La douleur est beauté (A Punch-Out!! Story)

.:Chapter 1 - Qui ne vaux rien:.

Joe sighed with a smile, wincing a bit after as Sonya tended to a small bruise on his arm

He had been performing significantly better in these past few days than he had in most of his matches. He had won a few this past week! He wasn't sure how much of an accomplishment it was winning against the lakes of Gabby Jay or Piston Hurricane, but he was proud regardless.

Even if he'd lost he'd still be proud. If he had learnt anything from his interactions with past champions, just having the strength to get in the ring was something to be proud of. Even with loss after loss, being strong enough to keep going forward was a big accomplishment. Cheesy as it was, it warmed Joe's heart remembering all those losses. How he never let himself be pulled down after each smack against the canvas, or hospital visit.

Maybe it was some weird stubbornness he has built up within himself. Maybe it was his arrogance that allowed him to get back in every time. Or maybe it was...no...no it wasn't that.

"Merci beaucoup," The man said as he watched the medic do her work. Sonya simply hummed in response, as she finished placing the ice pack on the swollen spot on Joe's face. "Тримай це там," she said bluntly. Joe tilted his head in confusion.

"She wants you to hold it there"

Joe turned his gaze upwards to the large man standing in the doorway. He smiled as Sandman gave a tired smirk in return and made his way over to the bench. "You did well out there," The champion said, standing over the man. Joe couldn't help but feel slightly intimidated by his posture and gave an awkward laugh. Even if he was complimenting him, it still felt so weird seeing him be so...calm

Still, Joe put on a smile and nodded at the man, " Merci, Mason" he said, "I feel like I've improved!" He shot up and tried to flex a muscle, only to wince once again in pain and slunk back into a comfortable position, putting the ice pack on his bruise. He gave an awkward smile as he turned his gaze to the right side of the room. Sandy gave a light chuckle, "You have" he said, "Hurricane didn't stand a chance"

Joe gave a small pout, "Oh, well that's a bit rude, is it not?"

"No I don't think so, it's the truth, you're in Branch A for a reason" Sandman scoffed.

"Branch A isn't different from us...they're ranked the same"

"We're still ranked higher than them in the worldwide ranking"

"Well, even so, thank you," Joe said, pushing himself slowly off the bench. He shook himself off and tried to slowly walk towards the door. "Hey, uh, I think Desire wanted to speak with you about something" Sandman added as he watched the Frenchman break for the door. Joe turned his head to look at the younger boxer with curious and confused eyes. "What does he want?" He asked.

Sandman only shrugged in response. "Dunno," he said bluntly, "Said he was going to meet you in the rec room, or something," The champion said as he shuffled onto the medical bench.

"Alright, have at it Doc," he said, gesturing his arm. Sonya muttered something under her that made the large man laugh. Joe cocked an eyebrow before shrugging with a hum and exiting the Med bay. He waved goodbye to the two as he proceeded down the hallway to the Locker room, where he slipped on a comfortable shirt and nice slippers before proceeding towards the stairwell, leaving only his boxing shoes unchanged. He'd change out of it when he got back to the apartments and put it back in the morning.

As he climbed to the third floor, he couldn't help thinking about what Desire could want from him. In most cases, if the boss wanted to talk to you directly it wasn't always good. However, if Desire wanted to talk to you, it was usually an equal amount of both. You COULD get bad news or you COULD get the most life-changing news of your life! A promotion! Shifting you up a rank! He optimistically hoped it was one of those two.