Social Link
With the addition of a female route in Persona 3 Portable, Shinjiro becomes an optional social link--the Moon. His link starts on 9/7 and he is available on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday evenings in the dorm. Through the link, the player can see Shinjiro's softer side in which he cares about the health and well-being of Akihiko, the protagonist and the rest of SEES. He also drops hints about his condition and ultimate fate. Once the Moon link is maxed out, the player will receive a leather watch and be able to fuse the best Persona of this arcana: Sandalphon. The player also has the option of getting two additional scenes after maxing out the social link by confessing her feelings for him.
Rank 1
After asking Shinjiro to spend time together for the first time, the player follows him to a ramen shop called Hagakure. He apologizes for bringing her and says he doesn't know of many places to go out to eat. While eating, Shinjiro winces and explains he has a cut in his mouth from when Akihiko punched him. Apparently, he didn't appreciate being lectured about how his fighting style was reckless! Shinjiro informs her they get into fights frequently and not to worry about it. He comments on how the player is younger than Akihiko but compliments her for being a reliable leader. Shinjiro remembers he got a cut in his mouth the first time Akihiko punched him, as well, but claims to not remember why they were fighting.
Answers
"I like this place.""What's wrong?"
"Were you two fighting?"
"Please try not to fight him."
"Why did he punch you?"
Rank 2
Shinjiro doesn't care where they eat, so the female protagonist brings him to a restaurant called Wakatsu. He wishes that Akihiko ate at the restaurant as well because he worries he doesn't get balanced nutrition. Suddenly, he asks her if Akihiko is fighting well in her opinion. He seems pleased to hear Akihiko is doing well and tells her he will leave it up to her because she knows more about fighting than he does. Shinjiro apologizes about "sticking his nose in," and explains it's not like he doesn't approve of her, but rather that is just how he is. He notes both Akihiko and Mitsuru seem more comfortable fighting than when he was a member of SEES originally. Attributing it to her powers, he smiles and tells her not to strain herself too much when she says she'll do her best. The scene ends with him wondering if the rest of the team is eating a balanced meal like they are.
Answers
"Yes, I like eating here.""Yes, of course!"
"I'll do my best!"
Rank 3
This time, Shinjiro requests to go back to Wakatsu. Again, he wonders if the rest of the team is eating properly and if they are doing okay. All they ever eat is instant noodles, etc. After calling him kind, he gets embarrassed and tells her "not to be stupid." He asks her to tell the team to eat better if she gets the chance because they won't listen to him...especially not Akihiko. Noticing she hasn't touched her vegetables, he basically implies she better eat them as well and she quickly cleans her plate.
Answers
"What do you mean, 'okay'...?""You're so kind-hearted."
Rank 4
As Shinjiro and the protagonist are preparing to leave the dorm, he smells something burning. Heading over to the counter, they find Fuuka attempting to cook beef stroganoff. Shinjiro quickly points out all the things she's doing wrong and asks the protagonist if it is okay they eat at the dorm. Noting her happiness, he tells her not to get her hopes up while laughing. The protagonist simply watches as Shinjiro shows Fuuka the correct way to cook the stroganoff. He slightly chastises Fuuka for messing around with recipes before improving her basic skills. The protagonist is amazed the finished dish looks like a picture out of a cookbook. When she thanks him for cooking, he starts blushing and is clearly embarrassed. Fuuka begs him to promise he will teach her again. He initially sounds annoyed about being forced into teaching her again, but it doesn't seem like he minds terribly. Shinjiro ultimately agrees that a party might be a good idea and they can talk about it another time. As he is about to go check on Fuuka, the two hear a plate shatter in the distance.
Answers
"Actually, I'm really happy!""Thank you for the food!"
"This is delicious..."
"Why don't we do a party?"
Rank 5
Shinjiro asks the protagonist if she wants to come along with him to Paulownia Mall. She follows him to Chagall Cafe and wonders if this is really where he wanted to go. He nervously asks her what she wants and orders for her after teasing her about tea being a girly drink. Suddenly, he starts coughing and then sighs. When she voices her concern, he assures her he is fine and not to worry because he isn't contagious. The coughing fits just happen once in a while and he does not like to go to places like this as a result. When the protagonist asks why, he simply says he feels bad for the people working there if he's sitting there coughing all the time. He then tells her he came to buy ground coffee and not to let him forget on their way out. Blushing, he explains it'll be used to cook something. The protagonist offers to help cook for the party and he declines the offer, saying she won't be able to enjoy the food if she helps out. He teases her by saying if the food ends up terrible, she better take responsibility and tell everyone it's great.
