Ch. 45 - The Great Pretender's caring personality

"We can do this!" Moana steadily stared at the raging waves in front of her, they just passed by the reef and now facing the challenging tides and waves of the sea.

Although Moana doesn't have any knowledge in sailing within these kinds of seas, she still knows how to use a boat, so it's thanks to her that they're still alive and breathing.

'I feel useless.' Leo said to himself after noticing that Moana was working hard unlike him, who was just sitting by himself and letting a woman do the work.

"Let me help." Seeing the opportunity where Moana was having a hard time pulling the sails, Leo was quick to approach her to extend a hand.

"Oh, thanks." Having the rope snatched from her, Moana wasn't offended in some way, as a matter of fact, she was glad that Leo could help her, knowing that he's stronger than normal courtesy of how he casually lifted the heavy boat earlier.

After the sails were raised and the boat started to speed up, a huge wave started approaching them.

At the same time, Leo saw a glowing blue stingray jumping out of the ocean like a dolphin.

*Splash!*

Once the first wave was done, another huge wave was approaching them.

'Thank god she's not singing like in the movie.' Casting a short glance at Moana, who was focused and not singing her heart out, Leo sighed in relief. He doesn't know what he will do if she sings.

Should he sing along if that happens? But he's not sure if his voice even sounds good.

*Splash!*

Thankfully, Leo and Moana's boat safely sailed past the hard part of venturing beyond the reef, which are the sea waves.

Now, all that's left is finding Maui and knocking some sense into him so he would bring back the heart of Te Fiti.

"I am Moana of Motunui, you will board my boat! Sail across the seas and restore the heart of Te Fiti!"

Much to Leo's confusion, Moana stood up and started pacing around while practicing the lines that she would say after meeting Maui.

'Oh God. I'd rather prefer singing than this.' Leo sneakily rolled his eyes before laying down on the boat.

Thankfully he insisted on taking a larger boat, if they used the one in the movie, Leo might not be able to lay down once Maui boarded their boat.

'Now, all that's left is for me to think about how to handle Maui. I don't know how strong he is, but physically I'm confident in taking him on but once he got his magical hook? Maybe I have a change if I have the Panther Habit.' While laying down, Leo started thinking about various things that he would do after meeting Maui.

The first thing to do is obviously have the demi-god to teach him how to sail, not because he needed to learn how to sail but to complete the Quest, Sailing Master.

The reward of Black Pearl is enough to make him salivate. Who doesn't want to board the ship of Captain Jack Sparrow?

"I am Moana of Motunui, you will board my boat! Sail across the seas and restore the heart of Te Fiti!"

'I'm gonna die.'

***

"I am Moana of Motunui, you will board my boat! Sail across the seas and restore the heart o-."

"Moana, you've been practicing your lines for 3 hours. 3 whole hours! Don't you think it's time to take a rest? It's already sunny and I don't want the heat and your voice mixing on my head." Laying down on the floor, Leo monotonously said while having both of his hands dipped in the water, just to fight the heat of the sun.

"...Sorry, was I annoying?" Sitting in front of Leo, Moana tucked the hair behind her ear and asked, trying to hide her embarrassment.

"Not much. I just thought that since you've been practicing for 3 hours, you might need some rest and probably water, right?" Without raising his head to look at Moana, Leo answered.

"You're right. I do need rest, especially water." Moana then proceeded to open the compartment to grab herself some water, only for a chicken's head to pop out.

"HeiHei?" Moana called out the name of the chicken with confusion and shock.

'I knew that the chicken was part of the journey but how the hell did this HeiHei enter the compartment?' Leo's eyes twitched as he watched HeiHei looked around his surroundings before bursting out, screaming his lungs out, something that a normal chicken won't do.

"KAAAA!!"

*Thud!*

Closing the compartment, the screaming disappeared. Moana then opened it again.

"KAAAAA!!"

*Thud!*

"KAAAAA!"

*Thud!*

"KAAA-!"

"Okay HeiHei, just calm down. The ocean is our friend!" Calming down the chicken, Moana softly placed HeiHei on the floor, who suddenly started walking towards the edge of the boat.

Before Moana could dive in and stop the chicken, Leo reacted quickly and grabbed HeiHei before placing him back in the compartment.

