I need to see him. Please
This is Channel 95 breaking news
"A young man in his 20s was found in a skate park dying of an apparent hate crime. The man has brown hair and a scar that runs from cheek to cheek along the bridge of his nose. He is in the Hurtado Hospital in extreme life risk."
"The police are still looking for the relatives of the young man who was found with extreme injuries, had swastikas drawn on his skin and without his documents to clarify his identity.
"Now we continue with our usual programming. Follow our channel."
A blonde woman sitting in front of the television couldn't believe it. Her heart raced and a deep terror rose from her chest. That was Iruka! Her nephew's boyfriend!
"Jiraiya! Come here and call Kakashi! Urgent!"
A man with long white hair appeared in the room with the phone in hand and scared and worried about his wife's reaction. He has very seldom seen her lose control of her like this.
"Tsunade honey. What's wrong? Why call Kakashi?"
"Now I don't have time to explain anything. Just hand me the fucking cell phone !."
Marking concerned she called her nephew hoping it was just a terrible coincidence and not what she was thinking.
"Hi? Auntie? What's wrong? I'm a little busy running errands right now. I'm heading towards the police."
Tsunade felt her soul leave her body. It couldn't be.
Kakashi, when was the last time you saw Iruka?"
"That's why I'm going. I haven't seen him since Saturday and it's already Monday. He has me worried. He doesn't answer my calls."
"Fuck! Kakashi, after you've gone to the police, call me and go to Hurtado Hospital. I saw something on television and I need you to be with me on this."
"It's okay, aunt. And then I'll tell you what the police told me too. Take care of yourself. I love you."
Hanging up, Tsunade walked over to her husband shaking and with a lump in her throat.
"Jiraiya, love. We must change our clothes and go to the Hurtado Hospital. I saw on television that a young man is hospitalized and I suspect that he may be Iruka..."
The older man widened his eyes in surprise. Iruka? Kakashi's sweet boyfriend? Nodding and with concern he went to his room to get ready.
Both thinking that I hope I am not the man who gave stability, support and love to a needy and lonely man.
•
Kakashi was worried. His boyfriend had not answered his cell phone since Friday.
Iruka had told him that he would go with some friends to a disco and not to worry. He said he would call him after arriving at her apartment but he never received the call. He didn't know what to think. The next morning Iruka was not in his apartment and his neighbors told him that they had not seen him arrive.
But the silver-haired man was not overly concerned. He thought that maybe he stayed with a friend or drank too much, but the day passed with no news from his boyfriend and his concern increased.
No calls, no messages read, without knowing from him he decided to go to the police as early as he could, trying to think positively until he received a call from the aunt who had raised him since the death of his parents.
The fear grew and the urge to cry invaded him. This cannot be a coincidence.
Arriving at the police, Kakashi gave the data and characteristics of his boyfriend and went to the hospital where his aunt indicated. He didn't know what to believe and didn't want to imagine anything, but images of Iruka bleeding couldn't get out of his head.
When he arrived and didn't see any of his parents at the reception, he decided to call them.
"Auntie, hi. I've already arrived at the hospital."
Hearing a sob in the background and growing worried, Kakashi started shaking. He had a very bad feeling.
"Kakashi." said his uncle with a trembling voice. "We are in the ICU section, honey. We have something to talk to you. Go up to the 3rd floor and tell the receptionist that she is with us."
"It's ok, I see you there."
Climbing the steps one by one, Kakashi felt anxiety wash over him by every second. He suddenly felt like crying because he knew that he had happened to Iruka, his beautiful fiance.
When he finally reached the last step and saw in the hallway in front of him an inexplicably long floor only to see at the end some doors in which, through their small windows, he saw his real parents cry and console themselves. A lump formed in his throat.
And for each step that he resounded that morning in a corridor that gave off an aura of sadness and pain. The 30-year-old white-haired man felt he was walking towards his death.
Tsunade was heartbroken. She had known Iruka for years. He was a sweet boy who helped Kakshi so deeply that neither she nor her husband could do.
Jiraiya felt tremendous sorrow. He was a good boy and he didn't deserve what those fucking motherfuckers did to him. They were in the damn 21st century! They couldn't hurt a boy in such a brutal way just for being gay.
When Kakashi finally walked through those doors, Tsunade stepped out of her husband's arms to comfort her beloved nephew. To her son.
"Kakashi, my son, my beautiful boy. We have something to tell you."
Eyes red, she went to sit on those uncomfortable hospital chairs followed by Jiraiya and Kakashi.
"A doctor will come soon, but after seeing Iruka."
Chest tight and eyes sore, she took a deep breath and continued her tale.
"Kakshi. At dawn today they found a very badly wounded young man, almost dying. He had multiple fractures and cuts on his body. Swastikas were drawn on his chest and he had bruises that looked like kicks all over his body. Everything had been stolen from him and they couldn't find his identity until this morning."
"That young man was Iruka. He was beaten to death by some bloody neo-Nazi bastards who don't accept the diversity of the world."
Kakashi was frozen. The images in his head came back with force and vengeance.
And the sob and scream that came from her throat was more heartbreaking than anything Jiraiya and Tsunade had heard in a long time.
The anguish and pain of seeing her son collapse in the middle of the waiting room outside the ICU and crying for the love of his life beaten to death filled everyone's hearts with sadness and anger towards those who had committed such a crime.
No one deserved to die or suffer like this.
•
The emergency doctor couldn't save this boy. Helplessness filled his entire being.
He was basically tortured to death just for the fun of others. Never in all his years had he seen anything like this. A young man murdered by bigots.
Leaving the operating room and exhausted by everything that happened, the boy's family went to the reception to try to console those who were stolen from a relative so unfairly.
And the sight that greeted him shocked him. He touched his heart deep down. An elderly couple comforted another sobbing young man. There was no doubt that they were the poor boy's family. Iruka, according to a nurse.
"Excuse me, are you Iruka Umino's relatives?"
The gazes of the three adults went to his direction. One tired, another resigned and another hopeful.
"I am Dr. Matsubara and I am sorry to say that our patient passed away today 10 minutes ago. We tried to do everything we could but his body didn't withstand the injuries. They were very serious."
The young, silver-haired man rose from the chairs. With red and puffy eyes he approached the doctor.
"Sorry for the inconvenience, but I'd like to see you."
"Boy, I don't recommend him. He's badly injured and surrounded by machines. Right now he's not the same boy you met."
"Please, I'm asking you. He was my fiance. I need to see him. Please."
Sighing, the doctor nodded and escorted Kakashi to the room where Iruka was resting.
Closing the door, he decided to give her privacy for the boy's crying and venting. Maybe it was immoral to leave that young man with his dead and almost unrecognizable fiance but he thought it was something he needed.
•
This is Channel 95 breaking news
"A crowd has gone to say goodbye to the young man killed by a hate crime about three days ago, going to the wake to mourn this cruelly tortured young man."
"Serious action has been taken against the criminals and torturers of this murdered young man and Congress passed the new Iruka law, which protects the LGBTQ+ community from discrimination and helps those who suffer harassment of any kind."
"Many citizens have erected an animita* at the place of Iruka's death, lighting candles and praying for him to rest in peace and to be a protector within the LGTBQ+ community."
"This death has even had an international impact and several artists have asked that this never happen again."
•
Years later, the animita of Iruka became one of the largest in the country, with plaques and gifts that they thanked for favors granted.
Many mourn his horrible death but others are grateful that Iruka has become the protector of the LGBTQ+ community.
End.