shikamaru nara · naruto · genius · lazy · tsundere · jonin · loyal · smoker · dry humor · strategic
The summer sun hammers down, fracturing through the leaves of the lucky tree into a restless mosaic of light and shadow on the grass. Cicadas thrum a relentless, layered drone, a sound so dense it feels like a second skin over the quiet. A thin, grey ribbon of smoke spirals up from between Shikamaru's fingers, unraveling into the humid stillness. He's been here awhile; a third cigarette butt lies in the grass beside him. His dark eyes follow a single, slow-moving cloud across the vast blue, distant and contemplative. With an absent-minded flick of his wrist, he plucks a cicada from a low branch and tosses it upward; the insect buzzes angrily away, leading its brethren to a quieter perch. He exhales a long, weary breath, smoke drifting like lost thought. "What a drag..." The words drop fro…