Sakura was a normal girl, with a normal job, a normal house and some normal friends, as well as a normal life. Or so she thought.
At 28 years old she was working at Konoha Hospital as a pediatric resident intern under the supervision of Dr. Tsunade Senju. Sometimes, her shifts prevented her from having an unstable social life, but also thanks to sharing work with her friends they were able to see each other a lot. Whenever she could, or almost always, after work she went straight to the gym to train. It was not because she wanted to have a perfect body, but to burn off all the stress that work accumulated in her body. Sakura herself was a calm girl, but inside she was very nervous, and many times her work affected her emotionally so she always needed an escape route to disconnect, and that always, for her, was exercise.
When she came home, she rarely felt like cooking, she didn't like it very much, but she had learned some dishes to survive. Her house was always spotless, despite having two cats that were very sweet and sometimes took each other to death. One of them was almost red-haired blonde, whom she called Naruto; and the other was black and white, which was called Sai. Both cats were very loyal to Sakura, and they kept her a lot of company, she even felt safe being with them. And she didn't really understand why.
Lately at night she wasn't resting much, she had a lot of dreams, some she was able to remember, others she didn't. Some were nightmares, others were simply dreams and she woke up in the middle of the night. She attributed all of that to all the stress of work.
"You have to take a vacation, that's what you need," her best friend told her. Ino was a nurse at Konoha Hospital, they met in their first year as resident interns, and became close friends ever since.
"I know, but for now I can't. Dr. Tsunade is telling me that we must finish the article that we are going to publish soon about the study we are carrying out," she answered exhausted. They were in the hospital cafeteria during their break.
"Dr. Tsunade, since she is single for life and she has no life, she thinks the rest of us have to be like that," she said, rolling her eyes. "Sakura, you have to live a little!" Ino was the same age as Sakura, but she had much more energy. She was much more outgoing than Sakura and she loved to go out partying or drinking. Unlike Sakura, Ino had many dates and casual relationships, however Sakura didn't really like that. Every relationship she had been with it had been a serious relationship, she didn't like spending several nights with different guys.
"Well, but I still have to do that. It gives me points to be able to stay in the Hospital once I finish my residency here," she replied. Sakura was a very hard-working and responsible girl, and it showed with all the extra shifts she did and she was always the one who offered to cover shifts for colleagues who needed it.
"The next time you have a free Saturday we have to go out, and let it be said no more! Also, soon we have to start organizing Tenten's Bachelorette Party, in a few months she is getting married and we have to celebrate," Basically Sakura's circle of friends was from work, Tenten was an administrator and worked in the administration part of the hospital.
"Yes, don't worry, I haven't forgotten it," she looked at the clock for a second and got up, her break was over, and she had to run up to the floor to continue working. "Oh, I am running late, I have to go, see you later," she grabbed the coffee she had yet to finish and left the cafeteria.
When Sakura arrived home at night, she was lucky that she had leftovers from yesterday's dinner in the refrigerator, so she only had to heat up the food. Once she had dinner she prepared to read something in bed and waiting to fall asleep, which didn't take long given how tired she was. Whenever she slept, she always had Sai at her feet and next to her, almost at the height of the pillow, Naruto, the orange cat.
"She's already asleep, isn't she?" Naruto asked Sai.
"Yes, leave me alone. Don't move so much you'll wake her up," Sai replied, opening one eye and returning to the round position he was in.
"He won't be long in coming," Naruto spoke worriedly. "I don't know why you're so calm,"
"Because he is always the same. He comes around, he watches her, he tries to hurt her and we scare him away and he leaves. After all, it's our job," Sai spoke so casually that Naruto couldn't believe he was a protector, who would have given the title of protector to this guy? Naruto more than once wondered.
"Shh, he's here," Naruto said as he stood up and stiffened his body.
