Many people who love the film, Spirited Away, have expressed a desire that there be some kind of romantic relationship between Chihiro and Haku. Some would have liked to see a kiss scene. We need to keep in mind that Chihiro was ten years old and Haku was about twelve. In my estimation, they are a bit too young to be involved romantically. However, forensic examination of the timeline and a little investigation revealed that there was, indeed, a deleted scene whereby Chihiro kisses Haku romantically. In the sake of completeness and satisfying prurient desires, the missing scene is recreated below—taken from clippings on found on the cutting room floor. It takes place during an unexplained gap in time after Haku retrieves Chihiro from Zeniba's house at night and returns her after sunrise in the morning. Where did they go and what did they do overnight? If you read on, you will know. However, be forewarned that the story is rated 'R' for adult situations, brief nudity, and mild sexual content. If you are under 17 years of age, be sure you read it with an adult or legal guardian.

Do not worry about any legal implications for the reader. As it turns out, the animated principles in the story are not actually ten and twelve years old. They were both over twenty years old and drawn products which specialized in characters who looked young. Chihiro, for example, is normally drawn as a buxom girl in sci-fi animes and had her ample breasts omitted for this film. Therefore, no children were exploited or harmed in any way. Anyway, we pick up the scene where Chihiro and Haku are floating together after he returns to being a boy…

THE MISSING SCENE

With their hands locked together, Chihiro pulled Haku toward herself, bringing their cheeks together. The tear of happiness that she shed floated upward. Her eyes followed the tear where it passed by Boh Mouse and Yu Fly. Chihiro was curious about this and asked Haku, "Are we floating or falling?"

Haku though about it for a second and replied, "We're falling like two rocks. I thought your Levistone would have slowed us by now."

Chihiro looked startled and said, "What's a Levistone, Haku?"

At that moment, Haku returned to his dragon form and they managed a soft landing just outside the town adjacent to the bathhouse. It was still dark and a little chilly, so Chihiro clung tightly to Haku as they started to walk back to town. Curious about a hunch she had, Chihiro blurted out, "Kohaku River!" Haku immediatelty turned into a boy—a human boy with the realization Chihiro, a human girl, was hugging him tightly. His adolescence was beginning to kick in and he liked the new sensation. Just then, however, Chihiro blurted out, "Haku!" Haku was a dragon once more. He was beginning to know the true meaning of the word, 'frustrated.' He was now an adolescent dragon, and there didn't seem to be any girl dragons about. Chihiro had enough for the time being and returned him to a boy shape. "Kohaku River!" For his part, the human Haku was in heaven walking with Chihiro so closely by his side. He wanted the moment to last, but knew it was all going to be over when he returned her and Boh to Yubaba. He got an idea. "Chihiro?" he asked.

"What is it?"

"Let's go somewhere to talk. I need to tell you what to expect when we get back to the bathhouse."

Chihiro looked around. They were on the outskirts of town. "Everything's closed," she remarked, "except that motel up ahead."

"Perfect," he thought. They could go there and make out for a bit before going back. The motel was inexpensive and, as the ad said, they left the light on—and it was the only light. "Chihiro, it's not a coffee shop, but we can get a room and talk there."

"Yeah. Sure," she thought. "Sure," she said, cheerfully.

When they checked into the motel, the clerk eyed them suspiciously. The register said Kohaku and Chihiro Smith. "You don't look old enough to be married," she accused.

"We're brother and sister," Chihiro replied in a convincing manner.

Not fully buying that story, the clerk took their payment in gold and gave them the electronic keycard to the room.

Haku tried to open the room door, but couldn't get the key to work. Chihiro helped by showing him how to handle quirky motel door locks. She got it on her first try and they were in the room.

Chihiro ran past Haku and jumped on the bed. She rolled on her back and went through the motions of making a snow angel on the bed. She stopped, sat up, and patted the space by her side, signalling Haku to join her. "Now what is it I must know about tomorrow morning?"

Haku sat beside Chihiro, a little nervous and not exactly sure where to go from there. He eyed the television remote control, but Chihiro wasn't interested in television. "There's nothing on—only local channels."

"Oh," he replied, abandoning any notion of television, and faced once more with his immediate problem. "Ummm… I think Yubaba is going to test you when you get back." He drew his face closer to hers.

Chihiro responded to his approach by half-closing her eyes, and answering, "Test? What kind of test will it be?" She closed her eyes completely and puckered her lips.

He slowly drew his lips closer to hers. Then their noses bumped. Chihiro opened her eyes and said, "I think you are supposed to tilt your head, Haku…"

Instantly, there was a very confused dragon sitting next to Chihiro. She rectified: "Oops. Kohaku River."

"Please, stop that," he said. His tailbone was in pain because the sudden change to a dragon resulted in his tail striking the wall and knocking over the telephone.

Chihiro was concerned as well about this new feature she discovered. What parts of him changed? Did he breathe fire and, if he did, did he snore? Were scales he shed in transformation easy to vacuum out of a carpet? She had to spend some time in her own thoughts for a while. "It's been a long day and I think we both need to take a shower before going to bed."

Haku couldn't believe his ears, until she followed up with "Separately, of course." Then she added, "Me first." Chihiro immediately got up and went into the bathroom. As she shut the door, she warned "No peeking, or I will resort to name-calling."

