My grandfather on my dad's side recently passed away and I found myself having trouble expressing my emotions verbally. This little side fic to Naruto the Kitsune Hanyou is my attempt to put my feelings into words and deal with my grief. I encourage all of my readers to spend time with your loved ones, you never know when something might happen and they'll be gone. You don't have to leave a review, if you do please don't make it a pity one, instead tell me if I managed to get an emotional reaction out of you since this is a different fic than I usually write.

This takes place in Naruto the Kitsune Hanyou between Tail 17 and 18.

"I can't believe he's gone," said Naruto as he stared at the giant monument that marked the resting place of Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Sandaime Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato.

"He died the way he would have wanted, protecting his beloved village and the future generation," said Ken as he laid a hand on his son's shoulder. The Uzumaki family had come to pay their respects to the man who had been a mentor, a confident, and a grandfather to all of them as soon as Ken and Kyuubi had recovered from their respective imprisonments during Orochimaru's invasion of Konoha.

"Seldom have I seen a human with a spirit like his," said Kyuubi. "He was gentle and kind, loving every moment with his family and friends. I remember all the times I chided him about how bad smoking was bad for him and he just chuckled."

Ken wrapped one arm around his wife as she rubbed her eyes. "He was a good man, a shining example of a Konoha shinobi. I still remember how he came to talk to my class about Shodaime and Nidaime and told us stories of the heroes before we were born."

"The old monkey was a great teacher," said Jiraiya simply as he walked up behind his surrogate son, daughter in law, and grandson. Beside him, Tsunade held a bouquet of white flowers.

"Rest in peace Sarutobi-sensei. We, who have inherited the Will of Fire, will watch over this village and the future generation," said Tsunade as she placed the flowers in front of the grave. "Naruto is definitely the one who will become the next Hokage after Ken and me, he has broken the curse of Grandfather's necklace and will lead us into a new age of peace."

"Thank you for all the lesson you taught us Sensei," said Jiraiya before he pulled a signed copy of a book that had been covered in laminate to keep it from being read or ruined by the elements from his pocket and said, "Here's my first work that you liked so much, if you hadn't encouraged me so much I never would have published it and gotten started as an author. The Legend of the Gutsy Ninja may have not been a best seller but your experience and wisdom were a strong foundation for it!"

Kyuubi placed a water proof bag of tobacco on the grave as she said, "Here's some of the special Fire Flower Tobbacco I created for you Sarutobi. I'm glad you enjoyed it and I wish I could have given you more. I'll be converting the rest to incense and burning some here each day so you can enjoy the smell in the afterlife." Stepping back, Kyuubi couldn't keep her tears back any more and was pulled into a hug by Jiraiya and Tsunade.

"Sarutobi, I am so glad you were there to guide me through my early years as Hokage. If it hadn't been for you I never would have taken that day off and met my wife. Sometimes I'm not sure I was the right choice for Hokage but I'll do my best to train Naruto to be a Hokage we can all be proud of," said Ken before he placed a picture of his coronation on the grave, showing him with his hands on the Shinki: Jouka (Sacred Treasure: Sacred Flame) of Konoha and wearing the Hokage robes while Sarutobi and Jiraiya stood behind him with proud smiled on their faces.

"Ji-san, I'm going to miss you, and so is Konohamaru! I'll watch out for him when I'm in the village and keep him out of trouble when I can!" swore Naruto as he approached the grave. "I'm going to work hard to be worthy of the Hokage title and make you proud of me!"

All five bowed before the grave before turning and walking away. Behind them, a ghostly image of Sarutobi smiled before turning away to rejoin his predecessors in limbo.

(0o0o0)

"How you doing Konohamaru?" asked Naruto a few days later as he sat with the young Sarutobi on top of the Sandaime's carved head on the Hokage mountain.

"Better since you got back, Uncle Asuma has been watching out for me… but it just isn't the same!" muttered Konohamaru. "Every time I turn around at home I see something that reminds me of Grandpa and the pain just starts up again!" Tears started to leak out of Konohamaru's eyes before he furiously started rubbing them. "A shinobi shouldn't show their emotions!"

"No, it's our emotions like love, anger, grief, and happiness that makes us human," said Naruto softly. "I know a bit how you feel, Ji-san was like a grandfather to me to and I'm going to miss him a lot. But he wouldn't want you to stay trapped in the present! He'd want you to go on living your life and training so one day we can fight for the title of Hokage!"

Konohamaru sniffed before smiling at Naruto. "You're right Naruto-ni-chan!" Standing up, the young Sarutobi took a deep breath before yelling, "I'M A PROUD MEMBER OF THE SARUTOBI CLAN, NAMED AFTER THIS VILLAGE! I AM SARUTOBI KONOHAMARU! I WILL PRESERVE THE LEGACY OF THE SARUTOBI CLAN AND THE WILL OF FIRE MY GRANDFATHER PASSED ON TO US!" Konohamaru's yell was heard throughout the village, many people looking up and smiling at the sound of a bright young flame burning strong with the Will of Fire.

"Come on, I'll teach you a special jutsu," said Naruto with a grin. Konohamaru eagerly ran off after his idol, while the stone face of Sarutobi seemed to smile.

(0o0o0)

"I heard you spent the day with Konohamaru," said Kyuubi as she placed a bowl of home made ramen in front of her son.

"Yeah, we talked a bit about Ji-san and then I taught him a new jutsu," said Naruto.

"Nothing perverted I hope?" said Kyuubi, though the warning glint in her eye made Naruto gulp.

"Nope, he thought it was perverted, but I cleared that up and said that if he wanted to make his grandfather proud he'd stop using the Sexy no Jutsu, though I don't think he'll stop for good," said Naruto.

"You're a good brother Ni-chan," said Akemi with a smile.

Naruto grinned as he returned the smile, "Thanks Akemi."

And that's it. Short, but I think it helped get my emotions in balance.