legs to wrap around him, this would surely work.

But again, he didn't stop.

"Sensei, the creature is following us" The blond commented, not even turning to look at her.

"Ah, yeah" 

She felt a hand lift her, and even if she tried to stay close to his leg, all she managed to do was whine. The bald guy lifted her until they were eye to eye. 

"What do you want?"

Ah, he wasn't as sweet as her dad…

The guy was holding her from her spine fin, it didn't hurt so she grabbed her notebook and her pencil and started writing. 

It took her a while, the guy curiously stared at her work, he probably didn't expect her to be capable of writing. After she was done she turned the notebook for him to read. 

Genos was the one who read it for him. He didn't look as curious but he still got close to examine her handwriting.

"You look like my dad, can you help me find him? " Juana flipped the page, revealing more text. "I'm lost. I want to go back home " 

The bald guy stayed quiet, but Juana could see he was confused.

"Do monsters have parents?" He finally spoke and took his free hand to his chin, thinking. "I want to go home, and it's getting late…" 

"Sensei, this could be a trap, but even if not, it's a hero's job to help those in need" Genos turned to talk to the bald man, and Juana took the opportunity to write more for the metal guy to read. "If no one takes care of me, I'll die" 

"You'll die?" He closed his eyes, deep in thought, and both Genos and Juana waited for a response.

Thankfully she remembered the vital detail, if no one takes care of her she will die, and she only has one life left. 

"Fine, tomorrow we'll start the search for your dad" He put her down again, but Juana happily climbed his body again until she was resting on his shoulders. He didn't stop her, but he didn't seem thrilled about it either. "Just don't break my suit with those claws" 

Juana chirped in joy, happy that her dad look-alike and was willing to help her, and even let her ride on his shoulders! 

Genos stared at her but didn't object, she could feel his burning gaze on her, but anything was better than dying.

They continued walking, this time chatting about sales, coupons, and stuff she didn't know or care about. It was peaceful in a way, even if they were the ones who caused the explosion that hurt her tail, they looked like nice people.

For a moment, all she could feel was the breeze on her face, her steady heartbeat, and some pain.

Her tail! She peeked at it, but the blood had dried out and the damage was minimal, sometimes being a dragon had its advantages. A little burning was nothing, not even when she fell down the wall she got hurt.

The sunset came and their walk continued. She wasn't sure where they were taking her, but something about the familiar warmth the bald guy gave off made her feel safe and sleepy.

But there was still something she didn't know about him. Something she definitely needed to know before taking a quick nap.

Once again, Juanaflippa took her notebook and quickly wrote a new question. After she was done, she shook the notebook close to the guy's face to catch his attention. 

This time he was the one who read.

"What's your name? " He turned his head to look at her and smile, the first smile since they met. 

"Saitama"

Chapter Text

The soft and distant sound of chatting woke her up. She was curled under the sweater Saitama had given her the day before.

She wasn't aware they were taking her to their home last night, but before that, they went to a strange place where humans could pick small amounts of all types of food; Juana had never seen anything like it before. 

Saitama later explained it was a supermarket, and Genos explained every single ingredient they would use for their dinner, as well as the preparation and how to use chopsticks. And even if Juana ate with her paws like usual and got an allergic reaction, everything went well.

Now morning, Juanaflippa opened her small yellow eyes and grabbed the glasses she had left resting close to her. The first thing he saw wasn't her small room on the wall or bed as she had hoped for. She was still in that weird house.

So yesterday was definitely not a weird dream.

"Ah, you're awake, great!" She blinked at Saitama's voice and walked up to him. He was sitting with Genos on the small living room table. "We need to find your parents today so you can leave."

Juana nodded, and at the same time, her stomach grumbled. Even if her scales didn't allow her to blush in embarrassment, she still lowered her head in shame. 

"Of course you're hungry. Genos made you some breakfast," Saitama sighed. He didn't sound angry, "This time with no soy," He added. 

Right, last night she had to give them a list of all her allergies. 

"While you eat," Genos started, "we have some questions regarding your family; it will make the search significantly easier."

Juana nodded once more and used a pile of books to sit so she could reach the table in front of her. Genos had made her eggs with rice, gluten, soy, and lactose-free. She could excuse the eggs as the only non-vegan food she tolerated. 

Maybe being lost wasn't that bad. She could wake up to breakfast and have two parents looking out for her.

