Disclaimer.

Characters from Ranma 1/2 belongs to Rumiko Takahashi.

Characters from Captain Harlock belongs to Leiji Matsumoto

Characters from Totoro belongs to Studio Ghibli.

Mecha-Shiva belongs to the Cartoon Network.

There is not enough originality in my bones create nearly anything as good as the above.

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Chapter 2: The Fade

Of all the toys in the shop, Harlock has been around the longest. Harlock was Mr. Ogata's favorite toy as a child and when the toy shop was opened, Harlock was placed on the highest shelf to look over the place, and bless it with good fortune. Because of his high standing in the toy shop, none of the other toys ever called him Harlock. He is simply known as the Captain.

The Captain became indispensable to Oh-Totoro when it comes to seeking knowledge. When the subject of children and grownups as broached, the Captain made this reply:

"Well, Mr. Ogata is a grownup. Way back into the past Mr. Ogata was much smaller and was known as a child. He was not even called Mr. Ogata back then. His name was Kenichi. At least that is what others called him."

"Why did he change his name?" asked Oh-Totoro.

"Beats me", answered the Captain, "There are some things that even I don't know."

"Captain" said Oh-Totoro, "Could you answer me another question?"

"Go Ahead" said the Captain.

"When I find my chosen person, what can with him? I can't move like Mecha-Shiva over there, so I really don't have much to do"

"You can talk to them, cant you?" said the Captain.

"I can?"

"People, mostly children, can talk or at least listen to toys if they want to. Watch this... Hey Kenichi, you left the store room light on again!"

There was a pause, and then Oh-Totoro heard Mr. Ogata said "Oh Dear! I thought I turned that light off...", then area near the store room became slightly dimmer.

"That guy is so forgetful these days."

"I can talk to them" said Oh-Totoro. Somehow that idea made him feel warm inside, but there was one thing nagging in Oh-Totoro's head. "Captain, what happens if the chosen person does not want to talk to a toy?"

There was a long pause. Finally the Captain made his reply.

"I'll tell you later."

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And so Oh-Totoro began his quest of finding his special someone. Every day people of all sizes come in looking at the myriad of toys and some of them do not leave empty-handed. Every day, Oh-Totoro, along with his brothers (who are also named Oh-Totoro) excitedly wait for their special someone. Their clamoring was quite animated.

"Today's the day!"

"Hey is that my special someone...nope. Blast!"

"Ooh! Ooh! Right here! I'm over here."

Some of his brothers got picked up, while others like Oh-Totoro, did not. Even still, Oh-Totoro's enthusiasm was not lost.

Even more days passed, and the clamoring among the brothers was a little more subdued.

"Please let it be today."

"How long do I have to wait?"

"I don't think my chosen person ever come"

But still, Oh-Totoro's spirits remained high.

Even more days passed, and eventually, only Oh-Totoro and one of his brothers remain on the shelf. Then, one day, Oh-Totoro greeted his brother as he did every day.

"Brother, are you hoping that this will be the day?"

No answer.

"Can you hear me, brother?"

No answer.

"Brother? Are you mad at me? Why are you not talking to me?"

Still no answer.

Oh-Totoro looked into the eyes of his brother. There was no spark. No sign of life whatsoever. Immediately, Oh-Totoro sought the one toy that could help him.

"Captain! There's something wrong with my brother! I've tried talking to him many times and he will not answer."

The Captain sighed and replied.

"I knew it might have come to this. I think it's time to tell you something: Not every thing is as rosy colored as I mentioned. There are times when a toy never finds its chosen person. The toy will begin to despair, and when that despair becomes too great, the toy's spirit will disappear, and all that will be left is an empty shell. This is what they call the Fade.

Once this happens, no one will come for them anymore, and they get taken away. Don't ask me where they go, because I have no clue myself."

Oh-Totoro said was aghast. "This is horrible," Oh-Totoro said. "How do I keep this from happening to me?"

And the Captain made his reply.

"Well, the Fade happens to all of us eventually. Sometimes toys fade because they get broken, other times a child will grow up and may not need any toys in their life, and that will cause the fade."

Oh-Totoro started to panic. "What do you mean not needing toys? I thought you said that my chosen person would be together for the rest of our days?"

The Captain sighed and made his reply.

"As time passes, people, especially children will start look to the world around and explore the many things out there and will neglect something trivial as being able to talk to toys. A lot of them eventually forget that they did in the first place.

There are special cases like Mr. Ogata over there, who still has the heart of a kid (why do you think he owns a toy store?), but those people are few and far between.

Look. It's really hard to tell when you will fade, but I do know that moping about it may speed up the process, so cheer up, and believe that your chosen person will come soon. Once you find him, live your life to its fullest, and don't worry too much about fading. You'll be better off doing so"

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"Don't worry about it he says. How can I not worry about it?"

It has been days since Oh-Totoro has learned of the Fade, and he is the last of his kind on his shelf. His brother was taken away by Mr. Ogata and was replaced by other toys.

