"Remember me" - Chapter 1 - Yamato/Tenzo x Reader
Synopsis : Born in Konoha, [Y/N] wasn't necessarily known as the most impressive or powerful ninja, but rather for her kindness and compassion. She became like an older sister to Naruto and a loyal, faithful friend to many ninjas in Konoha. Without even realizing it, she had earned a special place in the heart of one particular ninja with brown hair. But everything changed the day the Third Hokage entrusted her with a mission from which she would not return unscathed. Pairing : Yamato/Tenzo x Reader
If you want to read Kakashi's version, you can find it here.
Warnings : Violence, memory loss List : Chapter 1 // Chapter 2 // Chapter 3 // ...
Inspiration : Remember me - d4vd
Words : ~ 3000 A/N : Hello there ! Here's the first chapter of the new story i wrote for Kakashi, but this time for my boy Yamato. Just like Kakashi's story, there'll be multiple chapters but i'll try my best to make them a bit different. I hope you'll like it ! And thank you all for all the likes and reblogs for the other one ! And sorry for the mistakes, I'm not a native english speaker.
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Long before Naruto left with Jiraiya, the Third Hokage had entrusted you with a mission. A mission for which you would, of course, not be alone, but whose duration was impossible to predict. While it wasn’t expected to be particularly dangerous, it still worried the young ninja, who pleaded with you to refuse it and stay in Konoha.
You and Naruto had known each other for a few years by then, and a sibling-like bond had grown between you. Though neither of you showed it openly, you cared for each other as if you were part of the same family. The young blond found comfort in having someone he could look up to as a big sister.
On the day of your departure, Naruto couldn’t help but ask you to promise him something: that, upon your return, the two of you would go together to Ichiraku. He insisted you promise to come back as quickly as possible—and, of course, without a scratch. It was a promise you made without hesitation, one you sincerely hoped to keep.
Tenzo, for his part, came to speak to you the night before you left. Over the years in the Special Forces, you had developed a close bond with him. Despite his unwavering seriousness, the ANBU operative was someone you deeply valued. You’d grown to understand him over time, and his subtle sense of humor hadn’t escaped you. In fact, it was one of the things you appreciated most about him, offering a striking contrast to his somber past. To you, he was more than just a teammate in the Special Forces. He had always been kind and considerate toward you, and you’d always made an effort to show him he was valued.
But over time, what you felt for him had grown into something beyond friendship—a feeling you never thought you could confess. His role in the ANBU and the demanding nature of his missions left no room for personal entanglements. You feared losing what the two of you had built, so you chose to keep your feelings to yourself.
"It seems you're leaving—this time, for quite a while," he said.
He had perched himself on the edge of your terrace, still wearing his mask. The moonlight faintly illuminated his silhouette, and you watched him as though he were a mirage. Slowly approaching, you reached out to touch his mask, but he caught your wrist before you could.
As you carefully revealed his face, you noticed the faint trace of worry in his expression, even in the dim light around you.
"I’ll be here when you return," he said softly. "But please, be careful."
And with those parting words, he vanished into the night as suddenly as he had appeared.
________________________________________
Crossing the Land of Wind had proven far more arduous than expected. Whether due to the weather, unfortunate encounters, or other unforeseen obstacles, it took several weeks to reach the country’s edge. The team leader was the only one privy to the mission’s details; your role was to ensure his safe passage and protect him at all costs. Once the messenger had been located, the journey resumed toward the Land of Earth. It was an exceptionally long mission, one that the Third Hokage had emphasized as being of critical importance, urging success no matter the cost. What exactly these messages contained? None of you had the faintest idea.
The journey across the various lands and the delivery of those messages eventually stretched into several months. While you hadn’t faced any overwhelming challenges, there were minor injuries and delays—nothing insurmountable. Yet, the longing to return home grew stronger with each passing day. Every team member began feeling the ache of separation from their loved ones, some even missing their children. As for you, you missed Naruto’s antics and the humor of your friends. Thoughts of Tenzo on the night before your departure resurfaced often, lingering in your mind no matter how much you tried to push them aside.
It was during the final leg of the journey that thoughts of the ANBU operative became most vivid.
In the Land of Lightning, things took a turn for the worse. While traversing a vast expanse of rocky mountains at night, your group encountered ninjas whose origins and intentions remained unknown. Everything happened far too quickly for you to grasp what was unfolding. A skirmish broke out, and the team leader made the call to prioritize delivering the message, splitting the group into two.
