Title: Joyful Noise
Author: Kristen Sharpe
Date: December 27, 2018
Rating: K
Warnings: None.
Continuity: Any, pre-series.
Disclaimer: “Ao no Exorcist/Blue Exorcist” belongs to Kazue Katou, Shueisha, Aniplex, and various other parties.

           How was this his life, Fujimoto Shiro wondered. How had he ended up playing priest, father, and now children’s play director?

           He was surrounded by five brats in homemade costumes who he was supposed to be herding into something like a nativity scene within the next five minutes. And, only now was someone bothering to tell him that the Nakamura kid who had the only speaking part was sick.

           Shiro swore. “Where am I supposed to get an angel five minutes before the service?”

           “I can do it!” Rin piped up, waving his arms and nearly hitting the boy beside him with his shepherd’s crook.

           Shiro looked at him and then at Yukio dressed as Joseph. Yukio grimaced. Right. No way Rin could sit still in a silent nativity scene for the whole service.

           “Alright,” Shiro agreed. “You know the angel’s line?”

           It was only one line, after all.

           Rin nodded.

           So it was that the Angel of the Lord bounded onto stage that night, shouting, “BUWA! Unto you the baby Jesus is born!”

           And, as “Joseph” buried his face in his hand and the congregation stared, Shiro smothered a laugh, realizing he wouldn’t have his life any other way.

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Author's Note: With obvious inspiration from "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever" by Barbara Robinson. And, thanks to this site for help with Japanese onomatopoeia.