kamanue had a long history of avoiding demons who could duplicate themselves for this exact reason. his opponent was just as flighty as he was, and in any other circumstance he would have backed off and gone for something more hotheaded and easily goaded into a trap. no such luck, though - he was doing this for oyakata-sama, he couldn’t just leave it be, especially not if he’d get an earful for it.
the other downside to this one’s duplicates was that he couldn’t even eat them. sure, maybe he was just a glutton, but his own demon art is one that needed fuel, damn it! his regeneration had slowed down just enough to leave him stunned for a few heartbeats after the fight; something that nearly proved fatal when he felt the telltale, instinctive dread he knew too well prickle his skin.
the sun the sun the sun the sun the sun the sun
he went into flight mode instantly - retreat downwards, it was faster than hoping for luck to favor him; not fast enough, but if he pulled it off right he could at least survive, regenerate whatever burned off once night came again, but the mere idea of that would be torture and he could die here and now, alone, because he got careless and slow,
the only reason he even processed tengen’s presence is because the man put himself between kamanue and the sun, and the demon jerked his head upwards, eyes wide and on the verge of tears.
“ fucking hell, i thought you’d up and ditched me, “ he hisses, voice raw and desperate. one hand rises just to tug him to lean closer, before returning to getting himself at least out of immediate danger. “ careless, careless, that fucker slowed me down on purpose - i hate this fucking time of year, nights are so short, “ he’s rambling out of pure anxiety, tone high-pitched and visibly shaking, “ and i - i have too much to do to die here, “
he turns his gaze back to tengen, then, tears finally spilling over his cheeks - embarrassing, but he makes no move to make himself even close to presentable. he’s a lost cause in that regard, and knows it; sitting in a hole, with a pillar between him and the sun. “ i thought i was gonna die. i thought i was gonna die! damn it, why can’t you just be one of those jackasses who wears a cape! at least that’d be helpful right now! “
tengen goes easily over kamanue, not flinching at the sudden reaching out, letting himself be repositioned over the hole in hopes of better aiding the panicking demon. he doesn’t respond at kamanue’s rambling, there’d be no point. he’d heard enough earlier to understand now that these ramblings were all energy and anxiety induced, and a response to them wasn’t necessary.
he just stays kneeling over the demon, feeling the warmth of the sun beginning to spread along his lower back, a comfort on his half, but one he could only imagine as pure dread for a demon. not that he ever really... imagined anything on behalf of a demon. this was a time of many firsts.
the gaze is felt, and tengen’s eyes lower to meet his, expression flat. no, it’s softened. no pity or disgust that would have most likely been found earlier, but a neutral, gentle expression. he’s thinking, because they can’t stay here forever. even waiting for others to arrive seemed like too long a wait.
so he’d have to make do with what he had.
“you’re not gonna die here. come on, undo your uniform some and tuck yourself into it. cover as much as you can, i’ll get the rest.”
he’d figured out a plan, and hopefully this plan would result in as little damage done to kamanue as possible. it’s not like it mattered, he could just regenerate. but there’s still a part of him that would like to avoid as much damage as possible, perhaps it’s seeing these tears, perhaps it’s just the fact that he doesn’t want to disappoint oyakata-sama by letting this demon die--
either way, he’d get him back to the estate. tengen begins to unbutton the top of his uniform, stripping it off of his shoulders and chest. in any other circumstances, he’d show off, but of course that’s not acceptable here, and any flex or pose was purely accidental.
the uniform is held in both hands as he waits for kamanue to be situated, smoothing out the fabric while keeping himself in his set position guarding the hole.
this would be... tricky, but it was all they had now, and it was worth a shot.