Valkyrie85: Hello, my friends! I'm back after a long, 3-year hiatus. Back then, there were too many things going on in my life and I had lost my passion for writing. However, now that life has returned to a normal and boring routine, I suddenly wanted to pick up the pen (computer) again. When life is boring, it's up to the person to spark it up, right? Haha.

You may have noticed that this story only has one chapter. It is because as I went back and read the older chapters, I cringed at how unrealistic that some of the plotlines and characters were set up (and not to mention the poor writing!). I have deleted all of the previous chapters and saved them on my computer for future reference so that I could edit them. Please bear with me while I do my edits, as you have already read about some of the plots. However, I do believe that many of you won't even remember what had happened in the story because it's been so, so long! Anyways, enough of the talking and please enjoy!

It's Always Been You

Chapter 1

Miyaki walked as fast as her legs and cane could carry her down the corridor, her elegant bun unperturbed by her swift movements.

A smile radiated from her face as she pushed open the grand oak door with her free hand.

There on the bed was the little miss taking a nap beside her giant teddy bear, Tadashi (loyal, true) or Tada for short. Her father gave Tada to the then-3- years-old girl when he returned from his business trip to England.

Miyaki quietly approached the sleeping figure. She felt slightly hesitant to wake the 5-year-old up from her sweet dreams.

"Sakura-chan," Miyaki called out softly as she shook the tiny body gently, "Wake up, honey. Your father will be here in half an hour."

After a while, Kinomoto Sakura opened her emerald-colored eyes. She sat up on her bed while rubbing her eyes with her finger.

"Sakura-chan, your father will be home soon," Miyaki repeated, as she smoothed out the child's soft auburn locks with her hand.

All signs of tiredness disappeared from Sakura's face in an instant. She gazed up at her Baa-chan with a beaming smile. "Really, Baa-chan?!" she exclaimed, revealing her missing front tooth.

"Yes, dear."

Sakura swung her legs off of her bed and wrapped her arms around her Baa-chan's waist. For as long as she could remember, Baa-chan had always been by her side, taking care of her as a mother would.

Papa had told her that her real Mama had suffered from a lot of pain, so she went to heaven to receive her treatment. Every day, Mama watched her from heaven to see if she was being a good girl. If she wasn't being a good girl, Mama would recover slower and may never come back to see Sakura again. So before Sakura went to bed every night, she would tell Tada about her day because her Papa told her that Tada was a messenger who delivered her messages to her Mama.

"Come sit," Miyaki patted down on the bed, motioning Sakura to sit next to her. "Let's fix your hair before your Papa comes back."

Half an Hour Later

"Papa!"

Two maids carried suitcases into the lobby of the mansion when she got downstairs. Sakura threw herself into her Papa's waiting arms as he planted a kiss on Sakura's forehead.

"Did you miss me, Sakura-chan?" he asked. He had reddish-brown hair and gentle brown eyes that turned into half moons whenever he smiled. Despite his humble beginnings, Kinomoto Fujitaka, 34, was the Founder and President of Asia's largest department store, Loel, and ranked by Forbes as the most successful businessman in Japan.

Fujitaka's soft-spoken and friendly personality often made him an easy business target in the competitive world of business. However, beneath that humble facade was an earnest man who possessed business acumen and an exceptional ability to negotiate deals. To him, honesty and mutual respect were his greatest weapons that helped him to succeed.

Sakura nodded her head eagerly. "I missed Papa so much! Did you miss me?" She returned the question as she wrapped her arms around his neck and placed her warm cheek against his.

She was so happy to finally see him after an entire month.

As the two immersed in their little father-daughter bonding, a woman and a girl approached them and stood there patiently until Fujitaka looked up. It was his second wife of two years, Kinomoto Sonomi, and his stepdaughter, Kinomoto Tomoyo.