Answers
"Where is it?""Tea"
"Are you all right?"
"Is the cafe making you cough?"
"Do you drink coffee at the dorm?"
"I'll help out too."
Rank 6
Shinjiro decides to have the party this evening and tells her not to go anywhere. He asks her to let everyone else know to stick around for an hour. He calls for Fuuka and the two set off for the kitchen to begin cooking. They have another lesson in which Shinjiro skillfully cooks while teaching Fuuka to make a different dish at the same time. When the protagonist asks what they are making, Shinji simply states it is a surprise until they are done...because it might be something entirely different by the time they are done. Fuuka apologizes for lacking in cooking skills and Shinjiro tells her to pay attention because she dropped an eggshell into the dish. Hearing noise and smelling the food cooking, the others come down to see what is going on. Akihiko immediately knows Shinjiro is the one cooking and tells him he's supposed to be a good friend and make enough for others when cooking in front of them. Shinjiro retorts he's supposed to not be an idiot because there are clearly more than 12 servings! He tells them all to shut up and sit down as they begin to make a fuss about him cooking for everyone. Two hours later, various plates cover the table and everyone is amazed at how much he made. Tomato pasta, sweet-and-sour pork, fried chicken, omelette rice and more! Fuuka announces she is going to get Mitsuru and Shinjiro asks Akihiko to get Ken as well.
After everyone ate and helped clean up, Shinjiro sits with the protagonist in the lounge alone. He is happy the group enjoyed the party, including her. He tells her he never would have thought of doing something like this if she hadn't brought it up. She wonders if she gave him the courage to do it. Coughing once again, he tells her the evening really wore him out so he was going to bed...and she should go soon as well.
Answers
"...What're you making?""What's for dinner?"
"There's enough for everyone."
"It was a lot of fun!"
Rank 7
Shinjiro asks if the protagonist minds stepping out for a bit because he feels uncomfortable. Once they go outside the dorm, he explains the others have been annoying him since they had the party. They keep going on and on about how delicious the food was and how he should do it for them again. After ranting a bit, he does admit that he is glad they enjoyed it. He relaxes and laughs. Shinjiro then asks her if she thinks it was strange and out of character for him to do something like that and continues by saying there's nothing wrong with having good memories to grow up with. They have two kids in the dorm--one little and one big one. He asks her if she had fun, too. Seemingly pleased that she did enjoy herself, he continues to talk about how it is important to make good memories because as long as someone has good things to look back on, they can go forward without being led astray. After muttering to himself, he looks directly at her and asks if she should be doing something else rather than spending time with him. Insisting she has fun being with him, he quietly backs of the subject while blushing. Shinjiro then offers to buy her ice cream from the convenience store since they were already outside.
Answers
"Did something happen?""Yapping at you?"
"It can't be helped."
"Definitely!"
"It's fun being with you."
Rank 8
While on a walk with the protagonist, the two end up in a back alley. He is reminded of when they met in the alley months before and mentions he never would have thought he'd join SEES again back then. She asks if he regrets coming back and he says not at all because there are some things that only he can do. He laughs, somewhat sadly and turns away from her while looking down. "You're a pain" comes out of his mouth. "You keep messing things up for me..." He continues by saying he thought his life was supposed to be the way it was, but... Her face keeps popping in his head. Shinjiro suggests they go back, since they actually have a place to go back to.
Answers
"Do you regret coming back?"