This left you with just one other ninja to hold off the enemy and buy time for your two teammates to escape.
The opponents didn’t seem especially skilled, but fighting them in the dark posed a significant challenge. Fatigue soon began to take its toll on you both, a factor that likely contributed to the event that would alter the course of your journey.
Amid the chaos, you noticed a cluster of shurikens hurtling toward your teammate. Instinctively, you intercepted them with your kunai, preventing him from being injured during his fight with one of the assailants. What you failed to notice, however, was the unstable ground beneath your feet.
Perhaps it was a mix of exhaustion, the uneven terrain, and a strike from one of the enemies that led to your fall. Before you could fully comprehend what was happening, the ground beneath you gave way, and you plummeted from the rocky ledge where you stood.
Desperately, you tried to grab onto something—anything—but your attempts were in vain. Your head struck a jagged rock, and everything went black.
________________________________________
After spending more than a year and a half on the mission and successfully completing it, the team leader and the member who had accompanied them set out to search for the two ninjas they had left behind in the Land of Lightning.
It didn’t take them long to find their first comrade, who had been taken in by the Hidden Cloud Village, where they were treated and waiting for the team’s return. As for you, however, the story was different.
They found no trace of you—only your headband, which did little to encourage their search given its poor condition. They spent several weeks in Kumo, hoping to uncover information or even the faintest clue about your status or whereabouts, but their efforts turned up nothing.
Eventually, they returned to Konoha, disheartened, but determined to deliver their report to the Hokage and hand over your headband. Yet, much had changed since their departure. ________________________________________
"The mission is complete, Lady Hokage. All the messages have been delivered."
Tsunade carefully observed the ninjas standing before her.
"However, we couldn’t find [Y/N]. Only her headband was recovered. We don’t know if she’s dead or missing."
After uttering these words, the ninja lowered their head and placed the headband on the Hokage’s desk. Tsunade furrowed her brow slightly before picking up the object and examining it closely.
"Tell me everything about this mission," she said, her gaze still fixed on the damaged headband.
________________________________________
"We’ll probably run out of firewood tonight. I’ll go fetch some."
The elderly woman standing beside you gave a faint smile and nodded. She was preparing one of her famous soups, a recipe you now knew by heart. Its aroma always brought you comfort, especially in the winter.
Dressing warmly to head outside, you opened the door and carefully closed it behind you, letting out a sigh. The cold was so biting that you hurried to gather the wood and return inside. It was a ritual you had carried out every winter for the past two years, and to you, it felt as though you had never known anything else. In truth, you weren’t even sure if you had known anything else.
Everything was hazy—you remembered nothing beyond these moments spent in the little house nestled deep in the forest. How had you ended up there? Where had you come from? Why did it seem as though you couldn’t recall anything from before this home?
Poor Yubaba didn’t seem to know any more than you did. She would simply tell you that you asked too many questions whenever you embarked on this inner quest about your past. She’d say that everything would come back to you one day, but for now, your mind and body needed rest.
And you didn’t understand those words either. Why would you need rest? Was it tied to the headaches you frequently experienced?
Taking a deep breath, you firmly grasped the bundle of wood before stepping back inside the house. You placed it in front of the large fireplace that illuminated the modest living room where the old woman spent most of her time.
"This should be enough for tonight. But I’ll have to chop more for tomorrow," you said.
She turned to you gently, lifting the large pot and carrying it over to the table.
"Take off that heavy coat, Fubuki, and come warm yourself up and eat. It’ll do you good. Don’t forget your tea—it’ll help with your pain."
Nodding, you finally shed your warm layers, returning to your usual attire, and sat down at the table. Fubuki. It sounded strange, almost like it wasn’t real. Like everything around you.
And yet, how could you truly question the only things you knew when the rest of your existence was nothing but a massive void?
"Thank you for the meal, Yubaba," you said softly.
________________________________________
While Tsunade was busy sorting through a mountain of paperwork, a ninja suddenly appeared behind her. Wearing a mask, the ANBU operative made no sound as he moved, disappearing and reappearing almost instantly in front of the Hokage’s desk.
“You were quick, Tenzo,” she remarked, finally lifting her eyes from the documents.
Removing his mask, he fixed his gaze on her.
“You summoned me, Lady Hokage.”
“I did. I have an additional mission for you—and for your current team.”
Her expression grew serious as she clasped her hands together, resting her chin on them.
“A team recently returned from a long mission. However, one of its members disappeared several months ago.”
