Kako no kizuato itamu
Toki ga sugireba kieru
Uso wa tsukazu ni ikite
Karada kudakero...

A scar from the past aches
When time passes it fades
I'm not used to living a lie
It's breaking my body...

The young Saiya-jin warrionr of the lion clan ran through the woods, hopelessly lost and far from home. He would have sat down to cry, but crying was not honorable, and besides, it would get him nowhere.
He tried to remember what direction he wanted to go, but hunger made him tired. If only...
His parents had been with him at the outset, but...a few days before they had gone out to hunt and...never come back.
Alone as he was, he had no way to get home...did not know how.

It was an hour later that the hunting party came across him.
"Ha'k matt," [1] one of the warriors commented, tracing the lion insignia on the boy's armor. The boy stirred at the presence above him.
The smallest of the group stepped forward and picked up the boy. "A'ten... A'ten e uch."[2]
"Na, ouji Vegeta."[3]
The servant reached for the boy, but the prince seemed to change his mind and stepped away, giving a look that said that he would hold this boy himself. "Kod a futt tach shii ba'k. Da'tte. Tach miten. T'i...da...re...dach.[4]
"Na," the warrior agreed.

[1] Lion clan
[2] Take...take him home.
[3] Yes, Prince Vegeta.
[4] He must be the child of the two we killed earlier. Tresspassers. We'll take care of him. He'll be a good...sparring partner...or...friend.

A few hours later, the young man woke in strange surroundings. He sat abruptly up, wincing at a sudden pain in his side.
"Wild beast...went for you," a warrior sitting by his bedside said. "While you were...part dead."
"Unconscious?"
"Na. You will have a mark, likely."
"A scar. Where am I?"
"Large house-"
"Palace."
"Palace of Ape clan."
The young man's eyes widened. The ruling clan?
"Na," the man said, answering the unspoken question. "I'm Tahto. Prince Vegeta asked that you not die, though you were trespassing. 'Just a boy, like me," he says."
"Thank you," he said humbly, lowering his eyes.
"The Prince has a single thing he wants: he wants to know your name."
"It's Bardock."

"Achint!" the young prince announced loudly, popping in through the door of Bardock's room.
"He says good morning and he wishes to show you around," Tahto explained from where he stood behind and to the right of the prince.
"Ah...a good host," Bardock commented.
"Yan cho'kko,"[5] Tahto muttered to himself.

[5] Not usually.

While Bardock couldn't speak the same language as the prince, there seemed to be a connection between the two, like they knew each other, and somehow they still understood each other.
When Vegeta wanted to play hide-and-seek (the Saiya-jin way), Bardock understood. When Bardock fixed something that Vegeta's best mechanic couldn't fix, he understood Vegeta's strong respect for him, having completed that task. And Vegeta understood Bardock's craving for learning and allowed him to work with his other scientists. Both soared to new heights in sparring, and Bardock knew that Vegeta would never condone being beaten, so he held back his powers.
Together they could take out any retinue of palace guards. They could move together when sparring; almost, it seemed, even think together. Bardock found he enjoyed their time of quiet; he hated having to join the rowdy warriors for dinners at the palace. And Vegeta, he knew, felt the same way. So after awhile, they began to pack picnics, and only came back to nick food and sleep.

Years past, and Bardock learned to speak the Ape clan's language, although it seemed to him that he and Vegeta communicated better without words. Both had gotten had sons close to the same age- and both had them out of obligation. Radditz and Kakarot had been packed off to other planets, while the young prince (Vegeta of course) remained on Vegetasei to learn how to become king.
But everything was torn apart by Freeza.

"You know I'm leaving."
"I know."
"I have to stop Freeza."
"..."
"I want you to have this," Vegeta whispered, removing the necklace he wore, the one Bardock had never seen him take off, not even to bathe. Instantly all motion around them ceased. He placed it gently around Bardock's neck, the other man also frozen, _knowing_ that something incredibly significant was taking place. "If I die...lead them against Freeza. You were the stronger, anyway." With that, he flew away, leaving Bardock clutching at the necklace.
"He knew..." Bardock whispered, the words lingering in the hot, still air.
He turned to Tahto, his old guide, questioningly. "What...what just happened here?"
Tahto snapped out of his shock. "That necklace...is the symbol of everthing the king owns...his rank...even who he is. Without it, he is nameless, he is no one."
Bardock clutched the necklace tightly. "Swift journey..." he whispered, and Vegeta heard the words he didn't say. "My love..."

Michi wa chigireta nekkuresu
Kodoku ni make wa shinai wa
Kagiri-ishou nugisute
Yuuga ni fighting pose to you

My necklace came off in the city
I wasn't alone when I lost it
Throwing off my decorated clothes
I give a graceful fighting pose to you