Rank 9
Shinjiro offers to stay in the lounge this evening. Once seated, he begs her to say something, anything. He then smiles and says he'd like her to talk about something that would make her laugh. The two talk about many different subjects and the protagonist notes although his expression doesn't change much as usual, he seemed lonely. When she pauses, he encourages her to continue because he wants to hear more. She tells him about school, her friends, clubs, TV...he just listens to her aimless conversation. He laughs and is happy to hear she is enjoying her days. Suddenly serious, he tells her she looks best when she is laughing and not to cry. He looks down and says that he needs to make sure he doesn't leave anything behind... No doubts. No regrets. Dodging her inquiring about his rambling, he says he is being selfish by telling her what to want and not want, what to forget and what to remember. She disagrees, but he says as long as he is being selfish, there is one more thing he wants her to do: She doesn't have to forgive him, but forgive everything else. She is clearly confused but he only says she'll understand later. He wants things to be normal until then.
Shinjiro then wonders if it is getting late and informs her that he lost his watch somewhere. He says it was just a shabby old pocket watch that he got from someone a long time ago but then curses and sighs. Clearly it is important to him. The two continue to talk about various topics late into the night.
Answers
"I don't know what to say...""Of course I won't!"
"What do you mean, regrets?"
"That's not true."
"All right."
"What're you talking about?"
"Did you lose it?"
NOTE: Before you can max out Shinjiro's social link, you must retrieve his pocket watch from the police station after rank 9!
Rank 10
Shinjiro and the protagonist head to Naganaki Shrine to find no one around. She hands over the pocket watch she retrieved from the police station and he wonders where she found it. Playing with the watch in his hands, he tells her he thought he'd be fine never seeing it again...but never imagined that she of all people would find it. He then gives her a leather watch, saying he wasn't sure if he should give it to her or not but he wanted her to have it. Hesitantly, he says he thought it would look good on her. She says thank you and he gets embarrassed.
After looking at his feet for a long time, he asks her to look after Akihiko. Shinjiro then admits he actually did remember the reason why Akihiko punched him for the first time. He stole a doll from a toy store because Akihiko's sister couldn't make any friends and he thought the doll would make her happy. When he found out what Shinjiro did, he "beat the crap" out of him and was crying the whole time. They then returned the doll to the toy store together. Point being, Akihiko hasn't changed at all since then. He's stupid, honest, proud, kind... Someone needs to be by his side because he's a "crybaby." He seems relieved to know SEES will all be with him and says he isn't worried about him at all because she will be there. He looks at her kindly. Shinjiro vocalizes he wants to stay a bit longer, but worries she might be cold. He pulls her closer.
Answers
"Thank you very much.""We'll be by his side."
Love Scene
After The Moon social link is maxed out, the player has one more opportunity to spend time with Shinjiro. He tries to discourage her from spending time with him, saying he has nothing else to give her and that she's wasted enough time on him. If she responds by saying, "I love you," he quickly gets very embarrassed and tells her to stop teasing him. Insisting that she isn't joking, she asks for him to come to her room. He completely refuses but eventually gives in to her coming to his room after many excuses and some persuasion. He complains that she is always pushing him around and ignoring what he wants, but two can play at that game. He embraces her and tells her he can't stop thinking about her, day and night. He lets her go and tells her she has one last chance to leave. When she declines, he tells her he isn't going to hold back anymore and the two spend a long time together.
This scene is voiced and absolutely ADORABLE! My short description does not do it justice, so please go WATCH IT here if you haven't seen it yet. Even if you have, watch it again because it will pull at your heartstrings!
Answers
"I love you.""I'm not teasing!"
"Won't you come to my room?"
"Then, how about your room?"
"I still want to go."
"I still love you, Senpai!"
"I'm not going anywhere!"
Rooftop Scene
Lastly, at the very end of the game, the player can get a short scene with Shinjiro before the protagonist falls asleep if they've done everything described above. He rushes to the rooftop, clearly out of breath. Saying her name, he jokes around about making a sick guy push himself so hard. Shinjiro says it's pathetic he forgot about everything that happened, but even then, his feelings for her never changed. The girl he saw in his dreams was her. He then embraces her tightly as if to assure himself that she was really there with him. Suddenly, they both hear footsteps and voices of the others, to which Shinjiro comments they sure know how to ruin a moment. Before she closes her eyes for the last time, he tells her that he is glad he met her.
Again, this scene is also voiced and is definitely worth watching (again). So, feel free to go do so!
b a c k . c l e a r . f o r w a r d Paint it Black is © Samantha, however Shinjiro and Persona 3 are © Atlus and other rightful owners. Paint it Black is a part of AFTER-DEATH.ORG.