Gas Station Blues
Prologue
Spring, 1970
Heads turned and voices murmured as the sleek form of a Nissan sporting the Z badge – and in a brilliant red - flipped on its turn signals and slowed. Nothing could have prepared the attendants at the Takasaki gas station for the sight of that car in person. The aerodynamic look - the long hood, housing the L24 engine that rumbled, carburettors sucking in air like a living thing. The short deck behind, giving the appearance of an unnameable form resting on its haunches, rearing to strike.
In short, beautiful.
"Beautiful," muttered Yuichi Tachibana, amidst the general consensus of 'sugoi' from his two colleagues. Rooted in place by the car's sudden and graceful appearance, none of them moved a single muscle. Until an angry voice sounded from behind the counter inside the store behind them.
"Hey! Get moving! What do you think I pay you for?" The voice was angry, yes, and anyone who didn't know the man sitting behind the counter would have assumed that that was all the emotion there was behind the voice. But Yuichi smiled at his friends, on either side of him, and moved forwards finally, hailing the driver.
"How may I help you, sir?"
"Fill her up with high octane, and make it quick!" came the snappy response from inside. Sunglasses were cast over a trendy hairstyle, the owner clearly having been maintaining a spotless interior, and a spotless car. Yuichi took this all in – in a matter of half a second, before he snapped out a quick "Yes sir!", automatic and nearly instinctive, as he took the gas pump and stepped over to the rear of the car.
The car began to fill up, slowly at first, then speeding up, the meter increasing at its leisurely pace. "Takai! Eizan! What are you standing around for? Get the cloths and clean the damn windshield!" Yuichi half-yelled, half-laughed, as he held the nozzle in place. Snapped out of their reverent admiration of the Z, they rushed to their stations, pouring water onto the windshield of the Fairlady and wiping it down, making sure not to leave streaks. They wouldn't dare to mar the beauty of such a car. Not a chance in all nine hells.
"So that was the new car," said Takai Matsumoto, turning to the still-gawking Eizan and Yuichi. He punched Yuichi in the shoulder and laughed. "You two are crazy about those things. I'm just here for the money, man. Summer break is coming up and I've gotta have the money to head out in the evenings!"
The only response he got was a stare, before the three broke into laughter. The afternoon had been relatively quiet, leaving them plenty of time to chat about their plans for school break. Adjusting their caps in the heat of the late-spring day, they talked about cars, Takai not understanding Yuichi and Eizan's passion for the cars they worked with every day.
"Girls or cars?" Takai asked, laughing, a while later.
"Girls," Yuichi said, without a single hesitation in his voice. Eizan delayed in his answering, until both his friends gave him a look.
"H-hey, guys! Don't look at me like that! I'm not sure, is all..."
Both of them snickered softly.
"I-I mean, girls are cute, and all, but... damn. Did you see that car?" His voice held a certain sort of respect as he spoke. "...don't tell me if that wasn't the prettiest damn thing you've ever seen in your life."
Yuichi nodded. "He's absolutely right... damn. It was beautiful. Far better than it was on TV, or in the papers. Just... wow."
"...I'd spend the money on a house." Takai said, a twinkle in his eye maybe suggesting it was only said to mess with his friends. Honest or not, he got the desired effect as Eizan gave him a disappointed look and Yuichi slapped him on the back far too hard for it to be congratulatory.
"I'm kidding – that car would probably get me girls, so I'd buy it." He laughed, flinching as he drew a more intense version of the same response from Yuichi this time. "Damnit, stop hitting me! You know I don't care about fast cars. C'mon, give me a break. It's not like just because I work at a gas station it means that I like them. I mean, they look good, and all, don't get me wrong, but I've just got so much more to do with my life!"
Eizan considered for a while, his silence almost ominous among the group. "I'm getting a car by the summer break," he said, eliciting a stunned silence.
Takai was the first to recover. "Alright! Bring me out with some girls over the break! I can't wait!"
"...what car is it?" Yuichi was curious. He'd always wanted a car of his own, but had never thought of saving up for the money needed to get one.
"I'm thinking of a Capella Rotary." His voice was quiet, still thoughtful, as it always was.
"Oh man, that is cool." Yuichi said. "The rotary engine... that's like the one in the Cosmo, isn't it? That's so cool. It might be better looking than that Z earlier..."
Takai just rolled his eyes, and leaned against the outside of the convenience store. The afternoon passed in a flash, the friendly banter of the trio watched over by the manager within, as he smiled, remembering his childhood, too.
Back in his past, he'd seen the car industry growing in Japan. Just over the past decade, the growth of the Japanese motoring and manufacturing scene had been astronomical. From Subaru and Suzuki's first cars, the P-1 and the Suzulight, just a mere 15 years ago, to the release of the first Toyota Corolla and Mazda Familia just five years ago. Now, at the turn of a new decade, new cars and new technologies were being produced at an ever-increasing speed. And now, maybe, with the trend of sport coupes, finally coming from Japan – the Toyota 2000GT, the Mazda Cosmo Sport, and now the Fairlady Z... maybe these kids could have something that he never had as a child.
Speed.
As the automotive scene had boomed in Japan, so had his business. Successful now, he could kick back and relax... but not before he did something. Something important. Giving the next generation a passion that would last, and drive them towards great things. He let his mind wander, considering the things that people would come up with in the future. Cars had come so far in his lifetime. He wondered, for a second, how those cars would look.
The second passed. He realised he wouldn't be around to see those cars.
But they would. The three idiots he'd hired for their banter, their good attitude, and their hard work. He chuckled. Lucky bastards.
"Have fun, you guys," he muttered, to no one in particular. Tapping a cigarette out of his case, he stepped out of the convenience store, perking an ear up to their discussion.
"...and he just slapped him right out of there, can you believe it?" Takai was saying. Acting it out, he swung his arm back... and stumbled over his boss behind him. "N-Nakashima-san! ...sorry, boss!"
"Ah, it's alright," Tatsuda Nakashima said, as he stood there, watching Takai awkwardly straightening himself out, struggling to suppress a chuckle of his own. He had to appear professional, after all. "Go on, I won't bother you boys." He walked across, a fair way away, appearing to watch the cars zip by on the main road, but in reality lending an ear to the discussion of the boys outside the convenience store.
"...he hasn't ever stepped back up to challenge him since, you know," continued Takai, apparently unflustered in his delivery of story. Tatsuda listened, chuckling to himself, the laugh lines in his eyes wrinkling as he heard the honest, open laugh of Yuichi and the thoughtful hmpfs of Eizan beside him.
Kids these days, he thought, with a long drag of his cigarette.