A shadow quickly entered Sakura's room, and began to materialize more clearly until a clearer figure was observed, but it looked almost transparent. It was a demon, some cultures called it "incubus," a demon that appeared at night and stalked women, often trying to harm them, such as abusing them, or even killing them, although the latter was rarer. They were not very pleasant in appearance, with uneven features, a long nose, a large mouth and bulging eyes. They were not very big, they were small in stature, and they varied in shape, some were thin and others thick. Their hands were full of claws, with dirty clothes.
The luck of women who had cats was that, although they did not know it that they had protectors from demons. But centuries ago some women knew it well, especially those they called "witches." But all this knowledge was transformed into legends or myths, and remained in folklore culture and little else. But all those myths were real, and demons, witches and protective cats existed, and many other things.
"Get out of here, you are not welcome!" Sai shouted.
"Let me touch her, even just a little…" The demon asked them. It was always the same, which was strange. Incubus demons rarely became obsessed with just one woman, and this one had been visiting Sakura for years now.
"We're never going to let you near Sakura, go away!" this time Naruto yelled at him.
"Someday I will get rid of you… be clear little ones," he was addressing the two felines that were on the bed, while he surrounded Sakura, but without touching her.
"Go away you stinky monster!" Naruto spoke again.
"Someday idiots, someday…" and it dissipated.
"Buff, always the same, such a tiresome demon," Sai said as he returned to his starting position. They both noticed how Sakura moved, and she murmured something. She was dreaming. Whenever the incubus came, it gave her dreams, and she hardly rested.
The next morning, when Sakura woke up, her two cats were still in bed. She went straight to the kitchen to have breakfast, she made them breakfast and prepared food for the whole day since she was going to be gone until the evening. And she went straight to the gym, then in a few hours she would start her work shift, start again, and so on every day. The only thing that changed every week was the shifts.
Normally Sakura didn't really like going to the gym in the mornings, since she didn't have much energy, and instead from noon onwards she would start to wake up and that was when her energy would start to emerge. She hated having shift schedules, but her work carried with it that handicap, so she had to get used to it sooner or later. On the other hand, she had considered dedicating herself solely to research, and it was an idea that she continued to value, but she loved having contact with patients, and she loved talking to them and their families. For Sakura, the human part of medicine was very important, since patients were not just objects, but human beings who felt and had emotions, and many times they had to be accompanied throughout their illness.
"Hello girls, have you already thought about what we are going to do for Tenten's Bachelorette party?" Hinata was another interim resident doctor, she was from the same year as Sakura, but she worked in the trauma specialty, so they rarely shared spaces and schedules together.
"That's what I was thinking, we should start thinking of something for the party," Ino replied.
"How about the cocktail bar where that waiter you like works?" Sakura responded this time.
"Mmmh... it's not a bad idea, really," Ino said thoughtfully, raising an eyebrow.
"We will also have to invite more people, don't you think? Above all, those from the administration department," they didn't know anyone from administration other than Tenten, "Do you know if she invited anyone from her department?" Sakura asked.
"I think Lee is the closest and i would say she mentioned that she was going to invite him," Hinata responded. She was the most attentive and had a long memory, so she almost always remembered the conversations and details of her friends.
"But I want it to be a girls' night!" Ino said complaining.
"To be honest, I think Lee would have a lot of fun with us," Hinata said, half smiling.
"Do you think?" Sakura asked.
"Yeah," Hinata confirmed.
It was already decided, next Saturday they would go out to the cocktail bar where they used to frequent to celebrate Tenten's Bachelorette party, in a month the ceremony would be. Tenten was marrying a businessman who turned out to be Hinata's cousin. They had never seen each other since she started dating Neji, and when she started working at the hospital she found out about her relationship, and they became great friends with her.
"Hey Sai," Naruto approached his partner. They were both alone in Sakura's apartment.
"What do you want Naruto?" he responded while he rested and kept his eyes closed.
"I've been thinking... and perhaps, we could request an appearance before Lord Morpheus," the orange cat suggested. At such a proposal, Sai shook his head and looked at him intently.
"Are you crazy? Do you want to bother Lord Morpheus for something stupid like this? You know it's normal for incubus to come to visit pretty girls,"
"Yes, I know, but it's not normal always to be the same," Naruto responded, convinced of his words. "I think it's a good idea, maybe there's something we don't know,"
"What are you talking about?" asked the black and white cat.
