Once upon a time, there was a boy who loved to watch the clouds.
He loved watching the clouds because when he did so, he could relax and not think about anything.
Sloth: Acedia. Aversion to work or exertion; laziness or indolence.
Shikamaru hated work, he absolutely hated it. It was so tiring and loud and annoying and it made him feel sticky. It was just so troublesome, really.
It was true that he was probably the laziest Genin in Konoha. Almost everyone else devoted their time to something that was at least a little worth while, not… cloud watching.
And really, Shikamaru knew that if he did his work consistently and didn't procrastinate, then he'd probably would have more time to watch those lovely delicate white puffs float through the air, and on a clean conscience too. But his conscience always turned off when he was watching the clouds, so that really didn't seem to matter.
Shikamaru slowly climbed up the soon-to-be worthwhile steps to his favorite place in the world, eyes already half-closed.
When he watched the clouds, he could forget about his troublesome team, what with Ino always yelling at him accompanied by Choji's faithful munching sound never wavering in the background. He could forget about how his parents had fought the other night, with his mother winning, as usual, and his dad looking like a pathetic beaten dog. He could forget about his efforts to hide his overwhelming intelligence so that he wouldn't have to deal with having even more pressure put upon him.
Just a few more steps, and then it'll all be worth it.
It was the greatest feeling, looking up at the clouds. It was as if no matter what happened, even if he lost everyone precious to him and more, the clouds would always be waiting for him, whether they were white and puffy or dark and ominous. The clouds were almost his… well, anti-drug.
Shikamaru snorted to himself as he thought this.
As he neared the top of the stairs, he nearly smiled, although in truth he was really too lazy to. There it was, his favorite place to be, waiting just for him. He would've walked quickly and excitedly over to the bench, but a lazy sloth like Shikamaru does not walk quickly nor excitedly. Instead, he more or less lumbered over to the bench, if a person as slim as Shikamaru can indeed lumber.
Once upon a time, Nara Shikamaru lay down on a bench on a rooftop and watched the clouds.