Initially named Daidouji Sonomi, she was once Kinomoto Nadeshiko's best friend before Nadeshiko passed away. Two years after her death, Fujitaka married her and brought her and her daughter, who was five years older than Sakura, into the Kinomoto Residence. It had been Nadeshiko's idea to have Sonomi re-marry Fujitaka after her previous marriage ended in a bitter divorce. Upon realizing that she was not able to stay with her husband forever, Nadeshiko could not bear to see Fujitaka without a companion for the rest of his life. Since Sonomi had expressed admiration for Fujitaka, her boss, when Nadeshiko was married to Fujitaka, Nadeshiko knew that she could entrust the two of them with each other. When she relayed her decision the day after the doctor had told her that her body was no longer responsive to chemotherapy treatments, Fujitaka became furious. He had never been so angry with his wife, or anyone else for that matter. Because he couldn't bring himself to raise his voice at the innocent face of hers, he left her bedside and stormed out of the room in bitter silence.

Fast-forward one year, a grieving and lonely Fujitaka met Sonomi again in one of Loel's elevators one late evening for the first time since Nadeshiko's funeral. Following Nadeshiko's death, Fujitaka had been busying himself with work every single day so he did not have to spend too much time in a big home without Nadeshiko's presence. Sonomi, on the other hand, had been working overtime to support her and her daughter following her divorce. Although both worked in the same company, Sonomi was only a regular staff in the sales department that did not interact with the higher-ups, so it had been almost a year since they'd last seen each other.

Fujitaka had offered to take her to a bar to get a few drinks and catch up. As the night carried on, the two, drowned in their own miseries, found solace in each other. They went to a hotel and had sex. The next morning, Fujitaka apologized for what had happened the night before. He told her that he would take full responsibility for his actions. That was when he remembered Nadeshiko's dying wish, which prompted him to ask for her hand in marriage so he could rid her of her financial burdens.

Sonomi refused. Being the independent woman that she was, she didn't want to depend on and become indebted to a man who didn't truly love her (a lesson learned from her previous marriage), even if the man happened to be one of the most eligible bachelors in Japan at that moment. Fujitaka understood. They parted that day on good terms. However, four months later, fate brought them back again as Sonomi discovered that she was carrying Fujitaka's child. That was when Fujitaka offered again to marry her. Under those circumstances, Sonomi agreed.

Two months following their small wedding ceremony, Sonomi suffered from a miscarriage. Fujitaka neither blamed nor kicked her out of the house, like Sonomi feared. Instead, he personally cared for her while she was recovering from the miscarriage and promised that he would treat her and Tomoyo like family for the rest of his life. For that, Sonomi was eternally grateful.

Gradually, she began falling madly in love with Fujitaka.

"Welcome back, Taka-san!" Sonomi said to Fujitaka as he gave her a peck on her cheek.

"Have you been well, Sonomi?" He smiled, locking eyes with her as she nodded.

Tomoyo bowed and greeted her stepdad politely. "Welcome back, otousan."

"I'm back, Tomoyo-chan." Fujitaka hugged Tomoyo. Her reserved personality did not make her particularly fond of physical contact, and Fujitaka was the only one who could understand that part of her. This was why Tomoyo loved and respected Fujitaka as a stepdad.

He was kind and gentle, a complete opposite of her real dad.

As the adults exchanged greetings, Sakura's eyes wandered to a tall boy emerging from the front entrance. He walked into the room but stopped at a distance.

Without hesitation, she took a few big strides towards him and gave him a toothy grin. He, on the other hand, stiffened and backed up against the wall.

"Do you want a candy?" she asked him while pulling out a candy wrapped in pink plastic wrapper from her pocket.

The boy didn't reply.

He stared at her with cold and unreadable amber-colored eyes then moved further away. Sakura was a little shocked at first by his reaction, but she didn't give up.

There was something interesting about the boy. Even though he had not spoken a single word, Sakura felt an indescribable sense of sadness emitting from him.

She wanted to become his friend.

"What's your name? How old are you? My name is Sakura and I'm five," she followed the boy and asked.

This time, the boy leaned against the wall and stared into the background as if he had already come to the conclusion that Sakura was a harmless talking doll.