"Let's start" Genos took a list out and read some questions as she ate. He probably prepared them before she woke up.

"Name and species."

Quick and to the point. 

She took her notebook out along with her pencil and started writing. 

"Juanaflippa, I'm a dragon" Genos nodded and wrote down something so quickly that Juana couldn't make out much of it. 

"A dragon? You don't look like one," Saitama wondered out loud as if he was already imagining one of those fictional dragons from movies.

He was right in a way. She was small even for a dragon hatchling, she was greener than any of her siblings, and her bright reddish fins worked better for swimming than flying, and since she didn't have any wings, she could be mistaken for some weird lizard. She wasn't the only one without wings, but it was still odd. 

Juana took a bite of her rice and wrote something for Saitama.

"Papa Slime says Dad Mariana dropped my egg on adoption day," Genos read in his monotonous tone. She thought Saitama wanted to laugh for a moment, but his expression didn't change.

She still took her bowl of rice with egg closer to her, giving the bald man a look. 

"Next question," Genos interrupted before Saitama could say something about her change in attitude, "Where are you from, and who are your parents, give as much detail as possible."

Juana took the final bite of her food and made a sound that could translate as a thank you. She flipped to another page of her notebook and wrote. 

"I'm from Quesadilla Island. I don't know where it is, but it's a nice island; it never rains. My parents are Slime and Mariana, they speak different languages and argue all the time, but after the trial for my custody, they get along better."

Genos waited patiently to read her answer and wrote down his own, and as he started analyzing the information, Juana licked what was left on the plate. It had been a while since she had eaten something outside of avocado toast.

"Your parents sound like difficult people" Juana didn't notice when, but Saitama was now lying on the floor while reading something with drawings. "Which one looks like me?"

"Dad Mariana, same suit," He read this time, which caught his attention. "Weird" was all he commented before returning to his book, seemingly uninterested in the rest of the exchange. 

"Concentrate. The faster we get these questions sorted out, the sooner we will be able to return you home safely," Genos said, making Juana face him. Unlike Saitama, Genos seemed far too serious all the time. "Next question, how did you get here."

She blinked in silence and huffed; this was a tough one. She grabbed her pencil and looked at the empty page; he said to give him as much information as possible, so anything was better than nothing.

This time she took her time, erasing some words, scratching out others, and rewriting sentences until she was satisfied with her answer.

"I was heading to a pirate ship with Dad Mariana, Uncle Roier, and Brother Bobby, it was late, but they had to take us to one to complete the quests. I remember finding the ship and then nothing. Sorry," Genos nodded and continued his methodic and repetitive writing. "What quests?" He asked without looking. 

This time it took her less time to write something down for him. It was an easy one. After all, everyone knew where the quests came from.

"The Federation gives the parents quests for them to complete. If they don't finish them on time, we die."

"Was the bedtime story a quest?" Saitama asked without looking away from his book. Maybe he was interested in the interrogation.

Juana chirped and nodded. She almost forgot how she made Genos and Saitama tell her a bedtime story, they refused at first, but after she started whining and crying loudly, they had to comply. 

It was a nice bedtime story, though, as far as she could remember (she was pretty tired). It was about heroes and rules she didn't care about, making her fall asleep instantly. 

"What is the Federation?"

Juana stopped again to think she had been alive for almost three weeks but still didn't know much about them. 

"The Federation is in charge of the island."

Genos nodded and closed his notebook. The interrogation was over for now. 

"This will be all for the time being. With this information, I can search for this place and find your family. Once we have the location, we will take you there or redirect you to someone from the Hero Association for proper transportation."

Juana only got half of what he said, but she still nodded. 

"How long will it take, Genos?" Saitama straightened to sit on the table again, leaving his book beside him. 

"I'll search as fast as possible, but with limited information, it will take a couple of days," Genos responded, "For now, it will be convenient to keep Juanaflippa around; any additional pieces of intel will help the investigation."

Juana looked at the book and remembered she still had a few things on her, outside her notebook and pencil. Dragon magic was so convenient sometimes. 

"This apartment isn't big, and already two of us live here," Saitama complained.

He sighed in resignation and went back to pick up his book. Genos started rambling about how his sensei was an excellent and compassionate hero for allowing the dragon to stay with them, even with the odds against them, but none paid him much attention.

Juana was now beside him, taking things out of thin air. One of those things, in particular, made the two men snap out of their activities and open their eyes in shock.

"Why do you have a gun?!"