Ch. 44 - The Great Pretender's journey begins!

The next day, Leo found himself being dragged around by Moana across the village, meeting all kinds of people and gender. Some even going as far as to flirt with Leo, which for some reason, made Moana pout in anger.

Meanwhile, the men approached Leo with different intentions. Some wanted to challenge him in battle after hearing how he took down 2 of their village warriors while some wanted to teach him their ways of either fishing or climbing a tree.

As for Leo? He chose to stick with Moana as she seems to like his presence around her.

Not only that, Leo knew he could finish his sub-quests by being around Moana.

"So, what do you think? Of our village?" Once they arrived at the beach, they both sat side by side with each other, watching the calm waves of the sea.

"Hmm.....It's....lively, especially in the morning. Also friendly, I was expecting to be treated as an outcast but that didn't happen, I guess." What Leo was saying is true, these are indeed what he noticed within the village of Motunui.

"Really? Wow, hearing it from an outsider fills me with some kind of pride?" Moana replied while having a look of fulfillment on her face.

"Moana! We have an emergency!" Suddenly, they were interrupted by one of the villagers, specifically one of the fishermen of Motunui.

"What's the problem?" Without hesitation, Moana quickly got up and approached the panicking fisherman.

"Moana! The fishes!" The fisherman then showed Moana the empty fishing net, which was supposed to be brimming with fishes as usual.

But now. It is empty.

Coincidentally, Chief Tui and Sina have also arrived at the scene.

"What's going on?" Chief Tui asked while approaching Moana and patted her shoulder.

"Chief. The fishes. They're gone." The fisherman said with a somber tone, similar to what he did earlier and showed the empty fishing net.

"Have you...tried the further side of the island??"

"We already did."

"Uhh. The Windworth side?"

"Amelieworth side. A Shallow...Chianu. We tried the whole lagoon. They just ... gone." The fisherman interrupted, naming all of the sides of the island to not waste time naming them one by one.

Seeing the solemn face, Moana's face was filled with pity and disappointment not to the fisherman but to herself. As the heir chief, she should know what to do in these kinds of situations.

"Everything will be fine, Moana. Let's just talk to the council about this." Chief Tui tried to console Moana only to be met with an unexpected declaration.

Something that he's been dreading that Moana would never forget.

"What if....we fish beyond the reef."

"No one goes beyond the reef!" Chief Tui's face slowly contorted into anger after hearing the words that made him angry coming out of Moana's mouth.

Beyond the reef!

No one will go beyond the reef!

"I know! But if we just-." Still trying to reason out with her father, Moana was met with a stern face and a scolding voice.

"Moana!"

"Please! If there are no fish in the lagoon, we could-"

"Moana! We have only one rule! No one goes beyond the reef!"

"An older rule when there was fish!" Moana retorted.

"A rule that keeps us safe!"

"Moana stop! We will not talk about this again!" Chief Tui huffed before turning around, finally ending the argument.

Meanwhile, the nearby onlookers quickly looked anywhere but them. Afraid that the wrath of Chief Tui hasn't extinguished yet and will befall on them.

After Chief Tui went away, Moana was consoled by her mother, Sina.

While Leo could only watch this in amusement. It's a different feeling from seeing it from the screens than watching it with your very own eyes.

'I know I shouldn't be meddling with family matters but I need to help Moana in escaping this island, so I could finish my quests. Although she was successful in the movie, I have no idea how much my presence has changed the entire course of the movie. I need to be careful and make sure everything goes according to what should happen.' With this in mind, Leo decided to approach Moana and help her discover that they used to be voyagers.

He doesn't know the exact location of the cavern but with the help of her Gramma, they'll be able to find them.

***

In the middle of the night, Moana was once again on the beach, staring at the raging waves of the sea, a look of longing and desire on her face, which unfortunately is buried by responsibilities and commitment to a rule, a rule that she believes would kill the entire tribe if not removed.

"What are you thinking?" Suddenly sitting beside her, Leo yawned and stretched his limbs while asking Moana.

"Nothing, just thinking about what dad said earlier." Moana answered with a sigh.

"He's just worried about the safety of the villagers, surely there's a reason why he became like that." Leo said, knowing full well about the reason why Chief Tui was angry about crossing past the reef.

