Final Preparations

"Time to focus", you thought to yourself. You were in the locker room of the gymnasium trying to come up with a strategy to win that scholarship.
The Tournament consists of 4 rounds, with 16 contestants total, you reminded yourself.
These remaining students were the best the school had to offer and you were somehow among them. You pulled up the list of contestants trying to get an idea of what you would be up against.
A few of them seemed more brawn than brains, as long as you kept your cool and stuck to a strategy you should be good. There were also students with a focus on ranged combat and the gyms lack of barriers meant they would have you in their sights constantly, in order to defeat them you'd have to get close and stay there, hopefully gaining a quick victory.
It was the last group that really worried you, most of them excelled at both combat and strategy and some had even unlocked their semblance already.
These were the students most considered Beacon material and you'd likely have to face at least one of them. Without any semblance to back you up all you had were quick wits and information.
So you did what you do best and studied.

When you had about half an hour to go there was an alarm on Infotracker signaling that the schools website had published a starting roster. You immediately followed the link and after dismissing the pop up video you set up you scanned the page for your name.

You were going to fight in match seven, which was perfect as it meant you'd get extra time to study some of your potential enemies and even see them in action. You started researching your opponent but pulled up the tournament feed once the first match started, as live footage would help you more than dusty student records.

Round 1, Match 1

Walking into her first match with a calculating gaze and impressive stature was student council president and certified genius Caitlin Danann. She was dressed in a practical blouse and a tartan skirt as well as an engraved steel breastplate, bracers and greaves, which made her look like a mix between a schoolgirl and a medieval knight. Her weapon was a similarly decorated spear that was almost as tall as her.
From the second the match began she seemed to know what her opponent did before he himself did, allowing her to keep him at exactly the right distance and land strike after strike with the blade of her spear. Towards the end of the match her opponent attempted to distance himself, trying to regain some control of the match. The stern girl would not have it and, much to everyone's surprise, she lifted her spear, as if to throw it. It was far too large for that however, and if it was meant to be thrown, why decorate it? Then with a flick of her finger the blade shot out of the spear, followed by the chain that connected it to the hilt, and hit her poor opponent, his aura fizzling away. She was declared the winner of round one with roaring applause at her amazing skill. She ignored the upheaval, instead using the mechanism of her spear to pull the blade back and lock into the hilt and calmly walking out of the hall without another comment.
Seeing her display of combat prowess you had a sneaking suspicion that you'd face her in the finals, if you ever made it there.

A few uninteresting matches passed until you heard the crowd loudly cheer as match 5 began.

Round 1, Match 5

Looking at your screen you saw the popular queen bee of the school Lila Serach confidently strutting into the Gymnasium dressed in a form fitting, but entirely unpractical purple dress. At her side hang a whip made of what you assumed to be coiled and treated leather, but in the light it shimmered like a reptiles' scales. As soon as the match began her opponent, one of the girls in your workshop class, was entirely at her mercy. Wielding only daggers the girl had to get close which made it easy for Lila to dance past her slashes while slowly wrapping her up with the whip. Eventually the outmatched girl lay on the floor when Lila straddled her, pulling something from a sheath hidden below her skirt. While hard to see on the screen it seemed she also used a stiletto dagger with a blade thin enough to be almost invisible from afar. She immediately began slashing and stabbing the helpless girl and after a few surprisingly brutal strikes her aura gave out.
While her victory was announced it seemed as if Lila was still considering whether to release her prey at all. After somewhat concerned murmuring from the crowd she seemed to snap out of her fantasy and started freeing her opponent, although reluctantly.
You would have to completely sweep her of her feet if you wanted to ever have a chance against, or with, her.

The match after that was relatively uninteresting, but gave you some more time to "review" the footage of Lila.
When it was over that was your signal to get ready. You knew who you'd face and had some ideas to make it to round two.

While you knew you'd face Jean Burgundy, the top athlete and martial artist of your school, you didn't know what her weapon would be. When you walked into the gym, trying to look as confident as possible, you saw it. Hanging from her belt was an axe, which looked well made and polished, but was very simple in design. You assumed that it should function as both a melee weapon as well as a throwing axe, so you'd have to stay on your toes and, if possible, make her miss. Even without her weapon this would be far from easy.
The booming voice of the referee snapped you out of you thoughts and a few minutes later the bell rang and the battle began...