Tenzo struggled to maintain a neutral expression, but deep inside, something began to churn. He prayed it wasn’t you, though his instincts pointed only to that possibility.
“She was last seen in combat in the Land of Lightning.”
His face tightened, and it became increasingly difficult for him to stay composed.
“I’d like you to conduct a search alongside your current assignments. I’m entrusting this mission to you specifically because I know you’ve worked with [Y/N] before. You know her well, I imagine, and you’ll be better equipped to recognize her or uncover any information about her whereabouts.”
The ANBU operative took a moment to absorb her words, his gaze steady but his mind racing. So it was you who had gone missing—or worse? But he refused to let those darker thoughts overwhelm him.
“Lady Hokage, are you certain she’s not...?” he asked, his voice faintly trembling.
“Her forehead protector was recovered, but she wasn’t. The fact that her body hasn’t been found yet makes me think she might not be far. Someone will eventually lead us to a clue.”
With those final words, Tenzo replaced his mask, offering a few last remarks to the Hokage before vanishing from the room, leaving her alone.
As the door clicked shut, Tsunade let out a sigh and closed her eyes for a brief moment.
“Forgive me, Tenzo. I can only hope you’ll find her.”
________________________________________
Tenzo had withdrawn to a quiet corner, pulling off his mask as he slid down against the wall until he was seated. Placing one hand over his face, he took deep, steadying breaths, clearly trying to calm himself.
How long had it been since you left on your mission? Was there still a chance of finding you? How long had you been alone? Or injured? Or held captive? Or perhaps... something else entirely?
No, the idea that you could betray the village and simply vanish was unthinkable. Not with Naruto, not with everything tying you to Konoha.
His thoughts swirled chaotically, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t push them aside. Fear crept in, whispering the possibility of finding a version of you so far removed from the one he knew—or worse, what little might remain of you.
He needed to get a grip. To hold onto hope.
________________________________________
“So, how did the training go? Did it pay off?” Tsunade asked, seated at her desk.
“Do you really think we’d be back if it hadn’t?” Jiraiya retorted, his hands on his hips.
“Well, we’ll see about that,” she replied with a smirk, just as Naruto chimed in to ask for more details.
Outside, Kakashi stood by the window, seated with a book in hand, listening to the conversation inside. Naruto was back, and while Kakashi felt genuine joy at seeing his student again, a deep unease lingered, especially at the thought that a certain topic might come up.
Several months earlier, Tsunade had informed him that your team had returned from a mission. Initially, the prospect of seeing a mutual friend he shared with Tenzo brought a glimmer of happiness to his face. But it quickly faded when the Hokage revealed that only your forehead protector had made it back to Konoha—and it was in a condition that spoke of grim possibilities.
At that moment, Kakashi couldn’t even fathom the pain Tenzo must have felt upon hearing the news—news he had surely received long before Kakashi did. He knew how close the two of you were, how much Tenzo cared about you. Tsunade had also informed him that she had assigned Tenzo the task of searching for any information about you. While it was somewhat reassuring to know that his ANBU comrade might be the first to find you, Kakashi couldn’t shake his worry. Tenzo was an exceptional agent, but you mattered enough to him that Kakashi feared the search could take a toll on his judgment. Tsunade was aware of this risk but was betting on Tenzo’s deep connection with you to succeed.
“Well, Naruto, you’ve grown a lot,” Kakashi remarked when the blond leaned through the window to look for him.
“And you haven’t changed one bit!”
Naruto vaulted through the window and reached into his jacket, pulling out a copy of the very book that seemed to animate his teacher’s every moment.
“I brought you a gift, Kakashi Sensei!”
Kakashi trembled with astonishment and joy as he took the book from Naruto, all under the watchful eyes of Sakura, Tsunade, and Jiraiya.
“By the way, do you know where I can find [Y/N]? It’s been so long! I brought her a gift too!”
Kakashi’s gaze froze on the book in his hands as he weighed the best response to Naruto’s question.
Sensing that the conversation could take an unpleasant turn, Tsunade intervened.
“She’s on a mission. She’ll be back soon, Naruto. In the meantime, I believe you have plans with Kakashi.”
The copy ninja let out a quiet sigh, closing his eyes briefly.
“I’ll be waiting for you at Training Ground 3. See you there,” he said before disappearing, gripping the book tightly as if it were a lifeline.
Naruto turned back to Tsunade, re-entering the office with a puzzled expression.
“Do you know exactly when she’ll be back? She promised me ramen at Ichiraku!”