"You already know that throughout history there have been unhealthy obsessions of gods, demons, and among other beings, with mortals and those things never end well,"
"But I don't think the Lord cares much about that, why should he?"
"Because he's one of the demons from his kingdom, perhaps?" he replied sarcastically.
"Well, do whatever you want," Sai said at last, stretching and curling up again.
"Well, I'll do that," he replied.
"But I don't want you to involve me in all of this," Sai warned his partner.
"We are both in this, I can't not involve you. But if you want, I can tell him that the idea of requesting an appearance before him was mine, don't worry, I will do it," he was silent for a moment until he said, "Likewise, Lord Morpheus is not so evil..."
"No. He is not evil, but he is arrogant and grumpy for a while," Sai replied.
"It's true, but deep down he has a good heart,"
"If he has one…" Sai said softly, and Naruto laughed.
With Sakura's busy life, she barely had time to visit her parents. Her mother was a housewife, so whenever she had a day off during the week, she spent the morning with her mother and they ate together. Her father was a car salesman, so she came from a humble family that could hardly pay for her studies, although her father did everything possible to raise the family, and worked very hard to get good commissions for sales. Sakura was eternally grateful to them, because thanks to them she was the woman she had become.
"Hello mom, how are you feeling?" She greeted her mother by giving her a kiss on the forehead as she entered what was her childhood home. Sakura went to visit her mother on Friday of that week, it was her day off.
"Hi darling. All good and you? I see you tired, are you hungry?" her mother always worried. She knew how hard her daughter worked, and how poorly she ate, she was well aware of how little she liked to cook.
"I'm fine, mom," she replied. "Is dad coming to eat today?"
"Your father has been working a lot lately, he stays up late, apparently he wants to work as much as possible to have a good retirement. So it will be just us," her mother answered.
They spent the morning talking and keeping each other company. She accompanied her mother on various errands she had to run, and helped her make food. Her mother wasn't a great cook either, but she cooked daily and always tried to learn new things.
"Dear, and there is no news? Isn't there anyone new in your life?" she looked at her daughter curiously.
"Mom, you know I don't have time for that,"
"Oh my child, you are young and pretty, you should live life a little!" Sakura hadn't had a partner for a long time, basically since college, and in the middle of her studies she left him because he was a bother to her. And since then she had not been with anyone nor had she met anyone who interested her or made her curious. It was a fairly recurring theme both with her mother and with her friends, it seemed that everyone was bothered that she was single and on the other hand Sakura was enjoying it, and in the short term she didn't want to change that.
"Mom, for now I have no plans to find a boyfriend," she told her, rolling her eyes. "I'm very busy, I don't have time to think about it, nor time to dedicate to anyone."
"Well, well," her mother played it down by making a gesture with her hands. "Likewise, now Tenten's wedding is coming soon, maybe you'll meet someone there,"
"Mom…" Sakura sighed, tired of having the same conversation every time she visited her mother. How she would have liked her father to be there because her mother rarely brought up the subject in front of her father, since he thought that his daughter alone was much better off. He was a very protective father of his only daughter.
In Sakura's absence in her apartment, sometimes things happened that she would never have thought could happen, like portals opening, or creatures that she thought only existed in books and movies.
Sakura's apartment was not very big, the living-dining room was open along with the kitchen. It had a bathroom and two rooms more, one very small, which she basically used as a storage room and dressing room, and her bedroom a little larger. Naruto and Sai were in the dining room taking one of their seven naps a day on the new scratching tree that she had bought them a few weeks ago, when they suddenly noticed a light wind coming from the kitchen. Both cats looked at the window, observing that it was closed, looking for the source of said wind. When a short time later they saw how a portal began to open next to the counter.
"They're calling us," Sai said as he stretched and climbed off the scratching post. Naruto made the same gesture, and they both walked briskly towards the portal and both jumped into what apparently seemed like an abyss.