Chapter 1: Red Affinity

He cannot explain it, but he hates him. He hates him with a burning passion. The white haired mage slams his fists down in anger as he searches through his tomes. It has to be the fact that he can see the future. That HAS to be the reason Robin hates this man so much. That and the fact he's not like Robin either.

The tactician can't get this man out of his head. His name is Shulk, and he is a strange one. Robin can't tell any physical differences, so he still has yet to understand, but Shulk isn't human. He calls himself 'Hom', the same applies to the older raven-haired male with him, Dunban. Yet that word doesn't apply to the small, orange ball of fluff with a face, as he is a Nopon, named Riki. All three are from a strange world, a place called 'Bionis'.

All these terms he has to remember just infuriates Robin more. It's bad enough that, as a tactician, he has little to no ability to counter someone that can see the future, willfully or otherwise. He angrily pulls at his white locks as he tries to figure out why this boy is so different. He's so entranced in all his books that he doesn't notice his roommate, the angel Dark Pit, walking in.

"You seem angry." The dark angel says as he walks by him to set down his staff.

Robin grumbles, "Thank you Captain Obvious."

"You're welcome."

The mage rolls his eyes, he's pretty sure Master Hand is a sadist, pairing him up with the most sarcastic of fighters. Why couldn't he be with someone more pleasant, or at least wouldn't sarcastically poke fun at him when he's trying to think. He almost slaps the other as he starts leaning over his shoulder to peek at his notes that he's gathered about Bionis and Homs.

"What's with your obsession on that blond kid?" Dark Pit asks as he picks up one of the smaller books and flipping through the pages.

The tactician swipes the book from his hands, "I'm trying to understand why I… hate him."

"Well, I know the feeling. But drowning in books isn't going to give you an answer." The raven-haired boy stretches out as he goes to leave for dinner, "Have you tried… I don't know, talking to him?"

"Well I…"

"I'm not saying you should, but I'm also not saying you shouldn't."

The door is closed behind the dark angel as he leaves Robin. Maybe trying to talk to the blond wouldn't be too much of a bad idea. This might also help the silverette relieve some of this anger by actually understanding why Shulk is different from the other fighters. The mage closes the book in front of him and gets up from his desk, grabbing his cloak as he does so, however; once he's out the door, he realizes he doesn't know where to find the swordsman. They've only been at Smash Mansion for a week now, so he hasn't quite learned his patterns. Robin stops walking for a second and thinks of who might know where to find Shulk, he concludes that asking the Robotic Operating Buddy would be a likely solution.

On his way to find R.O.B., the mage passes by the swordsman, he looks like he's in a bit of a hurry as he races up the stairs. He looks like he's going to the roof of the manor. Robin decides to follow him, but quietly to not seem like he's a stalker, but the mage is quite surprised on just how fast the other is at climbing the stairs, he doesn't even look like he's running out of breath. The tactician can barely keep up with him.

After running up the stairs from the third floor, past floors four and five, to the roof, Shulk finally gets out the roof access door and runs to the edge of the building and stops at the railing before staring out at the sky in awe. His eyes are wide as he watches the sun set over the horizon. Robin eventually manages to catch up and becomes confused as he sees the other standing at the railing. He walks up next to him quietly, as to not scare him.

"Intrigued by the sunset?" Robin asks suddenly as the light of the sun starts to fade into the navy night sky.

The other jumps as little as he didn't acknowledge the mage's presence, "Oh, yeah. I am. I've never seen the sun set before."

The silverette is confused even more, "Does Bionis not experience night time?"

"We do, but the sun… just sort of fades away into the sky. It's hard to tell unless you're up at Eryth Sea, or anywhere else high up there."

"Wait… I'm not quite following. How can a sea be 'high up'? The ocean is at the lowest part of the world. Also, the Earth always has a horizon for the sun to rise and set upon. Considering it's a round world."

Shulk looks over at Robin, his blue eyes full of wonder and curiosity, "Are you saying we're not on the body of a titan?! And that the world around you isn't flat?"

At this point, the tactician is beyond confused, "What do you mean 'body of a titan'? What bizarre fantasy realm do you live in?"

The words stung a bit in Shulk's heart, he feels like an idiot now, assuming Smash Mansion is on a titan named 'Earth'. He falls silent and stares out at the sky again as the stars begin to shine. The silence between them doesn't seem like it's going to end soon, however; Robin doesn't know how to approach this situation. It seems like Shulk is just as curious about this world as the mage is about his.

Robin opens his mouth to speak, "I… I'm sorry if I snapped at you about that. I was under the assumption everyone lived in a world similar to mine." He receives no response from the other, but continues talking as he gazes out at the horizon, "I feel like my anger towards you is due to a lack of understanding. I feel… if we got to know each other… maybe we can learn to respect each other?"

The blond slowly turns towards the other and smiles a little, "I was thinking the same thing actually. I had heard from a couple of other fighters that you had been taking books from the library to learn about Homs. Since I am one, maybe I can help you learn? And maybe you can teach me the differences between humans and Homs?"

Robin looks at the other and nods. He extends his hand out to formally introduce himself, and he gets a pleasant smile and shake in return. They overcame the first obstacle, getting the nerve to talk to one another. The mage isn't quite ready to let go of the fact he still hates that Shulk can see the future, but this is a nice step in the right direction towards a mutual understanding of one another. The two both turn back towards the horizon and continue to enjoy the view that they can share in viewing.

Affinity; Orange - Bitter Rivals
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Author Notes: I will be honest, I know nothing about the Fire Emblem series, so I apologize now if I write the characters wrong, especially those not from Awakening.

Also, for those that know Xenoblade and the affinity system, I know that orange and red is for NPCs, but since this takes place outside Bionis, I feel some rules can be bent a little bit. And no, spoilers for XC will not be here, just to make it accessible for anyone to read