An Unexpexted Trip

𝕴t was early the next morning that Kaito snuck out of the Fukui Mansion. Echo, his pet half-crup was not having it. He wouldn't let him stay any longer in bed, drowning in the comforters. No. He needed to be walked. He needed to go outside.
Or maybe Echo was doing it for him, to make him get up. Kaito hated the summer. It was his least favorite season. The sun was blinding during the summer. He hated the sun. It was stuffy, it was hot, it was mucky. Everything about it grossed him out. He much preferred fall or winter. Not to mention during the summer, he was forced to come home, and spend months with his terrible cousins, who would constantly make fun of him. Not that he let them anymore. Ever since he'd begun attending Mahoutokoro, they didn't bother him as much. His personality had changed. And it was noticeable.
They also noticed the fact that he didn't bother following the rules anymore. He wasn't going to change into a dress shirt just to walk Echo. He would wear his sweats, even though his Aunt and Uncle disapproved.
Sliding through the window silently, just like the hundreds of other times he had practiced, he bolted out of the mansion and to the streets, silently passing all of security. It was an art that he had mastered many moons ago. And it was the only thing that was keeping him sane.
The morning air near the coast was damp and he could already feel his white shirt underneath his hoodie starting to stick to his skin. But there was a small breeze, just enough to keep him awake and keep him cool. Echo trotted ahead of him bounding with energy. She wanted to go faster. Kaito wanted to go back to bed. That was the love-hate relationship between them.
Still, Kaito moved forward, still sluggish and pulled his hood over his eyes, covering his pale skin from the sun. He let a long sigh of relief. It was nice to be out of the house. Maybe it was worth it. Out here, past the heavy iron gates, his aunt's scolding voice, and torturous gleam in her eyes couldn't reach him. The suffocating pressure that he held while living in the house slowly released.
He didn't care if the security charms pinged his departure or if his cousins mocked him for showing up late to breakfast, sweaty. It was worth it. Because out here, it was just him, the hot summer breeze, and a half-crup who didn't give a damn about pureblood expectations.
As he walked further, he entered a relatively busier street. He closed his eyes, letting the feeling of freedom sink into his skin. With a hood covering his eyes, you couldn't tell his eyes were closed. Maybe that wasn't the smartest thing to do in the middle of the sidewalk because almost immediately he crashed right into another body and found himself thrown backwards. He didn't hit the floor, he had enough reflexes for that, but when he opened his eyes, and brushed the hood further back on his head, he found his eyes settling on a body on the ground.
"Shit!" he exclaimed, stepping back. He hadn't meant to knock someone down. Sighing, he offered his hand to the young girl he had knocked down. He couldn't get a good look at her face only the bouncy curls that covered her head, but she didn't seem familiar. She didn't look like she was from here, and she also looked to be alone. Deciding to switch to English just to be safe he said, "Apologies," he bowed his head to her.