It was because he was a victim of the raging seas beyond the reef. He watched his friend die in front of him and he couldn't do anything to save him, hence the reason why Chief Tui became so strict with the rules when it comes to venturing beyond the reef.

He doesn't want the others especially his own daughter to experience what he went through, mostly because he's the chief who doesn't want to see his people die and a father who doesn't want to see his daughter die.

So, Chief Tui is kind of in a tight space.

"A reason huh." Moana muttered the words of Leo, wondering about the reason why her dad was so strict in the rules of the village.

"What about I answer that for you." Suddenly once again, Moana's Gramma appeared behind them, even Leo himself was shocked by this old woman's nimble feet.

Did she walk so much throughout her entire life that she has mastered being a cat on her feet?

"I'll leave both of you alone." Knowing that the old woman would finally tell Moana the truth, Leo doesn't want his presence to change something and cause Moana to not venture out in the sea anymore.

It's better to be cautious than nothing.

Gramma was silent throughout the matter and once Leo was gone from their sights, she proceeded to strike the iron while it was still hot, ensuring that the girl chosen by the ocean would fulfill her destiny and bring the world back into normal.

"Your father wasn't always like that...."

***

"Fucking finally." Back in his little hut, Leo sighed in relief, his chest burning in excitement as not only he'll be finally able to leave this village, his Quests function that has been gathering dust in the corner would finally be used.

'I need to help her prepare.' Knowing the events that would happen next, such as Moana interrupting the council meeting after discovering their voyagers to her Gramma dying on her death bed.

During that time, Leo would have all the time to prepare the fruits and clothes that are necessary for them to use throughout their journey, it's the only thing that he can do for now after all.

Maybe not the clothes, Leo found no use for them especially after what their boat will go through in the journey.

"We were voyagers!" Suddenly hearing the loud scream, Leo knew that it had officially started.

'I remember in the movie, Moana was gathering the fruits in their home. So that's my next destination.' Leo then set off towards the Chief's house, using his nimble feet and quick reflexes to avoid any eyes and successfully enter the largest hut in the village.

Grabbing what seems to be a sack, Leo started picking up edible fruits that he can find before using a rope to tightly cover the sack so the contents won't spill much.

At the same time as he was finished, Leo's ears perked up after hearing what seems to be footsteps rushing towards his position.

*Fwooosh!*

Pushing the curtains away, Moana appeared breathless, looking at Leo's figure with a stunned expression.

"I already prepared everything. All that's left is if you're prepared yourself." Standing up, Leo waved the large sack on his hand and said, making Moana smile in delight after finally having someone beside her Gramma who supports her in what she wants and is destined to do.

"What're you waiting for? Let's go!" Moana excitedly grabbed Leo's arm and was about to drag him outside when someone blocked them.

"Moana." It was Moana's mother, Sina who has a worried expression on her face.

Seeing the large sack and the excited Moana, Sina sighed, before approaching her daughter.

Moana, who thought that her mother would scold her and force her to stay, was stunned when Sina engulfed her in a deep hug.

"Take care of yourself out there, Moana." Sina caressed Moana's cheeks before shifting her attention to Leo.

"Please take care of my daughter. I'll leave her in your hands." Sina smiled at Leo.

"I'll do my best to make sure we return home safely." Leo smiled and assured the mother, deeply touched that the woman had trusted him despite their little interaction.

With that aside, Leo and Moana resumed their journey towards the cavern where the ancient Motunui people left their voyaging boats.

With Leo looking like stone-age Santa Claus with the large sack on his shoulders, of course he's a gentleman, he won't let a woman carry such a heavy burden.

***

As soon as they arrived, Leo quickly noticed that their boat is not big enough especially since he'll be joining the journey and soon Maui the big demi-god will.

"Moana." Leo called out to her and pointed at another boat that is slightly larger than what she saw first.

Boarding the boat, Moana set the contents on the compartment and was about to help Leo push the boat to the waters when she suddenly felt it moving.

Turning around, she was shocked to see Leo easily carrying what seems to be a 3 tons large boat with ease.

*Splash!*

Landing on the water, Leo smiled to himself.

'Finally! My journey begins here!'

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[Since we can reach top 30 in power Stones rankings, then perhaps reaching top 10 is not impossible. So how about an extra chapter on Monday if we reach the top 10 goal?]

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[Next Chapter: Ch. 45 - The Great Pretender's caring personality]

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