"At least we have a meal." Leo muttered, which was heard by Moana who reacted dramatically.

"No! HeiHei is not a food! We will not eat him!" Moana strictly said while glaring at Leo.

"Fine. Emergency food then." Leo corrected himself, unknowingly making a certain blonde character proud.

"That's even worse! HeiHei is a friend! He's our companion!" Moana pouted.

"Sigh, I'll just go and do my morning workouts then." Before Moana could respond to Leo's words, the great pretender stood up and started by warming up his body, of course he remove his upper robe first, he doesn't want to soil it with his sweat, especially they're in the middle of the sea, no washing machines or a detergent to wash his clothes.

It's better to avoid it if possible.

"W-Woah." Seeing the way Leo works out his body, Moana is unable to tear her eyes away from him, especially his naked body. This isn't the first time she saw the body of a man but this is the first time she's seeing a body full of compact muscles makes it seem like it is forged by the gods.

[A/N: Moana is still 16, so she won't be a romance partner yet, this is just a puppy love or something similar to that.]

"Are you just gonna watch me or bring us to Maui?" While doing push-ups, Leo noticed a pair of eyes staring at his body, so he disrupted Moana by asking.

"W-What?! Oh right. On it." Feeling embarrassed that she was caught, Moana quickly focused on sailing the boat, all while still stealing a few glances at Leo's body from time to time, unable to help it.

Noticing this, Leo could only mentally sigh and try to ignore it if he can.

***

'I know we're supposed to crash in the sea and wake up on the island where Maui is, but I'm not fond of that.' Watching Moana who was about to fall asleep, Leo grabbed the oar from her hand and gently laid her down on the floor and used his upper robe to cover her, protecting her from the cold of the night.

After 'comandeering' the boat, Leo looked at the stars and saw the hook shaped star, knowing that it is where Maui is.

So he quickly steered the boat and headed towards the star shaped hook.

*Splash!*

Suddenly, the sea water behind him came to life as Leo could feel the ocean staring at the back of his head.

"What?" Leo asked while turning his head around, staring at the ocean's 'eyes' or at least what he assumed to be.

"Glurrghh."

Hearing this, Leo was surprised that he could understand it.

"Do I know how to sail a boat? Of course.....I mean, I watched how Moana does it, so I think I can." Leo answered, he was also silently cursing Black Panther in his mind for not learning how to sail a traditional boat like this. Although he got the entire memory of Black Panther, they're not entirely useful in his current situation.

Black Panther does know how to use a boat but a high technological boat made of vibranium!

"Glurrgghh."

"I won't crash this boat, trust me. Besides, I have you, right? Surely you won't let your chosen one drown and die before she could even start her real journey." Leo replied, while casting a smirk at the ocean.

*Slap!*

*Splash!*

"Ahh! Why'd you do that!?" Feeling the burning pain on his back after the Ocean used its body to whip his back, Leo cursed the Ocean, who dispersed itself and went back into the sea.

'I'll have my revenge you little shit!' Leo silently cursed in his heart, though it is impossible to fight an entire body of the ocean.

***

*Fwooosh!*

Feeling the heat of the sun and the seagulls making a noise, Moana slowly opens her eyes and sees HeiHei pecking the wooden floor of the boat.

Suddenly, her eyes widened in realization.

"Oh no I fell asleep!" Quickly getting up, Moana immediately assessed her surroundings, only to be stunned upon seeing that the boat had safely parked on a beach.

"You're finally awake." Hearing a voice from beside her, Moana shifted her head and sighed in relief after seeing Leo sitting on a rock while drinking from a coconut.

"Where are we? What happened?" Moana asked.

"I'll make it short. You fell asleep with me taking over the boat, had to fight the 'rough' ocean and finally making it here before the sun sets. I suggest you be quiet, we're not alone on the island after all." Leo answered.

"Not alone?" Moana raised an eyebrow at the statement.

"Yes. Not alone." Leo then pointed at the unconscious man with huge stature and tattoos, having a few fist imprints on his chest and face.

Before Moana could ask him, Leo interrupted her.

"It's a long story."

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[Next Chapter: Ch. 46 - The Great Pretender vs the Demi-God of the Sky and Seas]

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