“Maybe we should start heading to the training ground, Naruto,” Sakura suggested with a soft smile, trying to steer him away from pressing further. “You’ll see her when she gets back.”
“Fine, fine. Anyway, Kakashi Sensei is probably already devouring his book. Did you see his face?!” ________________________________________
After the young ninjas left the room, Jiraiya stepped closer to Tsunade.
“Was she killed on the mission?” he asked bluntly, wasting no time on pleasantries.
“We don’t know yet. But I’m not sure it would do Naruto any good to know about the situation right now, especially when he’s just returned. Let’s give him time to settle in.”
“I don’t think he’ll appreciate being kept in the dark,” Jiraiya countered. “I only saw her briefly before leaving with Naruto, but it’s clear how much she means to him.”
“He’s not the only one,” Tsunade replied, her tone firm. “But I don’t think he’s ready to hear the truth just yet.”
Jiraiya sighed, lowering his gaze. For a moment, his eyes drifted to the view outside before returning to the Hokage.
“The ANBU will find her—or at least figure out what happened to her,” Tsunade said with conviction.
Jiraiya let out a faint sound of surprise before a small smile crossed his face.
“I see. You haven’t given up. Who knows about this?”
“Besides the ANBU team? Only Kakashi. It’s better this way.”
A brief silence hung between them before Tsunade spoke again, her voice softer this time.
“I just hope they find her.” ________________________________________
Months had passed, and Yubaba’s health had continued to deteriorate. The herbal treatments she made herself no longer seemed to be enough, and no matter what, she refused to see a doctor or go to a village to seek treatment. Despite your attempts to convince her to go to Kumo, she stubbornly insisted that it was pointless and that it would pass on its own. The day she could no longer even get out of bed, you decided, despite her protests, to take her to the Kumo hospital in one last hope of helping her.
________________________________________
After hours of walking, you finally arrived at the Hidden Cloud Village. Thanks to some passersby, you managed to bring the old woman to a safe place where she could be taken care of. The doctors informed you it would take some time, and that it would be best to return in a few hours while they worked on her treatment.
With time to spare, you wandered through the village, exploring the unfamiliar surroundings as though you’d never seen anything like it before. It was a refreshing change to be in a place bustling with life, far removed from the face of Yubaba or the forest you knew so well. However, the constant chatter of passersby gave you a headache, and every so often, a sharp pain would throb through your temples, making you grit your teeth.
After a few hours of aimless wandering, you made your way back toward the hospital. Night was beginning to fall, and the streets were becoming quieter and emptier. The small alley you walked through was particularly silent, reminiscent of the tranquility of Yubaba’s little home.
But the peace was fleeting.
“[Y/N]?”
The name echoed faintly in your mind, triggering something you couldn’t quite grasp. Yet, you kept walking, furrowing your brows slightly but refusing to stop.
Your path was abruptly blocked when two figures dropped from the rooftops in front of you.
Ninja uniforms, no doubt, each face obscured by a mask. Identical attire. You froze, your mouth opening slightly in protest, only to glance behind you in search of an escape. Two more figures landed, cutting off your retreat.
“I don’t know what you want from me, but I have nothing,” you said nervously, raising your hands slightly in a gesture of surrender.
The two figures in front of you exchanged a glance before one of them turned back toward you.
“Don’t you recognize me, [Y/N]?” one of them asked.
Fear began to bubble up, making it impossible for you to focus on identifying the speaker. You only realized which one had spoken when they slowly took a step toward you.
“You must have me confused with someone else… I’m not [Y/N],” you replied, your voice trembling.
“We’ve been looking for you for months,” they said.
“Why? I’m just here to care for the woman I live with. I don’t know who you are, but I don’t know you,” you insisted, your voice shaking more.
The ninja who had stayed still moved toward his comrade, whispering something before placing a hand on his shoulder.
“Did you decide to desert us? And what about Naruto? Why are you hiding here?”
The throbbing in your head intensified, the onslaught of emotions overwhelming you. It didn’t make sense, none of it. And yet, his voice felt so achingly familiar, distant yet close. That inexplicable feeling gnawed at you, a hazy fog blocking any clarity, rendering your thoughts jumbled and chaotic.
“I-I don’t understand… What are you…”
Your vision blurred as darkness crept in at the edges. Breathing became harder, and a piercing cold seeped into your chest. The figures in front of you became indistinct, their voices melding into an unintelligible hum.
One of the ANBU stepped closer, cautiously, as you staggered backward, trying to put distance between you.
But before you could finish your sentence or muster another thought, the world went black.