All around him he can hear the clamoring of the newer toys waiting for their chosen person. "If they only knew", thought Oh-Totoro. Oh-Totoro wanted to tell them the truth, but didn't have the heart. It wouldn't have been fair. No one told him the truth when he was new. Let them enjoy as many days as they can.

The day came and went, and, like the other days, no one came for Oh-Totoro. Oh-Totoro heard Mr. Ogata beginning to walk from the counter to switch to the 'Closed' sign and O-Totoro began to despair.

"Maybe there is no one for me. Maybe it would be better for me to just fade, and not deal with the disappointment anymore"

His thoughts were interrupted when the door opened signaling another customer entering. Make that two, from the sound of it. Someone big and someone small.

"Excuse me, but are you closing?" It was a woman's voice.

"I was about to, but please help yourselves," said Mr. Ogata.

"Thank You"

There was some light banter with the woman and Mr. Ogata; something about a day in the city with her daughter.

"So did you have fun?" said Mr. Ogata.

"Yup!" said a little girl. There was a tingling in the back of Oh-Totoro's head when he heard her voice. It was a feeling that Oh-Totoro never felt before.

"Now don't take too long. The store is about to close."

"'Kay, Mama!"

The pitter-patter of the child's footsteps went all around the store. The increase in volume indicated the child was getting nearer and nearer. Oh-Totoro had often heard these familiar sounds from different sets feet, and they always end in disappointment. This set of footsteps was no different as the child started walking away.

Somehow this set of footsteps was different. Instead of disappointment, Oh-Totoro felt anxiety. He needed to do something…fast!

And so Oh-Totoro desperately screamed.

"Heeeeeeeey! Oooooverrrrrr Heeeeeeeeeeeere!"

The pattering stopped... and it got louder as the child went closer... and closer... until Oh-Totoro saw its source.

It was a girl. She had brown hair, tied at two ends with pig tails. Her face was round, with a cute button nose, and the biggest, roundest brown eyes that Oh-Totoro ever did see, which are currently looking at Oh-Totoro with the same awe and wonder that he felt.

This was she. This was his chosen one.

"Hello! My name is Oh-Totoro. Wanna be friends?" was what he wanted to say, but before he can utter those words, two large (large for him anyway) hands picked him up and, Oh-Totoro found himself in what he would learn later as a hug.

"Totoro!"

Suddenly, the girl began moving Oh-Totoro's world became blurry, as he was unused to being jostled after being stationary for a long time. When his world stopped moving, Oh-Totoro found himself on Mr. Ogata's counter near the cash register.

"This one mama!" said the girl.

"Why am I not surprised," said woman known as Mama. She had kind eyes, and kind of resembled the girl except that she was larger. Mama stood at the opposite side of the counter from Mr. Ogata engrossed in a conversation, which Oh-Totoro tried to listen in.

"... saw the movie recently and it was all she would talk about."

"Well I'm glad I could help you. I'm sure your little girl would be happy with Oh-Totoro here."

Oh-Totoro looked around for the little girl, but could not find her. Then he noticed the two hands placed on the edge of the counter, which as followed by a tuft of brown hair and then the face of a little girl trying desperately to peer over a counter that was a little bit taller than her.

Once again, Oh-Totoro wanted to say "Hi", but he felt himself lifted into the air again, and placed into a bag. Oh-Totoro heard mister Ogata and the woman exchange some pleasantries, and he was moving again.

A voice cut through the air. It was the Captain.

"Congratulations, and good luck!"

Oh-Totoro replied "Thank you for everything, Captain!"

The door opened and then closed, and Oh-Totoro was surrounded by different noises. He then realized that he was away from the toyshop, which, until recently, was the place that he called home.

Oh-Totoro did not have enough time to ponder on that fact as two hands grabbed him and pulled him away from the bag. Once again he looked into the eyes of his chosen person.

And then Mama spoke.

"Oh no! You're gonna get him dirty!"

"I'm not Akane, mother! I'll be careful," said the girl.

"Make sure you do, dear," said the girl's mother.

"Okay!" beamed the girl who then turned to Oh-Totoro and spoke.

"Hi Mr. Totoro! My name is Nabiki! Wanna be friends?"

Oh how Oh-Totoro wished he could make his smile bigger to reflect how he felt. But he couldn't and he can only respond the only way he knew how.

"Yes. Yes I would."

The girl hugged Oh-Totoro and carried him to his new home.

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Author's Notes:

Okay! Another part over, it's longer than the first one!

Actually this is supposed to be a part of Chapter 1, but I got lazy.

I feel a little better about writing this Chapter than I did the last, since the words were coming out better. However, I had some difficulty trying to hide the identity of Oh-Totoro's chosen person until the last moment. Because of this, the dialogue felt sort of awkward. Oh well.

I just saw Totoro on cable TV, and I suddenly got the urge to take the dust off this story and tweak it a bit. I trying to make it my goal to finish this story by the time the DVD comes out in March. Three more chapters to go…

Once again, thank you Dean R. Koontz for giving me the ideas for the life cycle of toys.

Constructive criticism is much appreciated.

Next Chapter: Family Life.