Very early the next morning, Moana arrived at the island. She stood on the front of the boat, looking around for any signs of Maui or anyone else. When she saw no one, she finally stepped off the front of the canoe and onto the sand.

There's no one here... She thought to herself, looking around as she stepped further onto the sandy beach, If that's the case, Maui should be here. Since the time he'd abandoned her, she knew that when he was upset he liked to go off by himself, possibly to get some space.

As she walked to the bushes, she hesitated and sighed before peeking behind them. She frowned when she saw nothing.

Where is he? She thought to herself, I'd like to talk to him but I can't if he's not here. She then sat down cross-legged in the grass, her elbows resting on her knees and her chin resting in her hands.

Just as she started thinking about where to look next, she heard what sounded like heavy footsteps in the grass behind the other bushes beside her.

"Maui?" She whispered to herself excitedly with a grin, but she saw nothing as she looked around before pulling herself away from the bushes and standing up with a sigh.

Ugh, I need to stop getting my hopes up. She thought with a roll of her eyes, I know there's a chance he could be here, he has to be! But what if he isn't and that's an animal I'm hearing or someone else?

After the thought, she walked to where she was by the food supply. She saw a bed made of leaves and smelled it.

Leaves mixed with a little bit of dirt? She thought, a confused look spread across her face, That's Maui's scent! She then remembered smelling it whenever he got close to her, either on the boat or on land.

Getting up, she decided to search for him, heading in the same direction she heard his footsteps.

Maui walked through a forest he found, looking for a place to hide.

I can't let her see me right now! Maui thought, occasionally looking behind him to check that Moana wasn't following him, If she does, she'll probably ask me why I abandoned her again.

He looked down at his chest to see Mini Maui looking up at him with concern.

"I'm okay, little buddy." He said with a smile as he gently patted Mini Maui's back before looking down, his hand still resting on the small tattoo's back, "It's just...I can't let her find me. If she does, she'll ask me why I abandoned her again or she'll think I did. I can't face the sadness in her eyes like the time I...abandoned her."

He still regretted abandoning her and hated himself for doing so when she refused to turn back during their first encounter with Te Kā. What made him hate himself even more was not being able to see the amount of emotional pain he'd put her through before he abandoned her. He hated not being able to read peoples' emotions, especially when it came to Moana. It was hard for him to completely understand what amount of the emotion the person was feeling when he talked to them.

He was never good with feelings, even more so when he was angry. If he was angry, it was harder to see how much pain the person was going through. It was like he didn't care when really, he did.

Okay, so he was short-tempered and he got to the point where he just didn't care anymore. But on the inside he really did. He was just afraid of losing his hook and/or dying. He also didn't want her to know he was scared because if he did, what kind of hero would that make him?

As he walked through the forest, he continued his search for a place to hide before deciding to climb up a tree to hide from her.

The forest doesn't have a lot of places to hide but...this'll do! He thought, starting to climb the tree, As long as it keeps me away from her. I do not want to end up hurting her too.

Once he got high enough he sat on a branch, waiting to see if Moana was going to head through the forest in search of him.

Moana looked around while she walked, trying to see if Maui was hiding anywhere nearby. When she didn't notice anything suspicious, she walked up to the entrance of the forest.

He's got to be here. She thought, If he isn't, where else would he be?

She then entered the forest, determined to find Maui. She definitely did not want to lose him again like the time he had abandoned her.

"Maui!?" She called out, "Maui! Are you here?"

Maui perked up upon hearing her call him. He then sighed.

Will she ever give up? He thought with a roll of his eyes, I've done enough damage to people after stealing the Heart. I don't want to risk doing more...

He then got an idea before changing to his hawk form, deciding to fly to the island he'd inhabited for a thousand years. He never thought he'd have to do it, but if it was to get her off his back and give him a little space and time to think, he'd have to do it. He then sighed before spreading his wings.

I'm sorry, Moana. He thought before flying off towards his old island, But I have to do this... I'm not ready to face you yet.

Moana saw the familiar blue flash through the leaves of a tree and ran up to it yelling, "MAUI!!" But her words once again fell on deaf ears.

Seeing he didn't hear her, she fell to her knees and looked down.

Maui... She thought before looking up at the sky through the trees, Why do you keep leaving me...? I understand why you stole the Heart since you told me the story behind your tattoo. But everything's better now!

She then put on a serious face before thinking, Okay Moana, you can't give up now... You need to find Maui, confront him, then ask him why he's doing this. No more feeling sad!

She then got up and headed out of the forest before heading towards her boat.

Hey, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! And thank you so much for all the favorites and follows!

I think this story is going to be – or at least end up – more popular than my other Moana fic, Those Haunting Words. Though if you haven't checked that story out, you should. That is, if you want to. If you don't want to, that's fine too.

Why I had Maui try to avoid her still – in case you're wondering – is because I wanted this story to be more than three chapters. I'm not sure how many chapters it's going to be before I decide that it's going to get boring for readers, but I'll try to make it not boring. If you have any ideas for this story to keep it interesting, feel free to drop a review (or PM me). If you decide to PM me so no one reads your idea in the reviews (in case they read reviews first like I do), I'll go on the website on my tablet (since I use the app) and check the PM. I won't know if I got a PM (since again I have the app), but I'll try to check my PMs often.

But anyway, that's all I have to say! See ya!