The first thing that came to Chihiro's mind as she went into the bathroom was her need to start calling him something else. She tried the first thing that came to mind. "Darling?"

Haku was startled. "Yes?"

She started the shower water running and while she checked for the proper temperature, she asked loudly, "You were talking about a test I had to take. Can you tell me about it?" She realized that everyone in the motel complex could hear them, so she walked back to the bathroom door and opened it slightly. "I'm going to leave this open a little so we can talk, but I don't want you peeking, OK?"

"OK." Haku noticed that Chihiro left the door open enough that he could peek, but he decided against it. With his back turned to the bathroom, he continued, "I'm not sure about the test, but it will involve your parents and your freedom." Making sure Haku wasn't watching, Chihiro disrobed and quickly entered the shower. "My freedom?" she asked. "I have a binding contract and there's no escape clause."

"Yubaba and I found a loophole for you. You will need to take a test. If you pass it, your contract will be voided. If you fail, the contract will remain in force. Your parents' fate would hang on your willingness to stick to the contract."

"If I pass the test and return to my world, will I ever see you again?"

Haku hadn't thought of that. Suddenly, he developed a hope that she might not pass the test. "I'm not sure. What are your thoughts? Would you miss me if we couldn't meet?"

"Of course I'd miss you, darling."

A new sense of panic overcame Haku. Chihiro was beginning to sound possessive. Was she too much to handle? "Aren't you worried about your parents?"

"Sure, darling, but I'd happily work for Yubaba as long as you're near. They won't be in any danger."

The panic deepened. Chihiro stopped the shower and decided to dry herself off while she was still in the enclosure. Haku then realized that the room window was a perfect mirror at night and he was able to see into the bathroom. He wanted to shut his eyes, but he was too curious and too hormonally charged to do so. Chihiro announced, "I'm coming out. Don't look."

"I won't," he lied. He looked.

Chihiro stepped out of the bath and dressed quickly. She spent the next several minutes drying her hair with the towel before relinquishing the room. "Your turn."

Haku entered the bathroom and repeated her warning, "Don't peek."

As he was showering, Chihiro looked around the room. Then she noticed the mirror-like quality of the window and remembered how Haku was sitting. Half outraged and half amused, she shoulted out, "HAKU!" Suddenly there was a loud bang coming from the shower followed by a thud. "Serves him right," she thought. Her anger gave way to her normal nurturing self and she went to rescue Haku once again. As she figured, Haku the dragon was unconscious in the shower and she was unable to revive him. She was relieved he was still alive, though. She said, "Kohaku River" and he returned to a manageable size. She dried him off and, with considerable effort, carried him to bed.

The early morning dawn trickled through the characteristic unclosable motel curtain gap and into the room. Chihiro woke first, rolled over to face Haku, and kissed him gently on his whiskers. The events of the previous night rushed back to her. She remembered that Haku, in his human form, couldn't fly and that she learned, luckily, that she had to call his short name out in order to prevent falling like a rock to the hard Earth below. After they landed safely, she had fun with that idea. She would say, "Haku" and he would turn into a dragon. When she would say, "Kohaku River," he would turn back into a boy. She remembered the sudden thud as she said "Haku" while he was in the shower. Sometime during the night, she must have said, "Haku," because he was not in dragon form when he fell asleep. There he was in the morning, though, with his tail protruding from the foot of the bed, stretching across the room, and coiling around the television.

Gently, she shook Haku and said, "Wake up, darling. We need to get back to the bathhouse." She then said, "Kohaku river," and he turned back into a boy. Haku the boy awoke with mild protestation. "Give me a few more minutes" was the first thing he said out of habit. When he regained full consciousness, he realized where he was. "Oh! Chihiro!"

"Yes, darling?" she replied.

Haku was a bit worried. He noticed that all of their clothes were stacked neatly on the dresser and they were both totally naked. "Did we do anything last night?"

"I'm not sure," she replied devilishly. "What would we have done?"

He didn't know what to think. Either he should be relieved that they hadn't made passionate love or, if they did, she didn't know what he meant or didn't think much of his performance. "Did we do anything while we were lying together?"

"Do you mean sex, darling?"

She knew what he meant. "Yes," he replied weakly, in fear of any asnswer she might now provide.

"As I said, I'm not sure."

Haku was as confused as ever.

She couldn't continue without totally ruining his self image. "No, darling, we didn't have sex. You hit your head in the shower and just now woke up." She kissed him again on the cheek. "I am saving myself for that time when we are both ready."

Haku, now as scared as ever, was faced with the prospect of years of frustration in a high maintenance relationship. He smiled, however, and kissed Chihiro on her waiting lips. It was his first full kiss on the lips and he would never forget it. They both got out of bed at the same time and, almost without peeking, got dressed and checked out of the motel.

CONCLUSION

The rest of the story is history. Haku returned Chihiro and her son to Yubaba, Chihiro passed Yubaba's test, and was freed of her contract. To this day, there's a rumor running around the bathhouse that Haku made some kind of deal with Yubaba to guarantee she passed the test and that he wanted her out of his life. While there's nothing to substantiate such a deal, Yubaba has seemed in a much better mood since Chihiro left. She speaks almost melodically and lets the workers get away with quite a bit. As for Haku, well, he doesn't seem quite as energetic as he used to be.