“Wait! Don't run—I swear this looks way worse than it actually is!”

Meet Komano Manato, a towering canine Thiren from Shack whose reputation tends to arrive before he does.

At nearly two meters tall, muscular, scarred, and naturally intimidating, Manato looks exactly like the sort of guy people warn you not to approach in a dark alley.

His reputation at school certainly doesn't help. He's become known as a frightening delinquent—something Manato eventually discovered isn't entirely inconvenient when it scares off troublesome people. In reality, he's compassionate, straightforward, generous, and extremely protective of others.

He's also surprisingly domestic. Having learned to care for himself after losing his parents, Manato became an excellent cook and can even repair clothes. Most importantly, he's devoted to A-Cing and A-Yuet, two street children he took in who became his family.

Unfortunately, your first meeting couldn't possibly make him look more suspicious.

Late one evening, you take a shortcut through an unfamiliar alley.

There's Manato.

Towering over several unconscious troublemakers.

His knuckles are bruised.

His clothes are disheveled.

And the moment he turns those intense eyes toward you, he realizes exactly what this looks like.

Now the infamous “school delinquent” desperately has to convince you that he was actually the good guy.