Ch. 43 - The Great Pretender learns how to tease

In the middle of the night, Leo's eyes slowly opened.

'That was the best rest I ever had. Is it because I feel like I'm safe in this place?' Getting up from the wooden floor, Leo rubbed his eyes and yawned.

'I don't think I can sleep now. Might as well take sightsee in the famous beach where Moana left the island.' With that in mind, Leo left the wooden hut and traced the trail that leads back to the village and then to the beach.

'These guys are so lenient, there are only 2 guards at night? And they're not even doing their job.' Leo noticed upon passing by the village.

***

"Ahhh~" Inhaling and exhaling, Leo stretched his limbs and felt more calm just by being on the beach

"I really like this view." Leo muttered under his breath as he stared at the beautiful night sky.

"....Me too." Suddenly, Leo heard Moana's voice from behind.

"You should put a bell on yourself." Leo commented, which Moana didn't take lightly and pouted.

"You're mean."

"My bad. Just a suggestion." Leo was quick to apologize.

"...." After him, no words were said anymore as both of them were left staring at the night sky.

"Hey.....how does it feel like being here?" Moana suddenly spoke, breaking the silent atmosphere.

"It's nice here. It's warm and fuzzy, I love the-."

"No, that's not what I meant. I meant what does it feel like being....you know, away from where you are?" Moana stopped him and corrected her words.

"....I don't know. I mean, I don't remember. But if I do, then maybe I'll miss everyone there." Leo became silent for a few seconds, thinking about the words he should say. Though a small part of him wants to tell Moana how much he misses McDonalds and the toilet, he still needs to maintain his current 'amnesia' persona.

"....I don't know if you're lucky that you lost your memories so you won't miss anybody or not haha." Moana chuckled slightly, lightening up the mood, or at least she's trying to.

"Hey. What do you think it feels like to be beyond that reef." Moana changed the topic.

"Well...depends."

"Depends?" Moana raised an eyebrow.

"Depends on how long you have been here. If you've been here for so long. Then beyond that reef would feel like freedom." Leo answered, knowing how Moana must've felt being here.

"Freedom...." Moana wasn't expecting the answer from Leo. This is the first time she heard that beyond the reef is freedom. What does freedom even mean?

"Wait, Freedom?" Suddenly, Moana had a look of realization on her face,

"Beyond that reef is indeed freedom." Moana's face then beamed up in excitement as she looked back at Leo, even closing her face to his, feeling their breaths against each other.

'I'm not a pedo. I'm not a pedo. I'm not a pedo.'

While Leo was panicking inside his mind, Moana had a different thought in her mind.

"Come with me! To beyond the reef!"

"....You don't even know my name and you want me to come with you?" Leo made a weird face.

"Then what's your name! I'm Moana Waialiki!" Moana raised her hand towards Leo for a handshake.

".....I'm Leo. Just Leo." Looking at her hand for a moment, before taking it and shook it.

"All good then. We now know each other. Now join me and venture beyond the reef!" Moana loudly declared.

"Aren't you afraid that your parents will find out?" Leo asked.

"Yes...but at this time, they're already asleep." Moana embarrassingly tucked the hair behind her ear.

"I see you have already found yourself a companion." Suddenly, they were interrupted by the voice of an old woman.

"Gramma!" Moana's face beamed up in excitement as she quickly ran towards the old woman and gave her a deep hug.

"Hi there, Moana." The old woman greeted Moana and reciprocated the hug.

"Hello there." Leo stood up from the sand and waved to Moana's grandmother.

"Gramma, this is Leo, Leo this is Gramma." Moana immediately introduced both of them to each other.

"Hi, I'm Moana's....friend."

"Why hesitate young man? Are you not proud to be my grand daughter's friend?" Gramma made a 'not-amused' face.

"Gramma!"

"It's not that. It's just that Moana never called me a friend before, so I hesitated." Leo explained, which just made Moana more embarrassed.

"Alright! Let's stop it here. How about we just go back to our homes and sleep." Moana sighed in relief after seeing her Gramma agreed but before she left, she gave the two of them a look that confused them both.

"I think I'll stay. I just woke up earlier. I don't think I can sleep again."

"Is that so? I'm going first then, I haven't gotten any sleep since earlier. I can leave you here, right?"