"Are you one of the maid's son? Where are you from? Do you have any brothers or sisters?"

Sakura continued but received no response.

She then jumped up and down and waved her hand in front of the boy's face.

"Hello?! I'm talking to you!" After a while, she got tired and stopped. She put her hands on her hips and frowned.

"You know, it's not nice to ignore people when they're talking to you?"

When that still got no response, she leaned against the wall beside him and glanced in the same direction to figure out what he was looking at.

Straight ahead was her sister Tomoyo, standing quietly beside Sonomi as Fujitaka talked to her mom.

Tomoyo, recognized for her porcelain skin and delicate beauty even at the age of ten, had waist-length wavy hair braided down her slender back. She was good in everything she did. Everyone in the Kinomoto residence was extremely proud of her, especially Okaa-san. Sakura, too, was proud to tell everyone she met about how amazing her sister was. Because she loved her big sister.

So when she discovered that the boy had been staring at Tomoyo the entire time, she gave the boy a mischievous grin. "Do you like my sister?"

But, before she could hear his response, Baa-chan called her from across the room.

Sakura glanced over at Baa-chan, now standing beside her Papa. "Come here, my dear. Bring the boy with you!"

Sakura offered her small hand to the boy, but he was already making his way toward them without her. She followed behind quickly.

"Let me introduce you to someone I have brought back from Hong Kong," Fujitaka announced to the family, putting his hand on the boy's shoulder.

The boy shook it off coldly, to the surprise of everyone except Fujitaka, and avoided eye contact with everyone in the group.

Fujitaka continued in a light tone, "This is Li Xiao Lang. You can call him Syaoran. We met at a Japanese orphanage in Hong Kong during my trip. Long story short, he will be living with us starting from today."

Fujitaka's half-moon eyes appeared on his face, as he waited for his family to respond.

Sakura was the first to speak in excitement. She was going to have a new friend in her home! "Really, Papa?! Can I play with Xiao Lang tomorrow?"

Fujitaka chuckled. Sakura was already calling Syaoran by his Chinese name, although she probably didn't even understand what being Chinese meant. He put a hand gently on the top of Sakura's head. "Yes, you can play with Xiao Lang tomorrow."

"Have you…adopted him?" Sonomi asked uncertainly. She scrutinized the boy from head to toe.

"No, no. He is just living with us for now," Fujitaka assured her.

"But what is the reason, my dear?" Miyaki joined in. As the caregiver of both Nadeshiko and Sakura, Miyaki had become an essential part of the Kinomoto family.

Tomoyo simply stood there quietly and listened without participating.

"I'm very tired from the trip. I'll explain everything tomorrow." Fujitaka dismissed with a wave of his hand, following the quick introduction. He stifled his yawn and sauntered up to the stairs. "Sonomi, why don't you come and start the bath for me?" Sonomi and Tomoyo followed him upstairs.

"And Miyaki-chan, could you please take Syaoran to a guest room?"

Miyaki nodded. "I will, my dear."

"Papa, how old is Xiao Lang?" Sakura called out from the bottom the stairs.

"He's 10, the same age as Tomoyo. Next week, he'll be going to school with the two of you." Fujitaka waved to his daughter, leaving the little girl exploding in excitement. She had always wanted a big brother so they could play together because Tomoyo rarely came out of her room when she was at home.

As Sakura turned around to greet her new family member, she'd realized that Syaoran had already followed Miyaki into the guest wing.

Valkyrie85: Thank you for reading! Please let me know your thoughts on this chapter and the story in general. I'm looking forward to seeing some old faces around here :)

By the way, has any of you watched the new Cardcaptors series? I can't believe they updated this anime after 15 years! I've only seen the first episode as I want to wait until everything comes out so I can watch them in one go. But do believe me when I say that I bawled my eyes out while watching the first episode...those were tears of childhood reminiscence. Even if the world around us is constantly changing, at least in the anime, nothing changes. I love it. What are your thoughts on the new anime series?