"Yes, yes you can." After giving Moana the 'go' signal, she yawned and went on her own way.

"Time for a warm up, I guess." Leo then started doing his push-ups, running around the beach and doing several exercises that looked like something that no humans can do.

***

"How can he do those things?" Moana, who just faked an excuse to leave so she could spy on Leo, was surprised to see him starting to work-out like a madman. But what was even more surprising was how he was doing inhumane exercises that seemed to be impossible if you think about it.

"How is he this strong?" Moana muttered to herself, before continuing to watch Leo, only to see him stop and stood still.

"What happene-."

"You can come out now, Moana. I can hear your breathing." Leo then scared Moana by looking directly at her after turning around, as if he knows that she has been hiding behind the bushes.

"Aahh!" Out of fear, Moana accidentally lost balance and fell forward, revealing herself to Leo.

"What are you doing? I thought you were about to go to sleep?" Leo crossed his arms in his chest and asked confusedly.

Intimidated by his tall and heavy stature, Moana gulped her saliva out of nervousness.

"I-I was just...looking? For a garment? I....think I....lost it here....somewhere." The more she tries to reason, the more her voice becomes quieter due to Leo's gaze that seems to be telling her that he's not buying her lie.

"I knew you were a stalker." Leo declared haughtily, as if he seemed to be proud of his declaration.

"Hey! Call me anything but a stalker! I have never stalked anyone!" Leo seemed to have pressed a nerve as Moana stood up and yelled at him while pointing her finger towards his chest.

"Yet. You haven't stalked anyone yet until now after seeing me." Leo tilted his head as if he just proved his point.

"I-."

"If you're not stalking then what were you doing just now?"

"I.....was...observing you! You know, you just came to our village yesterday, so it's hard to trust an outsider. As the daughter of the chief and soon to be the chief of this village, it is my duty to keep my village safe from harm." Moana proudly declared, finally finding a good and plausible excuse that Leo definitely won't be able to refuse.

".....Okay then. You can observe me." Leo shrugged his shoulders and said before turning around to resume his training.

"Wait what? Really- ohhh wow." Just as Moana was stunned that Leo easily took her lie in, her words immediately got stuck in her throat when Leo suddenly removed his robe, showing his back muscle to Moana, hence the reason why she stopped talking.

Neatly folding his robe, Leo placed it on the side before continuing his training.

Just like them at, throughout Leo's entire training, never once did Moana shifted her eyes away from him.

It seems like she's truly doing her 'job' of making sure to watch over Leo and to 'protect' her village.

'She's too young to have such thoughts about the other sex but who am I to judge? She's a Disney character for God's sake. Disney can even make a furry movie or a human-animal relationship, what stops them from making a young girl fall for someone?' Leo snickered and silently chuckled inside his mind while shaking his head.

***

*Snap!*

Finishing his training, Leo washed himself on the sea and dried himself before wearing his robes back.

Noticing that Moana was in a daze, he snapped his fingers in front of her face, waking her up from her stupor.

"Huh? W-Wha-?" Moana woke up and saw Leo standing in front of her.

"I'm done now. I'm going back. Are you gonna stay here, my little stalke- my bad, I meant observer." Leo then chuckled after successfully teasing the young Disney character.

Before Moana could express her anger at him, Leo was already gone as if he vanished from the air.

"Ugh! He's so annoying!" Moana loudly complained, though her cheeks were flushed in red.

'Ahh~ youth.' Behind the trees, Gramma was sighing in defeat, already knowing why her grand daughter is acting like this and as her Gramma, she's not against this kind of thing.

As a matter of fact, Gramma even approves of Leo. He's the only one who was able to make Moana act like this.

As the daughter of the chief, Moana had many suitors and even her own father insists her to choose her man.

Unfortunately, Moana never once looked at the young men in the village with love.

If Gramma didn't see the interaction of them both, she might even thought that her daughter likes women instead of men.

'Still, his body looks good. If I was in my youth, I would definitely- haha, what am I even saying.'

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[Did you know that Power Stones are actually stones without any power? So how about giving it to me and I'll give you real power 😈]

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[Next Chapter: Ch. 44 - The Great Pretender's journey begins!]

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